Here is why I selected an Eero mesh over a standalone router

One of many greatest choices you may make when establishing a house community is selecting whether or not to go the mesh route or with a standalone Wi-Fi router. I believe lots of people have no less than a imprecise sense of why they’d need a mesh system, however then see the costs on the market and keep away from wanting into issues additional. Why purchase a two- or three-pack of routers when one will be costly sufficient? And naturally, we have all been conditioned to suppose the next Wi-Fi spec is mechanically a very powerful factor. If you’re on the retailer, selecting up a single Wi-Fi 7 router could look like the wisest transfer.

I have been firmly within the mesh camp for a number of years, although, first with the Google Nest Wifi, and now the Eero Pro 6E. I am not making an attempt to endorse Amazon or Eero as a model, or the Professional 6E as a mannequin — I simply thought it would be value speaking about why I might purchase the identical system immediately, even with some high-quality standalone Wi-Fi 7 routers hitting cabinets.

How I turned a mesh Wi-Fi die-hard

Dealing with the realities of a full-sized dwelling

After I was an Austin apartment-dweller, Wi-Fi protection was a non-issue. I am certain some rooms had higher reception than others, however no gadget ever struggled a lot, whilst I added gadgets like sensible TVs into the combo, and my now-wife moved in. If something, I used to be extra involved about web suppliers — there was extra affect in switching from Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) to Grande Communications than the rest I used to be doing on my community. I caught with standalone routers for some time.

The turning level got here when my spouse and I purchased our first home. Concurrently, I began testing sensible dwelling equipment, and a few of these simply didn’t behave as anticipated. The problematic ones had weak efficiency, or obtained kicked off Wi-Fi totally every now and then. It was driving me up the wall. It is one factor in case your telephone briefly loses Wi-Fi, since it may at all times hook up with mobile. In case your doorbell goes down, you would possibly miss an vital package deal — or robbers.

That is after I realized our dwelling probably had useless zones, or no less than areas that may as nicely be useless. Enter the Nest Wifi, which ensured that each flooring of our home had respectable sign. As a bonus, the system’s satellite tv for pc router doubled as a Google Assistant speaker. Our son completely beloved messing with this as soon as he turned sufficiently old to grasp “OK Google” instructions (and stopped saying “Gooble”).

It is onerous to overstate how vital mesh tech will be in a multi-floor home. There’s simply no getting across the sign drop altering flooring appears to trigger. Some gadgets could proceed to work wonderful, after all, however something that is bandwidth-hungry or on the perimeter might be going to endure. Actually, I would not wish to attempt 4K streaming or on-line motion video games if a standalone router was each a ground down and on the other aspect of my home — Wi-Fi wasn’t at all times excellent on my gaming PC, even when it was a number of toes away.

The Nest Wifi did not make things better utterly. As I found, as a result of the product was primarily based on Wi-Fi 5, it was periodically kicking gadgets offline anyway to create space for brand spanking new connections. The one answer was to improve to one thing with Wi-Fi 6 or 6E, which might tolerate much more simultaneous site visitors.

After I purchased the Eero Professional 6E in 2022, it was ludicrously costly. It nonetheless is, actually — a two-pack is $400, and a three-pack is $550. However now my dwelling is totally coated, and the one sensible dwelling points I’ve are associated to particular gadgets and platforms. Apple HomeKit particularly appears to determine at a whim which gadgets it’s going to see and when, even supposing my spouse and I’ve collected a number of Residence Hubs within the type of HomePods and Apple TV 4Ks. Amazon Alexa and Google Residence do exactly wonderful, as do apps like LIFX and Philips Hue.

I purchased the Professional 6E with the thought of constructing my dwelling as bulletproof as potential, and certainly, I am unable to see myself upgrading to a brand new system for a number of extra years. Every router even acts as a Matter controller and a Thread border gadget, so there should not be any concern with increasing my sensible dwelling equipment, aside from HomeKit assist.

Are there any downsides to mesh techniques versus standalone routers?

It is not simply the value tag

I’ve already addressed the problem of price, however an adjunct to that’s that for those who do not want the additional protection mesh techniques present, chances are you’ll be unnecessarily sacrificing efficiency to seek out an inexpensive bundle. The most effective standalone routers max out a Wi-Fi spec’s bandwidth, and provide a wholesome collection of ports, together with 4 or extra Ethernet jacks for wired web entry. Every of my Eero routers is proscribed to a single USB-C port for energy, and two Ethernet jacks, solely considered one of which is rated at 2.5Gbps as an alternative of 1Gbps. That is wonderful for me — however you is perhaps disillusioned for those who have been wanting to make use of USB drives or printers, or keep away from shopping for a swap to deal with a number of gadgets in the identical room.

Mesh routers additionally are inclined to merge all of their wi-fi bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, and/or 6GHz) underneath a single SSID (community ID). That is preferable in most situations, because it permits gadgets to float seamlessly from router to router. “Most conditions” is the operative time period, although — 2.4GHz-only gadgets can generally get misplaced within the shuffle, particularly older sensible dwelling equipment. Standalone routers provide the selection of separate SSIDs for various bands, and also you would possibly get a extra dependable setup for those who can drive your entire gadgets onto the bands they’re most suited to. I ought to be aware that hassle is not assured, it is simply one thing to be ready for.

In the end, then, how are you aware which path to take? I might counsel condo dwellers mechanically go the standalone route. Past that, a mesh system ought to no less than be in your shortlist, since even a bungalow could profit if its ground plan is broad sufficient. I additionally discover that aside from excessive situations like downloading a 50GB PC recreation, I do not want the height bandwidth fashionable routers have to supply — it is extra vital to have a constantly current connection. So far as ports are involved, Ethernet switches are grime low-cost lately.