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Author Topic: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)  (Read 6682 times)

Pirran

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Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« on: April 20, 2017, 09:53:27 PM »

Hi All

I am new to the forum and to be frank I am unlikely to spend much time here as I don't have a particular interest in IT, however as a member of various other niche forums I am sure there are many knowledgeable and experienced people here and I'd be most grateful for your advice.

I have been living overseas for almost a decade, and am now moving back to the UK. I need to set up a fibre connection at home and have done some homework on ISPs, whittling the shortlist down to Zen or IDnet as being the best at a reasonable, albeit premium, rate. Today I called both to ask a few Qs, and to me they seem very similar in terms of speed, traffic management, connection time, price, etc. As mentioned I don't have a particular interest in IT, and my understanding of detailed IT technology is limited, so whilst I have browsed some of the Zen vs IDnet threads on here, to be honest I can't really understand all the talk of single thread performance, latency etc, so can't really make an informed final choice.

Zen is slightly more expensive per month/year than IDnet, but this may be offset by the free Fritzbox 3490 modem/router vs having to buy one for IDnet. So I guess my questions are:

1. Does either of these two offer a discernibly better service/connection than the other?

2. Is the free fritzbox good enough (don't like the look of it, but reading reviews it seems to be fairly well rated), or is the c. 100 quid TP Link VR600 from IDnet worth paying for (or maybe I shouldn't even consider routers when deciding an ISP?).

3. Overall, which one should I go for? As I am not an IT professional or gamer I imagine that I'll be perfectly happy with either, as they both seem to get generally good reviews and comments regarding speed and reliability, but since I have the choice, I may as well make the best decision I can!

Many thanks in advance for any thoughts and advice.
Pirran
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NEXUS2345

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2017, 01:38:01 AM »

I have been on  BTW ADSL2+ with Zen for just over 18 months and have been extremely satisfied so far. I am at the moment seeing ping spikes in a game at around 22:00-23:00 hours, but I believe this is either the games network or something local to me.

In terms of the router, I can't be sure, but what I will say is they certainly changed, because they used to only offer the ZyXEL VMG-1312 for free.
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jaydub

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2017, 05:18:48 PM »

I have been on  BTW ADSL2+ with Zen for just over 18 months and have been extremely satisfied so far. I am at the moment seeing ping spikes in a game at around 22:00-23:00 hours, but I believe this is either the games network or something local to me.

In terms of the router, I can't be sure, but what I will say is they certainly changed, because they used to only offer the ZyXEL VMG-1312 for free.

Just checked out the Zen web site and the Fritzbox is now the free option on migration.

I wonder whether they were having issues with the VMG1312 or have just run out of them.

That's a pretty amazing offer from Zen: a £138 router for free.  Just a bit of a shame about the Lantiq chipset.



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Pirran

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2017, 11:56:28 PM »

Thanks guys. What's a Lantiq chipset?

Any other experiences/ recommendations between these two companies? I am still struggling to decide which to go for!

cheers
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Pirran

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2017, 12:33:41 AM »

......just checked the numbers and the additional outlay on the router for IDnet is offset by the lower prices over 3 years. It would seem a bit odd to me to select an ISP based purely on the router, but unless there is a particular bias to the service of one over the other I may end up dong just that......in which case, which is better, the fritz box or a TP link vr600?

cheers!
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jaydub

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2017, 08:37:48 AM »

You ought to factor in the call costs into your calculations, as IDnet's call costs are much lower than Zen's.  Also IDnet will give you 12 months for the price of 11 if you are willing to pay up front.

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

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psychopomp1

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2017, 10:29:06 AM »

I wonder whether they were having issues with the VMG1312 or have just run out of them.

Other than the Broadcom model chipset used by Zyxel routers there is nothing special about them. You can buy far better routers than the VMG1312 (especially wrt wifi coverage) for the same price, such as those from Fritzbox. I suspect Zen have finally realised this.
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jaydub

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2017, 10:56:41 AM »

The one proviso I would make to that is that the Fritzbox 3490 is more of a direct equivalent to the ZyXel VMG8924, which Zen do still offer.  I don't think there is any question that the 3490 router is a better option than the 1312D.  Free Fritzbox 3490 vs a £130 8924 (which Zen may still discount to £90 on sign up).  Not a difficult choice.
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Pirran

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2017, 08:56:40 PM »

Thanks All - interesting comments. Jaydub the calcs I did did include calls also, which offset the router cost. Thanks for the comments on the Fritzbox. Are there any opinions on experience with or spec of the TP Link vr600 archer?
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jaydub

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2017, 10:41:25 PM »

No direct experience of the TP-Link kit, although it seems to perform very well and on a par with more expensive kit.  The only real negative about TP-Link kit is that the interface does not offer much in the way of diagnostics.

Kitz did a review of the VR900, which is worth a read as the two will be very similar (in fact the v2 of the VR900 now looks the same as the VR600):

http://www.kitz.co.uk/routers/tplink_Archer_VR900_review.htm
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NEXUS2345

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #10 on: April 22, 2017, 11:04:46 PM »

I have the C2600 and find the interface can be quite slow at times. The firmware on the C2600 is also a bit buggy in that I sometimes get massive slowdowns and have to restart it. Not sure whether these would be present on the VR600 though.
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Pirran

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2017, 08:31:56 PM »

Nice one guys thanks very much. Based on the comments in this thread and my research on other threads/sites, I think I am going to go for IDnet+buy the TP Link from them, rather than going with zen and the free fritzbox. cheers
Pirran
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jaydub

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2017, 11:24:21 PM »

I think you will be fine with either.  I too would favour IDNet based on the call cost savings.

Are you paying for the year up front to get the one month saving?
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Pirran

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #13 on: April 25, 2017, 12:30:29 AM »

Thanks Jaydub - i forgot to ask about that when I spoke to them today - will check tomorrow!

cheers
Pirran
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jaydub

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Re: Zen or IDNet (simple version!)
« Reply #14 on: April 25, 2017, 10:29:00 AM »

One further thing, which might save you a few notes

IDNet are selling the VR600 for £125; Amazon are selling it for £89.99.  In fact you can get the VR900 v2 for £119.99.

That's a very healthy premium to be paying IDNet for a bit of pre-configuration.

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