Category: Network

Why?
I was using the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 Mesh Router since November 2024. After the initial trial and error of various settings to make it stable due to its buggy firmware, it was stable for over 6 months, including surviving a power shutdown.

However, things changed one weekend in July 2025. I woke up and noticed none of my home automation is running. To my surprise, all the wireless networks in my home are gone. First, I plugged my Ethernet cable into the BQ16 to determine why. To my horror, I did not get an IP from DHCP. Tried a couple of restarts of the BQ16, but the issue remains.

I have had the Ubiquiti Unifi 10G Ethernet Adapter in my Shopee shopping cart for a few weeks now. But because it is expensive, it remains in my cart. Sinseng Components sells it for S$299 on Shopee.

When the Singtel Technician came to setup my 10Gbps, he was using the Orico Thunderbolt 10GbE Network Adapter. I was casually asking him if it was expensive, and he told me it was one of the cheapest he could find.

I just upgraded my Singtel 1+1Gbps Fibre Pro Gamer Bundle to Singtel 10Gbps Enhanced Plan since my contract will expire on 4th September 2025, and it will revert to the original pricing of S$73.58/month. Right now, I am paying S$58.58/month.

Singtel 10Gbps Enhanced Plan will cost me S$74/month, and after the contract ends on 22nd July 2027, it will revert to S$139/month. Hopefully, by then, 10Gbps should come down to about S$50 for Singtel.

Seven years after getting my first eero from the U.S., eero is finally officially available in Singapore via eerostore.sg and Amazon.sg.

There are only two models available in Singapore. eero Pro 6E and eero max 7. Both models are available in 1-pack, 2-pack, and 3-pack.

There are two variants of the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16. Asus ZenWiF BQ16 (BE25000) and Asus ZenWiF BQ16 Pro (BE30000). Despite having the word Pro inside the product name, there is only one difference between both models.

BQ16 has a dual 5GHz band with a single 6GHz band, while BQ16 Pro has a single 5GHz with a dual 6GHz band.

TP-Link has two models of 10Gbps unmanaged switches. TP-Link TL-SX1008 8-Port 10G Desktop/Rackmount Switch and TP-Link DS1008X Omada 8-Port 10G Desktop/Rackmount Switch. From what I read, both are the same. The only difference is the warranty period and of course the price. TL-SX1008 is for the consumers. Hence, it comes with a shorter 3-year warranty, while the DS1008X is for businesses and hence comes with a 5-year warranty. Depending on the retailers, the price difference for both models ranges from S$100 to S$200.

I wanted a 10Gbps unmanaged switch to upgrade my house network to support 10Gbps speed. I intend to get the cheapest possible 10Gbps unmanaged switch I can find.

After more than five long years with my eero (first generation), I finally got around to upgrade it to eero Pro 6 which supports wi-fi 6.

I got the 3-pack eero Pro 6 for US$389 (S$535) as there was a discount a few weeks back. If not, the usual price is US$599 (S$823). Since eero doesn’t ship to Singapore directly, you must go through a freight forwarder. In my case, I am using my usual HopShopGo. Shipping to Singapore is an additional US$55 (S$76), which excludes the 7% GST you have to pay since the item and shipping exceeds S$400 in value.

Linksys Atlas is a new series of wi-fi mesh systems from Linksys after Linksys Velop.

The first wi-fi mesh router in the series is the Linksys Atlas Pro 6.

I decided to upgrade my slightly more than three years old 4-bay Synology DiskStation DS918+ to the 6-bay Synology DiskStation DS1621+.

Back in 2017, DS918+ was the flagship Synology 4-bay NAS and that was replaced with DS920+ in 2020. Also in 2020, the 5-bay DS1520+ got updated.