Orcon Gigantic Fibre - your experiences. thoughts and answers

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Orcon Gigantic Fibre - your experiences. thoughts and answers

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Granticini

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2336831 14-Oct-2019 15:30

My 2 cents ....

I've been on Orcon Gig Fibre for about 3 years now. Its great.

The issued router was a Fritz!Box 7490.

I turned off its WiFi and bought 2 UniFi Access Points, UAP-AC-PRO

WiFi speeds are great and stable now with no dead zones in our 2 story timber house.

I also just last weekend replaced the FritzBox with a UniFi Security Gateway (USG).

And moved the FritzBox to be behind the USG.

Our home phone that goes through the FritzBox still works.

Set the UniFi Network WAN settings to:

DHCP

VLAN 10

WAN settings found by searching for this on Orcon's website "Setting up a non-Orcon modem"

zyo

513 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2336906 14-Oct-2019 18:05

Even the best WiFi access point is not guaranteed to give you good performance without tweaking due to interference, size of your house, quality/length of the cabling, bottlenecks from other devices, and replacement of the equipment.

That's why you have network technicians who are paid hundreds of dollars an hour maintaining and optimizing those networks.

If you want the best experience without diy you should get a technician to help you. I wouldn't expect an ISP selling residential broadband service to provide this level of service.

chordalgain

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2341494 21-Oct-2019 19:42

@Granticini

Thanks so much for the message. I was encouraged to see your info about using the FritzBox 7490 as I have just gone out and purchased one because the reviews have been excellent and the router Orcon sent out was the NetCom NF18 which appears not to be rated very highly .....

Hunting down and looking at the manufacturer's comparison specs revealed that a number of the specs of the 7490 are better than even some of their more recent models, so it was not surprising that there is a thriving after-market on TradeMe for them.

Thanks also for all the additional comments and specs which will be very helpful when it comes to doing the installation.

chordalgain

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2341497 21-Oct-2019 20:02

@ZYO

Thanks for the advice it is much appreciated.

It's now been nearly 5 weeks since I placed the initial order and installation is now supposed to be around the end of the month.

Yes, I did find the initial order a challenge but I discovered why?

First I needed an aerial installation but I encountered a huge amount of resistance and misinformation .... even after the Techies made their first visit, and different info was provided by each of the 4 different parties involved. So I had to do a bunch or research which was to prove very useful.

I discovered that when you place your order it does not just involve 2 parties ... the ISP and Chorus. It actually includes 4 different parties and identifying a voice contact with each is a major challenge. Sometimes email alone and not knowing who you are dealing with, is terrible when you have a specific requirement.

When you fiist place your order you do it with the ISP. They then forward it on to Chorus. In Auckland they then send it on to VisionStream (others replace VisionStream in other locations), who them delegate the installation to an independent contractor (the technician) that visits the property and does the actual installation.

Everything took a huge step forward when Chorus Customer Support got involved and representatives from both them and VisionStream kindly visited the property. Until that time an aerial installation appeared to be a non-starter, but now I have established that it can be done under the right circumstances and with the right people involved .... but the stories I heard why it not possible from those in the chain that were not involved and did not have access to the correct info was painful.

I may get a technician in to assist with the change of modem, however I have learned so much during the process I don't think it will be necessary ... but I appreciate the suggestion and advice.

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