Netgear Orbi Wi-Fi 7, 770 Serie

A Wi-Fi 7 mesh system available at a much more realistic price, the Netgear Orbi 770 Series puts the technology within reach of more people. Performance at range from a satellite drops off quite a bit in my tests, but at closer ranges, this system is fast. With useful security and parental control subscriptions on offer, this is a Wi-Fi 7 mesh system that will work well in the majority of homes.

While its performance is admirable, pricing from $699 to $999 is still out of reach for most consumers

The NETGEAR Orbi 770 Series Mesh WiFi 7 System (RBE773) makes an important technical point – mesh WiFi systems work much better with a dedicated wireless backhaul. The raw WiFi 7 and WiFi 6 performance up close are impressive, but beyond that even previous-generation mesh systems provide faster throughput, if they have a wireless radio devoted to the mesh alone. That's not to say the 770 Series can't deliver great wireless networking performance over a wide area – it can, although we would definitely choose the three-unit option because two units don't really provide enough of a boost over a great standalone WiFi 7 router like NETGEAR's own Nighthawk RS300.