The release of a new box, the Freebox Ultra in this case, is always accompanied by technical questions that often remain unanswered. For you, Clubic asked Free ten questions.
The latest from Xavier Niel’s operator, the Freebox Ultra, was presented and marketed this Tuesday, January 30, 2024. Offered at a price of 49.99 euros/month (for one year, then 59.99 euros) with its complete entertainment offering, the box offers technologies such as Wi-Fi 7. Nicolas Thomas, the general manager of Free, and Maxime Bizon, responsible for software development on the Freebox, answer several of your questions for Clubic.
See the Freebox Ultra offer from €49.99 per month
How can you really take advantage of the very high speeds announced for the Freebox Ultra?
There are, in reality, three ways to take advantage of the high speeds of the Freebox Ultra. You still need to know how to dissociate them.
- First there is Wi-Fi, which allows you to reach a speed of 6 Gbit/s, with Wi-Fi 7 compatible smartphones.
- You can use computers connected to 2.5 Gbit/s Ethernet ports.
- If you want, with a single computer, to have 8 Gbit/s symmetrically, you must use the SFP+ connection. “ We will provide a solution, on request, SFP+, to connect it to your computer, if it has a 10 Gbit/s port », We are told by Free, who works there.
Note that for Wi-Fi 7, Free will soon publish a list of products currently compatible with the technology.
The Wi-Fi 7 repeater is included free of charge and on request in the Ultra offer, right?
Absolutely Thierry. Well, to be very precise, you can indeed benefit from a Wi-Fi 7 repeater (a first in France), on request and at no additional cost. If, on the other hand, you want to increase the number of repeaters at home, you will need to take out your credit card: 20 euros per repeater (compared to 10 euros previously), up to three additional devices. “ The fact that it is Wi-Fi 7 means that it benefits from everything that technology brings: more capacity with quad-band, including 6 GHz, and the transmission capacity has increased from 160 to 320 MHz. The repeater, thanks to Mesh technology, allows an extension of the service throughout the house », adds Maxime Bizon.
The new box is a concentrate of entertainment(s). Could other platforms expand the Freebox Ultra offering a little further?
“ There is never a final offer. We always try to get more for the same price », replies Nicolas Thomas. “ But this is the first time that an offer includes so much content, Xavier (Niel) said it, we can talk about “crazy” “. We are no further ahead on this issue, but you will have understood: it is not impossible that the offer will become even more dense in the future.
Does the Freebox Ultra allow everything that the Delta server allowed (NAS, Freebox OS, VMS etc.)?
“ Exactly: everything is still available, with increased performance since instead of the hard drives that were in the Freebox Delta, it is an NVMe. With it, we can achieve speeds of 1 GB/s on the hard drive, with Freebox OS and other Delta services. », comments Maxime Bizon. NVMe has the advantage of allowing almost instantaneous writing.
How many hard drives on the Freebox Ultra?
It is therefore possible to connect an NVMe disk, as you understood. Add to this the USB 3 port, on the side, which allows you to add one or more additional hard drives, if you decide to add a hub.
But what type(s) of NVMe disks can we insert into the box?
Free does not provide the disk, which is only embeddable. The operator is preparing to relay a list of compatible NVMe, even if Maxime Bizon promises us “ that they are in the vast majority “. The only problem remains that you have to be able to embed it in the Freebox. If the NVMe you buy has heatsinks that are too thick, this may be more complicated. “ Taking your NVMe without a heatsink is the only limit », Adds the developer.
Are there any migration costs between another Freebox and the Ultra? And when can we request this migration?
Migration from one Freebox to another has been possible since Tuesday January 30 at 2:00 p.m. “ You can even do it from the Subscriber Area, with a visual that allows you to follow the provision of the order “. The migration fees are set at 49 euros. Note that customers subscribing to a box that is not compatible with optical fiber will not have to pay migration fees.
Can we keep the Devialet player as a Freebox Ultra player?
The answer is ” Yes “. As a reminder, in 2018, the Iliad operator launched the Free Devialet TV Player, with exceptional sound as an option with the Freebox Delta. Given that the Freebox Ultra does not accommodate a new TV player and that, by default, it is the Free 4K TV Player that accompanies the new box, it is entirely possible to use the Devialet as a TV box.
Will the Delta home automation installation be compatible with the new Freebox Ultra?
This time the answer is negative. “ The Delta home automation installation is not compatible with the Freebox Ultra », answers Nicolas Thomas, explaining that he often receives this question about home automation, the environment connected to the home. On the other hand, ” we are working on partnerships with, perhaps, things to announce on the subject in the short term », continues the general director.
How long was the Freebox Ultra in development?
“ We launched the latest Freebox (Editor’s note: Freebox Pop) three and a half years ago, for the hardware part. Then, these are very long-term developments. And you have to stay in tune with your context. We have to work a lot over the last few months, the last few weeks, to have content that fits well with an era. », our speakers explain to us. “ The day after the release of a Freebox, we are already working on the sequel, it doesn’t stop », continues Maxime. So we might as well announce it here right away: Free will start working on the Freebox V10 on Wednesday. But joking aside, we still have one last question.
The bonus question: can we configure a VPN on the Freebox Ultra?
On the Free side, this is confirmed to us and we know that the news will delight some fans of enhanced confidentiality.
38