Router Life

Have a Belkin router Surf N6000DB and it is never switched off.
What is the expected life of such a router.
Replaced previous Belkin 18th Dec 2015.(after four years of a previous Belkin)
Just wondered when I may consider getting a replacement.in good time any ideas appreciated.
Present one runs along without any hassle at 10 to 16Mps)
I realise it is rather a 'unknown quantity' question but thought maybe a Xmas present to myself !!!!!!!!1
Cheers
kb

Varies around what is the lowest quality component that eventually fails, so could last ten years more

I'm still using my original BT HG612 in conjunction with a newer Billion 8800.

Thanks and your remarks noted.
Appreciate your replies.
rgds
kb

Interesting, I've heard that the HG612's shelf life isn't great. You're probably better off using the BDCM chipset in the Billion, tbh.

HG612 is also a BDCM chipset. Why do you think it is preferred by so many.

I don't know how old my HG612 is but it must be several years. It hasn't failed yet so I'm not complaining.

Speeds can't be better.....

# xdslcmd info --stats
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY status
Status: Showtime
Retrain Reason: 0
Last initialization procedure status: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 31489 Kbps, Downstream rate = 75872 Kbps
Bearer: 0, Upstream rate = 19999 Kbps, Downstream rate = 79999 Kbps
Bearer: 1, Upstream rate = 0 Kbps, Downstream rate = 0 Kbps
Link Power State: L0
Mode: VDSL2 Annex B
VDSL2 Profile: Profile 17a
TPS-TC: PTM Mode(0x0)
Trellis: U:ON /D:ON
Line Status: No Defect
Training Status: Showtime
Down Up
SNR (dB): 7.3 16.4
Attn(dB): 12.2 0.0
Pwr(dBm): 13.0 -2.6

Downstream errors looking pretty good .... but I would like to have upstream G.Inp !

Since Link time = 34 days 17 hours 44 min 49 sec
FEC: 203469 91381
CRC: 0 5511
ES: 0 4953
SES: 0 0
UAS: 0 0
LOS: 0 0
LOF: 0 0
LOM: 0 0
#
The uptime is low because of a power cut, should be much longer!

The separate Modem, Router and Access point is by far the best arrangement for my situation, a large old house with some stone walls. A single box solution would not work well.

I know it does?! Because they were manufactured several years ago, and like I said in my previous post, don't have a great shelf life on average. Why not use the Billion on its own, and sell the HG612? Less devices, and overall better performance.

Not sure where you've got this idea that the HG612 has poor "shelf life" as you seem to call it. It shouldn't be better or worse than other mass produced electronic devices. I accept that there have been some instances of early capacitor failure but this could happen to any equipment comprised of commercial grade (i.e low cost ) components.

As I stated previously the separate modem is useful in many situations and with the detailed stats available it is easy to understand why this modem is still so popular.

Just from other forums etc. The Billion model also has the same stats, so what's the point of using two devices, when just using the Billion would be a perfect AIO set up. I've also found that a Billion device syncs higher than the HG612, anyway.

Edited by deleted (Sat 16-Dec-17 11:37:46)

These days most newer devices sync higher than the HG612 even if it is still healthy. Newer overall circuit optimisation I expect.

It was fine, and rock solid in its day.

In reply to a post by WilliamGrimsley:

Interesting, I've heard that the HG612's shelf life isn't great. You're probably better off using the BDCM chipset in the Billion, tbh.

I like having the two separate. It means I can power cycle the router without risking the wrath of DLM. But yeah - if the 612 ever fails the Billion will take over

Edited by Andrue (Sat 16-Dec-17 15:40:16)

That's a very good point, didn't think of that one!

I am still using some 2-wire 2700 routers as Wireless Access points and they have been run almost non-stop sine around 2007. I have just removed a 2701 which was providing the front end to the modem and that was installed in 2012 - so a relative youngster.

A lot will depend on the build and component quality. Customers want cheap so they cut corners and use the cheapest components that may just meet spec, but could have a short life. It has always been the case - ICs could be bought in three, four (and sometimes more) grades - consumer, commercial, industrial, military, space with reliability, accuracy/tolerance and longevity increasing along with costs going up and up!

Edited by MHC (Sun 17-Dec-17 11:26:14)

As above for myself the advantages of a two box system are the ability the faff around with your router to your hearts content (I do) without damaging my relationship with the Cabinet which I like to keep the right side of & not upset it & evoke DLM - Also the modem can be mounted near the faceplate & as the link between the modem & router is Ethernet the router can then be placed anywhere you wish without any degradation.

As for the HG612 I was using a unlocked 3B but swopped it for the Comtrend 3030 which I obtained from IDNet & very pleased with it but the sync speed increase was only 1 or so - With the HG612�s avoid anything other than the 3B revision. (Of course it�s all personal opinion & there is no right or wrong I feel)

Its the power cycles that are the biggest killers of electrical products.

M-I-L goes through electrical products like nothing on earth, As they are turned off a the main switch, after each use. She simply refuses to believe that they are safe left on at the mains even when not in use..

She is lucky if a kettle or toaster lasts a year....

In reply to a post by JohnR:

Its the power cycles that are the biggest killers of electrical products.

I don't power cycle my router very often actually. However I have long questioned the assertion that power cycling damages electronic equipment. The reason is that for the last 15 years I have used timers to power off my hifi and a/v equipment every night including my various Sky boxes over the years. I also have a WAP downstairs that undergoes the same thing.

The only piece of equipment that has ever died was a Gigabit Netgear switch behind the TV and I've been told that Netgear equipment can be a bit poor quality anyway.

In practice the only significant difference the power cycling has made has been to make me immune to several bugs that Sky have introduced over the years. A daily power cycle seems to do nothing but good to a Sky box in my experience. Most of the equipment has been upgraded over the years so I can't prove that I'm not shortening the life in some capacity. However it seems that however much I might be shortening it is unimportant as it lasts for as long as I own it

Edited by Andrue (Sun 17-Dec-17 21:55:21)

In practice the only significant difference the power cycling has made has been to make me immune to several bugs that Sky have introduced over the years. A daily power cycle seems to do nothing but good to a Sky box in my experience.

No idea what these bugs are you talk about, over the years I've had 4 Sky TV boxes, the latest being Sky Q. They have always been powered on 24/7 and I think in around 17 years they have crashed a handful of times. My average life span of a Sky Box has been around 3/4 years per box. Had BT Vision between Sky, that did crash quite a bit.

I find turning a Sky Box off counter productive, it takes many minutes to boot and get accurate TV Listings.

Same for my WiFi routers, I have uptimes of months on end.

Edited by ukhardy07 (Sun 17-Dec-17 23:32:28)

We have had Sky HD a few months after it started.

Well we have had all four of our boxes completely freeze / lockup leaving the rotating LED's at the front still going, this requires a reboot to resolve.
We have had the odd Ethernet controller fail to get an IP (no different combinations would fix this), required a reboot to resolve.
Single dead tuner has happened on 3 of the boxes at least 3 times, once again a reboot fixed it.

So these Sky Boxes are not that perfect, as for Sky Q, not tried that, good idea them all linking up, not a fan of the single hdd in the main box.

Don't get me wrong, I like these Sky HD Boxes, just they have some intermittent issues.

Paul

In reply to a post by ukhardy07:

No idea what these bugs are you talk about, over the years I've had 4 Sky TV boxes, the latest being Sky Q. They have always been powered on 24/7 and I think in around 17 years they have crashed a handful of times.

Oh I never said it was unreliable, and they don't usually crash. They typically just stop operating correctly. There was a spate of issues with 'Technical Fault 8' around when the first EPG with a mini-TV was rolled out several years ago.

Sky Q has had at least two known issues that require a reboot. One was randomly losing the signal lock, the other was missing thumbnails.

But if you frequent their support forums you will always find people being advised to switch off, wait 30 seconds then power back on.

I find turning a Sky Box off counter productive, it takes many minutes to boot and get accurate TV Listings.

As I mentioned originally - mine is on a timer. I have programmed it to so that the Sky box is powered up an hour before I get home. Plenty of time to get the EPG refreshed and even to have updates applied.

<rant>There is absolutely no need to have my Sky box powered on (consuming 20w an hour) between 3am and 4pm during the week or 3am and 7am at the weekends. I'd rather save £1 a month on my electricity bill purely on principal. I have a Freesat DVR that consumes less than 1w in standby and it is still able to update its EPG and wake up to make recordings. Sky hardware is badly designed. Put a Sky box into deep sleep and it can't do anything. Can't even respond to the remote. Terrible design.</a>

In reply to a post by PaulKirby:

So these Sky Boxes are not that perfect, as for Sky Q, not tried that, good idea them all linking up, not a fan of the single hdd in the main box.

Sky Q's biggest problem is the mesh network it tries to establish for multi-room setup. If you use Ethernet it seems a lot better from reading their forums. I wouldn't know though as I only have the one box. Overall I'd say it's been very stable for me. The UI is poorly designed (inconsistent, breaks various UI conventions and seems geared toward touch tablet use than a standard remote) but it does the job. I love having 6 turners available for recording - programme clashes are a thing of the past.

Don't get me wrong, I like these Sky HD Boxes, just they have some intermittent issues.

Same here. My first Sky box was a silver Panasonic before Sky+ was available. And I fell in love with Sky+ immediately - haven't watched a live programme since I first got it. But their hardware and software could be better :-/

Edited by Andrue (Mon 18-Dec-17 09:24:18)

In reply to a post by Andrue:

Don't get me wrong, I like these Sky HD Boxes, just they have some intermittent issues.

Same here. My first Sky box was a silver Panasonic before Sky+ was available. And I fell in love with Sky+ immediately - haven't watched a live programme since I first got it. But their hardware and software could be better :-/

Yeah we had the 4 Sony Digi Boxes which was also before the Sky+, then parents got an Amstrad Sky+ Box, then Sky started their HD Service so we all upgraded to 4 HD Boxes, mine is either the 1.5TB or 2TB version, cannot remember, been a while LOL.

I had to repair 2 of the 4 boxes PSU due to faulty caps, one box needed a new power reg which took out the card and left a nice brown scorch mark on it.

Other than that they have been fine.

But yeah, the GUI on their boxes are a bit rubbish, I just whished they didn't drop / sold Tivo, Tivo ruled back then.

Paul