Change to unlocked firmware for Skinny B618

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Change to unlocked firmware for Skinny B618 - is it possible

potsiea

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#280527 21-Dec-2020 09:08

Long story short, we signed up with Skinny at our bach for Wireless Broadband as our daughter based herself there during the Auckland lockdown. When she went back to Auckland she was still working from home (ADSL in her flat), so we got approval from Skinny to relocate the modem to Auckland for her to use whilst doing so. We now want to relocate it back to the bach, but wireless broadband is no longer available there. So our B618S Skinny Smart Modem is now an expensive paperweight!

Given i can no longer use it with Skinny, can i change the firmware on the B618S so it doesn't have the Skinny login details hardcoded in to it, so i can use it with Spark at our home address as they have just made unplan available rather than the hugely expensive Rural Wireless?

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#2624801 21-Dec-2020 09:16

Those devices are not locked and can be used on other networks. Just requires a swap of the sim and the correct APN setup. While yes the firmware can be reflashed - it actually requires opening the device and hardware intervention.

The other network you want to use it on does need to have 4G coverage in the area as the they are locked to 4G bands.

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal

potsiea

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#2624803 21-Dec-2020 09:24

Thanks for the reply.

So if i wanted to use it with Spark at our home address which has Unplan coming, I would need a Spark SIM and I would be able to change the APN settings which Spark could advise?

There are no username and password fields in the firmware currently, so am i correct that these won't need to be populated by me for Spark either if the SIM is theirs?

Jiriteach

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#2624806 21-Dec-2020 09:30

If you used a Spark mobile SIM - create a new APN with the value - internet
No username/password is required.

Note that this approach simply uses a mobile sim in these devices and yes it will work but its expensive as you need a data sim and typically the caps/limits are not as big as opposed to Spark's or others wireless broadband offerings but with wireless broadband offerings they typically ship a device all pre-configured with its own sim etc. so you cannot use an existing device.

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nztim

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#2624813 21-Dec-2020 09:38

My Guess is the OP lost their capacity slot on their local tower when they moved the modem

They can only support so much FWA per tower

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

potsiea

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#2624814 21-Dec-2020 09:41

Correct - that is what they say, but it is unclear as neither Spark or Skinny are showing that 4G Wireless is available anymore. Odd for a sleepy hollow like Kuratau that has very few permanent residents

taneb1

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Mercury

#2624820 21-Dec-2020 09:59

This also depends if Spark let you use the Skinny B618 or require you to purchase a Spark B618 with their Firmware - E.g. I believe Skinny require you to use a Skinny B618 - Trustpower requires you to use a Trustpower supplied B618 - etc. While the differences aren't major - Prevents issues happening down the road (e.g. a firmware update which might revert the APN back to Skinny's APN/break the connection.)

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#2624825 21-Dec-2020 10:11

@Jiriteach is correct, I used my Skinny modem on 2 degrees for a while while I waited for a slot to open on Skinny (got my modem on Trademe). Just swapped the SIM and it worked without any issues - keep the Skinny SIM though as they wont supply a new one if you lose it.

BTW I found 2 degrees slower than Skinny once I got on.

potsiea

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#2624826 21-Dec-2020 10:12

I just checked with Spark. They require I buy another B618 from them rather than using the sister company Skinny one!

Jiriteach

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#2624827 21-Dec-2020 10:13

potsiea:
I just checked with Spark. They require I buy another B618 from them rather than using the sister company Skinny one!

Yup - Firmware is subtly different.

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal

hio77

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#2624892 21-Dec-2020 10:53

Jiriteach:
potsiea:

I just checked with Spark. They require I buy another B618 from them rather than using the sister company Skinny one!

Yup - Firmware is subtly different.

Not only firmware, but also how it locks into the ecosystem etc.

Makes no sense from a hardware wastage point of view, but it solves for a ton of issues later on....

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potsiea

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#2624912 21-Dec-2020 11:29

Yep, understand that now, and all the answers are appreciated

Is the general view now that Wireless Broadband is reliable enough to use over VDSL if you can live within the data limit?

VDSL achieves 21 down/2up here but it is pretty reliable and consistent, but a Speedtest test on my Spark mobile gets 79 down/32 up, so prima facie, it looks compelling for home. Fibre is not planned for here

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#2624952 21-Dec-2020 13:33

The VDSL speed while slower will be more consistent FWA speed is subject to the amount of
mobile phones in the area

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catspyjamas

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#2625001 21-Dec-2020 15:27

potsiea:

Yep, understand that now, and all the answers are appreciated

Is the general view now that Wireless Broadband is reliable enough to use over VDSL if you can live within the data limit?

VDSL achieves 21 down/2up here but it is pretty reliable and consistent, but a Speedtest test on my Spark mobile gets 79 down/32 up, so prima facie, it looks compelling for home. Fibre is not planned for here

Where I live I get 50 Mbps down and 11.8 Mbps up on both ethernet and wifi with VDSL. I can get between 80 and 180 Mbps down and up to 45Mbps up on wireless 4G+ (worst I've gotten was 18 Mbps down - it really depends on the day and time of day). Mostly though it's between 80-130Mbps down. Yet even when I've been able to get >100Mbps down on 4G+ I ALWAYS fine that streaming stuff is a lot smoother via my VDSL, esp when streaming on multiple devices. 4K streaming is is a much better experience on VDSL even though the speed is so much lower. I live 240m from the cell tower. Almost within line of sight.

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#2626603 24-Dec-2020 23:58

Bruh, just use it. It'll work. Don't worry about it. Plug it in, switch it on, say hello to your 4G BB.

Megabyte - so geek it megahertz

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#2626634 25-Dec-2020 08:32

potsiea:
Yep, understand that now, and all the answers are appreciated

Is the general view now that Wireless Broadband is reliable enough to use over VDSL if you can live within the data limit?

VDSL achieves 21 down/2up here but it is pretty reliable and consistent, but a Speedtest test on my Spark mobile gets 79 down/32 up, so prima facie, it looks compelling for home. Fibre is not planned for here

Hi Kuratau is scheduled for fibre by end of 2021 and Omori straight after that.

Cyril

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