Spark Fibre queries

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EviLClouD

253 posts

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#173444 23-May-2015 18:26

Hi there,

Just got fibre installed today and i have a couple of questions.

1) how long does it take for voip to be connected? When i make an outbound call, i receive a 'welcome to the spark voice test line' message, then it hangs up. When i call this landline, i hear the ringing on my mobile, but the phone itself doesnt ring?
2) the internet, WLAN and WAN lights blinks occasionally on the modem. According to the manual, the first 2 should blink but the WAN should be solid for fibre?
3) when my wireless device (iphone/ipad) is put on lock and then i unlock it, it takes about 5 seconds for the wifi to reconnect whereas before it would reconnect instantly. Is this due to the new modem?

Thanks

Forgot to add, i rang Spark on 120 and the nice lady on the phone transferred my call to the i assume voice team? Who are only open Monday to Friday, so i thought i might get a better response here...

BarTender

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#1310552 23-May-2015 19:54

1) It sounds like you haven't yet been cut across to the VoIP line rather it's still terminating on the POTS copper line. Normally it's done same day from what I understand but there can sometimes be a lag of a day or two.

2) If the internet is working... then the internet is working. I wouldn't worry if the light was blinking or solid. Most likely a typo in the manual.

3) Not sure... I suspect it may be a feature of your phone as it must be disconnecting when you lock your phone. Did you upgrade it recently?

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EviLClouD

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1310849 24-May-2015 17:01

How long should i wait before i try contact Spark again? Is there a number i can call directly to their 'voice team'? When i called yesterday, i called 120 and selected landline at the menu but what i gather, thats a different team to voip?

Cool i wont worry about the light and also that wifi disconnect seemed to have sorted itself after a reset of the router and phone, so all good there!

Jase2985

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#1310889 24-May-2015 18:41

simple, call on monday when they are open.

dont worry about the lights if its working and you get the speed your paying for do the lights really matter?

apple devices are not wifi certified any more so thay dont exactally play by the rules that the routers play by. that could be your problem.

EviLClouD

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1311633 25-May-2015 21:42

Ok just an update. I called Spark and got transferred to their provisioning team who advised me my 'order' was still open and they would close it. Once its closed (they said to allow till Wednesday), i have to go to the Spark website and order fibre landline. Then if all goes well i should have the landline working by the end of the week...does this sound right?
When i ordered my fibre plan, i ordered a fibre and landline plan. Not sure why i have to re-order the landline?
Is there anyway to speed this process up, as it seems like there's alot of uncertainty as to when it will actually be ready.

On a side note, does this wifi speed appear normal compared to the wired? The download speed halves whereas the upload barely changes?
Can I improve the wireless download speed? I've tried changing channels from 1-11 and this is the best i got.

Thanks

LennonNZ

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#1311677 25-May-2015 22:08

EviLClouD: Ok just an update. I called Spark and got transferred to their provisioning team who advised me my 'order' was still open and they would close it. Once its closed (they said to allow till Wednesday), i have to go to the Spark website and order fibre landline. Then if all goes well i should have the landline working by the end of the week...does this sound right?
When i ordered my fibre plan, i ordered a fibre and landline plan. Not sure why i have to re-order the landline?
Is there anyway to speed this process up, as it seems like there's alot of uncertainty as to when it will actually be ready.

On a side note, does this wifi speed appear normal compared to the wired? The download speed halves whereas the upload barely changes?
Can I improve the wireless download speed? I've tried changing channels from 1-11 and this is the best i got.

Thanks

What type of Wireless do you have on your Router and your Computer?

Jase2985

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#1311740 26-May-2015 05:54

its probably wifi n connected at 65mbps if thats the max your getting over it.

if it were wifi n connected at 130 i would expect it to max out at about 100mbps.

EviLClouD

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1311800 26-May-2015 08:53

LennonNZ:
What type of Wireless do you have on your Router and your Computer?

Its connected using the Spark supplied Huawei HG630b and the Asus P8Z77-V wifi that comes with the motherboard.
From what i understand they're all wireless N.
If it helps, i receive the same download speeds on both my iphone and ipad, even when standing directly in front of the router.
Could it be that the router is restricting the download speed?

Jase2985: its probably wifi n connected at 65mbps if thats the max your getting over it.

if it were wifi n connected at 130 i would expect it to max out at about 100mbps.

Am i able to change it to 130? or am i stuck with 65?

EviLClouD

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1311826 26-May-2015 09:43

I did some digging and i think i may have found the cause of the issue.

I've found out its a Atheros AR9485 wireless chip.
According to specs, it supports up to 150Mbps. But it also says, use WPA2 or open systems to reach 65Mbps and above.
So I think i might need to change the security setting to just WPA2 on the router. Does this sound right?
Is there a security risk by changing to just WPA2? (sorry i dont know how these work)

Wi-Fi Standard IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Data rate
802.11n(HT40) up to 150Mbps
802.11n(HT20) up to 65Mbps
802.11b up to 11Mbps
802.11g up to 54Mbps
Security WEP, WPA & WPA2* *Use WPA2 or open system to reach 65Mbps and above.
Network architechture types AP Mode (Windows ® 7 supports Access point mode function) Client mode
Frequency band 2.4GHz ISM radio band

stevenz

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#1311859 26-May-2015 10:28

If the option is there then plain WPA2 is about your best bet, along with AES encryption if it's an option (TKIP is older and slower), unless you _need_ WPA support for a particularly old device (e.g. a Sony PSP)

(See: http://www.howtogeek.com/204697/wi-fi-security-should-you-use-wpa2-aes-wpa2-tkip-or-both/)

The datarate settings seem to say you need to have 802.11n on the 40Mhz bandwidth setting to get 150Mbps.

Unless you're on 802.11ac then you can probably much forget about getting 100Mbps of _actual_ throughput over wifi from a cellular device. Anything much beyond 50Mbps over 802.11n usually requires multiple aerials on the devices at both ends and/or the right magic combination of chipsets and settings.

The numbers thrown around for WiFi performance should generally be taken with a huge grain of salt as there's so many factors involved. I use 802.11ac @ 5Ghz at home and get >100Mbps of _actual_ throughput, if I drop it to 802.11n then the speed roughly halves.

What throughput you can expect: http://www.speedguide.net/faq/what-is-the-actual-real-life-speed-of-wireless-374

@KnightNZ

Jase2985

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#1311940 26-May-2015 12:22

you need to use 40Mhz channel widths to get 150mbps over single chain wifi n. The downside is that as its a bigger spectrum its more susceptible to interference.

what modem/router do you have?

EviLClouD

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1311951 26-May-2015 13:08

stevenz: If the option is there then plain WPA2 is about your best bet, along with AES encryption if it's an option (TKIP is older and slower), unless you _need_ WPA support for a particularly old device (e.g. a Sony PSP)

(See: http://www.howtogeek.com/204697/wi-fi-security-should-you-use-wpa2-aes-wpa2-tkip-or-both/)

The datarate settings seem to say you need to have 802.11n on the 40Mhz bandwidth setting to get 150Mbps.

Unless you're on 802.11ac then you can probably much forget about getting 100Mbps of _actual_ throughput over wifi from a cellular device. Anything much beyond 50Mbps over 802.11n usually requires multiple aerials on the devices at both ends and/or the right magic combination of chipsets and settings.

The numbers thrown around for WiFi performance should generally be taken with a huge grain of salt as there's so many factors involved. I use 802.11ac @ 5Ghz at home and get >100Mbps of _actual_ throughput, if I drop it to 802.11n then the speed roughly halves.

What throughput you can expect: http://www.speedguide.net/faq/what-is-the-actual-real-life-speed-of-wireless-374

Thanks for that info, i will read up on it when i get home!

Jase2985: you need to use 40Mhz channel widths to get 150mbps over single chain wifi n. The downside is that as its a bigger spectrum its more susceptible to interference.

what modem/router do you have?

The Spark supplied Huawei HG630b

wasabi2k

2094 posts

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#1311952 26-May-2015 13:10

Jase2985: you need to use 40Mhz channel widths to get 150mbps over single chain wifi n. The downside is that as its a bigger spectrum its more susceptible to interference.

what modem/router do you have?

Please don't do this. It makes everyone in the area cry.

2.4Ghz is busy enough without consuming double the channels.

Wheelbarrow01

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Chorus

#1313246 28-May-2015 08:37

OK, so it would appear what the OP ordered online (fibre broadband and fibre voice) is not what was provisioned - due to human error.

Your broadband was migrated from ADSL to fibre successfully, however no change/upgrade was made to the provisioning of your phone service.

There would normally have been no issue with this, but unfortunately the technician completed the wiring work for fibre voice at your house, even though he had no work order for this. This led to the loss of your copper service when the tech disconnected the copper service lead from your house.

My apologies for this - I have seen a few cases of this now so it has been raised as a serious customer impacting issue. I believe the cause is that Chorus technicians have been advised to prepare all Spark fibre customers for VOF on every Spark fibre installation they complete, even if they have not received a specific order from Spark to do so.

Hopefully that situation can be resolved soon so there are no repeats of this.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

EviLClouD

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1313259 28-May-2015 09:14

Hi everyone,

I can confirm the landline is up and running now.
Thanks to Wheelbarrow01 for following this up.

On a side note, i also can confirm the pc wifi card is restricted by the 20mhz channel.
If i manually change it to 40mhz i can receive speeds of up to 75Mbps, but they're aren't consitent and tend to fluctuate alot.
I will need to look at upgrading to a 5ghz router and wifi
Thanks to all for your help.