The best mesh routers to keep your your Wi-Fi connected
The Nest Wifi mesh route has impressive top speeds. Credit: CBS Interactive
Sick and tired of dead zones in your home's Wi-Fi connection? A mesh router can help deliver fast internet at long range. Here are the best ones that CNET has tested.
The following CNET staff contributed to this story: senior editor Ry Crist and senior editor Laura K. Cucullu. For more reviews of personal technology products, visit cnet.com.
Nest Wi-Fi
CNET RATING 4 stars out of 5 (excellent)
THE GOOD This excellent mesh router system has impressive top speeds, strong performance at range, easy-to-use features and stable band steering. The range-extending Nest Wi-Fi Points come in your choice of three colors and double as Google Assistant smart speakers.
THE BAD Similar mesh systems with comparable coverage can be had for less than half as much.
THE COST $269
BOTTOM LINE If you already use Google's products and services, this is a worthy splurge for a seamless and speedy connected home.
Netgear Orbi 6
CNET RATING 4 stars out of 5 (excellent)
THE GOOD It’s superfast, has simple, app-based setup and network management and a multigig WAN port. Support for Alexa and the Google Assistant lets you activate a guest network or pause the Wi-Fi to a misbehaving kid's device with a quick voice command.
THE BAD You'll need an internet plan of at least 500 megabits per second to notice much of a difference.
THE COST $699.99 to $904.15
BOTTOM LINE Netgear's fastest mesh router sets the bar for the category, but it's overkill for almost everyone.
Netgear Orbi
CNET RATING 3.5 stars out of 5 (very good)
THE GOOD It’s an outstanding value, boasts surprisingly strong signal strength from the router, and it supports Google Assistant and Alexa voice controls.
THE BAD There’s no dedicated Wi-Fi backhaul band to pass data between router and extender. It also lacks Ethernet ports on the extenders and has no USB ports. The mesh connection is less reliable than that of Nest or Eero.
THE COST $199.99
BOTTOM LINE It's nothing fancy, but is still a fine mesh router system at a terrific price.
Eero
CNET RATING 3.5 stars out of 5 (very good)
THE GOOD It’s an excellent value for a three-piece mesh system; boasts easy, app-based setup with automatic security updates, and offers stable mesh performance.
THE BAD There are limited top speeds and range from each individual device, it has no Wi-Fi 6 or WPA3 security support and it is missing special integrations with Alexa.
THE COST $249.99
BOTTOM LINE If you're looking for dependable whole-home Wi-Fi that you don't need to think about too much, take a good look at Eero.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
