Official WiFi 7 certification and AFC support for Orbi 970 ?

[KurtP]

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 ?

For those unfimilar with AFC, it is one of the key differentiating capabilities of WiFi 7 (along with MLO) - Primer below:
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2024/02/taking-wi-fi-to-new-heights-fcc-advances-standard-power-an... 

[CrimpOn]

Oh, my.  The answer appears to be glaringly obvious. (i.e. "no") The WiFi Alliance certification search engine reveals zero Netgear products matching WiFi7.  (There appear to be only 28 certified products, from Dec 23, 2023 through June 6, 2024)  Since certification testing began less than six months ago, it is not surprising to see a small number of products so far.

Of six WiFi routers that TP-Link advertises as WiFi7, only one displays the official logo from the WiFi Alliance:

One could make a case that official certification is not considered a significant priority at Netgear.

Of 211 WiFi routers certified WiFi6E, only 1 is a Netgear product.

Of 2,252 WiFi routers certified WiFi6, only 7 are Netgear products (all Nighthawk).

Certification may carry a cost and employee burden that fails a cost/benefit analysis.

Would be really helpful if Netgear employees participated in the Community Forums (which they do not).  Even if they did, my guess is that no one would be authorized to predict what Netgear may (or may not) roll out in the future.

This practically screams out for some enterprising WiFi investigator to test and report.

[KurtP]

If there is a cost to obtain certification, then for a company like Netgear charging $2000+ for their mesh wifi (more than tp-link or Asus) then I assume they would want more reason to prove their products meets every spec of the standard.

That said, if the radio (chipset) used in the Orbi 970 is based on Qualcomm IPQ9574-2, then would it be fair to assume that Netgear inherits certification 😕

"
Product Name: Qualcomm Networking Pro Quad-Band Wi-Fi 7 Platform
Model Number: IPQ9574-2
Total Variants: 3 (1 result)
Brand: Qualcomm
Category: Other
Last Certified Date: 2024-01-05
"

Not finding excuses for Netgear and to be honest, it goes a long way (when planning on future proofing) to have a WiFi system that offers the best compatibility with the standard.
Based on what I have been reading, lots of WiFi 7 endpoints/clients will be coming out in the next 2 years.
Netgear needs to provide clarity on this matter - especially for such an expensive investment.

[raven_au]

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@CrimpOn wrote:

Oh, my.  The answer appears to be glaringly obvious. (i.e. "no") The WiFi Alliance certification search engine reveals zero Netgear products matching WiFi7.  (There appear to be only 28 certified products, from Dec 23, 2023 through June 6, 2024)  Since certification testing began less than six months ago, it is not surprising to see a small number of products so far.

Of six WiFi routers that TP-Link advertises as WiFi7, only one displays the official logo from the WiFi Alliance:

I'm not sure that's correct.

The WiFi 7 Certified logo is displayed on the TP-Link web site for the BE85, an excellent WiFi 7 mesh router.

[raven_au]

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@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 ?

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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.

[KurtP]

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-wh...), however AFC also requires approval for spectrum its incursion by the FCC in the US (FYI: FCC just approved last month).

[CrimpOn]

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@raven_au wrote:

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The WiFi 7 Certified logo is displayed on the TP-Link web site for the BE85, an excellent WiFi 7 mesh router.

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Absolutely correct.  I did not open the page for "mesh routers" and the BE85 clearly shows the symbol.

Thanks for catching that.

[raven_au]

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@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-wh...), however AFC also requires approval for spectrum its incursion by the FCC in the US (FYI: FCC just approved last month).

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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 ...

[KurtP]

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.

[FURRYe38]

What video did you watch that reported this? Link please.

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@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 ?

For those unfimilar with AFC, it is one of the key differentiating capabilities of WiFi 7 (along with MLO) - Primer below:
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2024/02/taking-wi-fi-to-new-heights-fcc-advances-standard-power-an... 

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[FURRYe38]

So seems like AFC is not needed for WiFi 7 certs from what I'm told.