Eero Max 7 review: Eero's simplicity elevates Wi-Fi 7's appeal

While Eero started out making rather basic Wi-Fi routers, it has more recently been moving towards the higher-end customer. Eero even has a PoE solution these days. With its latest Eero Max 7 router, the Amazon-owned company has brought its high-end ambitions to its consumer lineup with dual 10Gbps Ethernet ports, a tri-band BE20800 Wi-Fi 7 connection, and an all-new design. With Wi-Fi 7, Eero recommends this router for internet connections of 2Gbps+, and from where I’m sitting, that may be a bit conservative.

For years, the only way to really be sure your internet connection would be stable was to run a wire from your modem all the way to your computer. But with technology like Wi-Fi 7 using the ultra-wide 6GHz band, the difference in experience is approaching zero in a hurry. Sure, running a 10Gbps Ethernet cable or even fiber is technically faster still, but with optimal wireless speeds over 4Gbps, Wi-Fi 7, there’s not a lot you can’t get done on Wi-Fi 7.

About this review: Eero provided the Eero Pro Max 7 two-pack for the purpose of this review as well as a subscription to Eero Plus. Eero had no input into the contents of this review.

Eero Max 7: Price and availability

The Eero Max 7 was released on Oct. 25, 2023, in the U.S. starting at $600 for a single unit. A two-pack (as tested) comes in at $1,150, and the three-pack comes in at a hefty $1,700. There’s no question about it, the Eero Max 7 is one of the most expensive mesh kits you can buy. Eero estimates that each Eero Max 7 router can cover up to 2,500 square feet with the two-pack getting 5,00 square feet and the three-pack coming in at 7,500 square feet. The Eero Max 7 is available on Amazon as well as other retailers such as Best Buy.

Design and hardware

If you’ve used Eero before, the most surprising thing about this new model will be the size. The Eero Max 7 is about the size of a dinner plate standing up. This extra size is helpful not only for the new antennas packed into this router but also for thermals. In speaking with representatives from Eero, I was told that the powerful SoC needed for Wi-Fi 7 generated much more heat than previous generations. This is backed up by the beefy 45W USB-C power adapter included with this router. For reference, Eero Pro 6E shipped with a 27W power adapter.

Luckily, Eero has managed to avoid using fans, so there’s no noise and less to go wrong. There is a noticeable updraft of warm air coming from the top vents on the router, but nothing to worry about. On the bottom, you get a large vent for intake as well as just above the Ethernet ports. And while this router has the look of an enterprise access point, there are no holes for wall mounting. You will need to set this router on a table or shelf.

The front is a large piece of curved glossy plastic with the Eero logo and a status light in the middle. The back plastics are matte white and the base is a soft plastic for extra grip. Overall, the router feels well made with plenty of weight. I really like the way this mesh router looks, and it is easily one of the best designs for a Wi-Fi 7 mesh I’ve seen yet.

On the back of each Eero Max 7, there is a USB-C port for power, two 10Gbps Ethernet ports, and two 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports. Eero’s Ethernet ports are auto-sensing, so you can plug your internet source into any of the ports. Whether you’ve got multi-gig computers and servers, or just want to be ready for multi-gig internet connections, the Eero Max 7 has the connections you need.

Setup and software

Eero has traditionally shied away from the nerdier aspects of its products, sticking primarily to more realistic speed estimates and conservative coverage estimates for its routers. This philosophy carries over into its software that gives you a peek behind the scenes with solid information about connected devices but handles the tricky wireless settings on its own. While I would like the ability to dig into advanced settings a bit more, I can’t deny that from the moment I plugged in the Eero Max 7, it worked exactly as expected.

Setting up an Eero network starts with downloading the Eero app and getting signed in. You can create an account or just use your Amazon account like I do. If you’ve already got an Eero system, you can upgrade without changing any settings. Where you would add an Eero in the app, simply choose to replace your primary router, what Eero calls the gateway, with the new model.

If you’re setting up for the first time, you’ll be guided through connecting your primary Eero and getting it updated to the latest firmware. This is also where you’ll choose your Wi-Fi name and password. In my setup, the setup process gave me an error here, but simply retrying the save, it worked perfectly.

Through the years, the Eero app has added a lot of nice features to make the experience feel more complete, but the app still manages to feel lightweight and responsive. The home screen shows your connection status, connected Eeros, and connected devices. The app also shows you some feature recommendations like setting a scheduled update time. Eero provided an Eero Plus subscription for this review, so I also see suggestions for Eero Plus features like ad blocking. To be clear, an Eero Plus subscription is not required to use Eero.

If you go for a closer look at your connected Eeros, you’ll be able to see how it’s connected to the network and which devices are currently connected to it. You can also tap on the Wifi radios option to see a 24-hour history of congestion in your area. I could even see the exact moment someone in my house turned on a Roku using the 2.4GHz band. Where I live, there’s not much congestion, so the 5GHz and 6GHz bands were mostly empty.

The settings menu is simple with only basic Wi-Fi settings like setting your SSID and password. You can also modify settings like port forwarding, DNS settings, Client steering, and Thread. Client steering helps devices more quickly move to the best Eero but may not work as expected with older tech. I recommend leaving this on unless you’re having connection issues. Eero supports Thread for smart home devices and can even act as a Zigbee smart home hub.

Finally, Eero Plus is a subscription service that enables extra features in the Eero app. First and foremost, Advanced security stops you from visiting sites that are known to host malicious content. Ad-blocking is also available and can be enabled on certain devices based on profiles or the whole network at once. If you don’t want your kids being bombarded with targeted ads, this could be a great option.

Eero Internet Backup is a nice option for those of us who live out in the country. If your internet connection goes out, you can share your hotspot connection from your phone with your whole network. That way you don’t need to worry about connecting individual devices. Furthermore, you can disallow devices from using Internet Backup, so you’re not wasting your limited bandwidth on low-priority tasks. It must be noted that some other routers can also use your hotspot, but I haven’t seen any that do it as elegantly as Eero. That being said, this is a paid service, so my expectations are higher.

Parental controls are here as well with content filters for Pre-K, Pre-Teen, Teen, and Adult. You can also customize your filters to block specific categories. You’re also able to block apps individually to help keep your kids focused. Nothing says “do your homework” quite like disabling Roblox on every device in the house at once.

Wireless performance

Just using the Eero Max 7 for a few days before getting into testing, I was already impressed. My devices connect to 6GHz Wi-Fi more reliably and consistently than any other router I’ve used with its bands combined. That means that it’s up to your device and the router to pick the best band for your devices. When I used the Eero Pro 6E in the past, I noticed that even my Wi-Fi 6E devices preferred to stay on 5GHz. In speaking to Eero, I was told that this was something they worked to address with the latest Eero software. They also noted that they worked with phone manufacturers to resolve issues on the client side connecting to 6GHz Wi-Fi.

I tested this Eero mesh with two Eero Max 7 routers. The primary router was in the living room with the other node in the bedroom location. This is the same positioning I used when testing the TP-Link Deco BE85 mesh system. Eero’s TrueMesh technology uses all of the available bands for the backhaul with mostly 5GHz and 6GHz being used. This allows the system to pick the best route back to the gateway to keep speeds consistent and more importantly, to keep response times low. If you’re a gamer, that translates to lower ping while gaming online.

For everyone else, though, it just means that Eero is designed to provide a consistently fast experience rather than chasing only top speed results. That being said, the hardware here is so capable that most families will have a hard time getting anywhere near the limits of this router.

That being said, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Checking a few file transfers from my laptops, I was able to get very near the full 2.5Gbps bandwidth of my Ethernet adapters while connected to the primary Eero. Moving one computer over to the remote node, speeds fell sharply on wired. I checked both the 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps ports and I rarely saw transfer speeds over 500Mbps using Ethernet to the Eero. Performing a speed test, I got the full gigabit speed of my connection, so it’s a bit odd.

I also tried with my older gaming PC, which only has a gigabit Ethernet card, but still saw the same sort of speeds on wired. Again, after switching to wireless, speeds shot back up to around 900-1000Mbps. Eero always seemed to be a Wi-Fi-first brand, but with so many multi-gig Ethernet ports, I had hoped wired performance over the wireless backhaul had been a bit stronger, especially with features like Steam local sharing becoming more commonplace. Hopefully, this is something Eero can address in software.

Moving on to standard internet speed tests, the Eero Max 7 is able to show its muscles a bit. Download speeds were higher on all devices tested, even an older Wi-Fi 5 phone. My internet connection is a rural fiber provider with symmetrical download and upload speeds typically around 940Mbps. For the most part, Eero Pro Max got me pretty close in every room of the house.

Eero unifies all of its connections under a single Wi-Fi name, so I wasn’t able to isolate the bands for individual testing. That also means that I couldn’t enforce a 6GHz or 5GHz connection, which led to low 2.4GHz speeds for one test on the LG G8. I have to say though, the overall speed results were very strong and quite similar to other Wi-Fi 7 meshes I’ve already tested.

When it comes to gaming, this router has plenty of speed to keep pings low across the board. Hopping on for a Left 4 Dead 2 session with friends, I had no issues over the three hours or so we played. I also had no issues streaming the F1 Grand Prix, which is one of the most important tests I can think of.

Overall, I’m very satisfied with the performance of the Eero Max 7 and would be happy to run it permanently in my home. From streaming 4K video to downloading large files, the Eero Max 7 kept up without breaking a sweat.

Should you buy the Eero Max 7?

You should buy the Eero Max 7 if:

• You want the absolute fastest Eero mesh.
• You like Eero Plus features.
• You need Wi-Fi with a smart home hub.
• You want some of the fastest Wi-Fi money can buy

You shouldn’t buy the Eero Max 7 if:

• You’re looking for the best value for money
• You don’t have at least gigabit internet speeds
• You don’t have any multi-gig devices

Wi-Fi 7 is one of the biggest leaps in Wi-Fi we’ve ever had with massive speed uplifts and new 6GHz spectrum, but the fact is, most of us simply don’t need it, yet. Wi-Fi 7 can deliver speeds over 4Gbps to wireless devices, but most of us don’t have access to those kind of internet speeds and those who do, probably don’t need it. That being said, if you don’t mind paying for it, the Eero Max 7 is an absolute monster for a gigabit connection and never had any trouble keeping up. The Eero Max 7 rids your network of bottlenecks, as long as you’re not trying to move too big of files over the wired connection from one Eero to another at least.

If you’re interested in a mesh but don’t need all of this speed, one of the other best mesh routers may be a better fit. Even a slower Eero like the Eero 6+ is still a great pick for many families, and it runs the exact same software. If you’re still interested in the Eero Max 7, you won’t be disappointed by the wireless speeds one bit. This router is destined to be one of the best Wi-Fi routers you can get thanks to its excellent hardware design, strong wireless performance, and reliable software. Even so, it’s still extremely expensive for a Wi-Fi solution and if I’m honest, I wouldn’t spend this much of my own money on a Wi-Fi system unless I suddenly had access to 5Gbps or higher internet speeds.