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Is the eero the Wi-Fi router you’ve been waiting for?

By Alvin Soon - on 2 Mar 2016, 5:11pm

Is the eero the Wi-Fi router you’ve been waiting for?

If you’re like me, you’ve been frustrated several times by the dark arts of your Wi-Fi router.

Like an encrypted machine constructed by alien spirits, my mysterious Wi-Fi router sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t, sometimes works when restarting, and sometimes listens to me through an interface that looks like a remnant from GeoCtities.

That’s why eero's new Wi-Fi system looks interesting. Instead of using a single router to cover the entire house, eero’s premise is to use a pack of eero routers to envelope the entire home in a wireless “mesh network,” getting rid of dead spots and giving you high performance throughout the house.

(You can also just get one eero router if you think your house is small enough.)

The other neat thing about the eero is that it’s designed to be easy to set up. A smartphone app helps you place the eero routers around the house in the most optimal locations, as well as monitor Wi-Fi usage and speeds.

The routers automatically download the latest security and software updates (anyone who’s had to manually locate and install a router firmware update will know how much of a saver this sounds like).

The eero routers even supposedly run regular checkups and fix themselves when necessary.

Plus, the eero routers don’t look like giant robot spiders, and instead look like normal objects you actually want to put around the house.

So far, the eero Wi-Fi router reviews have been positive. Time says that, “Eero’s product takes the pain out of setting up Wi-Fi and delivers fast performance,” Engadget calls it “the home WiFi solution I’ve been waiting for,” and the eero currently has an average four-star review across 159 reviews on Amazon (you can currently only get it from Amazon).

Every review calls out one big minus point though: The eero isn’t cheap. An individual eero Wi-Fi router costs US$199, a 3-pack costs US$499. Ouch.

If you’re not in a rush to get the next newest router, D-Link has already announced its next-generation routers based on the same idea of a mesh network, and it’s a good bet that more will be coming.

But while the old-timers can certainly make hardware, I’m worried over whether they can get the software as easy to use as the new-timers, which include eero’s router, as well as Google’s OnHub. What makes these new guys appealing isn’t just that they promise Wi-Fi performance, but that they also promise to demystify the dark arts of Wi-Fi and make the damned thing just work.

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