Internet connectivity is crucial in completing our everyday tasks and although Wi-Fi technology is improving exponentially, the equipment that is still being used in homes is decades old. The latest Eero Wi-Fi system aims to bring new hardware to home Wi-Fi setup to tackle dead spots, interference and weak signals.
According to Eero, “We demand a lot from our Wi-Fi setup however we are still stuck with technology that is years old.” The company also said that the equipment being used is ‘shockingly similar to what we had in the 90s.’
The company wrote in its blog post, “We started by acknowledging that it’s just not possible to cover an entire home with a single router. It’s not how Wi-Fi radio waves work? – the farther they have to travel and the more obstructions they encounter, the less reliable your connection becomes.”
Technically, Eero is not a router but rather a system or an array of multiple units that spread out through the house and create a mesh sort of network. The main unit or the first unit in the mesh is connected to either the existing cable or a DSL modem through a Gigabit WAN port that is capable of sensing autonomously and can be used on its own as well. Afterwards, the units can be simply added as per requirement and simply need to be plugged into power sockets to begin functioning.
When the connections are complete, these Eero units will create a network mesh that will allow data transfer between the multiple Eero units by selecting the best route before it is sent to the router via the wired connection. Providing multiple routes for data transfer and by allowing switching between 5 and 2.4 GHz frequency bands upon detecting interference, Eero claims that the system it offers is faster and far more reliable when compared with a standalone router.
The system uses 2 radios to enhance the speed with one radio dedicated to the communication taking place between mobile devices and computers while the other is reserved for communication between Eero devices. Reportedly, a mesh network of 3 devices is good enough for an average sized home, however, a total of 10 can be used if required.
Apart from enhancing the speed and reliability of the home’s Wi-Fi setup, Eero also claims that the system is quite easy to use, secure and somewhat self-managing as well. It has a companion app for Android and iOS. Users can check the speed of a network via the app and there is an option to allow guest invitations to be sent out. Notifications can be received when devices connect to the network. The Eero unit comes with a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB flash storage and 512MB of RAM. The unit can be pre-ordered for $125 or 3 units can be ordered for $299. Shipment is slated for mid-2015.
Watch the video below and tell us what you think in the comments section.
