Anyone in Australia using Telstra Smart Modem 2?

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Telstra have “upgraded” my modem/router to a Technicolour Smart Modem 2, a Technicolor modem/router.
Since changing, I have had countless problems with my Naim equipment dropping off the network with the app reporting “not found” etc.
NDX2 wired, 2 x QB 1 and 1 x QB 2 on wifi.

Does anyone using one know how or if the Technicolor unit can have any setting(s) changed to make it stable with my equipment?

I’ve searched the many posts on similar issues but most seem to be inconclusive. (or else I’ve missed a conclusive answer)

I have now swapped back to my old, first Gen NBN Telstra modem/router and it is rock-solid and stable again.

I’d prefer to use the Smart Modem 2 as it has the added benefit of a 4G back-up SIM card should NBN drop out, which has happened twice since the end of October.

Our setup:
Incoming HFC (old Foxtel cable), NBN adaptor thing, Telstra Smart Modem 2 (Technicolor), hard wired to switch, switch to NDX2, switch to Q-NAP NAS drive, Switch hard wired to to 2 x Lynksys AP’s all with the same SSIP and security - all works flawlessly with my original Telstra modem.
I have changed the IP range on the Technicolor to 10.0.0.* to match my old Telstra modem/router (I use Control4 which has a reserved IP address of 10.0.0.* for my NDX2) and I have tried separating the 2.4 and 5 gHz bands with seperate names to ensure I only connect on 2.4, but with limited network knowledge don’t want to mess things up too much!
I do however know I can revert to my old Telstra unit if I stuff it up and can also reset the Technicolor to factory defaults if it all goes wrong…

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I’m not familiar with your router, but ISP supllied devices often have a setting that enables you to just use them just as a modem, it might be labelled bridge mode or the like. This way you can use it with a quality third party router and not be double NATing behind two routers.

NAT = Network Address Translation where your router translates it’s IP address to that of the device expecting the traffic. Double NATing can cause issues with some applications.

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That may well be my end decision but, my understanding is that our IP phone won’t work with the Telstra modem in bridge mode, although I can disable DHCP and wifi on the Telstra unit.
However, the old one works perfectly, so I am really seeking a solution to “fixing” this “Smart Modem 2” without adding another box.

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I’m currently away from home for a few days but I’ve decided that when I get home, I’m going to try turning off wifi and DHCP on the Technicolor “Smart Modern 2” and will connect it to my “old” (but working without drop-outs) Telstra modem and see if I can get both to work properly…
I wish I could simply change a setting / configuration on the “new” Smart Modem 2 to make it stable…

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Another option would be to run both the Telstra-provided and a 3rd party router daisy-chained (rather than in bridge mode). The Telstra router would see your 3rd party router (and everything that is served off it) as a single device. That way you could have your IP phone still connected to the Telstra router.

I’ve run similar configurations in the past (albeit in NZ), although I much prefer to eliminate ISP routers wholesale. Does your IP Phone config have a “standard” PSTN (analogue) phone, or is it an IP device?

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Hi @Blythe

I’ve got the Telstra SM Gen2 (Technicolor model), though I’m running it in Bridge mode into my UniFi rack…I know this doesn’t really help you as it’s not what you want to do, but I probably know the Telstra modems well enough to perhaps help…I also used to have the original Frontier model before it….

To be honest, like the majority of ISP supplied routers, they are not renowned for their WiFi performance…although the Technicolors are actually praised for their modem performance – I was originally going to use a Draytek Vigor 167 as I have done for a lot of installs in the UK, as these are true PPoE Bridging modems, but when I read a few articles on Whirlpool (good source of info for router/ISP stuff in Aus) about the modem capabilities of the Technicolor, I decided to stick with it and just bridge it….

I did believe the SM2 was supposed to have at least better WiFi than the earlier models, so I’m surprised you are suffering worse performance, if indeed that is your issue……But really, you’d be a lot better offer exploring a separate 3rd party solution for WiFi…

I’m away myself for a little bit, but if I get chance I’ll write back some more…

You are correct in that if you bridge the SM, then you’ll lose the Telephony capability, if that’s important to you (I believe there is something of a possible workaround to this, though it’s not particularly straightforward and I haven’t tested it myself – it also depends on having a second router that allows you to make some adjustments to UDP timings, as otherwise the line effectively gets cut every few minutes (for outgoing calls I think)….Telstra really haven’t made it easy in the way they implement and control the VOIP landlines….I decided just to forgo the telephone, which we didn’t really use any way.

As @JonoB suggests, you could daisy chain a 2nd router off the SM, which would be a way of keeping your phone line operational, and would be fairly straightforward…only downside, as pointed out by @JMC , is that you would be Double NAT….It doesn’t really cause too much issue (I did it for years), but it depends on your use case – eg VPN is often problematic when Double NAT is in place…

I have a fixed WAN IP from Telstra and along with the modem in Bridge Mode, everything works pretty straight forward for me re VPN, remote access to my NAS(s) and LAN at large…

You mention you were going to try turning off DHCP and WiFI on the SM2 and connect it to your original Telstra modem – Don’t know if I’m missing something, but not sure what you are gaining there, why do you need the SM2 in place…?

Your NDX2 is on Ethernet you said – is this dropping out from the Naim App also, or just the QB’s …?

My hunch is this is WiFi related – I know you said you have separated the 2.4 and 5Ghz, but it may help to tweak a bit more if you are going to stick with the SM2…I believe the settings allow you to do a spectrum scan and you could then manually choose the best channels for each…I would also personally turn off Band Steering, which is always more problematic than it’s worth….

Anyway, I’ll try and check back over next few days, see how you’re going…

SC

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Thanks for your input.
The landline is surprisingly important to us so won’t let it go.

The “routing” part of our old Telstra router is rock solid, with no QB’s dropping off, nor the NDX2 disappearing from the app. It all just works.

I want to have the SM2 in place as it has an inbuilt SIM card as a fall-back if the NBN drops out, which it has at least twice since the end of October.

The SM2 always, after running fine for a few days, suddenly starts losing every Naim streamer & speaker (it loses the one Sonos speaker I have too) including the wired NDX2.
Rebooting everything gets them all back again temporarily but that’s not getting to the root cause. I have turned off band steering but it’s made no difference.

I don’t really understand what “double NAT” is but thought that any IP addresses were created by DHCP and by disabling that wouldn’t be doubling up on anything?
Is there some way to disable NAT on one device and if so, which one?

I do occasionally use my VPN to watch some of the UK TV in Australia so would prefer that to still work.

I won’t be home until late on Boxing Day and will have to experiment only when my partner isn’t online…

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OK…I hear what you’re saying re the backup SIM – my earlier Frontier router also had the SIM (think it was the first one they did it on), though I never found it particularly good – I think a lot depends on your 4G coverage in the area…TBH, I’ve found our NBN connection rock solid, rarely goes down if ever, except planned outages etc…

If you want the 4G backup, you are going to have to have the SM2 as your primary modem/router – I don’t believe the backup will work unless it has communication to the Telstra network and know when to kick in…The SM2 will be in communication with Telstra (it’s surprising how much traffic there is) and know when the NBN has gone down to your modem….So I think you are going to have to have the SM2 as your main modem, for a few reasons you’ve stated…(BTW, the 4G Backup facility is also lost when you bridge a Telstra SM)

So I guess it’s about getting to the cause of the dropouts with the SM2…It could potentially be Multicast or IGMP issue on the network, although I’m not particularly sure if there’s any relevant settings available on the SM, unlike more advanced routers…I would be surprised if the default settings are causing an issue in that area, though I guess could be something there….
You could also perhaps have a network loop….

When I get a chance in couple of days, I’ll log into my SM2 and have a look around the settings, see if anything jumps out (though I’m not sure if I’m able to see them all with my SM in bridge mode…)

BTW, you only want to be disabling DHCP on a 2nd router and only if all your devices on your LAN are not connected directly to it…you are going to need DHCP for any devices on your network to get their IP address (unless you get into fixed IP addressing, but no need for now…)

Disabling NAT on a ISP router is difficult if not impossible…

Don’t worry re VPN outwards from your home ie for territorial IP use etc, that will be fine…I was more meaning setting up your own VPN for connecting into your network remotely (which is often problematic with Double NAT)….

Ok, have to dash just now but will try and pick up later….

SC

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BTW, if you’re convinced that your older modem was more solid re its routing, then an answer may be to put the older one behind the SM2…this way your SM2 is the primary modem on the NBN, you’ll have the telephone and 4G etc…I would turn off the WiFi on the SM2 plus some other things (can walk you through it)…and then have your old modem linked off that, from where the rest of your network then extends, both on ethernet and it’s WiFi……

Not ideal, but may be a workaround in the circumstances….

It would be strange for the SM2 to have something within its vanilla routing setup that the older Telstra modem doesn’t, but guess it’s possible……Anyway, I’ll try and have a dig around….

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Thanks again.
I am 100% sure that the old Telstra router is reliable and doesn’t “lose” my Naim gear.
I am planning to try the “old” one behind the “new” one, with wifi and DHCP turned off on the “new” one, allowing all DHCP to be handled by the reliable “old” one.

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Thank you - I shall try running the old one behind the new one as described. The phone is an IP phone.

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You don’t really need to turn off DHCP on the ‘first’ modem (SM2)…even if it’s on, it will just supply an IP address to your ‘old’ router, it won’t go further than that…(in fact, unless you know how to sort out some fixed IP addresses for that subnet, you run into issues getting your old modem running behind the SM2….it’s probably just easier to leave it on, the old modem will get its IP from the SM2, and then it’s DHCP server will supply the rest of your LAN…just make sure nothing else is connected to the SM2 directly, except your SM2……and yes, disable the SM2 WiFi radios….)

If you run into issues, I can walk you through setting up a subnet on the SM2 and then a different subnet address range on your older Modem pro coding the LAN…I personally like to have them quite distinctive so I can easily recognise the two different subnets……

Anyway, we can pick up in a couple days….

SC

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