IPv6 vs IPv4 on NBN — what's different and why it matters.
Every device connecting to the internet needs an address. IPv4 addresses are a 32-bit number — there are around 4.3 billion of them, and they ran out globally in 2011. IPv6 is the replacement, with a 128-bit address space that is effectively unlimited. Australia is one of the slowest developed countries to adopt it.
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See our plansWhy this happens
- IPv4 address exhaustion means most NBN customers share a single public IP with hundreds of others via CGNAT
- Shared IPv4 breaks hosting, some gaming scenarios, and certain VPN configurations
- IPv6 gives every device a globally unique address — no sharing, no NAT
- Australia's IPv6 deployment rate is well below the global average, leaving home customers behind
How to fix it — step by step
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1. Understand what you're likely getting today
Most Australian ISPs give home customers a CGNAT IPv4 address — a private address shared with many neighbours. Normal browsing, streaming, and video calls work fine through CGNAT. What doesn't: hosting services at home, gaming NAT with certain titles, and inbound connections of any kind.
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2. Understand what IPv6 changes
With native IPv6, each device on your home network gets a globally routable address. Traffic goes directly to its destination — no shared NAT, no CGNAT, no shared IP. Over 80% of major internet destinations already support IPv6 natively.
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3. Check your current IPv6 status
Visit test-ipv6.com. A score of 10/10 means working native IPv6. Most Australian NBN customers score 0 or close to it — a direct consequence of slow IPv6 rollout by Australian ISPs.
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4. Enable IPv6 on your router if your ISP provides it
If your ISP does provision IPv6, set your router's WAN IPv6 mode to DHCPv6-PD (prefix delegation) and enable SLAAC/RA on your LAN. Your devices will self-configure IPv6 addresses automatically — no manual address entry needed.
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5. What about the IPv4-only services that remain?
A small and shrinking fraction of internet services still only support IPv4. The answer isn't to stay on IPv4 — it's technologies like 464XLAT, which let an IPv6-primary network reach IPv4-only destinations without any configuration change on the user's end. This is where the industry is heading.
Still having trouble?
If none of these steps resolve the problem, it may be an issue with your current provider. HIT Pacific offers transparent pricing, faster fault response, and local support.
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