Amazon has announced that the new eero Built-in feature they’ve just enabled for Australia and NZ allows select Echo devices to function as eero mesh Wi-Fi extenders, allowing owners to expand their eero network coverage.
According to Amazon, households with compatible Echo products may add up to 92 sq. m. of coverage to their existing eero network and potentially support speeds up to 100 Mbps for 10 or fewer connected devices in the 5 GHz band, at no additional charge from eero.
The company suggests this could improve home connectivity, potentially reducing buffering during 4K streaming or drop-offs during HD video calls.
Amazon describes the setup process for eero Built-in as involving linking an Amazon account in the eero app after setting up eero and Echo devices.
The company states that if an account is already linked, eero will automatically detect compatible Echo devices on the network and use them to extend Wi-Fi. Users can manage which Echo devices to enable as Wi-Fi extenders from within the eero app.
The company claims that the introduction of eero Built-in in Australia and New Zealand could allow for expanded device pairing capabilities, such as multi-room music playback with compatible Echo devices and potentially extended Wi-Fi coverage with a compatible eero network.
Note: eero Built-In extended wifi supports connected devices on 5 GHz Wi-Fi only. When you enable eero Built-in, eero intelligently detects when your eero devices are already providing strong coverage at your Echo device. If that is the case, eero will automatically disable eero Built-in on your Echo device to help avoid interference from nearby eero devices.
Amazon indicates that eero Built-in will be offered at no additional cost and it is compatible with these eero systems (eero Max 7, eero Pro 6E, eero 6+, eero Pro 6, eero 6, eero Pro, eero) as well as Echo Dot (4th and 5th Gen), Echo (4th Gen), Echo Dot with Clock (4th and 5th Gen) and Echo Pop.
Unfortunately I can’t test the new eero Built-in feature even though I have eero Pro 6 because none of my Echo devices are included in the list (Echo Show 15, Echo Dot with Clock 3rd gen and original Echo Spot).