Hi, I'm hoping someone from Spark can help with the problem:Problem Summary:Had fibre installed on Wednesday 12th October. Chorus tech said that it was ready to go; 'Where's your modem?' he asked, I had to shrug in response....he left.Last night my internet and phone were disconnectedNo modem has been delivered yetRang Spark and got put through to the 'Connections Team''Strange' they said, you can spend money to get you re-connected, you can go buy a modem at a Spark shop and we will refund you or we can courier one out to you. I chose to have one couriered. Why should I spend any money to rectify this issue?Lucky I don't have a monitored alarm, depend on the internet for work and shame I couldn't tell my family and friends of alternative contact phone numbersI think the best thing that Spark can do (and this is what I'm asking for help with) is ensure I get my modem today, delivered into my hands, so that I don't have to wait the weekend and until Monday evening to get the modem. However this seemed all too difficult on the phone with them because someone has to sign for it and I work far away from home. Surely they can spend a little extra to send it to my work today on a 'one hour delivery'. I acknowledge that it's probably Chorus' fault that this has happened, that's a different story, but why should I be inconvenienced?Would someone from Spark be able to point me in the right direction to resolve the modem delivery issue?Cheers.
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Where's My Modem?
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Two weeks to activate a sim?
I've been waiting two weeks so far for Callplus/Spark to activate a sim. At first they said the delay was because I was trying to re-use a number that had been de-assigned on our (business) account, so I agreed to have a new number assigned to the sim I wanted to use, but no result so far. If I call the number they said is being assigned I get the "not allocated to a phone message", so not a phone issue at my end.I've had an email at one point saying there was someone at Spark trying to manually push through sim activations, which doesn't sound promising. I've not spoken direct to Spark as we're not their customer.Anyone else had any difficulty with sim swaps/activations?
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EasyCall to close on 10th April 2017
Been using EasyCall for international calls for ages. Simple, handy, good voice quality.Sad to see Spark to close all their phone cards next year.
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Spark Releasing Gigabit Fibre for Customers?
Im wanting to upgrade my Fibre to Spark Fibre Gigabit plans but they have not released when this is happening i see alot of other retailers are already offering this service. Why is the biggest Phone/Broadband Company last on everything.
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Thinking of jumping ship from 2degrees UFB to Spark UFB ...
I'm on the 2degrees 100/50 UFB plan, with phone , for $149 per month. I could upgrade to 2degrees 200/200 for $155 per monthOr, I could shift to Spark, with phone, 200/200 UFB, free spotify, free lightbox, for $149pm. The only thing I'm wondering , my connection speeds with 2degrees have been near perfect, never any slowdowns at any time. I'm just wondering, if the same would apply with spark? So, Spark subscribers, are you happy with your connection speeds?
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Rural Broadband, and multiple phone handsets
I'm trying to help my parents. They had ADSL broadband, but due to their rural location, they could only get a maximum of 1.4 Mbps download, and frequently experienced periods where they had complete losses of service for hours at a time. After contact Spark technical support (who were pretty hopeless, incidentally), I elected to move them to Rural Broadband. I decided to keep them with Spark, on the expectation that the plan they would go on would retain their landline.What I did NOT realize is that Spark apparently have a different interpretation than I of "landline". I figured that this meant that they would retain their copper line to their house, and have their phone services through that. They would be given a cellular modem to plug their internet into. Not so. Spark disconnected the copper line, and expect them to plug their phone into the cellular modem as well.So: Here's my issue: My parents have (had) four handsets in their home, including one in my father's workshop (~80 m from the house). They can only plug a single handset into the modem, so now only have one handset, which they are pretty frustrated about. So I am looking at options to restore their handsets in the various rooms.Can anyone please suggest good options for this, and help evaluate the ones below?1.) I guess I could just ask Spark to reinstate the copper phone line back to the house. I expect that would be expensive, and a pretty high monthly cost.2.) Spark suggested getting a base station with wireless handsets, such as a Uniden XDECT 8155, which allows up to 12 (apparently) handsets from the one base-station. Not sure if the wireless range would be sufficient for the 80m out to the workshop. But that will cost them about $400 (apparently its $200 for the base station, and $100 for each additional handset - seems a rip-off)What else?Is there some kind of adapter that can effectively convert the telephone signal from the modem, and feed it back into the existing telephone wiring in the house? That would be an elegant solution. I can't just get a signal splitter and do that, can I? Any suggestions gratefully received!
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Spark holding my house broadband and phone line for ransom
Moved house and requested Vodafone to install TV and Broadband. They are citing they can't because the line is already assigned to a different Spark customer. I know the previous tenant - she sits next to be at work - she has called Spark three times. Firstly to transfer her service to her new property - which they have done. Secondly to ask why they didn't disconnect her service from the previous property as part of the transfer as I told her it was still installed. Thirdly to ask why it still has not been disconnected.I have called Spark myself and they have advised me that the tenant requested the service to be disconnected on 2 November - actually they requested it on the 2 October. Basically the best and fastest way to get a service now is through Spark and therefore they have a monopoly until the 2 November when they will release the line. What is that about?Any ideas about how I could get broadband people?
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contsant disconnects on a New VDSL2 connection w/Master filter
HiSo some backstory/timeline:We moved to Spark from Vodafone as they informed us our street would be fiber ready on the 15/10/2016 and gave us a good deal. Chorus then turned around and told Spark we cant get it so we are stuck with VDSL. Not happy but what can you do? Have been having constant VDSL disconnects ever since. October 6: physically switched over to spark, on ADSL2+ using the HG659b modem. October 6-17: no disconnects at all. both wifi frequencies worked great. October 17: chorus tech comes and installs a master filter/configures VDSL. October 17-present: constant disconnects every 5-15 minutes. October 20: spark technical support says the 24 hour test logged 32 disconnects. they cant diagnose the problem other than that its not the modem and probably a line fault.I have tried running the modem over LAN with the Wireless radio disabled with only 1 device connected. Used a Windows 7 desktop and a Windows 10 laptop. Replaced the RJ45 cable and used a new power socket. Still getting disconnects.The error reported in the Modem Logs is WAN connection INTERNET_UMTS:IPv4 disconnected.(ERROR_NO_CARRIER). Attached is an image of the DSL information just as the line drops over a few seconds. The only variables that change during this time are the Maximum downstream rate and the Downstream noise safety coefficient.Any ideas what the problem might be?
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Dlink modem with Spark VDSL
Hi, I bought a D-Link Tipan modem/router today, and I am having trouble connecting to VDSL. According to the model VDSL link is up and running: DSL Phy Version:A2pvI042j1.d26bStatus:UpMode:VDSL2Link Power State:L0 UpLink / DownLinkSNR Margin (0.1 dBm):88 / 94Attenuation (0.1 dBm):0 / 53Output Power (0.1 dBm):-196 / 151Attainable Rate (Kbps):7624 / 56068Rate (Kbps): But there is nothing available under IPv4:MAC Address:XXXXXXXXXXXXXIP Address:Not AvailableSubnet Mask:Not AvailableDefault Gateway:Not AvailablePrimary DNS Server:Not AvailableSecondary DNS Server: The only system log I can find wants to save to a syslog server, so I have no idea what is going on. Connection is set to: xDSL router.PVC-1 8/35VLAN tagging disabled.Username: user@spark.co.nzPassword: passwordDynamic IPMTU: Auto Connection: PPPoE VPI:VCI: 35Encapsulation: LLCATM QoS: UBR Without PCR What do I need to do to fix this?? Thanks!
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Working for Spark - Customer support / Contact Centre
Hi guys, Completely new to this forum, and I am not sure if this is being posted in the right place, or has previously been discussed. If so I apologize in advance!I see Spark are currently hiring for customer support reps, and was wondering if anyone has worked in their contact centre currently or in past?If so what is the work environment and progression opportunities like? Is it a good company to work for? Are there regular sort of social events etc? Is there anyone who compare the role to something similar like at Slingshot, 2 Degrees, Vodafone etc? Any insight working in their contact centre would be great:) I have previous experience in the telecommunications industry both with customer service/tech/provisioning and some management, so I believe I would be suitable to go for the role.Due to my experience however, I would definitely be aiming to move my way up again as fast as possible, but also want to work for a company that treats its employees well and has a good social aspect.(Have posted something very similar in some of the the other telecommunication companies as well, as they are also currently hiring for the same position) Thanks
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Demystifying VDSL DLM
Yesterday I upgraded my Spark ADSL2 connection to VDSL. I was initally excited to see that my 15/1 Mbps connection was now performing at 50/10 Mbps. I woke up this morning to find it had changed to 5/2 Mbps.A bit of digging found out that this was due to DLM. I read a few references around, including this excellent one here. However, none of it really helped to temper my expectations as to where I'll actually end up. Is it common for the DLM process to initially try both ends of the sync spectrum before settling on a profile to use? All the Chorus installer told me was that I was currently synching at 50Mbps, but that'll improve over the next few days. He made no mention of speed dropping to 10% of that.Or is it quite possible that my current low sync speed is a closer indication to what Chorus deems is appropriate for my connection?For reference, here are my modem stats (using the Spark supplied Huawei HG630b):-DSL synchronization status Up DSL up time 06:25:09Line standard VDSL2Downstream line rate (kbit/s) 5720Upstream line rate (kbit/s) 3529Downstream SNR (dB) 37.7Upstream SNR (dB) 24Downstream line attenuation (dB) 11.9Upstream line attenuation (dB) 6Downstream output power (dBmV) 13.1Upstream output power (dBmV) -3.7Downstream CRC 0Upstream CRC 7Downstream FEC 37Upstream FEC 665
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Keeping Spark broadband customers connected
Just received - similar to Vodafone's announcement but with not so much data:Keeping Spark broadband customers connectedCopper lines (which deliver ADSL/VDSL broadband and PSTN voice) are an aging technology managed by Chorus that are prone to faults. Spark saw copper faults become far more common in the winter months due to the wet weather - and spoke to many thousands of customers who were frustrated that their copper broadband and landlines were not working.To help out customers experiencing a frustrating broadband or landline fault, Spark has been deploying a Spark Restore Kit for the last couple of months, to let them know when their copper or fibre has a fault - and to help them stay online while it is being fixed.Jason Paris, CEO of Spark Home Mobile and Business explains, 'It's frustrating when your broadband or landline stops working. We wanted to provide a quick and easy way for our customers to stay connected while we are working with the network provider to fix the fault.''We piloted this service in late July. Since it has been in full operation, it has been offered to thousands of customers affected by 23 recorded faults right around New Zealand, 20 of which were copper faults. As a result, a number of our customers stayed connected while the fault was ongoing.'When Spark is alerted to a fault that looks like it's going to take more than a couple of hours for the network provider to fix, and affects a group of customers, Spark sends a text to the affected customers. This lets the customers know that Spark is aware of a fault affecting their broadband and/ or landline - and is working with the network provider who manages the line to get it fixed.The text also includes the option to text reply 'Yes' and receive a 20GB mobile data bundle to the Spark mobile number attached to their account. This data bundle means they can get back online immediately and stay connected. It's intended as a service to keep them connected for the duration of the fault. There is also the option for landline customers to have calls diverted from their landline to their mobile number and for those customers with Spark mobiles to receive free national calling. Once the fault is resolved, the customer receives a final text message confirming that the fault is fixed and that any landline divert has been removed.If a customer experiences a copper or fibre broadband/ voice fault and has not received a text message update, they can still contact Spark through any of our customer service channels - and have an additional mobile data bundle and free national calling applied to their Spark mobile account and a free call divert applied for the duration of the fault.
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rotary dial phone
hi . so iv just purchased an old rotary dial phone . it had been rewired with modern day plug . at the antique shop where purchased they plugged it in and it worked . rings out recieved call and rang . now where home it rings out and can recieve a call however it will not sound the ring ring ?
any ideas ? the phone jack on wall only has 2 out of 4 wires connected ..........
any ideas ?
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Spark bungle bundle-up bonus
We have 3 mobiles on a Spark account, and were receiving the $10/month bundle-up bonus. Then, we moved from absolute crap Spark VDSL to Spark wireless broadband -- and after setting up the tech did a "by the way, you'll lose your bundle-up bonus because you are changing plans and it no longer applies to your mobile plans", which eliminates a good chunk of the marginal savings on the new broadband. Only mobile plans $39 and above are eligible.OK, I can wear the $10/month, but it is the principle of the thing -- not being told beforehand, not finding anything on Spark which said, if you change plans, all bets are off. I should have been told.My guess is that this will happen also if you change to fibre.So, I now have no good reason to stay with Spark mobile, do I? Right.
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Slow speed on new VDSL connection
Hi there, I got new VDSL installed this Friday 28/10/2016. A Chorus technician installed a dedicated VDSL jack point and went back to the exchange point to enable the VDSL. However the internet speed is very slow. When I do a speed test I got about 2mbps download and 0.9 upload. I called Spark, they tossed me through 3 different departments and in the end I gave up. I need some advice on how to deal with this issue please. Is there anything that I need to do on my modem?Any advice is much appreciated. ISP and plan:Spark, VDSL unlimitedType of connection VDSL Modem type: D-Link AC 3200 Taipanmodem DSL stats:SNR Margin (0.1 dBm):93 / 93Attenuation (0.1 dBm):0 / 454Output Power (0.1 dBm):104 / 163Attainable Rate (Kbps):1061 / 3083Rate (Kbps):1055 / 3046DSL Phy Version:A2pvI042c.d26bStatus:UpMode:VDSL2Link Power State:L0DSL Status:ConnectedLink Rate:1055/3046 KbpsConnection Type:Dynamic IP (PPPoE)Network Status:Connectedgeneral location: West Auckland, Henderson, Edwards ave I think the connection is to an exchange point, that is about 1,8 km from the house. Many thanks
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Fibre install after a year
Hi all, I signed up for a spark plan a year ago, but being in an MDU we have only just got the final bits installed now. Does anyone know if spark will still activate the contract? I haven't heard from them in 6 months the plan I chose back then is no longer relative to today's pricing and really want to go for the Orcon plan but don't want to sign up in case spark may come and do their install once they find out the building is ready.
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Regular disconnects on Spark rural ADSL2 - any tips?
A friend of mine is on rural ADSL2+ and experiences regular 'you are not connected to the internet' messages. The disconnects cause Skype calls to drop out. The modem is a Spark supplied Huawei HG630b. Seems the DSL sync status stays "Up" as the uptime just keeps counting up.Before calling the Spark tech in, and risking the fee, any ideas on what would cause these disconnects? The house is about 10 years old. No central splitter. Filters on all jackpoints. Approx. 2.2km from the exchange following roads (read not as crow flies). Any pointers much appreciated.
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Will Spark replace a potentially faulty router?
As described in this thread, I have been suffering frequent disconnections (sometimes more than a dozen per day) of my Spark VDSL for the last two months. I now suspect the router (a "Technicolor TG589vn v2", supplied by Telecom in January 2014) may be the cause of the disconnections, due to:i) In the last few days, the router has spontaneously rebooted a few times, andii) Chorus have worked to improve the line on two separate occasions, but the disconnections are now worse than ever.Spark have asked whether I have a different router to try - unfortunately I do not. Can I convince Spark to send me a replacement router (or even to lend me one in order to diagnose whether the fault is with the router or with the line) even though I cannot be sure that my current router is faulty?If not, what other approach can I take in order to get this issue investigated thoroughly?
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Ping Spikes and Packet Loss
For awhile now I've suffered constant lag spikes and packet loss while trying to play online games. In the game Warthunder I used to get a solid 150-200 ping and could play no problems but now it will jump up to 350-550 often and the Packet Loss ranges between 2-6% causing all kinds of weird laggy behavior. Are there things I can do to try and fix this or do I need to call Spark? I recently had a nice new router installed so it shouldn't be that.Thanks for any help!
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Spark Upgrade New Zealand programme
Just received:Spark launches ambitious Upgrade New Zealand programme Upgrading customers from fault prone copper to fast, more reliable fibre and wireless broadbandSpark wants to move as many customers as possible off old copper broadband and onto the newer broadband technologies, fibre and wireless broadband. Jason Paris, CEO of Spark Home, Mobile and Business explains, 'We're announcing an ambitious new programme today called 'Upgrade New Zealand'. First, we want to accelerate take up of fibre: we are trialing new deployment methods that aim to simplify the process of installing fibre in individual homes and improve the efficiency of the roll out of fibre across New Zealand. Second, we are encouraging customers who are low to moderate data users and currently have copper broadband to move onto far more reliable and easy to install wireless broadband technology.' Chorus copper lines are a legacy technology; they are getting older and are increasingly prone to faults. Every month, Spark logs around 30,000 requests with Chorus for customers who report faults on their broadband or landline services that rely on a Chorus copper line connection - and these volumes increase over the wet winter months. It is not uncommon for some unfortunate customers to experience multiple faults within a few months, each requiring investigation by Chorus technicians. Paris says, 'During winter, we apologized to customers for the poor experience they had on the Chorus copper network. Now it's time for Spark to take action, to help customers avoid the pain that they experienced last winter, in future. We're making sure that when customers do experience faults, that they can get back online quickly - and now we're providing options so many of them can change to a more reliable broadband solution.'Accelerating fibre take-up through a 'street in a week' streamlined installation processSpark and Ultrafast Fibre (UFF) are trialing a new scheme that aims to makes it much easier and quicker for homeowners to install fibre for their broadband service. The scheme involves upgrading all homes in the same street that want Spark fibre broadband, in just one week - with customers having the certainty of being able to select a specific day within that week for their fibre installation.This new approach should be a big improvement from the current process, where customers need to place their order with their service provider (such as Spark) and then go into the queue for the local fibre company to carry out the installation. The current process involves a great deal of 'to-ing and fro-ing' between the customer, their service provider, the fibre company and the contracting technicians who actually carry out the installation. It can take several weeks or longer for installations to take place.Jason Paris, CEO of Spark Home Mobile and Business, says the 'street in a week' trial with Ultrafast Fibre aims to boost the take-up of fibre by Spark customers by removing a lot of the frustration and uncertainty from the installation process: 'Spark has been a big supporter of the UFB fibre rollout, with a 43% share of the fibre broadband market. We've upgraded a good proportion of our broadband customers who have already had fibre laid in their street from their old copper line connection to fibre. 'However, while our customers tell us that they love fibre when they get it, the process of getting it installed is often problematic and can involve lots of hassle. For many customers, that can prove a turnoff as the installation process seems just too hard. 'Many of our 'early adopter' customers have already got fibre, so we're really pleased to be partnering with Ultrafast Fibre to explore new, more efficient installation methods to encourage many others to move across to a fibre broadband connection.' William Hamilton, CEO, Ultrafast Fibre adds, 'We are constantly working to identify quicker, smarter ways to complete fibre connections for our Retail Service Providers and we're excited about testing any new initiatives that may enhance the industry's migration to fibre and the End User customer experience.'The initial trial aims to upgrade a neighbourhood of 400 households to fibre, in selected streets in Nawton, Grandview Heights and Western Heights in Hamilton, in mid-November. Spark and Ultrafast Fibre are aiming to take the feedback from this trial and then use it to scale up the approach for further communities. Spark is also looking to work with other LFCs to take this approach to other communities.Moving customers with lower data usage onto wireless broadband While fibre is the preferred broadband technology for customers who use large amounts of data, Spark is offering wireless broadband to customers with low to medium data usage, who currently have a copper broadband connection. Wireless broadband uses Spark's super-fast 4G mobile network to provide home broadband, without the need for a copper line connection. Essentially, customers who live in the wireless broadband 'footprint' (an area with a strong 4G mobile signal) receive their broadband and phone line to a modem in their home over the mobile network - and then the modem allows them to access the internet on their computer or mobile device using Wi-Fi in the same way as they would with a copper or fibre connection.Kayne Munro, Spark's lead for wireless broadband, explains, 'The 4G network offers fast speeds, with less risk of faults than most copper connections. Spark customers relying on a copper line connection are approximately 50 times more likely to report a fault compared with those on the Spark mobile network. 'The 4G network continues to expand the reach of Spark broadband - 150,000 NZ homes that previously had no access to copper or fibre broadband can now sign up to wireless broadband. In total, over 1.6m homes and businesses can access wireless broadband. And we continue to expand coverage: in the last three months, wireless broadband has become available to 40,000 more addresses. 'Best of all, it's really easy to set up. The customer can have a modem delivered to their door in a couple of days. They call Spark to activate their connection and then jump online in minutes. No technician or installation is needed. Customers tell us they enjoy the ease of installation for wireless broadband and are loving the speed and reliability improvements they've experienced since upgrading from a copper connection.' From today, wireless broadband is available in Spark stores, online at www.spark.co.nz/wirelessbroadband, or by speaking to Spark on the phone or through online chat.
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