Skinny "smart modem" / Deco M5 mesh

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Skinny "smart modem" / Deco M5 mesh - advice needed

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#3152947 28-Oct-2023 08:12

I don't know the truth from trying a Skinny firmware modem and a Smart Mesh 2 but the Skinny advice just seems wrong. And if is is right then it's stupid.

Edit. From an earlier GZ thread "Ah never mind. I raised a ticket with Skinny and they replied saying the Spark Mesh unit is compatible with the Skinny Smart modem however is not supported from a troubleshooting perspective etc."

Still seems short-sighted. Skinny makes no reference to Smart Mesh units at all in their advice on getting best wifi performance.

For fibre you don't need a Skinny branded modem, you could get $5/mth discount for 12mths by supplying your own Smart Modem. There must be SH ones out there.

noroad

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#3152948 28-Oct-2023 08:32

If you use the tp-link mesh units as you describe in the original post (no other device needed) then you will no longer need to think about the Internet again. Everything will just work. If you run a cable between the gateway unit and a slave, yes it significantly improves performance for devices connected off the remote unit as the data only needs to be transmitted once over the wireless interface instead of twice. The average end user will not notice this but a gamer may notice a couple of ms improvement. Seriously, don't listen to people suggesting mashing together various network devices to save a couple of dollars, go with your plan A as its a good plan.

Rushmere

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3152951 28-Oct-2023 08:52

I've been with Skinny for just over a year.

I didn't take Skinny's modem. While I don't have any knowledge of the TP-Link products, I have a similar type of setup with an Orbi wi-fi mesh, and that's worked very well for me with Skinny. I've now reached the point where almost everything in the house and the outbuildings are connected wirelessly (even though there are plenty of ethernet ports available on my 3 Orbi devices), and both speed and reliability are excellent.

I've had no problems with the Skinny service itself, only with the billing - they keep failing to take payment for my service. I've had to contact their customer service via email a few times to remind them to take my money, and they've been quick to respond, although the same billing problem keeps repeating. I guess I shouldn't complain if they insist on providing me with free broadband.

I'm currently migrating away from Skinny, purely because I want to subscribe to Neon and Netflix, and Spark works out slightly cheaper if you want those services (assuming that Skinny actually take payment), but the broadband service has been solid. I'd consider going back to Skinny when I no longer want the subsidised streaming services.

GeekyMcGeekface

22 posts

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#3152956 28-Oct-2023 09:28

Rushmere:
I've been with Skinny for just over a year.

I didn't take Skinny's modem. While I don't have any knowledge of the TP-Link products, I have a similar type of setup with an Orbi wi-fi mesh, and that's worked very well for me with Skinny. I've now reached the point where almost everything in the house and the outbuildings are connected wirelessly (even though there are plenty of ethernet ports available on my 3 Orbi devices), and both speed and reliability are excellent.

I've had no problems with the Skinny service itself, only with the billing - they keep failing to take payment for my service. I've had to contact their customer service via email a few times to remind them to take my money, and they've been quick to respond, although the same billing problem keeps repeating. I guess I shouldn't complain if they insist on providing me with free broadband.

I'm currently migrating away from Skinny, purely because I want to subscribe to Neon and Netflix, and Spark works out slightly cheaper if you want those services (assuming that Skinny actually take payment), but the broadband service has been solid. I'd consider going back to Skinny when I no longer want the subsidised streaming services.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not interested in the bundled services hence why I'm opting for Skinny over Spark. So have you been using the Orbit devices plugged directly into the ONT without a Skinny modem?

GeekyMcGeekface

22 posts

Geek

#3152959 28-Oct-2023 09:35

noroad:
If you use the tp-link mesh units as you describe in the original post (no other device needed) then you will no longer need to think about the Internet again. Everything will just work. If you run a cable between the gateway unit and a slave, yes it significantly improves performance for devices connected off the remote unit as the data only needs to be transmitted once over the wireless interface instead of twice. The average end user will not notice this but a gamer may notice a couple of ms improvement. Seriously, don't listen to people suggesting mashing together various network devices to save a couple of dollars, go with your plan A as its a good plan.

Thanks for your views. So you would recommend I just buy the 3x Deco units and plug this directly into the ONT (and not bother with Skinny's modem at all)?

michaelmurfy

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#3152960 28-Oct-2023 09:38

I don’t know why Skinny have been saying the smart mesh is incompatible but I’ve got the Skinny Smart Modem 3 (parents are on Skinny) working absolutely fine with the Spark Smart Mesh 2 purchased from a Spark store. It works fine… I know many people with the configuration too. @freddy123.

I wouldn’t recommend adding a third party mesh product on top of this.

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Rushmere

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3152961 28-Oct-2023 09:39

freddy123:

Thanks for the reply. I'm not interested in the bundled services hence why I'm opting for Skinny over Spark. So have you been using the Orbit devices plugged directly into the ONT without a Skinny modem?

Yes, I don't have any other modem, it's just the Orbi equipment plugged straight into the ONT. It was quite expensive, but it should last me a good few years.

This is the one I use: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETNGR6853/NETGEAR-Orbi-RBK853-AX6000-Tri-band-WiFi-6-Mesh-Sy

I guess you should be able to do exactly the same setup with the TP-Link system.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

Rushmere

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3152962 28-Oct-2023 09:43

michaelmurfy: I don’t know why Skinny have been saying the smart mesh is incompatible but I’ve got the Skinny Smart Modem 3 (parents are on Skinny) working absolutely fine with the Spark Smart Mesh 2 purchased from a Spark store. It works fine… I know many people with the configuration too. @freddy123.

I wouldn’t recommend adding a third party mesh product on top of this.

It says this on the Spark website about the Smart Mesh 2. I guess the Skinny Smart Modem 3 is possibly the same as the Spark Smart Modem 3?

Compatibility information

If your modem is a Spark Smart Modem 2, Spark Smart Modem 3 or Spark 5G Smart Modem you'll only need one Smart Mesh 2 to expand your WiFi coverage. If you need to expand your WiFi coverage further you can connect up to four Smart Mesh 2 units to your network.

Using Spark Smart Mesh 2 with any other modem, you'll need a minimum of two Smart Mesh 2 units to create the network. You can connect up to four. One will remain connected to your modem via an ethernet cable and the others will connect to it via WiFi to expand your WiFi coverage.

Spark Smart Mesh 2 is not compatible with the original Spark Smart Mesh. This means you won't be able to add a Smart Mesh 2 onto a mesh network that already has an original Spark Smart Mesh in it.

michaelmurfy

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#3152963 28-Oct-2023 09:52

Yep, it’s the smart modem 3 just with skinny branding. it works totally fine with the smart mesh 2.

GeekyMcGeekface

22 posts

Geek

#3152964 28-Oct-2023 09:56

Rushmere:
michaelmurfy: I don’t know why Skinny have been saying the smart mesh is incompatible but I’ve got the Skinny Smart Modem 3 (parents are on Skinny) working absolutely fine with the Spark Smart Mesh 2 purchased from a Spark store. It works fine… I know many people with the configuration too. @freddy123.

I wouldn’t recommend adding a third party mesh product on top of this.

It says this on the Spark website about the Smart Mesh 2. I guess the Skinny Smart Modem 3 is possibly the same as the Spark Smart Modem 3?

Compatibility information

If your modem is a Spark Smart Modem 2, Spark Smart Modem 3 or Spark 5G Smart Modem you'll only need one Smart Mesh 2 to expand your WiFi coverage. If you need to expand your WiFi coverage further you can connect up to four Smart Mesh 2 units to your network.

Using Spark Smart Mesh 2 with any other modem, you'll need a minimum of two Smart Mesh 2 units to create the network. You can connect up to four. One will remain connected to your modem via an ethernet cable and the others will connect to it via WiFi to expand your WiFi coverage.

Spark Smart Mesh 2 is not compatible with the original Spark Smart Mesh. This means you won't be able to add a Smart Mesh 2 onto a mesh network that already has an original Spark Smart Mesh in it.

This is exactly where the confusion lies. Skinny seem to be suggesting their modem counts as "any other modem", therefore requiring an additional unit. Michaelmurfy seems to be suggesting Skinny is wrong however.

GeekyMcGeekface

22 posts

Geek

#3152967 28-Oct-2023 10:06

michaelmurfy: Yep, it’s the smart modem 3 just with skinny branding. it works totally fine with the smart mesh 2.

Thanks for the clarity. If it works for you then clearly Skinny's staff just don't know what they are talking about (and based on my chats with them I do think that's the case...).

Did you have to make any settings / configuration changes in order for the Mesh unit to work with the Skinny modem? I'm not an expert in these things but I know, from reading, that Spark use VLAN tagging and Skinny don't. I have no idea if there are other differences between Spark and Skinny. Did you have to do anything special to make the two "talk" to each other, or was it just plug and play?

shk292

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#3152970 28-Oct-2023 10:36

OP, I have the same network setup as you're considering: Skinny Smart "modem" connected to the ONT, with three-node Deco M5 mesh system operating in AP mode connected via ethernet. I originally didn't use the SSM, and connected one M5 in router mode straight to the ONT, but for some reason my Lenovo laptop doesn't play nicely with the M5 WiFi so I changed to the current config. This has been very solid for me, I get great connection speeds all through the house and section - our house is split-level on a slope and quite sprawling so a single-AP solution is never going to be good. Hand-off between M5 nodes seems to work flawlessly.

I'm on Skinny's 300/100 deal which I think is great value, and I've just measured 325down/89up on my laptop via SSM wifi so no complaints there.

Connecting the M5 nodes via ethernet, with switches as required, is highly recommended although I recently had a patch lead problem which meant most of my network was running off a wireless link between two M5 nodes and nobody noticed.

GeekyMcGeekface

22 posts

Geek

#3152974 28-Oct-2023 11:06

shk292:
OP, I have the same network setup as you're considering: Skinny Smart "modem" connected to the ONT, with three-node Deco M5 mesh system operating in AP mode connected via ethernet. I originally didn't use the SSM, and connected one M5 in router mode straight to the ONT, but for some reason my Lenovo laptop doesn't play nicely with the M5 WiFi so I changed to the current config. This has been very solid for me, I get great connection speeds all through the house and section - our house is split-level on a slope and quite sprawling so a single-AP solution is never going to be good. Hand-off between M5 nodes seems to work flawlessly.

I'm on Skinny's 300/100 deal which I think is great value, and I've just measured 325down/89up on my laptop via SSM wifi so no complaints there.

Connecting the M5 nodes via ethernet, with switches as required, is highly recommended although I recently had a patch lead problem which meant most of my network was running off a wireless link between two M5 nodes and nobody noticed.

This is a very informative reply, thanks. A couple of questions:
- do you have the wifi turn off on the Skinny Smart Modem then?
- what is a patch lead problem? Does it just mean something was wrong with one of your ethernet cables and you had to replace it?

shk292

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#3153038 28-Oct-2023 14:16

freddy123:

This is a very informative reply, thanks. A couple of questions:
- do you have the wifi turn off on the Skinny Smart Modem then?
- what is a patch lead problem? Does it just mean something was wrong with one of your ethernet cables and you had to replace it?

No, I leave the SSM WiFi on, but only use it for my laptop. All other devices are either wired or use the Deco WiFi

It was just a patch lead that had become disconnected, due to the retaining tab being broken. The result was that two segments of my wired LAN were only joined by the Deco units' automatic meshing - the network effectively repaired itself when the ethernet link went down. I didn't notice until I happened to check the Deco app and noticed that one node was connected wirelessly instead of by ethernet.

GeekyMcGeekface

22 posts

Geek

#3153085 28-Oct-2023 14:28

shk292:
freddy123:

This is a very informative reply, thanks. A couple of questions:
- do you have the wifi turn off on the Skinny Smart Modem then?
- what is a patch lead problem? Does it just mean something was wrong with one of your ethernet cables and you had to replace it?

No, I leave the SSM WiFi on, but only use it for my laptop. All other devices are either wired or use the Deco WiFi

It was just a patch lead that had become disconnected, due to the retaining tab being broken. The result was that two segments of my wired LAN were only joined by the Deco units' automatic meshing - the network effectively repaired itself when the ethernet link went down. I didn't notice until I happened to check the Deco app and noticed that one node was connected wirelessly instead of by ethernet.

Thank you I understand now. Appreciate your advice

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