Upgrade Telecom Thomson router

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Upgrade Telecom Thomson router

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6434 posts

Uber Geek

#624792 14-May-2012 12:30

spoonboy:
NonprayingMantis:
spoonboy:
NonprayingMantis: If you buy a brand new car, do you expect the dealer to give you a free upgrade when the new model comes out? of course not.

Wrong example. If you RENT a new car then yes, I expect the company to give me a new car after a certain term.

and if you were renting the modem from Telecom maybe you would have a point.

You aren't.

You see, I didn't buy the modem from TNZ, but rather bought their service. So, it's more rent / lease schema while you are talking about buying a good.
BTW, in may EU countries you are getting a mobile phone upgraded for free while keeping a plan.
Does this surprise you?

it's not a rent/lease or whatever.

You sign up to a broadband plan. you either get no fixed term contract, and can leave whenever you like, but you need to pay for the connection and either buy a modem or bring your own, or in exchange for committing to 12/24 month contract they give you free connection and a free modem.

There is no rental or lease in there at all.

Not sure what you are talking about with the EU comment. you can do the same thing here i.e. get a free phone when you resign your contract. But even in the EU you don't get free upgrade just because a new model comes out.

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#624795 14-May-2012 12:32

The 585 I got from Telecom in February last year was an 802.11n model. Are you sure yours isn't? (Regardless, it was still an awful device which I soon replaced with the combination of a Draytek ADSL modem and an Asus RT-n16 router with MIMO).

That said, there was virtually no benefit over 802.11g as it was 2.4Ghz and single-channel.

I'm not sure how exactly it works with g ot n but I have my 3 y.o. DIR-615 N router set to be used in N only mode and it works significantly quicker than the not so old tnz one. So, I presume that there is no N or it's not that N that should be or something. But the point is that now tnz is giving new modems so I'm looking for a way to upgrade mine.

stevenz

2802 posts

Uber Geek

#624797 14-May-2012 12:36

We're not in an EU country. Once your existing phone contract has expired you are eligible to resign with Vodafone/Telecom etc. and potentially get a "free" (or at least heavily subsidised) phone with one of the locked-in contracts again though. If you go the free (sorry *snigger* "zero dollar") route then you'll get a pretty no-frills device though.

When I signed up with Telecom for broadband initially, I got the choice of either having no contract and not getting a modem, or having a 1-year contract and getting the free modem. I chose the latter which in hindsight I'd not do again as it made moving the account awkward.

Other than the presence of the contract, the modem was a total freebie.

@KnightNZ

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#624799 14-May-2012 12:41

Not sure what you are talking about with the EU comment. you can do the same thing here i.e. get a free phone when you resign your contract. But even in the EU you don't get free upgrade just because a new model comes out.

May be it's my English, not sure...
This is what I've said and what you commented with your 'car' example:
"Well, TNZ could upgrade the modem to a new one after the first 12 months if I sign on another 12."

stevenz

2802 posts

Uber Geek

#624800 14-May-2012 12:44

What was the initial plan you signed up with? If you haven't actually directly paid for the device, then Telecom is under no real obligation to give you an upgrade unless you potentially resign with them and (as suggested earlier) call the retentions team and see if they'll take pity.

@KnightNZ

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#624810 14-May-2012 12:56

stevenz: What was the initial plan you signed up with? If you haven't actually directly paid for the device, then Telecom is under no real obligation to give you an upgrade unless you potentially resign with them and (as suggested earlier) call the retentions team and see if they'll take pity.

I'm with THB. I didn't pay for the device as it was free with a 12 months contract.
I understand that TNZ is not obliged to upgrade but it would be a good move from their side to keep customers.
Effectively, refusing to upgrade, they would discriminate the old users who wish to extend for the next 12 months against the new ones.
I think, I'll call TNZ at the end of the current contract and if they refuse to upgrade I just move to other provider that gives a new modem with 12 months plan for free. Actually, I could do this now if other provider gives me 2 monthes free offer as this would cover my $199 loss. So, will wait for the guys knocking my door with the offer untill then.

Ragnor

8219 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#624962 14-May-2012 16:19

It seems unlikely than in one 12 month period they would give you two free modems effectively $198 worth free ($99 x 2).

They are not a charity :)

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trig42

5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#624967 14-May-2012 16:31

spoonboy:
stevenz: What was the initial plan you signed up with? If you haven't actually directly paid for the device, then Telecom is under no real obligation to give you an upgrade unless you potentially resign with them and (as suggested earlier) call the retentions team and see if they'll take pity.

I'm with THB. I didn't pay for the device as it was free with a 12 months contract.
I understand that TNZ is not obliged to upgrade but it would be a good move from their side to keep customers.
Effectively, refusing to upgrade, they would discriminate the old users who wish to extend for the next 12 months against the new ones.
I think, I'll call TNZ at the end of the current contract and if they refuse to upgrade I just move to other provider that gives a new modem with 12 months plan for free. Actually, I could do this now if other provider gives me 2 monthes free offer as this would cover my $199 loss. So, will wait for the guys knocking my door with the offer untill then.

You are fairly demanding. They are actually running a business. I am pretty sure their business model does not include upgrading everyones modem every year.

They may well send out a new modem, but don't threaten to change ISPs - finding an ISP that will send you a better one than Telecom has already sent you will be a bit of an uphill battle. In my experience (and I have setup a lot of internet connections for people on all the ISPs) the Telecom provided ones are about the best of the 'free' ones out there.

Their retention team is pretty good, so if you ask nicely (although you come across as a demander) they will probably help you out.

I'll say again, if you really want the best, go and buy it.

tdgeek

29743 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#624970 14-May-2012 16:42

spoonboy: But the point is that now tnz is giving new modems so I'm looking for a way to upgrade mine.

I can help you there.

Go to a store and buy a new modem. You were GIVEN one for free, for commiting to a contract. You can use it, sell it, do what you like with it. It is yours. Or do you expect all ISPs to give you a free modem every year? You bought and pay for the broadband service. You do not pay part of that fee as a modem cost.

richms

28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#625114 14-May-2012 21:45

+1 on buy a new router that you are happy with.

Its insane in this era of $70 modems people will chain themselves to an ISP for a year to pick up a freebe that will usually have less support than anything bought retail, and no support if you change ISP.

Richard rich.ms

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#625275 15-May-2012 09:26

You are fairly demanding. They are actually running a business. I am pretty sure their business model does not include upgrading everyones modem every year.

Well, thier business depends on their customers. So, if other provider gives me a better deal/equipment then what shall I do? I want a better router. So, if other provider will give it to me for free when I switch then why shall I spend on buying it?

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#625278 15-May-2012 09:29

Or do you expect all ISPs to give you a free modem every year.

May be not every year but regularly when the existing equipment becomes outdated. Of course, if you stay with a plan.

snnet

1410 posts

Uber Geek

#625742 15-May-2012 21:05

spoonboy:
Or do you expect all ISPs to give you a free modem every year.

May be not every year but regularly when the existing equipment becomes outdated. Of course, if you stay with a plan.

I'm not sure you understand how many customers Telecom has- this would be an absolutely huge cost! It sounds like you know the location of a money tree, can you tell me please?

As many people have said- the modem is a freebie given to you for signing a contract, it isn't a rented piece of equipment. If it fails, Telecom tend to replace it (if you send the old one back) for free. Try extending your contract if you want the new free modem.

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#626094 16-May-2012 13:18

It sounds like you know the location of a money tree, can you tell me please?

Let me guess... What about TNZ CEO office? :-) But definitely not at my place :-(

stevenz

2802 posts

Uber Geek

#626119 16-May-2012 13:36

Part of the reason they supply these modems, is because the possibility exists that new customers might not _have_ suitable equipment.

By supplying modems that they _know_ to work reliably and are more or less plug play, it saves them having to provide anywhere near as much support, and hence saves them money, and saves the consumer from potential hassle.

It's not their job to upgrade an end-users hardware because it doesn't support "x new feature" when the base functionality still works perfectly well.

It's also the reason why their free units are low-end Alcatel/Thomson units rather than commercial grade Cisco units - all people need is something to plug into the wall and translate the ADSL into something their home computer can connect to.

>90% of their clientele probably don't even realise that there _are_ different types of WiFi beyond it having a password or not.

I'm still not convinced that your existing unit doesn't have 802.11n support anyway, finding anything in the god-awful menu structure on the Thomsons is non-trivial though.

@KnightNZ

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