With NZ in full lockdown, we'll all be turning to the internet to stay connected with our friends and family, keep in touch with the outside world, and entertain ourselves. It's easy to forget that the internet (or rather, the actual hardware) has its limitations – especially with the entire country relying on it!

Why is my connection slow?

There are a multitude of reasons why your speed could be slow but the most common issues revolve around the Wi-Fi. If you have multiple devices connected, the speed will be shared – each device getting a portion of the overall speed. Try limiting the devices connected to the wireless network, this will ease the congestion on your particular service.

The best option is to connect your big devices (like your work computer using a VPN) directly to your modem through an ethernet cable. You'll achieve better speeds and get a stable service – far more so than what the Wi-Fi can do! This even frees up congestion on the wireless network for better performance all around.

If you're still having trouble, simply get in touch!

Can I upgrade my service?

If you're already on fibre, you can request a speed change directly in My Orcon. Changes that involve a technician call out (ADSL to VDSL or Fibre installations) will be processed once the lockdown is lifted, unless it is deemed essential. Please contact the team on 0800 13 14 15 if your request is urgent!

I need more time to pay

Please don't suffer in silence and get in touch if you're having trouble paying your bills during the lockdown, we're more than happy to help! Check out our helpful guide on setting a payment date if you simply need more time to pay.

Need something else?

Check out these handy guides for sorting issues you might face in isolation:

• Your VPN
• Fixing slow Wi-Fi
• Solving broadband issues

If you're having trouble with your company VPN, go online and confirm if you can browse the internet normally. All working normally? You'll want to follow up with your company as the software is setup and managed by them. We can't support something we have no control over.

Otherwise, let us know if your having any issues with your internet service or modem – our technical team are more than happy to help!

Need something else?

Check out our technical support sections for more help and information:

• Wireless
• Speed and Throughput
• Modem
• Fibre
• ADSL and VDSL
• Homeline and Smartphone
• Email
• Other

Learn about the broadband troubleshooting procedure and the checks you can perform which may restore your services. Before beginning these checks, we recommend referring to our outages page. 

Troubleshooting Process

• Step 1: Restart your equipment

  Power off all devices that are connected to the internet including your modem. Restart the modem first, once the modem comes back online, you can restart your other devices and then try connecting to the internet. 

• Step 2: Check cables

  Ensure all cables are plugged in correctly and securely. Loose cables or faulty cables can cause loss of service.

• Step 3: Check the modem lights

  Scenario 1: The DSL light on your modem is flashing or off or if you are on Fibre and your WAN light is off. Please refer to the Isolation Testing section. 

  Scenario 2: The DSL/WAN light on the modem is solid green or blue and the Internet light on the modem is red or off. Please factory reset your modem. 

  Scenario 3: Modem will not power on. Please try your modem at another power point and contact our team to discuss a replacement modem. 

• Step 4 (Fibre only): Check the Optical Network Terminal lights

  Scenario 1: The Optical/PON light on your Optical Network Terminal (ONT) is red. Please check our outages page before contacting our team for further assistance.

  Scenario 2: The Alarm/LOS light on your ONT is red. Please check our outages page 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.

• ADSL and VDSL Broadband Services

  1. Unplug all phones, modems, filters or any other devices from all jackpoints in your home. Some monitored home alarms may be automatically triggered if they're unplugged, so it might be a good idea to get in touch with your alarm provider first, to let them know what's going on.

  2. Take your modem to a jackpoint in your home and plug it in. Test the modem directly plugged into your jackpoint without the use of a filter and turn it on. If the light labelled ‘DSL’ lights up, then your modem has reconnected.

  3. If your modem successfully reconnects: this means that your other devices or equipment are the reason behind your loss of service. Plug your equipment back in piece by piece, checking the connection each time. When the problem returns you have discovered the faulty piece of equipment. 

  If your modem doesn’t reconnect: the problem may lie with your jackpoint, phone cable or modem. Try another phone cable and if that doesn’t work, try the other jackpoints in your home, testing the connection each time.

  4. Lastly, we recommend running through steps 2 and 3 with another modem, to rule out your existing modem as being faulty. 

• Fibre Broadband Services

  1. Confirm that your modem is correctly and securely connected to your Fibre Optical Network Terminal (ONT). This article here presents more information regarding the physical setup.

  2. 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. 

  3. Test another Ethernet cable from your ONT to your modem. This is to ensure that the Ethernet cable you are currently utilizing hasn't become faulty. The Ethernet cable goes from the WAN port of your modem to the GE1/LAN1 port of your ONT.

What should I do now?

If you find that you’ve performed all these steps, and you haven’t found a possible cause for your broadband issue, contact our team. We will complete some final checks with you before reporting a fault. 

ESET NOD32 Antivirus which protects you against internet security threats such as malware, viruses, ransomware, rootkits, worms and spyware.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus FAQs

• What can ESET NOD32 do?
  ESET NOD32 Antivitus provides you with internet security and protects your devices from online intrusions. ESET NOD32 proactively detects and removes viruses, trojans, worms, adware, spyware, phishing, rootkits and other internet threats.

  

• How many devices does this license cover and what devices are compatible?
  ESET NOD32 Antivirus provides you with support and protection for one device. If you are interested in installing this application on multiple devices, we recommend purchasing ESET NOD32 Antivirus software directly from ESET. ESET NOD32 Antivirus is compatible with the following operating systems
  
  

  1. Microsoft Windows 10
  2. Microsoft Windows 8
  3. Microsoft Windows 7
• How do I install and setup ESET NOD32?
  Installing ESET NOD32 is simple and can be completed once you have signed up for this service. Instructions for this have been provided below.
  

  1. Select the appropriate version of ESET NOD32 and the download will begin. Keep a note of your Username and Password as this will be required. 
  2. Once the download is complete, locate the executable file (normally in Downloads folder) and double-click to begin the installation process.
  3. From the first screen, click Install. ESET NOD32 will then begin downloading the required files for the installation procedure.
  4. When the necessary installation files have been downloaded, you'll be presented with the End-User License Agreement. Read through the terms and click I Accept to move onto the next stage.
  5. In the next screen, you will be presented with the option to participate in the ESET Live Grid Network. When enabled, ESET Live Grid can detect and block the most recently introduced threats. This makes ESET LiveGrid a particularly effective way to defend against rapidly changing threats.
     
     
  6. The next stage asks if you wish to enable detection of potentially unwanted programs. Potentially unwanted and suspicious applications are programs that may not be intentionally malicious, but can negatively affect the performance and reliability of the system or send information to third parties.
     
     
  7. The installation of ESET NOD32 Antivirus will then begin and it can take up to 10 minutes to complete. Click Finish and ESET NOD32 will be installed on your device.
  8. Lastly, we will need to activate the product. Select Activate using a Username and password and click Next.
     
     
  9. Enter the Username and Password you recorded initially from the My Account section at the time of downloading the application and click Activate. You will also be sent an email with the subject line Setting up NOD32 which will contain the Username and Password.
     
     

  Congratulations! You've successfully installed ESET NOD32 on your system!

To protect our customers from cyber attacks, we network block inbound traffic (TCP/UDP) associated with the following ports.  If you have an onsite email server (business email server), NAS servers, Web server or remote admin access to router, then network port filtering may impact you. To resolve this, simply log onto MyOrcon and on the main page, select ‘Off’ under Port filtering.

Note: Network port filtering will not impact your normal internet browsing, video streaming or email services.

You should not remove the ONT (Optical Network Terminator) or the power cable.

These units are provided and owned by the LFC (Local Fibre Company) and are specific to the address they are installed to.

They will not work at a different address. 

The ONT should only be touched by the LFC's Technician when relocating it (or even removing it and reinstalling it). the reason is because the ONT is a delicate piece of technology owned by the LFC and they want to make sure it is not damaged.

What if I'm renovating or want it moved to another part of the house?

We understand alot of kiwis love a good DIY project. If you are renovating or simply want to move the ONT please get in touch with us here. We will let you know how to sort this.

1. Navigate to the Control Panel in the Start Menu by searching for it

2. Click on Network and Internet and then Network and Sharing Centre
   
3. In the left-hand menu, click on Change adapter settings
   
4. Right Click on the Ethernet adapter and then select properties
   
5. Under Ethernet properties, highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click properties

6. Check Use the following IP address and enter the necessary router details (this can vary from router to router)

7. Click on OK to Save settings and then click OK on the properties page

Malware is short for Malicious Software and it categorises a variety of hostile or intrusive software such as Trojans, Ransomware, Adware and Worms.

This is software that can be downloaded to your computer or mobile phone without your permission and can go by undetected too. These programs are designed to harm your computer or device and can steal your private information as well such as your Banking details.

The best way to prevent malicious software is to keep your PC and your mobile devices up to date with the latest security patches as well as using reputable antivirus programs.

MTU stands for Maximum Transmission Unit. This the maximum amount of data that can be sent and received in one data transaction.

This is a setting that we typically do not change in our modems and routers as it is now a fixed and standard value of 1492 or 1500 depending on modem type.

IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) addresses are stored in an easy to read 32-bit format, making it easy to configure home networks and routers. For example 192.168.0.1 is a IPv4 address and so is 8.8.8.8

IPv6 is designed as a replacement for IPv4 as IPv4 only had a limited number of public address available. IPv6 is a 128-bit format that is written as a hexadecimal and can be written like 2001:4860:4860::8888 or 2001:4860:4860::8844.

IPv6 would only affect your public facing address for now as everyone is assigned a unique number when you go online.

Do you tell people how many requests for information for customer data you get from government agencies (including ‘Privacy Act 11E’ requests?

Currently we report on Copyright Acts requests annually (on our website).

We don’t publish an in-depth report into other requests. That’s not to say we never will, but at the moment we believe our time is better spent on key ISP business, and not introducing reporting that ultimately will be funded by our customers.

In general, we release information to third parties like the New Zealand Police and Courts when we are required to by New Zealand law.

The Orcon Helpdesk will do their best to help you get connected to the internet, and help you with any internet connection related problems. This list is intended to clarify exactly what it is that we do and do not support. 

Orcon Homeline and/or Tolls

1. We support Orcon customers' use of our Homeline and Tolls product. 
   
   

Internet Connection (Broadband or Dial-Up)

1. Establishing and maintaining the connection from the exchange to your house/premises.
2. Connection speed issues from our modem/router over Ethernet.
   
   

Modem/Router

1. We support getting you online with the modem/router we provide and support, and we will attempt to help set up and troubleshoot all other compatible modem/routers but will refer to you to the Vendor of that device if required.
2. We will configure the wireless only on the modem/routers we provide.
3. We support and troubleshoot the connectivity of only one fully functional device to your modem/router, any other devices will be supported as best effort.
   
   

Wireless

1. We will investigate wireless speed and stability issues, but have no control of your surroundings which can interfere with your wireless.
2. We support the modem/routers basic wireless configuration only if it’s a modem/router we have supplied.
3. We will support up to one device on your wireless LAN (local area network), any other devices will be supported as best effort.
   
   

Mobile

1. The setup of SMS, APN and MMS.
2. Network faults and calling faults for any device using a Orcon SIM that is approved for use on our network
3. Our mobile application
   
   

Email

1. We support Orcon customers' use of our webmail product.

• We can support the configuration of Microsoft Outlook to use your Orcon provided email address.

Note: We only support setting up your e-mail account, nothing else. e.g. forwarding rules

Operating Systems

We support all Windows and Mac Operating systems to the best of our knowledge, as long as it is still supported by Microsoft or Apple.

This can be found here:

1. Microsoft
2. Apple
   
   

Web Browsers

We support internet access by the following web browsers

1. Microsoft Internet Explorer/Edge
2. Mozilla Firefox
3. Chrome
4. Safari

We don’t currently, no.

We fully support the filter's intention, which is to prevent people accessing child exploitation material on the Internet. However, we understand there are a number of concerns about the effectiveness and operation of the proposed filter.

Currently we do not have enough detail to be able to address these concerns to our comfort. This is why we have not implemented the filter. 

We do however provide an objectionable material filter (family filter) that can be turned on by logging into your MyOrcon account here.

We actively monitor breaches, and inform customers should we identify that their email, log in details, computer, or phones have been compromised.

To date, we have identified compromised Computers, Modem/Routers, Email account details, Phone Services, Email Servers, Hosting Servers, and My Orcon login details. Based on what has been compromised and the severity of impact, we have locked these Internet connections down and communicated the breach to the impacted customers

Our policy is based on the NZITF Disclosure Guidelines.

Policy

We are committed to protecting our community and users. If you are a security expert or security researcher and you believe you have discovered a security related issue with our websites, network, CPE, or other systems, we appreciate your help in reporting the issue to us responsibly.

We ask the security research community give us an opportunity to correct issues and vulnerabilities before publicly disclosing them. If you give us reasonable time to respond to your report before making any information public, and make a good faith effort to avoid privacy violations, destruction of data, and interruption or degradation of our service during your research, we will not bring any lawsuit against you, or ask law enforcement to investigate you.

Contact Information

The best method for contacting our security team is via email. You may encrypt your email to us with PGP if you wish to protect the contents of your email. We are also open to anonymous reports, so long as we have a valid method of corresponding with you (e.g. an anonymous email relay service).

Vocus Group NZ Security Team <security@vocusgroup.co.nz> (ID: E24A7B33, Fingerprint: CC3E DDBF AFD1 C03A FA10  25B8 7C84 5646 E24A 7B33)

Our public key can be obtained from most well-known public keyservers such as:

• keyserver https://pgp.mit.edu
• keyserver https://keyserver.ubuntu.com
• keyserver hkp://zimmermann.mayfirst.org

You can use this key to encrypt and secure messages to us.

To start using it, you'll need to install an OpenPGP/GPG software on your computer. Below you'll find a list of possible solutions for your operating system:

OS X https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/how-use-pgp-mac-os-x
Linux https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/how-use-pgp-linux
Windows https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/how-use-pgp-windows-pc
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/app/ipgmail/id430780873?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sufficientlysecure.keychain

Please import the public key into your local OpenPGP Key-Manager.

YOUR ACCOUNT IS POSSIBLY OVERDUE AND HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED BY OUR CREDIT DEPARTMENT.

What to do?

If you are connecting through the restricted connection you will see a ‘Block Page’.  Follow the instructions on the ‘Block Page’ to get back on-line.  Credit Card payments will lift the block immediately once your router has been rebooted. Internet Banking Payments will take 2-3 working days to process against your account.

If you are connecting through an alternative connection, (Mobile Data, Rural Connection, Dial-Up or a Legacy Connection) you will need to pay your account in full to get back on-line. The easiest way to do this is to go to My Orcon to check if there is an outstanding amount on your account. While there you can pay your account online.

1. Click the following link to go to the log-in page - My Orcon
2. Log in using your Orcon username and password
3. If there is an amount outstanding, this will show under Your Balance
4. To pay the account, click Pay Now
5. Once your account has been paid in full, please turn your modem off at the wall (leave it off for 2 minutes), then turn it back on. Your service will be restored as soon as your payment has been processed and your modem has been restarted. It can take the modem/router approximately 5 - 10 minutes to completely come back on-line depending on what plan you are on. If it's not working after 15 minutes, try turning it off and on once more. If you still have no luck please contact us at https://www.orcon.net.nz/request_support .

IF YOU'VE MADE A PAYMENT AND THE RESTRICTION WAS LIFTED, BUT YOU STILL CAN'T GET ON-LINE.

Sometimes it takes a while to get back on-line after your account has been restricted. You will need to turn off your modem/router (i.e. unplug the power cord) and then turn it back on after 2 minutes. It can take the modem/router approximately 5- 10 minutes to completely come back on-line depending on what plan you are on.

Whilst your account is suspended you can still make emergency calls or contact us on 0800 13 30 30.

As part of s122 of the Copyright Act, attached below is Orcon's annual compliance report.

• Annual Compliance Report 2018.pdf

All of our residential broadband connections are assigned one dynamic IPv4, and a /56 prefix IPv6 allocation by default. We do this so we can make efficient use and manage the limited IPv4 addresses that we have been assigned.

So what does this mean for you? In a nutshell it means that you could be assigned a new IPv4 address at any time, which means that it can change at any time. For most users, this isn't a problem due to the way the Internet works. The way our network and systems are structured mean we don't change people's IPv4 addresses often, but please be aware that your IPv4 address can change at any time without notice.

Dynamic IP addressing can assign a different IP address each time your modem reconnects to the Internet. Static IP addressing on the other hand means that you maintain the same IP address each and every time you reconnect to the Internet, and is used commonly for mail servers, game servers, and other applications.

Static IP addresses are available to our residential and business customers as an add-on available on most current and grandfathered plans.

Current customers: You can request a Static IPv4 address by logging into My Orcon, and selecting Change Hub in the top right hand corner.

New customers: Please select Static IP as an add on during the signup process, or ask the sales agent if you choose to call us.

1. If a fault is logged and the technician is able to prove that there is no issue with the Internet or/and Phone connection, then you could be subject to a $130 No Fault Found fee.
2. If the technician determines that the issue lies with your Equipment, Modem (if the fault is proven to our rental Modem, you would not be charged this fee), Phone Handsets, or other devices, you could be subject to a Customer Premise Equipment fee charge of $130.
3. If the technician determines that the fault lies within your home’s internal wiring, which is from the demarcation point on-wards, and they carry out repairs as agreed, you can be subject to a premise wiring repair fee of $230. This would not be applicable is you have Wiring and Maintenance, which and find out more here.

We provide dynamic IPv6 address' on most access types. This is assigned automatically to connections with dynamic /56 prefix allocations.

Here you can find the answers to the most common questions about Static IPs.

If you've having problems with your broadband or phone connection, it's important to try an isolation test. Devices that you have plugged into your phone lines can interfere with your broadband service, and an isolation test checks whether things such as the internal wiring of your house, a faulty ADSL filter, or another device is causing your problems.

Genius Users: You should try this test even though your other equipment no longer works through a phone jack. Just replace step 1 with unplugging your Genius and everything attached to it.

HOW TO CONDUCT AN ISOLATION TEST:

1. Disconnect all private equipment plugged into a jackpoint e.g. double adapters, phones, filters, extension cords, fax machines, modems, Sky etc.
2. Wait for at least 30 seconds to allow the line to reset.
3. Plug the modem back in, without a filter, and wait for it to reconnect - if the lights labelled 'ADSL Sync' (sometimes labelled 'ADSL', 'Sync', 'WAN' or 'Broadband') and 'Internet'(sometimes labelled 'Online') light up, then your modem has reconnected.
4. If your modem reconnects: then this means that your other devices or equipment are causing interference on your phone line. Plug your equipment back in piece by piece, checking the connection each time. When the problem returns then you have discovered the faulty equipment. Keep testing the rest of your equipment as well.
5. If your modem doesn't reconnect: then the problem may lie with your jackpoint or phone cable. Try a different cable, and if that doesn't work, then try the other jackpoints in your house, still checking the connection each time

If you discover a piece of faulty equipment, it will either need to be replaced, or may simply require a new ADSL filter.

If the test so far hasn't located the problem, try checking the following equipment too:

Modem: The best way to test your modem is to take it to someone else's place and plug it in there. This will confirm whether or not the problem lies with the modem. If you have tried all the jackpoints in your home with no success, but your modem works elsewhere, then you may have a wiring issue. Please contact us at https://www.orcon.net.nz/request_support.

Filter: Try another filter or connect the phone or modem directly to the jackpoint to see if it makes a difference. (Filters should not be used for customers on the Genius plans as only your modem should be plugged into the jackpoints, nothing else.)

Third Party Devices: If you have a device connected in between your modem and computer, remove this and connect the computer directly to the modem.

Computer: If you do have another computer, connect it directly to your modem via the LAN/Ethernet cable and see if it makes a difference.

Our DNS Servers are:

IPv4 address:
Preferred DNS Server: 121.98.0.1
Alternate DNS Server: 121.98.0.2

IPv6 address:
Preferred DNS Server: 2404:4400::1
Alternate DNS Server: 2404:4400::2