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Device not connecting to closest Eero

I have 3 2nd gen Eero setup with the main Eero and 2 beacons. Devices close to the beacons are connecting to the main Eero which is 2 floors away. How can I make sure a device connects to a specific Eero? Or is there a way to reset the system so devices connect to the closest Eero?

11 replies

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    • cMoo92
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    eero can’t make your device switch to the closest eero—that’s entirely up to the device’s software to choose when to switch. You could be standing right next to another eero and the device might not switch if it thinks it still has a good enough connection to the eero farther away. Turning off/on WiFi on your device will then connect to the closest eero with the stronger connection.

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

      cMoo92 yeah I know. Too bad more Devices aren’t up to par with connectivity yet. Strongest router on the planet can’t help devices if they don’t want to connect. I thought Nest cams would be better but they have lots of connectivity issues yet. As for LIfX and Phillips Hue bulbs, those have a long way to go before it’s smooth sailing. I’m still running around the house every day power cycling some of my lamps despite nearby eeros. 

      • cMoo92
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cotedan87 Hue bulbs don’t use your WiFi, so any issues with those are unrelated to your network. Hue uses the Zigbee protocol. They get their signal from the Hue hub—but they can also daisy chain as any other Zigbee device (e.g. each Hue bulb) acts as a repeater.

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

      cMoo92 ok I stand corrected. Wondering if they are more stable than the lifx bulbs but that’s another forum I guess. 

      • cMoo92
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cotedan87 I have no personal experience with LIFX bulbs, but I do have 15 Hue bulbs and I don’t have connectivity issues with them. My only problem is my toddler who loves to turn off the light switch on the wall, but that’s not something even eero support can help fix :)

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

      cMoo92 thanks much. That helps my decision to switch to Phillips. Too many disconnects on Lifx. My Phillips hub will be plugged into the network switch as I want eero protection etc, but have read they prefer to be plugged directly into the modem. 

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

      cMoo92 perhaps eero can work on the toddler fix too.  They have anti malware so why not anti toddler protection.  First seen in eero labs soon  lol 

      .  

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

      cMoo92 I bit the bullet last night and replaced all Lifx bulbs by Philips Hue. A couple hiccups installing (the app couldn’t auto-find some of the bulbs) but otherwise they work well this morning with no disconnects. 

      My device count in eero dropped by 19 since Philips doesn’t use Wifi like LIFx does, and this may be the most convincing factor in your response yesterday. Wifi was just too flakey in the Lifx bulbs. I don’t know how this will affect my wifi environment but we’ll see. 

      Thanks again for sharing your experiences. They help us keep some degree of sanity in this crazy wifi world. 

      ...  now if only eero Plus would send me my weekly report on time, I’d be happy. It didn’t send one on Friday as it normally does... again.   

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

      cMoo92  by the way, wired the Hue hub to one of my eeros and its works great. Had read that Philips recommends that you attach directly to modem/router, but this isn’t good for those of us using a network switch. 

      (Makes cMoo92  an honorary citizen of Canada). 

      • turco367
      • 3 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cMoo92 I know this is old, but if it doesn't automatically switch to the closest or stronger node... then its not a mesh network... thats literally the while purpose or job of a mesh system. You basically just have separate routers throughout your house you have to connect manually too.

      • cMoo92
      • 3 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      turco367 no, the purpose of a mesh network is to have a central management system with single router, but multiple access points. If each eero was a router, then your device would be getting a different IP address each one that it connected to. Plus, because it’s a mesh system, it can optimize the wireless backhaul (and even wired backhaul for that matter), because all the eeros see each other and can optimize the fastest “route” for your device to reach the internet or other devices. The amount of complexity that goes into programming a mesh system that works this well and this reliably is immense.

      It is not the purpose of a mesh network to force your device to connect to the physically closest access point. There are vendors who have this functionality, but I’ve experienced and heard plenty of people say it doesn’t work well at all, because the WiFi standard is not designed for that. It’s up to the individual clients/devices to choose which AP to connect to. 

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