Understanding your Wall-to-Wall WiFi network's speed and eero app speed results

Your Wall-to-Wall WiFi hub and beacon(s) are max rated for transmit speeds of about 240 Mbps at the 2.4 GHz wireless frequency and about 600 Mbps at 5 GHz. Over a wired connection, the max throughput locally is 1 Gbps. Maximum wireless speeds are also dependent on the capabilities of the client device (i.e. the max transmit speeds of your smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc.).

It’s important to keep in mind that these are the maximum speeds we’ve seen, but we like to think of Wi-Fi speed more in terms of what you can do with it. Your Wall-to-Wall Wi-Fi hub and beacon network uses the latest standards to make sure you’re getting the speed you pay for in every corner of every room. It’s that perfect combination of speed and coverage that’s going to let you work, stream, play, or download anywhere in your home.

Here are the speeds required for some of our favourite activities:

Easy!

1. Tap Internet (at the bottom of the eero app home screen)
2. Then tap Run Speed Test

The speed test results in your eero app show your network’s download and upload speeds in megabits per second (Mbps):

• How fast information travels from the Internet to your Wall-to-Wall WiFi hub.
• Important for smooth-streaming video, video chat, and online games.

• The speed of traffic going in the opposite direction (i.e. from your Wall-to-Wall Wi-Fi hub to the Internet).
• Important for photo backups and uploading video.

Speeds are measured in quantity over time, specifically in megabits per second. A megabit is a million bits, and a bit is a very small piece of data. Why is this important, you ask? The higher the number of megabits you see in your app, the speedier your Internet activity should be. For example, if you have a download speed of 2 Mbps, a typical web page will load in about half a second and downloading a 5-minute song should take 20–30 seconds. If you have a download speed of 12 Mbps, that web page will load instantly, and the same song will download in about a second.

Here’s a breakdown of the ratings your eero app speed test might report, the speed associated with each rating, and what you’ll be able to do at each speed rating.

Tip: To get the most out of your Wall-to-Wall WiFi network by optimizing your setup, check out Tips for placing your Wall-to-Wall WiFi hub and beacon(s).

The speed test in the eero app measures the speed between your Wall-to-Wall Wi-Fi hub and a nearby Internet server—so, essentially, the results show the speeds that you’re getting from us. The eero app will keep record of the results of your last 30 speed tests. These results reflect the rate at which data is downloaded to and uploaded from your Wall-to-Wall Wi-Fi hub and a nearby server. Since the test is analyzing speed from your Wall-to-Wall Wi-Fi hub out to the Internet and back, your results won't be affected by where you are when you initiate the test. In other words, whether you run the test in your living room, bedroom, or away from your home, the app will be testing the same thing.

The erro app speed test reports on the speed between your Wall-to-Wall Wi-Fi hub and a nearby Internet server. What it doesn’t show is the speed between the Internet and the device the eero app is running on. For this reason, the speeds reported in the app won’t change as you move around your home.

If you’d like to run a speed test that measures the speeds between the Internet and the device that’s running the test (e.g. smartphone, tablet, computer, etc.), there are many speed tests to choose from, including the popular Ookla speed test. Download and run the Ookla Speedtest app for your device (available on iOS and Android).

If the speeds to your client devices (e.g. smartphone, tablet or computer) don’t reflect the speeds coming into your eero network, you may want to try the following:

• Toogle your device’s Wi-Fi off and back on.
• Run a network health check in the eero app.

If neither of the above tips helps, check out our step-by-step guide to Troubleshooting speed-related issues with your Wall-to-Wall Wi-Fi hub and beacon (eero) network.

Troubleshooting speed-related issues with your Wall-to-Wall WiFi hub and beacon (eero) network >

Addressing connectivity issues with your Wall-to-Wall WiFi hub and beacon network and when to reset eero >

Tips for placing your Wall-to-Wall WiFi hub and beacon(s) >

Find out what the eero status lights mean >