Verdicts
Offering decent and stable speeds at a relatively low cost, the Eero 6 is a great budget mesh system that uses the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology. Integration with Alexa is neat, and the cheap subscription option delivers powerful security, filtering and ad-blocking. It’s quite a limited system when it comes to Ethernet ports, though, and there are faster tri-band mesh systems available.
Pros
- Decent speeds
- Integrates with Alexa
- Neat subscription offers
Cons
- Few Ethernet ports
- No Google Assistant support
Key Features
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Wi-FiA dual-band Wi-Fi 6 mesh system, using the mid-range AX1800 specification. It’s fast, but those who stream a lot and have more devices may need a more powerful system.
Introduction
Eero, an Amazon company, is known for its budget mesh systems. The Eero 6 is part of that category, although it’s a low-cost mesh system that uses the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard for better speeds and more features.
Among the growing crowd of low-cost Wi-Fi 6 options, the Eero 6 distinguishes itself with Alexa integration and some smart subscription options that add additional features. Good performance helps make this a winner, but the modest number of Ethernet ports is disappointing.
Design and features – Small and easy to set up, but the lack of Ethernet ports on the Eero 6 is a shame
- Very easy to set up
- Some neat smart home features
- Few Ethernet ports
From a distance, the small (99 x 97 x 61mm) Eero 6 devices looks a bit like a key plucked from an oversized keyboard. I quite like it, and the small size means the units can at least be placed easily around your home.
There are a range of options available, depending on the size of your home. A single router (£ 139) is good for up to 140 square meters, with one extender (£ 219) taking this up to 280 square meters, and a system with two extenders (£ 279) covering 460 square meters. Additional extender satellites can be bought for 99 each.
Although all of the devices look the same, there’s one major difference between the router and extender: Ethernet ports. With the router, you get two Gigabit Ethernet ports on the rear. One to connect to the internet and the other for wired devices. It’s likely that you’ll need to buy an Ethernet switch.
The extenders come with a USB-C power input and but no Ethernet ports. That’s quite restrictive: I’d expect to see at least one, either for wired devices or so that you can use Ethernet backhaul, where you connect satellites using cables. This type of connection is particularly useful if you have a room that’s out of wireless range, such as a garden office. If you need this feature, the Netgear Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System is a better option. As it stands, the Eero 6 mesh system has to use a wireless connection between satellites.
Configuration is simple using the Eero app, which you can sign into using your Amazon account – this links your mesh to your Alexa settings, too. You’ll then be taken through the quick wizard to install the system in your home, including setting up a secure wireless network.
Once connected, you can dive into the more advanced settings. HomeKit support is present, letting you add your router into your Apple Home account. Once added, Eero can restrict smart devices from communicating with other Wi-Fi devices for security. You can then choose how to have your HomeKit devices communicate, even blocking internet access for some of them for security. Given the prevalence of smart home devices and the potential threat they pose, this is a powerful tool to keep your home safe. It’s worth reading a bit more about how Eero works with HomeKit.
Toggle on Amazon Alexa support and you can voice-control your system. This opens up the Eero 6 as a Zigbee and Thread hub, too, enabling you to connect such devices as Hue lights to the system directly, without the need for an additional hub. It’s a feature that some Echo speakers come with, including the Echo Show 10 (3rd Generation). There’s no support for Google Assistant, however.
For most people, it’s the extras that make the Eero system stand out. There’s the option of Eero Secure (£ 2.99 a month), which gets you additional security, blocking internet threats to devices on your network – but not outside of it, as you get with Netgear Armor on products such as the Orbi RBK852.
Network-wide ad-blocking and content filtering are two very useful tools. With the latter, you can set up profiles and assign devices for each person, selecting the level of internet filtering and even adding automatic downtimes. Filtering is easy to set up and powerful, particularly for dealing with children and their multiple devices.
Upgrade to Eero Secure + (£ 9.99 a month) and you get all of the same things, plus subscriptions to 1Password (password manager), Encrypt.me (VPN) and Malwarebytes (security software). If you need these things, it’s a good price, but most people will likely stick with the cheaper option.
Since the Eero 6 is built to be simple to use, you don’t get much in the way of advanced features. For example, it is not possible to change the channel that the wireless networks use. This won’t be a problem for most people, but those wanting greater control will likely need to look at a different mesh system.
Performance – The Eero 6 is surprisingly quick for a dual-band mesh system
- Decent performance compared to the competition
- Very fast close up
- Not as quick at distance
The Eero 6 uses dual-band AX1800, which offers two-stream 2.4GHz networking (maximum of 574Mbps) and two-stream 5GHz networking (maximum of 1201Mbps). All bandwidth has to be shared between clients and for communication between satellites; Spend more on an Orbi system and you get tri-band networking, with a dedicated network for communication between satellites.
Dual-band systems are usually slower than their tri-band counterparts, particularly at range, but the Eero 6 proved impressive for the price. Testing with a Wi-Fi 6 network, I saw communication speeds of 552.07Mbps at close range, which is better than the dual-band Orbi RBK352 and TP-Link Deco X20.
At 5m on the second floor, I saw the Eero 6 manage 302.36Mbps, and at 10m on the second floor, I saw speeds of 147.31Mbps (the only test where the dual-band Orbi did better). Performance was good in the kitchen, too, where I don’t normally get a signal – I managed throughputs of 164.58Mbps.
What’s good about these results are that they’re both comparatively quick and also stable, showing good network coverage.
Conclusion
Easy to set up and easy to configure, the Eero 6 is a powerful dual-band Wi-Fi 6 system that offers good coverage and stable speeds. If you need to connect satellites via Ethernet, the cheaper Netgear Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System is a better choice, and for the absolute best performance, the Netgear Orbi RBK852 is far faster. You can find other alternatives in the guide to the best wireless routers.
Best Offers
Should you buy it?
Simple to set up and configure, with decent (and stable) speeds, this is a great budget Wi-Fi 6 system that will suit most households.
If you need more speed or more wired device support, the Eero 6 isn’t the right product for you; there are mesh systems with more features.
Verdicts
Offering decent and stable speeds at a relatively low cost, the Eero 6 is a great budget mesh system that uses the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology. Integration with Alexa is neat, and the cheap subscription option delivers powerful security, filtering and ad-blocking. It’s quite a limited system when it comes to Ethernet ports, though, and there are faster tri-band mesh systems available.
FAQs
The Eero 6 is the newer product and supports the new Wi-Fi 6 standard.
Trusted Reviews Test Data
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5GHz (close)
5GHz (first floor)
5GHz (second floor)
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Specifications
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