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

NETGEAR often leads the way with new WiFi standards, and its premium WiFi 7 mesh system, the Orbi 970 Series, was launched in Europe a year ago. But a three-unit setup of that costs over £2,000. Now, at last, we have the more affordable Orbi 770 Series, with a reduced specification and smaller devices. This one comes in at £800 for a router and two satellites. But can it still deliver WiF7 performance that extends across an entire house? We put the NETGEAR Orbi 770 Series (RBE773, which means the package with three units) through our exhaustive suite of tests.

This is a BE11000 system, meaning it combines 5,760Mbits/sec at 6GHz, with 4,320Mbits/sec at 5GHz, and 688Mbits/sec at 2.4GHz. Where the 970 Series is quad-band (four radios) with BE27000, the 770 Series is tri-band, so it doesn't have a dedicated backhaul, which theoretically reduces performance. However, with WiFi 7's ability to use 5GHz and 6GHz together in parallel, this might not be such an issue. The aerials have a 2×2 configuration, too, rather than 4×4.

With the three-unit bundle we were testing, you get a router and two satellites, which in theory is enough to cover a 6,750 square foot area. That should be adequate for a three story house, such as the one we use for testing.

Aside from the reduced wireless specification compared to the flagship, the 770 Series has reduced performance on its wired ports, but they're still fast. All ports are 2.5Gbit Ethernet capable. You get four of them including the WAN port on the router, and two on each satellite. The 970 Series also offers a few 10Gbit Ethernet ports. There's no USB on the 770 Series, either, so there will be no option for storage or printer sharing.

So while the features are cut back considerably from the 970 Series, they're still very impressive. With a price currently down at £800 for the three-pack, you're getting a solid specification for your money. Read on to find out if the performance and capabilities still deliver.

Price: £799.99 (reduced from £879.99).

Specification:

• Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n/ax/be 2.4GHz, 802.11a/n/ac/ax/be 5GHz/6GHz
• Performance: AX11000 (5,760 + 4,320 + 688 Mbits/sec)
• Antenna Configuration: 2×2 internal antennas for 2.4GHz; 2×2 for 5GHz; 2×2 for 6GHz
• Ports: Router: 1 x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet WAN, 3 x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet; Satellite: 2 x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
• Modem Support: VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable

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