WiFi 7 may well be the latest and fastest WiFi, but an upgrade isn’t always cost friendly. The latest from Amazon’s Eero could fix that, or some of it anyway.
Getting better network access at home often means an upgrade for the home WiFi, and that’s something a shift to the latest wireless networking technology can assist with.
While your situation may differ, home WiFi systems don’t typically run on the latest wireless networking standards, often leaving you with a slower connection a more modern phone or laptop won’t be able to max out with. The situation is sometimes worsened by the router you may have been given from your internet company, your ISP, because it may too be a little older than expected.
These days, the fastest speeds and greater WiFi coverage often come from routers running WiFi 6E and WiFi 7, the latter of which is newer and a little better again.
However, like all upgrades, making the jump to a new WiFi technology often comes with a hefty upgrade price. You only need to look at the several thousand dollar cost for mesh-based WiFi 7 in the past year or so.
Fortunately, more is coming out that aims to let you jump onto the new connections without parting with as much from your wallet.
Amazon’s Eero brand of wireless routers is looking to that category with two WiFi 7 mesh models on the way to Australia doing things a little more wallet-friendly than its high-priced sibling.
Mesh technology relies on the Venn diagram-esque technology of “mesh networking” that creates pockets of WiFi that interact, sending you to the better wireless router based on where you are in the home. The latest Eero 7 options keep mesh in play, but change a few features to keep the price down.
In the Eero Pro 7, Amazon is keeping the tri-band approach to WiFi 7 the technology is known for, providing as much as 3.9Gbps of wireless speeds over the 2.4, 5, and 6GHz bands, essentially covering the kids and low-end devices (2.4), faster needs (5), and the latest devices (6).
The Eero Pro 7 can be found in a single device able to cover up to 190 square meters and work with up to 200 devices, but thanks to it being a mesh device, it can also work with two other Eero Pro 7 mesh units and cover up to 560 square metres with three times the device limit.
Priced from $529.99 for one and $1199.99 for three, the Eero Pro 7 retains one of the similarly high prices you might expect for WiFi 7 in the home.
If you’re looking for something a little less exy, there’s also the Eero 7. A little smaller, it will cover the same 190 square metres for one and 560 square metres for three, essentially using the same antennas.
Where Eero changes things up is the maximum speed and bands, covering roughly half the wireless speed at 1.8Gbps, and only communicating on the 2.4 and 5GHz networks. In short, if you want WiFi 7’s range but don’t necessarily the extra high-speed band, you might opt for the smaller mode.
Both models use a single network name regardless of what band you use, with support for proprietary technology to help keep the signal strong, such as “TrueChannel” for automatic network channel selection, “TrueRoam” for directing devices to the right device, and “TrueMesh” to find the fastest path in the network. Much of this sounds like the norm for mesh WiFi network devices on the whole in Australia, but with new names from Eero.
The point, however, is more that there are now more options for WiFi 7 at home, with Amazon adding to them.
“Whether customers prioritise affordability or premium features, our lineup meets every household’s needs – from powering home offices and streaming across multiple devices to staying connected with family overseas,” said Jacqueline Lipman, Managing Director for Eero in Australia.
While Amazon’s shift into network is still fairly recent in Australia, it does tend to lend well to families with recent Amazon Echo units in homes, largely because some Echo devices work as a booster for Eero WiFi.
Representatives for Eero confirmed the same is true with the Eero 7 and Eero Pro 7, with select Echo models acting as a WiFi extender when used in the same network, handy if an Echo is being used as an alarm clock in the kids room.
They won’t necessarily boost the speed, but they may improve the WiFi signal overall.
In Australia, both models are on their way to stores, with the Eero 7 and Eero Pro 7 set to be sold through the likes of JB HiFi and Officeworks, as swell as Amazon, which also owns and operates the Eero brand.
