Wi-Fi 7 mesh kits are the fastest and most capable networking kit you can get right now, and until now have come at a premium. Thankfully, we’re seeing the first serious price cuts at this tier, such as the TP-Link Deco BE25 system which some online retailers are selling for $599 (three-pack) $300 (single unit).
Mesh is best
A quick refresher: Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems use two or more identical units to create a single Wi-Fi network across your whole home (or business) without the need for extenders and without your devices having to hop between different Wi-Fi networks. If you do you want to extend the network into another floor of your house, or out into the garage say, you can just purchase another matching unit, plug it in, and turn it on. It finds the existing network and extends it. Most mesh systems are controlled by a simple app. (For more detail, read our explainer article.)
Another advantage of a mesh system is that you don’t have a “main” unit with extra plugs and whatnot as the router. Each unit can act as a router, it just depends which one is connected to your modem or NTD.
Wi-Fi 7 brings the highest bandwidth yet to wireless networking, as well as a slew of other improvements when it comes to signal stability and reliability. New radio tech, new antenna engineering, and use of additional frequencies (specifically the 6GHz band) means your devices are less likely to encounter stuttering or dropouts – even if you still only have a 100Mbps or less internet connection.
Power comes at a price
Of course, all this great tech has come at a cost. The last couple of generations of Wi-Fi have seen old-school router (a single unit with no mesh capability) prices skyrocket, from the $500-$600 mark all the way up to feature-packed units costing $2000-plus. Mesh systems that used to sell for $349 for a three-pack exploded out to $799, then $949, and now it’s not unusual to see SKUs of various brands at $1199. Netgear even has the Orbi RBE973S three-pack for $4,599!
Part of the reason for these prices is the emergence of a trend to make Wi-Fi 6E and now Wi-Fi 7 devices all “flagship” units . Every new router or mesh system came packed with every networking feature ever, from sophisticated beam-shaping tech, to multiple ultra-high-bandwidth Ethernet ports, to esoteric security and signal processing features that you might need if you run a spy agency or private bank, and maybe even some programmable LED lights.
Until this year, you could argue that this has been fine. After all, there are still plenty of cheap Wi-Fi 5 systems available, and most consumers probably didn’t even have devices that could take advantage of the faster speeds and new radio tech in a Wi-Fi 7 mesh system.
But times are changing and most top-tier mobile phones now come with Wi-Fi 7, as do the latest laptops. Heck, everything is getting Wi-Fi 7 now, and it’s high time we saw more options for regular users, when it comes to mesh systems.
Awesome and affordable
The TP-Link Deco BE25 we mentioned at the top of this article is a good example of the kind of system that’s going to suit most people. It’s a 5Gbps dual-band system, so doesn’t provide the high speeds that headline the tri-band 6GHz Wi-Fi 7 spec. Still, 5Gbps is plenty of bandwidth for most households, and the BE25 does deliver other benefits of the standard, including reduced latency, broader coverage, and increased stability. Plus, each unit packs two 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports, so it’s futureproofed for faster internet speeds too (right now the fastest plan for home users is the NBN 1000 tier, which is 1Gbps).
And $599 is about what we paid for Wi-Fi 6+ mesh systems from the likes of Amazon’s Eero, before Wi-Fi 6E came along and bumped prices up to $949 (as seen in Google’s Nest Wi-Fi Pro system).
Other brands are yet to announce their affordable equivalents of the Tp-Link Deco BE25 but it seems reasonable to predict that Netgear will come to the party – it already offers a Nighthawk Wi-Fi 7 single router at $649.
Amazon’s Eero Max 7 mesh router is still $1099 for a single unit but that thing is packed with features including two 10Gbps Ethernet ports for, we guess, hooking up your Oracle SuperCluster to crunch big numbers for your tax returns – but a smaller and cheaper Eero system would make sense, as existing Eero users start to hit the limits of their Eero and Eero 6+ networks.
Bring on the buyer’s market
The good news for consumers right now is that there’s no immediate rush to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7. If you buy a new phone that has it, it will also still be compatible with your existing Wi-Fi, even if you haven’t upgraded your router for some years.
The situation is a little bit trickier for folks who want to make the jump from a single router to a mesh system. As devices, mesh units last for years, so it’s a bit annoying that (until now) not just Wi-Fi 7 but even Wi-Fi 6E products still expect us to pay such a high premium. Changing from single-router to mesh can be a huge quality of life improvement – no more black spots in the house, no more weird glitches because your phone swapped over to the extender but the extender fell off the network, ugh.
A Wi-Fi 7 mesh system at or near the price of a Wi-Fi 6+ system though, that’s an easy choice.
Read more Wi-Fi 7 articles on GadgetGuy.
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