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Eero is an Amazon company, and its routers come with Alexa support. Activate the Eero skill and you can pause the internet with a voice command through your Echo device, which is useful when your child doesn’t get off the computer to eat dinner. The Eero 6 router supports it The matter and Thread and can pull double duty as a ZigBee smart home hub in the same way that Echo devices can, allowing you to directly connect some smart lighting, smart locks and other ZigBee devices.
There are two other tricks that make the Eero 6 systems attractive. If you have an Echo (4th Gen), Echo Dot (4th or 5th Gen), or Echo Dot with clock (4th or 5th Gen) smart speaker, you can acts as a Wi-Fi extenderwhich offers an extra 1,000 square meters of coverage at speeds up to 100 Mbps for up to 10 devices. Eero also offers a Internet Backup option, so you can add multiple backup networks (Wi-Fi or hot spot) to keep you online if your main wired network goes down.
Eero’s simplicity appeals to anyone who hates digging into settings, but there is a cost. You won’t find it Quality of service functions to prioritize activities, and you cannot separate bands. A final gripe with the base Eero system I tested was a comparatively slow transfer speed, though this wasn’t a problem for higher-end systems.
Currently, there are four Eero systems on the market worth considering, offering a largely similar experience. The first two are dual-band systems (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). People with internet connections up to 500 Mbps can go with the regular Eero 6. If you have a faster connection, up to 1 Gbps, and your home is smaller than 4500 square feet, then the Eero 6+ ($300) is the system to choose. People with larger properties or above-average demands (many devices and people using the internet simultaneously) should consider Eero Pro 6E ($550) (7/10, WIRED Recommends), a tri-band system that supports the 2.4-GHz, 5-GHz, and 6-GHz bands. The Eero Pro 6 has been discontinued.
U Try the Max 7 ($1,700) (7/10, WIRED Review) is their flagship Wi-Fi 7 option, which boasts four Ethernet ports, two rated at 10 Gbps and two at 2.5 Gbps, but it will be overkill for most people right now. You can dig deeper into the differences in ours Eero buying guide. But whatever model you choose, keep an eye out for frequent discounts. All Eero systems are compatible with each other, making it easy to expand your network.
The best value
Affordable and compact, the ZenWiFi XD5 is a solid alternative to our top pick for more limited needs or budgets. Refreshingly, you don’t need to create an account to set up and use this mesh network. Each of the three units features two Gigabit Ethernet ports and can be wall mounted. Basic security (AiProtection Classic) and parental controls are at no extra cost, and there is support for AiMesh, so you can mix and match other Asus routers.
Performance was smooth and reliable during my testing, with some impressively fast results for the price. I downloaded a 30GB game in less than eight minutes. While this is a dual-band system, there is support for 160-MHz channels on the 5-GHz band. Asus says a 3-pack can cover up to 5,000 square feet, but speeds drop as you move away from a router. To squeeze the best performance out of the XD5, or any mesh system, connect the main router and nodes with Ethernet for wired backhaul.
