Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent system with significantly faster speeds that the 6 Pro
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 25 February 2023
I purchased the three router set to try and improve the speed I was getting from a BT Smart Hub 2 with four of their BT Complete WiFi Extension units linked to a 900Mbs fibre to the premises Openreach connection. I also wanted to achieve greater network stability and prevent various devices regularly dropping their WiFi connection.
I have a lot of wifi enabled devices - close to 100 which connect to the network including Sky Q boxes, TVs, laptops and PCs, Alexa smart speakers, security cameras and more. I also have a lot of smart home tech that connects via a Philips Hue hub, a Yale Hub and a SmartThings hub. I suspect that the airwaves are rather crowded therefore.
The existing BT system is fairly useless. The wired speed into the router is consistently around 950Mbs download and 100Mbs upload and a wired connection to the router replicates this speed pretty well. BTs WiFi technology simply isn’t capable of transmitting anything close to 900Mbs though which makes me wonder why they bundle it with the Smart Hub 2. Very close to the router I might get 350Mbs but typically around the house 150Mbs is standard with sometimes the speed dropping to 50 or less. My main Sky Q box, right beside an extender disc, continually drops its connection and needs to be reset and even when working has a slow speed.
This has all changed with the Pro 6E. Before this I tried a Pro 6 eero system but sent it back as the network was more stable but speeds were disappointing. The 6E delivers stability but also speed. Close to the wired router I get around 800Mbs but around the house tend to get 400 to 500Mbs - a dramatic improvement. Surprisingly I don’t see a vast speed difference with the few 6E enabled devices I have compared with older hardware.
The kit is expensive but is regularly discounted. It’s still expensive then though. However, BT sell the Complete WiFi discs for around £100 each and, although they provide the router, that would cost £200+. So in reality I had already invested a lot in WiFi infrastructure without the benefits of speeds that FTTP should deliver.
I have not experienced any of the issues described concerning Sky Q connectivity. All my Sky boxes are connected, stable, and fast. Nor have I had any problems with setting the system up with BT Broadband. I would have disposed of the BT Smart Hub completely as the eero can be plugged directly into the broadband socket into the house but with BT as an ISP but as I have BTs Digital Voice phone service I have to plug one handset into the BT router. It’s irritating that the BT router can’t be put into bridge mode but I’ve simply disabled the wireless function of the BT box and a Ethernet cable connects the FTTP plug to the BT router and one of the Ethernet ports on that router is connected to an eero. Set up was very easy compared to BT, and a lot easier that a Netgear Mesh system I used to have. It simply works and I hate messing around with WiFi so all is good.
I have one significant complaint about the eero system, and that is to maintain reasonable security and full functionality I have to pay £10 a month or £99 annually for the eero+ subscription. I really don’t want to do this and Amazon should make it a lot clearer that a subscription is more or less necessary. Amazon have also discontinued the ‘light’ subscription that I think was £30 a year.
Overall though eero works well for me with lots of devices connected and a fairly challenging infrastructure linking everything together. Five stars.
