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Adding a 2nd router, will it work?

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alan128

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I plan to add a second wifi router to our home. I currently have a Spectrum/CharterModem, and an eero router. I have a 10 camera outdoor wireless system made by Arlo, along with many other wifi devices such as a simplisafe security alarm, a ring doorbell, smart tv’s, Amazon Echo’s, and iphones/ipads. I plan to run the Arlo system only on the second router. Would you anticipate any issues with this plan? Will it help? Presently, the Arlo system struggles to stay connected to the wifi, so it seems like giving it a dedicated router makes sense to me. Would I need to buy another eero router, or could I buy any brand? Any pitfalls with my plan? Ideas and suggestions welcome. Thanks.
 
Is your Arlo devices having trouble due to weak wifi signal? If so, adding a second router that is closer to the Arlo devices will help.

If weak wifi is the problem, then it sounds like you need an AP (access point) more than you need a router. Do you intend to a wired connection between your current router and the proposed new router/AP? If you can't do a wired connection, then a repeater may be a solution.

Adding a second router will work, but it also introduces another layer of NAT. It will also isolate the devices behind the new router - which may be wanted (keeps the arlo devices from snooping your network). However, if the Arlo devices need to talk to a NAS or the like on your main router, you will need to setup some firewall rules on your new router.
 
Would I need to buy another eero router, or could I buy any brand?

What is your ISP speed and what eero model - first eero of eero pro? eero is about simplicity and if it works well for you, add another for better compatibility. I don't think you can assign clients to specific APs with eero. A second eero in a right place may fix your connectivity issues though.
 
@alan128 - Since you already have an Eero base unit, I would simply add a second Eero and let the clients associate with whichever node is most reachable. This will keep the overall solution as simple as possible (Eero doesn't support selective SSID broadcasting, but you shouldn't need it).

Also, if you haven't yet, make sure to enable "Optimize for Conferencing & Gaming" in the Eero Labs section of the phone app -- this will activate SQM QoS between nodes (and out to the internet, if internet is <500Mb/s), which will keep all traffic as fairly balanced and low-latency as possible at all times.
 

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