Eero Max 7 mesh Wi-Fi system review

There’s nothing more frustrating than struggling with a wireless internet connection at home while you’re trying to wrap up a meeting over Zoom or finish a school project. I’ve tested countless Wi-Fi systems, most of which have been mesh networks that use several access points to blanket your home in Wi-Fi without degrading overall speed and throughput.

Eero’s routers have always been one of the top-performing options during my testing, so when I was offered the chance to check out the $600 Eero Max 7, its latest system that supports the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, I jumped at it.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been testing the $1,600 three-pack of the Max 7 (yes, I had sticker shock when I saw the price for the first time too). And while I’ll stop short of spoiling it, I do have to say that Eero outdid itself with this one.

Eero Max 7 Mesh Wi-Fi System

Best Buy

The Eero Max 7 is one of the fastest, most reliable and most feature-packed Wi-Fi systems we've tested. But unless you need a Wi-Fi 7 system, you're better off saving a whole lot of money on the previous-gen model.

What we liked about it

A rock-solid network

Wi-Fi 7 is the latest and greatest Wi-Fi standard that promises faster speeds and quicker connections, thanks to lower latency and a more efficient overall network.

The Max 7 is Eero’s first Wi-Fi 7 system, and it also happens to be the first such system I’ve been able to test. It’s so new, in fact, that I only own two devices that are even compatible with Wi-Fi 7: the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

And while that’s a limitation of my testing setup, as far as speed tests are concerned, I can attest to the fact that I’ve seen a huge boost in reliability and the overall experience on my home’s Wi-Fi network since setting up the Max 7 a few weeks ago. Before that, I had been using a three-pack of the Eero Pro 6E system in combination with a Firewalla Gold.

When I installed the Max 7, I decided to remove the Firewalla Gold (for now, at least) and test the Max 7 and Eero Plus in all of its glory.

Since then, I’ve seen fewer network dropouts and more consistent speeds across my home and in my office, which is located in an all-metal building about 70 feet away from my house. In the past, I’ve had to rely on a wired connection between my home and office to get a reliable Wi-Fi signal in my office.

For a few hours after the initial setup process (which took maybe 15 minutes total), I didn’t connect the Max 7 access point in my office to an Ethernet connection, and to my surprise, I didn’t notice any long load times when browsing the web — plus, downloads were humming right along, even though the mesh signal from the main access point in my home’s basement was traveling back and forth through a metal building. It was the first time I’d ever experienced a Wi-Fi system keeping up with my workflow without a backhaul connection. Kind of wild.

That said, the speeds I saw during this time were much slower than what I could get from a wired connection, which is expected, so eventually I hardwired the access point in my office. Now I can consistently hit 800 Mbps down in speed tests.

Inside my house, I’ve seen a similar boost in the reliability of the network, with fewer dropouts and dead zones. Speed tests inside my house have returned some impressive results, on both my iPhone 15 Pro Max (a Wi-Fi 6E device) and Pixel 8 Pro (a Wi-Fi 7 device), with both devices consistently hitting speeds of more than 1.2 Gbps down when I’m close to the main access point. On the other end of the house, results are routinely in the 800 to 900 Mbps range. My internet service provider’s current plan gives me a connection speed of 1.25 Gbps down and a laughable 40 Mbps up.

I’ve been nothing but impressed by just how performant the Eero Max 7 has been.

Each access point has plenty of ports

A wired connection is almost always better than a wireless connection, but if you’re like me and you live in an older home that makes it almost impossible to run Ethernet all over your home, then you know you don’t have much of a choice. But that’s where having Ethernet ports on your Wi-Fi access points comes into play.

With the Max 7, each access point has a total of four Ethernet ports on the back. There are two 10 Gbps ports and two 2.5 Gbps ports.

You can use one of those ports to hardwire the access point into your network if you happen to have some Ethernet running throughout your home, as the Max 7 supports backhaul.

Or can use any or all of those ports to directly connect other devices, such as a computer, TV, streaming box or game console, to the access point. The main benefit to doing so is that you effectively upgrade the Wi-Fi connection for the devices you plug in. For instance, if you have an older laptop that only supports Wi-Fi 5, you’re going to be limited in speed, but by connecting it to a Max 7, you’ll get a Wi-Fi 7-like connectivity experience.

There was a period where companies were removing or at the very least limiting the number of Ethernet ports on Wi-Fi access points and systems. But with four ports on each Max 7 unit, you shouldn’t have any issues connecting whatever you’d like to your network.

Eero Plus offers a lot

Eero’s entire lineup of mesh Wi-Fi systems works with Eero Plus, the company’s $100-per-year subscription service. If you buy the Max 7, you’ll get six months of Eero Plus for free.

Included with Eero Plus is the ability to view historical data for your network use and performance, and an internet backup feature that allows you to use your phone’s hot spot feature to keep your network running (you can limit which devices have access) in the event of an outage.

You can also turn on Eero’s ad blocker, which does a decent job of blocking ads on all of the devices connected to your network. There are some days where Eero’s ad blocking doesn’t let anything through, but then there are days where it’s like the feature is turned off (or maybe took the day off?) and no ads are blocked.

Additionally, you gain access to Eero’s Advanced Security feature that monitors your network for and blocks malware, viruses and other threats; Eero’s DDNS service, which makes it possible to access your internal home network from anywhere; and content filters to block access to specific sites or services in tandem with the option to block apps. Using the last two features in combination with user profiles means you can block apps and services on only your kids’ devices, not your own.

Finally, you also get access to a Guardians VPN service, Malwarebytes antivirus software and the password manager 1Password.

It’d been a couple of years since I’d actually used the Eero Plus features, and overall I don’t have any complaints about their effectiveness. I do, however, take issue with putting features like advanced security behind a paywall. I’ll talk a bit more about that in the next section.

What we didn’t like about it

The access points take up a lot of space

Most Wi-Fi access points are small and easy to hide on a shelf in your home. Before receiving the Max 7, I had looked at a couple of pictures but didn’t pay attention to the size of the access points, so I was fairly surprised after opening the box to find three access points that take up quite a bit of space.

Each access point measures 8.73 by 7.24 by 3.54 inches and is closer in size to an Echo Show 8 smart display turned on its side. Because of their size, I’ve had to rethink where I place the unit in my living room, which now sits in front of my Xbox Series X, nearly matching its height.

There are three parts and pieces inside the housing, and the radios are constantly running and communicating with all of the devices on your network and each other, in turn creating a lot of heat. I understand the technical reasons for the Max 7’s size; I just wish there were a way to make them the same size as the Eero Pro 6E.

Not everything has to be a subscription

While I do enjoy and appreciate the features that are included in Eero Plus, it’s frustrating that to get the most out of a potentially $1,700 Wi-Fi system, you need to pay $100 per year. Yes, Eero includes six months of Eero Plus for free with every Max 7 system, which is just long enough to get you hooked on ad blocking, the security features and content filters.

Granted, the fact that Eero has partnered with 1Password, Malwarebytes and Guardian to give subscribers access to a password manager, antivirus protection and a VPN app, respectively, adds a lot of extra value to Eero Plus, but I do wish there were at least a tiered approach to Eero Plus, one that gave users access to more of the core features — like network security and ad blocking — for free while putting features like DDNS, internet backup and VIP support behind the paywall.

This is an expensive Wi-Fi setup

I’m all for using the latest and greatest technology, especially if it means improving the connectivity around my home. But unless you’re a die-hard early adopter who loves living on the bleeding edge or there’s some other aspect of the Max 7 that you just can’t live without, I just can’t justify spending $600 on a single access point — or up to $1,700 on a three-pack. Not to mention, you have to have a device like the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro that even supports Wi-Fi 7. (I mentioned the latest Pixel phones because they’re the only Wi-Fi 7-compatible devices I own, and I have a lot of tech around my house.)

That’s just a mind-numbing amount of money for home Wi-Fi. The high cost is likely a by-product of Wi-Fi 7 being so new, and the Max 7 is one of the first mesh systems to incorporate it; I remember similar pricing for some of the earliest Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E systems.

How it compares

	Eero Max 7	Eero Pro 6E
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 7 tri-band	Wi-Fi 6E tri-band
Max speed	Wireless: 4.3 Gbps; Wired: 9.4 Gbps	Wireless: 1.6 Gbps; Wired: 2.3 Gbps
Ports	2 x 10GbE, 2 x 2.5GbE	1 x 2.5GbE, 1 x 1GbE
Memory	2GB	1GB
Storage	4GB	4GB
Smarthome	Matter, Thread Border Router, Zigbee	Thread Border Router, Zigbee
Dimensions	8.73 x 7.24 x 3.54 inches	5.50 x 5.50 x 2.20 inches
Coverage	2,500 square feet per access point	2,000 square feet per access point
Price	From $600	From $180

Bottom line

The Eero Max 7 is the best mesh Wi-Fi system I’ve ever used, and it’s not even close. Speeds have been off the charts, but moreover, it’s been incredibly consistent and I haven’t experienced similar problems or hiccups to what I have on other systems, including the Eero Pro 6E.

That said, I have a hard time recommending someone go out and buy a Wi-Fi system that’s at least $600, especially with the requirement that the devices you own also have to support Wi-Fi 7.

If you’re ready to upgrade your Wi-Fi system and have extra cash, sure, buy the Max 7; however, for most people, the Eero Pro 6E and Eero Pro 6, which start at $180 and $120, respectively, are going to be more than enough.

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