Spark Launches new Inhome Experience - Spark Smart Modem & Spark Smart Mesh

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Spark Launches new Inhome Experience - Spark Smart Modem & Spark Smart Mesh

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211 posts

Master Geek

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#2521635 13-Jul-2020 08:10

Thank you for your prompt reply. I only asked as I've got a number of Apple devices and run AirPlay speakers etc. My kids also are keen online gamers and disconnects would cause issues and the onset of WW3.

In your opinion would you hold off from installing this new gear given the drop-off problems or are the issues noted on this thread unlikely to affect my fairly humble network?

Thanks.

lookout

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Ultimate Geek

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#2521639 13-Jul-2020 08:39

I’ve had the Smart Modem and 1 mesh for about a month. The dropouts haven’t bothered me. They are usually only for 1-2mins and once per day at most. I haven’t tried power cycling yet so that could fix the issue temporarily.

There is another issue mentioned in this thread where devices are kicked off the wifi. I’ve only had that happen once. None of my iOS devices would connect until I rebooted.

Despite that I am still really happy with the units. Great wifi range and speed. Super easy to setup and the mesh just works.

kiwipeter

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#2521646 13-Jul-2020 08:49

Thanks for your post and that has confirmed for me, at least, that this new kit is not fit-for-purpose. Daily dropouts of a minute or two would cause all manner of problems for online gaming/music streaming and I'd go from IT hero to zero. The band-aid power-cycling procedure is not acceptable really - and makes one wonder how much real world testing these devices got prior to launch.

Given I have a large number of iOS devices too your comment that these may become disconnected from the WiFi is also concerning.

Thanks.

hio77

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Lizard Networks

#2521674 13-Jul-2020 09:24

It's worth noting, this actually only impacts a small portion of the customer base. those it impacts though, do tend to notice it a fair bit.

Plenty of real world testing was done with these devices.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

kiwipeter

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#2521681 13-Jul-2020 09:31

Thanks - and I am sure that Spark (and the vendor) tested these well enough. I am guessing for the 'average' home user disconnects would not be too bothersome but for more demanding users then the issue would be more obvious and annoying.

Are there different revisions (physical or firmware) of these devices out there that might also explain why some are more prone to the issues than others?

hio77

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#2521940 13-Jul-2020 11:02

kiwipeter:

Thanks - and I am sure that Spark (and the vendor) tested these well enough. I am guessing for the 'average' home user disconnects would not be too bothersome but for more demanding users then the issue would be more obvious and annoying.

Are there different revisions (physical or firmware) of these devices out there that might also explain why some are more prone to the issues than others?

For the spark variants, as long as they have been attached to a spark broadband connection they will be forced onto the current version.

I've asked the same questions myself, but i've been able to validate it's not the case.

For the Skinny/BP variants, I've seen some indication the automatic update might not be as forced as spark. I'm not very cloes to that side of things though.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

grolschie

911 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2521943 13-Jul-2020 11:07

hio77:
It's worth noting, this actually only impacts a small portion of the customer base. those it impacts though, do tend to notice it a fair bit.

Plenty of real world testing was done with these devices.

I imagine the problem is far more widespread than Spark thinks. Perhaps many people just aren't noticing it. Maybe they aren't online when it occurs, or they just refresh their browsers when it does without really thinking about it. If this could be logged in (and reported from) all customers' devices, than Spark would know exactly how widespread it is.

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hio77

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#2521945 13-Jul-2020 11:11

grolschie:
I imagine the problem is far more widespread than Spark thinks. Perhaps many people just aren't noticing it. Maybe they aren't online when it occurs, or they just refresh their browsers when it does without really thinking about it. If this could be logged in (and reported from) all customers' devices, than Spark would know exactly how widespread it is.

I'd lean to agree, I'm basising that comment purely off statistics.

I'm pushing quite hard to get this resolved, It quite bothers me..

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

grolschie

911 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2521965 13-Jul-2020 11:39

Suggestion: add an opt-in error reporting option to the firmware for both the Smart Modem and the Mesh unit. Like what we're used to with many devices today. That way Spark can view reports and see if there are patterns, or whether a customer has a device that needs replacing/resetting, etc.

PJ48

295 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2522474 13-Jul-2020 20:24

kiwipeter:

Thanks for your post and that has confirmed for me, at least, that this new kit is not fit-for-purpose. Daily dropouts of a minute or two would cause all manner of problems for online gaming/music streaming and I'd go from IT hero to zero. The band-aid power-cycling procedure is not acceptable really - and makes one wonder how much real world testing these devices got prior to launch.

Given I have a large number of iOS devices too your comment that these may become disconnected from the WiFi is also concerning.

Thanks.

There is a very high chance you will be extremely happy with these devices. Although I have reported a few things that I have noticed, in the grand scheme of things they have been very minor, and it is possible that it is my iPhone at fault, as I have to power recycle my phone at times even at work in a cisco environment due to losing connection.

The reality that I have noticed is brilliant range and seamless roaming. We have a 95% Mac/Apple devices at home plus an avid PC gamer. We stream video and music constantly, while my children are gaming, and I still have repurposed Airport Expresses setup as Airplay devices. The Airplay and all my mac and i-devices just work. I can wander all over our 800 sq m property listening to streaming music on my iPhone. We run a smart modem and 2 ethernet connected Smart Mesh units. My son is ultra-critical of wifi issues and he gets none. I have never been able to stress the system. My son invited 7 friends over for a gaming LAN party - they all had their separate machines and did not report a single issue after 24 hrs of gaming. I reckon performance for money is amazing.

I cannot guarantee you would experience what we get but as a multi-device Mac/Apple user it just works 99.9% of the time, and in our setup it is entirely possible that for the tiny fraction of connections problems, that it might be the device and not the modem at fault.

cheers

Peter

kiwipeter

211 posts

Master Geek

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#2522514 13-Jul-2020 22:50

Thanks very much Peter for your detailed and helpful reply. It sounds like we have very similar (and demanding) households!

I’ll speak with Spark tomorrow and order a modem and mesh unit (I’m going to resign my Lightbox contract so should get the modem included at least).

I will report back once I’ve got the kit installed and have run it through its paces.

Thanks,
Peter.

1101

3122 posts

Uber Geek

#2523914 16-Jul-2020 08:45

Does the new smart modem actually fully support WPA ?
Im trying to connect a printer that is probably WPA only , it wont connect (WPA authentication error)

I'd rather not enable WPA , but I may not have any choice .

hio77

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#2523928 16-Jul-2020 08:49

I'd replace the printer....

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

timbosan

2159 posts

Uber Geek

#2523933 16-Jul-2020 08:56

PJ48:

kiwipeter:

Thanks for your post and that has confirmed for me, at least, that this new kit is not fit-for-purpose. Daily dropouts of a minute or two would cause all manner of problems for online gaming/music streaming and I'd go from IT hero to zero. The band-aid power-cycling procedure is not acceptable really - and makes one wonder how much real world testing these devices got prior to launch.

Given I have a large number of iOS devices too your comment that these may become disconnected from the WiFi is also concerning.

Thanks.

There is a very high chance you will be extremely happy with these devices. Although I have reported a few things that I have noticed, in the grand scheme of things they have been very minor, and it is possible that it is my iPhone at fault, as I have to power recycle my phone at times even at work in a cisco environment due to losing connection.

The reality that I have noticed is brilliant range and seamless roaming. We have a 95% Mac/Apple devices at home plus an avid PC gamer. We stream video and music constantly, while my children are gaming, and I still have repurposed Airport Expresses setup as Airplay devices. The Airplay and all my mac and i-devices just work. I can wander all over our 800 sq m property listening to streaming music on my iPhone. We run a smart modem and 2 ethernet connected Smart Mesh units. My son is ultra-critical of wifi issues and he gets none. I have never been able to stress the system. My son invited 7 friends over for a gaming LAN party - they all had their separate machines and did not report a single issue after 24 hrs of gaming. I reckon performance for money is amazing.

I cannot guarantee you would experience what we get but as a multi-device Mac/Apple user it just works 99.9% of the time, and in our setup it is entirely possible that for the tiny fraction of connections problems, that it might be the device and not the modem at fault.

cheers

Peter

I also posted a few times on this thread about my experiences with the Smart Modem, first as a single WAP, then adding a second Smart Modem running as a mesh unit (Ethernet connected to the first). I have ZERO disconnections, and I work from home fulltime, using the Smart Modem WAP as my connection to the world. It has been stable for 4 months, even with 2 modems running different firmware versions.

Note - I don't use the Smart Modem as a router, I use Untangle for that on a custom build PC. I only use the Smart Modem's as wireless access points (DHCP disabled, NAT turned off).

The household also uses Kodi and other streaming apps, and I have never had a dropout.

kobiak

1615 posts

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#2523957 16-Jul-2020 09:48

timbosan:

I also posted a few times on this thread about my experiences with the Smart Modem, first as a single WAP, then adding a second Smart Modem running as a mesh unit (Ethernet connected to the first). I have ZERO disconnections, and I work from home fulltime, using the Smart Modem WAP as my connection to the world. It has been stable for 4 months, even with 2 modems running different firmware versions.

Note - I don't use the Smart Modem as a router, I use Untangle for that on a custom build PC. I only use the Smart Modem's as wireless access points (DHCP disabled, NAT turned off).

The household also uses Kodi and other streaming apps, and I have never had a dropout.

I second that. I have similar set-up. DHCP is done by pi-hole. I'm using 2 smart modems (primary as router and access point + secondary as mesh access point only), zero issues. Since the lock-down I work from home, so I would notice any disconnections.

helping others at evgenyk.nz

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