My 3BB router is about 5 or 6 years old.

Professor Google suggests that routers should be replaced after about three or four years.

The signal occasionally seems to drop out for a few seconds. I'm not sure whether the problem is from my end or from 3BB themselves.

Would there be any noticeable improvement if I invested in a new router (signal strength for example)?

Anybody have any recommendations for a new router?

All suggestions or advice gratefully received.

 

Most likely you did not 'buy' the router you're using. They are almost always provided by the ISP (3BB in this case).

Look for a sticker on the router to find the model # and other details, take a picture or write down the details. Call 3BB and see if they will update your router to a newer one.

3 hours ago, mrjohn said:

The signal occasionally seems to drop out for a few seconds. I'm not sure whether the problem is from my end or from 3BB themselves.

I had the same issue with 3BB.

Previously I had the white 3BB router with 4 antennas, which failed after a few years. End of last year it was replaced by an AIS router from Huawei, which was even worse in losing signal

Last week it was replaced again with the ZTE F6107A,

This has been a big improvement

1 hour ago, gamb00ler said:

Most likely you did not 'buy' the router you're using. They are almost always provided by the ISP (3BB in this case).

Look for a sticker on the router to find the model # and other details, take a picture or write down the details. Call 3BB and see if they will update your router to a newer one.

But I'll still have to pay for it, won't I?

39 minutes ago, mrjohn said:

But I'll still have to pay for it, won't I?

I'm not a 3BB customer so I can't answer. I use True and they have installed a new router previously for no charge.

Edited July 14Jul 14 by gamb00ler

5 hours ago, CallumWK said:

Last week it was replaced again with the ZTE F6107A,

I am using a ZTE F680 from 2020 and I have problems with the connection dropping , I am with TOT and just assumed it was a TOT problem.
I looked on Google yesterday and the upgrade is the ZTE F6107A.
Did you buy yours or was it supplied through your provider ?

9 hours ago, mrjohn said:

All suggestions or advice gratefully received.

You don't say what package you are on but you could change to a bring your own device or whatever version they have of that deal which means they supply a modem (ONT or similar if fibre) which they put in bridge mode and you then supply your own router.

Depending on what you want to spend that can give you more flexibility and updating options especially if the router is flashable with OpenWRT.

A fairly recent thread on the subject if interested.

3 hours ago, NE1 said:

I am using a ZTE F680 from 2020 and I have problems with the connection dropping , I am with TOT and just assumed it was a TOT problem.
I looked on Google yesterday and the upgrade is the ZTE F6107A.
Did you buy yours or was it supplied through your provider ?

Supplied by 3BB.

3 hours ago, topt said:

A fairly recent thread on the subject if interested.

Somehow missed off the link......🙁

https://aseannow.com/topic/1140712-any-3bb-fiber-users-managed-to-dump-isp-router-not-just-bridge-mode/

On 7/14/2026 at 6:33 AM, mrjohn said:

The signal occasionally seems to drop out for a few seconds. I'm not sure whether the problem is from my end or from 3BB themselves.

Infact I’ve had the same issue with 3BB. They told me that AI will check the issue if something is wrong.

Edited July 20Jul 20 by OneManShow

On 7/14/2026 at 9:57 AM, CallumWK said:

I had the same issue with 3BB.

Previously I had the white 3BB router with 4 antennas, which failed after a few years. End of last year it was replaced by an AIS router from Huawei, which was even worse in losing signal

Last week it was replaced again with the ZTE F6107A,

This has been a big improvement

I have the ZTE F6107A router, from AIS. Its performance is OK but it does get slow sometimes which is fixed by a reboot. I've now found that you can schedule it to reboot automatically, which I've set for 3am every day, so now it should be healthy every day.

43 minutes ago, IsaanT said:

I have the ZTE F6107A router, from AIS. Its performance is OK but it does get slow sometimes which is fixed by a reboot. I've now found that you can schedule it to reboot automatically, which I've set for 3am every day, so now it should be healthy every day.

Every router slows down because the small cache memory fills up, and should be rebooted at least once a week.

Now your router reboots every 3 hours, not at 3am

AFAIK, all Internet providers in Thailand offer their customers a free router and often an extra to boost the signal. CAT now NT has replaced our modem more than a dozen times.

Buy? Why? Let them do the service and you pay the money.

2 hours ago, CallumWK said:

Every router slows down because the small cache memory fills up, and should be rebooted at least once a week.

Now your router reboots every 3 hours, not at 3am

@gamb00ler what you disagree with my statement?

On 7/14/2026 at 11:11 AM, mrjohn said:

But I'll still have to pay for it, won't I?

No its part of the service providers service to give you a working and modern router and most ISPs routers are black boxes you cannot change/configure. If yours isn't working and its old, complain to the ISP and tell them to fix/replace it. You already paid for the service in monthly service fees.

Edited July 20Jul 20 by Digitalbanana

25 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

@gamb00ler what you disagree with my statement?

I'm fairly certain that IsaanT's router will reboot only at 3AM. The current picture in his post indicates the reboot will happen everyday and the time will be 3h and 00min. Its NOT a timer that triggers every 3h and 00min

1 hour ago, unblocktheplanet said:

AFAIK, all Internet providers in Thailand offer their customers a free router and often an extra to boost the signal. CAT now NT has replaced our modem more than a dozen times.

Yours is better than my provider TOT / NT
This is my present router 2020 , have spoke to them on a couple of occassions about the connection dropping out , nobody has mentioned my ancient router which they provided.

4 hours ago, CallumWK said:

Every router slows down because the small cache memory fills up, and should be rebooted at least once a week.

Now your router reboots every 3 hours, not at 3am

My router never reboots. Does that mean I should shut if off once every 24 hours for better performance.

5 hours ago, CallumWK said:

Now your router reboots every 3 hours, not at 3am

It's reboot time not reboot interval (or similar).

If it had rebooted three hours after making that change I would have noticed by now. 😉

1 hour ago, unblocktheplanet said:

My router never reboots. Does that mean I should shut if off once every 24 hours for better performance.

It reboots when there a power outage :-), every 24 hours is a bit overdone, but once a week is certainly recommended.

The correct way the reboot a router is to remove the power cord, and leave it unplugged for a few minutes.

1 hour ago, CallumWK said:

It reboots when there a power outage :-), every 24 hours is a bit overdone, but once a week is certainly recommended.

The correct way the reboot a router is to remove the power cord, and leave it unplugged for a few minutes.

Sometimes my True supplied router doesn't reboot for months. It and my other network infrastructure are on a very small UPS. The reason the UPS is so small is because we have a solar installation with battery backup. Unfortunately, the electro-mechanical Automatic Transfer Switch takes a bit too much time to move the house load to battery power... so the UPS in my network cabinet only needs to bridge that time taken by the ATS.

I have since a year AIS mesh wifi - 2 routers with the same login - and zero probelms so far. 750bht/month.

Since then I was informed 2 times in advance, the service will be interrupted until ... (max 3hours). After that I was informed again via SMS that the service is running again. And if wouldn't work correct - boot the router. Wich I didn't have to do.

I never heard about that a chache (on a router) has to be emptied. Are routers a storage device?!

If something goes wrong - like once a year - a boot isn't a problem. Power off - wait 30 sec. - power on.

I love a good old router discussion. The trouble with these routers is that they are built down to a price, with manufacturers working on very thin margins. The cut-down Linux OS and firmware are not handling everything as well as a modern OS does. This results in RAM fragmentation, cach overflow, and TCP plus DNS record overflow, to name just a few. The answer is to reboot the router every month. Every 24 hours is definitely overkill!

Back to the OP and the AIS provided router. About a year ago, I started having drop outs, mostly in the evening. As usual, AIS service was easy to contact and very responsive, with their techs doing various tests and repairs somewhere in the area, including replacing the fiber feed into the house. All repairs were short-lived, and after the third service call, the tech replaced the large white Huawei router that they had originally been installed by 3BB about eight years back with a much smaller, black ZTE one. Instant improvement in speed and connectivity, more notably through the mesh repeater at the back of the house, and no more drop outs.

These modems are provided "free" with the installation but it seems getting an upgrade to newer technology isn't automatic or free unless the modem is faulty?

A comment on speed and resetting: I have a TP Link 4G router using an annual DTAC data package in my shed. I need to reset that modem a couple of times a month to cure laggy response and slow data speeds.

Edited July 25Jul 25 by NanLaew

On 7/20/2026 at 8:21 PM, Schoggibueb said:

I never heard about that a chache (on a router) has to be emptied. Are routers a storage device?!