On connection day, your network switches your service on and we email you to say it’s active. This page explains what happens on the day, how to get online, and what to check if your new service isn’t working yet.

What happens on the day

  • Your activation email. When your service is connected, we email you. It has the details your router needs, including your PPPoE username and password if your network uses them.
  • A technician visit, if one is needed. Most homes already have a connection box, so nothing needs installing. If your network needs to visit, you’ll hear from us or the network about the appointment.
  • Your first bill. You paid your first invoice when you signed up. Your billing month starts on the day your service is activated, which becomes your anniversary date. See paying your bill.

Your service won’t work until the activation email arrives, so wait for it before you start troubleshooting.

Get online

If you bought your router from us

Plug it into your connection box (or, on nbn FTTN and FTTB, your phone wall socket) and turn it on. What happens next depends on your network’s connection type (see the table below):

  • Dynamic IP, like Opticomm, SUPA Networks, VostroNet and some nbn services: it connects by itself. Give it a few minutes, and there’s nothing to set up.
  • PPPoE, like Neoloop and some nbn services: you’ll usually need to finish setting it up. Connect to the router’s Wi-Fi (the name and password are on its label), or open its app if it has one, and it starts a setup wizard. When the wizard asks for the connection type, choose PPPoE, and enter the username and password from your activation email.

Our router setup guides walk through the wizard for popular routers, and your router’s quick start guide covers the rest.

If you’re bringing your own router

  1. Check it works on your network: see routers that work on your network.
  2. Plug it into the right port (see below).
  3. Set its internet connection type to suit your network (see below).
  4. Turn it on and give it a few minutes to connect.

Our router setup guides show where to find these settings on popular routers.

Plug into the right port

Use your router’s WAN port. Most routers have one port set apart from the others, often a different colour, and labelled WAN, Internet or with a globe icon. The other ports (LAN) are for your computers and other devices, and the router won’t get online if it’s plugged into one of those.

On the connection box, use the Ethernet port. Some boxes have more than one:

  • nbn FTTP: usually UNI-D 1. See troubleshooting nbn FTTP.
  • Opticomm: some boxes have four Ethernet ports; use the one named in your activation email. See getting connected on Opticomm.
  • nbn FTTN and FTTB, and some Vision Network and Frontier Networks homes: these use the phone wiring, so a phone cable goes from your modem router’s DSL port to the phone wall socket (or, on the Vision Network, the Vision NTU).

Choose the right connection type

Your router’s internet settings need the connection type your network uses.

Network Connection type Username and password?
nbn PPPoE or Dynamic IP, as your activation email says Only for PPPoE
Neoloop (Lynham Networks) PPPoE Yes, from your activation email
Opticomm Dynamic IP (also called DHCP, IPoE or Automatic IP) No
SUPA Networks Dynamic IP No
VostroNet Dynamic IP No
Frontier Networks fibre (most homes) As your activation email says, with no VLAN Only for PPPoE
Frontier Networks VDSL (rare) PPPoE on VLAN 100 Yes, from your activation email
Other networks PPPoE or Dynamic IP, as your activation email says Only for PPPoE

PPPoE: type the username and password exactly as they appear in your activation email. They usually look like [email protected].

Dynamic IP (DHCP or IPoE): there’s no username or password. If your router asks for one, it’s set to PPPoE: change the connection type.

Changed from another provider? Routers set up for another provider are often left on its VLAN. Turn VLAN tagging off: our services don’t use a VLAN. The exception is the small number of Frontier Networks VDSL services, which need VLAN 100. Routers supplied by other providers may also be locked, so they won’t accept our settings at all.

Still not working?

  1. Check your activation email has arrived. Until it does, your service isn’t active yet.
  2. Check the router is plugged into its WAN port, and the cable is firmly in at both ends.
  3. Check the connection type, and the username and password if you need them.
  4. Restart the connection box, then the router a couple of minutes later.

Still not connecting? Report a problem or call us on 1800 663 977. Tell us your router’s make and model, and which lights are on.