WIFI versus Hardwire
tenorio351
Enthusiast - Level 3

I have the FIOS TV  & Net set up and BB speed up to 35MB almost a year. 

When the tech installed the system he DID NOT hardwire the

connnection but instead set me up on the WIFI.

I have No connection problems but I was recently informed by a broadband

engineer that I am loosing BB speed by using WIFI.  He said that  WIFI can

not handle speeds higher than 20MB and I should hardwire my laptop to

run at a faster rate.

Since I had no knowledge of this  I never informed Verizon but in any case

if it is true will VZ install me a cable.

Thanks 

0 Likes
1 Solution

Correct answers
Re: WIFI versus Hardwire
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

Wifi -- convenience vs speed.

As the previous poster said, you will get the best performance always by hardwiring your system to the router.

But, this means a cable from your computer to the router and with a laptop, people often like the flexibility of moving about and working from wherever is convenient without having any wires to bog them down.   Wireless-G which is the typical common denominator in a FiOS installation with wireless clients can do up to 54Mb/s but the throughput is often less due to environmental conditions such as interference, distance from the router,etc. 

With a 35/35 connection, this could mean that you're not getting the top speed particularly if you are the only computer in the house (remember this 35/35 is shared amongst all computers).

As the previous poster said, if you really want to hardwire to the router, then go buy an ethernet cable and do that.   Verizon won't provide one and you certainly wouldn't want to pay the fee to have them come out and do something that can very easily be done yourself.  

View solution in original post

Re: WIFI versus Hardwire
jumpin68ny
Master - Level 2

What is BB referring to?

So your PC will connect to the router at 100 meg but the most speed you can get is indeed 35 meg.

A PC/laptop/wireless device will connect to the router at 54meg (assuming 802.11G) but with all the overhead will get no more than 20-25 meg.

So, if your PC is located close to the router then you can go to Best Buy, Fry's, Radio Shack, Home Depot  etc. and purchase a Category 5 or Category 6 Ethernet Cable.    You can connect one end of the cable into your pc/laptop and the other end into the LAN port on the back of the Verizon provided router.  Its quite simple.  If your laptop sits on a table you may not want to have cables strung all across the place.  

Re: WIFI versus Hardwire
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

Wifi -- convenience vs speed.

As the previous poster said, you will get the best performance always by hardwiring your system to the router.

But, this means a cable from your computer to the router and with a laptop, people often like the flexibility of moving about and working from wherever is convenient without having any wires to bog them down.   Wireless-G which is the typical common denominator in a FiOS installation with wireless clients can do up to 54Mb/s but the throughput is often less due to environmental conditions such as interference, distance from the router,etc. 

With a 35/35 connection, this could mean that you're not getting the top speed particularly if you are the only computer in the house (remember this 35/35 is shared amongst all computers).

As the previous poster said, if you really want to hardwire to the router, then go buy an ethernet cable and do that.   Verizon won't provide one and you certainly wouldn't want to pay the fee to have them come out and do something that can very easily be done yourself.  

Re: WIFI versus Hardwire
tenorio351
Enthusiast - Level 3

Thank you all for your responses

I am aware of what must be accomplished for a hardwire setup,

however, I was not aware of the speed differential and it was not

refereed to in the Verizon propaganda that I read.

My HP  laptop has the 802.11bgn capability but I did not know

that the VZ router can only go to 802.11g speed, a VZ contradiction

of what I was provided.

From what I understand now, I will never arrive at the 35/35 that

was advertised

Thanks 

0 Likes
Re: WIFI versus Hardwire
jumpin68ny
Master - Level 2

You could aways purchase your own 802.11N router or Access Point.

Re: WIFI versus Hardwire
Anti-Phish1
Master - Level 1

@tenorio35 wrote:

My HP  laptop has the 802.11bgn capability but I did not know

that the VZ router can only go to 802.11g speed, a VZ contradiction

of what I was provided.

 

From what I understand now, I will never arrive at the 35/35 that

was advertised


VZ does not guarantee any wireless speed, while they will commit to providing at least 90% of your provisioned speed when wired.

You didn't mention which revision of the router you have.  The Actiontec rev. F has draft 802.11n (no mimo, no 5Ghz).

VZ charges $55 per drop to install cat5.  Chances are that when you had FIOS installed, you had the laptop in another room and the tech set you up wireless rather than charge you to run cat5.

As another poster said, if you want to utilize your full 35/35 get a 802.11n Wireless Access Point (WAP).

Re: WIFI versus Hardwire
tenorio351
Enthusiast - Level 3

Thanks for the info about the " n "  router.  I do have one of them

and again I was not aware that I could do this.  The impression I

had from VZ was that I could only use their router for the FIOS

setup.

0 Likes
Re: WIFI versus Hardwire
spacedebris
Master - Level 2

@tenorio35 wrote:

Thanks for the info about the " n "  router.  I do have one of them

and again I was not aware that I could do this.  The impression I

had from VZ was that I could only use their router for the FIOS

setup.


Verizon only supports their router. And for Fios TV, their router is needed for some of the TV services to work properly.

But there are many ways to incorporate your own equipment into the system so that you can get the best of both worlds. For some of us, we basically do our own troubleshooting and dont need to have Verizon support anything other than their physical connection. So many of us use our own equipment, keeping the Verizon equipment around only to keep Verizon happy.

You could just connect your Wireless N WAP to the Verizon router. This is not difficult to do and then you can take advantage of the higher wireless N speeds. Or you can connect an Ethernet cable. This of course is the best option. Wired is always preferable. Partially because of speed and reliability, but also for security. No matter what kind of wireless security you use, you are still vulnerable (much more so than when wired). That is my pet peeve and one of the reasons I refuse to use wireless. But then that's me LOL.

If you go the wired route. You can do it yourself and save some money. Or pay Verizon to come out and do it. But Verizon does it in a "visible" fashion. They run it along the baseboards, not inside the walls. If you want it in the walls, then you need an electrician or other licensed person to do so.

What you do on your side of the network is completely up to you. Verizon doesn't care. They just wont support it so your on your own if you have problems on your side. They just support up to their router and no further. But then that's as it should be.

0 Likes
Re: WIFI versus Hardwire
Hubrisnxs
Legend
Follow the instructions above, using your wireless N router, and you should be in great shape.  
0 Likes