With nbn Fixed Wireless, your home connects by radio to an nbn tower nearby. An antenna on your roof or outside wall sends the signal to an nbn connection box inside, and your router plugs into that box. This guide shows you how to check it, and what to try when your Fixed Wireless service isn’t working.

First, check for an nbn outage. If there’s one in your area, there’s nothing to fix at home.

Your nbn connection box

The connection box (also called a wireless NTD) is usually on a wall inside, connected by a cable to the antenna outside. Your router plugs into one of its UNI-D ports, usually UNI-D 1.

Don’t move, adjust or repaint the outdoor antenna: it’s aimed at your nbn tower. If it’s been knocked or damaged, contact us.

What the lights mean

When your service is working, the box’s Power light is solid green, its Signal strength lights show a signal, and the UNI-D light for your router’s port is on.

  • Power off: the box has no power. Check it’s plugged in and the power point is on.
  • No signal, or very weak: the box can’t reach the tower. Check the cable between the box and the antenna is firmly in, then restart the box. If it doesn’t come back, check for an outage, then contact us.
  • UNI-D off: the box can’t see your router. Check the Ethernet cable, and that your router is on.

Restart it

  1. Turn off your router.
  2. Turn off the nbn connection box at the power point, wait a minute, then turn it back on.
  3. Wait a few minutes for the signal lights to settle.
  4. Turn your router back on.

Slow speeds or dropouts

Fixed wireless speeds vary more than on a fixed line. They can drop when:

  • the tower is busy, most often in the evening
  • something blocks the signal, like new buildings or growing trees between your antenna and the tower
  • the weather is heavy, like strong rain or wind

Your router also needs to suit the service: a WAN Ethernet port, set to the connection type in your activation email: PPPoE, with the username and password from the email, or Dynamic IP (DHCP). See routers that work on the nbn.

To rule out Wi-Fi, test with a computer plugged into the router with a cable. See improving slow internet speeds.

Still having trouble? Report a problem or call us on 1800 663 977, and tell us which lights are on. If the fault is in the nbn network, we’ll raise it with nbn for you.