Amazon's Eero 6 router lineup gets HomeKit support

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in General Discussion
Amazon-owned Eero has updated its latest routers to support Apple's HomeKit smart home platform after upgrading its last-gen devices in 2020.

Eero's new HomeKit support for Wi-Fi 6 mesh routers
Eero's new HomeKit support for Wi-Fi 6 mesh routers


In November 2020, Amazon launched its Eero 6 lineup consisting of the Eero 6 Pro, Eero 6, and the Eero 6 Extender. While the preceding Eero routers supported HomeKit at the time, the new models did not at launch.

A half-year later, Amazon has followed through in supporting HomeKit via a free firmware update for the popular mesh routers, which is gradually rolling out to owners of the devices. To date, only Belkin-owned Linksys and Eero have implemented HomeKit on their Wi-Fi routers.

Users that have HomeKit-enabled routers are able to more securely protect their network and smart home in part by limiting what network access smart home devices have. Devices can be unrestricted, limited to communicating with only the manufacturer's servers for the purpose of software updates or third-party app features, or limited to only communicating on your local network.

This prevents them from sending sensitive home data to suspicious servers or from others gaining outside access. Devices that work solely with HomeKit are locked down and don't strictly need a HomeKit Router for security, but some devices support multiple smart home platforms or store data on outside servers which users may want to limit.

How to enable HomeKit on the latest Eero routers

  • Be sure your routers are fully up to date from within the Eero app

  • Tap on the Discover tab

  • Tap Apple HomeKit

  • Tap Set up HomeKit

  • Follow the prompts within the Home app to ensure desired settings for individual devices or categories
Eero's latest HomeKit routers are available now from Amazon in several configurations.

Users can buy a three-pack of tri-band Eero Pro 6 routers for $599, a single Eero Pro 6 router for $229, or a dual-band Eero 6 with two extenders for $279.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    tjwolftjwolf Posts: 424member
    What keeps the router itself from sending data back home (to Amazon)?  God how I wish Apple was still in the router business.
    KillBillOGflydogcornchipbuttesilverScot1jeffzachariaswilliamlondonevolutwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 17
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    I wish Apple came back into the router business.  I sill use their AirPort Extreme routers and installed them in all our rental apartments (we provide free internet access) and Apple's products are just rock-solid reliable.

    A modern AirPort Extreme router with ASi in it would be a very sweet setup.  One can always wish.
    KillBillOGgregoriusmcornchipbuttesilverScot1jeffzachariaswatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 17
    Amazon… no thanks! Apple, get your privacy “s” together and not just clever advertising…
    cornchipwilliamlondon
  • Reply 4 of 17
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    Amazon ≈ Facebook
    cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 17
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,945member
    I just don’t see how Amazon can be trusted. 
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 17
    zompzomp Posts: 62member
    So many are questioning the security and y'all are probably right. I am however using Eeros pro and I have to say it is by far the best router I've used to date. I've used others and returned them to amazon because they didn't match up to their own hype. Apple was the best for a long time, my guess is they are waiting for all the changes to take place and will develop a system in the future.
    I did link Eeros pro to HomeKit and it worked fine, just don't know about security like y'all.

    williamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 17
    swat671swat671 Posts: 150member
    cornchip said:
    I just don’t see how Amazon can be trusted. 
    Why not?
    williamlondon
  • Reply 8 of 17
    swat671swat671 Posts: 150member

    Amazon ≈ Facebook
    How so? And even if so, so what?
    williamlondon
  • Reply 9 of 17
    swat671swat671 Posts: 150member
    I used to have an AirPort Extreme N simultaneous duel band and an Express N simultaneous duel band as an extender. When we ended up getting a new home theater system at the house, the wi-fi wasn't strong enough, so it was time to finally upgrade. I ended up going with a Linksys Wi-Fi 6 Velop mesh system for a few reasons, one being that it has 4 Ethernet ports on the back that are useable even on the satellite devices. That way we were able to hook up the Playstation and AppleTV to the router for better coverage. I'd just like to see a few software updates from them. Mainly, it has a USB 3 port for an external hard drive. Well, it only supports FAT and NTFS, which limits the usability to work with an Apple setup with large video files, which kinda negates the reason I bought a 12TB external HDD. (FAT doesn't work with hard drives that large, and also doesn't work with files over 4GB, so huge video files are a no-go. There are NTFS plugins available for the Mac, but it won't work with the AppleTV.) So, I need either exFAT or APFS support for the larger HDD and large video files. It also doesn't support HomeKit yet, while other, older Linksys routers do, which makes no sense to me. So, arg.... If Apple introduced a new AirPort, with Wi-Fi 6 and good mesh support, I would really take a good hard look at that. But, #FirstWorldProblems
    williamlondonrobin huberwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 17
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    Hanging on to my two AirPort Extremes (one base and one as extender). When one of them dies it’s Belkin  for me as soon as their Velop is HomeKit enabled. Won’t let Amazon in the door. Just leave it on the porch. ;-)
    edited May 2021 williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 17
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    swat671 said:

    Amazon ≈ Facebook
    How so? And even if so, so what?
    Anti-worker for one. Personal data Draculas for two. 
    williamlondonStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 17
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    I’ve enabled this, but I’m not clear on what I should do with it next. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 17
    fatkid98fatkid98 Posts: 16member
    I’ve enabled this, but I’m not clear on what I should do with it next. 
    Go to the Home app, then Home Settings, and then tap on Wi-Fi Network & Routers. It’ll show you your connected routers and all devices/hubs that are connected to HomeKit. You can enable HomeKit Accessory Security and choose what level of security you want for each device/hub. For example, I bought a cheap HomeKit enabled smart switch from eBay. I absolutely do not trust the manufacturer (if there even is one), so I chose “restrict to home”. The switch itself doesn’t need access outside of my local network in order to work in the Home app.
    StrangeDayswilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 17
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    fatkid98 said:
    I’ve enabled this, but I’m not clear on what I should do with it next. 
    Go to the Home app, then Home Settings, and then tap on Wi-Fi Network & Routers. It’ll show you your connected routers and all devices/hubs that are connected to HomeKit. You can enable HomeKit Accessory Security and choose what level of security you want for each device/hub. For example, I bought a cheap HomeKit enabled smart switch from eBay. I absolutely do not trust the manufacturer (if there even is one), so I chose “restrict to home”. The switch itself doesn’t need access outside of my local network in order to work in the Home app.
    Ah! Thanks. 


    fatkid98watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 17
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 1,989member
    Airport had finally become unstable for me over the past year. Never could figure out for certain what the issue was, but with significant frequency, a cascade failure would dump most of my switches, cameras, etc. off of the network. I think perhaps I was just at the limit for the number of devices Airport could handle. The only way to recover was to unplug the Aiport devices and bring them back online one by one, which is of course untenable. 

    I broke down and bought eero pros. (Pro 6 didn’t have HomeKit support yet, and it wasn’t clear if it ever would, because of the Amazon acquisition. Oh well.) I’m uneasy about the Amazon security concerns, too, but there’s no all-Apple choice available any longer. Now, two time capsules with radios switched off are each tied via Ethernet to an eero device as an NAS, and provide dual time machine backups over the network. The eeros have been entirely stable. Setup was Apple-easy, and the apps allow you to monitor everything on your network with the clarity that Airport Utility would have had by now if it were more than minimally supported. 

    Honestly, other than the unease over eeros being owned by Amazon, they work like what a next-generation Airport device should have been. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 17
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    swat671 said:

    Amazon ≈ Facebook
    1. How so? 2. And even if so, so what?
    1. They both use personal information for corporate gain.

    2. I don't want companies I do business with to use my personal information for their gain.

    Do you have any further questions? At least you weren't hostile, and I appreciate that.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 17
    neilmneilm Posts: 985member
    zomp said:
    Apple was the best for a long time, my guess is they are waiting for all the changes to take place and will develop a system in the future.

    Wish I could agree with you, but it's pretty clear that Apple took a decision that routers aren't a core part of its business – hence the axe. A contributing factor was the impending arrival of mesh systems, which would have required a significant resource commitment to develop. Then at the low end, most people are using the default cable company wireless router.

    I'm still using a pair of final model Airport Extremes at home, and another pair at work. Best routers ever, and they still get occasional firmware updates. But the writing is on the wall for their eventual replacement. I see a WiFi 6 capable mesh network in my future.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
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