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Wired Setup Question

Jeff C.   Hello Jeff - Hope all is well and excited to say will be jumping back on mesh here at the end of August again.  So here comes the scenario and question.

Our new house is almost built with Internet coming into the basement where the modem and your eero will get connected.  I had ethernet pulled from the basement to both the first floor and another dedicated line up to the second floor.  My desire and plan is to have an eero 2 on each of the three floors and all connected via Ethernet.

So my question is as follows:

First off the basement eero will connect into the back of the modem, but how do I connect the other two eeros into the network?  Do I add a switch into the back of basement eero and then connect other 2 eeros into switch OR would I wire them in series?  Mean - Basement eero wired to 1st floor eero, wired to 2nd floor eero?  I want to do this to ensure the best performance on all 3 floors instead of depending on the backplanes of the mesh network.  

Thanks!

27 replies

    • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
    • cotedan87
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    HI Skeeter. Jeff is the expert, but I've got a similar setup that works beautifully. 

    ISP modem --> eero gateway --> switch --> all other wired devices, including additional eeros wired to switch. 

      • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
      • cotedan87
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cotedan87 I used to have switches down the line wired to the main switch (after the gateway eero) but found I had problems. Could be house wiring etc, so I removed all switches except the first one and went mostly wireless. 

      ... and yes I guess you could plug eero into eero in series. They are switches too after all.. 

      • Skeeter
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cotedan87 Awesome information and THANKS for chiming in - I have 2 original eero's sitting in a pod somewhere in Rochester, NY and we close on our new house on 8/24.  I am planning on buying a 3 pack of the 2.0 eeros and use them as primary.  So in the new house I will have the Spectrum modem, a switch and the gateway eero.  In the first floor in the closet I have an Ethernet jack and power for eero #2, and then in the master bedroom ,on floor 2 will be eero #3 connect via Ethernet and that switch as well.   

      Most devices in the house will be wireless except the Large TV and XBOX in media room, My Surface Studio in Office, and possibly TV in Master Bedroom.

      Cheers!

      • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
      • cotedan87
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Skeeter Nice. I suppose routers aren't really made to be put in closets, but perhaps that's something that router manufacturers can work on - "made for closet" :).  My thinking is that if you can connect the eeros into each other (rather than another switch), you'd be ahead of the game with one less step, less wiring, less electrical plugs ......  but for this I rather have Jeff C.  or cMoo92  give their thoughts. 

      Due to logistics in my home, I've plugged my Philips Hue hub into a satellite eero and it works just fine (even though some online have said it should be plugged directly into the base ISP modem). I enjoy the protection and networking the eeros provide, so I don't like to plug in things outside of the mesh network. 

      Both my Apple TV 4k are wireless and they work flawlessly with an eero nearby. Wiring not really needed I think, as long as the base mesh network is good. I've got 40+ devices working at any given time, including 10 Nest cams that stream wirelessly 24hrs at high def. All work fine wirelessly under eero.

      • Skeeter
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cotedan87 Awesome info and I guess I will see how the 1st floor eero does in a closet compared to the other too.  I too have Philips Hue and used them with my Gen 1 that was wireless and had no issues.  

      Equipment on my network will end up being Apple TV's Xbox, 3 4K TV's, Sonos, 4 Computers, LG Washer and Dryer, mobile and tablets, Roybi Garage door, and other smart items like Google Homes.

      Honestly can't wait to get back into a house as I have been living in a 5th Wheel Camper since April!

      • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
      • cotedan87
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Skeeter  oh my. From a house to a camper. Ouch. I bet first thing that gets connected in the new home is the eero !

      • Skeeter
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cotedan87 Ha Ha how did you guess, that of course once I get the ISP to connect to the new house and configure the modem.  Been living off of an ATT HotSpot since April 20th at a blazing 12mbs down.  Closing is scheduled for 8/24, once I know the time I am going to be calling Spectrum to see how quickly I can get them out to this house to turn up Internet.  At that point I will need the new eeros and this configuration we've discussed.  

      At this point no 4K access, No Xbox, I do have one 1080P Apple TV for Netflix and such and that's about it along with my Surface Book 2.  Beyond that all toys are boxed and waiting new home.

      • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
      • cotedan87
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Skeeter ouch. You are one very badly hurtin’ unit without your toys :). 

    • eero Community Manager
    • Jeff_C
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Official response
    • Reported - view

    Hey  Skeeter —

    Welcome back. It's always great to hear from you!

    You have a couple options...

    Depending on how your home is wired, if everything goes back to a central location (i.e., the basement), you would connect a switch to your gateway eero and then the remaining eeros to that switch.

    If everything isn't going back to a central location, you could also "daisy chain" the eeros by connecting them to each other (i.e. basement > 1st floor > 2nd floor). 

    Nonetheless, they'll work the same. Hope this helps!

      • Skeeter
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Jeff C. Hey Jeff!  Great to see you still here and love the enhancements in both the base product and plus!  It's exciting to see a request such as QoS starting to take shape and I'm anxious to get my hands back on the eeros' once this new house is completed.

      The house is wired where everything will go back to a central location in this case the basement so I'll drop in a switch as you've suggested and connect the remaining eero's that way via the switch.

      One last question when I do get this up and going next month you would recommend starting with the first eero that will be the Gateway, getting that online and then turning on and connecting the other two eero's or firing them all up at once and then starting with the app?

      Best wishes - Skeeter

      • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
      • cotedan87
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Skeeter Just 4 weeks now and you'll be up and running with eero.  Anticipation .... 

      • Skeeter
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cotedan87 Ha - YES and the count down has begun.  As it sits right now here is the timeline.

      8/22 - House Walk through with project manager
      8/24 - Closing
      8/24 & 8/25 - Epoxy Seal of garage
      8/26 - Move Part 1 with uHaul from garage stored at Mom and Dads (long story)
      8/27 - Central AC Install & delivery of washer and dryer
      8/28 - Move Part 2 with unload of Pod that was too small for all our stuff 😡
      8/28 - Install of Spectrum Internet at 400mps

      Shopping List for August
      eero 2 3 pack - watching for sales
      LG Dehumidifier
      Arlo 5 or 6 pack
      Samsung 50" UHD 4K
       

      • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
      • cotedan87
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Skeeter wow that’s quite the list. I think you need to move eero to the top of the list. Who needs washer /dryer when you have eero ? 

      • Skeeter
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cotedan87 ha - washer / dryer are already purchased and just need to be delivered.  eero's are next on list just hoping I can find them on sale between now an 3rd week in August.  If not I'll head to BestBuy and picked them up. 

      • eero Community Manager
      • Jeff_C
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Skeeter —

      Sorry for the delay. I thought I replied but I must have not sent it.

      When setting up, you can plug them in one-by-one (which is recommended) or you can plug them all in at once.

      When plugging all your eeros in at once, you’ll need to start at the gateway to ensure everything comes online. After that, you’ll be able to set up the remaining eeros. In order to name them based on location, the eero you are adding at that time will be blinking green on the LED. The app will take you through these steps as well.

      All the best,

      jeff 

      • Skeeter
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Jeff C. Hey Jeff,  No worries I don't have them yet nor do I have a house or Internet to connect them to yet an how!  LOL

      To your instructions I'll start with the gateway and then go to the 1st and then 2nd floor getting them online one by one.  Once I have them all working I'll hit the check for updates and let them rev up to the latest firmware versions.  

      Thanks and I'll advise once I have everything up and running.  32 days and counting...🤓

      • borgo
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Jeff C.  

      Your answer is very interesting to me, but why is the possibility of using the daisy chain topology not indicated in the official documentation ?
      Please see https://support.eero.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000830546-Examples-of-common-network-topologies
      All the examples refer only to the star topology deployment.
      Regards from Italy
      • eero_support
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Hello borgo ,

      Just wanted to post here as well. I have sent a request to have the daisy chain topology added to the article. Thank you for the suggestion!

    • Skeeter
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Alright here is my eero rant for the week.  I am tee-minus 9 days and counting before we move into our new house.  Where the heck is the "back to school" or "let's give Skeeter a deal" sale?  I would really live to save something/anything on the EERO PRO 3 Pack!!   

      • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
      • cotedan87
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Skeeter T minus 3 days now.  How’s it feel ?

    • Skeeter
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    cotedan87 Hey buddy, having trouble sleeping these nights were so excited.  The e pack eero pro is here. Ordered a TP-link Gigabit switch for all connections.  AC gets installed with new Nest Thurmo and our ISP Spectrum installs internet Thursday too.   So can't wait and here's a pic of the new diggs. 

      • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
      • cotedan87
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Skeeter sweet. Bet you can smell the new lumber and paint. Make sure you take a pic of your gateway eero ! 

      Sleep tight. Just a couple more sleeps before all the boxes ... and the eeros .... get moved.  I bet the eeros get connected before the clothes get unpacked. Priorities. 

      • Skeeter
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cotedan87 Will do and to your point here's the schedule. 

      8/22 Wed House Walk though and closing. 

      Thursday eero, Central Air Install, Pod Delivery

      Friday RockSolid seal garage floor

      Sunday Movers Unload

      Monday Washer/Dryer delivery

      Rest of week - Unpack and set up office

      I'll get some pics to you next week 😉

      • Fan of tinkering with new hardware. Canadian dude.
      • cotedan87
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Skeeter let me make a suggestion to that schedule 

      1.  Unpack EERO 

      2. Unpack rest :) 

    • Skeeter
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    cotedan87 Well hard to believe but it's been a month and in that time I decided to go to the 1GB service and all is going well with my network and the eeros.  So here as promised are some shots and such to show you how it's set up.

Content aside

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