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Forum Discussion
Official WiFi 7 certification and AFC support for Orbi 970 ?
Recently a came across a video for a newly released Mesh WiFi system that claimed that the Netgear Orbi was not officially certified to the WiFi 7 standard because it lacked AFC (a bit of a stretch, ...
KurtP wrote:Recently a came across a video for a newly released Mesh WiFi system that claimed that the Netgear Orbi was not officially certified to the WiFi 7 standard because it lacked AFC (a bit of a stretch, but does raise questions about Netgears flagship/expensive WiFi product).
- Is the Netgear Orbi 970 (officially ) WiFi 7 certified ?
If not certified, when will formal certification occur of the Orbi 970? - https://www.wi-fi.org/product-finder-results?sort_by=certified&sort_order=desc&certifications=1652- Is the WiFi 7 Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC ) capability something that Netgear will commit to bringing to the Orbi 970 in the US via firmware update or do existing Orbi 970 owners in the US lack the hardware to even get AFC ?
Umm ... based on what I have read AFC was not finalised when the standard was accepted and I seem to remember that it isn't mandatory either and the WiFi Alliance certification doesn't require it.
What I found is that it was ratified as a technology standard and was under development for a few years under WiFi 6E (https://www.extremenetworks.com/resources/blogs/wi-fi-6e-and-automated-frequency-coordination-afc-what-you-need-to-know), however AFC also requires approval for spectrum its incursion by the FCC in the US (FYI: FCC just approved last month).
KurtP wrote:
What I found is that it was ratified as a technology standard and was under development for a few years under WiFi 6E (https://www.extremenetworks.com/resources/blogs/wi-fi-6e-and-automated-frequency-coordination-afc-what-you-need-to-know), however AFC also requires approval for spectrum its incursion by the FCC in the US (FYI: FCC just approved last month).It's more likely Qualcomm need to implement it in their development kit (but they may have it ready to go) and Netgear need to be willing to update the SDK version they are using in their firmware which can be quite disruptive for users.
We can only hope ...
- Ok, as much as I close to pulling the trigger the Orbi 973, I am concerned about complaints about stability and compatibility issues reported on this forum as well as recent reviews online.
For a device this expensive I expect near perfect execution - I will pay for the best, but this seems like it missed the mark or it needs time to mature.
My current (first gen) Google WiFi is basically dead, but I will limp along until I find a solid solution that can be the future proofed investment (8-10years).
Later this month the Asus and others come out with their WiFi 7 mesh systems and I will see which is better.