By Eric Johnson, Recode
Wireless internet is pretty great — until it doesn’t work
the way you want it to. And according to Eero CEO Nick Weaver,
consumers’ demand for consistently fast Wi-Fi is only going up.
[post_ads]“Just watch the Netflix earnings,” Weaver said on the latest episode of Too Embarrassed to Ask.
“People are cutting the cord faster than anyone ever anticipated. And
now, what’s happened is they’re 100 percent reliant on internet
connectivity everywhere. The moment you get between the average American
and their television, that’s when they’re really motivated to go fix a
problem.”
Eero is one of several companies that makes a “mesh
router” system, which is a fancy way of saying “buy several boxes with
radios in them that could make your Wi-Fi more consistent.” Weaver said
his customers’ homes are smaller than people might think, averaging
around 1,700 square feet. That’s because Wi-Fi speeds can be an issue
even if you live in a one- or two-bedroom apartment.
“When you get into a city environment, it’s pretty
interesting: You can go stand next to your router, run a speed test,” he
said. “[Then] go to your bedroom, go to your kitchen, go to a few
places, and what you’ll see is the speed drop off dramatically. And the
reason for that is, frequently, you’re in old construction with lots of
brick and stucco, and second, there’s a ton of interference because
there’s so many people stacked up on each other.”
You can listen to the new podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
On the new podcast, Weaver explained how Eero compares to
its competitors — such as Google — and why the company now has a paid
subscription service called Eero Plus, which adds services like parental
controls and antivirus protection to the router system. He said the
demand for reliable internet access in the home is only going to go up
as the Internet of Things proliferates.
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“Basically, turn [the home] into an operating system,” he
said. “That’s ultimately where things are going. There are very few
devices that every home needs. Great connectivity is absolutely one of
those devices. Rather than building a thermostat or a speaker or a light
switch, build the device that 100 percent of homes need, and then
expand from there.”
He also offered some steps you can take to make sure
you're not bringing dangerously unsafe smart home devices into your
network.
“Buy products from reputable brands,” Weaver said. “Say
you want to buy a camera for your home: Don’t buy the $30 camera that
you found a random Amazon listing for. Buy from a brand you trust.
That’s the single biggest thing you can do, is buy devices from known
companies that have a commitment to updating the software and making
sure the experience works. That costs more money, but it’s absolutely
worth it.”
Have questions about Wi-Fi that we didn’t get to in this episode? Tweet them to @Recode with the hashtag #TooEmbarrassed, or email them to TooEmbarrassed@recode.net.
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