SONOS Compatability with Orbi

I plugged in the eero again to see if I can work through speed issues on it. Re-setting it up was quite frustrating but I think the initial setup may have been slow because the new firmware didn't entirely take on the base unit. After a full reset everything was back up.

Speeds were now on par with Google Wifi. In fact, both are now almost at the speed I really wanted. However, on eero, Sonos devices started disappearing. Ironically, the ones that stopped playing music are the ones I can still see in Sonos app. The other sonos is still playing but I can't control it. And it is not the base unit. I am currently using Sonos network from one wired sonos connect. That is the one that stopped, so I have no idea how/why the other continued to play. Very strange.

Both eero and google wifi suffer from two very annoying problems. First: 2 available ports for wired devices on a satellite just isn't enough. And 1 available on the main unit basically means it has to be some kind of switch (in my case, it's my airport extreme with 3 more ports as well as a time machine backup drive). Second: This cloud control crap needs to stop. Eeros app was constantly in a "we can't talk to your eero" state despite being *on the eeros network* which had internet acces. That mostly went away after the reset. But, both eero and google wifi need some kind of local mode. Google didn't actually show any issue with this. I'm wondering if they already have a local mode for the majority of communication with your own access points.

Orbi really got a lot of things right. I just want it to be stable. A strong backhaul with 4 ports on satellites. Not requiring cloud (BTW, I like having the cloud aspects, I just don't like it being a requirement like eero). Whichever I give to my mom, I will be able to manage it from my house. So, as long as her internet is up, I can make sure things are working. That's very nice.

Except for the Sonos blip this morning, eero has been pretty solid. And its app is better than google's in terms of ease of use and features (though possibly not for long). In the real world, for most people, this system will be fine. It's getting more speed than most people's internet connection. I'm going to run it with constant sonos for a day or two, and then switch to google wifi for a few days.

Right now, either system is looking "good enough". I see why so many reviews are basically "google because it's cheaper". There's no clear winner except in price. There are still some issues I haven't tried. I know wifi calling on eero (if your iphone/service support it) has been reported as problematic on the new firmware. Fortunately, I have great cell signal, so that's not a huge issue for me.

Hey Netgear, get orbi working so I can stop this nonsense and get my mom and myself functioning orbi.

Will report in again soon.

--Derrek