Review by tobycable1 
Posted: 1.6 years ago
member for 6.7 years, 31 visits, last login: 1.6 years ago
 Newport News,Newport News City,VA
 $62 per month (12 month contract)
 about 5 days
 "Fast, no caps, no letters for large amounts of downloading"
 "router is awful, can't get away from it if you have tv/phone service"
 "it's fast, you can make the router into a bridge with a guide, and then it's quite tolerable"
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(ratings match consensus)
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I had the choice of Cox (with a 60gb limit) for $60/mo, or FiOS with no download limit for the same price. I made the right decision. I've got 15/2, because 15/15 and 30/15 are too expensive and not that much more useful in my eyes. I don't do enough downloading to justify 30 megabits down, but if you do I would suggest you not hesitate. Especially since (at least they say) you can upgrade/downgrade service without affecting your contract. But, do negotiate and keep notes, they'll try to sell you the triple play that you probably don't need if you have a cell phone, and they'll claim it's cheaper when it usually isn't. Convincing the saleswoman that paying $10/month more was not "saving" by adding the phone was impossible.
The bad experience comes in where I had to call them up after a no-show and find out they never actually scheduled it, or they did but my order got stuck in the system, and I had to talk to (and give my SSN to) four guys. I received calls saying I'd get installs for about a week and a half after the install was completed, as well.
The second tech I talked to (the one who was going to install the second time, when I told him I already had service) told me that if you have anything more than internet, you have to use the coax for MoCA and that the ethernet out is disabled. This is unfortunate, as verizon modifies the firmware for the MI 424 to somehow just stop serving DHCP ip addresses randomly. While you can set the router up as a bridge to another (better) router, this breaks video on demand and the tv guide. A "NIM100" device, no longer obtainable through verizon, supposedly allows you to use whichever router you want as well as get VOD and guide. I have yet to look further into this.
All in all, I'm pleased with the service. Downtime is rare, and the downloads are quite fast. While there are sporadic issues with xbox live over wifi, it seems to not be the fault of the MI-424 anymore (when using the MI-424's built in wifi). I have certainly tested the download caps to see if I'd get a nastygram, and have not.
One thing that did help me get better speeds was some 'tweaker' they posted to apple.com's download section (I use a mac), and it just changed some network settings that somehow boosted my speeds. If you're on a mac, search apple.com for fios and you'll find it.
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