Frtz!Box 7530 fried.

I think it was the heat yesterday that finally did for my Fritz!Box 7530. I tried for several hours to resurrect it but failed. It powers up briefly, appears to be polling for a connection and the Wi-Fi light comes on but after a couple of minutes it gives up trying and just powers down completely.

I considered buying a replacement but for now decided to go back to my PlusNet Hub One. I forgot just how sparse the interface is and how much worse the Wi-Fi is.

Does anybody run a TP Link AC2800? I would limit myself to a max £150 for a replacement. Any other recommendations?

In reply to a post by longedge:

I considered buying a replacement.............

Where would you buy one? AFAICT there's only Zen who do them and they will only supply to their own customers. Those listed on Amazon tend to be rather vague in their description so you could end up with a German language version. In any event I suspect some of the Amazon suppliers buy through the grey market.

There doesn't appear to be any official channel where you can purchase a Fritzbox. Shame since by all acounts they're a decent piece of kit.

I bought mine from Amazon UK. The only similar UK model I could find was the ax version at about £250. Too expensive for me given that I can't use what makes it cost so much. I have emailed avm (the makers) for more information about the old version.

I was certainly very happy with mine, until it went phut....

Edited by longedge (Sat 13-Aug-22 20:11:05)

Is it just a good router that you need or is the phone side of it necessary too?

In reply to a post by DanielCoffey67:

Is it just a good router that you need or is the phone side of it necessary too?

It's both, but the phone side is an advantage. One of the things that appeals is that AVM appear to support the FritzBox for longer than most router manufacturers.

I could go for one of the Draytek models with a phone option, but I think Fritz do it better.

The one thing that does rule them out for many people is that given the fall in the pound relative to the euro, they are getting to be particularly expensive, and appeal to a limited market. Possibly one of the reasons nobody has taken up a UK dealership. Zen probably get a decent deal through bulk buying and see the Fritz as part of their sales proposition.

I have a separate set of DECT phones so it's not a feature that I need. I'm like most people I suspect and use my mobile for all calls.

PM Sent

Before condemning the router, check external power supply if possible. Usually the electrolytic filter capacitors will have dried out.

Yes, next time I see him, it's a job for my grandson to take to work with him

Most PN customers will agree with you re Hub One, so they have acquired used BT HH6 -- still plenty on the auction sites. I paid £15 for one two years ago and it's excellent, steady 37 to 38MB on my 40/10 FTTC. First-class thread to set it up on PN forum.

I bought a fancy router once, made no difference to ADSL performance and burned out wifi card just after two yrs when the warranty expired. £80 up in smoke ...

In reply to a post by Brunel:

Before condemning the router, check external power supply if possible. Usually the electrolytic filter capacitors will have dried out.

Definitely worth trying this. It's handy to have a multi-voltage regulated PSU with an assortment of tips, for testing things like this.

I have one - it's Maplin-branded so that gives you an idea how long I must have had it for

In reply to a post by candlerb:

I have one - it's Maplin-branded so that gives you an idea how long I must have had it for

Spent many a happy hour in my local Tandy back in the 1970's

Edited by deleted (Sun 14-Aug-22 22:13:48)

In reply to a post by dect:

Spent many a happy hour in my local Tandy back in the 1970's

Tandy was a great shop for components. Shame they sold out to CPW.

I got a response from AVM yesterday morning. The router has a 5 year warranty and I now have an RMA albeit to Berlin but, fingers crossed, the matter will be resolved at minimal cost

Post deleted by lexden16

Hopefully their pwperwork will cover it, but you need to make sure it goes out of teh UK as being sent for reapir and the replacement comes in that way. There is a formal process. If not, you could get an HMRC bill for VAT (+duty possibly) and the carrier charges.

Yes indeed. All customs forms completed with the wording "Defective VDSL router returned to manufacturer under warranty for repair". If that attracts customs duty then I'll query it.

With the right proof you should be OK. A friend recently had to send a fishing reel worth around £400 to Sweden under warranty - they sent a new replacement and whilst it appeared customs checked it, NO duty or VAT charged.

A brand new replacement arrived today. Took over 6 weeks for the parcel to get to Berlin after being held up in customs and only 3 days for the new one to arrive after I got notification it had been despatched.

In the meantime PlusNet sent me their latest HomeHub and it works so well that, for the time being at least, I'm going to keep using that. TBH the only reason I didn't like the previous HomeHub was that it couldn't be setup to respond to pings, so no BQM, whereas this version will do so.

The Fritz!Box 7530 goes in my spares cupnoard for now.

In reply to a post by Malwaremike:

Most PN customers will agree with you re Hub One, so they have acquired used BT HH6 -- still plenty on the auction sites. I paid £15 for one two years ago and it's excellent, steady 37 to 38MB on my 40/10 FTTC. First-class thread to set it up on PN forum.

I bought a fancy router once, made no difference to ADSL performance and burned out wifi card just after two yrs when the warranty expired. £80 up in smoke ...

I have been using a Hub one for a while, a few weeks after my Zyxel gave up and someone said not to use my TP link. So about 4 months or more. It is fine. Wi-fi seems ok, The UI is sparse, I can't do a fixed IP for the devices or rename them,

But I think there is something wrong with it now, the last week or so it has been resetting itself now and again. Mind you it is way out of date firmware wise 13/09/17
I don't really want Plusnet to send another one to me as they may want to extend my contract, so if I can find it, i may put the TP link back in action or maybe get more modern one that can also be used if i decided to go Zzoomm.

In reply to a post by longedge:

A brand new replacement arrived today. Took over 6 weeks for the parcel to get to Berlin after being held up in customs and only 3 days for the new one to arrive after I got notification it had been despatched.

In the meantime PlusNet sent me their latest HomeHub and it works so well that, for the time being at least, I'm going to keep using that. TBH the only reason I didn't like the previous HomeHub was that it couldn't be setup to respond to pings, so no BQM, whereas this version will do so.

The Fritz!Box 7530 goes in my spares cupnoard for now.

their home hub is a cut down version of the BT one, so none of the rubbish BT sticks in theirs, so in theory it should be better than the BT one.

Hard to contact PN anyway, I still think your best bet is HH6, some say it's as good as the Hub 2.
If you can get one locally even better, mail is playing silly ******s again

Edited by Malwaremike (Fri 25-Nov-22 13:23:02)

In reply to a post by Malwaremike:

Hard to contact PN anyway, I still think your best bet is HH6, some say it's as good as the Hub 2.
If you can get one locally even better, mail is playing silly ******s again

You mean the BT HH6? i don't like the BT routers, they are full of rubbish that needs to be disabled. Anyway, if I change providers it may not work on another provider, but thanks anyway.

i am still thinking of making my own, just for the fun of it, but the cost puts me off.