FAQs
What is an IP address and why should I use IPv6?
IP (Internet Protocol) addresses are unique numbers used by computers on a network to communicate. They are essential for all devices that connect to the internet.
Since the 1980s, IPv4 has been used as the standard protocol, but it was never designed to handle a network as large as the modern internet. As a result, internet providers have faced challenges in providing IPv4 addresses to their customers since 2010.
Currently, the way we get around the shortage of IPv4 addresses is by using Network Address Translation (NAT) to hide private IP addresses behind a public IP address and have a device translate between the two. This can cause problems with some games, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and some business applications, especially voice.
IPv6 was designed to solve this problem by allowing for effectively limitless unique numbers for IP addresses. This removes the need to use workarounds like NAT, as every device can have its own IPv6 address.
What does Leaptel provide?
Our network is built as a dual-stack environment (both IPv4 and IPv6 together). You can enable IPv6 via your Members Portal using an opt-in process. Enabling IPv6 allocates you:
- A Global Unicast address for your router, this is the IPv6 equivalent of an IPv4 address.
- A /48 delegation for your router to allocate addresses to your entire household. That’s enough for 65,536 LAN segments per household (most will only use 1), with each LAN segment capable of having 18 quintillion devices.
On which networks is IPv6 supported?
- nbn® via PPPoE or IPoE
- Opticomm via PPPoE or via IPoE (where Opticomm’s infrastructure supports it)
- Lynham Networks (Lightning) via PPPoE
- ASN via PPPoE or IPoE
How can I get IPv6 to work?
Once your router has connected via IPv4, it will then make a DHCPv6 or SLAAC request for IPv6. At that time, we will provide your router with:
- A Global Unicast IP address for the router’s network port to us
- A /48 prefix delegation for your router to make IPv6 work within your home network
- DHCPv6 – which assigns a /128 delegation to your WAN interface
- SLAAC – which assigns a /64 delegation to your WAN interface
- A /48 prefix delegation (PD) is provided, giving you a block of addresses to use across your internal network via the two delivery methods above
Your router will then use the /48 delegation to create a /128 (or /64 for SLAAC) subnet for your local network. This allows your household devices to receive IPv6 addresses and communicate over IPv6 as intended.
Are there any security issues with a public address being assigned to my devices?
No. The default configuration of most IPv6-capable-routers will have a firewall protecting your devices from the public internet.
If you’re using your own router, we recommend checking to ensure its IPv6 firewall is enabled.
Most laptops and phones typically have their own firewall to provide another level of protection, but simple smart home devices may not.
Many devices will randomise the address they use to ensure that the device keeps moving around, making it difficult to predict the address your device will have and providing you with another layer of security.
I have a static IPv4 address, can I get a static IPv6 allocation?
Yes, if your service is on a network that supports IPv6, Leaptel provides you with a static IPv6 delegation regardless of if your IPv4 address is static.
What DNS server should I use with IPv6?
You should use Leaptel DNS servers rather than a third-party DNS server because ours will provide a better optimised response.
Our DNS servers are state based, located in VIC, NSW, QLD, SA, and WA. When you use our dynamically assigned DNS servers, we set your primary DNS to be the server local to you and the secondary to be the server one state over. This ensures you get assigned the DNS servers that are closest to you.
You can find more information about our servers on our DNS page.
DHCPv6-PD, SLAAC? What do I need?
Leaptel offers a number of ways to configure IPv6, depending on what works best for you.
By default, SLAAC is disabled in your Service Details configuration in the Members Portal, so your router can rely solely on DHCPv6 for both its global IPv6 address on the WAN interface and for prefix delegation.
If you’d like your router to use SLAAC on the WAN interface instead, this can be enabled on the Service Details page in your Members Portal. You’ll also need to configure your router to use SLAAC on its WAN interface for this to take effect. Then DHCP will be used to obtain the prefix delegation to allocate addresses to its local network for the home to use.
Note: this toggle only affects the WAN interface. It has no effect on the LAN side of your router.
Leaptel also supports:
- Using SLAAC only, which is useful when you want to connect a computer directly to the internet service and bypass the router for testing.
- Only requesting a prefix delegation via DHCP and using link-local on the WAN port to do routing.
Do I need a tunnel to run IPv6?
Leaptel does not use tunnelling to deliver IPv6 services. IPv6 is provided natively on a dual-stack network alongside IPv4.
My router has an IPv6 address beginning with FE80. Am I connected?
Generally no. An address starting with FE80 means your router only has a link-local IPv6 address, which is limited to the local network segment.
On most routers, you would not expect to see an IPv6 gateway/subnet address starting with FE80, assuming IPv6 is working correctly. If you only see FE80, it usually means IPv6 is not fully configured or active, as you’d only have a link-local address, but not a routable IPv6 address.
Do I have to get a Global Unicast address on the WAN port of my router? Can I just get a prefix delegation?
Yes. Your router can request an IPv6 prefix using DHCPv6 Prefix Delegation while using only a link-local address on its WAN interface.
You may also configure the WAN interface with a Global Unicast Address using SLAAC or DHCPv6. Both configurations are supported.
I have an old router and am currently using an access point to extend my network. Can I use IPv6?
Yes, but you will need to make sure that both DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 are disabled on your access point, and that you connect a LAN port on the access point to a LAN port on your router.
If this is not done, the access point could try to request an IPv6 prefix from your router, which will not be answered. As a result, the access point can incorrectly start acting as a router for your devices, which can break IPv6 connectivity on your network.
How can I test if IPv6 is working?
If you are having problems and need to confirm if IPv6 is working, please go to https://isp.test-ipv6.com/ and run the test. If you’re still facing problems after that, please copy the test results URL, then get in touch with our support team and send them the link.
This test information will help us quickly identify what’s wrong with your IPv6 connection.
IPv6 guides
The below guides are there to assist you in setting up IPV6 on your router. We have tested the settings on these models in our office and confirmed that they work. Please be aware that most guides below are for routers that we haven’t supplied or no longer supply. If you have issues with IPv6 and need further help we recommend you contact your router’s manufacturer.
Asus RT-AX56U – IPoE – Ethernet
Asus RT-AX56U – PPPoE – Ethernet
Huawei HG659 – IPoE – Ethernet
Huawei HG659 – PPPoE – Ethernet
Mercusys MR30G – IPoE – Ethernet
Mercusys MR30G – PPPoE – Ethernet
Netcomm NF17ACV – IPoE – Ethernet
Netcomm NF18MESH – IPoE – Ethernet
Netcomm NF18MESH – PPPoE – Ethernet
Telstra Smart Modem Gen 2 – IPoE – Ethernet
TP-Link VR400 – IPoE – Ethernet
TP-Link VR400 – PPPoE – Ethernet