I am really frustrated with Verizon and the G1100 router.
On one hand you have to pay for it, on the other hand you don't really have an alternative without losing out.
I ihave been looking into replacing it or getting around for some time now.
Why?
1. WiFi is not great, sub par really. Worse then the old Mi424 and doesn't come close to even my old and out dated Netgear WNDR 3700. This goes for all modes, including AC.
2. MOcA? Why? I understand it makes it easier for the installer but doing something right this one time would keep many customers happy for a lot longer. Coax introduces latencies to an ethernet network. Up to 10x and greater than an ethernet connection would. It also makes virtually impossible for anybody to use their personally owned router as coax routers are a rare commodity and even more so coax router which will actually work on FIOS.
3. Which brings me here. There is no information or advertisement that would tell you that you can actually use ethernet. No installer will volunteer that information. You have to specifically ask for it.
4. Great so your ONT has ethernet and now you think all your problems are resolved, you are ready to hook up your old own router and enjoy. Not so fast, if you also signed up for FIOS TV and disconnect your FIOS router you will lose your on demand content and TV guide. I have been reading through the handful of useful threads about bridging the G1100 but the all point to the G1100 being the primary router while your router will be secondary. Well the point for me was to replace the G1100 altogeher and I have seen many other getting frustrated configuring all the services to pass though to make that second router work as intended. Many services will not play nice and some will not pass though period. It all leads to configuration elements that are not available to the customer and apparently not to customer service either.
5. I was not able to find out exactly what the G1100 router does for FIOS TV to work, nor if it could be replicated on any other router.
6. The G1100 has 2x USB ports, neither of them is enabled, nor is there a setting that would allow you to enable them. I paid full price for this router. Why do I not get full access to all of the featuers available to my router?
7. One of the big reasons to get this router upgrade from the MI424WR for me was all the hype I have heard before the release of the router about Z-Wave compatability and possibly even Zigbee but again, there is nothing in the configuration that would even suggest this. Another important feature Verizon disbaled for no good reason.
8. Why is there no support for SFP yet? i could run fiber straight to me switch, router, firewall.
9. Please introduce a true bridge mode for the G1100. I don't why the G1100 could not manage FIOS TV and FIOS Internet in bridge mode. FIOS TV should be isolated anyway either via VLAN or subnet seperation.
10. Open up the configuration for some of the firewall features of the G1100 and parental controls could use an overhaul as well.
My guess is that they use MOCA for people with TV to make it easier.
Otherwise, there would need to be a run from ONT to router via ethernet and then would still need to run coax from router to a splitter. For most (I would guess 98%+) that would be more complicated.
So they offer their standard solution.
Not sure what you mean about coax to ethernet delays.
Traffic has to be routed through router from wan to lan.
Shouldn't be any delays based on the wan cabling. As long as it is the prescribed speed to your router, doesn't matter how it gets there.
from what i understand and know there is one coax going from the ONT to the TV box and one coax going from the ONT to the router. The TV box then connects to the router via WiFi to download the Muedia guide and provide on demand TV. So i don't see what the issue would be to have ethernet running to the router. it really should make no difference to the TV box as it connects via WiFi.
Second, why would a company invest millions into a low latency fiber optic network just to introduce latencies at the consumer. coax inherently introduces latency which is why ethernet replaced it some 20 years ago. even on a short distance like from the ONT to the router the latency over coax can be up to 5ms while on ethernet it would be 1ms in a worst case scenario.
running coax from the ONT to the router could easly be done via ethernet. i was not offered even the option.
@razeldazel2 wrote:from what i understand and know there is one coax going from the ONT to the TV box and one coax going from the ONT to the router. The TV box then connects to the router via WiFi to download the Muedia guide and provide on demand TV. So i don't see what the issue would be to have ethernet running to the router. it really should make no difference to the TV box as it connects via WiFi.
You misunderstand. The set-top-boxes don't use WiFi. They use MoCA for their internet connection. WiFi would really suck for Video-on-Demand and multi-room DVR; it's just too unreliable.
There are additional services the Verizon routers provide for FiOS TV services. Its not just a case of opening up the right ports. I'm not aware of anyone who has successfully gotten FiOS TV services working without a Verizon router in the network. Here's a good FAQ that discusses various FiOS router configurations:
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077
MoCA was never replaced by Ethernet. MoCA is a relativly new technology developed specifically for Ethernet type networking over coax. It operates above 1GHz so it can co-exists with cable TV services. It can go backwards through spillters which is why set-top-boxes can talk to the router and each other. MoCA really is the best tool for the multimedia job that a modern home needs. It is quite different than DOCSIS (used by cable modems) and the old baseband Ethernet on coax, which may be why you're confused about it's performance.
As you note, Ethernet from the ONT is available. Verizon uses Ethernet for all installs of 150Mbps and higher, so they aren't hiding it from anyone. They just default to coax for slower speed installs because it's simpler for both the installer and most customers. If you want Ethernet from your ONT you can get it setup with a quick call or chat to Verizon. They will be happy to swtich it for you.
Enjoy.
Good points and I appreciate the clarification. Coax might be more convenient. I would love to see SFP. Consumer grade fiber is getting cheap enough for some to at least consider.
Is there an explanation as to why the Internet router part can not be seperated from the TV box part? Why is it not possible to have the internet service at least in bridge mode? so i can see my WAN ip on my own router?
@razeldazel2 wrote:running coax from the ONT to the router could easly be done via ethernet. i was not offered even the option.
You can request the option to change the ont provisioning to ethernet, takes about 1/2 hour on phone with fios tech support.
Normally you would do it if you wanted to add your own router/network device as the verizon gateway but you could just have it done then add an ethernet cable from the ont to the vz router, note that you will still need the coax connection to the router to talk to the STBs
@razeldazel2 wrote:Is there an explanation as to why the Internet router part can not be seperated from the TV box part? Why is it not possible to have the internet service at least in bridge mode? so i can see my WAN ip on my own router?
The Verizon routers are designed to be high performance, consumer grade device. They are meant to be easy to use for the most people. They do not expose as many advanced features as some of the other routers on the market. Some features are available but not documented.
The Actiontec routers can be bridged. I haven't tried with the G1100, as it works fine for me as a primary router. There have been some discussions of G1100 bridging over on dslreports.com, you might want to review those.
The G1100 may still get a firmware upgrade that adds features such as USB ports. When it first shipped, it didn't support Guest WiFi. That was added a few months later through a firmware upgrade. I wouldn't be surprised if we see another firmware upgrade or two over the course of the next couple of years; but that's just my guess.
If you want share a hard drive on your network, I suggest you take a look at the WD MyCloud line of NAS devices. I put one in my home last year and it's a great solution. I like having a dedicated NAS that isn't integrated in the router. It has interesting features such as remote access (thus the "MyCloud" name) and a Twonky Media server. It didn't cost much more than a bare drive.
As far as Z-Wave and other home control networks are concerned, the G1100 router as shipped doesn't have the hardware. There is a slot on the router for the addition of a home automation card, but it isn't available. I haven't seen anything from Verizon to suggest when or if such a card will be available.
Good Luck.
it might be designed to be high performance but one would actually be hard pressed to find something that performs worse than the G1100. especially when it comes to wireless.
i have read the discussion and almost all of them end up with the G1100 as primary and the other secondary with various forms of port and service forwarding. unfortunatly the G1100 does not provide for all services to be forwarded and port forwarding can get tricky. something as simple as DDNS can fail when it is not triggered by the primary router.
"may still get a firmware update"? what is the trouble with USB? it's like getting a porscha and than some tells you "oh the radio doesn't work but you can use your ipod if you want to listen to music"
by default there are also many services and features enable that i don't agree with. for example, why is remote administration enabled. it's well known that this a vulnerability. why is telnet forwarded? another place to gain access even if it is for verizon.
verizon would have had to request actiontec to take out the z-wave module which i doubt . it seems to me it was just disabled, for whatever reason.
@razeldazel2 wrote:verizon would have had to request actiontec to take out the z-wave module which i doubt . it seems to me it was just disabled, for whatever reason.
Actiontec doesn't make the G1100. Greenwave does.
Look at the back of the router. There is a slot labeled "HAN." That's where the hardware for home automation networks goes. Does your router have anything installed in that slot? If not, no Z-Wave or ZigBee. As far as I'm aware, no routers have shipped with any HAN hardware installed.
The G1100 performs well for most people. It's WiFi range is decent, but not great. If has good parental controls and integrates nicely with the "MyFiOS" app on smart phone. The guest network feature works well enough. Advanced uses will find it lacking when it comes to things like port forwards and other advanced networking features. But most users don't care about such things.
It seems like you're a more advanced user who would be better served by using a cheap Verizon router in bridge mode in front of whatever router you want. I would expect advanced users know how to research products on the web and not be surprised by the limitations of the G1100. There is good information about the G1100 on several forums including this one and over at dslreports.com.
I bought my G1100 for $99 on sale last fall. It works great for me and my family. Verizon has recently given them away for free with certain speed upgrades. Personally, I don't think they are worth the $199 full price, but if you can get one for free or on sale and don't need super advanced controls, you should be happy.
As far as firmware upgrades, do know you're talking to customers here? None of us have any information about when or if Verizon will upgrade the G1100. I' m guessing that they will because they've done it in the past and there are several features that could be improved; but that's just my guess. We will all have to wait and see.
Enjoy.
in short, advanced user or not, if you also get the FIOS TV service, you are locked into this router and you will have to deal with all of it's short comings. there is no good alternative to it and on top they make you pay for it one way or another.
i also have the old MI424WR here which does bridge mode but only supports 50/50 internet speed according to verizon when in reality it only supports 25/25.
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