Letitride3c

For VZ, the typical Fios install is to use coaxial for internet & especially for TV signals - between the ONT and the wireless router inside the house, but customer can request - prior to the confirmed installation date - to use ethernet wiring for that run (as long as it is ready & available.) VZ will not drill or run the extra wiring, etc. and anything considered non-standard installation will run up extra hourly charges, so it's best to DIY or get a licensed electrician to do the preparation work ahead of time.

As such, the STB's RJ45 jack is disabled or inactive, until it is remotely turned on and switched over from coaxial by the techs in the CO housing the fiber equipment.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16753

Instead of running cat5, we are going to use cat6 as the electrican's charges will be identical anyway - and, it will be nice to duplicate our existing cable setup of using 2 routers for optimal G & N mode coverage all over the house, with metered bandwidth as we got something like 15 devices running at any given time, sometimes as much as 20+ during weekend family gatherings or when everyone flipped on all their gadgets. I can't wait to take the laser printer "offline" wirelessly & plug it into a "real" port ... LOL

themicah

That link talks about connecting the ONT to the VZ-provided router via ethernet (which is a configuration I have). I'm 90% sure you still need coax from the ONT to the STB, as everything I've read backs up the following links indicating that the RJ45 port on the STB is not active:

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16432
http://forums.verizon.com/t5/FiOS-TV...le/td-p/244593

Letitride3c

Corrected, thanks - my bad, you are probably 99.98% right on the coax runs to STB for the video or TV signal. I was thinking out loud more on the broadband signal & hard-wired/wireless OTA networking stuff.

In any event, my electrician is going to pull additional/extra coax AND new cat6 runs to each floor, and the master "service" panel will be down in the basement, next to the main switches/cutoffs for electric, and the old analog telephone (RJ-11) wirings - and, add a dedicated grounded power outlet closer for the ONT and BBU. We are keeping 3 DirecTV STB and they will remain "active" going into the HDTV sets when the Fios installation is completed. The cable installer was tempted to simply cutoff the satellite signals, cap it with their plugs & test the signal, and use it for their own boxes - this time, we will have extra ones for Fios.

Anyway, order is confirmed now, Triple Play with 25/25 speed, Extreme TV and DVR free for life + 1 SD STB, 2 extra HD STB and no extra/add-ons, all for $95/mo for 24 months price locked, taxes & fees about $11 - that's nearly 35 to 40% lowered than our current TWC monthly bill with 2 plain HD boxes only & slower speed, which will be going up in 7 mos. once the existing customer "promo" discount go away - and there's no way for them to beat Fios's prices/offering ... Installation in 3 weeks so still a long wait, the electrican's work will pay for itself over time so this is a win-win for us.

sard

Anyone have updated feelings on Fios?

Have TWC (internet/tv) in Queens and on the UES.
No major complaints about TWC, except for price.

Moving to Midtown East and thinking of going with Fios.

One concern with Fios is...you have to use their router.
How much freedom do we have with it?

Can we switch settings, etc, etc...?

Someone mentioned that they will try to install software on your computer?
Heck no! I don't like that...There's no need for them to touch my computer.

Usually with a normal router, you just log into the router using a browser and you can change settings.
But since you're using THEIR router...I don't know whats going to happen

Analise

I have no updated feelings because nearly 2 1/2 years since my last post on this thread, we STILL don't have access to FIOS. We also don't have access to RCN.

Blumie

I can't remember if I posted an update on this old thread (and am too lazy to search), but I've now tried FIOS, TWC and RCN for internet access, and RCN far-and-away is my favorite. I've been very happy with the price and quality of their service.

themicah

It's been a long time since I've used TWC, but I've used both RCN and FIOS in the last few years. We have internet-only service (no TV or phone). RCN is generally a better value, with great introductory rates and decent ongoing rates. But we've found it to occasionally be a little laggy (the throughput is there once a connection is established, but it sometimes seems to have a little lag before establishing an initial connection to a server you haven't visited in a while) and we've had a couple of minor outages. FIOS is snappier and we had only one outage that I can recall in two years of service. But while their intro rates are good (and their "come back to us" rates are phenomenal starting about a year after you quit), their rates after the first couple years of service get pretty steep for internet-only.

As for the FIOS router, it's actually a pretty good router. You can't install your own firmware or anything (so no tomato or ddwrt), but the basic settings I care about (port forwarding, ability to assign static DHCP addresses, etc.) are there. And it's fast and has good range. You can also use your own router in addition to the FIOS router, either behind it (via DMZ, double-NAT, or as a dumb access point instead of a router) or in theory you may be able to swap out the router altogether (although if you have FIOS TV service, you won't be able to use any of the onscreen programming guides or VOD without a FIOS router in the system). I may try swapping out the router with my own if/when I finally switch back (been meaning to do it for a few months now, since my RCN went up in price).

I don't know if they still do the stupid software thing. I last did a FIOS install about 3 years ago, and at that time they were requiring that you install their software on your computer to "activate" your FIOS account. But once activated, you could delete the software and configure everything via a web browser. mrsmicah was able to persuade our installer not to put the software on the computer, but to just leave the install CD and have me do it myself.

Letitride3c

Time flies, have Fios Triple Play 25/25 bundle in Queens for almost 2.5 years now & no interruption of services since our node was up, including Sandy & other storms, 99.98% reliable & consistent speed - hard wired speed is closer to 31/26 (extra fluff) using their latest Actiontec Rev. I dual antenna router. Router is capable of Quantum speed, i.e. 75/75 or 50/50 and all of the settings accessible by end user (that's me) behind browser UI. Complete freedom to tweak it, port forwarding, static ip, and do things that cable won't permit. (TWC prohibit & block end users from accessing the UI via browser or otherwise, can't even change the userid & password for WEP then - had to call & speak to Tier 2 support desk to do anything)

Formerly TWC user & yes, their prices were much higher & just cannot match speed & latency and drop in speed during congestion period - lately, cable ISP are offering teaser prices to try to re-sign Fios customers in the area, with DSL speed-like tiers.

If Fios is available on the East Side for you, go for it - one of our downtown Broadway small office just moved/expanded & we went from 15/5 to 50/25 business package it was "wow" - 7 ms latency at the hard-wired PC running benchmark test.

Some users are putting their own dual-band router behind the Fios one, which is fine with them (support is on your own if you run into configuration issues with remote apps/vpn, etc.) I'm running a MOCA connection using exisitng house coaxial to a 2nd. Actiontec router for full-house & yard coverage on 2 floors + basement (where the box/BBU are housed indoor - safe from weather & tampering/normally outside for typical home install)

Fios tech will normally install a diagnostic & fios software on one of the desktop (or laptop) to enhance troubleshooting & self-repair features incorporated (capable of resettting the TV's STB's on the box's remote keypad menu). The software/app can be uninstalled if you don't feel like using it - the Fios "Optimizer" can be downloaded as a standalone to tweak each pc for speed/settings, etc. but that PC of mine isn't always on so no 24/7/365 "monitoring" on that for anyone (well, except further upstream at the far end ...)

slawecki

i am in dc area. had Fios triple play for years. two router replacements. very stable. plenty fast. i have an HD added package, with not very many stations,all for only close to $200/month.

nrr

I "subscribed" with VZ Fios for 75/25 (download/upload). In recent weeks VZ has been matching download and upload speeds for FREE. I now have 75/75 (actually from speedtests, 83/92).

Garytheaudioguy

What about picture quality with HD? I’m curious to know what other people have found. Here in S. Calif. it seems that Fios has less signal to noise. I.E. I have noticed that fades to black are not as black as they were with TWC and the picture seems too “white” or washed out. I also don’t think the definition is as good, as the picture, especially with local news (which has the highest resolution) is not as sharp. I just switched providers so I am still evaluating.
My landline phone quality is very slightly better (I had Verizon “copper” and now it’s bundled with FIOS). The ring is louder (which wasn’t an issue but it did clear up a noise problem I had on an extension phone). Frequency response and level seems pretty close.
My Internet speed is significantly better (faster). I had Earthlink. I can access sites that I couldn’t before.