New estates around Orange, from Shiralee and Ploughmans Valley to the newer stages at Bletchington and Waratahs, are mostly fibre-to-the-premises or fibre-to-the-curb. That is the good news: the connection coming in is fast and reliable. The bad news is that where the builder put the NBN box, and what you plug into it, decides whether that speed reaches the rooms you use. A little planning before the modem arrives saves a lot of swearing later.
Before you move in
- Find the NBN box. In most new builds it is in the garage, a hallway cupboard or a utility room. Those are the worst places for Wi-Fi, so do not plan on the modem living there.
- Check for Ethernet points. Many builders now run data cabling to the living room and a study. If yours did, those points are gold: they let you put the Wi-Fi where you need it. If there is a patch panel in the garage, the cables terminate there.
- Ask for cabling if it is not too late. If the walls are still open, one cable from the NBN box to the centre of the house costs very little now and a lot later.
Picking a provider and plan
For a typical family on fibre, a 100/20 plan is plenty; 250 or 1000 only matters if several people work from home with big uploads. Most providers will post you a modem. It will be adequate, not good. What matters more than the brand is where it ends up.
Connection day
- Plug the provider’s modem into the NBN box and confirm the connection works with a laptop on a cable. If it does not, the fault is with the provider, not your house.
- If the NBN box is in the garage and there is a data point in the living room, connect the modem to the garage end of that cable and put your Wi-Fi unit (mesh base or access point) in the living room. The modem can sit in the garage with its own Wi-Fi switched off.
- Name the network something sensible and set a long password. Change the modem’s admin password too; the one on the sticker is known to every scammer.
- Walk the house with your phone and check the far rooms. If anything drops below two bars, plan a second mesh unit, placed halfway, not in the dead zone.
Sheds, pools and granny flats
Detached buildings are where consumer Wi-Fi gives up completely. The reliable options are a buried Ethernet cable to a weatherproof access point, or a point-to-point wireless bridge between two buildings. Both give full speed. A “booster” on the house wall facing the shed does not.
Things worth doing on day one
- Set up a separate guest network for visitors and smart devices.
- Put the security cameras and smart plugs on 2.4 GHz and leave 5 GHz for phones and laptops.
- Write down the admin login and keep it with the house paperwork.
We set up networks in new homes across Orange, including cabling, mesh placement and sheds, and we can usually do the whole house in a single visit. See networking for what is included, or read why Wi-Fi drops out in one room if you are already in and already annoyed.
Need a hand? Send us the floor plan and where the NBN box is, and we will tell you what you need before you buy anything. Send an enquiry or ring 0423 870 531 and we will tell you straight away whether it is a two-minute fix.