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Tried eero 6 pro for a mesh network but its not working out as hoped

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BigBillsd

Occasional Visitor
The first issue is I experienced with the eero pro is you must use one of them as your router, otherwise you loose most of their "features", like wpa3, which is a critical feature for me going forward. I have a Cisco router out in the garage and Ethernet cabled from there to the living spaces in the house. I wanted a mesh network that would allow two AP's strategically placed to cover the whole house. The eero covers that but loosing some of the added extras seem a bit short sighted. Currently you have to pay a monthly fee for WPA3, but I cannot even use it due to one of the devices not being a router and have to kludge it and set it up in bridge mode.

I have a TP Link AX21 with smart connect configured as an AP. I am thinking of picking up another one and putting it on the other side of the house where I placed the other eero pro. Both would be connected only via their LAN ports back to the Cisco. I am thinking I could set both up with the same SSID and enable smart connect.

Are there other access points (AX) that would be better for that type of application? With the router requirement seeming to be the norm on mesh equipment I think I am done looking at them.

Thanks, Bill
 
Monthly fee for WPA3?! Perhaps you're referring to the Secure and Secure+ plans, which add additional features (content filtering, blocking ads, etc.). I hope that doesn't include WPA3, esp. since this places no additional burden on eero to support the device(s). It's just a wifi protocol update. As for the other features, I can see why a fee might be involved since these are usually cloud services and/or require on-going updates.

Personally, for the average home user, I see mesh networks as being the latest gimmick. AFAIC, it's a fad like 3D TV that will eventually run its course.
 
Yes, WP3 is part of their Labs area feature, which is provided by their Secure+ subscription. Which requires you use one of their nodes as the router as its disabled in bridge mode. I am turning off the eero pro and putting it back in the box to return it. Sounded too good to be true and was.
 
Yes, WP3 is part of their Labs area feature, which is provided by their Secure+ subscription. Which requires you use one of their nodes as the router as its disabled in bridge mode. I am turning off the eero pro and putting it back in the box to return it. Sounded too good to be true and was.
Are you sure?

Im looking at it now and eero labs is under a different tab to that of eero secure.

Also @eibgrad what makes mesh a fad, just interested in why you think that, I had a asus router previously and recently purchased erro pro 6 and its given me much better coverage in all areas of my house.
I realise there is other ways to do this but I fancied trying the eero and so far 3 weeks or so its been very good. I like the simplicity of eero via the app, not so much the sub for secure though.
 
I have 3 of the 2nd gen eero pro units, currently only using 2. The WPA3 is NOT part of the secure/secure+ feature sets. WPA3 works on both my units without any issues, so I am not sure where the OP got his ideas on how it works. I have no experience with pro 6 units but I am sure they operate the same way. Also I found some info that indicates the 2nd gen eero pro uses Cake for QoS unlike the new eero pro 6 units which use a different method and hence the reason the pro 6 units still have issues with the SQM feature.
 
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I spent a lot of time on a call with support. It is included in the Labs Tab that goes away when put into bridge mode. Any any event, the eero pro is headed back to Amazon as I cannot turn on WPA3 now.
 
I have 3 of the 2nd gen eero pro units, currently only using 2. The WPA3 is NOT part of the secure/secure+ feature sets. WPA3 works on both my units without any issues, so I am not sure where the OP got his ideas on how it works. I have no experience with pro 6 units but I am sure they operate the same way. Also I found some info that indicates the 2nd gen eero pro uses Cake for QoS unlike the new eero pro 6 units which use a different method and hence the reason the pro 6 units still have issues with the SQM feature.
Maybe you can use yours as a router, which is required to use the WPA3 encryption. My demarc is out in the garage, not someplace I want an Access Point broadcasting.
 
Here is where it says you lose eero Labs if you try to use the eero as access points and not use the router functionality.
 

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In any event, are there WiFi 6 AP's out there with wpa3 and maybe other great capabilities? That's really what this thread is about, not about the eero system I cannot use.
 
Are there other access points (AX)
Have you looked into actual AP's vs these "pods"?

I use a Zyxel NWA210AX and it covers 1300 sq ft pretty well. WPA3 is a no cost option as well it's one of the few that supports 160mhz AX throughput. Has a 2.5GE port back to the network for ~1.5gbps throughput over wifi.

There's a couple of management options whether you choose the web GUI or you can use an app but, i think there might be some subscription attached to the app use. They just released some new FW for the AP's this month too that added "Nebula" to the dashboard for app control that wasn't there int he last release. Setting them up in standalone mode for me works best since it doesn't mean having to use the "service" to manage it. If need a couple of them setting them up identical shouldn't be an issue with moving from one to the other.
 
I did just buy a second AX21 and it seems to do what I want. Turned on smart connect and now both bands SSID are the same and I also made both AX21 into APs and used the same SSID and password. Seems to act like a mesh when I move around. Very nice. Maybe I should replace them with faster models like the AX55 or their faster ones.
 
Yes, WP3 is part of their Labs area feature, which is provided by their Secure+ subscription. Which requires you use one of their nodes as the router as its disabled in bridge mode. I am turning off the eero pro and putting it back in the box to return it. Sounded too good to be true and was.
Eero labs is not part of secure+. It is separate and wpa3 can be used without secure+. I use to have it that way. I plan to disable my subscription soon anyways, rebuilding the network with better equipment and a multi-wan router. So I will see if turning it off now will remove it. They may have changed things since amazon bought them which is a reason why I am slowly moving away from them.
 
Eero labs is not part of secure+. It is separate and wpa3 can be used without secure+. I use to have it that way. I plan to disable my subscription soon anyways, rebuilding the network with better equipment and a multi-wan router. So I will see if turning it off now will remove it. They may have changed things since amazon bought them which is a reason why I am slowly moving away from them.
Labs is removed when you switch into bridge mode. I published a screen shot of their webpage explaining that a few posts above.
 
I have 3 of the 2nd gen eero pro units, currently only using 2. The WPA3 is NOT part of the secure/secure+ feature sets. WPA3 works on both my units without any issues, so I am not sure where the OP got his ideas on how it works. I have no experience with pro 6 units but I am sure they operate the same way. Also I found some info that indicates the 2nd gen eero pro uses Cake for QoS unlike the new eero pro 6 units which use a different method and hence the reason the pro 6 units still have issues with the SQM feature.

I was able to buy 2 RT-AC86U units, one I sold a friend last year. Both are newer builds 2019 and 2020 that have worked great for my friend. He recently was able to upgrade is ISP to gigabit and got several wifi 6 devices. He wanted something that would handle the new speed and had wifi 6. I recommended an AX86U which he bought. He sold me the 2 - AC86U units for $150 plus shipping. I set them up along with a TP-Link ER605 to support my dual ISP connection that I had installed. The Asus Dual WAN does not really work. The ER605 works great and is cheap too. I am hopefully done with my network for the time being, at least until I need wifi 7. :)
 

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