Do You Really Own the Hardware If It Needs a Subscription to Work?
Yes, you own the hardware, but a subscription often decides how much of it keeps working. A firewall, a cloud-managed access point or a meeting-room system bought outright is your asset; the security updates, cloud features and management that make it useful can be rented. Before you buy, find out exactly what stops when the licence lapses, and price the renewals into the decision.
We sell both models, so this is a balanced view. The examples below use real listings from our store: the Fortinet FortiGate 50G and FortiGate 30G, the HPE Networking Instant On AP22, the TP-Link Omada OC200 hardware controller and the Yealink MeetingBar A40 for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android.
What actually stops working when the licence lapses?
| Product type | What the subscription adds | What happens when it lapses (vendor documentation) |
|---|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiGate firewall | FortiGuard services: IPS, malware protection, application control, web and DNS filtering | Firewall, HA and VPN stay fully functional. AV, IPS and application control keep running on old signatures. Category-based web and DNS filtering stop, and by default web traffic is dropped |
| TP-Link Omada with Cloud-Based Controller | Cloud management per device (1, 3 or 5-year licences) | The device keeps running on its last settings but loses cloud controller features such as Portal, Fast Roaming and Schedule |
| TP-Link Omada with software or hardware controller | Nothing to renew for management | Not applicable: TP-Link describes the software controller as free of charge |
| HPE Networking Instant On | Nothing to renew | HPE states no licensing or subscription fees are required |
| Microsoft Teams Rooms system | Teams Rooms Basic (free, up to 25 rooms) or Pro licence | Unlicensed devices lose Pro Management capabilities; Microsoft says a shared meeting device requires a Teams Rooms licence |
| Printer on an ink subscription (HP Instant Ink) | Ink delivered for a monthly fee | Per an HP employee on HP's support community, subscription cartridges stop working after the final billing cycle; standard cartridges still work |
The firewall is the clearest case
A next-generation firewall without current threat intelligence is a fast router with a good rule engine. Fortinet's own technical tip is unusually clear about the boundary. When FortiGuard licences expire, "Firewall services will be fully functional", as are HA and VPN. Antivirus, IPS and application control engines keep running, but new signatures and application definitions stop arriving. Category-based web and DNS filtering stop working, and by default all web traffic is then dropped unless an administrator has enabled the "allow on rating error" option.
That last point matters more than any price. A lapsed web-filter licence can look like an internet outage on Monday morning. Put renewal dates in a shared calendar and assign an owner; our sibling post Your Company Has 20 Different IT Subscriptions. Who's Actually Tracking Them? has a tracking template.
What does a FortiGate subscription cost over five years?
Here is a worked example using our own bundle prices as listed on 23 Oct 2026. The Fortinet FortiGate 50G is S$1,168.80 as hardware only, S$1,819.20 with 1-Year Unified Threat Protection (UTP), S$2,847.60 with 3-Year UTP and S$3,798.00 with 5-Year UTP. The listing states that UTP covers IPS, Advanced Malware Protection, Application Control, URL, DNS and Video Filtering, Antispam and FortiCare Premium support.
Subtract the hardware and the five-year UTP portion is S$2,629.20, more than twice the price of the box. The smaller Fortinet FortiGate 30G shows the same pattern: S$766.80 hardware only against S$2,626.80 with 5-Year UTP. These are bundle prices at purchase; renewals later are quoted separately, so budget them rather than assume.
Is that bad value? Not if you use the services. Signatures, filtering categories and support are ongoing work by the vendor, and paying for ongoing work is fair. What is unfair is discovering the cost at year two. For sizing help, see our earlier guide Firewall Fit for Small Businesses.
Wi-Fi and switching: licence-free options exist
Cloud management is convenient, but small offices do have licence-free choices. HPE's Instant On page says plainly: "No licensing or subscription fees required." Setup and management run from the Instant On mobile app or web portal, although HPE notes an internet connection is needed to register and onboard devices. The HPE Networking Instant On AP22 (R4W02A) is S$240.00 as listed on 23 Oct 2026, and its listing states HPE's two-year warranty with 24/7 phone and chat support. Our posts on managing Aruba Instant On networks and Instant On guest Wi-Fi cover the day-to-day side.
TP-Link Omada offers both models. Its Omada Software Controller is described by TP-Link as "A Free On-Premises Software Controller for Centralized Management", and a hardware controller such as the TP-Link Omada OC200 runs management on site (price on request; quoted per network). The optional Cloud-Based Controller is licensed per device. When a cloud licence expires, Omada's FAQ says the device "will continue to operate with the last applied settings" but loses cloud controller features such as Portal, Fast Roaming and Schedule. That is a reasonable failure mode: the network keeps working, you lose convenience.
Meeting rooms and printers
Microsoft Teams Rooms is a licence model many buyers miss. Microsoft's documentation says Teams Rooms Basic is provided at no additional cost for certified systems, up to 25 per organisation; beyond that, or for features such as dual-screen support, multi-camera support, AI noise suppression and advanced management, you need Teams Rooms Pro. Microsoft also states that a shared meeting device requires a Teams Rooms licence. A certified system such as the Yealink MeetingBar A40 is quoted per room configuration; decide Basic or Pro before you order, not after.
Printers are the consumer-facing version of the same model. With HP Instant Ink, an HP employee on HP's support community explains that subscription cartridges no longer work after the final billing cycle, but standard HP cartridges can be bought and used instead. Availability of ink subscriptions varies by country, so check the terms that apply to you.
Our verdict: own the box, rent the intelligence, and read the lapse clause
Subscriptions are not a trick when the vendor keeps delivering something that changes: threat signatures, filtering categories, cloud services, support. They become a problem when the hardware is deliberately crippled on lapse or when nobody budgeted for renewal.
Before you sign, ask one question: if we stop paying tomorrow, does the office still have internet, Wi-Fi and meetings? If the answer is yes, the subscription is a choice. If it is no, it is rent.
Our practical rules:
- Price five years, not one. Compare hardware-only plus renewals against multi-year bundles.
- Read the lapse behaviour in vendor documentation, as in the table above.
- Prefer graceful failure. Devices that keep running on their last settings are lower risk than ones that stop.
- Keep a licence-free option for small sites where cloud features add little.
- Track renewals centrally and reclaim licences when staff leave.
Related reading in this series: The Truth About Manufacturer Warranty: What's Actually Covered?, Are Refurbished Enterprise Servers a Hidden Goldmine or a Huge Gamble? and Why Enterprise SSDs Cost So Much More Than Consumer SSDs. If you are weighing monthly payments for the whole device, see Is Device-as-a-Service the Future of IT or Just Another Monthly Bill?
Buying firewalls, Wi-Fi and meeting-room systems in Singapore
SourceIT supplies Fortinet, HPE Networking Instant On, TP-Link and Yealink with local warranty. Browse Fortinet FortiGate firewalls or the HPE Networking Instant On range. Tell us your user count, sites and how long you plan to keep the hardware, and we will quote hardware-only and bundled options side by side so the five-year cost is visible. Use Request for Quotation on the product page, call (65) 6978 3502, email Sales@sourceit.com.sg, or ask about volume and special pricing. Government buyers can reach us through GeBIZ.
Frequently asked questions
Does a FortiGate still work if the FortiGuard licence expires? Yes for core functions. Fortinet says firewall, HA and VPN stay fully functional, while AV, IPS and application control stop receiving updates and category-based web and DNS filtering stop working.
Why did all web traffic stop after our firewall licence lapsed? Fortinet notes that when category-based web filtering stops, all web traffic is dropped by default unless the "allow on rating error" option is enabled. Renewing the licence or changing that setting restores browsing.
Do HPE Networking Instant On access points need a subscription? HPE states no licensing or subscription fees are required. You do need an internet connection to register and onboard devices through the app or web portal.
What happens when an Omada Cloud-Based Controller licence expires? According to Omada's FAQ, the device keeps operating with its last applied settings but loses cloud controller features such as Portal, Fast Roaming and Schedule. The free software controller and hardware controllers avoid per-device cloud licences.
Is Microsoft Teams Rooms Basic free? Microsoft provides Teams Rooms Basic at no additional cost for certified Teams Rooms systems, up to 25 per organisation. More rooms, or Pro features and management, need Teams Rooms Pro licences.
Is it cheaper to buy a multi-year security bundle upfront? Compare both. Our FortiGate bundles are priced at purchase, while later renewals are quoted separately. Ask for a five-year comparison before you decide.
