FIOS Install November 2018
JoeVA1
Enthusiast - Level 1

This is a short description of my recent 100/100Mbps internet-only FIOS install (Nov. 2018), using my own router, in the Northern Virginia area, for those who might have questions about a typical install.

- Tech arrived at my house at about 8:30am for a scheduled 8am-9am arrival time. He had called me at about 8am to let me know that he was on his way. 

- After introducing himself, he asked me where I would like the ONT to be installed.  This surprised me a little, as I had read on these forums that it's fairly common for the tech to declare where the ONT will be located. I was ready for a battle to get the ONT installed inside, but that was not necessary.

- The tech mounted a model I-211M-L ONT and a small power supply on a 2'x4' piece of plywood I had attached on the wall of my unfinished laundry/utility room.

- He installed a weather-tight grey junction box on the back of the house. In this box he connected a 50ft pre-terminated thin fiber optic extension cable to the larger outdoor fiber that had been run to the back of my house a few days earlier. 

- The thin fiber optic cable was run into the house thru the same hole that the lineset for my heat pump passes thru.

- Inside the house, he coiled up the excess 20 feet or so of the fiber optic extension cable and connected the end to the ONT.

- He was not able to activate my FIOS service due to "no light" coming thru the fiber. This was due to some issue about 1/4 mile from my house where there is a fiber hub of some sort. The problem was resolved by the next day, as I noticed that the red "FAIL" light had turned off, and the green "NTWK" light came on.

- I was able to activate the FIOS service over the phone with FIOS tech support. They asked me to provide the serial number of the ONT, which I did.  A short time later the green MGMT light came on.  I connected my notebook computer to the ONT with an ethernet cable. It picked up an IP address, DNS and gateway addresses. However, I could not browse to a website. 

- Tech support had me go to activate.verizon.com. I put in my Verizon user ID and password and logged in. I put in my FIOS order number and clicked "activate".  Boom -- and Bob's your uncle -- I was on the internet.

- I disconnected the ethernet cable from my computer and connected it to the WAN port of my router. Restarted the router, and then I was able to connect via wifi.  Did a speed test -- showed 100Mbps down and 120Mbps up. 

Some forum myths busted:

- Tech installed the ONTwhere I wanted it.

- He easily extended the outside cable to the ONT inside using an extension cable.

- An official Verizon router was not required to activate the ONT & FIOS service. I did it with my computer connected directly to the ONT.

- I didn't need to release the DHCP lease before connecting my router. It picked up a new address as soon as it was restarted.

- The ethernet port on the ONT was automatically activated. I didn't need to put in a special request for that.

1 Solution

Correct answers
Re: FIOS Install November 2018
Edg1
Community Leader
Community Leader

Glad to hear everything went well. I do believe that the majority of horror posts read on here are exceptions to the rule. My FiOS service has work flawlessly for over 12 years now. 

Some of the things you read on here are no longer true, but definitely have been in the past. 

Some forum myths busted:

- Tech installed the ONTwhere I wanted it.

When FiOS first came out ONTs were outdoor models typically installed outside by electric meter and were required to be installed within 20 feet of common ground. 

- He easily extended the outside cable to the ONT inside using an extension cable.

The current preferred method is to install ONTs inside living space. 

- An official Verizon router was not required to activate the ONT & FIOS service. I did it with my computer connected directly to the ONT.

Before Verizon offered TV service FiOS installs were with a 10/100 Dlink wired router on ethernet. Original ONT didn’t support MoCa WAN. Since the inception of FiOS any router would work with ethernet connected to the ONT. The only time you need a FiOS router is for TV service but there is ways around that as well using a MoCA adapter. 

- I didn't need to release the DHCP lease before connecting my router. It picked up a new address as soon as it was restarted.

This is actually something fairly new. In years past the main router in central office would only provide one IP address to a FiOS circuit. Now there is no need to do a DHCP release since CO router will hand out multiple address. 

- The ethernet port on the ONT was automatically activated. I didn't need to put in a special request for that.

Most areas are now required to install ethernet for the WAN connection no matter what the speeds are. Early on when MoCA came out Verizon stopped installing ethernet for the WAN. But if you ONT is still on coax then yes you do need to call up to have it switched to ethernet. 


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Re: FIOS Install November 2018
Edg1
Community Leader
Community Leader

Glad to hear everything went well. I do believe that the majority of horror posts read on here are exceptions to the rule. My FiOS service has work flawlessly for over 12 years now. 

Some of the things you read on here are no longer true, but definitely have been in the past. 

Some forum myths busted:

- Tech installed the ONTwhere I wanted it.

When FiOS first came out ONTs were outdoor models typically installed outside by electric meter and were required to be installed within 20 feet of common ground. 

- He easily extended the outside cable to the ONT inside using an extension cable.

The current preferred method is to install ONTs inside living space. 

- An official Verizon router was not required to activate the ONT & FIOS service. I did it with my computer connected directly to the ONT.

Before Verizon offered TV service FiOS installs were with a 10/100 Dlink wired router on ethernet. Original ONT didn’t support MoCa WAN. Since the inception of FiOS any router would work with ethernet connected to the ONT. The only time you need a FiOS router is for TV service but there is ways around that as well using a MoCA adapter. 

- I didn't need to release the DHCP lease before connecting my router. It picked up a new address as soon as it was restarted.

This is actually something fairly new. In years past the main router in central office would only provide one IP address to a FiOS circuit. Now there is no need to do a DHCP release since CO router will hand out multiple address. 

- The ethernet port on the ONT was automatically activated. I didn't need to put in a special request for that.

Most areas are now required to install ethernet for the WAN connection no matter what the speeds are. Early on when MoCA came out Verizon stopped installing ethernet for the WAN. But if you ONT is still on coax then yes you do need to call up to have it switched to ethernet.