TalkTalk Needs to Source Different Routers

[Frederick6]

I'm located in West Yorkshire. We've had an inconsistent connection for this past year on TalkTalk. I'm switching providers this week. 

About a month ago, my Eero router failed. I received a replacement. After another month of random dropped connections, the replacement router has failed. I plugged in a temporary router I purchased (used) while we were waiting for the replacement. The connection came back immediately. 

It's difficult to find out how Amazon sources their hardware for these units. I'm inclined to believe that Amazon products are generally terrible. 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Frederick6 

As @ferguson and I have already explained our own units are very reliable (one uses eero Pro 6s and the other eero 6s). With our roles as Community Stars, we see a very broad picture of customers who have an issue (the vast majority of customers do not post on a forum if they do not have any problems) with their eero. I have only ever seen one possible case where reliability might have been an issue.

You are free to use a 3rd party router if you prefer.

[Frederick6]

I've already investigated, troubleshot the issue myself, troubleshot the issue with talktalk support, etc. The unit is faulty. Exact same symptoms as my previous faulty unit. My ONT shows it's connected to the network. A different router immediately fixed the issue. These aren't designed for extensive hardwired use. They only have a single LAN out port. Only router I've ever had like this. Ultimately, these are designed for average customers who can purchase several units for a mesh network that supplies good WIFI coverage throughout the building. Nonetheless, you can get all the same features and speeds with cheaper, more reliable hardware that doesn't require an amazon account to manage. 

As far as plugging in directly to the ONT, TalkTalk support also suggested this, even though it's virtually impossible with TalkTalk fibre because they use VLAN tagging to authenticate devices. 

I have zero confidence that the reviews would be poor if the product is below average build quality. There's been various scandals over the years regarding inflated Amazon reviews, especially for their own branded products. They have complete control over the review system. 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Frederick6 

The fact that an eero displays a red light is not an indication that it is faulty at all. When you have no internet access, the light going red is the CORRECT display. This means that your service, anywhere from the eero, through the TalkTalk Full Fibre network & out to the internet has a fault on it, that needs rectification. Rather than wrongly assuming that the router is faulty, why not get the problem correctly investigated by the staff on this forum?

Yes, I agree that they do run rather warm, this is most likely due to the fact that heat dissipation within their small case has to be radiated out, there is no exhaust fan on them.

I too agree with @ferguson that they are very reliable & I have only come across one case in this forum where the eero might have been faulty. They are my router/mesh network of choice.

The eero mesh systems are not cheap if purchased via Amazon and I am sure the reviews on there would be very poor if they were to be as unreliable as you say.

[ferguson]

By the way, have you tried connecting a wired device directly to the LAN port on the ONT to check that the actual Internet service is OK when this happens? 

[ferguson]

OK, I beg to differ. I have found my eeros to be very reliable. Are you connecting the gateway unit directly to the ONT, with no switches in between? Perhaps you have just been very unlucky.

Anyway, good luck with your new provider. 

[Frederick6]

By failed I mean the router displays a red light and can't connect to the Internet. 

The Wi-Fi coverage was ok. I connect my devices over ethernet. Both routers that failed ran very warm. These routers are not designed for hardwired robust use. They're cheaply built models designed to supply WiFi to average users. 

[ferguson]

That is disappointing to read. I have to say my first experience with an eero was not great, wireless coverage was poor. But bearing in mind that they are designed to work best as part of a mesh system I found that an additional unit made all the difference.

You say "failed" and twice, how so? Not connecting to the ONT/internet, power failure, or what? Or are we talking wifi issues?