Over Christmas we’ve had a couple of calls asking for help with a new router someone has bought, either for an improved experience, such as gaming, or because their ISP (Internet Service Supplier) supplied one has stopped working. But when asking Spark for help the response was that they are incompatible; is this true?
The answer is most likely “YES it is compatible with Spark, or any other Fibre ISP”, if it is new (please note that older routers one finds in one’s garage and tries to re-use to save money most likely won’t be compatible).
So why does Spark (or other ISPs) say that they are incompatible?
Several reasons may apply but here are my guesses:
· The ISP wants you to be locked into the products that they supply so that they can sell you upgrades or sell you replacement units if yours fails out of warranty.
· The technicians that they hire to help you aren’t really very well trained or experienced in IT and simply follow a tick list process when they help you configure a new router, They are only supplied with the steps to configure their own supplied router and are unable to jump into other suppliers’ routers to help you.
Why aren’t non-ISP supplied routers simply plug and play like the ISP supplied ones?
The ISP, such as Spark, will bulk configure their routers at the point of purchase as all configurations for that ISP, if over fibre, are the same, roughly, so they can just ship to you with standard settings.
Can I configure my own router?
Absolutely, if you have an idea of what you are doing. It isn’t really very complicated, you simply have to know the settings required for your ISP and work out where in the router configuration settings they are applied. This isn’t as difficult as it sounds.
What are these settings?
For most fibre providers in New Zealand the following settings apply throughout
· Connexion type: PPPoE
· User name: user@spark.co.nz
· Password: password
· VLAN TAG / ID: 10
In most routers the settings are pretty self explanatory, it’s simply a case of finding them in the configuration. Remember, the staff at Spark follow a simple documented process specifically written for their own routers, your separately purchased router confuses them.
The user name is irrelevant, this is just an example and you can use anything as long as it is in the format of an email address. The password can be anything.
The VLAN Tag is the one that is sometimes tricky to find; it is almost always under “Advanced Settings” and I’ve even seen it fall under “IPTV Settings” (Asus units).
My router has an auto configure option, but why won’t it connect?
Some routers will apply the full settings after it determines the ISP, but not all. Most will require the entry of the ID and password, even if they default to PPPoE. The VLAN tag is the one that they almost always miss and without it the router can’t connect.
Why would I buy something not supplied by my ISP?
The routers and WI-FI they contain are generic and standard, usable really for a small house setup only. Their Wi-Fi is adequate, but not great:
· They have no advanced security options such as granular parental control or intruder detection etc.
· They can’t support securely separated guest networks, see articles elsewhere on our site regarding this.
· They don’t provide meshing abilities.
What are my alternatives?
The options are many and varied and what you buy depends upon what you are trying to achieve:
Is Gaming your thing?
· Super fast Wi-Fi, 4800Mbs
· Greater coverage due to extra antennae.
Need to extend your internal usage? See article on our site about Meshing:
This allows you to extend your Wi-Fi around your property and roam easily without swapping networks.
· These routers do provide some advance security features.
· Depending upon your environment there are several versions to chooses from; see Community Classroom articles to help: https://www.islandtech.nz/forum/community-classroom/what-are-all-of-these-different-boxes-that-chorus-and-spark-provide
· Provide remote monitoring and management via a mobile App.
· If you are with One NZ (Vodafone), or whatever they are calling themselves this week, you can get theses for “free” if you sign up to their Super Internet 2 year plan – https://one.nz/broadband/superwifi/
· Other versions exist such as Asus and a few others.
· Some use powerline backhaul, some wireless meshing, other via Ethernet cables; again, see some of our articles about these, or even better, give us a ring and find out.
Need something professional to allow full security, monitoring and management?
There are several articles on our website and we are loading more regularly about options here: https://www.islandtech.nz/post/wifi-woes-what-kit-do-i-actually-need
Our favourites are the Ubiquity Dream Router for smaller premises and businesses and the Ubiquity Dream Router for large premises and complex events.
· These provide full security options.
· Separate networks (VLANs).
· Full remote management, alerting and monitoring.
· Excellent connectivity and various configurations available from outside units to units that support 2,000 users and everything in between.
· The one in the picture picture is the UDR, a lovely little piece of kit, and is an excellent choice for higher class rental accommodation with more than 2 rooms to rent or with multiple customer groups at any time to provide the best, most secure and fastest user experience.
My router broke, and my ISP says I need to buy a new one (or I want to buy one myself), what do I do next?
1 – Speak to your ISP and seek a replacement; they will send you a bog standard one that you can just plug in and go.
2 – If your ISP is One NZ then ask them about their Mesh units, see above.
3 – Buy one and hope for the best, then ring us to configure it for you.
4 – Speak to us and we will advise you on what is best for your circumstances and requirements.
Obviously, in our opinion, option 4 is the best and the one that you take before buying anything as we could save you hundreds of NZD by helping you to avoid a mistake.
Island Tech
28 Belgium Street, Ostend
098705698
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