I currently have Xfinity cable internet, but due to the pandemic and all of the video conferencing that I will most likely be doing, I’m going to need faster internet for my house. Verizon Fios is available in my area, so I’ve been eyeing it for a while. Thanks to optical fiber, the symmetrical gigabit download/upload speeds are very enticing. I only get about 40mbps upload with Xfinity, and the much faster Verizon Fios upload speeds caught my attention. I could really use those faster upload speeds when uploading videos to online video sharing platforms and the like.
Even if I wasn’t using ethernet, it would still be worth it for the upload speeds alone. I’ve heard that download and upload speeds are still great over WiFi, so no worries there.
I have a few questions.
How does Verizon Fios work? How do they install it to your home? I’m not to familiar with the installation process of optical fiber.
I currently use the rental router that came with my Xfinity cable internet plan. Is the included Verizon Fios WiFi 6 rental router any good? It seems fine, but I want the opinions of others. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082BLM2KH
The latest Wi-Fi generation, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 ax) with speeds averaging 60% faster on 2.4 GHz and 38% faster on 5 GHz than previous Verizon Wi-Fi routers* Tri-Band 4x4 antennas, increasing Wi-Fi coverage by an average of 63%* Self-Organizing Network technology for automatic band steering and single Wi-Fi Network name Compatible with Fios Home Wi-Fi Extender (Model #E3200), and many features, including SON feature will not work as designed when paired with a different extender. Fios Home Router (G3100) uses the latest Wi-Fi generation, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) to provide an efficient internet experience throughout your home. Tri-band 4x4 antenna supports one (1) 2.4 GHz band and two (2) 5 GHz bands to provide wide and reliable Wi-Fi. This simply means Fios Home Router provides an optimal experience for Wi-Fi intensive activities, such as 4K UHD streaming, gaming or large-sized file transfers. Smart home and mobile devices will be connected to the strongest signal available nearby without a manual setting with Self-Organizing Network technology. Plus, control your Wi-Fi at your fingertip with My Fios App. This product was first available on November 20, 2019.
Wi-Fi 6 technology
2.4G 11ax 4x4/ 5G 11ax 4x4
4 Gigabit LAN + 1 Gigabit WAN, MoCA2.5 + LAN MoCA1.1 WAN
Automatic Band switching between 2.4GH and 5.8GH Band
150% more WiFi range than G1100
Are there any major downsides to Verizon Fios (unavailability is not a problem in my area)?
I probably have more questions, but I can’t think of them right now.
I already pay a crazy amount of money for Xfinity cable internet, so $79.99 a month is a steal.
Here’s what I picked.
Gigabit connection (what kind of madman would go for one of the lower tiers).
I already have Hulu, so for the internet offer, I went with the Stadia Premiere Edition ($129 value).
Fios Router Rental (instead of purchasing the router outright for $299.99 or using my own router).
None of the Verizon protection stuff or the wire maintenance stuff (I don’t think that I’d need it).
For live TV, I was debating on getting YouTube TV for another $64.99 a month to further distance myself from Xfinity and cable in general, but my wife refuses to get rid of Comcast television.
No “Fios Home Phone” because I simply don’t need it (I already have similar phones around my house).
With all of that said and done, it’d still be $79.99 a month without YouTube TV included. That sounds like a solid deal for gigabit fiber optic internet, so should I jump on it and get that Verizon Fios plan?
FYI this week I got a Verizon offer for a combo of wireless unlimited phone service plus FiOS Home (940/880) for $89.99/month (a $240/yr savings over the two separately), plus a year of Hulu (ad-supported), one year of Disney+, and six months of Apple Music. (Small print: $15/month for router, plus $99 setup - the latter of which I know you can call to have waived).
If you have copper service for plain-old-telephone service, then Verizon brings fiber to a special panel on the exterior or interior of your dwelling, which then connects via ethernet to the FiOS modem/router, and coax to your interior video service. Your street must have been cabled for fiber already.
I’m satisfied with the quantum gateway router on my plan – it’s been in place now for 5 years, and I’ve not missed any features as Verizon updates it periodically. You’ll need a FiOS cable box for each television.
Depends. The service is reliable. Occasional outage on the service (one a few months ago lasted 3 days – the only really back outage we’ve had.). Service down/up is reliable. REMEMBER though – that is the rated service at the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) at your house. Verizon guarantees no service beyond that point since from that point on the signal is riding on customer-provided equipment.
Before you get excited about $79.99/month, find out about all the add-on equipment (set top boxes), routers, and taxes, “services”, “surcharges”, which in some places can equal nearly the cost of the base service. Get the final TOTAL bill estimate from Verizon in writing. Otherwise there will be unpleasant surprises.
We moved up from Xfinity internet to Fios and it has been fine. We were cord cutters already and paying for a landline. The Fios bundle turned out to be cheaper but we couldn’t get it without the lowest grade TV service.
What’s not to like:
the lowest grade TV service is unwatchable both in resolution and ads-to-content ratio.
the ugly box they give you for the TV service. Unplug it and put it in a closet.
the button-encrusted remote. The installation tech literally showed us 3 buttons to use and ignore the others. Hide it in a drawer.
deceptive pricing part 1 - If the offer says $79.99 you can guarantee you will be paying more than that with all the taxes, bogus fees and taxes on the bogus fees. However, it’s still less than Xfinity + landline.
deceptive pricing part 2 - it’s an “introductory offer” with a contract. After the contract expires they try to put the price up. You have to call them and threaten to go back to Xfinity, and then you have to sign up for a contract for another couple of years, rinse and repeat.
We don’t rent the Verizon router, but there is another box called an ONT (optical network terminal). This takes the optical fiber that comes through the house wall and outputs to ethernet. The ethernet then goes into your router and emerges as wired ethernet and wifi. I don’t think rental is billed separately for the ONT.
I just wish they would sell this for an honest price - if the offer says $89.99 then charge people that; if you have reason to charge $120 then the offer should say $120 and not $89.99. And yes, I consider calling it $89.99 instead of $90 is insulting to the intelligence, sleazy and deceptive marketing, no matter what Steve Jobs thought.
Apart from that, the service has been reliable and we don’t have any complaints with it.
Democrats introduced legislation in February 2019 to require transparency in fees, and a variant of the law apparently was passed at the end of last year. Total fees need to be revealed by contact signing, and consumers have 24 hours to cancel. It’s better than nothing.
The Congressional tracker says it didn’t pass the Senate so apparently the bill itself didn’t pass but part of it was included in another bill that “included provisions of their legislation that would require cable and satellite TV providers to disclose an “all-in” price to consumers, including fees and taxes, before consumers sign up for a service. It also mandates that consumers receive a formal notice of fees and “all-in” prices within 24 hours of signing up for a service, as well as grant consumers 24 hours to cancel after receiving formal notice of fees, without penalty.”
Contract or no contract depends on the deal you get in your area at the time that you get it. This is what happened with us.
It’s still the best service available in my area. I would have switched years before I eventually did, but the reasons I listed kept putting me off. Finally I realized that despite all my misgivings it was still going to cost less for a better service.
So no, I suggest that if it’s right for you, you go for it, find a spot to hide the ghastly set top box and remote and set a reminder to watch out for price increases and haggle when necessary :-).
We got Verizon FiOS 12 years ago, replacing a landline phone and DSL from Verizon. Since then in this area Verizon became Frontier Communication and is now Ziply Fiber. But the equipment is unchanged. Also later added TV and then recently removed TV.
It’s worked very well. Started with 10/2 back then and now have 50/50 getting about 49 down and 63 up. 50/50 service for 3 years now and performance hasn’t drooped. In fact latency is about 10% of what it was then.
Regarding deceptive pricing. The real gotcha now days is that the price for the first year or so is “introductory” and then doubles after that. So it’s an irritant to see advertising for prices far below what I’m paying. I had billing problems (overcharges and charges for services not received) whenever I changed services at Verizon as well. Those problems seemed to go away with Frontier and Ziply. So check your itemized bills carefully!
They made good on the billing errors, and of course YMMV with problems. I’ve seemed to have far fewer issues than friends that have had cable internet. (I’ve never had cable internet.) They all have deceptive pricing these days. When I started there were no bonus deals for signing up. What you paid initially for service was what you paid after the contract was up.
Always always always call before the contract is up and say you how long you’ve been a customer, then that you want to cancel because X is offering some deal - then ask if they can ‘do anything’ for you. Typically FiOS will add a couple of free months to your next 1-year contract, or offer faster speeds (if you’re not on the top-tier), or their Retention Department (who you’ll be transferred to, and is never the first person you speak to when you call) will come up with something similar for such occasions.
I’m lucky enough to be in a an apartment building that has FiOS, Spectrum, and RCN cable installed, and with that amount of competition my mailbox is constantly inundated with competitive offers, and ‘introductory’ offers are regularly renewed with a yearly phone call.