I got a new router, for the fantesticle low price of $0 - free dirt included!
Would you just look at that very informative front panel!
Oh god keep help keep my clothes on, look at that DIRT!
And look at that mobile mode/mobile signal green LED... cause the previous owner left the SIM Card in
This is the famous Telstra DJA0231 - a Technicolour router with amazing specs, crippled by a dodgy stock firmware. And i do mean crippled, like even if you're with that company you cant give the modem to anyone else - the VOIP ports stop working, tech support will only log in and help the original modem registered to you, etc etc. So people throw the modems out, give them away, or sell them for $20.
They're AC3100, LTE backup, gigabit ethernet, USB 3.0 and VOIP, as well as a DECT hub (So your cordless home phones connect directly to the modem for multiple VOIP line access/digital contacts lists)
4x4 on 5GHz (2167Mb) and 3x3 2.4Ghz (900Mb)
And then... telstra crippled it. Locking down the second 5GHz band to their overpriced repeater only, despite being the first router in the world to support the new Easy-mesh technology.
Voip is locked to the original owner.
Pages upon pages of settings are hidden away and locked to defaults you cant change or alter.
4G backup is ipv6 only, locked down to be usable only for short times and VOIP.
Of course you can just root the f*cker and unlock everything like i do, and get high end hardware for nothing with 25/5 backup LTE connections someone else is paying for that work australia wide
Not like i have an inverter in my car or anything, and can take someone elses home broadband on holiday with me...
There's automated tools to root the router (in a british accent, that's just saying root a lot)
GitHub - BoLaMN/tch-exploit: Technicolor OpenWRT Shell Unlocker
Then semi automated tools using putty/ssh and winscp/ftp for the fancy things like replacement GUI's, debloating scripts, converting spare routers into easy-mesh clients and i dunno, running your own local adguard home DNS server. While it looks complicated, the author actually does have specific dedicated guides written in there - he's just bad at putting those guides at the TOP of each page because he wants you to read and understand what you're doing first.
GitHub - seud0nym/tch-gui-unhide: Modify Telstra-branded Technicolor devices to access hidden features
I got my first one for $20 and this second one for free, and theyr'e AC3100 mesh satellites with 4G backup as long as the owner stays on that ISP's plan
How can i NOT want to pokemon every last one i see?
Edit: honestly, i may well put up a detailed walkthrough for the next one, so i dont forget all the steps and optional goodies.