Setup: Eero

Among all the routers I’ve tested, this one is the easiest and fastest to set up. Because the instructions walk you through every step, they are easy to follow. The placement tips Eero gives to improve the signal are useful whenever things are not working properly.

I’ve installed Eero multiple times. My latest installation of two Eero Pro 6 nodes took me less than five minutes. My parents are the only ones I trust to install the mesh system without my help.

 

Setup: Orbi

Comparing Eero vs Orbi, the orbi typically takes longer to setup, but the current setup process using the phone app is straightforward.

It took me 10 minutes to set up two Orbi RBK752 nodes, and another 5 minutes to update the firmware.

While setting up the router and the satellite simultaneously in the past, I encountered errors. Usually, I recommend getting the network up and running with one router first, then adding satellites, but this shouldn’t be necessary anymore unless there are issues.

 

Eero vs Orbi Built-in Software:

Software: Eero

Although Eero’s app has a lot of features, it’s very easy to use.

Each member of your household can be assigned a profile with “Family Profiles.” Once you group each person’s devices together, you can pause or schedule access to all of them. Parents can limit how much time their children spend on the internet via parental controls.

There are advanced settings in the app, including reservations, port forwarding, and DNS configurations. Because Orbi allows you to change so many settings, Eero’s defaults are smart.

Your bandwidth usage can be tracked in real-time or per week as a cumulative number.

Eero Pro 6 will create a firewall between your smart devices and your network if one of them is compromised.

 

Does Eero have any downsides?

As with most mesh WiFi systems, Eero operates via the cloud. Aside from the lack of a web interface, Eero doesn’t have one either, but since the app is so well designed, it’s hard to understand why someone would need one.

 

How does Eero Secure work?

You can subscribe to Eero Secure for $3/month. An activity center, safe filtering, better security, and an ad blocker are all included. Additionally, Eero Secure provides a more advanced bandwidth usage feature that shows daily and monthly totals.

The service is a great option for parents who want more control over their children’s internet usage, but I would not recommend it to people without children unless you’re interested in the extensive bandwidth interface.

Eero Secure+ costs $10 per month. Besides Eero Secure, you also get three security app accounts: 1Password password manager, Encrypt.me VPN service, and MalwareBytes antivirus protection.

 

Built-in Software of Orbi

My network is up and running every time I launch the Orbi app, even if I see the “Router Not Set Up” message. Although it’s just a lag in communication between the app and the router, it’s irritating nonetheless. When I start the app, even without lag, I am often logged out of my Orbi account.

Once in the app, the interface looks horrible, and there isn’t much you can do, beyond naming devices, pausing them, and rebooting the system. The Orbi app does not offer parental controls or DNS settings.

However, there are some positives when comparing Eero vs Orbi.

There is a web-based interface for Orbi that allows you to customize any setting that you want (like a Netgear router).

Eero also requires internet access to function, whereas this software does not. In Orbi, there is a “Traffic Meter” that records your bandwidth for a week or month, but it is confusing, hard to read, and cannot be filtered.

 

Does Orbi have a subscription service?

You can subscribe to Netgear Armor for $70 a year. This anti-phishing program warns you about bad sites and protects you against phishing attacks. You are forced into their free trial without your permission and there are obnoxious ads every time you open the app. After a few weeks, I stopped using the trial because it blocked many legitimate websites.

Netgear partnered with Disney to provide parental controls. Circle with Disney offers most of the same parental controls that come with Eero for $5.

 

Eero vs Orbi Performance

How fast is Eero Pro 6?

I have a maximum internet speed of 120Mbps, and I was wondering if it would work for me. With two Eero Pro 6 nodes set up, I was able to maximize coverage in almost every spot in my house.

The Ero Pro 6 has the AX4200 rating, which means it can support more than 1Gbps, but that is not a realistic speed when connected wirelessly in a mesh configuration. When connected directly to Eero, you have access to gigabit speeds (assuming you pay for gigabit).

It should cover approximately 5,000 square feet with a two-node configuration.

My MacBook Pro was connected via Ethernet to the Eero Pro 6 and an iPerf3 server was run to test wireless throughput. With my iPhone 12 Pro, I tested the throughput with the iPerf3 application.

The layout and test locations at my house are different from yours, so you can use my numbers as a baseline.

With two Eero Pro 6 nodes, I averaged 540Mbps when testing from my ten designated locations. With the main router only ten feet away, I was able to average 742Mbps.

 

How stable is Eero Pro 6:

Device switching and stability are excellent.

Ero Pro 6 uses a multi-channel mesh network, which means that all three bands are used to communicate from server to server, while the clients (your devices) also use these bands.

In spite of your devices jumping from one node to another, Eero keeps the connection on your devices stable. Behind the scenes, Eero does a lot of work to manage your network. In terms of data, I do not notice when my devices switch nodes as I do with other mesh networks. No significant cutouts have occurred in the past three years.

Upon its launch, Eero Pro 6 worked great right out of the box. 

Reddit users experienced slow speeds in the first few weeks after the release. This is not uncommon with mesh networks. The latest firmware version 6.6.0 appears to be stable and working for most users. Eero releases updates quickly when there are issues, and they are active in the community.

 

Eero vs Orbi: Which one is more faster?

Orbi RBK752: How fast is it?

As with the Eero Pro 6, the Orbi RBK752 is rated AX4200. Nearly 5,000 square feet should be covered by a two-node configuration. So, we comparing Eero vs Orbi, both are great when it comes to speed.

The average speed of my ten designated locations was 454Mbps with two RBK752 nodes. The Orbi system didn’t match the speed of Eero Pro 6 no matter when I tested it. There was no noticeable difference in real life.

At 10 feet from the main router, I averaged 656Mbps.

Although Eero Pro 6 was faster in my tests, it is probably just a coincidence rather than anything conclusive.

Conclusion?

Comparing Eero vs Orbi, we should expect similar speeds for Eero Pro 6 and Orbi RBK752. However, if you have gigabit internet and want to make the most of it, don’t use either system because they aren’t capable of gigabit speeds wirelessly. A better choice would be the Orbi RBK852, which has an AX6000 rating.

 

How stable is Orbi RBK752:

I’ve experienced strange hiccups and bad firmware updates when devices switch to a new node using previous Orbi systems. Additionally, too many people connected to the satellite node at once caused issues.

There were no stability issues with my Orbi RBK752 system. The best compliment for a WiFi system is that I didn’t notice it for six weeks.

Amazon and Reddit reviews of the RBK752 aren’t as favorable as Eero’s. Orbi can still release another questionable firmware update at any time. Avoid installing the latest firmware update for a few weeks after it is released.

Orbi’s RBK752 is a triband system, like Eero. The one channel (5GHz, 2400Mbps) is dedicated as a backhaul channel, so it can only communicate with other Orbis, leaving the other two open for clients (your devices).

When connecting to a secondary node (satellite), a dedicated backhaul usually increases speed, but reduces network stability. However, when comparing Orbi RBK752 vs Eero Pro 6, I did not notice any difference in stability.

 

Eero vs Orbi Design

Practicality: Eero

Comparing Eero vs Orbi, they’re much smaller than the previous Eero Pro units, but big compared to the previous Eero Pro units (6.6 inches x 5.2 inches x 1.2 inches). They don’t pose any problems in your home and can be placed anywhere.

There are only three Ethernet ports available for your accessories on the Eero Pro 6. Due to their interchangeability and auto-sensing capabilities, the Ethernet ports on the Eero nodes can be used to connect the modem cord.

 

Practicality: Orbi