Is it necessary to buy optical modem yourself? The cat sent by the operator is rented to you. If it breaks, it will be replaced for free. Please settle these three accounts before paying for it.

This matter was initiated by my colleague Xiao Zhou. He upgraded to Telecom 2000M, and the master came to see it and said that his Tianyi Gateway 3.0 only had a Gigabit port and was not running properly, so he had to replace it with a 10G modem. The master is out of stock, so he reports it to the warehouse and waits for it to be transferred, which can take a week at the earliest. Xiao Zhou was impatient, so he searched for "10 Gigabit optical modem" on the shopping platform that night, and found a model with a price tag of more than 400 yuan. He took a screenshot and asked me: Is it possible to plug this thing in and use it after buying it?

I stopped him. It's not because the cat is not good, it's because the account is different from what he thought.—— Optical modem is not a router. If you pay for it, it will most likely not work if you plug it in. . It must first pass the registration level in the computer room. I went through the whole thing with him that day, and found that there are various answers to the question "Should I buy the optical modem myself?" on the Internet, but there are only three accounts that can really be settled. This article lays out the three accounts one by one. You can compare them with your own situation and you will have the answer in five minutes.

Let’s make one thing clear first: Your optical modem is not yours at all

This is the foundation of the whole thing, and a lot of people get it wrong from the day they install it. The router is an asset that you buy with your own money. If it breaks, you will be responsible for it. ； Cats are different, most of them are Rental equipment issued by the operator ——The property rights are on their roster, and you only have the right to use them. On the installation list, what follows the line "One optical modem" is not the price, but the word "rent".

Renting means two things. First, if it is broken, aged, or burned by a lightning strike, the replacement is free through the process of reporting a damage, and you should not have to pay a penny out of your own pocket. My mother’s six-year-old Huawei HS8145V5 had an old optical module. After looking at the installation list, the master said, “Replace it with another one, it won’t cost any money.” I made a special note of this caliber when writing about the lifespan of the optical module. How many years can the optical modem be used? inside. Secondly, one day you withdraw from the network and move away, the cat must be returned. Don’t imitate some people who carelessly throw it away. When you close the account, you will be deducted as equipment compensation, which is more expensive than the purchase price of the cat.

But "renting" also has its disadvantages. This is the wall Xiao Zhou hit.: Cats are allotted on demand, and the cat in the category of your family’s package will be matched with it. The 2000M package should be equipped with a 10G modem, but it doesn’t matter whether the warehouse has the goods or when the master will come to the door. If you want to control the rhythm of changing cats yourself and want a higher-standard mouth, you have to buy it yourself - and the pitfalls of self-purchase start right here.

second account: The money saved by self-purchasing has to be exchanged for three hurdles

The first hurdle is also the one that encourages you to quit.: register . The optical modem does not work directly by plugging in the optical fiber. It must first "report its name" to the OLT equipment in the computer room, and then it is released. The list in the computer room recognizes certificates such as SN serial number and LOID. The three companies of China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom have different filling methods - China Mobile fills in the Password, not the LOID. I went through this trap with Xiaofa all night. He paid 80 yuan at Xianyu for the same model of cat. The PON light flashed slowly for 40 minutes and didn't stay on. In the end, I reported the SN on the phone and asked the master to change the binding. The whole process was solved. Remember the article about self-purchase optical modem registration inside. The SN of the new cat you bought yourself is brand new. It is not in the computer room list, so you cannot skip the registration step.

The second hurdle is the standard and firmware. Optical modem is not a universal product. The mobile version, China Telecom version, and China Unicom version are three sets of customized firmware with different built-in parameters. If the "10 Gigabit Optical Modem" you bought cannot match your operator's standard - GPON vs. The article about two locks After reading it, you will understand how much the words "bought the wrong version" are worth.

The third hurdle is after-sales service. If the operator's cat breaks down, call the customer service number and a technician will come to your door, replace it with a new one, and debug it all in one service. ； If the cat you bought breaks down, go to the store, and the store will ask you to contact the operator. The operator will say that the equipment is not ours, and they are playing ball on both ends. Moreover, self-purchased cats are not included in the remote management system of ITMS. Some local services (such as IPTV multicast configuration and landline voice delivery) have to be configured manually by the master. Whether it is suitable depends on luck. After completing the three hurdles, you can weigh the value of the "Freedom" you bought for 400 yuan.

The third account: Most people really don’t have to spend money to upgrade.

For those who want to buy it themselves, eight out of ten do so for the purpose of upgrading. Here I have to turn over Xiao Zhou’s list and use it as negative teaching material.: I asked him not to rush to place an order, but to call the 10000 number first and explain clearly - "2000M package, optical modem only has Gigabit port. If it is not running well, please apply for a replacement of 10G optical modem." Registered with customer service, the next day the master came to the door with HN8145X6, exchanged it, and forfeited a penny. His cat, which cost more than 400 yuan, was withdrawn that night.

This is the hidden benefit of leasing equipment: When the package is upgraded, the equipment will be upgraded accordingly, which is the responsibility of the operator. . 100M to 100M, 100M to 2000M, as long as the speed is stuck on the modem, call customer service to apply for a higher specification optical modem, usually it can be done for free. I wrote about the entire process and stuck points in the article about upgrading to Gigabit. Do I need to replace the optical modem when upgrading from 300M to Gigabit? , the same principle applies to 2000M sets. The so-called "warehouse transfer of goods within one week" by Xiao Zhou and others is the normal dispatch of the master who does not have ready-made 10G cats. It is not a signal for you to buy it yourself.

By the way, a few crooked thoughts were also blocked. Some people think that "broadband can be faster" after buying a 10G modem - No, your package is only 2000M. No matter how big the cat's mouth is, it just doesn't block the neck. The ceiling of speed lies in the package, not in the cat. I'm here to account for this. The 2000M speed test is only 943M. From the optical modem to the network card, I have calculated each step. Some people want to use self-purchased cats to avoid the remote control of ITMS - you can't avoid it and you shouldn't. If you don't go through the registration line managed by others, you won't be able to access the Internet. How long does it take for the PON light to flash before registration is completed? I mentioned in that article how difficult this hurdle is.

So who is really worth buying? The three scenes fit in perfectly

With this in mind, don’t just say “don’t buy it” across the board. There are only three types of people around me who really spend money to buy cats and don’t regret the purchase. Check to see if you are among them.

The first one is the most common, it is the situation where the Switch connection cannot wait. The second one is my own home. The mobile sub-line got a package for free back then. Does it come with a cat? Think beautifully. The third type of people are the least likely to spend money, but they are the most willing to pay for it - they buy cats for the freedom of torment, and they have their own minds on whether it is worth the money. If you are not inside and outside, then the answer has already come out: Use it as a gift, don't pay for it.

I decided to buy it. The order of landing is as follows.

When it comes to paying, don’t mess up the order. First, call customer service and ask, "I brought my own optical modem, do you support it?" Policies vary from place to place. Some local business offices are happy to cooperate with the change, and some places just say no. This five-minute question can help you save the hassle of returning the wrong product. Place an order after asking. When placing an order, make sure it is the version of the same operator. Ask the store for a new "unregistered" phone. Do not buy a second-hand phone that has been registered by someone else (that kind of SN has been registered in another computer room, and it is more troublesome to change the number).

Follow this order after arrival: Plug in the optical fiber, power on the power supply, and check the PON light - if it flashes slowly, it means registration is in progress, and if it stays on, it means registration is successful. If it keeps flashing, it means the computer room did not release the light. Directly call customer service to report the SN and apply for a change of binding. Don't mess around on your own. I have written an article on the triage of failed registration. How to recover after pressing reset , the set of interpretations for PON lights can be directly used. Don’t throw away the original cat in a hurry. Put it back in the box and keep it for half a year. If something happens to the self-purchased cat, you can still go online immediately by inserting the original cat back in. This is a regret medicine for yourself.

Changing the phone number requires a certain skill and is different from replacing it with a new one.: Don't say "I want to change my own cat" (customer service's first reaction is to persuade you to leave), say "you have prepared your own equipment, model XX, last six digits of SN XX, apply for computer room registration". After the master has finished recording the SN, you can stare at the PON light at home and it will go from flashing to steady light within a few minutes. Landline and IPTV should be inspected at this time. The voice channel and multicast parameters sometimes need to be manually configured by the master. If there is no sound, just let him finish it on the spot before leaving. Don't wait and see after hanging up the phone and leaving.

wrap up: Take away a criterion of judgment

After calculating the three accounts, there is actually only one criterion for judging this matter.: Can the operator’s cat meet your needs? . Satisfied - no matter whether it is broken or not, whether the speed is sufficient or not, if you report a problem or apply for an upgrade, we will solve it for free. ； Can't be satisfied - urgent need, double line, tossing, if you recognize the three hurdles (registration, standard, after-sales), buy it. The most difficult thing is for people like Xiao Zhou who "think the operator can't satisfy them": He thought he would have to wait a week, but actually it was replaced the next day after just one phone call. Most people are stuck at this step, not because the cat is not good enough, but because they did not understand the call.

A reminder before finishing the retreat: A self-purchased cat is an electronic device that is fully paid for at your own expense. There is no such thing as leasing, and there is no free replacement if it breaks. Weigh this together with the four hundred dollars before buying. As for the cat that the operator rents to you, you should keep it as long as it is necessary - read it once a year when the light fails, don't have frequent power outages, and unplug the power supply during thunderstorms. These are the three things I recommend. The lifespan article and The lightning strike article Have written about it. If a cat is well-raised, its life span starts at six years, which is longer than the cycle you need to replace your cell phone.