Skinny HG659 modem support
Have a Skinny HG659 modem?
Then you're in the right place for set up guides and general troubleshooting.
Check below for the option that best suits. If none are relevant please contact Skinny Care team.
The Skinny Unlimited modem is an all-in-one powerful modem/router for use with your new Skinny Unlimited Broadband connection.
It is a Huawei HG659. It’ll work for ADSL, VDSL or Fibre.
Specifications:
1x ADSL/VDSL port (labelled as “DSL”)
1x Gigabit Ethernet WAN port
4x Gigabit LAN ports
2x ATA ports
2x USB ports
802.11n and 802.11ac wireless (up to 1300Mbps)
Items included in box:
Skinny Unlimited modem (Huawei HG659)
1x Blue Ethernet (LAN or RJ45-RJ45) cable
1x Yellow Ethernet (LAN or RJ45-RJ45) cable
2x Grey DSL cables (AKA phone or RJ11-RJ11 cables)
1x Black RJ45-RJ11 cable (AKA VDSL cable)
1x xDSL splitter/filter (BT male to RJ11 female, used to connect to a BT jackpoint)
Power supply (PSU)
Welcome pack
Quick start guide from Huawei
Box sleeve
How to connect on ADSL or VDSL:
Required items:
Skinny Unlimited HG659 modem
Power cord (Power Supply Cable or PSU)
Yellow Ethernet cable (LAN or RJ45-RJ45)
Computer
Depending on Jackpoint type:
EITHER
1x Grey DSL cable (RJ11-RJ11)
1x xDSL filter (splitter)
OR
1x Black VDSL cable (RJ45-RJ11)
Physical connections:
- Make sure the power cable is plugged into you Skinny Unlimited modem
- It also needs to be connected to a working power point
- One of the LAN ports on your modem needs to be connected to a computer using the Yellow Ethernet cable
- Your modem needs to have its DSL port connected to a phone jackpoint through either:
In case of BT jackpoint (older phone connection, most common in NZ - you’ll know it’s this one because the port is rectangular):
- Grey DSL cable (RJ11-RJ11) connected to DSL port on the modem
- The other end of the Grey DSL cable connected to ADSL/DSL port on the filter (splitter)
- Filter plugged into jackpoint
- No other devices or cables connected to jackpoint(s) on wall(s) in any room around your house
OR
In case of a VDSL jackpoint (RJ45 for a full, recommended VDSL install from Chorus, standard in newer buildings - you’ll know it’s this one because the port is square):
- Black VDSL cable (RJ45-RJ11)
- Small (RJ11) end connected to the DSL port on your Skinny Unlimited modem
- Large (RJ45) end connected to the jackpoint on your wall
- No other devices or cables connected to jackpoint(s) on wall(s)
How to connect on UFB:
Required items:
- Your Skinny Unlimited HG659 modem
- The modem’s power cable (Power supply unit or PSU)
- 2x Blue and Yellow Ethernet (LAN or RJ45-RJ45) cables
- A computer with an Ethernet port
- An active ONT (Optical Network Terminal)
Physical connections:
- Make sure the power cable is plugged into you Skinny Unlimited modem
- It also needs to be connected to a working power point
- One of the LAN ports on your modem needs to be connected to a computer using the Yellow Ethernet cable
- The WAN port on your modem needs to be connected to the active port on ONT with the Blue Ethernet cable
- The ONT’s active port may be marked LANX or GEX. X ranges from 1-4. By default port 1 will be active. May differ on case by case basis
- ONT needs to be powered on
How to connect to your Skinny Unlimited modem’s WiFi
The Skinny Unlimited HG659 modem by default produces two wireless networks - one on 2.4Ghz, the other one 5Ghz. The default network names (or SSIDs) can be found on the sticker on the back of the unit. The default password (or WLAN Key) is also printed on the back. It’s the same for both networks.
Either the 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz network can be used. Depending on local interference levels one may give better performance than the other. In order to take advantage of the highest WiFi speeds, it’s better to connect your device to the 5Ghz network. Your device also needs to support 802.11ac.
Example network info:
2.4Ghz SSID: HUAWEI-WEHJ3Z
5Ghz SSD: HUAWEI-WEHJ3Z-5G
WLAN Key:12345678
The default configuration will allow any device to connect which has the correct network information.
Your Skinny Unlimited HG659 modem also has a WPS button on the right side. Some devices support WPS, allowing them to connect to a network by pressing the WPS button on the router, and activating WPS on the device at the same time.
You can connect any devices such as computers, tablets, game consoles, laptops or smartphones you like, up to a maximum of 32 devices.
Just remember that every device connected can slow your speed a little bit as the modem works harder to deliver broadband to each device.
If you connect too many devices, you may notice your broadband is a bit slower than usual. If this happens, try disconnecting some unused devices from your modem.
In some cases a modem may need to be reset back to factory settings. This is different to a reboot or restart (turning it off and then back on again) as it’ll lose any changes you’ve made to the settings. Some people like to change their wireless network name (SSID) and password. If you’ve done this, rest assured! After a factory reset, the SSID and password will change back to the defaults (shown on a sticker on the back of your modem). Using these or an ethernet cable, you’ll be able to change it back in a jiffy. Click here to see how.
If a member of our support team has asked you to factory reset your Skinny modem, follow the steps below:
Note: You will need a paperclip or pen to access the reset button.
1. Make sure you have the modem plugged in and turned on
2. Press and hold reset button (next to DSL port) with pen or paperclip while powered on
3. Wait until the WLAN light turns off, and LAN1-4 turn on
3. Let go of reset button
4. Wait for modem to restart
All done! Your modem has now been reset to its factory default settings, and is ready to connect to a Skinny Unlimited broadband connection.
No matter whether you’re on contract or not, if you decide Skinny Unlimited isn’t for you, the modem is yours to keep.
If you do leave before your contract is up, there will be an early termination fee.
When your internet is slow or not working at all, an isolation test can often fix your problem straight away! We might also ask you to do one so that we can see whether the issue you’re having is being caused by the WiFi or something a technician will have to fix.
To carry out this isolation test you will need:
- Your Skinny modem
- An ethernet cable (the Skinny modem comes with two of these)
- A computer with an ethernet port
Please follow the steps below to carry out the isolation test:
- Turn off the WiFi on your computer and then connect it to your Skinny modem (Lan1 port) via the ethernet cable
- Ensure that the power to the modem is turned on both at the wall and on the modem itself
- After it’s taken a little time to connect up, the lights on the Skinny modem should look as below:
Power - Solid green light
WAN - Solid green light (will flash while connecting)
Internet - Solid green light
LAN1 - Solid green light
If you’re able to browse the internet when you are connected via ethernet cable, then the issue is with the WiFi either on your device or on the modem. Before contacting our support team, if you could try on another computer and see if you have the same problem or check out the WiFi tips here.
Please let our care team know the steps you’ve tried - that’ll help speed up us working out what’s wrong!
Your Skinny Unlimited HG659 modem will have arrived with a super-secure, unique wireless network name (SSID) and password by default. Some people like to customise these to make them easier to remember. Here’s how you can do this:
- Connect a computer to the LAN port on your modem using an ethernet cable
- Open a browser (i.e., Chrome, Firefox…)
- Enter “192.168.1.1” into the address bar and press “Enter” on your keyboard
- Your browser will show the modem’s login page. Use these details to log in:
Default username: !!Huawei
Default password: @HuaweiHgw
Wireless settings can be found under the middle “Set Up WLAN” option.
Advanced settings can be found in the menu options at the top of the page. Please note, however, that any changes made apart from your Wi-Fi network name and password won’t be supported by our team. If something goes wrong, you can factory reset your modem and use the default settings again.
As you know we don't have our own retail stores, so we've convinced the team at Spark to let us use theirs! You can now take any old or unused modem into your local Spark retail store and drop it in the device recycling bin instore.