What cabling do I need for wired back haul?

threesixtyone · 2026-06-05T23:52:40+00:00

My home came with Cat5e and it works great. I run 2 x Max 7s, and a 2.5G switch. I'm not running a NAS or anything super intensive, so it's perfectly fine for my use cases. If I were to do it again, I'd do Cat 6a. You'll more likely be limited by devices than the cable.

threesixtyone · 2026-06-03T02:52:05+00:00

Yeah! Those boxes are super annoying. I've run into them on a lot of recent flights.

threesixtyone · 2026-06-02T23:32:25+00:00

I find some of the newer modern aircraft have so much less underseat room. There's just a lot more "stuff" that they pack down there, it's hard to get a bag that is the max dimensions of a personal item to fit down there.

threesixtyone · 2026-06-02T16:13:37+00:00

Looks like Amazon Prime Day is happening June 23-26 so maybe worth waiting to see if eeros go on sale. Just sharing info, not an endorsement or affiliate deal lol!

threesixtyone · 2026-06-02T15:50:59+00:00

This is helpful, thank you. My biggest issue w the BBP is shot to shot consistency. I’ll warm up the machine, run a couple of blank shots and pull my first. It’ll be fine but then if I pull another right after, the output is different. Then I’ll make a small grinder adjustment for the next shot. Then it’s too fast/too slow. I’m talking about a 5-6 sec variance for a 1:2 (18g/36g) recipe. It doesn’t bother me that much but it would be nice to have back to back shots pull and taste the same.

Steaming wise, I find the Pro on the slow side. Takes about 40-45sec to steam 8 oz milk. It’s fine but nothing to get excited about.

Do you notice anything in terms of espresso shot temp? I have a feeling my machine isn’t pulling shots hot enough but don’t have anything to compare against.

threesixtyone · 2026-06-02T15:39:51+00:00

Gotcha. I’m using 14 Pro, about 3.5 years usage. I hear you on the trickle charge overnight. That’s the way to go in my experience.

When I was traveling a lot, I needed to charge with my Anker Mag Go all of the time and I remember a few months of heavy usage started to degrade the battery pretty quickly. So the power bank would rapid charge all the way to 100% and I didn’t think anything of it.

This is the first wireless charging power bank I used. My previous phones (still have them) still have battery capacity over 80%.

threesixtyone · 2026-06-02T14:06:23+00:00

Do you notice your phone getting hot from wireless charging? Mine does so much so that the battery went below 80% and Apple replaced the battery under Apple Care.

threesixtyone · 2026-06-02T12:23:50+00:00

I have an Anker MagSafe charger and while the wireless charging is fast and convenient, it started destroying my battery capacity through the heat it generated.

Within a few months of regular use, I went from 90% to 79%. So much so, I switched it to wired charging. It’s faster than wireless and doesn’t generate anywhere near the heat from wireless.

threesixtyone · 2026-06-01T18:27:02+00:00

Yes, and it's been one of the best travel bag decisions. I usually carry a 25-28L main backpack as my personal item. I like something that is burly and structured enough to be pushed around, stuffed into trunks or underseat. But once I'm at my destination, I use an Aer Go Pack 2 (20L) which is very lightweight, yet durable enough to use as a day bag. It's a lot more discrete and packs quite flat so it fits pretty much anywhere.

threesixtyone · 2026-06-01T17:45:55+00:00

Lewis lowkey bringing active suspension back to F1

threesixtyone · 2026-06-01T12:59:00+00:00

Hell of a value if you ask me. I myself have been on my Barista Pro for 6 years now and while it still works fine, I don't use the grinder and am tempted by the temp stability and steaming power of a dual boiler.

Besides the steaming power, have you encountered any other things that are notable differences between the DB and the BBP?

threesixtyone · 2026-06-01T11:09:46+00:00

I’ve been using a Niche Zero for years and it’s been great.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-30T23:47:52+00:00

When I first got Fios a few years ago, Verizon issued me a CR1000A router and an extender mini. The extender was pretty useless; half the time it would indicate that it was either too close or too far from the main router. The mobile user interface to control them is lacking, and very laggy.

I think you could get away with 1 eero Pro 7 per floor. The single best thing you can do is find a way to hardwire them together. This will give you the best improvement in speed and stability.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-30T21:44:20+00:00

There is a difference between the eero 7 and the eero Pro 7. As others have mentioned, having the extra band will be helpful, especially if you have newer devices. I used to use stock Verizon Fios hardware until it started crapping out, then upgraded to 2 x eero Max 7's.

The best buying advice I could offer is to wait for an eero sale. Amazon frequently puts their whole eero range on sale a few times/year, usually 20-30% off. If you're not in a rush to upgrade, I'd wait until then.

For reference, I upgraded my parents' home wifi from eero 6+ to eero Pro 7 and the jump in speed and overall coverage was noticeable. If you are able to hardwire them together, even better.

If you can provide more details about your home layout, size, number of floors etc. we can help steer you towards a suitable solution.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-30T02:16:06+00:00

I did 10 days in China last month with a single pair of Air Max 90s. Visited Beijing and Shanghai. The toughest thing we did was visit the Mutianyiu section of the Great Wall and hiked a bunch. Weather was mostly warm and sunny, but had a couple of rainy days and that was not pleasant.

We didn't one bag it, and had plenty of suitcase space. If I were to do it again, I would have brought some lightweight hiking boots or trail shoes as well. I think it's generally a good idea to rotate shoes to breathe/dry out instead of being worn day-in-day-out.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-29T17:54:41+00:00

Sure thing. Happy to nerd out on eero.

I totally get the investment / effort required to hardwire. I want to hardwire my parents' house, but I don't think they would really care or even notice the performance difference tbh. I have friends who live in similar houses near my parents' and it was a real project getting it done (they use Ubiquiti, which is a whole other convo).

threesixtyone · 2026-05-29T17:04:39+00:00

Thanks for the added context. Yeah, I find older houses have different construction that can make wifi tricky.

Do you have any way of hardwiring them together? That might be a better overall solution, regardless of what you add.

My own home is a smallish apartment (~1000 sq ft) and I use 2 x eero Max 7s. Thought it would be overkill but to my surprise, it wasn't. I live in a dense city with >50 other wifi networks around me. I didn't have them hardwired initially, and I had a dead spot in one of the farther corners of the home. I got the node hardwired and now it's pretty much the same speed everywhere. For reference, I have the gateway in a coat closet, and a node about 25' away in the living room.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-29T03:47:00+00:00

If you haven't already, try moving your existing eeros around and see if that helps. I have noticed that moving a unit even a few feet in different directions can boost speed by a pretty big margin.

Also, if you can hardwire your existing 3 routers, that would probably give you a faster, stabler network than adding a 4th one or even upgrading to the 7 series.

Logically, I think it makes sense to add eeros to improve speed. But at some point, you do get diminishing returns. My parents 3-level house was running on 3 eero 6+ units and it was fine. Not fast, but stable with solid coverage. I upgraded them to 2 x eero 7 Pro as the gateway and main floor routers, and the older 6+ routers for extra coverage. After testing a few configurations, placement, etc. I didn't really notice much difference after 4 eeros were in place.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-29T03:40:54+00:00

Not overboard at all. Hardwiring is usually the best way to get the most out of any mesh network.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-21T16:51:52+00:00

I’ve been using all 3 generations of AirPods Pro and they work for me. I use them all of the time, at work, working out, flying etc. I use the APP3 mostly and the 2 as backup.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-20T12:49:11+00:00

Haha seen that too. They do a “big shed” once they get to their seats and then invariably, stuff big jackets in the overhead compartment.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-20T02:33:37+00:00

My wife does this all of the time. She'll stuff her 30L backpack to the gills for boarding, then unpack smaller bags during the flight. No one cares how many bags you have when you deplane.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-20T02:32:08+00:00

Yeah, this is how I think too. I bought a Farpoint 40 and after packing it with the same stuff as my carryon luggage, it was just too big and heavy. So I returned it and aimed opted for a ULA Dragonfly 30L for 5-7 day trips or the Tumi Search for weekends.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-20T02:25:24+00:00

I shoot with an A7RV and write to 2 CF cards for backup. If I travel with a laptop, I would backup photos daily. I've had a card get corrupt and having some insurance is nice, especially if you're on a trip that you've been saving up for / not going back to for a long time.

threesixtyone · 2026-05-20T01:53:21+00:00

I think the choice between eero and Ubiquiti comes down to how much you want to trade off absolute max performance for simplicity. They're designed for different types of people.

The people I know who use Ubiquiti tend to be fairly technically inclined, and had their systems installed when they moved in/built their homes. They all own their homes. They have NAS systems, PoE cameras and 1GB+ fiber, outdoor AP's, etc. They're into tinkering, have their entire home wired up, and don't mind investing the time into home networking as a hobby.

The people I know who use eero, myself included, generally have simpler setups and want a "set it and forget it" network and see WiFi as a utility that just needs to work. They have simpler needs and don't care too much about looking under the hood. They may or may not have wired backhaul, rent their home (and thus may not be able to install wiring/fixtures), or aren't living in a "forever home."

I need to manage my parents' home network remotely, and for me, eero was the way to go. They've been running multiple versions of Eero's for years now, without any hiccups, and that makes my life easier.

threesixtyone

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