<div content="Review Card" id="cc31e556-2551-475a-9183-de1245aa162d" subhed description="" editorsmonth="01" editorsyear="2023" editorsdate="2023-01-23T00:00:00.000Z" innovationmonth="03" innovationyear="2022" innovationdate="2022-03-23T00:00:00.000Z" usepricing="true" overridecredit overridecaption="" offer="{"id":"2f1a95c2-71cf-4ef1-86dc-5ddfec92a22f","label":"Eero 6 Plus","slug":"eero-6-plus","edition":["US","ES"],"imageId":"6ef45127-9332-41da-8e9f-ec5339a75daa","imgUrl":"/content/image/redirect/6ef45127-9332-41da-8e9f-ec5339a75daa/resize/75×56","typeLabel":"Series","objectType":"content_product_series","icon":"type-icon ct-cmg-tech-product-series ct-small"}" techobjectinfo="{"uuid":"2f1a95c2-71cf-4ef1-86dc-5ddfec92a22f","slug":"eero-6-plus","name":"Eero 6 Plus","productType":"SERIES","updateType":"PRISM","mod":1712332963187}" ng-block="{"id":"8hph8o7pl6qmc5v","type":"reviewcard"}" edition="us" data-key="reviewcard__cc31e556-2551-475a-9183-de1245aa162d" position="NaN" embeddedimages="[{"id":"03440f9a-16ed-4f03-a4f2-88ba48e7d470","filename":"img-1893.jpg","dateCreated":{"date":"2022-06-16"},"alt":"two Eero 6 Plus mesh router units","credits":"Ry Crist/CNET","caption":"","width":"3812","height":"2734"},{"id":"70437d4e-13dc-487c-b3a5-0e7b3df47c56","filename":"img-1549.jpg","dateCreated":{"date":"2022-03-24"},"alt":"img-1549","credits":"Ry Crist/CNET","caption":"","width":"4030","height":"2964"},{"id":"c5a50c1a-3850-460a-85fa-98cec6c10403","filename":"img-1534.jpg","dateCreated":{"date":"2022-03-23"},"alt":"img-1534","credits":"Ry Crist/CNET","caption":"
Each Eero 6 Plus device features a pair of gigabit Ethernet ports in the back, plus the USB-C power jack.
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Among all of the mesh routers I’ve tested at my home, the Eero 6 Plus was a top-10 finisher in terms of average download speeds. (Routers listed with stars were tested prior to Wi-Fi 6, with a Wi-Fi 5 client.)
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I saw slower average download speeds in the middle of my house when I’d start my connection in the back bathroom, closer to the extender than the router (yellow bars). That’s because the system was continuing to route me through the extender as I moved toward the living room even though switching me over to the router would have been faster.
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The Eero 6 Plus delivered sturdy average wireless speeds on a gigabit network, but fancier systems like the Eero Pro 6E, the Netgear Orbi AX6000, and the TP-Link Deco XE75 can do better.
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8.3
Eero 6 Plus mesh router
The Eero 6 Plus consistently returned average download speeds that were in the top 10 of the 30 or so mesh routers I’ve tested, and none of the routers that beat it were in the same price range. It also has smart home chops with Amazon’s “frustration-free” setup, support for the upcoming Matter protocol, and a built-in Zigbee radio for pairing things like lights and locks with your network.
Amazon’s Eero 6 had the right ingredients back in 2020, as mesh routers were starting to surge in popularity. The design was simple and inoffensive, the app was disarmingly easy to use, it offered full support for Wi-Fi 6 and, at $279 for a three-pack, it wasn’t terribly expensive. The only problem I had with it was its habit of routing my connection through the wrong extender at the wrong time during my battery of performance tests, which caused its average speeds to deflate like a defeated soufflé.
The follow-up Eero 6 Plus system still isn’t perfect at steering connections through the best extender for the job, but few mesh routers are (particularly dual-band systems like the 6 Plus), and this time, the issue is much less severe. Overall, it’s much improved and much easier for me to recommend, even at its current price of $300. (You can frequently find it on sale for under $200). Bottom line: The Eero 6 Plus keeps everything that the Eero 6 got right, and it executes on the promise of strong, consistent speeds much better than before.
One big reason for the Eero’s improvement is its new support for 160MHz channel width, up from 80MHz last time around. That’s the key part of the Plus pitch, and it means that the system can now move data twice as efficiently to 160MHz-compatible devices, of which there are many. Even without devices like that on your network, you’ll still benefit from the faster connection between the Eero devices themselves. That, combined with a faster-than-before AX3000 build, means that your speeds won’t drop as much if the Eero 6 Plus routes your connection through an extender that’s three rooms away instead of one that’s one room away.
That was my experience at home, where I put the Eero 6 Plus through the same spate of tests that the Eero 6 went through two years ago. Last time around, a huge disparity in performance between the tests where I connected close to the router versus those where I connected far from it caused the system to return download speeds throughout my house that averaged just 196 megabits per second, which isn’t great for a 300Mbps fiber network, where the fastest devices I test tend to max out at about 375Mbps at close range. The Eero 6 Plus cranked that whole-home average all the way up to 304Mbps. That’s top 10 among the 30 or so mesh routers that I’ve tested at home over the past few years — and none of the systems that beat its speeds can beat its value.
Design, specs and app controls
The Eero 6 Plus is available now at $440 for four-pack, $300 for a three-pack, $240 for a two-pack or $140 for a single device. Each unit is identical, so you can use any of them as either an extender or the main router of the system. They’re 99% identical to the Eero 6 devices that came before them, too — the same glossy white plastic, the same curved design, the same solo indicator light (white means all right, blue means pairing mode and red means “uh oh”). I wouldn’t fault anyone for calling the things uninspired, but they aren’t ugly or bulky or cheap-looking, and they shouldn’t have much trouble blending in with most home decor.
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Among all of the mesh routers I’ve tested at my home, the Eero 6 Plus was a top-10 finisher in terms of average download speeds. (Routers listed with stars were tested prior to Wi-Fi 6, with a Wi-Fi 5 client.)
Performance and speed
To get a sense of just how much “Plus” we’re talking about here, I tested the Eero 6 Plus at my home in Louisville, Kentucky, the same place where I tested the Eero 6 system two years ago. It’s a 1,300-square-foot home, and I tested it on the same 300Mbps fiber internet plan, though the true speed limit seems to be more like 375Mbps. Once I’ve had a chance to test the system out in the much larger CNET Smart Home, I’ll update this section with some additional data.
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The Eero 6 Plus delivered sturdy average wireless speeds on a gigabit network, but fancier systems like the Eero Pro 6E, the Netgear Orbi AX6000, and the TP-Link Deco XE75 can do better.
What about gigabit speeds?
I recently upgraded my home’s fiber network from that 300Mbps connection to a gigabit connection, with max download speeds of 940Mbps and max upload speeds of 880Mbps. Those are the speeds that I’ll be using for my router tests moving forward, so I made sure to retest the Eero 6 Plus.
