Eero is an Amazon company, and its routers have Alexa support. Enable the Eero skill and you can pause the internet with a voice command through your Echo device, which comes in handy when your child doesn’t leave the computer to eat dinner. Eero 6 router supports THINGS and Thread and can pull double duty as a ZigBee smart-home hub in the same way that Echo devices can, allowing you to directly connect some smart lighting, smart locks, and other ZigBee devices.

There are two other tricks that make the Eero 6 systems attractive. If you have an Echo (4th Gen), Echo Dot (4th or 5th Gen), or Echo Dot with clock (4th or 5th Gen) smart speaker, it can acts as a Wi-Fi extenderoffers an additional 1,000 square feet of coverage at speeds of up to 100 Mbps for up to 10 devices. Eero also offers a Internet backup option, so you can add multiple backup networks (Wi-Fi or hot spots) to stay online if your main wired network goes down.

Eero’s simplicity will appeal to anyone who hates digging into settings, but it comes at a cost. You won’t find anything Service quality features so that the activities are a priority, and you can’t separate the band. One final con with the basic Eero system I tested was the relatively slow transfer speeds, though this isn’t an issue for higher-end systems.

Currently, there are four Eero systems on the market worth considering, offering a broadly similar experience. The first two are dual-band systems (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). People with internet connections up to 500 Mbps can use the regular Eero 6. If you have a faster connection, up to 1 Gbps, and your home is smaller than 4,500 square feet, then the Eero 6+ ($300) is the system of choice. People with large assets or above average needs (many devices and people using the internet at the same time) should consider Eero Pro 6E ($550) (7/10, Recommended by WIRED), a tri-band system that supports 2.4-GHz, 5-GHz, and 6-GHz bands. The Eero Pro 6 has been discontinued.

the Try the Max 7 ($1,700) (7/10, WIRED Review) is the top-of-the-line, Wi-Fi 7 option, boasting four Ethernet ports, two rated at 10 Gbps and two at 2.5 Gbps, but this may be overkill for most people today. . You can carefully analyze the differences between ours Eero buying guide. But whatever model you choose, be on the lookout for frequent discounts. All Eero systems are compatible with each other, making it easy to expand your network.

Best Value

Cheap and compact, the ZenWiFi XD5 is a solid alternative to our top pick for more limited needs or budgets. Refreshingly, you don’t need to create an account to set up and use this mesh network. Each of the three units has two gigabit Ethernet ports and can be wall mounted. Basic security (AiProtection Classic) and parental controls come at no extra cost, and there’s support for AiMesh, so you can mix and match other Asus routers.

Performance was smooth and reliable during my testing, with some quick results for the price. I downloaded a 30-GB game in less than eight minutes. While it is a dual-band system, there is support for 160-MHz channels in the 5-GHz band. Asus says a 3-pack can cover up to 5,000 square feet, but speeds drop as you move away from a router. To squeeze the best performance out of the XD5, or any mesh system, connect the main router and nodes using Ethernet for wired backhaul.