Amazon’s Eero Pro 6E Mesh Brings 6GHz Speeds To Home Wi

The Eero Pro 6E is a 6GHz try-band mesh networking system and offers Wi-Fi speeds up to 1.3Gbps.

Reliable and robust Wi-Fi around the home is now almost as essential a utility as power and water. So much of what we currently do relies on Wi-Fi, especially those working from home. We now use wireless networks to watch TV, do our work, run our security cameras and alarm systems and even control our fridge, washing machine or front-door lock. With so much of our home infrastructure relying on wireless Internet connectivity, having the best network is essential.

Amazon’s Eero wireless mesh system brand has been on the market for six years and has been jostling for market position with the likes of TP-Link and Netgear’s best-selling Orbi range. Now Amazon has upgraded its mesh network offering with the AX5400 Eero Pro 6E. This is the brand’s flagship mesh system and can support the newly released 6GHz band and the more usual 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands. The 6GHz band offers channel widths of 160MHz which help massively to reduce network congestion.

The Eero Pro 6E mesh system I tested consists of three identical wedge-shaped Eero units with a shiny white finish. The three units can cover a home with an area of up to 560m2. Each unit is about the size of a CD case but as thick as a tapered paperback book. Each Eero unit is small enough to be tucked away around the home and not too unpleasant to look at. Each device has a small LED on the front to show the network status. Most of the time, it will glow white, although there doesn’t appear to be any way of turning the light off, which might be an issue if you have a unit in your bedroom where the light could keep you awake.

The three-pack Eero Pro 6E mesh networking system can cover homes with an area up to 560m2.

This new version of Eero is the first mesh system from Amazon that can handle 2.5Gbps Ethernet. There are two Ethernet ports on the back of each Eero Pro 6E, offering the choice of 1Gbps or 2.5Gbps speeds. Why would you want 2.5Gbps Ethernet? Good question. The rollout of high-speed fiber internet means many homes are now getting an Internet connection with speeds exceeding 1Gbps. A 2.5Gbps connection means the mesh system can handle more traffic faster. Think of it as fitting a larger pipe to allow a faster water flow into your home.

The Eero smartphone app makes setting up the Eero Pro 6E incredibly easy. Each Eero also has a power adapter that connects to the Eero devices using a USB Type C cable. The box also has an Ethernet cable for connecting to your Internet modem.

To set up your mesh network, you must first connect one of the Eero devices to your Internet modem or router. This Eero will be your main unit and all the other Eeros added to the mesh network will look to the main Eero for routing data. The Eero app sniffs out the presence of an Eero and the setup is fast and painless. Then, give your network a name and a password and away you go.

The Eero Pro 6E has a choice of 1Gbps and 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports which means it can play nicely with ... [+] high-speed faber Internet services.

If you already have a mesh network or Wi-Fi network, you should disconnect it so you can give your new Eero mesh network the same name and password as your old Wi-Fi. By doing this, your wireless devices around the home will automatically connect to the Eero mesh without you having to re-enter passwords manually.

Once the system is online and the setup is done, the Eero app will ask you if you want to subscribe to the Eero Secure Plus service, which costs $9.99 monthly or $99 yearly. This premium service includes a subscription to Encryp VPN, Malwarebytes antivirus, 1Password, DDNS remote network access and threat blocking. The service also gives you a weekly notice to tell you what has been blocked or saved. The system is a good idea because you don’t need to install anti-virus and other measures on individual devices. Amazon offers a free 30-day trial of Eero Secure Plus so you can see if it works for you.

Adding extra Eero units to the mesh network is incredibly easy. The smartphone app guides you through the process and you can place your Eero units around the home and the app will find them and add them to the mesh network, adjusting the connections to suit the layout and distance from each other. It’s all very seamless and easy.

By positioning the Eero Pro 6E units around the home, it's possible to extend Wi-Fi outside or into ... [+] the attic and cellar.

A mesh network provides wireless Internet all over the home with a consistent signal. You only need to log on to the one network using one password. Then, as you move around the home, the Eero mesh network will connect your smartphone or laptop to the closest Eero device with the strongest signal, much like a cellular phone network keeps you connected as you move from cell to cell.

I tested the Eero Pro 6E in my home, which has thick stone walls and is always causing issues with Wi-Fi signals. To make the most of the 6GHz band, you will need a smartphone, laptop or tablet that is compatible with 6GHz. Not many devices can work with the new standard, but by buying into the Eero Pro 6E system, you can be sure that your network will stay up to date with the latest Wi-Fi standard as you purchase new devices.

The speeds I achieved with the Eero mesh were some of the fastest I’ve managed to get in my old stone house. My Internet connection tops out at 72Mbps download and 25Mbps upload. The Eero maxed out that connection and is capable of much faster Wi-Fi speeds up to 1.3Gbps. Even with a capped Internet speed, data transfers within the mesh network could be much quicker as you move or stream data between devices.

Work wherever you want. The Eero Pro 6E also has a smart hub for working with Thread and Zigbee ... [+] devices via Alexa.

The consistency of the wireless speeds was pretty good, but I did notice a slight drop off thanks to those thick stone walls when the units were using the wireless backhaul to the main router. With two of those walls in the way, the Wi-Fi speed dropped to around 30Mbps, which is still fast enough to stream hi-res video. In newer homes that have plasterboard stud walls or dry walling, the Eero should face no problems at all and you will have fast speeds everywhere.

Roaming around the house presented no problems, enabling me to work anywhere I wanted. Other devices like smart TVs and wireless speakers all functioned perfectly. Once set up, the Eero mesh system worked away in the background without any attention or issues. If you want to tinker, the smartphone app for iOS and Android can be used to adjust advanced settings and tweak various features, but you need to know a bit about what you are doing.

Regarding supporting various smart home devices, the Eero Pro 6E functions as a smart home hub, enabling you to control compatible Thread and Zigbee devices via Alexa. The system also doubles as a border router to connect with Thread-enabled devices. And because the Eero Pro 6E can handle up to 100 wireless devices, it’s ideal for a home with many IoT devices, such as security cameras or sensors for a security system.

The individual Eero Pro 6E units cover about the same footprint as a CD and are shaped in a wedge ... [+] profile.

Verdict: The Amazon Eero Pro 6E is a proficient tri-band mesh networking system that’s easy to set up and performs well. The 6GHz compatibility future-proofs the Eero for some years and ensures you take advantage of the increased speeds, lower latency and reduced congestion that the 6GHz band offers. The Eero Pro 6E is also a good choice if you’ve recently signed up for a high-speed fiber Internet service and will ensure that your home network can handle up to 100 wireless client devices with low latency. If you have a large house and a big family where everyone is using the Internet, the Eero Pro 6E mesh system is ideal. The only other system worth looking at is Netgear’s excellent Orbi range, although the Orbi units are considerably larger than the Eero devices.

Pricing & Availability: The Amazon Eero Pro 6E mesh networking system three-pack is available now and costs $549 / £549 / €629.99.

More info: Eero.com

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