Which wifi system IS COMPATIBLE with Safari Private Relay?

See this article. It basically says Private Relay and Netgear software features overlap and are incompatible.

If you need to use Private Relay, perhaps there is a way - by disabling conflicting Netgear features.

How does using Apple iCloud Private Relay affect NETGEAR Armor?

On the flip side, Private Relay only affects Safari browsing. If you are happy with the similar features that your Netgear router provides, then turn off Private Relay. Or if it is a laptop, then leave if on, ignore the warning which probably only appears after a reboot, and let Private Relay turn itself back on when you are on another wifi outside your house.

Are you sure the message is specific to Orbi (I get a generic message that "software" is incompatible - not what software). Generally the incopatible software is something else on the Mac itself, such as VPN software, of the pf Firewall (I have come to assume that is because pf can shape traffic so Private Relay doesn't like it).

I'm not actually sure, now that I think about it, how Private Relay would or even could know anyhting your router is doing. hat doesn't make sense. The Mac jsut throws packets over the air to the router, they don't "talk" about what software each of them is running...

But to answer your question anyway - Apple and the router manufacturers, to the degree they talk at all, talk about the 802.11 Wifi specifications and how to implement them - which is what allows the Macs and routers to throw packets at each other successfully. Neither cares about features the other implements that sit outside the WiFi specs, because there is no reason for them to care.

Then you likely have some research ahead of you unless someone here can offer you insight. I don't have Private Relay because the pf firewall is incompatible. I don't recall that my eero mesh had specific issues, but can't guarantee anything. Lots of major network vendors are offering mesh networking now - eero, Asus, Netgear (obviously), Linksys, Arris, Ubiquity...maybe you'd have luck with Linksys, as it's Atlas series seems to be sold in the Apple Store (at least in Canada).

No idea if your question can be definitely answered. Good luck.

What happens at Settings > Wi-Fi when you tap the circled “i” to the right of your network and check “Limit IP Address Tracking”? You may use this feature with your current network, correct? Might that be sufficient for you?

Meh - it's a Safari-only VPN and most people around here aren't all that keen on VPNs. I see the value of them for avoid geo-restrictions, but Private Relay doesn't really do that.

And for me personally, I care far more about my firewall than an app-locked pseudo-VPN.

Apple support never reads these discussions - or at least that's their publicly stated position.