New Customer Seeking Community Assistance!
ttatex01
Newbie

Hi All!

New to FiOS, really excited, but experiencing some issues.  I'm more of a DIY guy, so I figured I'll pop into the forum before getting a tech on the phone, or out to the house.

It appears I have the Actiontec MI424WR...

Current Issue:

1) Sometimes the internet drops out, but all the lights are still green, and my wireless connection is fine.

Current Questions:

1) Is it worth it to reset the router to it's factory settings, and are there any settings I can optimize for performance?

2) My home was already wired for FiOS.  I am paying for the 25/25 plan - is it possible my home's infrastructure can't support that?  I have an ubuntu machine, and apple laptops, so I can't use the Microsoft Windows speed test and tools that Verizon provides.  Any other tools I can use to test my connection?

Things I'm considering:

1) I intend to connect my xBox to the wireless network for on-line gaming, but not if I continue to experience these drop-in / drop-out w/ the internet connection. Never had this issue with Comcast.

2) I intend to follow the instructions to put the browser in bridge mode and set up a network using an Apple Airport Extreme.  Is it worth waiting until I have a reliable internet connection to do this, as it seems the problem is not with the wireless router functionality itself, but with the modem functionality of the router?

Any assistance / pro-tips for a n0ob / additional details if I do need to talk to a tech / etc. would be much appreciated...

Thanks!!

Tom

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Re: New Customer Seeking Community Assistance!
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

Dropouts are not normal.  My 35/35 connection is rock solid.  Perhaps you could better describe what you mean by dropouts and how you are verifying that the internet connection has gone away and that it's not just a server side issue.

Are you using wireless or wired when experiencing the dropouts?  If wireless, try going wired and see if the problem goes away.  If it does, then you might simply have a wireless frequency conflict and need to change the channel the wireless is running on.  If it persists when on wired, then I would have Vz take a look at it.

I use an Apple Timecapsule -- same as the Extreme but with the added built-in disk for TimeMachine backups -- I would NOT remove the ActionTec -- most all of the issues that people claim about the ActionTec have either all long since been fixed or aren't the ActionTec at all.  I use my Timecapsule in "bridge" mode behind the ActionTec and disable wireless on the ActionTec -- this gives me a solid wireless-N dual-band setup via the Timecapsule while no issues with double-nat, etc. since it's running in bridge mode.  This is also a supported configuration so if issue persist with the internet connection, Vz still sees the ActionTec in the recommended configuration and will support it as such.   If you also have FiOS TV, I would strongly recommend you not mess with the ActionTec setup -- I do networking for a living, really, there's nothing wrong with beyond the fact that the interface for configuration is horrible and not the most user friendly for a novice.

Resetting to factory settings will gain little, but even if you do, there is no customization which need be done to the router itself.

With respect to the Xbox ... since you plan to introduce the Extreme to the picture ... simply turning off wireless on the ActionTec and doing the wireless thru the extreme will result in the same setup as you have now .. the fact that you are Vz FiOS based has nothing to do with it.

Re: New Customer Seeking Community Assistance!
failedwordsmith
Enthusiast - Level 2

This is ttatex01 - I don't know why, but it is saying my original username is inactive.

Thanks very much for the tips - I plan to try a wired connection before jumping to any conclusions.

What happens is that sites suddenly stop loading on all browsers (I'm on a Mac laptop,) and any running web services shut down (like G Chat, or Gmail Autosaving,) yet I have full wireless signal still present, and the lights on the Actiontec do not change.  Not sure if that helps!

Thanks again.

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Re: New Customer Seeking Community Assistance!
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

When the next drop-out happens, ping two IP addresses at once. Ping the IP iof 192.168.1.1 which should be your router, and ping 4.2.2.2 which is an Internet DNS server which is AnyCasted. This will prove if the connection drop-out issue is with the router or from the router towards the backbone. Once you reply back we'll try one more ping test if the problem is further than the router.

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Re: New Customer Seeking Community Assistance!
CreativeTribe
Newbie

If your problem isn't resolved don't be afraid to be aggressive with Verizon.  Individual people will respond politely and efficiently, but the net sum of their efforts can waste a lot of time with no results.  The system is broken.  We've had similar problem recur for 9 months and no permanent solution (after 3 routers and multiple tech visits).  If pressed they will offer you a pittance for your downtime, but if you've logged a string of tech calls you can press harder for a better credit.  They probably told you that you can revert to DSL if the FIOS doesn't work out (they promised us that), but they renege on this and will not switch you back.  So you are stuck with FIOS.  We advise you start checking out the cable options in your area to be ready to move when you're tired of hassling with Verizon. Good luck.

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Re: New Customer Seeking Community Assistance!
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

Always nice to hear from those single post individuals who say "switch to cable" and all the obvious expertise that goes with those comments  ... so, you can trust that advice, or you can listen to those of us who have been here for quite a while and are quite pleased with the service.   Your choice .... Smiley Happy   everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Anyhow ... the advice of pinging the two addresses is good.  This will help localize where the problem exists.  Time and again I've dealt with people who insist it's a Vz problem only to figure out that they've simply got a local wireless conjestion or other issue.  Don't get me wrong ... there are also times when a bad ONT or PON card comes into play upstream as well, but those are usually easy to prove once you can eliminate the local issues.

Hardwired is always the way to start when troubleshooting ... wireless is subject to lots of issues which have nothing to do with the particular provider and many of which are local environmental issues.   Keep those of us on the forums apprised of your testing and we can advise on where to look next.

What wireless security are you using?  The default WEP?  If so, one of the first things you'll want to do is switch to WPA2 on the router.   My MacBook Pro had all kinds of issues with losing track of the wireless signal when using WEP initially.  Also ... make sure you delete any other networks you may have defined on the Mac to make sure you're not picking up another network accidentally.

Re: New Customer Seeking Community Assistance!
failedwordsmith
Enthusiast - Level 2

My internet has been flawless - so I preemptively jumped the gun with needing troubleshooting, and I haven't been able to ping the IPs in the event of a signal drop.

Going to move forward with bridging the Airport router, and assuming there are a more than a few posts I can search for on this forum to get some good details.

Thanks very much for the support!