Friday, March 29, 2024

Eero supports IPv6, but is it worth enabling?

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Best answer: IPv6 can potentially add support for more devices, better security, and more efficient connections. While some older software may not work as expected, most of your network should work fine with IPv6 enabled. You should feel free to enable it unless you start to experience connection issues with older tech.

  • Entry-level eero mesh: eero ($79 at Amazon)
  • The fastest eero: eero Pro ($199 at Amazon)

Will my network work with IPv6?

In years past, everything that connected to a network did so with an IPv4 address assigned to it. Many of us are familiar with its xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx layout, with most of our home networks defaulting to something like 192.168.0.1. Basically, each of the numbers can be from zero to 255, allowing for billions of combinations.

However, with so many different devices coming online there are no longer enough unique IPv4 addresses available. Some software trickery has extended the life of IPv4 greatly but the real solution is moving over to IPv6.

IPv6 offers now trillions of combinations and most of our online devices support the protocol with only some older devices holding us up. Luckily, eero can connect with both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses so for most of us, enabling IPv6 on eero should work like a charm. The eero nodes will even connect to one another with IPv6. Some people have reported some compatibility issues coming from remote connections but with most software, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Should I even bother?

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Most of us won’t see any real benefits to IPv6 right off the bat and if things work as they should, we shouldn’t notice the transition. One nice thing about eero is that it will continue to work even with older devices that support IPv4 and should be able to work with your ISP regardless of what it uses.

If you’re uncomfortable changing wireless settings on your network, no one is forcing your hand. If you are having connectivity issues on your network, IPv6 more than likely won’t be a resolution. For that, you may want to check out eero support or check the eero app to make sure all of your nodes are connected.

If you want to be ready for the wireless future and want to squeeze every bit of performance out of your network and internet connection, you may get some small benefit by enabling it. In the end, there isn’t a good reason to leave IPv6 off unless having it on seems to be causing connection issues.

Our pick

eero

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$79 at Amazon

Build or expand your eero mesh

The eero is a great way to build a new mesh or extend your existing eero mesh. Its small size and dual-band Wi-Fi make it great for standard browsing.

Faster eero

eero Pro

eero-pro-router-reco.png?itok=NRsOpV9b

$199 at Amazon

An eero with tri-band

Keep the eero simplicity and add in more speed thanks to a tri-band setup that keeps connections faster even with a lot of devices online.

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