Eero Mesh and Fios (G3100 Router)?
Oopey
Enthusiast - Level 3

(This is a follow-up to a recent post I had, so thank you to everyone who helped me there.)

Hi All,

I'm (probably) going to upgrade from my current 75/75 speed (with G3100 router attached by coax to ONT) to a higher speed (definitely not higher than 400/400, based on pricing). In order to do that, I need to connect the G3100 router to the ONT via ethernet wire, which means I need to move the G3100 from where it currently is in the house. Doing this will mean I will leave maybe 30-40% of my house with weak (or no) wifi signal. So, I'm thinking of doing the following, and please let me know what you think:

  1. Connect ONT to G3100 WAN via Cat 6a ethernet wire;
  2. Connect ONT to G3100 via coax (because I have tv set top boxes and also want to use MoCa adapters) as follows:
    1. coax from ONT to splitter;
    2.  coax from splitter to G3100; and
    3. coax from splitter to where I want to have tv STBs and MoCa adapters
  3.  connect a Fios MoCa extender (ECB5240M) via coaxial in the dead-zone area.

Because the G3100 is MoCa 2.5 and the ECB5240M is MoCa 2.0, I should be getting up to the full 400 Mbps (that I would pay for) out of the ECB5240M. (If I ever want to upgrade to a higher speed past 500 Mbps, I'd need to get a 2.0 bonded or 2.5 adapter in the dead-zone area.)

Now that I have that set-up, I want to connect an Eero mesh via ethernet wire to the G3100 LAN and also to the ECB5240M LAN. Because the backhaul for both is ethernet (with up to 400 Mbps that I'd be paying for), I'm assuming my wifi should also be that speed (if I'm standing right next to either Eero - if I start moving farther away, I understand my speed will drop). I may add a third Eero, although I am unsure if it will be via ethernet backhaul or possibly wifi backhaul. (I really hope I'm using these terms correctly!)

My house is basically a rectangle, so the first Eero would be on the first floor at one end of the house where I will need to move the G3100 to; the second Eero would be on the second floor at the other end of the house. The third Eero (if I use it) woudl be in approximately the middle of the house on the second floor. (We don't have a basement.)

So - would my set-up work as I have described it above? Would adding the third Eero have any detrimental effects if backhauled by wifi? Is it better to not even add it unless I can add it via ethernet?

I've seen several ways online of what I would need to do to the G3100 so that the Eeros would work, but not all of the online articles agree with each other. Anyone have a good article/link/set of instructions that will walk me through it? (Assuming I have everything above correct, I've learned it all over the past week; if I don't have the above correct, then I clearly haven't learned it over the past week!)

Also, are Eeros good to go with? I don't mean the Eero Pro, just the regular Eero that is less than $200 for a 3-pack. Any other choices? (We are an Alexa/Echo home, and we don't use Google Assistant.)

Anything else I should be considering?

Thanks in advance!

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