Eero Outdoor 7 review

Eero Outside 7 overview: Introduction

On the finish of final yr, Amazon-owned Eero, after years of customers begging for one, lastly took the covers off of a devoted outside system, designed to increase your Wi-Fi mesh community into your backyard… so there’s no extra have to stash an everyday indoor Eero in a weatherproof field.

Eero Outside 7, as you’ll have guessed from the identify, is a Wi-Fi 7 enabled Eero router / satellite tv for pc, designed to staff up with the likes of the Eero 7, Max 7 or Professional 7.

This being Eero although it’s, in fact, suitable with any Eero routers and satellites, together with the wonderful Professional 6E and 6+.

It’s powered by Energy over Ethernet (PoE) so, do you have to be capable of run an Ethernet cable to the outside area you wish to lengthen your Wi-Fi protection to, not solely will you’ve got a straightforward option to energy up the Outside 7, but in addition – should you connect with the Eero PoE Gateway or one other Eero satellite tv for pc through a PoE injector – create a wired backhaul, thus totalling eliminating your exterior Wi-Fi woes.

Wi-Fi 7, in case you didn’t know, is a step-change in options and efficiency, which makes it much more appropriate to ever-faster web speeds and the growing variety of units related to dwelling networks; we’re informed the Eero Outside 7 can deal with 200 units.

There are hardly any Wi-Fi 7 units in the meanwhile however investing in a system now will future proof your property community for years to come back.

It doesn’t come low-cost at $349.99, however it’s the reply to lots of Eero consumer’s (together with yours really’s) outside Wi-Fi prayers.

Learn on for my full Eero Outside 7 overview.

Design and setup

• Rugged design
• IP66 weatherproof
• Powered by Ethernet cable

Eero by no means actually strays too removed from the blueprint in the case of design and the Eero Outside 7 appears to be like just about as you’d anticipate: white, rectangular, minimalist.

It differs, nevertheless, from the likes of the brand new Eero 7 or the Eero Professional 6E, as the outside isn’t a shiny plastic, as a substitute it’s gritty metallic materials, and it feels lots heavier than its indoor brethren and is larger too, at 6.34 x 8.18 x 2.54 inches.

Flip the Eero Outside 7 round and also you’ll discover a groove the place you possibly can simply slip it on and off the mounting bracket you get within the field.

Additionally within the field you get mounting equipment for stucco, vinyl, wooden, or fiber cement partitions and a step-by-step information for straightforward set up. So, wherever you wish to mount it, it needs to be fairly simple.

I mounted mine on a picket shed and it took lower than 5 minutes. Eero states to mount the Outside satellite tv for pc 6-15 ft above the bottom.

Wherever you do determine to mount it, make sure to take into consideration the way you’re going to energy it up. On the underside is a sole Ethernet port, and that’s your solely choice for getting energy to the Outside 7.

You may simply use the PoE adapter you get within the field for power-only and, on this case, you’ll want an outside energy socket to plug the opposite finish in.

On this mode, you’ll be utilizing the Eero Outside 7 as an everyday wi-fi Wi-Fi mesh node, so that you’ll need a common indoor Eero, inside vary, to get a secure connection. As with including any new Eero node to the combo, you’ll do a placement check throughout setup, and also you’ll be warned if the sign isn’t ok.

If you would like a wired backhaul, you’ll both have to run an Ethernet cable (Cat 5a or higher) from the Eero PoE Gateway, or get a PoE injector concerned.

That Ethernet port, by the best way, is a 2.5GbE one, and Eero states that it will possibly ship wi-fi speeds as much as 2.1Gbps. It’s a disgrace it’s not 10GbE, as that might imply the quickest potential connection to the Eero Gateway or a Max 7, however 2.5GbE continues to be greater than speedy sufficient for the foreseeable future.

There’s, and it is a little bit of a kicker for me, solely the one port although. So you possibly can’t daisy chain two Eero Outside 7 satellites. The pondering right here is, I assume, you’d have an additional port to maintain clear and dry if it wasn’t getting used, however it does look like a missed alternative.

You may, nevertheless, get two Outside 7’s working collectively as a point-to-point wi-fi bridge. In the event that they’re spaced as much as 1,000 ft aside with a transparent line of sight between them, you shouldn’t see a lot drop out in any respect.

The PoE cable within the field additionally encompasses a M22 seal gland – a polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) polymer seal that blocks water entry however permits for condensation and heat air to flee.

If you happen to’re working a cable from inside to out, you’ll be happy to listen to that this waterproof protector comes aside, so that you received’t should drill an enormous gap. In case you are utilizing PoE and a special Cat5/6 Ethernet cable, then this half additionally comes off and also you’ll should fastidiously squeeze your RJ45 connector by means of the outlet.

Additionally on the underside is a thread to screw in a floor wire, which is clearly useful should you stay in an space with frequent lighting storms, or your grid will get common surges.

The Outside 7 is rated at IP66 so will be capable of deal with any parts thrown at it, with an working temperature vary of -40F to 130F. Eero tells us it may be left exterior all yr spherical, regardless of the climate.

Options and the app

• Wonderful Eero app
• Premium options price extra
• Good dwelling abilities

No matter energy mode you go for, and no matter means you mount it, the preliminary pairing for the Outside 7 is just about an identical to every other Eero system and the Eero app talks you thru the method and in addition guides you thru bodily set up (which you must clearly solely do, as soon as you realize all of it works okay and syncs up together with your Eero community).

Managed through the Eero app, the Eero Outside 7 is managed fully through the cloud with no native net interface. Meaning no superior setting, reminiscent of the choice to vary the community channels or separate 2.4 and 5GHz networks; though you possibly can disable 5GHz on Eero briefly should you’re having points including new units to the community.

The truth that there’s choice to separate networks into particular person bands isn’t actually an issue, due to this fact, particularly given Wi-Fi 7’s MLO know-how.

The Eero app offers an ideal overview of what units are related to what satellites, and what’s going on in your Eero community.

It’s additionally the place you’ll go to examine your community standing, reboot units, create profiles, change settings and so forth.

The Eero 7 Outside can also be a Matter controller with Thread border router capabilities inbuilt, and there’s additionally Zigbee on board for direct communication with the likes of Hue sensible bulbs.

Nonetheless, and that is at all times the largest gripe with Eero, you have to to cough up extra to transcend primary net performance; Eero Plus is at present $99.99 / £99.99 per yr.

Free of charge, you’ll nonetheless be be capable of create consumer profiles and assign units to every particular person, scheduling once they can and might’t entry the web.

Eero Plus provides in stuff like ad-blocking, net filtering, historic information, and app-blocking, and subscriptions to some additional software program like Malware Bytes, 1Password and VPN powered by Guardian.

You additionally get a intelligent web backup characteristic, the place you possibly can designate a second Wi-Fi community for the Eero system to hook up with, ought to your Wi-Fi go down.

Efficiency

The Outside 7 has the entire Eero options you’d anticipate like TrueChannel and TrueRoam capabilities and we’re informed that it offers 15,000 sq. ft of protection.

That’s a helluva lot greater than an everyday Eero node, even the top-dog Eero Max 7 tops out at 2,500 sq. ft of protection per unit.

However, that’s as a result of we’re speaking outside protection. There’s no partitions to get by means of and far much less interference.

And that’s why Eero, I’d suspect, hasn’t bothered with a 6GHz radio on the Outside 7.

Streams-wise, it has a pair of twin band radios; 2×2 2.4GHz and a pair of×2 5GHz, offering as much as 2.1Gbit/s of Wi-Fi throughput. Not that you must consider Wi-Fi 7 as particular person blocks of spectrum.

Because of Multi-Hyperlink Operation (MLO), Wi-Fi 7 units can join on a number of frequencies on the similar time to enhance speeds. That’s the actual key to the pace enhancements that Wi-Fi 7 guarantees.

The Outside 7’s design and antenna use, due to this fact, focuses on maximizing vary and protection, not reaching peak 6GHz speeds, that are inherently short-range.

It’s additionally necessary to do not forget that at present, solely a restricted variety of units help 6GHz Wi-Fi 7.

This being Eero, it’s all backwards suitable too, you’ll be capable of get the Outside 7 modules singing and dancing together with your present Eero package (though you’ll clearly lose some options and pace should you combine and match with older generations).

For instance, one of many advantages of Wi-Fi 7 is that it will possibly use 320MHz channels, which is up from 160MHz on Wi-Fi 6/6E. If you happen to combine and match with older Eero units, and also you received’t get this feature.

I’ve been testing the Eero Outside 7 with a ‘1Gig’ contract with my ISP.

Whereas the theoretical max pace of 1,130Mbps isn’t actually achievable, I’ve obtained used to Wi-Fi speeds inside my home at over 750Mbps through numerous Professional 7s and 6Es, all wired on to an Eero PoE Gateway. (My Xbox is hardwired to my Gateway and provides me a 928Mbps outcome on the pace check.)

Earlier than organising the Outside 7, I had been utilizing an Eero PoE 6 in my backyard, wired to the Gateway over Ethernet, inside a weatherproof field and I used to be getting speeds of between 500 and 550Mbps.

In the identical neighborhood, I’m now getting 700-800Mpbs from the Outside 7; and round 450-500Mbps on the different finish of the backyard (round 150 ft away). I even managed speeds of over 400Mbps inside my workplace, which is an outbuilding round 170 ft away from the Outside 7.

That’s with the Eero Outside 7 immediately related to the Gateway over Ethernet. After I examined on a a Wi-Fi connection – the closest node being a Professional 6E round 30 ft away within the kitchen, with a line of website to by means of some glass doorways – I used to be getting over 450Mbps on the closest level, 350Mpbs on the finish of the backyard and 300Mbps within the workplace.

My street is the nook property and I walked 500 ft down the cul-de-sac that runs parallel to my backyard and nonetheless was in a position to get a strong 200Mbps connection.

Lengthy story quick… it’s quick and it’s highly effective.

Closing ideas

The Eero Outside 7 solves a long-standing drawback for Eero customers. Its strong, weatherproof design and Wi-Fi 7 capabilities present spectacular vary and pace, particularly with a wired backhaul and, whereas it’s not low-cost, and the one Ethernet port is a limitation, the simple setup, sensible dwelling options and seamless Eero integration make it a really welcome addition to the Eero combine.

How we check

After we publish our opinions, you possibly can relaxation assured that they’re the results of “residing with” long run exams.

House Wi-Fi units play a key half in controlling, a sensible dwelling ecosystem, or a spread of merchandise that – supposedly – all work in concord.

As a result of we’re testing sensible dwelling package all day, on a regular basis, we all know what issues and the way a specific sensible controller compares to options that you may additionally be contemplating.

Our opinions are complete, goal and truthful and, in fact, we’re by no means paid on to overview a tool.

Learn our information to how we check to study extra.

FAQs

Eero Outside 7 overview: Specs