Sun-starved remote workers like me would much rather toil on spreadsheets outside now that summer has come to the northern hemisphere. But wifi seldom cooperates in the great outdoors. Zoom meetings stutter, pages take ages to load, and eventually you’re back inside a grey room just to be able to Slack coworkers.
This was my situation four years ago, but I solved it with the Eero 6, a wifi router that replaced my old black box and now blankets my house and yard in fast, reliable wifi, without dead zones. It can also help extend your internet connection across multiple floors in a house, or overcome interference caused by the thick walls you’d find in an apartment building.
Though I’m the former editor of a tech publication and definitely a nerd, you don’t need to be an IT pro to set up an Eero, which makes it easy to recommend to friends. And it’s currently on sale for $129.99, down for the usual $199.99.
Eero 6 Mesh Wifi System (Two Extenders)
Eero Mesh Wifi System none-selected
Eero uses mesh technology, which means you replace your router with a new box and then plug in small white “extenders” throughout your home that rebroadcast its signal.
The kit I recommend includes a router and two extenders, which are all I’ve needed to cover three floors of a house and an 8,000-square foot lot. I put one in my living room, one on my patio for the outdoors and one upstairs for my work computer. If you’re in an apartment, Eero has a smaller kit with just one extender on sale for $89.99, and additional extenders are separately on sale for $49.99 each. Own any modern Amazon Echo devices? Your Eero router can use them as extenders too.
Eero 6 Mesh Wifi System (One Extender)
Eero Mesh Wifi System (One Extender) none-selected
Eero 6 Mesh Extender
Eero Mesh Extender none-selected
The Eero 6 is older than the new Eero 7, but the latter is probably way faster than your home internet connection or current phone can even support, so most people would see little benefit to shelling out nearly three times as much for it. I’ve owned the 6 for four years, and don’t anticipate replacing it any time soon.
Eero will also try to upsell you on Eero Plus, a subscription that unlocks perks like advanced network analytics and content filtering. Unless you want to cosplay as an IT administrator in your own home, skip it.
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Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter, the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:
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Ignore all the smart home gimmicks. These five devices actually make life easier
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This electric flosser got me to actually enjoy flossing twice a day – now it’s on sale
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Lock in a summer of cheap TV – the best streaming deals from Apple TV, HBO Max and more
