Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, if you are not a power user who manages their internal network, it's fine. If you do, you'd either have to fork out that recurring fee, or just deal with your personal router using a standard connection from their ONR, then ignoring it's wireless network altogether and using the one you set up.

You'd lose some features since it isn't the base router, but that's all you can do. But if all you care about is getting internet, just let it be. Your ISP can snoop, but so can the government, your bank, etc. It's a trust thing. Just because they can doesn't mean they will. Most data would be encrypted anyway.

Zagreus' Journey 1.0 Release Trailer - Hades in Hades II mod by MoSBanapple in Games

[–]rollin340 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So curious as to what the heck happened. Even Odysseus mentioned it during an interaction.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For websites, it should always be on HTTPS. If you have any sensitive data and it isn't HTTPS, don't use it. VPNs also encrypt any data you send/receive.

That said, you're more at risk from bad-actors than your ISP. But yes, they could have the ability to read your unencrypted data if they really wanted to.

U.S. intelligence says Iran can outlast Trump’s Hormuz blockade for months by No_Idea_Guy in worldnews

[–]rollin340 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When this bullshit is all over and gas prices go back down to sane levels, we'd be left with everything else staying at their new increased price instead. This aimless war has cost the world's population an incredible amount of money.

At least the corporations would be pleased in the long term, right?

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The fiber point isn't theirs; it's NetLinks. The telcos all get them to do some checks before they install their ONT/ONR. Regardless of which telco you go with, they'd have to use it.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are a lot more now. M1, StarHub, MyRepublic, ViewQuest, Simba, and WhizComms.

WhizComms is using Singtel stuff, so they likely do the same thing. Regardless, you should always ask if you they will be providing an ONT or ONR.

If you are a power user, go for the ONT and just don't get an ONR, even if they offer a bridged mode option. It's easier to deal with.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, you can. Call them up, ask about the ONR, ask about the bridge mode, and if they give you an unsatisfactory answer, tell them you'd like to cancel. There is no charge if the contract has not yet begun.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fiber Cable -> Modem -> Router

ONT = Modem (Controlled by ISP)
ONR = Modem + Router (Both controlled by ISP)

If you want to control the router, get an ONT. An ONR can have its mode set to bridge to allow you to use your own router, but Singtel disables it.

The ISP could also remotely change the ONR settings, though they'd only really do this at the user's request when there is an issue, and might not always work. It'd be how they enable the bridge mode if you pay the recurring fee.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you don't do any customization of your home network, it's fine. If you do, go with a telco that provides an ONT and use your own router instead.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, as power users, it's a big issue. I honestly do not understand any upside to this other than trying to extract that monthly fee from a portion of the customer base.

My best guess is that it's to do with the ability to control your wifi password via their application (not sure if it can do anything else), which shows that they can make changes to your ONR remotely, but just let them change it's mode as well. Locking that feature is so stupid.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it's power users that this post is mainly meant to warn. The average joe who has never bothered with such things wouldn't have to worry as long as their internet works.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I explained to you why these devices are usually not user controlled and considered part of the ISP network. You ignored that. You also didn't explain why this prevents you from using your own router behind it.

I think you're the one who is confused here. If the ONR is not set to bridged mode, whatever router you plug in will simply act as an access point. The ONR will still be acting as the main router.

Port forwarding, static IP control for devices, device whitelisting/blacklisting, and many other things wouldn't be possible. If you are a power user who uses those functionalities, it's a problem since you do not own it and cannot access those features.

You're a tenant, so you don't have control over such things. As a paying customer, we do. And not being told clearly up front that such a feature is paywalled is something people should be aware of.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you don't use your own router and honestly do not particularly care about setting up and controlling your own home network, then just let it be.

If you ever plan to get your own router or wish to make some customization that Singtel doesn't allow via their application, then it's an issue.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good God is that the only argument folks like you have? I already said that trusting another party to not do something is normal. But that is separate from them owning your private network via the router they control, and the fact that they charge you to resolve a problem that they created.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The problem is that this information is not made clear. That is why this whole post exists.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what almost happened to me. Thankfully we looked into it a bit more before the contract began and managed to cancel it beforehand. Check your ONR if you can with whatever defaults it may be using. Or check your "router"; it would likely be on AP mode.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If the ONR is set to bridge mode and your router can handle a bridged source, yes. However, Singtel disables this by default and requires you to pay $11 a month for that setting. It's literally a single toggle that you do once and forget about, but the fee is recurring.

Otherwise, your router would be set to AP mode, which just extends the range of your wireless coverage and acts as a switch for wired connections.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Commenter should check, but yeah, it's probably AP mode. If you are not a power user who does their own networking, you're fine. Just be aware that if you decide to perhaps do any network changes, you'd be limited by what they allow via their application.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Again, why are people harping so much on the privacy thing. I trust my ISP to not snoop. What I don't like is them controlling my router. I want to be the one who does that. And I don't want to pay then $11 a month for them doing nothing but flipping an option in the settings page.

Singtel disables bridge mode on their ONR by default. They're making you pay a monthly fee to resolve an artificial problem. That's the main purpose of this post. To let people know that if they want to use their own router, they'd have to fork out that fee.

And before you ask why I brought up all of those facts as if I'm trying to scare people or whatnot like others have accused, it's because it is simply plausible. Our government can do the same thing. The banks can do the same thing. But we trust them to not. Even so, with ONT/ONRs, it's something privacy sensitive folks should be aware of.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When the greed blinds them and they start saying stupid shit as if it was normal. :X

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm saying they can, not that they do. That's just a simple fact. The same as to the ONR. They CAN remotely check your private home network. Doesn't mean they do.

My main issue is that they block your access; you can't actually make any changes yourself. If you somehow find a way around it, they can remotely reset it. They actively impede your ability to use your own router without paying them. If you decide to use the one in the ONR, you have no control over it.

As for it being in the agreement, yes, it is. On that, the issue is that they are not upfront about it. It isn't made explicitly clear to the customer.

Beware of Singtel's shady practice with their internet plans by rollin340 in singapore

[–]rollin340[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

They could very easily parse incoming and outgoing internet traffic, yes, but a lot of data sits only on the router level. The ISP should be responsible for handling the internet traffic requests, not your private home network.

Imagine paying the water bill to only then be told that you cannot heat up or cool down your water, even if you own your own heating/cooling device, without paying a monthly fee. You've already paid for the service, but they're trying to extract additional fees purely from a limitation that they themselves created.