Resolving service issues: 8 FAQs answered
Let’s face it: when it comes to important services at home and at work, no one likes to experience issues.
And while we always want your experience to go smoothly, we know that sometimes challenges happen.
So, to help, we’ve compiled the most frequently asked questions – and their answers – about resolving service issues on the nbn™ network.
Your most frequently asked questions
Potential outage
1. I've lost my service – I think it’s an outage – what should I do?
Firstly, we recommend checking your address on our network status page to confirm if any planned maintenance or unforeseen incidents are known to be affecting your service.
If no outages are listed for your address, you can similarly check your phone and internet provider’s website as outages can also occur on their network.
No issues showing for either? Then, let your phone and internet provider know. They’ll troubleshoot with you and, if needed, lodge a fault with nbn so we can investigate further.
Please note: If you’re connected to services over the nbn™ Sky Muster™ Plus Satellite Service, business nbn™ Satellite Service or Enterprise Ethernet, please contact your phone and internet provider in the first instance as our network status page doesn’t cover these premises.
Unplanned incident
2. Your network status page says there’s an ‘unplanned incident’ impacting our address – what does that mean?
An unplanned incident means something other than scheduled maintenance is currently affecting your service. For example, a third party may have accidentally damaged underground cables or other nbn™ assets.
That’s why – to assist in keeping essential services working in the community, and to help avoid accidental damage and costly repairs – anyone performing groundworks should first refer to Before You Dig.
Wi-Fi coverage
3. How can I get Wi-Fi coverage in all areas of my house? It’s currently patchy.
We’re glad you asked!
A range of factors can affect how Wi-Fi performs at your place, including where your modem/router is placed, whether you have a ‘standard’ or ‘high performance’ modem, and any physical obstacles – like cement walls, mirrors, and microwaves – that may be getting in the way.
To get the most from your connection, try these steps to boost your Wi-Fi.
Slow speed
4. My connection is slow during the night, is this your fault?
In the evenings, when more people are typically using the internet, you may find your connection slows down or experiences network congestion. But, why, you ask?
Firstly, it’s important to choose the right speed plan to meet your needs. nbn offers wholesale speed tiers to phone and internet providers that range from Home Basic right through to Home Ultrafast.*
Other factors that can affect your connection speed include:
- The number of people and devices actively online at your place at the same time
- The way your phone and internet provider configures their network and manages traffic
- How we configure the nbn™ network
Learn more about the factors that may affect your speed.
So, what about network congestion?
If you think of the nbn™ network as a highway, and your phone and internet provider as the gateway to the internet, your internet experience can be influenced by how your provider configures their gateway.
During off-peak hours (when less people are typically online), traffic should flow freely and quickly. When there’s more traffic, congestion may occur if your provider does not have enough network capacity. Providers that have more capacity can cater for more connections.
Learn more about network congestion.
Dropouts
5. I’m experiencing service issues, including dropouts and poor speeds. What should I do?
We’d recommend following our handy tips to optimise your home internet set-up. These include checking for objects that can interfere with Wi-Fi signal, checking your cabling, and assessing how many devices are connected at the same time.
You might also find it helpful to learn about factors that may affect your speed.
If these tips don’t help, please get in touch with your phone and internet provider for troubleshooting. If needed, they’ll lodge a fault with nbn to investigate further for you.
Talk to your provider
6. Why do you refer me to my provider, isn’t it your infrastructure?
That’s a great question! The reason we refer you to your phone and internet provider is because they deliver and manage services over the nbn™ network.
As a wholesaler, nbn is responsible for the infrastructure – the nbn™ network – that phone and internet providers use to connect customers to nbn™ powered plans.
So, that’s why we refer you to your provider – rest assured, though, if they identify any issues on nbn™ infrastructure, they will contact our support team directly to let us know.
Modem/router rescue
7. If I’m experiencing issues with my modem/router, can you help me?
If you’re experiencing issues with your modem/router’s signal strength, you may find our in-home optimisation tips helpful.
Otherwise, for further assistance with your device, please get in touch with:
- your phone and internet provider – if they supplied the modem/router to you
- the retailer or device manufacturer – if you purchased the modem/router yourself
Network maintenance
8. Why does nbn have to perform network maintenance?
Just like a car needs to be serviced regularly to maintain optimum performance, so too does the nbn™ network. So, from time to time, planned maintenance may cause an outage and affect your service.
In these unprecedented times, though, we want to do all that we can to ensure Australians stay connected.
With this in mind, we are planning to limit non-essential network maintenance and minimise planned outages in the weeks ahead to help ensure you can stay online. To minimise any impact to the community, any essential maintenance works will generally take place between midnight and 6am.
For further information on nbn™ outages and planned maintenance in your area, check our network status page.