SSID name

Hi bachmanpm , we'd be glad to answer your question about your gateway and mesh Wi-Fi SSID name.

You can use the same name for both devices, if you want. If you have any other questions, let us know.

Aminah, AT&T Community Specialist

Are there any downsides to having both on the same SSID? I have an Eero mesh (original I believe) with the AT&T BGW320-505 Gateway.

Hello, bsudkamp.

We're not aware of any downsides to using the same SSID name for a gateway and 3rd party router.

If you have any other questions, let us know.

Aminah, AT&T Community Specialist

Thank you. Do I need to have IP pass through enabled? It appears that my Gateway doesn't have it enabled.

The gateway needs to be set to pass through mode if you are to use a second router because you only want one router handling all of the router duties.

I think that you would have problems with the same SSID if you do not turn off wifi on the ATT Gateway.

I can report that with IP passthrough enabled and Wifi disabled, the google mesh system works fantastic. Reporting wifi speeds in excess of 100 at the far extremeties of my house.

If you are setting up IP Passthrough, you'll probably want to turn off Wi-Fi on the Gateway, especially if you have local resources (printers, DLNA servers, NAS) because the networks will be different, with different DHCP servers handing out (hopefully) different private IP addresses.

If you were leaving your router in Access Point mode to have one big happy network routed by the Gateway, then turning off the Wi-Fi in the Gateway is optional.  Leaving the SSID/passphrase the same is okay, but realize that there will not be smart handoff between the Gateway and the mesh network.  Also, since you cannot lock a BGW320's 5 GHz channel, you cannot prevent the devices from chasing each other across the band looking for unencumbered spectrum.

Thanks for all the comments and help. I may leave things as they are for now.

Configuration

AT&T Fiber (500 Mb) Gateway to Eero

Same Eero then wired to ethernet port (house pre-wired)

Then to Gb switch

Three Eeros hardwired off switch

Two Eeros standalone satellites

Speeds min @ 137Mb, max 563Mb through out the house. All speeds measured using the Eero SSID with Speedtest.

Shouldn't try to fix something that isn't broke

Thanks for reaching out to us, and we'd be happy to answer your question about extending your Wi-FI @bsudkamp. 

We appreciate @OttoPylot for providing that helpful information. 

You can check here for information on how to set up IP pass-through mode in case you change your mind, and do want to set it up with your Eero mesh system you have. 

Please reach back out if you have any further questions. Thanks for contacting the AT&T Community Forums. 

Robert, AT&T Community Specialist 

Thanks to everyone.