This set of routers will solve your Wi-Fi problems for good

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Wi-Fi is incredible. 

It lets us wirelessly stream movies, TV shows, and music, and video chat with far away relatives using only a smartphone.

There's a reason it's gone from a luxury to near-necessity in less than 10 years.

A great irony, though, is that unlike most things, bad or slow Wi-Fi is just as bad, or even worse, than no Wi-Fi. Watching buffering bars is not the same, or nearly as fun, as watching "Buffy." 

For smaller areas, like apartments, my go-to router suggestion has been Apple's Airport Extreme, (although it looks like they're going to stop making them pretty soon). In slightly bigger houses, I've reviewed and recommended an excellent, inexpensive Wi-Fi range extender, which I think is a great solution if you have a smaller house or condo. 

If you want excellent, consistent coverage throughout a larger piece of property — think a house with a backyard, or an older building with thicker walls — you'll want a multi-router Wi-Fi setup. These types of networks are called "mesh networks," and out of all the ones out there, the one I keep hearing most about is Eero. It's a new company that's made some smart choices. 

What is a mesh network, and why is it better?

A mesh network is a multi-router Wi-Fi setup. Instead of relying on a single router in one part of your house to distribute Wi-Fi evenly and solidly, you distribute multiple routers around your house. Each Eero is a full-fledged router, more powerful than a basic repeater and capable of talking to other Eeros. 

Each Eero router sends the Wi-Fi signal back and forth between other Eero's on your network, while also sending out the Wi-Fi signal to its surrounding area. It basically creates a blanket of Wi-Fi that covers everything. Only one Eero needs to be connected to your network through an Ethernet cable, though. The additional Eero's only need power.

If you've experienced inconsistent Wi-Fi and don't want to string Ethernet cables throughout your house like I did as a teenager, this type of network could be a game changer. 

Because this tech is new, it can be smarter. 

Updates to older technology can come with baggage. Companies have to worry about supporting legacy customers, standards, etc. That's good, and important (especially legacy customer support!). But it means they have to navigate technological advances incrementally. 

Eero doesn't have that problem. Like every major piece of technology these days, there's a multi-platform app that you can use to set Eero up, and check its status. No need to use an external app to check your Wi-Fi speed, or log into your router through an IP address to troubleshoot.

As someone who's done both, dozens, if not hundreds of times over the past 13 years, this is an appealing proposition. Anyone who's been on the other end of the question, "Hey, can you check what's up with the Wi-Fi?" can probably relate. 

Eero routers can also be updated via regular software updates. If there are bugs, or new security standards, you won't have to buy new hardware. Instead, Eero can issue a patch and you can have an even better experience. Thanks to smartphones, many more people have gotten used to the idea of new features being distributed via software updates.

Are there any standout, special features?

There are a few, actually. The first is in the realm of parental controls. Through Eero you can create profiles for each person in your home, and assign their devices to that profile. So, if you want to make sure your kid isn't surfing the web at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday, while making sure you can surf the web at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday, you can. 

Another cool feature is that Eero has integrated with the Amazon Echo. Through this partnership, you can ask the Echo "where is device X" and it can tell you where it is in the house, based on which Eero it's getting the strongest signal from. As a sometimes-forgetful, Amazon Echo-devotee, this is something I could see myself using quite a bit. 

Finally, Eero makes it easy to create a guest network. If you have a home server with tons of valuable data on it, keeping as few devices connected to the same network as possible becomes a major concern. This is also a highly useful feature if you're using Eero in a small business setting, or have a home practice of some kind.

Any caveats?

The one big difference between having a single router vs. a mesh network is ultimately price. Eero routers can be bought in packs of three (the best value), but even then it's an almost $500 purchase. 

That said, what you're getting is more sophisticated than a standard router, and capable of delivering a higher-end experience. As I said earlier, Wi-Fi is more of a necessity now than a nice-to-have luxury. Seen as a home improvement project rather than a tech expenditure, Eero is actually very affordable.

If you're an owner of a larger home, especially one with a lot of Wi-Fi-enabled devices, this might be the solution you've been waiting for. 

Eero 1-pack, $187.20, available at Amazon

Eero 2-pack, $297.87, available at Amazon

Eero 3-pack, $379, available at Amazon

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