The way forward for Wi-Fi is pricey

I am a sucker for thrilling new tech. One space wherein I’ve a selected curiosity is healthier Wi-Fi speeds. There’s an argument to be made that after just a few hundred megabits, pace actually does not matter. Nonetheless, there’s admittedly one thing actually cool about crazy fast Wi-Fi.

After I initially tried Wi-Fi 6, I used to be dissatisfied to search out it did not make a noticeable enchancment to my community. Then, I attempted Wi-Fi 6e. Accessing the 6GHz band supplied dramatically higher speeds, typically double what I used to be getting beforehand. So, as Wi-Fi 7 has been creeping onto the scene, I have been eyeing it carefully, ready to improve upon Apple transport a suitable system.

I had the pleasure of interviewing a member of Eero’s product team a while again. Following that dialog, the corporate supplied to ship me a three-pack of Eero Max 7 nodes, together with a few of their new CAT 6a ethernet cables. For over a month, I have been utilizing this top-end Wi-Fi setup with an iPhone 15 Pro, M4 iPad Professional, M1 MacBook Professional, and over 100 HomeKit gadgets.

The timing could not be higher, as Apple just lately shipped its first Wi-Fi 7 gadgets with the iPhone 16 lineup. After per week of experiencing what Wi-Fi 7 brings to my iPhone and my community extra broadly, I can not look ahead to Apple (and different corporations) to ship extra Wi-Fi 7 gadgets.

Value, availability, and specs

You could be rolling your eyes on the considered one other new Wi-Fi customary. I get it. However Wi-Fi 7 brings a bunch of thrilling advantages. Velocity-wise, Wi-Fi 7 will be as much as 4.8x quicker than Wi-Fi 6e, confirmed by the Eero Max 7’s theoretical prime supply of 4.3 Gbps wirelessly and 9.4 Gbps wired. These speeds are insane, particularly given properties are unlikely to get speeds from web service suppliers anyplace close to that. The Max 7 has 4 ethernet ports, two 2.5GbE and two 10GbE, to assist ship this unbelievable pace. I am a large fan of getting 4 ethernet ports. The Eero Professional 6 and 6e solely have two ports every, making a change completely needed when you want a wise dwelling hub or instantly wire multiple system.

Wi-Fi 7 additionally touts decrease latency, enhanced effectivity, particularly in dense community environments, and elevated connection stability and reliability. One other neat function is assist for Multi-Hyperlink Operations (MLO), which permits a tool to concurrently leverage the bandwidth of two.4, 5, and 6GHz networks to get the perfect pace and efficiency. For avid gamers, Wi-Fi 7 guarantees improved AR and VR experiences, together with diminished lag for cloud gaming.

The Eero Max 7 is on the market on Amazon beginning at $599.99 for a single node and going as much as $1,699 for a three-pack. Every node covers about 2,500 sq. ft, which means a three-pack can assist as much as 7,500 sq. ft and over 200 gadgets. Every node is powered by a 45W USB-C energy brick, making it simply replaceable ought to one thing occur to your cable. On prime of all that, you continue to get an extremely performant tri-band mesh Wi-Fi router with free buyer assist.

What I appreciated about Eero Max 7

Quick, modern, and simple to arrange

Proper off the bat, Eero’s setup expertise is unmatched. I deeply miss Apple’s AirPort wi-fi routers due to how simple they have been to arrange. Whereas I am a nerd, I recognize simplicity. I’ve all the time admired Eero’s dedication to having a easy onboarding expertise. Each Eero setup expertise I’ve had felt easy sufficient that my mom might do it. Swapping out my Eero Professional 6e nodes for the Max 7s was equally easy, with the Eero app guiding me by way of and atomically configuring the brand new nodes.

Since establishing my Max 7s, I have been pleasantly shocked at how performant they have been. With my iPhone 15 Professional, M1 MacBook Professional, and iPad Professional, I used to be already pulling in spectacular speeds of 300-400Mbps. Excitingly, with my new iPhone 16 Professional, I am getting 600-700 Mbps. I’ve gigabit fiber coming into my dwelling. Whereas I respect and recognize the advantages of utilizing ethernet, I dwell a wireless-driven life-style. I would like the perfect Wi-Fi expertise I can get regardless of having 5 good dwelling hubs creating their very own networks.

Within the subsequent part, I will dive deeper right into a irritating expertise I initially had with a lot of my HomeKit equipment being gradual to reply and having connectivity points after switching to the Max 7s. Happily, that difficulty seemingly resolved itself. I swear my good dwelling has by no means been higher. It is quick, dependable, and seemingly extra responsive than ever.

The Eero workforce additionally despatched alongside a few of their new braided CAT 6a ethernet cables. It will’ve been cool in the event that they have been CAT 7 or greater. However, they’re nice cables, being fantastically designed, performant, and difficult. The Eero Max 7 three-pack comes with a single white cable, and Eero additionally despatched me black and blue cables. Eero’s CAT 6a cables promote for as little as $4.99 on Amazon for half a foot and as excessive as $9.99 for a 10-foot cable. There’s further saving available when ordering a 5-pack. The pricing for these cables could be very aggressive, significantly for the standard and presentation they ship.

What I did not like concerning the Eero Max 7

Eero’s electronic mail assist was lackluster

I have been an Eero buyer for a number of years, proudly owning the Eero Professional 6 and 6e earlier than reviewing the Max 7. Having a home with over 100 good dwelling gadgets, I get pressured about gadgets not correctly reconnecting when the ability goes out. So, swapping my wi-fi entry factors worries me to an entire different stage. Now, studying this, it’s possible you’ll suppose that swapping mesh Wi-Fi nodes is straightforward so long as you retain the identical SSID and password. Plus, the Eero app is extremely user-friendly.

Sadly, for no less than just a few days, a lot of my HomeKit devices grew to become gradual to reply or unresponsive after I switched out my Eero Professional 6e nodes to the Max 7. It was irritating to go from my HomeKit gadgets operating quick and reliably to continually disconnecting and timing out. I can not inform you precisely when, however after just a few software program updates and a while, all my HomeKit points simply went away. As I write this, they’re seemingly operating higher than after I used my Eero Professional 6e.

Earlier than my HomeKit connectivity points resolved themselves, I used to be experiencing mounting frustration from not simply myself but in addition my associate. Much more annoyingly, the worst a part of this expertise was after I tried to succeed in out to Eero for assist.

Like most corporations, Eero first makes an attempt to get you to learn assist articles earlier than offering you with a approach to converse to a human. That have has all the time been and can all the time be annoying. Finally, I despatched Eero an electronic mail explaining how my HomeKit gadgets had connectivity points. My guess was that this drawback was associated to the two.4GHz community. It took me three emails to assist the agent perceive that my drawback wasn’t that I used to be in search of a HomeKit Secure Router however that I wanted assist with a connectivity difficulty. I needed to inform the agent, not as soon as, however twice, to return and browse my earlier electronic mail as a result of they seemingly solely learn the phrase “HomeKit” and determined I need to’ve been questioning why my model new Eero wasn’t suitable with Apple Dwelling as a HomeKit Safe Router. I used to be, in reality, not questioning that.

When an issue happens whereas reviewing a product, it may be tempting for reviewers to succeed in out to their press contacts to resolve an issue rapidly. I can perceive why reviewers could do that. I hope to by no means want to succeed in out to an organization’s assist workforce. I count on a product to simply work. However after I do want to succeed in out, I wish to have the identical expertise as everybody else. Frustratingly, it was a depressing expertise. I am lucky that my connectivity difficulty resolved itself fairly rapidly. In any other case, I most likely would’ve swapped again to my Eero Professional 6e nodes earlier than lengthy.

Do you have to purchase the Eero Max 7?

For many of us, most likely not proper now. See, the Eero Max 7’s biggest benefit can be its biggest weak point. With the Max 7, you get the newest wi-fi networking expertise, all bundled right into a single modern package deal that is simple to arrange and extremely performant. Suppose you are an individual who enjoys the newest expertise and has the disposable revenue to improve their community setup. In that case, the Eero Max 7 (and its premium price ticket) is ideal for you. With the Max 7, you are getting tomorrow’s expertise at the moment.

Tomorrow’s expertise at the moment is the important thing, although. Outdoors of some top-end smartphones just like the iPhone 16 lineup and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely, there aren’t actually any gadgets out that assist Wi-Fi 7. There have been laptops introduced at CES, and Apple will certainly embody Wi-Fi 7 in its future MacBooks and iPads. Nevertheless, you’d nonetheless be spending some huge cash for little profit — no less than at this second.

Outdoors of future-proofing your wi-fi community, you’re nonetheless gaining access to 4 performant ethernet ports, an unbelievable mesh Wi-Fi community, and spectacular Wi-Fi protection for as much as 7,500 sq. ft. That is to say, the Eero Max 7, together with its fantastically braided ethernet cables, is a superb mesh Wi-Fi setup. Within the meantime, nevertheless, it is most likely extra for the nerds and fans on the market, like myself, earlier than being the nodes of your grandmother’s Wi-Fi. Nonetheless, Eero has many nice choices for that, too. So, it is exhausting to complain.

Highly effective however costly

Eero Max 7