Stood in the Verizon store on 5th in Portland and counted 9 people in line for the same dead router
Watched three people ahead of me get handed the exact same replacement router I was there for, which makes me think the model they push is just built to die at 18 months, and I want to know if anyone else got told the $12 shipping fee was non negotiable.
I read a piece last year where a repair guy said routers get killed by heat and always-on power, so the makers basically bank on you buying a new one every year and a half. That lines up with what you saw, same unit handed out over and over like it's a script. The $12 shipping thing is wild too, since one guy online said he just told them he'd cancel and they dropped the fee.