IME with a variety of ISP's, no, but if you ask nicely you may get one. :)

My 2degrees router is the 7390, works fine but WiFi is only ok. If 2degrees would replace the router I'd probably sign another contract rather than staying on open term.

Their terms don't address this situation, other than with a new set-up.

We resign with Vodafone every 12 months and normally get a free modem if we ask

timmmay:

 

My 2degrees router is the 7390, works fine but WiFi is only ok. If 2degrees would replace the router I'd probably sign another contract rather than staying on open term.

 

Their terms don't address this situation, other than with a new set-up.

 

I asked nicely a couple of years back, got a 7490, some free stuff and a discount.  Asked again once the two years was up and then was told no.

You can always just change ISPs.  It's not that big a deal.  The only thing stopping me is that we have a landline with 2 degrees (grandma is the only one that calls on it).  Changing ISPs and therefore the number would confuse grandma...

landcruiserguy:

 

  Changing ISPs and therefore the number would confuse grandma...

 

You could port your number...

2degrees only do modem rental I think

Tzoi:

 

2degrees only do modem rental I think

 

^ this. Like with Slingshot, you now only rent the modem for the term that you are a customer. If you are on an open-term plan, you can buy the modem for $165.

timmmay:

 

My 2degrees router is the 7390, works fine but WiFi is only ok. If 2degrees would replace the router I'd probably sign another contract rather than staying on open term.

 

Their terms don't address this situation, other than with a new set-up.

 

The big disadvantage is that 7390 doesn't have 5ghz wifi and therefore AC\1GB wifi.  It's also end of life so not more security patches.  I would be giving them a ring and trying for the resign\free modem.  There are few things in this world that make a bigger difference to your life than better internet.

I'll sell you a 2degress 7490 for $100 plus postage :-)

landcruiserguy:

 

The big disadvantage is that 7390 doesn't have 5ghz wifi and therefore AC\1GB wifi.  It's also end of life so not more security patches.  I would be giving them a ring and trying for the resign\free modem.  There are few things in this world that make a bigger difference to your life than better internet.

 

The 7390 has 5GHz, I use it every day. I got a firmware upgrade only a couple of months ago. It's a decent enough router, just could do with slightly better WiFi.

timmmay:

 

landcruiserguy:

 

The big disadvantage is that 7390 doesn't have 5ghz wifi and therefore AC\1GB wifi.  It's also end of life so not more security patches.  I would be giving them a ring and trying for the resign\free modem.  There are few things in this world that make a bigger difference to your life than better internet.

 

 

The 7390 has 5GHz, I use it every day. I got a firmware upgrade only a couple of months ago. It's a decent enough router, just could do with slightly better WiFi.

 

The 7390 has 5 GHz 802.11n WiFi.  It does not have 5 GHz 802.11ac WiFi.  Its WiFi is a bit weak.  The 7490 has 5 GHz 802.11ac WiFi and its WiFi is good.  I only use my 7390 for the telephone service, with an EdgeRouter Lite as my main router and a Linksys WRT1900ac running OpenWRT/LEDE firmware for my WiFi.  I found the 7390 WiFi was not nearly good enough, and then I needed 802.11ac anyway after I bought a new tablet that uses it.  The 7390 is also too slow for full speed fibre connections.  Its CPU is just not fast enough.

What you want for your main router really depends on just what you want to be able to do with it.  I wanted full flexibility, so an EdgeRouter which can basically do anything Linux can do suits me well.  I do use its abilities to do strange things.  If you are more interested in having a decent GUI to control things, a 7490 is a good option as it is superior to most ISP style routers.  Few ISP routers can do packet capture, for example, which all the FritzBox routers can do (once you find the blind URL for their support page).  I would never want a router that could not do packet capture as that would prevent me from being able to properly debug my network problems myself.

fe31nz:

 

The 7390 has 5 GHz 802.11n WiFi.  It does not have 5 GHz 802.11ac WiFi.  Its WiFi is a bit weak.  The 7490 has 5 GHz 802.11ac WiFi and its WiFi is good.  I only use my 7390 for the telephone service, with an EdgeRouter Lite as my main router and a Linksys WRT1900ac running OpenWRT/LEDE firmware for my WiFi.  I found the 7390 WiFi was not nearly good enough, and then I needed 802.11ac anyway after I bought a new tablet that uses it.  The 7390 is also too slow for full speed fibre connections.  Its CPU is just not fast enough.

 

What you want for your main router really depends on just what you want to be able to do with it.  I wanted full flexibility, so an EdgeRouter which can basically do anything Linux can do suits me well.  I do use its abilities to do strange things.  If you are more interested in having a decent GUI to control things, a 7490 is a good option as it is superior to most ISP style routers.  Few ISP routers can do packet capture, for example, which all the FritzBox routers can do (once you find the blind URL for their support page).  I would never want a router that could not do packet capture as that would prevent me from being able to properly debug my network problems myself.

 

I didn't know there was much difference in the WiFi standards. 450Mbps vs 1300Mbps makes little difference to me, since I use ethernet for my computer, but higher power / sensitivity would be useful at times. The 7390, mounted up high, covers my whole house and most of the average suburban sized garden, but it's not super strong in all areas. I also use 100Mbps internet as I haven't needed faster yet.

I see your point though, anyone doing complex / power stuff would want faster / better. I do a bit of subnetting so I can have a router do VPN for us, but that's about as complex as I get at home. I do all my complex stuff in AWS, but even then my personal stuff is simple.