Modem issues on Spark Max Fibre plan

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Modem issues on Spark Max Fibre plan

littleheaven

2130 posts

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#295155 9-Mar-2022 11:14

Several months ago my sister upgraded to the Spark Max Fibre plan. She was previously on the entertainment unlimited plan, using an ASUS RT-AC68U because the Spark-issued modem device limit didn't accommodate all her network-connected devices.

Since upgrading, her connection has been repeatedly dropping (often several times a day, for up to an hour at a time, which is an issue as she works from home). She has spent weeks interacting with Spark support who monitored her connection but could find nothing wrong with it, although they couldn't contact her modem even when it was working properly. She has come to the conclusion that the ASUS modem is the culprit, as when she plugs in her old Spark modem, the connection immediately restores, but a firmware upgrade and checking all the settings match my RT-AC68U (which is working fine on the Unlimited Broadband plan) has not fixed the problem. Of course, Spark will not provide support for the ASUS, so she is contemplating replacing it with something Spark will support.

This morning she contacted Spark to ask if they could upgrade her old HG659B to a better Spark-issued modem without the 32-device limit. They would only recommend her the Spark Smart Modem which they said had a 15 connection limit, which is completely insufficient. So now she doesn't know where to go next. If she buys a different brand of modem, she will run into the same issue that it isn't supported if she has further problems. Spark is suggesting she hire a tech to come into her house and set up a router/hub/booster networking solution, which won't be supported by them if she continues to have connection issues.

Can anyone (especially any Spark peeps on here) suggest what she could do next? Ideally, she wants a Spark-supported modem with more than 32 connections that is scalable if she adds more smart devices to her home, but how does she obtain that if support won't offer it to her? Would the Smart Modem 2 be suitable? How many connections does it support, and how does she obtain one if support won't offer it? TIA!

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

quickymart

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#2883653 9-Mar-2022 12:13

How many devices can the Smart Modem 2 handle? I still have the original one.

@TalkieT might be able to help with this one.

littleheaven

2130 posts

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#2883655 9-Mar-2022 12:15

I did see mention of 54 and 64 per band on the original announcement post here on Geekzone, but not sure if that adds together to allow 118 total. None of the technical specs on the Spark site (that I could see) said a device limit, just that you could "connect more devices".

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

corksta

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#2883657 9-Mar-2022 12:16

The Spark Smart Modem absolutely supports more than 15 devices. It’s far superior to the HG659 so she should definitely consider getting it.

littleheaven

2130 posts

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#2883716 9-Mar-2022 12:33

corksta:

The Spark Smart Modem absolutely supports more than 15 devices. It’s far superior to the HG659 so she should definitely consider getting it.

She would definitely consider it if someone could confirm that it had an adequate device limit. The support person in chat said that "The smart modem can have up to 15 devices connected via wired and wireless. But like any other modem, once you have too many devices connected you will experience a slow connection."

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

farcus

1554 posts

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#2883722 9-Mar-2022 12:52

from Bigpipe which uses the same modem

Your Smart Modem supports up to 64 devices over 5Ghz Wi-Fi, 56 devices over 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi, and 3 devices over Ethernet. If you need to connect more than 3 Ethernet devices, you can also connect a switch up to your modem.

Keep in mind that as the number of devices on your home network increases, so does the likelihood one of them will be using your internet connection. If one device on your network is heavily using your internet connection, it can cause lower speeds on other devices.

littleheaven

2130 posts

Uber Geek

#2883725 9-Mar-2022 12:58

farcus:

from Bigpipe which uses the same modem

Your Smart Modem supports up to 64 devices over 5Ghz Wi-Fi, 56 devices over 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi, and 3 devices over Ethernet. If you need to connect more than 3 Ethernet devices, you can also connect a switch up to your modem.

Keep in mind that as the number of devices on your home network increases, so does the likelihood one of them will be using your internet connection. If one device on your network is heavily using your internet connection, it can cause lower speeds on other devices.

Oh, thanks - that's this one? https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/internet/spark-smart-modem/#tabgallery-1

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

littleheaven

2130 posts

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#2883901 9-Mar-2022 18:07

Sweet - the discussion in this thread has answered my question. Thanks, all!

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

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nztim

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#2883951 9-Mar-2022 18:58

That Asus Router down right sucks, speed is better on HG659 despite the device limit

As suggested by others get a Spark Smart modem

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

littleheaven

2130 posts

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#2883957 9-Mar-2022 19:20

nztim: That Asus Router down right sucks, speed is better on HG659 despite the device limit

As suggested by others get a Spark Smart modem

To be fair, I've never had any issues with my ASUS, which was originally purchased when I was on VDSL and instantly gave me much better speeds and coverage compared to the standard-issue model at the time (which was a Thomson, I believe). But it's good to know the new Spark smart modems are great and now have a more realistic device limit. I've recommended to my sister to go with that, and will probably do the same when my ageing ASUS keels over.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

nztim

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#2883999 9-Mar-2022 20:27

littleheaven:

nztim: That Asus Router down right sucks, speed is better on HG659 despite the device limit

As suggested by others get a Spark Smart modem

To be fair, I've never had any issues with my ASUS, which was originally purchased when I was on VDSL and instantly gave me much better speeds and coverage compared to the standard-issue model at the time (which was a Thomson, I believe). But it's good to know the new Spark smart modems are great and now have a more realistic device limit. I've recommended to my sister to go with that, and will probably do the same when my ageing ASUS keels over.

I can see why the VDSL performance would improve because the ASUS uses a Broadcomm Chipset, it just cant handle PPPoE at fibre max speed, the CPU just bogs down

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

littleheaven

2130 posts

Uber Geek

#2884019 9-Mar-2022 21:01

nztim:

I can see why the VDSL performance would improve because the ASUS uses a Broadcomm Chipset, it just cant handle PPPoE at fibre max speed, the CPU just bogs down

Ah, that explains why it's fine on my standard fibre connection and not on her max fibre one. I thought the speed might be the difference because the issues started when she upgraded. Thanks!

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.