CHOICE verdict
The Amazon Eero 3-pack is a simple way to enhance your wireless coverage throughout your home. It's easy to set up, the app is clear and simple and you don't need to have any other Amazon products to make the system work. But for expert users who want to customise their home network setup, this might not be the product for you.
Price: $429
Contact: amzn.to/3o4mRdX
The Amazon Eero is a mesh router that provides complete, whole-home Wi-Fi connectivity, enhancing your existing internet connection and taking the guesswork and hassle out of dealing with Wi-Fi 'dead zones'.
We get hands-on with the Eero to see if its worth buying.
The 3-pack system should be more than enough to expand the Wi-Fi range of an average-sized home (up to 460 square metres).
What is a mesh router?
Most homes have to deal with Wi-Fi dead zones, where the internet suddenly slows to a trickle compared to other areas of the home.
A mesh router delivers whole-home Wi-Fi coverage by using multiple nodes (also known as satellites) that have their own dedicated connection to the router. They can help improve any black spot by creating what is essentially a Wi-Fi dome around your house.
All you need is a spare power point and your Wi-Fi area is expanded. Mesh systems differ from one another through wireless performance, ease of use and the ability to customise to suit different network environments.
The Amazon Eero can be classed as a 'set and forget' mesh router. If you follow the instructions on the app, you should be able to improve your existing Wi-Fi coverage quickly and easily.
A traditional wireless router (often included in your NBN or home broadband package) attempts to punch the wireless signal throughout the home from one point. This may include pushing the signal through multiple rooms, brick walls and various doors.
Wi-Fi repeaters, boosters and extenders can increase the coverage area of your wireless network. But they can be fiddly to set up and don't always provide an integrated solution, with users often having to reconnect to different points throughout the home.
Once the app is installed, simply follow the instructions and you'll be up and running with faster Wi-Fi throughout the home.
Setting it all up
Although some Amazon products such as the Echo smart speaker and other smart devices force you to use Amazon's Alexa voice assistant (hey Alexa, what's the time?), the Amazon Eero mesh router doesn't care what you use. The Eero works with any smart home environment, be it Google's (hey Google) or even Apple's HomeKit (hey Siri).
This is great news for people who don't want any other Amazon products and just want an easy-to-use mesh router that allows you to watch videos in parts of the home that were previously dead zones.
The quick install instructions inside the box simply tell you to download the app and follow the instructions. You need to create an Amazon account and supply your mobile number and email address.
It sends a verification code to your email, and then you're instructed to disconnect from your Wi-Fi and use your mobile data connection for the final step.
The installation occurred as expected and the set-up process is repeated for the other 'nodes' to be placed throughout the rest of the home. If you try and place the nodes too far apart, a warning from the app lets you know that it needs to be closer and checks the Wi-Fi performance before continuing the set-up.
Network experts may be frustrated by the simplicity of this process, as once the Eero is set up the only real changes you can make to the system are the SSID (network name) and password. With a little more effort you can change the IP address but it seems to be hidden on purpose to discourage this action.
Unlike more sophisticated mesh routers, you can't split the network bands into 2.4GHz and 5GHz, which could be an issue if you have several smart lights in the home, as many of these operate on the 2.4GHz band only.
The guest access feature means you can give internet access to friends and visitors without giving them your password, and while there aren't any parental controls, you do have the ability to set schedules for specific devices.
Handy tips help you put each Eero satellite or 'nodes' in the best place to create the strongest Wi-Fi coverage.
Features and performance
The good thing about the Amazon Eero is that there's not much to it to confuse users who simply wants to expand their Wi-Fi reach.
There's no speaker in the units and no voice assistant to worry about. Once the mesh router is set up, the only thing you need to do is change the password every so often and alter the schedule on devices to make sure your kids aren't streaming videos late at night.
As far as performance is concerned, it isn't as fast as the top performing models in our mesh router test, but if you have dead Wi-Fi spots, the Amazon Eero will deliver a much better wireless experience for everyone in your household.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
