Tag Archives: Wi Fi

Our New ‘eero 6’ Mesh Network Diagram.

2 Replies

by Anura Guruge
on December 10, 2022

Click to ENLARGE.

First & foremost eero Support has been very forthcoming. I am happy about that. Within minutes of my post (a couple of days ago) that my new eero 6 network is SLOWER than my old eero 5 network they reached out to me. I am impressed & pleased.

I had to draw a network diagram for them. What I show above is a slightly simplified version of that.

I put it here, as a post, MAINLY for my own use! My blogs (& I have a couple that are private) serve as my journals — a record of my convoluted life. This way I can go searching for things down the road. I know the keywords I will use: “network diagram”. Bingo. I will be able to find this years from now. I just went & checked some of my older diagrams — which were fancier.

Click to ENLARGE. Network diagram from 2015. More detailed diagram!

‘eero 6’: My New 4-node ‘eero 6’ Mesh Network Is 100Mbps SLOWER Than What I Got With 3 eero 5s.

Leave a reply

by Anura Guruge
on December 8, 2022

Click to ENLARGE. On right is a screenshot from my ‘eero APP’ proving I have FOUR eero 6s.

TDS installed one of their own, eero-based “Wi-Fi+” Mesh Networks in our home, in March 2020, so that we can (supposedly) get most out of our (near) 1Gbps Internet feed. Once we got used to it, we found it to be tolerable. It was reliable if nothing else.

Yesterday, they I NEVER requested it, TDS upgraded us to a new eero 6-based network because we upgraded from ‘TDS TV’ to ‘TDS TV+’.

So they swapped out our old ‘Surfboard Internet Modem’ & three eero 5 units & put in a 4-unit eero 6 Mesh. It has been a DISASTER.

It works BUT it is PAINFULLY SLOW.

My main PC (as has always been the case) is hardwired (i.e., LAN-attached) to one of the eero 5 units. That is standard. My Roku as well as the TDS TV+ unit are also hardwired. (Yes, we use a LAN splitter in the basement to make that happen & TDS took care of that too (though I supplied the splitter).

The hardwired connection is down at least 90Mbps. No if & buts, it is SLOW.

Wi-Fi is consistently 100Mbps SLOWER than what we had.

Yes, given that we (in theory) have 1Gbps coming to the house, we can still function with a 100Mbps drop in bandwidth. But we all notice it.

NOT AMUSED. NOT IMPRESSED. NOT HAPPY. But, I am at the mercy of TDS! I would rather NOT have eero.

2022 Volvo XC60: You Need To Manually Download ‘Offline Maps’ Before Venturing Into Rural Areas.

Leave a reply

by Anura Guruge
on February 26, 2022

Click to ENLARGE. I kid you not.

NO. The Volvo Google MAPS do not have downloaded map coverage for the entire US —
NOT even for all of Maine.

It is frigging, bloody AMAZING. And they don’t even tell you of this beforehand. Actually, Volvo Support had no clue. You only discover this, to your cost & chagrin, when you find yourself in a rural area, like northern Maine, & look down at your maps & discover that it is LOST — stating ‘NO GPS/Looking for Signal‘!

It is appalling. It is inexcusable.

I discovered this, by accident, during my trip to Acadia last week. Just north of Augusta, just as I was exploring a new route (i.e., Rte 202 to Bangor) I lost maps on my accursed, dreaded, piece-of-junk 2022 XC60 (with just 2,200 miles). Nothing. Maps stuck back in New Hampshire.

I called Volvo on the phone. Did all the usual, mindless tricks. Nothing.

Called the dealers, viz. ‘Volvo Cars of Exeter‘, that sold me this piece of junk. They were of no help. Totally incoherent. No help. Incoherent. What can I say. Incoherent. Hhhmmm.

Well, I worked it out on my own. I have been using Google Maps for a very long time on multiple devices — some with just Wi-Fi connectivity. This gave me a clue. Connected the XC60 to the house 1G Wi-Fi service. Then went looking through Google Maps settings. BINGO. ‘Offline Mode’. I downloaded two maps for Maine. I need to download MORE before my next trip to Maine next week.

So, a important heads up.