Full Fibre Hardware questions

[aleaologist]

I'm currently a Fibre to the Cabinet customer, and after recently experiencing a second issue with the copper connection (since fixed), I'm looking into the possibility of switching to Full Fibre at some point in the future.

I have a few questions about how this would work if I stayed with TalkTalk:

1. Would the installation of the fibre cable require a trench across my garden, or might the engineer be able to use the existing copper cable conduit? (my house is on an estate built just over 20 years ago, so infrastructure is relatively recent)
2. Is there any flexibility around where the fibre cable enters my house?  If so, is that discussed prior to the installation, or on the day with the engineer?
3. Is a separate modem required in addition to the Eero router?
4. If there's a modem, does it connect to the Eero router via an ethernet cable? (The existing connection is to my garage, but I would want to keep the router in a more central location and connect to it via a cat6 ethernet cable that is already installed)
5. I'm looking at maybe the Full Fibre 500 option, which comes with a single Eero Pro 6 router, however my home will almost certainly require additional points for full coverage (currently have mesh wifi using three devices - still have some not great areas).  If I buy a set of Eero 6+ devices from Amazon (Eero Pro 6 seems to be discontinued), will they definitely work with the main TalkTalk router?
6. Does Eero support ethernet backhaul for connecting devices?  If so, does that work reliably, especially if you have a mixture of ethernet and wireless connected nodes? (Have had issues with mixing and matching on my existing setup)
7. Does anybody have experience with using Echo Dots as Eero extenders?

Thank you in advance for any help with these questions

[aleaologist]

Thank you Chris - that's very much appreciated.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

4. I can't see any reason why the current cat 6 cable wouldn't work fine

5. We can't really guarantee that 3rd party equipment will work but I can't see any reason why it wouldn't. 

6. Apologies, yes you can connect the eeros to each other with an Ethernet cable rather than wifi if you prefer. As far as I'm aware there are no known issues doing this and I don't recall seeing anyone reporting any problems doing this.

Chris

[aleaologist]

Hello @Chris-TalkTalk ,

Thank you for your replies.

Just a quick follow-up on a few of the above points:

4 - sounds like the eero connects to the ONT via an ethernet cable - are you aware of any reason why I couldn't use my existing cat6 wiring to connect between the eero and ONT if I put them in separate rooms?

5 - Fibre 900 looks quite a bit more expensive - If I buy a set of Eero 6+ devices from Amazon (Eero Pro 6 seems to be discontinued), will they definitely work with the main TalkTalk router

6 - your answer to this one doesn't relate to my question - I'm specifically interested in connecting eeros via ethernet backhaul (so I don't have to worry about Wi-Fi bandwidth getting used for backhaul, and don't need to worry if the Wi-Fi signal between two units is not great.  I would like to know if the feature is available, and if it is, whether it is reliable, especially if the mesh network is made up of a combination of wired and Wi-Fi connected nodes.  I'm asking this specific question, because my previous experience with a mesh Wi-Fi setup is that it does not like it when some nodes are connected via ethernet, and some by Wi-Fi.

Once again, your help is much appreciated.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi aleaologist,

In answer to your questions:

1. Yes they may be able to use the existing conduit 

2. There is usually some flexibility, this would need to be discussed with the engineer on the day of installation

3. No, the eero connects to the ONT which is a box no the wall installed by the engineer

4. -

5. If you think you'll need more than one eero Fibre 900 may be a better option as it comes with total home wifi - About Total Home Wi-Fi - TalkTalk Help & Support

6. the eero has two ethernet ports, one is used to connect the eero to the ONT and the other to connect a digital voice adapter (to connect a telephone for VoIP). If you need more ethernet ports we recommend getting an ethernet switch

7. Sorry I don't but other members may have and are free to comment

If you need any more information please let us know

Chris