Eero Vs Luma : Which One You Should Buy?

With smart homes and smart gadgets ruling the market, what has become essential in our daily lives is a strong and reliable internet connection. But most of the times, we fail to give the required importance to a good Wi-Fi router. No products found. and Luma are among the top options available in the market. But which one of these is suitable for your requirements? In this article, we will list down the similarities and differences between the two and also point out their features to enable you to decide the one that will fulfill your needs.

Our Verdict

It is quite clear that with advanced features and technologies and better functionalities, Eero is far ahead of Luma as a Wi-Fi router. Though Luma is in the market for a very long time and even a bit less expensive as compared to No products found., Its features are somewhat outdated. Eero provides a lot better functionalities by paying only a few extra dollars. Eero appears costlier when you compare the prices of the two but the features it offers easily make up for that money.

Eero Vs Luma: Comparison Chart

Differences

1. Wireless Connectivity

The Wi-Fi connectivity of any router is a foremost feature to consider as this significantly affects the speed and connections of the network. Eero and Google Luma differ in some aspects of their wireless connectivity which thus make them differ in usability and performance as well.

An No products found. router has Tri-Band Wi-Fi radios. Eero’s first band has 2.4 GHZ connection while the second and the third bands have 5.2 GHz and 5.8 GHz connections respectively. Each of these three bands are IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac bands. The additional third band enables the router to handle multiple connections efficiently without losing stability. It also helps in managing backhaul traffic. Therefore, you won’t face any significant drop in speed when more and more devices will connect to your Wi-Fi router.

On the other hand, Luma is a dual-band router. One of the radio bands has a 2.4 GHz connection while the other has 5 GHz connection and both of these have IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac radios.

2. Units

Instead of the common design, the eero router consists of gateways and beacons. The eero gateway acts as your main router which gets connected to the modem to create a strong seamless network while the beacons help you to make your network reach places that are distant from the main unit and thus kills all potential dead spaces from your house. The eero beacons plug-in directly in the socket and thus you can put them in to get a good network wherever you can find an outlet.

In addition, these beacons also act as a night lamp if the need be as they have a LED light associated with them. The range of your router depends directly on the number of beacons you use and this depends entirely on the area of your property and your needs. Each beacon increases the coverage area of your network by 150 sq.ft.

Luma has a somewhat similar set up where the main gadget acts as the primary router which acts and spreads connectivity with the help of access points. However, unlike Eero where the gateway and beacons are different, Luma’s primary router and access points are identical. Therefore you can use a Luma device as a router as well as an access point as per your need. Moreover, each Luma device comes with a 2.0 USB port and 2 built-in Gigabit Ethernet ports.

3. Range

The range of the No products found. and Luma depends on the number of beacons and Luma devices.One eero router and one beacon cover a range up to 2,000 sq. ft. By adding one more beacon, you can expand your range to 3,000 sq. ft. if required.Similarly, one Luma device offers a range of 1000 to 1500 sq. ft. If you require more range, you can increase the coverage area to 2000 to 3000 sq. ft. by using three Luma devices.

4. Performance

 Eero’s 2.4 GHz band has a capacity of 240 Mbps while its 5 GHz band has 600 Mbps capacity. Plus, there is no significant decrease in speed on adding new points to the network. This is mainly due to the presence of an additional band in the three-band router. You can expand your network by adding numerous access points and won’t face any decline in the efficiency of the network. The long-range connections can reach a speed of 173.6 Mbps while the close-range connections are capable of speed up to 439.3 Mbps.

With Luma, on the other hand, the speed offered is quite good but it has some major disadvantages. The Luma network gets down for 5 to 10 minutes a few times a day and there is no cure to this problem. Moreover, the speed of the network has been noted to decline on the addition of extra Luma devices to the router. The close-range speed goes up to 319.5 Mbps and the long-range speed goes up to 71.3 Mbps.Being a tri-band router, Eero is far better than Luma in terms of performance.

5. Bridge Mode

The bridge mode enables you to use your device with your existing router. Eero supports bridge mode with other routers. However, when used in this mode, many important features and functionalities of Eero are lost which are otherwise present when you use the device as a router. You can’t even control the advanced features of your device through the Eero mobile App if it is being used in bridge mode. Moreover, it will require the device to be connected to your router through an Ethernet port.

On the other hand, Luma does not support bridge mode and if you will try to use it with your existing router, it will create a separate network.Thus, for users who want to keep their existing router and Wi-Fi network, Eero is undoubtedly a much better option.

6. Night Light

No products found. beacon is equipped with a 10 Lumen LED light. The device also has an in-built light sensor. As the beacon plugs in directly into the outlet, this LED can serve as your night light. The light sensor makes it an automatic night light. However, you can change the brightness of the light or set a timer on the light or even turn it off using the App or your Alexa.

Luma offers no such feature.

 7. Size And Design

Eero measures 4.76 x 4.76 x 1.24 inches. The Eero Beacons are similar in looks but they are cut in half with size 4.76 x 2.91 x 1.18 inches to fit in easily with the outlet.

The Google Wi-Fi is twice as tall as the Eero with diameter and height 4.17 and 2.70 inches respectively.

8. Subscription

Both Eero and Luma have their own subscription plans to enhance their existing features.

Eero has Eero Plus which offers some excellent features that make your system much more secure. This also enables you to handle your device better through the eero app. Some of the features of Eero that unlock via the Eero Plus subscription are as follows:

• The Threat Scan – This feature will check every website you visit against various URLs that have been identified as infected or inappropriate and notify you when any such website is trying to be accessed through your network.
• Family-safe browsing – This makes your network safe for access by children as well. This feature tags inappropriate sites containing contents not fit for children and you can block these using the Eero App.
• me VPN – This enables you to access the web securely and privately without the fear of getting tracked. The Eero Plus subscription gives you five different accounts which can be used privately by five different members of your family.
• 1Password Password Manager – This feature enables you to secure your online accounts by letting you create new passwords for every login that you make without facing the trouble of remembering numerous passwords. You just have to create a password for the password manager and remember. The rest will be done by this manager.
• Malwarebytes Antivirus – Eero Plus gives you a good amount of discount on this antivirus software that will protect your computers, mobiles and other such devices from viruses, ransomware, and other threats. Without the Eero Plus subscription, you will have to spend $368 per year for availing this protection and with this, you will just have to give $99 per year for these services.

With Luma, you get Luma Guardian which offers you many advanced features to make your system more secure and safe for use. The Privacy VPN Lets you keep your browsing history and data safe from the threat of being traced, altered or sold. The Luma Guardian Stealth Mode protects all your data through encryption.

The Device Antivirus offered by Luma Guardian gives you good quality antivirus that is capable of protecting up to three devices. The ISP Speed Monitoring informs you about low speed provided your Internet Service Provider through notifications. Through the Premium Support offered by Luma Guardian, you can contact experts 7 days a week on chat, call or e-mail.

Besides these, there are other perks to Luma Guardian like discounts and two years extended warranty for the Luma hardware. And if you wish to buy more Luma products in the future, you will get 10% discount on all your future Luma purchases. Keeping in mind the perks of both Eero Plus and Luma Guardian, Eero Plus seems to be better in terms of features and security. Though Eero Plus costs more than Luma Guardian, its functionalities make up for the extra cost.

9. Web Filtering

Through Web-filtering you can limit the website access of your devices to prevent your kids from seeing inappropriate content on the web. You can block certain websites that you find unsuitable and your network won’t allow them to be accessed by any devices connected to your network. Both No products found. and Luma offer web filtering but they differ in the way they do so.

The Eero filtering enables you to do the filtering using various options available on the Eero app. The options are:

• The Sexually Explicit feature – Through this filter, you can stop the access of adult content from your network. It blocks all contents related to nudity, pornography, etc.
• The illegal/crime filter – This enables you to block contents related to hacking, drugs, cyber-crime, etc.
• Violence Filter – This filters out violent content like fights, weapons, etc.

Luma also lets you filter the content accessed by your network. However, the names of the options available on Luma are not so self-explanatory. You can apply restrictions to specified devices or to the entire network based on your needs.

While the Eero restrictions can be applied only if you have Eero Plus subscription, the Luma web filtering is available free of cost.

10. Design

The Luma device is a hexagonal unit of dimensions 4.5” x 4.5” x 1’. The Luma device is available in four colors that are black, grey, orange, and white. With this, Luma is a compact device that is two-third the size of an Eero unit.

The Eero system has two types of devices. The main Eero router has dimensions of 4.76” x 4.76” x 1.26” and lie flat on any surface. The beacons are also attractively designed and they plug-in directly in a socket wherever they are required.

11. Storage And Memory

The No products found. system has a RAM of 512 MB with flash storage of 256 MB.Luma lacks in this respect from Eero as its RAM is only 256 MB and the flash storage is only 128 MB.

Similarities

1. Processor

Both Eero and Luma use the same processor that is Quadcore 700 MHz.

2. MU-MIMO

Multi-user Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) is a feature that makes the network capable of transmitting data among multiple devices. Even without MU-MIMO, it is possible to stream data to multiple devices but MU-MIMO gives a better connection to the devices as it permits sharing of the network. MU-MIMO routers provide a better network with a stable and consistent network.Both No products found. and Luma offer MU-MIMO technology.

3. Beam Formation Technology

Beam formation allows any signal to be beamed in a focussed manner towards the connected device instead of getting spread in a large area and reducing its effectiveness.Both these routers are equipped with this beam-forming technology.

4. Smart Home Support

Both the Eero and Luma allow smart home support. Thus, they both give your smart home and all your devices, a reliable, consistent and speedy connection. All you require is a smart Wi-Fi router and a ZigBee or Z-Wave Hub. You can easily control your routers and change their settings only by speaking into your smart home assistants.

5. Reduces Wi-Fi Dead Zones

Both these Wi-Fi routers will give good and reliable network connection in every corner of your home and thus eliminate any network dead zone that previously existed. Both eero and Luma use multiple points throughout your house and thus eliminating any potential dead zone.

6. Parental Control

The parental control feature enables you to look at the internet usage of all the devices connected to your router. You can even limit the usage or cut the connection of any device if required. You can even schedule the connection of a device or set time restrictions. This way, you can limit your children from internet access and thus protect them from the unsuitable content present on the internet.

7. Guest Network

Any separate access point that joins your network is a guest network. Your own devices are connected to your home network through one access point. The guest network allows other devices to access the internet through another point using your network without connecting to your home network. Thus, it allows people to connect to the internet through your network but they won’t actually be connected to your network. Both Luma and eero provide this feature. You can also limit the connections and the number of guests to your network by changing the settings through the eero or the Luma app.

8. Easy To Install

Luma and No products found. router, both these routers are easy to install and it is quite simple to get them ready for use. Eero router operates through the eero app while the Luma uses the Luma App for its functionalities. Both these are very simple to use and you can easily set them up, manage your network, set up security, etc. There are some advanced features in the eero app which are not available for free but you can access them by getting the eero plus subscription. In case you are buying a smart router, you just need to change the name and password of your Eero to the same as your previous network and the major of your devices will hook back up to your router without any extra work.

Features Of Eero

No products found.

• Tri-Band Router
• Beacon Units
• 2 Ethernet Ports
• Quadcore 700 MHz Processor
• 4GB flash storage
• 512 MB RAM
• Built-in Bluetooth
• Parental Control
• MU-MIMO Technology
• Beam Forming Technology
• Wi-Fi Security- WPA2
• Guest Networks
• User-friendly App
• Maximum download speed of 150 Mbps. The average download speed is 123.5 Mbps.
• Maximum upload speed of 150 Mbps. The average upload speed is 112.1 Mbps.
• The average performance of the 5GHz band is -39 dBm.
• The average performance of the 2.5GHz band is -41 dBm.
• Items in the box:3 Eeros (One base station and two beacons), 3 Power adapters, Ethernet cable, Quick-start Guide

Features Of Luma

• Dual Band Router
• 2 Ethernet Ports
• Quadcore 700 MHz Processor
• 128MB of flash storage
• 256 MB RAM
• Parental Control
• MU-MIMO Technology
• Beam Forming Technology
• Wi-Fi Security- WPA/WPA2
• Remote control
• User-friendly App
• Maximum download speed of 150 Mbps. The average download speed is 90.8 Mbps.
• Maximum upload speed of 150 Mbps. The average upload speed is 88 Mbps.
• The average performance of the 5GHz band is -59 dBm.
• The average performance of the 2.5GHz band is -57 dBm.
• Items in the box: Luma device, Power Adapter, Ethernet cable, Quick start guide

Eero Review

No products found.

Being a tri-band router is one of Eero’s best advantages as it allows negligible drop in speed with distance. Moreover, with the help of Eero beacons, it is much easy to expand the Eero network without additional effort. The beacons plug-in directly into an outlet wherever their need arises and you get an expanded network to use.

Moreover, there is no loss of speed on adding additional beacons. Also, there is no restriction to the number of beacons added. Along with this, the advanced features the Eero offers like bridge mode, MU-MIMO, Parental control, etc. add on to its utility.

Eero offers a wide range of ways by which you can manage and control your networks like the ability to assign devices to your network, setting restrictions on various devices, applying limits to the usage by various devices, time scheduling the network as a whole or the network available to various devices, and much more. Eero also has a simple installation process for the ease of the users.

Plus, the Eero device comes with three beacons and an installation guide that makes the set-up process even easier. Another plus point in case of Eero is the Led present on its beacon. Though this is not an advantage as a router the LED itself is of great use as it acts as a night lamp. The base station also has a single LED that is blue when the system is in use and turns red in situations of alarm.

However, Eero may be a pain to the pocket and a majority of Eero’s functionalities cannot be accessed without the Eero Plus subscription. This at times appears as a negative point that you will have to pay a monthly charge to completely utilize your system even after paying $500 while buying it. But the features that Eero Plus offer makes it worth the money and Eero has appeared as one of the best routers available in the market at the present date.

How Does It Work?

Eero Wi-Fi is easy to set up. You just need to take care of the main routers and the separate units. The main unit connects to your modem and generates a seamless beam of the network. You can connect more units to expand the coverage range. The number of units depends on the size of your property or the area for which you want the network.

However, you need to keep the additional units in the wireless range area of at least one other unit. Once you are done with this, you need to follow the simple set up process of the eero app as already mentioned. Once done, your network is ready for use with a wide range of useful features for your aid.

Set -up Process:

Step 1– Install the eero application to an iOS or Android device.

Step 2- Feed in the required range. You need to mention whether it’s a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom or any other place.

Step 3- Create your account on the app.

Step 4-Plug in the device into a power plug, and an Ethernet cable into the Internet router (cable modem, etc).

Step 5- Register to the eero app.

Step 6- Set the location

Step 7-Create the Wi-Fi network and create the SSID and password.

Eero Beacon:

• Expands the existing system
• Plugs in directly to an outlet
• Eero beacon has no Ethernet port therefore, it does not directly connect to a modem
• It essentially needs an eero device i.e. an eero 1^st or 2^nd
• Eero beacon is compact as it has a size that is almost half the size of the eero.
• One Eero beacon adds 1000 sq. ft. to the initial coverage area.
• You can add as many eero beacons as are required.
• The beacon is also equipped with a 10 Lumen LED nightlight
• The nightlight has a light sensor and an automatic dimmer.

Eero app: 

• Advanced diagnostics to keep various tabs functional simultaneously.
• You can see the strength of connection in the various devices. connected.to your router and also of your eero router.
• The app enables you to pause connection to the various devices connected with your network.
• It is even possible to schedule the connections with the help of the app.
• Efficient parental control is possible with these features of the app.

Luma Review

Luma is a very old product available in the market and thus has the advantage of being a known product. However, many features of Luma are outdated and need up-gradation. Though the company has worked on many issues and is still working on many, Luma still lags behind in comparison to its competitors in many fields.

But still, Luma offers a wide range of user-friendly features as well like MU-MIMO technology, web filtering, time scheduling of the network, limiting access of individual devices and all. If there are children at your home, Luma lets you have a really efficient parental control and that too without the Luma Guardian subscription.

Luma offers you a range of abilities to get control over your network as you can set time schedules for various devices, you can filter the content that can be accessed through your network on various devices, you can set a particular device on priority and much more. Plus, you can use various Luma devices to expand your network.

The main router and the units are the same in case of Luma and you can use any of them in either way. But Luma gives you little space for customization and the constant decline in network speed is a major disadvantage with Luma. Though Luma is not as expensive as Eero, it does not have as many features as well. If you can manage with the cost, there are much better options for routers available in the market.

How Does It Work?

Luma Wi-Fi is quite easy to set up. There aren’t even separate main router s and units. All of Luma devices look the same and you can use any one of them as your network creator and use the rest of them to expand the network. One of the Luma devices connects to your modem and generates a seamless beam of the network. You can connect more units to expand the coverage range. The number of units depends on the size of your property or the area for which you want the network.

However, you need to keep the units in the wireless range area of at least one other unit. Once you are done with this, you need to follow the simple set up process of the Luma app as already mentioned. Once done, your network is ready for use with a wide range of useful features for your aid.

Set-Up Process:

Step 1: Install the Luma App for your Android or iOS.

Step 2: Create an account on the Luma app.

Step 3: Select the number of Luma devices you are using.

Step 4: Select the location and the floor where your device will be.

Step 5: Install the first Luma unit with the help of the Ethernet cable given in the pack. Plug-in one end of the Ethernet port into your modem and the other in the Luma device.

Step 6: Create your network, give it a name. You are all set to use your network.

Luma App: 

• You can personally name all the devices connected to your network
• You can set ratings, restrict access, pause the connection or monitor the usage if you need to.
• Stealth VPN service with Luma Guardian subscription
• You can monitor your ISP’s speed and be notified if the speed falls down.
• You can set time schedules for the devices that connect to the network.
• Through various settings in the app, you get good parental control over your network and your children.

FAQs

Bottom Line

Both No products found. and Luma are good Wi-Fi network providers. Eero, however, outranks Luma in terms of better features and up to date technologies. If you can ignore the little extra expense that comes with Eero, Eero is the router you should choose. If you don’t like Eero, You should check out the comparison between Luma and Orbi, But if you really wanna see more about Eero, check out How Eero is different from Google Wifi.