Netgear Orbi 770 Series Tri-Band WiFi 7 Mesh System (BE11000) Review

Netgear’s latest addition to the Orbi family of mesh systems is the Orbi 770 series. This whole-home mesh system uses the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology and multi-Gig connectivity to bring wireless networking to homes up to 8,000 square feet in size. At $999.99 for a three-pack, the Orbi 770 isn’t cheap, but along with the Linksys Velop Pro 7, it’s still one of the least expensive Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems we’ve tested. It offers multi-gig WAN and LAN ports and is a much better performer than the Velop Pro 7. That said, you’ll get similar performance, 10GbE connectivity, and support for Thread, Matter, and Zigbee to the (and) Editors’ Choice-award-winning) eero Max 7 system.

Design: 11Gbps of Wi-Fi 7 coverage for under a grand

Netgear sent us the Orbi 770 three-pack to review; Less expensive options will better serve people who don’t need 8,000 square feet of coverage. If you have a smaller home, the $699.99 two-pack covers 5,500 square feet, while a single satellite node covers 2,750 square feet and costs $399.99. The three-pack consists of one router node and two satellite nodes in a teardrop-shaped (viewed from above) mini-tower enclosure. Each tower has a matte white finish and measures 9.8 by 5.2 by 3.9 inches (HWD).

Router nodes have three 2.5GbE LAN ports and one 2.5GbE WAN port, and satellite nodes have two 2.5GbE LAN ports each. All nodes have a sync button and a reset button for pairing. You won’t find any 10GbE ports here like on the eero Max 7 router, and as with most mesh systems, there are no USB ports on these nodes. Multiple internal antennas provide 360 ​​degrees of Wi-Fi coverage.

Each node has an LED status indicator at its base. It turns white during setup and turns solid white when the node is ready to pair. Satellite Node LEDs will turn solid blue when added to the network Once everything is turned on, the LED goes dark.

The Orbi 770 is a tri-band BE11000 system, meaning it offers theoretical data rates of up to 688Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, up to 4,320Mbps on the 5GHz band, and up to 5,760Mbps on the 6GHz band. Approx 11,000Mbps total. It supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology including orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission, MU-MIMO simultaneous data streaming, 320MHz channel bandwidth, 4K QAM, direct-to-client beamforming and WPA3 encryption. It also supports wired and wireless backhaul, and it uses Multi-Link Operation (MLO) technology to combine the 5GHz and 6GHz bands for improved backhaul performance.

Software: Lots of likes, but you must subscribe

The Orbi 770 comes with a 30-day trial of Netgear’s Smart Parental Controls and Armor Network security software. Once the trial period ends, you’ll pay $7.99 per month for parental controls and $39.99 for the first year of Armor. After that, the price goes up to $99.99 per year. The parental control package allows you to create individual profiles, assign age-appropriate filters, pause Internet access with bedtimes and “off times,” and set time limits. Arma security software is powered by Bitdefender and protects your network and connected devices from viruses, phishing schemes and other security threats. This will allow you to delete sensitive data from a protected device if it is lost or stolen.

The Orbi 770 uses the same mobile app as the Orbi 970 system we reviewed last year. You can also use the web-based console, which offers a few additional settings for port forwarding/port triggering, VPN services, and static routing. The mobile app opens to a dashboard screen with the router node, its status (online or offline) and the number of connected satellite nodes. When you tap the router image, you’ll see a network map showing each node, and when you tap a node, you’ll see which clients are connected to it. Tap to see which band a client is using, its link rate and its IP address.

At the bottom of the dashboard are tiles for managing client devices, viewing security threats, clocking Internet upload and download speeds, accessing parental control settings, creating a guest network, monitoring network traffic, and configuring Wi-Fi settings. The final tile opens a network map where you can see which client devices are connected to each node.

Testing the Orbi 770 Series: Strong signal, fast speed

The Orbi 770 system is easy to install. Start by creating an account by downloading the mobile app. On the opening screen, tap Set up an orb. Scan the QR code on the front of the router and follow the instructions to unplug your modem, connect the Orbi router to the modem, and power up both devices. Make sure the router LED turns solid white, join the network when prompted, and personalize the settings by creating an administrator account. Once the router is connected and a new network is created, plug the satellite nodes into their respective locations, wait a few minutes for them to be discovered, and update the firmware (if necessary) to complete the installation.

The Orbi 770 is a strong performer. The Router Node’s score of 2,099Mbps in our close proximity test is slightly faster than the TP-Link Deco BE85 router (2,085Mbps) and much faster than the Velop Pro 7 router (941Mbps) but not as fast as the eero Max 7. Router (2,149Mbps). Its 768Mbps score in the 30-foot test was just shy of the Deco BE85 (779Mbps) and eero Max 7 (770Mbps) but significantly faster than the Velop Pro 7 (404Mbps).

The Orbi 770 Satellite Node scored 1,622Mbps in the close proximity test and 1,033Mbps in the 30-foot test. The Deco BE85 nodes scored 1,922Mbps and 999Mbps respectively; eero Max 7 nodes scored 1,795Mbps and 1,062Mbps; And the Linksys Velop Pro 7 nodes managed 903Mbps and 486Mbps.

To test wireless signal strength, we use an Ekahau Sidekick 2 Wi-Fi diagnostic device and Ekahau’s Survey mobile app, which generates heat maps that depict the signal strength of routers and satellite nodes throughout our test home. (Note: Ekahau is owned by Ziff Davis, the parent company of PCMag.com. To learn more, read about our ethics policy in the editorial mission statement.) Circles on the map represent router and satellite locations, and colors represent signal strength.

Dark green areas indicate the strongest signal, light yellow areas indicate a weak signal, and gray areas indicate a very weak signal or no measurable signal reception. As shown on the map, the Orbi 770 can broadcast a strong Wi-Fi signal to all corners of the house.

Verdict: A less-expensive path to Wi-Fi 7

At $1,000, the Netgear Orbi 770 Series Three-Pack is far from a budget mesh solution, but it’s still one of the least expensive Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems we’ve encountered. With coverage up to 8,000 square feet, it is ideal for larger homes. While its 2.5GbE WAN/LAN connections aren’t the fastest available, they provide enough bandwidth for video streaming and other high-traffic networking tasks. It turned in impressive scores in our throughput tests, and it offers parental controls and network security tools, though you’ll have to pay extra to use them after 30 days.

Meanwhile, if you need a 10GbE wired option for applications like NAS connectivity, the $1,699.99 Editors’ Choice-winning Aero Max 7 Three-Pack is a good (though significantly more expensive) choice.