Rent vs purchase router

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chatterbox

204 posts

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#298947 29-Jul-2022 13:54

Is it better to rent or purchase a router these days? I have a distant memory of being told it's cheaper in the long run to buy a router than renting, but also you could purchase a better quality than those supplied by ISPs. But I'm wondering if the tables have turned and now renting might be a better option.

At $5 per month for an ASUS RT AX3000 = $60 per year vs buying for $350 from PB tech it would take 6 years to equate to the purchase. But I read the advice is you should update your router every 3-4 years? Plus if I have any issues with it I can send it back to my ISP and should get a replacement.

Is this the current thinking? Or for my situation? Renting the router is better than purchase?

mattwnz

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#2947910 29-Jul-2022 14:08

I have usually got one free. The last one was with a Skinny one last year when signing up. Although there seems to be a trend away from ISPs providing them free as there seems to be more consolidation of brands and less competition in the market, which isn't great for the consumer. . My parents spark one kept freezing up after about 3 years, so they don't seem to last. There probably isn't much difference in renting vs buying if you factor in the actual cost of the ISP and if you are getting a better ISP deal anyway.

nztim

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TEAMnetwork

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#2947929 29-Jul-2022 15:04

I am for using the RSP router unless you have a good reason not to but at the same time am against E-WASTE, so if you know what you are doing you can take the router from one RSP and configure it for another

however this does lead to support issues should anything go wrong

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

mattwnz

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#2947937 29-Jul-2022 15:20

That is why I am guessing ISPs like to give people modems when they sign up, as it makes support easier for them, and support is one of their big costs. I do recall the ISP blaming my third party router before, which is a hassle to prove it isn't the router.

chatterbox

204 posts

Master Geek
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#2948695 31-Jul-2022 20:42

nztim:

I am for using the RSP router unless you have a good reason not to but at the same time am against E-WASTE, so if you know what you are doing you can take the router from one RSP and configure it for another

however this does lead to support issues should anything go wrong

I don't think I'd find it easy to configure the router for another ISP. I had to google RSP, so I think the support side would be useful for me.

As a generalisation though I always figure tech goes out of date every few years and this is consistent with what I read about routers being changed 3-4years. I'm happy to send them back to the ISP to reconfigure as I don't like excess waste either. I just don't have the tech knowledge to be able to do this myself.

mrgsm021

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#2948699 31-Jul-2022 20:51

I am using a ER-X for my gig fibre since I have very limited space in my comms cabinet since ISP supplied ones will not fit into it.