Verizon FiOS Gigabit is an Eminence Front !

[The_Hunt_Kid]

Hi Folks…

Is it only me, or are other high-end FiOS customers completely dissatisfied with their “Gigabit” (or anything faster than about 100MB) service from Verizon FiOS ?

I have been an early adopter for years and typically try to implement technology often before it’s fully cooked and maybe that’s what’s going on in my situation, but I am wildly frustrated by Verizon’s bald-faced lies about the performance of my home network.

I am paying for, and have been told by Verizon, that I am getting Gigabit (one thousand, million bits of data per second) delivered to my home and I can prove about five different ways that they ear only delivering about 25% of that speed, BUT THEY CONTINUE TO CHARGE ME FULL RATE REGARDLESS.  Now in my opinion, actually in fact, this is no different than going to the deli counter and ordering one pound of cheese and discovering when you get home, that THEY ONLY GAVE YOU ¼ POUND BUT CHARGED YOU FOR THE POUND.  AND, they do it month after month after month after month…

Here is the simple truth, for those of you considering higher speeds from Verizon FiOS:

• DO NOT buy anything over about 400MB.  That seems to be the realistic top speed that they can deliver, ever, on a really good day, in clear weather, at midnight, on a Sunday.  On average, they deliver about 250MB up and 125MB down usually.
• DO NOT fall for the ads telling you that you need to buy the new G3100 router and new G3200 extender… your existing G1100 Quantum Gateway router and ActionTec WCB6200Q extender can and will work JUST FINE for any available speeds that Verizon currently offers (even though they can’t deliver anything near gigabit to your home).  This alone is over $700 of unnecessary equipment that they gladly tell you to buy if you want gigabit service.
• DO NOT allow Verizon to tell you that their test alone is the only way to check speeds between your router and the Verizon head end… this is like your new car dealer telling you that the car THEY just sold you gets 100 miles to the gallon, even though every other measure and the cost of the fuel that you are putting into it shows that you are only getting 25 miles to the gallon.
• DO NOT fall for Verizon’s nonsense about, “we are delivering gigabit to your router (WHICH THEY ARE NOT), but your device and/or your WiFi equipment is only capable of ‘X-MB’ per second (whatever sub-standard speed they are delivering at that moment).”  Again, it’s like, “…the car you just bought has an engine that will go 100 MPH, but the crummy tires you own will only let you go 25 MPH.” 

Gigabit from Verizon is a pure fallacy.  Go ahead and try ANY off the accepted speed tests available to the consumer, other than Verizon’s “in-house” test (gee, no chance they are cooking the numbers on that test, eh?)…

• Google: (Just Google “speed test”)
• Ookla: www.speedtest.net
• ATT: http://speedtest.att.com/speedtest/

NONE of them show speeds anywhere near 1 gigabit per second.  If Verizon is only able to deliver a trickle of the promised speed, please put me on a metered connection and I will gladly pay for whatever I consume, but don’t charge me full rate for a speed which has NEVER, EVER been delivered.  For the record, I have spent hours (in double digits) trying to work around the double-talk and lies that you get on the phone when you call Verizon during their current 8 by 5 coverage if you get through and if they decide to answer.

Is there anyone else out there experiencing this kind of terrible customer service and pure fantasy from Verizon representatives ?  I can’t fault the individuals on the 800 number, they are only delivering the information and lies that management has pushed onto them, but management should be ashamed and held responsible for this nonsense. 

Lastly, I am a stone-cold idiot. I went ahead and bought the new G3100 router and G3200 extender.  $700 unnecessary down the drain.  THAT said, who decided that it would be a great idea to deliver this new, state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment IN WHITE !!!?!??!?!  What piece of audio/video, computing, or telco gear in the last 20 years or more comes in WHITE !?!?!?  Hello… 1982 !!  It sticks out like a sore thumb if you decide NOT to hide it in a closet and further degrade your 200MB “GIGABIT” service.  It looks like hell !!!  I almost immediately masked mine off and rattle canned it flat black (I’m sure they’ll tell me it degrades the signal!).  Now it looks beautiful and blends right in with everything else !!  Below is what it should have looked like RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX, DIRECTLY FROM THE MANUFACTURER !!

If you are having similar issues, I’d love to hear from you in a reply.  This, assuming that Verizon doesn’t censor my post, or block it entirely.  If they do, I am going to go to the media or somewhere until I get someone’s attention.

Good luck to you all !!

Dave.

[The_Hunt_Kid]

For some reason, it doesn't like my photo.  Let me know if you want a picture and I'll figure out a way to post it somewhere.

[gs0b · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the forums.  You're talking to other users here.

Pictures posted here are reviewed by the moderators for inappropriate content.  Your photo will appear after the moderators do their job.

I'm not sure why you're surprised the G3100 is white.  There are pictures of it on the ordering page and all over the internet.  There are lots of reviews about it all over the place, including some on this very forum.  Personally, if I was spending $300 on a router, I'd check out a review or two.

All of FiOS's residential services are contractually listed as "up to" the maximum speed.  They do not guarantee full speed all the time.  In fact, I'm not aware of any residential internet service that does guarantee speed.

If you choose to peruse legal action, you'll quickly find out that the contract you signed limits you to binding arbitration.

Oh, I've been a Gigabit subscriber for years.  Depending on the site, I can get download speeds approaching 940Mbps (the technical max) over Ethernet.  It varies from site to site, which is totally outside of Verizon's control.

[The_Hunt_Kid]

Thanks for your note.

I was not surprised when I opened the package, but I am quite surprised it went to market that way.  I read many reviews and knew full well what I was getting into before the purchase.  I also knew that my existing gear would likely work just fine.  But hope always springs eternal that they'll actually hit the mark one of these times and get it right.  As you may have noted, I like to stay as current as possible and tend to be an early adopter.  I’ve had Verizon Fios since about an hour after they pulled the fiber up Kings Highway in front of my house in Haddonfield about 15 years ago or so.  I guess 9 out of 10 folks are happy if they simply get connected and move on.  I'd simply like to get what I am paying for occasionally.

Hey, I just felt grumpy on a Sunday morning and figured I'd offer a post to see if it's just me, as I said.  The fact is they aren't going to fix it, we'll all just sit here and eat whatever they serve.  Everyone's mileage will undoubtedly vary.

Well, at least my photo went through.  😊

C'est la vie...

[LeTronique]

I'm right there with you. 

I just tried a speedtest with my wired laptop. New ethernet cable. My fiance is on a zoom call on wi-fi. 

My superior Gig internet speed? 90 Mbps. 

What a joke! 

[Edg1]

If you are look for the perfect ISP you aren't going to find it. That being said, Verizon FiOS internet is definitely one of the best out there. Don't take this the wrong way, but you and many others are just misinformed. And that is not your fault. Unfortunately that is the way internet speeds are marketed. I

see speed complaints on this forum all the time and I would say 90% is people's equipment and not the service. FiOS internet provides accurate speeds and very low latency. 

When it comes to gigabit connection you only going to get it while hardwired to the router. If you are connected wireless via 2.4 GHz you are typically going to be in the 75-150 mbps range. When connected to 5 GHz you'll probably be in the 300-700 mbps range. Wireless speeds are affected by many factors including distance, interference, and construction materials. 

I had gigabit connection in the past. And now 100/100 because I think that gigabit is  overkill. You only need 25 mbps to stream 4k, so 100/100 is plenty for most households. I used both the Verizon router and my own had always got advertised speeds. As far as speed test go, not every server is capable of handling a gig. If you go to Ookla, there are some servers that can't go over 150. I can tell you that Verizon speed test is legit. I get the same results on several servers on Ookla's site. But again, that is hardwired not wireless. Now I'm not saying that you didn't have an issue with your service, but the advertised speeds are in fact true. 

The G3100 router is considerably better as far as wifi is concerned. It's wifi 6 and will out perform the G1100. You also don't have to use the Verizon router. I use Ubiquti equipment. As far as the G3100 being white, many new router's are also white. Netgear Orbi, Google Wifi, and Linksys Velop, and eero are all white. I do like your paint job on your G3100. Maybe Verizon will come out will a black version as well.