Place eeros 20 to 30 feet apart (no more than 50 feet) in centralized locations throughout your home. Strategic placement ensures fast, reliable wifi coverage in every room.
Each home is different. Where you place your eeros will depend on the layout of your home and the materials used in its construction. For example, walls of brick, stone, and metal will be hard for your wifi to penetrate. Placement decisions will also depend on where you want strong wifi coverage.
You might need to experiment with the location of your eeros for optimal performance.
Should I use wired connections?
If your home was built with wired Ethernet in mind, hardwiring your eeros is an option. Wireless links are typically slower than wired connections and more prone to interference since they share airways with other broadcasting devices. eeros are designed to deliver the fastest wifi connection possible in any configuration, so while wiring isn't necessary, it may help increase the speed and strength of the signal throughout your home.
Where should I place my Gateway eero?
Optimize the placement of your Gateway eero. You may not have much choice here, since it has to connect to your modem which connects to your phone or cable line. But if you can move your modem and Gateway eero out of your basement and into a more centralized location, you'll improve the speed of your entire network with that one change.
What are the best placement practices?
Place eeros where they can talk to each other
Don't place eeros directly in dead zones. Instead, place them halfway between your Gateway eero and dead zones. This way, your eeros can get a strong wifi signal from your Gateway eero and broadcast that signal into your former dead zones. You can think of placing them like a wifi relay – each eero is a link in the chain bringing wifi to your dead spot.
Avoid interference
Keep eeros away from objects that cause interference:
- Microwave ovens, refrigerators, and other appliances
- Metal furniture
- Cordless landline phones that use the 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands
- Bluetooth electronics such as baby monitors
- WiMAX
- Other 802.11 networks
- Power lines, power stations, or railroad tracks
- Radio leakage from Direct Satellite Service (DSS)
- Older coaxial cable from certain types of satellite dishes. If you have an older satellite dish, contact the device manufacturer to get newer cables
- Fluorescent lights
- Radar
- Mirrors, windows, and other glass items
- Containers of water such as aquariums
Note: If you have an older satellite dish, contact the device manufacturer to get newer cables.
Place eeros on a hard, flat surface
Your eeros should be placed on a surface that is both stable and flat, such as tables, countertops, and nightstands.
Aim high
eeros radiate their signal more upwards than downwards, but mostly along the plane they're placed on. It's best to place your eeros at a height halfway between the floor and the ceiling, not on the ground.
Keep your space open
eeros communicate best when they're not closed in. Keep them out in the open – try not to place your eeros inside a media console or cabinet.
Beat the heat
External heat sources like incandescent light bulbs and direct sunlight can negatively affect the performance of your eeros. Avoid placing your eeros near sources of heat, and never use eeros meant for indoor use only outside.
The thinner the barrier, the better
The fewer the walls (and the less substantial their inner material) between your eeros, the better your performance will be. Older houses with dense materials like plaster, lath, or chicken wire in the walls are particularly hard for wifi signals. Placing your eeros near doors may help since wood is less dense and easier for the signal to penetrate. Whenever possible, aim for direct line of sight between eeros.
I have a home with really thick, dense walls. Will eero still work?
Yes. If you live in a house with dense walls, you probably have trouble getting wifi when you're not in the same room as your router. By using several eeros that mesh together, you'll get wifi coverage throughout your home. That said, the thicker your walls, the more difficult it is for wifi signals to pass through. You may need more eeros to cover a home with extremely thick or dense walls.