Netgear Orbi 770 Series review

Netgear Orbi 770 Series: Introduction

Back in June, Netgear unveiled the latest addition to its ever-expanding Orbi lineup: the Orbi 770 Tri-band Mesh System.

Designed to deliver the enhanced performance and security of Wi-Fi 7, the Orbi 770 series aims to make cutting-edge connectivity more accessible by coming in less than half the price of the networking specialist’s flagship Orbi 970 Series.

The home network specialist’s first Wi-Fi 7 mesh system, the 970, is incredibly fast but is also jaw-droppingly expensive to the point that it’s hard to understand who could justify the expense.

For the Netgear Orbi 770 Series, the company is back with a more affordable Wi-Fi 7 system with a price-tag that also massively undercuts the Eero Max 7 too.

It doesn’t quite have the headline speeds or range of wired Ethernet ports as its big brother, but this mesh system is still fast and reliable and it is much better value.

Setup and specs

• Two- or three-pack systems available
• 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet networking
• Tri-band networking

As with the 970 Series, the Netgear Orbi 770 Series ditches the older, bulbous Orbi design (as seen on the likes of the Orbi LBR20 4G LTE), for the slimmer towers that you can see in the pictures.

All Orbi systems are comprised of a router and then additional satellites that are spread out around the home. 

You can buy this system in a two-pack as the RBE772 (one router, one satellite) or a three-pack as the RBE773 (one router, two satellites). Additional satellites can be bought individually.

It’s Netgear’s most affordable Wi-Fi 7 mesh system to date, with a three-pack costing $999.99 and a two-pack for $699.99; compared to $2,299.99 and $1,699.99 for the same configuration of 970 nodes.

That makes the Netgear Orbi 770 Series great value: a three-pack costs less than a 970 Series single satellite.

One way that Netgear has got the cost down is by removing 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports entirely. Instead, the router has one 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port for the internet and three additional 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN.

2.5 Gigabit Ethernet is still a good improvement over traditional Gigabit Ethernet, and has the benefit that you can run it over existing Cat 5E cables.

With the satellites, you get two 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports only.

It’s possible to connect the satellites to the router using 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, which creates a wired backhaul. This can be useful, as it frees up Wi-Fi space for clients, and means that you can put a satellite anywhere an Ethernet cable can reach, such as in a garden office.

Internally, the router and satellites have the same Wi-Fi 7 spec. Each device has a 2×2 6GHz network that can run at up to 5760Mbit/s, a 2×2 5GHz system that can run at up to 4320Mbit/s, and a 2×2 2.4GHz network that can run at up to 688Mbit/s.

That’s six streams of Wi-Fi per device, which is shared between clients and between the router and satellites. As this is a Wi-Fi 7 device, the 5GHz and 6GHz bands can be combined for extra performance.

Features

• Optional parental controls and security
• IoT network
• Web interface gives a few more options

Setup is via the Orbi app, which takes you through connecting the router to your internet and then setting up a secure Wi-Fi network. It’s an easy app to use and offers remote control, via a Netgear account, so you can control your router even when you’re not at home.

With the app, I could see which devices were connected to the network, and control the Wi-Fi network’s name and password, and toggle the guest network on and off.

As with all Orbi devices, there are Parental controls available. Opt for the free version, and you can create a profile for each person in your house, and assign devices.

There’s then a simple pause control if you want to turn off a profile’s internet access.

Pay for the service (£59.99/$69.99 per year), and you can set bedtimes, schedules and use web filtering. For parents, it’s an option well worth taking.

Netgear Armor is a paid-for security service, (£84.99/$99.99 per year), which adds BitDefender-powered security to your home network, plus client software you can use on any smartphone, Windows computer or Mac.

Again, it’s a worthy upgrade, although having two separate systems is a bit annoying. I’m told that Netgear is looking to simplify its offering.

Open up the web interface, and you get control over the channels that the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks use, but not the 6GHz network. 

There’s also an option to turn on the IoT network, which runs a more-compatible, separate network for smart home devices.  

Performance

• Very fast at close range
• Reliable and stable
• Speeds drop at long range from a satellite

I tested the Netgear Orbi 770 Series with the OpenSpeedTest server running on a desktop computer connected via 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, using an iPhone 16 Pro as a Wi-Fi 7 client.

At close range, within 5m of the router, I found that speeds were 1279.35Mbit/s, which is faster than standard Gigabit Ethernet. That’s a way behind the speeds that the Eero Max 7 and the Orbi 970 Series can offer.

I placed a 770 Series satellite on my first floor and moved up there, so I was around 10m from the router. Here, speeds were good at 934.07Mbit/s, which is similar to Gigabit Ethernet speeds.

Moving up into my loft room, where I didn’t have a satellite, so was connected to the one on the first floor, I got speeds of 483.80Mbit/s.

That’s a bit of drop-off, but still faster throughputs than I’ve seen from Wi-Fi 6 systems. It does show that his system drops off at range from satellites more than with the more expensive Eero and Orbi 970 Series.

Final thoughts

The Netgear Orbi 770 Series is great value for Wi-Fi 7, and is priced so that it’s more affordable than its direct rivals. Speed at close range is very good and, while speeds drop off when at a distance from a satellite, throughput still beats Wi-Fi 6 systems and the Orbi was very reliable and stable.

If you’ve been hankering for Wi-Fi 7, but the price of mesh systems has made you think otherwise, this well-priced system may just change your mind.

How we test

When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.

Home Wi-Fi devices play a key part in controlling, a smart home ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony.

Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular smart controller compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide to how we test to learn more.

FAQs

Netgear Orbi 770 Series specs