Connection issues?
We do our best to make the Electric Kiwi broadband journey as simple as possible - but every now and then there's a bump in the road.
If you're having problems with your broadband connection, here's some top tips to make sure everything is set up correctly.
Outage check
Firstly confirm if there is a fibre outage in your area:
- Check for outages in Christchurch
- Check for outages in Hamilton, New Plymouth, Tauranga, Whanganui, Tokoroa, Hawera, Cambridge and Te Awamutu
- Check for outages in Whangarei
- Check for outages in the rest of New Zealand
Check the
Orbi app
If there are no outages are showing in your area, next check the Orbi app.
Make sure you have completed all the set up steps via the app.
It may be as simple as that!
Restart your equipment
- Power off all devices that are connected to the internet, including your modem and the ONT.
- Leave the modem off for two minutes.
- Restart the modem, then once it comes back online, restart your other devices and try connecting to the internet.
Check the cables
If the previous steps don’t solve the issue, make sure all the cables are plugged in correctly and securely.
Check the modem lights
Check to see what the power light is doing:
- No light - Your modem is not powered on. Please try your modem at another power point or contact our team to discuss a replacement modem.
- Solid green light - Your Orbi router and satellite are powered on.
- Solid amber light - Your Orbi router and satellite are rebooting.
- Pulsing amber light - You’ll need to reset your Orbi router (and satellite, if applicable) to default factory settings.
- Pulsing red light - Something’s up, and your Orbi system might need attention. Contact our support team.
Check to see what the ring light is doing:
- No light - The router is working normally (provided the green power light is on)
- Solid white light - Your Orbi router is powering up.
- Pulsing white light - Your Orbi router is in factory default mode.
- Pulsing magenta light - This could mean a few things:
- the WAN port link is down
- the router is unable to get the IP address from the modem or ISP
- the router is unable to connect to the Internet
- Pulsing red light - Something’s up, and your Orbi system might need attention. Contact our support team.
If you have already performed a power cycle, please hard reset your Orbi router (and satellite, if applicable) to factory default settings using the button on the back.
Check the ONT
If the Optical/PON light on your Optical Network Terminal (ONT) is red:
Please check for any outages before contacting our team for further assistance.
If the alarm/LOS light on your ONT is red:
Please check for any outages before contacting our team for further assistance.
Isolation Testing
To rule out your equipment or the physical setup of your home network as being the reason behind your loss of service, it is crucial to complete the steps outlined below. This will ensure that we are taking all the necessary precautions to avoid any technician call out charges.
- Confirm that your modem is correctly and securely connected to your Fibre Optical Network Terminal (ONT).
- Turn the power to your modem off and wait about 5 minutes before turning this back on. Firstly turn on your ONT and then turn on your modem. Test again to check if your loss of service has been resolved.
- Test another Ethernet cable from your ONT to your modem. This is to ensure that the Ethernet cable you are currently utilising hasn't become faulty. The Ethernet cable goes from the WAN port of your modem to the GE1/LAN1 port of your ONT.
Troubleshooting FAQs
There are quite a few different things that can impact your connection speed, and luckily some steps you can take to improve this. Check out our broadband speeds page for more info.
For the smoothest experience, we’d recommend using the Orbi app when possible. But if you’d like to get into the nitty gritty, the full guide can be found on the Netgear website.
You can do this if required via a web browser on your PC or device.
Keep in mind this is generally only needed to access advanced settings - so we'd advise to only use this option if you're unable to use the app for any reason, or well versed in that kind of thing.
The login details would be as follows:
- Login = http://orbilogin.com (192.168.1.1)
- Password = password when first setting up your Orbi - otherwise it will be what you created during the app setup process.
If you have a server in your home network, you can allow certain types of incoming traffic to reach the server. For example, you might want to make a local web server, FTP server, or game server visible and available to the Internet.
To do this, follow the below steps after manually logging into your Orbi router:
- Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > Port Forwarding/Port Triggering.
- Leave the Port Forwarding radio button selected as the service type.
- In the Service Name menu, select the service name.
- For the ServerIP Address field, enter the IP address of the computer that will provide the service, then click the "add" button.
- Click the "add custom service" button. The Ports - Custom Services page will display.
- In the Protocol menu, select the protocol. If you are unsure, select TCP/UDP.
- In the External Port range field, enter the port numbers, and then the "add" button.
This can be done by following the below steps. Bear in mind this will delete any personalized settings such as your network name (SSID) and password
- Make sure your Orbi device is powered on.
- Using a paper clip or similar object, press and hold the Reset button until the Power LED on your Orbi device blinks amber.
- Your router will now be reset.
We’d recommend doing this via the app, but if you don’t have access to mobile device or tablet follow the below steps:
- Launch a web browser from a computer that is connected to your Orbi network.
- Enter http://orbilogin.com. A login window will then appear.
- You'll then need to enter the user name and password. The user name is admin. The default password is password. The user name and password are case-sensitive.
- When the homepage appears, select "wireless"
- To change the network name (SSID), type a new name in the Name (SSID) field.
- To change the password, type a new password in the Password (Network Key) field.
- Click the Apply button to save your settings.
Note that once these details are changed, you may need to reconnect any other devices to your network.
Have you followed all instructions outlined in our set up guide? It's important you complete all the app steps outlined in these instructions. If that doesn’t fix the problem, jump on live chat and the team will be able to help.
Still having trouble?
If you have any issues getting your broadband up and running, feel free to get in touch with us on live chat.