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6 Months Free Fibre Broadband Skinny on a 12 Months Contract @ Skinny Broadband

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Skinny just doubled down on their offer from 3 months free to 6 months free broadband on a 12 months contract

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            • @Nil Einne: Most rsp routers let you just put them in bridge or modem mode, so you are pretty much just using the thing as a modem and it turns off all routing functions for your routers to pick up. This tends to be the easiest way to do it as it keeps the ISP happy with their router plugged in and avoids issues like double nat.

              • @Everettpsycho: Sounds like a good plan. But what settings do you need to change on your router if you set up the isp modem in bridge or modem mode?

                • @xsolider: Most routers it is fairly easy to find the setting.

                  If doing this, and you aren't sure, then backup the settings first, make the change, and if you aren't sure how to get it back to the original config, just do a restore.

                  Alan.

              • @Everettpsycho: Yes - this can work too, but I also use the ISP router for guest WiFi so as to keep guests away from my LAN.

                Admittedly, this is becoming less common now with adult guests (almost never in the last few year), but much more common with the teenagers' guests.

                Alan.

                • +1

                  @Alan6984: I actually do the opposite for my network, I have my mesh in bridge mode so it is basically a set of glorified access points. I keep the 2.4ghz on my stuff router on purely for smart plugs and lights to make sure they are only using the 2.4ghz network and they need minimal data anyway, I keep the 5ghz off on there to avoid congestion with the mesh for higher usage devices like phones and computers. I know it's not perfect but it works well enough for me, and if I want guest WiFi the one on the stuff router would be fine for their needs down on the 2.4ghz bands.

                  Be interested to see if my tenda mw6 actually work as a router on skinny without their one as they don't do vlan to replace the stuff router completely.

                  • @Everettpsycho: @Everettpsycho I'll be interested to know too for my Tenda MW6 setup. Have you switched over to Skinny?

                    • @kenshiro: Signed up but not switching over until 1/11 to five stuff some notice of the change. I'll have a couple of weeks to try the stuff Asus router before I have to pick if I want to pay to keep it. Only annoyance is k use all the ethernet ports on my Asus one so even the new skinny one lacks the ports I need, guess I'm buying another switch.

            • @Nil Einne: Double NAT is not difficult at all.

              If you prefer, you can put your own router in the ISPs router's DMZ to make it even easier.

              I haven't had any issue with either the Slingshot Router (few years up to Oct 2020 and then again last two weeks), nor the Stuff-Fibre router (Oct 2020 to Oct 2021).

              However, you might have had a Friday afternoon job of course :-(

              Alan.

  • last time I was with them they were using carrier grade network address translation (CGNAT) which can be problematic for some things.

    Anyone know if this is still the case?

    • +1

      No they don't use CGNAT (as confirmed by a CSR). They have public dynamic addresses which I assume Spark have a lot of which is why they don't use CGNAT for now

      https://www.broadbandunlimited.nz/support-centre/about-skinn…

    • +1

      Last time I checked, they were not using CGNAT for fibre, only for mobile data (like everyone else I would guess), but Skinny could not provide a fixed IP.

      If you need that, you could perhaps use a DDNS service to give yourself a fixed hostname that follows any changes to your public IP. Not as convenient / certain as a fixed IP, but works for many cases.

      Alan.

  • +2

    This is a pretty bloody sweet deal, its $79 for 200/20 here in Cantab on Bigpipe so why not swap and get half price broadband. I'm upping to the 900/400 plan, my PS5 will thank me for it :)

    Great first post Gundam, should net most votes for first prize easily :)

  • Getting very tempted to switch. Have resisted previous deals because of my fixed IP with Bigpipe. Might be time to get serious about investing in a solution so I don't need a fixed IP.

  • Very tempted to move but I've started to use IPv6 for some things, like home lab and they don't have that. Asked then directly and they don't have any plans to add IPv6 either :(

  • +2

    Spoke with live chat:

    You can change your speed at any time and it takes effect from the next billing period, so by that logic you can sign up for Max for 6 months, then drop to 100/20 in the final month free.

    They also don't know if they will offer 300/100 speeds at this stage.

    • Did you manage to get a screenshot/transcript of this? From their T & C's: "If ’12 month fixed term’ option is chosen, a plan transfer fee applies if you plan transfer from this plan before the end of the term to any other Skinny broadband plan. This will be charged directly to your credit card. The fee is $199 if you leave within the first 6 months after activating your plan or $99 if you leave within the second 6 months after activating your plan."

      • +2

        Chatted to 2 different Skinny Reps. Can confirm that contract is more like with Skinny and not with the speed. You can change speed at anytime. Downloaded the transcript just in case. You should do the same if u wanna switch

        • " as long as you're not charging the broadband technology (Modem), no there shouldn't be a suspected charge." Should be good!

  • As per the Q&A on their webpage,

    "Yep, you’ll need a Skinny modem. This is included if you choose a 12-month term option, or if you choose a No Pesky Term you will need to pay for it upfront. You are not able to bring your own 3rd-party modem to connect with Skinny Unlimited"

    This is really annoying. I don't want to use their shitty modem.

    So basically would have to route ONT -> Skinny's Shitty Modem -> My mesh network.

    • See my post above - it might help:

      https://www.cheapies.nz/node/30066#comment-95776

      • Sure, but that's another 4W-10W of power being consumed 24/7 for modem that does nothing. The price of that adds up to quite a lot in terms of electricity cost

        • I agree and as said above also risks numerous issues, Better to only connect the ISP's router when needed

        • +1

          I'm currently with Contact (need to shop around as I am now out of contract so maybe this is too high), and currently pay $0.1703 + GST per kWh (including Energy Authority Levy) and going with your upper estimate of 10W, then it would cost about;

          10W x 24 hours =
          240Wh per day x 31 (assume long month) =
          7,440 Wh per month =
          7.44 kWh per month @ $0.1703 x 115% =
          $1.46 per month

          Meh.

          :-)

          Alan.

    • +1

      It just means that they don't officially support 3rd-party modems. However, I used my own router with Skinny before and it worked just fine. Just use the Bigpipe modem settings. https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=214…

      • +1

        Yeah, my Xiaomi AX3000 modem works. It helps that there's no VLAN tagging.

    • Vodafone modems won't work with no VLAN ISPs like Skinny though as there is no option in the modem settings to not have VLAN.

  • +1

    Sadly I don't qualify for this deal as I'm already with Skinny as of May this year (this is deal is way better than the 2 months I got for free). But will happily recommend Skinny to anyone.

    I'm on their Unlimited Fibre Ultra plan and enjoy the speed for a household of 5 who can easily churn through 500gb+ each month. Their customer service is great and the onboarding and connection process was seamless with not even a day of down time. Just remember to give respective notice to your existing ISP about you moving so you're not stung another months worth of charges.

    Only down sides I can think of (scraping the barrel here) is you can't pay an invoice in advance or by automatic payment. Instead, the monthly cost is deducted from your credit/debit card on the connection anniversary date - and will only start after the free months. They also don't show you your usage/measure how much data you use.

  • Bummer, just joined skinny a month ago on the 3 month free plan. Tried to shift to this deal with live chat, but to no avail.

    • See the first post, stillness been told yes and someone else got told no and tried again to get them to swap them over.

  • Great price and post

  • +1

    Skinny is useless, my advise is don't join them. Couple of months ago posted the 3 months free deal myself. My switch was fine, but my brother's one have spent 4 days back and forth trying sort out a faulty modem. Chat staff and call center staff are robots and they go by a script. So much for friends and family recommendations. More like friends and family to sort out there stuff up, so they can keep there profits. Skinny A**e

  • Damn it just signed up 3 months ago to slingshot 🤣🤣

    • Probably still worth it to cancel even after $250 charge.

      • Sadly not:

        The offer is only available to customers who do not currently purchase broadband from Skinny and have not had broadband with Skinny within the last 90 days.

        • Sorry am I missing something here?

          Slingshot is not same as Skinny.

          • +1

            @ace310: Ah my bad. I signed up to the 3 months free on Skinny a month or so ago and thought it was that one. Forget I said anything!

        • Did you misread bench's comment? If you read it correctly, I don't see the relevance of that section to someone with Slingshot. Even if Bench's previous ISP was Skinny, 3 months means they're now either past or nearly pass the 90 days

          • +1

            @Nil Einne: To put it plainly, yes… yes I did.

          • @Nil Einne: I wouldn't be too concerned if I'm with Skinny. Its competitors will probably do similar deals of their own. Give it a week and see if they match Skinny's offer.

            • @Avantime: Maybe. Like I have not seen any deal from Orcon in a while for now. Atleast after they started offering higher speed plans.

              But yes, could be some others might start doing it.

              I believe this deal is more of a PR due to recent 2degree & Orcon merger talks.

  • To add to this - does anyone recommend a cheap Power company? Im with slingshot and they are on the expensive side, especially since I will now lose my Power + Wi-Fi 10% bundle deal.

    • It all depends on the area you are in. Recently, lots' of people joined Contact including me.

    • I am in Auckland, have been with PowerShop for 9 years.

    • You really need to shop around for your particular address - pricing varies by location.

      I am out of contract with Contact and need to get onto this myself too :-)

      Things to consider:

      Price per kWh (including any discounts for time of day or 'X hours free' etc (makes it much more complicated)
      Daily fixed charges
      Prompt payment discounts (not what they used to be though)

      Sometimes your existing provider can supply you with data showing your usage split into 'buckets' (maybe even 30 mins). If you can get that, it makes it much easier to compare the time of day based discounts, although you might also need to try to guess how you would change your usage (if at all) if you had that option.

      If you find a particularly good deal, post it!

      Alan.

      • Yea all providers can send you data in CSV format for every 30 mins (if your smart meter allows), if you ask the customer service team.

  • Does Skinny have a referral system for Fibre Broadband? What's the notice period for Stuff Fibre?

    • +3

      No referral system for skinny. Stuff Fibre notice period is your next billing date. They are the best as most other ones require 30 days notice. Do your switch order 2 days before the billing date.

      • +1

        The person I spoke to at Stuff Fibre told me the notice period is usually 30 days but I can just give them 14 days notice.
        I read the T&C's after reading your comment and you were right. I guess I won't have to wait now. Thanks

        • Cancellation by you.
          You can cancel any or all of our Services at any time up to 4 days prior to the end of your current monthly billing period for the relevant Service. To cancel, login to MyStuff and turn off the relevant Service. You can also contact our Support Team. If you don’t cancel a Service at least 4 days before the end of your current monthly billing period for that Service, we reserve the right to Charge your Payment Method for the following month and the Service will continue during that month. When you cancel you will usually continue to have access to our Services through to the end of that current billing period. One exception to this is where you have purchased the Boost Service and cancel your Fibre Service with us, in which case your Boost Service will terminate on the same date and we’ll provide you with a pro rata refund of the monthly Boost Charge paid beyond the Fibre Service termination date. You may choose to retain your Stuff Fibre Voice Service after cancelling your Fibre Service.

          If you wish to cancel your Fibre Service subscription and transfer your fibre service to a new service provider, your Fibre Service will automatically be cancelled on the day the transfer is completed. Any Fibre Service Charges collected for the current billing period are non-refundable.

          Please note: if you selected our base Gigabit Router (“Gigabit Router”) and your Fibre Service ends for any reason, then you get to keep our Gigabit Router and you authorise us to charge your Payment Method $90 for it. You still have the option to return the Gigabit Router and we will credit the $90 charge back once we receive it (along with all associated power cables and other equipment originally provided to you with the Gigabit Router) in good working condition. See our Support Area and Fibre Service Terms or contact our Support Team for further details on how the returns process works.

      • +1

        Thanks for the quick reply. I normally assume 30 days notice period. 2degrees is also before next billing date.

  • Does anyone know why there is a fairly small limit stated on maximum connected devices?

    https://www.broadbandunlimited.nz/support-centre/the-skinny-…

    How many devices can I connect to my Skinny HG659 modem?
    You can connect any devices such as computers, tablets, game consoles, laptops or smartphones you like, up to a maximum of 32 devices.

    • +1

      They don’t use the Huawei one anymore (They give you a Skinny Smart Modem - Arcadyan VRV9517) but I assume they keep that link there for people who still have their old one.

    • +1

      Your Smart Modem supports up to 64 devices over 5Ghz Wi-Fi, 56 devices over 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi, and 3 devices over Ethernet. If you need to connect more than 3 Ethernet devices, you can use an Ethernet Switch connected to your modem, and then connect your devices to the switch.

      • Thanks, I have over 40 devices at home over wired ethernet/ wireless so I hope there isnt any issues

        • Good effort!

  • I've only been with a few Broadband companies but do all the companies ask for so much personal details?
    I'm just signing up and I've had to provide driver's licence details, how long I've lived at current address along with my employer and how long I've worked there.

    • I mean I understand why they would so people wouldn’t game the system

    • +1

      I was thinking the same, it also asked who my previous employer was and how long I was there for. Most of the companies don't ask these questions if you have been at the current job for over 3 years.

    • I've never been asked for anything like that by an ISP (never used Skinny though).

      Maybe Skinny has more issues with dodgy customers than other ISPs?

    • +1

      I'd imagine being on the cheaper side of the broadband suppliers they probably get a lot of customers that cannot keep up with bill payments.
      Some of this stuff is just for basic credit checks and to see if you are reliable… Like someone that doesn't hold their job or live in the same place for a fixed time period are obviously going to be someone they may lose money to.

  • +1

    Thanks! I applied for the switch now. Has been with Vodafone for over three years now. Was paying 72$ a month - out of contract for a while. So, blindly gone for this. Hopefully Skinny's service will be at the same if not better!

    Thanks again.

  • Thanks. Unlimited Fibre Ultra.

  • Hmm, so tempted to make the switch especially since I'm on legacy pricing for gigabit speeds ($85 compared with other isp's $95+) which is no longer offered by Stuff….

  • Can we use our own modem for this? Skinny recommends using their own modem. I have a Asus RT-AX58U. Cheers.

    • Yep just look at one of the other comments here where someone was asking the same question

  • anyone know how long this deal is active for?

    • I asked them earlier but they say they cannot say when it ends as it’s a limited time offer only.

    • I read somewhere till November 4?

  • "Your Credit Assessment is still in progress. Please wait about 15 seconds and then click NEXT again to see if your Credit Assessment has completed."

    Tried to sign up but the above error kept coming up, did anyone encounter this issue please? Thank you!

    • I'm having the same problem, I keep getting "Oops, something went wrong. Please try again later." and then "Your Credit Assessment is still in progress. Please wait about 15 seconds and then click NEXT again to see if your Credit Assessment has completed." in a loop

      • Manage to fix it?

        • Now I'm getting "The requested URL was rejected. Please consult with your administrator."

          • @memske: Appears to be going through okay now, must have had some troubles needing a restart of their modem /s

            • +1

              @memske: Yep working for me this morning as well, maybe they were having trouble with whatever service they're using to do the drivers licence lookup.

            • @memske: Can confirm, I have signed up too.

      • I kept getting this error when I tried to sign up using my driver's licence. Switching to my passport seemed to do the trick 🙂

        • +1

          Interesting you need to do an ID check - I never had to do that with any ISP previously (never used Skinny though).

          • @Alan6984: Yeah it's a bit unusual. It must be a recent thing - I've had fibre with Skinny previously and it wasn't a requirement then.

            • @deladani: I'm wondering if Skinny has a higher incidence / rate of dodgy customers than other ISPs, so they have added additional costs / checks in up-front to mitigate the back-end hassles and losses.

              Not sure I would be providing personal ID documents to an ISP unless they all went that way, in which case realistically no choice.

              Alan.

  • Wow for once i feel bad leaving by current provider. We’re with NOW Broadband paying $75 for gigabit speed. Their customer service has been great so far. But the savings is just so compelling.

    • Let them know, and see if they'll match it.

      If they do, then great, and if they won't, then they are not being loyal to you, so no reason for you to feel so bad.

      Alan.

  • Asked stuff fiber to match the deal, but was REJECTED

    • No need to feel bad about moving then (even if you would).

      • for me I'd feel bad as I wont ever get their legacy pricing of $85 ever again

  • I assume connection date 1 day before new billing cycle with current ISP is the way to go?

    • +1

      You might be obliged to give a certain notice period (often 30 days).

      • Luckily I am not "One business day notice period required."

    • I always ask the provider I'm leaving whether the changeover date required to avoid double billing is the last or first day of billing period.

  • Can you use your own mesh Wi-Fi system with skinny? I see you have to use skinny’s own modem/router with their contract.

  • If you’re not already on fibre you may be able to stack this too

    https://www.chorus.co.nz/prezzy-card

  • I just booked with skinny today. Can confirm that downgrading the speed from Max to 100 will NOT incur any fees/charges as per 2 reps. Saved the transcript as well. Offer too good to ignore. Saved up cash goes to BF2042 XD

  • Well step 1 has been a pain, they haven't put me down as a transfer and seem to think my current connection is inactive despite them emailing me saying there's an active connection and me responding with the details of that connection to ensure it was a transfer of service.

    Guess I'll have to tell stuff myself and have some overlap to make sure all goes well and we aren't left with no internet to work from. Stuff did the same when I switched to them as well, how hard is it to just tick the customer transfer box when submitting the details to the lfc.

    • Signed up for this deal with Skinny yesterday morning and by yesterday afternoon I got an email from them to the same effect, for some reason they think it's a new connection and they can't figure out why there's an existing Fibre connection at my place!

      Perhaps there's an issue with their sign up form, I filled it out correctly stating that I have an existing Fibre connection. Perhaps the issue is that for my existing provider I had to select the 'other' option as my current provide (Contact) weren't listed in their drop down list.

      I dunno, I replied immediately to their email giving them all the information, haven't heard back from them yet. Here I was thinking that their signup process was great as their form captured all the necessary information, it's not much use if they don't receive it properly on their end though! Hopefully I'll be okay as I selected the 18th of November as my connection/transfer date (as this was 30 days from yesterday to allow for the 30 day notice period with Contact).

      Good luck to you!

      • Stuff have come back saying if I can get my new connection up on Monday I'll save $90 otherwise I should wait until 25/11 to match my next billing cycle. I assumed they would charge pro rata for a shirt month but apparently it's all or nothing.

        Not sure my skinny router will make it here by Monday with how NZ post is being at the moment. I've got 4 other routers to try so I'm sure I could get one to work somehow until the smart router arrives, not sure I want to risk it though just incase with both of us working from home at the moment.

        • Yea that's a bit stink of Stuff to charge for the whole month like that, maybe safer to just change your transfer date to the 25/11 if Skinny will let you change it.

          In regards to the Skinny router, It's been years and many different Fibre ISP's since I've used one of those crappy ISP provided routers, I've been using my Netgear Nighthawk R8000 since 2015 with no issues across all the ISP's I've been with in that time. I'd say you'd likely get one of those 4 routers to work but I guess it's always a little bit of a risk especially with the reliance on your connection currently.

        • In the past I've had the best outcomes when speaking to Enable directly to resolve problems.

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