Podcast #1272: Netgear Orbi 770 and Aqara Camera Review

On this week's show we have a listener review of the NETGEAR Orbi 770 Series WiFi 7 Mesh System as well as a review of the Aqara cameras. We also read your emails and take a look at the week's news.

News:

Yamaha's Unveils Its Most Compact Dolby Atmos Soundbar Yet Philips Adds Two TV Lighting Sync Options Fubo will offer local hockey games in four markets  Sony Is Skipping CES 2027 for the First Time in Over Six Decades Apple's Smart Home Launch is Set Netgear Orbi 770 and Aqara Camera Review

This week we have a listener review of the NETGEAR Orbi 770 Series WiFi 7 Mesh System. These can be bought in One, two, and three packs costing $300, $550, and $700 respectively. Netgear's specs say that a single unit can cover up to $2750 square feet and a three pack can cover 8000 square feet combined. And just for good measure John talks about his experience with Aqara cameras.These are the same cameras Ara uses so let's see if John has similar results.

Product Features:

Tri-band hardware with a dedicated backhaul is meant to keep throughput more consistent when many devices are online at once. WiFi 7 peak rating is up to 11 Gbps and it also connects WiFi 6 and WiFi 5 devices; real speed depends on your plan and hardware. Devices can easily roam between the router and satellites. Setup, device management, and guest WiFi are handled in the Orbi app. Sold for use in the United States only. John Lyman's Review

A few years ago, I replaced my old Netgear Orbi system with a TP-Link Deco XE75 mesh system. At the time, my older Orbi just wasn't able to handle all the devices we had in the house. After doing some research, the Deco XE75 and XE75 Pro had great reviews, so I decided to give Deco a try.

The Deco worked, but as we added more devices—and because of the design of our house—I kept having to add more and more nodes to get good, consistent coverage. Even with gigabit fiber, I never really felt like I was getting the speeds I should have been getting throughout the house.

When Amazon Prime Day came around in July, I decided it was time for an upgrade. At the same time, I decided this was going to be MY "year of home automation."

Back to Orbi — This Time with Wi-Fi 7

For the network, I went with the Netgear Orbi 770 Series Wi-Fi 7 mesh system.

I considered going down the Ubiquiti route, but ultimately I wanted something easier to manage and more "set it and forget it." I spent enough time around networking years ago. These days, I'd rather leave my network-e