You got eero specifically because you wanted reliable WiFi. So when it starts dropping every hour — or every 10 minutes — it’s more than annoying. It defeats the whole point.
The frustrating part is that eero doesn’t always tell you why it disconnected. It just goes offline, reconnects, and acts like nothing happened. Until it does it again.
I’ve been there. And after going through this with my own setup, here’s what I found: most eero disconnection problems trace back to one of seven things — and all of them are fixable.
Let’s go through each one.
Quick Answer
Eero keeps disconnecting usually because of one of these: power cycling in the wrong order, double NAT from your ISP modem, a bad Ethernet cable, nodes placed too far apart, wireless interference, a buggy firmware update, or too many devices overwhelming the network. Start with a proper power cycle and work down the list — most people fix it within the first two steps.
Fix 1: Power Cycle in the Right Order
This sounds obvious, but the order matters — and most people get it wrong.
Here’s the correct sequence:
- Unplug your modem from the wall first. Wait 60 seconds.
- Unplug your gateway eero (the one connected to the modem). Wait 30 seconds.
- Unplug all eero nodes (the satellite units around your home).
- Plug the modem back in. Wait until it’s fully online (all lights stable — usually 1–2 minutes).
- Plug in your gateway eero. Wait until it shows a solid white light.
- Plug in your nodes one at a time.
Why does order matter? Your eero needs the modem to be fully online and handing out a valid IP address before it tries to connect. If you restart everything at the same time, eero often grabs an incomplete connection and that can cause instability for hours.
If this doesn’t hold — meaning the disconnections come back within a day — move on to Fix 2.
Fix 2: Fix Double NAT (Put Your Modem in Bridge Mode)
This is the most overlooked cause of eero disconnections, especially if your ISP gave you a modem/router combo unit.
What’s happening: Your ISP gateway is acting as a router. Your eero is also acting as a router. Now you have two devices both trying to manage your network at the same time — this is called double NAT. It creates IP address conflicts, dropped connections, and general instability.
The fix: Put your ISP modem/router into bridge mode. This turns off its router functions and lets your eero take full control of the network.
How to do it:
Note: Not every ISP gateway supports bridge mode. If yours doesn’t, you can also put eero in double NAT mode as a workaround — but bridge mode is the cleaner solution. Check out our guide on using eero with Xfinity for ISP-specific steps on getting this right.
Fix 3: Check the Ethernet Cable Between Your Modem and Eero
A faulty cable is a surprisingly common culprit — and one that’s easy to miss because the connection looks fine from the outside.
Symptoms of a bad cable: eero shows connected but internet keeps dropping, or you see brief offline flashes in the eero app every few minutes.
What to check:
If you’re also using a wired connection between your eero nodes, check those cables too. The same principles apply. If you’re having issues specifically with wired device connections (not just the main internet), our guide on eero wired connection not working covers that separately.
Fix 4: Your Eero Nodes Are Too Far Apart
Eero is a mesh system, which means each node needs to talk to the others (and to the gateway) over WiFi. If the signal between nodes is weak, the mesh becomes unstable — and that shows up as devices dropping off or whole nodes going offline.
Signs this is your problem: a specific node keeps dropping, or the devices connected to one part of your home disconnect more than others.
What to do:
Eero’s mesh works best when each node has a strong connection to its nearest neighbor. Overstretching any link in the chain causes the whole network to become unreliable.
Fix 5: Wireless Interference
WiFi operates on radio frequencies, and it competes with other wireless devices in your home for those same frequencies.
Common sources of interference with eero:
What to try:
Also: resist the urge to add more eero nodes in a small space thinking it’ll improve things. Too many nodes in a tight area can actually cause them to interfere with each other.
Fix 6: A Firmware Update Broke Something
Eero pushes firmware updates automatically and doesn’t give you the option to decline or roll back. Most updates are stable — but occasionally one introduces a bug that causes intermittent drops.
How to tell if this is the cause: the disconnections started around the same time an eero update happened. You can check the update history in the eero app under Settings > Software Version.
What you can do:
You can’t roll back firmware yourself, but reporting the problem to eero support is genuinely useful — it helps them prioritize fixes.
Fix 7: Too Many Devices Overloading the Network
Every device connected to your eero takes up bandwidth and processing overhead on the router. If you’ve got 30+ devices — smart home gadgets, phones, laptops, TVs, streaming sticks — your eero gateway is managing a lot.
Signs this might be the issue: disconnections happen most during peak hours (evenings when everyone’s home), or when streaming and gaming happen simultaneously.
What to try:
If you’re considering whether eero Plus is worth enabling for features like device management and prioritization, we broke that down in our eero Plus review.
When to Factory Reset
A factory reset wipes your eero configuration and makes you set everything up from scratch. It’s a last resort — try all seven fixes above first.
That said, if you’ve tried everything and the drops continue, a factory reset often clears corrupted settings that aren’t visible from the app.
To factory reset:
- Open the eero app
- Go to Settings > Reset > Reset Network
- Follow the setup wizard to reconfigure
Make sure you note your WiFi name, password, and any custom settings (like port forwarding or device reservations) before you reset — you’ll need to re-enter them.
When to Contact Eero Support
If you’ve worked through all the fixes and your eero is still disconnecting, it’s time to loop in eero support.
You can reach them via:
When you contact them, have your modem model, ISP name, and eero model ready. They can check your network logs remotely and often spot issues that aren’t visible from the app.
If your eero is still under warranty and the hardware is at fault, they’ll replace it.
FAQ
Why does my eero keep disconnecting from the internet?
The most common causes are double NAT (from an ISP modem/router combo), a power cycle done in the wrong order, a faulty Ethernet cable between your modem and eero, or nodes placed too far apart. Start by power cycling in the correct sequence (modem first, then eero gateway, then nodes) and check if your modem needs to be put in bridge mode.
Why does my eero keep disconnecting from my phone?
If your phone keeps disconnecting from eero specifically, it’s likely a device-level issue rather than the whole network dropping. Try forgetting the eero network on your phone and reconnecting. If the problem persists, check that your phone isn’t switching to mobile data when WiFi signal is weak.
Does eero have a known disconnection bug?
Eero occasionally releases firmware updates that cause instability for some users. Check the eero community forums (community.eero.com) to see if other users on the same firmware version are reporting similar issues. If so, contact eero support to report the problem.
How do I stop my eero from going offline?
The most reliable long-term fix is ensuring your modem is in bridge mode (to eliminate double NAT), your nodes are positioned within 40–50 feet of each other, and your Ethernet cable between the modem and gateway eero is in good condition. A scheduled daily reboot via the eero app also helps maintain stability.
Can too many devices cause eero to disconnect?
Yes. If you have 30+ devices connected simultaneously, your eero gateway may struggle to manage all the traffic — especially during peak hours. Disconnecting unused devices and upgrading to a newer eero model with more processing power can help.
Does eero work with Starlink without disconnecting?
It can, but you need to configure it correctly. See our guide on using eero with Starlink for the exact setup steps that prevent common disconnection issues.
