Telstra Smart Modem 3 review: Less smart, more reliable

Nathan Lawrence - Freelance Contributor

Last updated 11 August 2025

Telstra Smart Modem 3

Our verdict

The Telstra Smart Modem 3 is a modem-router that'll happily travel with you when you move away from Telstra NBN. Sure, it'll lose 4G backup and a home phone line, but every other major feature is there. Whether you're with Big T or not, expect speedy and reliable coverage with decent features at a competitive price.

$288 RRP

What we love

Wide-reaching WiFi coverage
Great in-home speeds
Works with every NBN technology

What could be improved

No Ethernet or DSL cable
Full features require a Telstra plan
Unintuitive user interface

The essentials

Setup

Preconfigured if you're a Telstra customer, but effectively plug-and-play if you're with a no-credentials internet provider. If you do need credentials to get online, it's a straightforward process via web portal.

Ports

Every major port covered, including Ethernet, USB, 4G SIM slot, DSL and two ports for phone lines. You'll need to be a Telstra customer to use the 4G backup and phone lines, though.

Performance

The Telstra Smart Modem 3 offers generous 5GHz WiFi coverage with low latency and impressive speeds. You'll still get less-impressive-but-decent speeds on the longer-range 2.4GHz band, too.

Versatility

Telstra customers get the most with 4G backup and the option for home phone lines. But all users can get extra coverage via the (pricey) Telstra Smart Wi-Fi Booster.

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When the Telstra Smart Modem 3 launched in 2022, Telstra showcased its WiFi 6 performance against competing modem-routers. The illustrative point was straightforward: expect not only faster speeds from the Telstra Smart Modem 3 but also better in-home coverage next to its then ageing modem-router peers.

Fast-forward a few years and, on paper, Telstra's WiFi 6 modem-router is looking longer in the tooth, especially compared to newer WiFi 6E and WiFi 7 networking gear. In fairness, those upgraded WiFi standards are seemingly mostly relegated to routers and mesh systems, with modem-routers trailing behind. Effectively, it gives provider-championed modem-routers like the Telstra Smart Modem 3 a chance to shine in a networking category that's uniquely built to be compatible with every NBN technology.

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Network testing conditions

Home networking equipment is tested in a first-floor apartment with thick WiFi-interfering walls using an FTTC NBN 100/20 connection. The networking device is deliberately placed at one end of the apartment (instead of a central location) to test wireless range and penetration. Basic speed tests are performed at multiple locations inside and outside the apartment, first with a Synology RT6600ax router and then with the networking device being reviewed for comparative results. Everyday, internet tests are also performed with relevant results mentioned for streaming, web browsing, online gaming, video and voice calls, as well as downloading large files and transferring them across devices on the local network.

What we like about the Telstra Smart Modem 3

Unlike the bundled options from Optus (the Optus Ultra Wi-Fi Gen 2) and Vodafone (TP-Link VX420-G2h), Telstra lets you buy the Telstra Smart Modem 3 outright. That's handy for people who don't want a potential no-return fee hanging over their head, or oddballs like me who want to review Telstra's modem-router without signing up for a Telstra NBN plan.

If you do sign up for a Telstra NBN plan, there's a $0 upfront cost for the Telstra Smart Modem 3. The Telstra WiFi modem-router should arrive preconfigured, which means you can follow the straightforward connection steps to get online. As an Exetel NBN customer who bought the Telstra Smart Modem 3 outright, mine arrived without any preconfigured settings. Impressively, the Telstra Smart Modem 3 automatically detected my Exetel NBN connection after a modem power cycle, and I was online in under 10 minutes.

It's worth flagging that's because Exetel is an IPoE/DHCP NBN provider (at least, for newer customers like me): one that doesn't require any username or password credentials to get online. If you buy a Telstra Smart Modem 3 outright and have a PPPoE NBN provider (or shift to one from Telstra) – one that needs credentials to get online – you'll have to input your details via the Telstra Smart Modem 3's web portal.

Once you're connected, most homes should get away with zero tinkering, whether they're with Telstra or not. There's a magnet in the box with your default WiFi name and password, plus a QR code to streamline connecting smart devices with a camera. If you, like me, want to change the password to something else – say, your existing WiFi credentials so all of your old devices connect – just punch 'mymodem' into a browser (no need to remember a Telstra modem-router IP address), sign in, and then update the SSID and password fields in the 'Wireless' screen.

Performance was particularly impressive inside the home for my tests. My apartment is prone to WiFi interference in the back part, but the Telstra Smart Modem 3 provided usable to impressive speeds throughout those problem spots. In the front part of my apartment, where the Telstra Smart Modem 3 lives, latency stuck impressively below 10ms in all of my speed tests, with WiFi speeds mostly within 1Mbps of the baseline Ethernet speed tests. That's even more impressive by modem-router standards: just ask the disappointing results for the ZTE H1600, NetComm NF20MESH, and TP-Link VX230v modem-routers.

More importantly, as far as modem-routes go, the Telstra Smart Modem 3 proved to be a reliable networking companion, tackling all of my day-to-day internet tasks effortlessly. Those tasks ranged from local data transfers to downloading and uploading files, from web browsing, social media and streaming to latency-sensitive online gaming and voice and video calls. Given my mostly bad run with modem-router performance in the last year, comparatively, the Telstra Smart Modem 3 was a breath of fresh air.

Networking gear compatibility

Routers, modem-routers and mesh WiFi systems are compatible with most NBN connections, including FTTP, HFC, FTTC, Fixed Wireless and Sky Muster satellite. All of these NBN technologies use respective network termination devices (NTDs), which is a fancy term for “connection box” or “modem”. If you live in an FTTB or FTTN home, you’ll need a modem-router to get online. You can still connect a router or mesh WiFi system to a modem-router, but the modem-router first needs to be in bridge mode so it can then connect to a router or mesh WiFi system.

What we dislike about the Telstra Smart Modem 3

The Telstra Smart Modem 3 isn't exactly cheap. Compared to its closest peers, the $288 RRP is ahead of the Optus Ultra Wi-Fi Gen 2 ($252 RRP) and Vodafone's TP-Link VX420-G2v ($192 RRP), both of which also have 4G backup and support for a home phone line. Disappointingly, that comparatively steeper RRP seemingly isn't high enough for Telstra to bundle an Ethernet and/or DSL cable.

Those aren't exactly high-end inclusions, with the Ethernet cable essential for most homes to get online, and the DSL cable critical for FTTN and FTTB abodes to connect to the internet. Initially, I thought it was a shipping mistake, but the Telstra Smart Modem 3's box lists the contents, and neither cable is listed. Confusingly, the missing cables are at odds with the setup guides on the Telstra website, which mention the respective cables, depending on your connection technology. Maybe it's just outright purchasers like me who miss out.

While setup was mostly a painless affair, the Telstra Smart Modem 3 is of the era where printing critical information on a separate piece of paper is an afterthought. Instead, you'll want to snap a pic of the bottom of the Telstra Smart Modem 3 before plugging it in, because you'll need at least the administrator password printed on the underside. Unlike competitors, the password isn't something you can guess, either. Note that you'll need to access the web portal at least once if you're with or shifting to a PPPoE internet provider. Head to the 'Internet Access' screen, then scroll down to enter your username and password. I also had a trio of unexplained restarts shortly after getting online.

There's no companion app, though Telstra customers may have some features via the My Telstra app. Still, any monitoring or tinkering is done via web portal, without the convenience of a companion app. The Telstra Smart Modem 3's web portal isn't overly difficult to access, but it has an ugly user interface that resets the view whenever you click on a setting. Sometimes you click on a box to access content, other times the text. And some of the options aren't necessarily in logical sections, either. I can appreciate that the Telstra Smart Modem 3 is a device that you're not really supposed to interact with, especially as a Telstra customer, but a better user interface would've been appreciated.

While I didn't have any issues changing the WiFi SSID and password, I did have issues resetting the Telstra Smart Modem 3's default IP address and DHCP server range. Newer networking gear simplifies that process for users like me who have existing devices that are set to specific IP addresses, like network-attached storage, wake-on-LAN computers or hosted servers. While the new IP settings took for the modem-router and wireless devices, it didn't work for my wired devices, which is a problem because those are the devices that apply to the list of examples above for my home network.

Worse, was the realisation that I'd lost internet access on my Ethernet devices – all connected via a network switch, with a single port used on the Telstra Smart Modem Gen 3 – after tinkering with the IP settings. After troubleshooting, I discovered the switch-connected Ethernet port had died. Moving the cable to any of the other three available Ethernet ports meant my wired network was back online, but it's still concerning that one of the LAN ports is effectively dead.

The sloppy web portal also highlights that the Telstra Smart Modem 3 isn't particularly smart. Most of the settings are basic, while some of the more advanced features are manual and therefore only practically useful for advanced network users. There are basic site-blocking parental controls, but it’s not automated, and you have to manually find and enter the sites you want blocked and a MAC address on a per-device basis.

There is Quality of Service (QoS), but it's both elementary and manual. QoS is at best when it's automated, so that priority online tasks like video calls, gaming and streaming quality are preserved if a device is trying to download or upload at full (network-throttling) speed. With the Telstra Smart Modem 3, you need to toggle it on for every device, and those devices need to be online at the time for the option to even appear. Marking a device as QoS also seemingly wipes out the internet for a minute while the setting is applied.

While speeds and reliability were impressive during my tests, the 2.4GHz performance was measurably slower. This is common among all networking devices, but it’s particularly noticeable for less-performant models. Given 2.4GHz is the WiFi solution to far-away wireless coverage and tackling WiFi dead spots, occasional latency spikes, and up to 76% slower wireless speeds aren't ideal results for the Telstra Smart Modem 3.

Telstra Smart Modem 3 lights meaning

The Telstra Smart Modem 3 uses different coloured lights to give you an at-a-glance indication of what's going on. Note that you can lower the otherwise maxed-out brightness in the web portal by clicking on the 'Modem' text and scrolling down to the 'LED Level' slider. Here's what the different operating lights mean on the Telstra Smart Modem 3:

White: powering up
Orange: connecting to the internet
Blue: connected to 4G backup
Green: connected to NBN and operating normally
Red: no internet

There's also an indicator light on the back for 4G connections, all related to signal strength. Green means great signal, orange means good, and red means weak signal.

Telstra Smart Modem 3 – Final Thoughts

The Telstra Smart Modem 3 isn't a modem-router you should necessarily rush out and buy today. But next to other popular modem-router peers, it's the best I've tested. You'll have to pay for that pleasure – either as a Telstra Taxed NBN customer or with a comparatively higher outright RRP – but after initial setup, you shouldn't have to tinker with anything. As long as you're comfortable factory resetting, if you're an existing Telstra customer or otherwise have access to a Telstra Smart Modem 3, it can reliably travel with you to your next NBN provider or address, no matter the technology that connects your home.

How we review modems and routers

We consider several factors when reviewing networking equipment, including:

Type: Router, modem-router or mesh WiFi system. Supported NBN technologies and plan speeds.
Design: Size, weight and standing options. Internal or external antennae. Available ports, WiFi version, and single, dual or triband wireless.
Setup: Plug-and-play configurations vs laborious setup. Companion apps and guided setups are a plus.
Performance: Ethernet and WiFi speed tests for downloads, uploads and latency. Real-time latency test for online gaming, VoIP and/or video calls. Plus, everyday use like downloading, uploading, browsing and streaming.
Versatility: Band steering (single SSID), quality of service and other features. Ease of configuration, plus mesh expansion.

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Nathan Lawrence

Freelance Contributor

Nathan Lawrence is a freelance writer with over 11 years of experience. He has contributed to publications including WhistleOut Australia, Review.org/au, IGN, STACK, Fandom, Red Bull, and AusGamers. Nathan specialises in researching, writing, and editing content around technology, telecommunications, and gaming.

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