Amazon Eero 6

Takes things slowly

Wi-fi 6 mesh system is a slow spreader

MESH WI-FI ❘ £279 from Amazon www.snipca.com/39025

Unobtrusive and easy to set up, but slower than rivals

Amazon’s Eero is a mesh Wi-fi system, consisting of one router and two extenders, to spread your Wi-fi signal further through your home. This latest version works with Wi-fi 6, which increases the speed of the network for any devices that support it, but is otherwise identical to the previous model and still works with older devices.

The Eero 6 is designed to connect directly to a broadband modem, replacing your existing router. If you’re currently using a combined modem/ router, you can turn your old Wi-fi off and hook the Eero router up to a spare Ethernet socket on your existing device.

Both router and extenders have shiny white plastic cases, with an unobtrusive footprint of 99x97mm, each powered by a USB-C socket at the rear. The only other connectors are a pair of sockets on the back of the router unit. One of these connects to your modem or existing router, while the other lets you connect a single wired device. The extenders don’t have Ethernet ports, so the Eero 6 can’t support wired devices in other rooms. Amazon recommends that Eero 6 units should be placed no more than 15 metres apart.

To set up and manage your new mesh network you have to use the mobile app on Android or IOS. This has some great features, including the option to receive a notification whenever a new device connects for the first time. This makes it all but impossible for an intruder to sneak on to your network without your knowledge. It also supports parental controls.

The Eero 6 is a dual-band mesh system with a single 5GHZ radio, used for both exchanging data with connected units and for forwarding traffic to and from other devices. In our data-transfer speed tests it fell behind more expensive mesh

SPECIFICATIONS

Dual-band Wi-fi 6 mesh • AX1800 speed rating • 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports (including 1x WAN) • 61x97x99mm (HXDXW) • One-year warranty www.snipca.com/39025 systems that use tri-band, such as Netgear’s Orbi. However, it was also slower than the cheaper Tp-link Deco X20 system (£230 from www.snipca.com/39027). If you live in a small home, it’s worth considering similarly priced Wi-fi 6 standalone routers, such as the Asus RT-AX88U (£280 from www.snipca. com/39028). In our tests, this was faster than Eero, even to distant parts of the house.

Has Wi-fi 6 and is easy to set up and use, but it’s much slower than other Wi-fi 6 systems at similar prices

VERDICT ALTERNATIVE

Tp-link Deco X20 £230 0 This alternative threenode Wi-fi 6 mesh system is cheaper and performed better in our tests

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