3 Reasons: Eero for Residential Wi-Fi

Prologue: My style of writing for these posts is not exactly what one might call, "succinct."

I'm hopeful that limiting myself from the start to discussing 3 main points will help rein in the keyboard.

Depending on the results, this could be the first in a recurring "3 Reasons" series.

Facilitating a good Wi-Fi experience in the homes we live in today presents a challenging problem. Many of our homes were built, and even remodeled (some multiple times), long before "Wi-Fi performance" was a phrase that had ever been uttered.

A wireless "mesh" Wi-Fi system is the solution we apply to this problem today, and for the past few years I've been partial to products from Eero. For most homes, the 3-pack will meet the household's needs, but I occasionally suggest purchasing an extra 1-pack to have on-hand in the unlikely event it's needed in challenging environments (e.g., large houses, old houses, lath-and-plaster construction).

• When deployed well, Eero systems work very well. As with all the mesh systems, thoughtful placement of the antennae is crucial. The Eero setup-wizard alerts if the system is not satisfied with the reliability of the link between satellites when you join them to the mesh. The feedback is very informative to an average homeowner installing the system on their own. But even with coaching from the app, I occasionally field calls from people not thrilled with their Eero systems. A home is a dynamic environment, and what the app perceives as a good spot for an antenna may not be a practical location in actual use. Wi-Fi design is both science and art. AI is getting better at the science, but it can't walk around your house having a conversation with you, building a mental picture of how you use your spaces. Unfortunately for me but to Eero's credit, I rarely get a callback from customers about Wi-Fi after I visit and reposition the antennae around the house. By the way, I use the words satellite, antenna/antennae, and base-stations fairly interchangeably when referring to the components of mesh Wi-Fi systems. Eero calls their satellite antennae "leaf nodes" or "leaves."
  

• You can tweak for compatibility, manage the firewall, but not much beyond that. The Eero system is set up and managed from an app on your phone. The amount of information presented is well-suited to a homeowner's need for info: system health overview; Internet-connection health; a list of devices currently using the network. There are a few settings that can be toggled to help older Wi-Fi devices connect to this modern Wi-Fi system. The Eero plugged into the ISP equipment can take over as a firewall, including port-forwarding capabilities. You can set up content-control and speed-limit rules for devices that connect to the network. On the other hand, if you're the type who likes to tinker with settings, Eero might not be for you.
  

• Eero makes it quick and easy for me to install and manage for you. Sometime after I'd installed my first few Eero systems, and after I'd already developed an affinity for their product-lines, I learned that Eero had installation-professionals like me in mind when they designed their app and their setup process. As a registered "Pro Installer," the Eero app functions slightly differently when I log in than it does when the average Joe logs in. Once the initial setup is complete, my view of the app offers visibility of the health-status of all the Eero systems I've deployed, and allows me limited ability to check on and tune settings for you, in the rare event you have trouble with your Wi-Fi. Since I can accomplish the setup and view status using my own account, the customer never has to share passwords with me; does not need to relinquish their phone to me during setup; and can easily revoke my post-deployment visibility if desired since they never shared any passwords.

Epilogue: It appears I might have taken artistic-license with my use of the notion conveyed by the number "3," but I'm working on it.