Fios Internet Losing Connection and Extremely Slow Download Speed
ru22004
Enthusiast - Level 1

Hi,

I have the 20/5 mps fios package. I am running Windows 7 with Kaspersky Anti-virus 2011 for both of my computers. I have an ethernet connection to a desktop computer which I use for gaming and my laptop computer only connects wirelessly.  Several months ago, I developed a problem on my desktop where my download speed  would decrease to 0.35 mbs instead of the 18 - 20 mbs as normal. My upload speed stays around 5 mps. My wireless connection stays fast. I tried the ethernet connection on my laptop and it is slow there as well. I went to the website and used the fios optimizer, which solved my speed problem. Then, however, I would randomly lose the connection entirely and have to reset the router, then use the optimizer, then shutdown and restart my computer to get it to work. I called Verizon and they told me the router was going out. So, they sent me a new one.

Everything worked great for about three weeks, then the same problem started back up. Now I am in a death spiral because I lost connection, then reset the router to get the connection again. But then, I have extremely slow internet and download speed, so I run the optimizer and shutdown and restart for the changes to take effect When I restart, I have no connection again. So right now I have to live with an extremely slow download speed. I called Verizon again and they said it was my computer's fault and there was nothing they could do. They suggested I contact my computer vendor, but it takes hours and hours to get someone on the phone, so I thought I would try here first.

Is there anything I can do to verify that it is indeed my computer's fault or some software I am running? I have disabled everything I could that was running in the background and that did not help. I don't think I have a virus due to running Kaspersky and I've had no other problems except the fios. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!

And oh, I replaced all the cables when I got the new router, so I don't think there is a problem with the wiring. I can also make the lost connection reappear by plugging both ends of the ethernet cable into the router until two lights blink, then plugging one cable back into the desktop. I have also tried multiple ports on the router with no difference.

Thanks,

John

Re: Fios Internet Losing Connection and Extremely Slow Download Speed
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader
It might be worth checking out the ONT to see if that may be the culprit as well, as much as it sounds like it may be the router acting up. When your Internet drops, what do the lights on the router show? Is anything Amber, such as the Coax/Ethernet light for the Internet? Do the lights inside of the ONT give you any indication of what is going on?

It's also worthwhile to double check the Verizon Router's system logs. Log into http://192.168.1.1/ with admin as the Username and the Password being the serial number of your Verizon Router (found on a sticker underneath it) and then visit System Monitoring, and choose System Logging. Look for entries pertaining to the NAT Table.
Re: Fios Internet Losing Connection and Extremely Slow Download Speed
ru22004
Enthusiast - Level 1

After doing some more research on the forums, I found a thread where windows 7 64 bit was incorrectly recognizing someone's ethernet port. I check mine under properties and searched for an update to it. There was a window's 64 bit update online, so I downloaded and installed it. Viola. Problem fixed (so far).

Anyway, previously under network connection and properties, my LAN connection listed Realtek RTL8168D/8111D as the NIC. After downloading and installing the new driver, which was last updated in January 2011, it now reads Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller. As soon as I installed it I checked my download speed and it was back up to 19.2 mbs where it belongs.

In the interest of completeness, my ONT seems normal, when losing connection I got no light at all on the back of the router for the number into which my ethernet was plugged into, but all other lights were green and normal. I did not check the router's system logs.

Thanks for the help!

Re: Fios Internet Losing Connection and Extremely Slow Download Speed
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader
Not a problem. Glad to hear a Driver update for the NIC did the trick 🙂
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