NETGEAR Orbi 770 Series Mesh WiFi 7 System (RBE773) Review

1. Introduction2. NETGEAR Orbi 770 Series Mesh WiFi 7 System (RBE773)3. Administration Interface4. Performance Analysis5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

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.

While you might miss having a USB port for printer or storage sharing, the Orbi 770 Series otherwise provides a healthy array of ports, all of which are 2.5Gbit Ethernet. Having four including the WAN on the router and two on each satellite should be sufficient to provide the ability to create wireless bridges between wired devices in different rooms and serve enough desktop systems locally near the router.

The smartphone app has limited features but the Web management interface offers plenty of configuration for fine tuning your configuration, although NETGEAR's penchant for offering lots of subscription services now (including Armour security and parental controls) is a little frustrating. We'd also have liked some QoS settings, even if this isn't a gaming-oriented wireless mesh system.

Compared to the incredibly expensive £2,200 flagship Orbi 970 Series, the 770 Series is much more reasonable at under £900. However, the 870 Series is £1,200 for three units and that does have a dedicated backhaul, which will provide much better performance. So while the Orbi 770 Series delivers solid performance at close proximity and good general spatial coverage, it's still not exactly a bargain.

The NETGEAR Orbi 770 Series Mesh WiFi 7 System (RBE773) is available from Amazon UK for £799.99 (reduced from £879.99).

Pros:

• Good WiFi 7 and 6 performance with clients close to router.
• Wide three-unit WLAN range.
• 2.5Gbit Ethernet ports.
• Smartphone app makes setup easy.
• Plenty of configuration options in Web interface.

Cons:

• Performance beyond 5m merely mediocre compared to previous-generation NETGEAR mesh WiFi systems with backhaul.
• Armour and parental controls require subscription after short trial period.
• No USB for printer or storage sharing.

KitGuru Says: The NETGEAR Orbi 770 Series Mesh WiFi System (RBE773) covers a wide area with three units, and the WiFi 6 and 7 performance are great when your client is close to the router. However, the lack of a dedicated wireless backhaul limits throughput beyond 5m, making this a decent choice only if you can't afford NETGEAR's more premium WiFi 7 mesh offerings.

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