Wi-Fi 7 certainly has its advantages, but at $600 per unit, each covering over 200 sq ft, you should still be absolutely certain that the impressive Amazon Eero Max 7 is the router for you. It's also a mesh system, so chances are you'll want two or three on your estate, and the costs add up quickly. Add to that the monthly costs for the kind of multi-gig fiber optic connection you want to make the most of this wireless wonder, and networking can suddenly be as expensive as any other part of PC gaming.
Mesh systems work by having more than one router or node spread across your property. They all broadcast the same SSIDs and communicate with each other via Ethernet, if your house is wired for that, or over a high-capacity wireless network, separate from the usual networks you use for streaming and the Wi-Fi kettle you bought on a whim. That can certainly be more convenient, as long as you have a good connection. However, placing mesh nodes is an art form in itself, especially when you're trying to eliminate WiFi connection dead spots caused by architectural quirks or distance.
The thing about the Eero Max 7, though, is that one is probably enough. There's certainly a case for mesh if you're connecting an office environment, a multi-story home, a heavy-walled basement, or a farmhouse, but Wi-Fi 7 itself, with its extra speed and ability to cut through interference, is yes. pretty good in itself. That said, put it in a mesh system and you pretty much have something that can make itself heard everywhere.
The Eero Max 7 node comes as a smooth and glossy white rectangle that wouldn't look out of place as an Ikea wall lamp or Apple product from the days of the Anglepoise iMac. The Eero logo is silver, with a single colored LED that tells you the status of the router, and it's a minimal, stylish design that you won't mind showing off.
Maximum 7 specifications
There are no visible antennas or multiple flashing lights, it just sits there completely silent and unobtrusive - which is what you want if you plan to place a few around your huge property. However, it is quite large, something Wi-Fi 7 routers all seem to have in common. If space is an issue, Eero has much smaller Wi-Fi 6 mesh nodes available.
The rear is more interesting, although there's still plenty of smooth white plastic on display with vents on the top and bottom. It's where the Ethernet ports are and Ethernet ports are interesting, damn, especially when they're as fast as this one. Eero has opted for a certain future-proofing here (although with Wi-Fi 7 we wonder how many cables these sockets will actually see, apart from the one that connects to the internet in home use) with a pair of 2.5Gb ports next to two 10Gb connections. That's a lot of network power, and you need to make sure all the cables and hubs you use have the same speeds to get the most out of it.
But you don't buy a Wi-Fi 7 router just to use Ethernet cables, and the Wi-Fi options here are extensive. Installation is simple, but it assumes you're tech-savvy enough to find and download the phone app yourself. There is no printed manual in the box or a QR code on the junction itself.
Once you plug it in, there aren't many fine-grained controls available, which is generally fine as you can just let it get on with running itself and transferring your data. The Max 7 comes with a trial subscription to the Eero Plus Security Package, which adds a VPN, MalwareBytes protection, content filters, ad blocking, and improved support to the package. However, it costs $100 per year and offers many things you can do yourself. Still, I can see it being popular, given the Eero's commitment to simplicity and its hands-off approach to router management.
Of course, wireless speeds are promised to be spectacular. The Max 7 can theoretically handle up to 574 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band, up to 8,677 Mbps on the 5 GHz band, and up to 11,529 Mbps on the 6 GHz band. That's a total of just over 20,000 Mbps if you take off your shoes and socks and add them all up. While it's clearly something you'll never achieve in reality, it's still a nice big number.
This of course assumes perfect conditions and no annoying walls, but while even the 2.4GHz band, which tends to have the longest range of the trio thanks to the way it better penetrates solid objects, can outperform the average Internet connection, it does It doesn't offer the same (claimed) fast speeds as the Netgear Nighthawk RS700S.
During our testing, which involved transferring a huge amount of data at varying distances over the Wi-Fi and calculating the transfer speed with our fingers and toes, the Eero Max 7 put up a good fight, with an average transfer speed over Wi-Fi. 7 of about 570 Mbit/s, regardless of whether it was in the same room or had a floor and a few walls in the way. However, this speed fluctuated and was only 624 Mbits in one test and only 499 Mbits in another. The fastest speed was lower than the Netgear RS700S, but the slowest speed was better. It's the networking equivalent of a score draw.
Such is its commitment to simplicity that the Max 7 combines all its SSIDs into one, and doesn't allow you to separate them, trusting the devices to make the best possible connection. However, there is a guest network, so you can disable some users that way.
There's nothing on the Max 7 other than a USB-C power jack and a WPS button, but what's notable by its absence is the otherwise ubiquitous USB port, which lets you easily share files via a flash drive (or USB hard drive). disk). drive for a multi-device backup solution), or share a USB printer just by plugging it in. It's a feature that probably doesn't see much use, especially since network storage and Wi-Fi printers are now commonplace, but since we've had 4 USB ports on routers since the days before Wi-Fi, it seems wrong not to have one. to see.
Buy as...
✅ You like simple installation: The Eero doesn't mess around with little-used extras like USB ports or separating which version of the Wi-Fi protocol you use, all in the name of simplicity.
✅ Mesh makes you excited: If you want to spread the internet love in your home and you have a lot of property to spread it on, the Max 7 is a great choice.
Don't buy if...
❌ You want to save money: This is a lot of money to spend on a router unless you are very serious about networking.
❌ You don't need that much network technology: Unless you have a gigabit connection, you probably won't get the most out of this expensive package.
Being an Amazon device (the well-known online grocer is Eero's parent company), there's plentiful IoT support in the Max 7. It pairs with your Echo and includes the necessary radios to control Zigbee and Matter devices, thus circumventing the need for an additional hub.
However, the question that arises with these fast, high-capacity routers is: who are they intended for? These kinds of network speeds, especially over wired connections, are only really useful if you're transferring a lot of data to and from a server. Maybe one day, when we're all streaming 8K and have AI edge servers in our homes, things will be different, but a PC gamer looking to share a sub-gigabit internet connection between their rig, phone, laptop and tablet will Getting the same kind of results comes from a much cheaper router, and may also get a USB port.
With its speed, capacity, future-proofing and the ability to add extra nodes if your home suddenly gets bigger, the Eero Max 7 is one of the best WiFi routers you can buy right now, but you'll have to pay for the privilege .
