New Spark smart modem 3

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3814 posts

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TEAMnetwork

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#2966975 14-Sep-2022 09:18

Specs look really good, I like the fact it supports WPA3 - This should become the standard now (just more clients need to support it)

the 2.5GE WAN port is nice, however I would like to see at least one of the LAN ports support this too

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

jdogz

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2968304 14-Sep-2022 21:31

alisam:

jdogz:

SM3 (Wi-Fi 6) - 4

SM3+Mesh2-wired backhaul (Wi-Fi 6) - 4.5

If you need to expand your Wi-Fi coverage of the SM1/SM2 - mesh units work well - a lot better via wired backhaul

How many Mesh2 Units are you using?

What area are you covering with Modem and Mesh Units.

1, 2 or more storey house.

I did try and find out what the 2 ethernet ports were for and came to the conclusion they were for backhaul. But until this last week or so, I had never heard of backhaul.

Based on my house layout, I will not be able to backhaul (the Home CEO will veto any suggestion).

Got a 1 story place and just 1 mesh2 unit with SM3. Once mesh2 is setup correctly the second LAN port can be used to provide internet to another device say TV etc.

(Fortunate to have network ports in most rooms so put units in best place to maximise WiFi coverage where needed)

backfiah

219 posts

Master Geek

#2974961 29-Sep-2022 18:03

Can anyone explain the differences in bandwidth of the Smart Modem 2 vs 3? I'm trying to pick up one of them second hand to use in conjunction with a Smart Mesh 2 (as a way of getting cheap but good 4x4 Wifi 6 up!)

In particular:
- SM2 states 1147Mbps+2400Mbps
- SM3 states 860.3Mbps+4803.9Mbps
- I assume the first number is 2.4Ghz and the second number is 5Ghz
- So why is the SM2 (theoretically) a higher PHYS speed over 2.4Ghz? They're both 4x4? Is there an actual difference in modulation/coding?
- And why is the SM3 (theoretically) a higher PHYS speed over 5GHz? It is basically double the SM2, which makes me suspect it is dual-band 5GHz, i.e. has three antenna in total (including the 2.4Ghz one). Is this correct? If so, any meaningful difference?

P.S. Happy to pay full price for an SM3 if anyone can source one for me...

KiwiSurfer

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#2975005 29-Sep-2022 20:53

concordnz:
And iirc some ipv6 or port management limitations.

Curious as what you mean regarding IPv6 limitations. Spark does not support IPv6 so it is pretty much moot whether the CPE supports it or not.

Talkiet

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#2975069 29-Sep-2022 21:42

KiwiSurfer:

concordnz:
And iirc some ipv6 or port management limitations.

Curious as what you mean regarding IPv6 limitations. Spark does not support IPv6 so it is pretty much moot whether the CPE supports it or not.

The Smartmodem, SM2 and SM3 all support ipV6.

Not sure whether there are any important limitations in the v6 support...

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Jawa

20 posts

Geek

#3016170 2-Jan-2023 16:05

Hey all.

What is the DSL chipset that is used in this modem?

Guessing a Broadcom verient based off the hardware the SM1 had.

Cheers
Jeremy

BlargHonk

147 posts

Master Geek

#3053196 22-Mar-2023 09:32

I am getting upgraded to a Smart Modem 3 via Skinny, I was wondering if it is possible to use the old Smart Modem 1 as a mesh unit? Or do I need to try and source a Smart Mesh 2 unit from somewhere?

Sharesies kids

Free kids accounts - trade shares and funds (NZ, US) with Sharesies (affiliate link).

Jawa

20 posts

Geek

#3053200 22-Mar-2023 09:53

Yes they can, see below.

Cheers.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=302870

Bung

6478 posts

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#3053248 22-Mar-2023 12:04

Jawa:
Yes they can, see below.

Cheers.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=302870

That was SM1 with SM3 as ap, have you tried the other way around?

BlargHonk

147 posts

Master Geek

#3053258 22-Mar-2023 12:52

Yeah I wonder if you can do it with the SM3 as the base. Does the mesh one have to have wired backhaul? Or can it do wireless mesh? (I know wired is much better)

Jawa

20 posts

Geek

#3053325 22-Mar-2023 15:00

@ashtonaut would be the one to answer that.

ashtonaut

614 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3053517 22-Mar-2023 22:53

I’ve used SM1 as base and SM3 as ‘mesh’ with wired backhaul and it worked fine. Also worked fine the other way around. Only the base unit can do the guest network, the guest network doesn’t extend to the ‘mesh’ unit.

Pretty sure you can’t do wireless mesh between the two, I never tried but they aren’t designed for this so I suspect there’s no way you can even try to configure them to work like that.

cbrpilot

955 posts

Ultimate Geek

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Spark NZ

#3053672 23-Mar-2023 10:13

I have received the following from our devices team in regards to meshing SM1 and SM3:

SM1 uses a different mesh client when compared to SM3/SM2/SM5G which all use the same client.

The result is they will not connect like true mesh products. There will be likely scenarios where each would probably attempt to control. Spark does not advise using the products this way. User beware etc.

You could connect one to the other via a LAN connection but you should be disable the secondary device's DHCP.

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

Jawa

20 posts

Geek

#3053849 23-Mar-2023 19:33

@cbrpilot

Do you or your team know what the xDSL chip that it runs?

Cheers
Jeremy

Naithin

41 posts

Geek

#3055993 29-Mar-2023 00:34

I'm still using the Smart Modem V1, and even after the firmware updates, it still seems to intermittently drop connection by way of restarting itself.

For anyone now using the V3, any similar issues noted so far?

The self-resetting of the modem is rare enough that I've tolerated it so far, but it's still typically around once or twice a day. And every so often it really picks a poor moment to do it. So I really *should* get it replaced. V3 might be the go if people are finding it reliable so far. :)

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