Check your ONT

When something is wrong with your fibre connection, there are several places the fault can be. These include your modem / router, the ONT (an ONT, or optical network terminal, is the device in your home installed by your local fibre company that connects your modem / router to the fibre network) or with our own equipment.

This test tells us if there’s something wrong with your ONT. It’s very simple: all you need to do is check the lights on your ONT.

An ONT can look like any of these examples:

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Step 1

Check to see if any of the ONT lights are red.

Step 2

Check to see if the light labeled “LOS” on your ONT is lit.

If the ONT is showing red lights, or the LOS light is lit, it is likely there is a fault with the ONT or your fibre connection, and we’ll need to contact your local fibre company.

 

When something is wrong with your fibre connection, there are several places the fault can be. These include your modem / router, the ONT (an ONT, or optical network terminal, is the device in your home installed by your local fibre provider that connects your modem / router to the fibre network) or with our own equipment.

The test on this page is called a PPPoE session. There’s one for Windows, and another for Mac. This test tells us if you have a faulty modem, or if the problem is with the ONT, or with our own equipment. If you are able to connect to the Internet and browse successfully from doing this test, it suggests that the problem is a faulty router, which you may need to replace.

To start this test, you need to find the ONT in your home and plug your modem in to it using Ethernet cable.

An ONT can look like any of these examples:

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Ethernet cable (also called Cat 5 cable) looks like this:

 

Follow these steps if your connection seems to be dropping in and out on a regular (or irregular) basis. That means, you’ll be surfing fine one minute and then things just stop working for a while – but do come back up again.

1. Check the outages aren’t limited to only one device:

1. Repeat exactly what you’ve been doing on a different device.
2. If you find the outage is limited to one device then you may need to get that device looked at (e.g. the WiFi adapter on your computer may need replacing). Otherwise, continue to the next step.

2. If possible, check the outage isn’t being caused by issues with your internal WiFi network.

1. If you have one, and your computer has the required port, plug your ethernet cable directly into your computer.
2. If you find that your speeds are immediately restored then you may need to troubleshoot your internal WiFi network. Otherwise, continue to the next step.

3. Complete a hard reset on your modem/router:

1. Unplug the modem/router.
2. Wait for 30 seconds.
3. Plug in the modem/router.
4. Wait 5 minutes.

4. Check the modem/router connections:

• Power point – The power point, into which the modem/router is plugged, should not be loose in anyway. If the socket is loose then it can cause the power to go in and out – especially if it is in a high traffic area and can be bumped.
• Router to modem – If the modem and router are separate devices, the cable that connects them should be securely connected at both ends.

5. The next time you notice the connection has gone down, check the modem/router lights:

• Power light – Should be solid green. If it is switching itself off and then on by itself:
  • Plug the modem/router into a different power point. This is a quick way of checking that there isn’t an issue with the power point you were using.
• DSL light – Should be solid green. If it is turning on and off:
  • If you’re using a plug-in filter, swap in a different one. Filters do fail and this could impact your connection.
  • Create a support query so we can do a quick line check. You’ll need to include the following information:
    • Problem is an intermittent outage.
    • Your DSL light is turning on and off.
    • How often your connection is going down (e.g. once a day, multiple times an hour)
    • How long the outages are typically lasting (e.g. 1-2 minutes)
    • How long you’ve been experiencing the intermittent outages (e.g. since the switch to Bigpipe or only over the past week).
  • If our check determines no issue with your line you may need to check out your home wiring.
• Internet/Broadband light – This should be solid or flickering green. If this light is off or orange, please go to our Contact Us page and create a support query. You’ll need to include the following information:
  • Select “Regular drop-outs” from the drop-down menu.
  • Let us know that your Internet/Broadband light is either off or orange.
  • How often your connection is going down (e.g. once a day, multiple times an hour)
  • How long the outages are typically lasting (e.g. 1-2 minutes)
  • How long you’ve been experiencing the intermittent outages (e.g. since the switch to Bigpipe or only over the past week).

6. If you have access to another modem/router, swap to that modem/router.

This is particularly recommended if the power light was turning itself on and then off. That behaviour can often indicate a faulty modem/router.

7. Check the problem is not being caused by interference:

• Check that the outages aren’t just occurring when you’re using a specific wireless device (e.g. cordless phone or mouse).
• Log into your modem/router and change the channel that is being used for the WiFi.

Follow these steps if you’re having trouble accessing a specific site or group of sites.

1. Check the site hasn’t been reported as being down:

1. Visit downforeveryoneorjustme.com?
2. Type the name of the website into the box (e.g. nzherald.co.nz):
3. Click “or just me?”
4. If the site has been reported as being down then wait and try again later. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.

2. Check that you’re using the latest version of your current browser and, if not, update it.

Tip: Most modern browsers automatically update themselves. However, if you installed your browser a while ago it may not be doing that properly, so it is worth checking.

3. Try accessing the same website using a different browser (e.g. Chrome or Firefox).

 

4. Try accessing the same website using a different device (e.g. another phone or your PC).

 

5. Create a support query

If you’ve tried all of the above steps and it hasn’t fixed your problem, please visit our Contact Us page and let us know about the fault. Select “No Connection” from the drop-down list and let us know about the fault as soon as possible.

Follow these steps if things have previously been working well on your Bigpipe connection, but now you can’t connect to the internet at all.

Note: If you’ve never been connected using Bigpipe before, see our No Connectivity troubleshooting guide. 

1. Check the outage isn’t limited to a single website.

Try logging into a different website or service. If you can access that successfully the issue is probably with the provider and you should just wait and try again.

2. Check the outage isn’t limited to a specific device.

Try logging into the original website or service using a different device. If you can access that successfully the issue is probably with the original device.

3. Check the lights on the modem/router:

• Power light – Should be solid green. If it isn’t:
  • Check the modem/router is securely plugged into a working power point and switched on.
• DSL light – Should be solid green. If it isn’t, try a hard restart (i.e. unplug, wait 30 seconds, plug in again then wait 5 minutes). If the light still isn’t solid green, try the following:
  • If you’re using a plug-in filter, swap in a different one. Filters do fail and this could impact your connection.
  • Create a support query so we can do a quick line check. You’ll need to include the following information:
    • Issue is a full outage.
    • Your DSL light is turning on and off.
    • How long you’ve been experiencing the outage (e.g. since the switch to Bigpipe or only over the past week).
  • If our check determines no issue with your line you may need to check out your home wiring.
• Internet/Broadband light – Should be solid or flickering green. If it isn’t, try a hard restart (i.e. unplug, wait 30 seconds, plug in again then wait 5 minutes). If the light still isn’t solid or flickering, create a support query. You’ll need to include the following information:
  • Issue is a full outage.
  • Your DSL light is turning on and off.
  • How long you’ve been experiencing the outage (e.g. since the switch to Bigpipe or only over the past week).
• LAN port lights (if applicable) – This will only be applicable if you connect the modem to the router using the LAN port. Should be solid green. If off, check the connection between the modem and router and, if that looks okay, consider swapping out the modem/router.

4. Check the modem/router connections:

• Power point – The power point, that modem/router is plugged into, should not be loose in anyway. If the socket is loose then it can cause the power to go in and out – especially if it is in a high traffic area and can be bumped.
• Router to modem – If the modem and router are separate devices, the cable that connects them should be securely connected at both ends.

5. Try using a different modem/router.

If you’ve tried all of the above steps, please visit our Contact Us page and let us know about the fault. Select “No Connection” from the drop-down list and let us know about the fault as soon as possible.

Follow these steps if your connection just seems to be really slow. That means that it’s taking much longer than expected to download pages or files, and/or streaming video is really frustrating.

1. Check the speed issue is not just limited to a specific site or service provider.

Visit a different site or service. If that alternate site or service seems to be working okay it is likely the speed issue is limited to that original site/service. You’ll need to wait it out and try again.

2. Check that you are not out of range of your internal wireless network.

Try accessing the original site or service from a different location within your property. If the alternate location seems to be working okay it is likely the speed issue was occurring because you were on the edge of your WiFi network.

3. Check there is no load on your wireless network.

If there are other people in your household, check they are not downloading large files or streaming video. You might also like to check that your computer is not automatically updating your applications or operating systems.

4. Check you are not the victim of a malware attack.

If you have access to anti-virus software, run that to eliminate the possibility that malware is causing your slowdown.

5. Check the slowdowns are not limited to peak times.

If the slowdown is happening over a number of days, check when they are occurring. If you find they are regularly occurring between the hours of 4:00pm and 11:00pm then it is possible the slowdown is a result of peak traffic.

Please note: While we try to provide the fastest possible speed it is possible that it will slow down during peak periods.

 

6. Complete a hard restart on your modem/router:

• Unplug the modem/router.
• Wait for 30 seconds.
• Plug in the modem/router.
• Wait 5 minutes.

7. Create a support query, including the following information:

• If none of these steps fixed the problem, please go to our Contact Us page.
• From the drop-down menu, select “Slow connection.”
• Mention that you’ve completed all of the steps outlined above.
• Include a link to the Speedtest that you have run while the computer is connected directly to your incoming connection using an ethernet cable
• A copy of your modem statistics (which you can get from logging into your modem’s GUI)
• Whether you have a Master Filter installed.