Eir 5G Home Broadband Review Ireland 2026
Eir 5G Home is Eir’s mobile network in a free Huawei router, not an Open Eir line. €39.99 a month for 12 months then €44.99, or €29.99 on a 30-day contract with a €99 activation fee. The April rise is €2.50, not the €4 Eir charges on fibre. Dearer than Three, but a second set of masts and a month-to-month exit.
Eir 5G Home review: key takeaways
- ✓Two plans. 5G Broadband on a 12-month contract is €39.99 a month, €44.99 thereafter, router free. The 30-day version is €29.99 a month for the first 12 months, then €39.99, with a once-off €99 activation fee — and you can walk away on a month’s notice.
- ✓The router is a Huawei 5G CPE Pro 5: Wi-Fi 6, dual-band, two gigabit Ethernet ports, rated by Eir at up to 1.65 Gb down and 250 Mb up. It is included at no charge on both plans. There are no external antenna sockets, so a weak-signal room has no cheap fix.
- ✓The April clause on this product is the mobile one, not the fibre one. The plan tile states the monthly price rises by €2.50 each April from April 2027. Eir fibre and landline customers get a flat €4. Budget €2.50, and read the Contract Change Notification when it lands.
- ✓Eir does not publish a home speed for this plan. The network marketing says peak 5G of “up to and over 1 Gb”; that is a ceiling, not a contract speed. Real speed follows the mast, the wall and the hour.
- ✓Coverage is Eir’s own 5G, advertised at 99% population. Check the Eircode on Eir’s coverage map, then test a phone on Eir 5G (or GoMo, same radio) in the room where the router will sit.
- ✓Against Three: Three’s 24-month Unlimited 5G is €30 for a new customer (€25 only for existing Three / 48 customers), then €39.99, plus a €3 April rise. Eir costs about €120 more in year one on the 12-month plan. Eir wins on contract length, the 30-day escape hatch, and when its mast is the stronger one at your house.
- checkA different set of masts to Three and Vodafone — the 5G to try when the other networks are weak in the house
- checkFree Wi-Fi 6 Huawei router with two gigabit Ethernet ports — no €99 device fee on the 12-month plan
- check30-day plan is real month-to-month: leave when the fibre engineer finally books
- checkDelivery up to 10 working days, plug it in yourself, 14-day cooling-off
- close€39.99 then €44.99 — dearer than Three’s €30 / 24-month 5G for new customers
- closeA stated €2.50 rise each April from 2027 on top of the thereafter price
- closeNo external antenna sockets on the Huawei CPE Pro 5 — weak indoor signal has no cheap fix
- closeSame Eir call centre as fibre customers: Trustpilot sits around 1.5/5
How Eir 5G Home scored
Six categories, scored from published prices, contract terms, coverage and technology — not invented lab Mbps.
Eir 5G Home at a glance
Plans and prices (August 2026)
Introductory monthly prices. Thereafter is what the same plan typically costs after the deal — the number that decides whether you stay or switch.
| Plan | Intro / mo | Thereafter / mo | Contract | Download | Upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5G Broadband Unlimited · 12 months | €39.99 | €44.99 | 12 months | 1000 Mb | — |
| 5G Broadband Unlimited · 30-day (€99 activation) | €29.99 | €39.99 | Monthly | 1000 Mb | — |
Who it’s for
Three kinds of house. One: an Eircode where the only wired option is Open Eir FTTC copper at around 100 Mb, and Eir’s 5G mast is close enough that the phone shows a strong 5G signal indoors — here the router will often beat the copper. Two: a home waiting on an Open Eir FTTH upgrade or an NBI pole that wants a month-to-month contract rather than Three’s 24 months. Three: anyone who has already tested Three and Vodafone 5G in the house and found them weak — Eir’s masts are in different places. Skip it if SIRO, NBI or Open Eir FTTH is live at the door, or if Three 5G works well in the room and you do not need the 30-day flexibility.
Get it if
- Eir 5G shows a strong indoor signal on a phone and your wired option is Open Eir FTTC copper or nothing yet
- You want a 12-month or 30-day term instead of Three’s 24 months while an FTTH or NBI date firms up
- Three and Vodafone 5G are weak in the house — Eir’s masts are a different set
- You rent and want a free Wi-Fi 6 router that moves with you to the next address
Skip it if
- Open Eir FTTH, SIRO or NBI is live at the Eircode — buy the fibre, even from Eir
- Three’s €30 / 24-month 5G (€25 for existing Three / 48 customers) works well in the room and the term does not bother you
- The router would live in a thick-walled back room — there is no external antenna option on the CPE Pro 5
- You need guaranteed upload and low latency for back-to-back video calls or competitive gaming
Networks they sell
5G home. Eir’s own mobile network — the same radio as Eir Mobile and GoMo — terminated in an indoor Huawei 5G CPE Pro 5. Eir advertises 99% population 5G coverage. Unlike Eir fibre, nothing is ordered from Open Eir: no engineer, no ONT on the wall, no line. Device delivery is up to 10 working days. The router is portable within Ireland, so it moves with you to the next let; it does not give you an Open Eir, SIRO or NBI path, and it is not a substitute for any of them once they are live.
Our verdict
Eir 5G Home scores 7.5 in August 2026, below Three’s 7.8, and the gap is mostly money. Value sits at 7.4: €39.99 for 12 months then €44.99 is €10 a month more than Three’s €30 new-customer price, and the thereafter is higher too. Contract (7.6) recovers some of that — a 12-month term beats Three’s 24, and the 30-day plan is a genuine month-to-month exit for a house that expects the fibre engineer next spring. Coverage (8.4) is the strongest bar because Eir’s 5G footprint is the widest claim of the three networks and its masts are a different set from Three’s. Speed (7.3) and reliability (7.0) are 5G numbers: a mast, a wall and a busy evening decide them, and the CPE Pro 5 has no antenna sockets to help.
Service is 7.0 and that is deliberate. Eir 5G Home is sold and supported by the same Eir that runs fibre, and our Eir fibre review scores service 7.2; public review sites have Eir around 1.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot with the usual complaints about reaching anyone and billing errors. A plug-in router needs less support than an Open Eir install, which is the only reason the number is not lower. The commercial picture is cleaner than fibre: no landline, no TV tie-in, no setup fee on the 12-month plan, 14-day cooling-off, and a stated €2.50 April rise from 2027 rather than Eir’s €4 fibre figure.
Buy it if Eir’s 5G is the strong signal in your house and the wired alternative is FTTC copper or nothing yet. Buy the 30-day plan if fibre is booked within a year — the €99 activation is cheaper than 12 months of the wrong contract. Skip it if Three 5G already works well in the room and you do not care about a 24-month term, because Three is about €120 cheaper in year one. And never buy it over live full fibre: Open Eir FTTH, SIRO and NBI all beat it on upload, latency and evening consistency, and Eir itself will sell you the fibre.
We score Eir 5G Home as a separate product from Eir fibre because the price, the router, the contract and the April clause are all different. Contract fairness, year-two cost, coverage (whether Eir 5G actually reaches the room), technology and service weigh as heavily as any headline megabit. Prices are introductory EUR as of August 2026, read from Eir’s own plan tiles and tariff data. The 1 Gb figure is Eir’s network peak claim, not an independent speed test and not a plan guarantee. No provider can pay for a better score.
Eir 5G Home broadband: frequently asked questions
How much does Eir 5G broadband cost per month?+
As of August 2026, Eir 5G Broadband on a 12-month contract is €39.99 a month, €44.99 thereafter, with the Huawei router free. The 30-day contract is €29.99 a month for 12 months then €39.99, plus a once-off €99 activation fee. Both tiles state a €2.50 increase each April from April 2027.
What router does Eir give you with 5G broadband?+
The Huawei 5G CPE Pro 5. Eir rates it at up to 1.65 Gb download and 250 Mb upload, with dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and two gigabit Ethernet ports for a TV or console. It is free on the 12-month and 30-day plans. Eir warns you may get an alternative device if that model is out of stock. It has no external antenna ports.
Does Eir 5G broadband go up every April?+
Yes, but by the mobile amount. The plan tile says the monthly price rises by €2.50 each April from April 2027. Eir’s fibre broadband and landline customers face a flat €4. Eir also says customers who join on or after 1 March 2026 are not hit until April 2027. A Contract Change Notification can open a penalty-free exit if you reject the change.
Is Eir 5G broadband unlimited?+
It is sold as unlimited 5G data on both the 12-month and 30-day plans, and the mobile WiFi plan is separate at 100 GB. Eir’s terms still reserve fair-usage and traffic-management rights, so treat unlimited as no billed cap for ordinary household use rather than a licence to saturate the cell 24 hours a day.
Is Eir 5G home broadband cheaper than Three?+
No. Three’s Unlimited 5G is €30 a month on 24 months for a new customer (€25 if you already have a Three or 48 account), thereafter €39.99 — around €360 in year one against Eir’s €480 on the 12-month plan at €39.99, and Three adds €3 each April. Eir’s answer is the shorter term, a 30-day option and a different set of masts. Pick on signal strength in your house first, then on how long you want to be tied in.
Should I get Eir 5G or Eir fibre?+
If Open Eir FTTH is live at the Eircode, take the fibre: Eir’s 500 Mb fibre is €34.99 intro and wired speed does not sag at 8pm. If the only wired option is FTTC copper at about 100 Mb and Eir 5G is strong in the house, the 5G router will often be the faster connection — and it has no install calendar. Check both on the Eircode before you decide.
Can I take Eir 5G broadband to a new house?+
The router is not tied to a line, so it works anywhere in Ireland with Eir coverage — Eir itself has marketed it for holidays and moves. Check the new Eircode on the coverage map first, because a strong mast at the old address says nothing about the new one. On the 30-day plan you can simply cancel if the new house has fibre.
How long does Eir 5G broadband take to set up?+
Eir says allow up to 10 working days for the device to arrive. Setup is plug the router into a socket, connect by Wi-Fi or the Ethernet ports, and you are online — no engineer and no landline. The usual 14-day cooling-off applies if the signal in the house is not what the coverage map promised.