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 Review by freyder 
UPDATED: 51 days ago
member for 8.7 years, 462 visits, last login: 2 days ago
 Plano,Collin,TX
 Contract price not specified. (12 month contract)
 about 7 days
 "Faster download than advertised, low pings, Great HD Picture"
 "I would like a static IP but that cost is rather high."
 "Great Service! I love it."
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Ordered on a Friday via the website.
25/15 internet and HD Extreme TV package.
Install date schedule for 7 days later.
3 days prior to install I called to verify the order.
Glad I did that as I screwed up the cable box order when I originally placed the order via the web.
Final TV order was:
1x Cable Card for my HD Tivo.
1x HD set top box
1x SD set top box
Install went very smoothly and quickly. At first the tech was hesitant to do a cat5 install but after a short discussion with me explaining where I had my cat5 run he agreed to cat5.
my house has dual RG6 runs to each TV as well as cat5 so all he had to do was install a splitter at the junction point in the attic for the RG6 and tone the cables to identify the hot one for each box. I had previously gotten all the cat5 ready to go so internet setup was a snap.
The westell 9100EM router seems like a very capable device so I'll not worry about putting my smoothwall router in front I'll just place it in the DMZ and press on.
Haven't been able to duplicate reported NAT table issues with Actiontec.
I don't typically run torrents but I do use steam and have had no issues querying long, long lists of game servers (TF2).
One minor nit... It would have been nice to have the fiber cable buried prior to service turn up but that was only a minor inconvenience of about 15 minutes of downtime.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Verizon FIOS |
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 Review by HouseHome
UPDATED: 53 days ago
member for 9 years, 3367 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Silver Spring,Montgomery,MD
$183 per month (24 month contract)
about 7 days
"Stable service with excellent install and customer service"
"Long wait to obtain service in my geographical area"
"Love this offering - Smartest thing Verizon has ever done"
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From the time I ordered via the telephone (customer service lady one of the best I've ever dealt with) to the time of install was one of the most pleasant times in my experience. In my geographical area Verizon has their act together. Crews put fiber on the poles in late July, and I ordered FIOS in the middle of August with installation on August 27th. It went very smooth, no problems whatever, and I am loving FIOS. I got the Ultimate Freedom package which was Internet, T.V., landline, and wireless services. I signed a two year deal and pay $183 per month for everything. The ONT is an Alcatel and the router is a Actiontec. The install took just under four hours. I requested that the ONT be installed in my basement and it was with no problem. Unlike the New York area, my ONT was grounded and bonded properly. The installation was very clean and neat. The woman who did my install was friendly and knowledgeable. I would recommend FIOS to anyone. My experience with Comcast cable was the exact opposite of my experience with Verizon.
Little over one year later, and I'm still loving FIOS. Most stable service I've ever had. No down time, ever! Many near neighbors (at least five) have FIOS in their homes. I would recommend FIOS to anyone who can get it. Nothing but praise for Verizon.
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 Review by inuyasha320
Posted: 53 days ago
member for 4.4 years, 42 visits, last login: 6 days ago
Jamaica,Queens,NY
Contract price not specified. (12 month contract)
about 14 days
"Good connection speed for the money."
"When there is a major network problem verizon still insists on blaming it on the users computer"
"good connection speed and a great value when it comes to a internet connection"
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When FIOS became available in my area, I rushed to get it because my 3,bit DSL service sucked, (random connection problems due to network congestion).
I ordered the verizon triple play which by default came with a 20mbit/s down and 5mbit/s up (actual speed test give you about 18.5mbit down and 4.4mbit up)
The order process was a bit annoying because of the 5 or so confirmation calls which you had to call back on to confirm the installation.
The install process of the service took a few hours but everything was fine in the end.
The install process is basically a ONT box on the outside of the home, the STB for the tv (QIP 6416-2) and a DSL gateway which the set top boxes also connect to in order to get guide information and on-demand content (yes it does use your bandwidth for watching on demand content, while verizon does up the connection speed a little, the actiontec crap is not able to handle it properly, so like I had to do, many others may need to do it also, which is getting a good router, (I got a linksys wrt54gl) and connect it directly via ethernet to the ONT then connect the crappy verizon supplied router to the linksys which will significantly reduce network lag, (verizon sucks when it comes to firmware, just because a router has 32MB of memory doesn't mean you can load a oversized graphic filled bloated firmware into it and use 90% of the memory to load a bloated firmware. this leaves very little for actual routing and connection sharing)
DVR: QIP6416-2
Verizon supplied router: Actiontec MI424WR
Now for the rest of the review.
One thing to understand about verizons support.
If there is a major connection problem in which no one in your area can get on line, if you call verizon to report the issue, they will say the problem is on your end and blame it on your computer and try to up-sell you their premium tech support service for fixing other computer problems. As you can imagine, this leads to many network problems because a problem will only be fixed when a worker discovers it, this means connection problems can annoy you for sometimes up to 2 weeks before they get fixed because the support workers blame any and all network problems that are reported by customers, on the customers computer.
All in all, you get good TV internet and phone service
Tech support is almost completely useless because all of the problems in the universe are with your computer, even if half of the country has lost service, the problem is with your and only your computer, (aka you are responsible for all the bad things in life)
and if there is a network problem in your area thats not listed the moment you call, you will be stuck with that problem for a few weeks waiting and hoping for a worker at verizon to get bored and check and notice the problem.
luckily verizon doesn't get many problems through out the year and their network is generally reliable
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 Review by N3OGH
UPDATED: 53 days ago
member for 6 years, 1924 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Philly burbs
$160 per month (12 month contract)
about 10 days
"Speed, Picture quality, call quality"
"None as of yet. This $hit rocks"
"Best Internet, phone, and TV service I ever got"
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Only had the service since Thursday. So far hands down the best Internet, phone, and TV experience I've ever been offered. Tech showed up a few hours late on Thursday, but the window was 8 to noon. Showed up well before noon. Tech was knowledgeable and polite. Did a great job on my install. Copper lines were left in place and ONT was mounted in my basement, so the outside of my house looks no different. Signed up for the "triple play" Internet, Phone and TV. approx $130 a month. No first bill yet. Just came off Comcast. Offering of HD channels from Fios is nothing short of INSANE. The Weather Channel in HD? Fios HD offering blows Comcast away. I had both services this Thursday and did a side by side. The picture quality on Fios is just hands down better than Comcast. Channels offered for the price is a no brainer. Verizon offers no price increase guarantee for 2 years. Internet is BLAZING fast with 25/15 service. So far phone service is pretty solid.
Tech doing instal was polite and called a few hours afterward to confirm everything was good. Nice follow up. Probably the best customer service experience I've had in a while. I will update review when I get my first bill as I've heard about the nightmares associated with Verizon billing. But, so far so good.
Bottom line. If it's available in your area sign up. I doubt you will be disappointed.
Edit: Got my first regular bill and it's as it should be. No billing bogeyman for me. First DVR I got had some issues and they swapped it out via UPS quick enough. No issues since. Multi room DVR is nice bonus, but the bottom line is the insanely fast internet. I'm the network admin at my part time job, and we are stuck on Comcast Business class. My home FiOS blows it AWAY. Small outfit, only one or 2 people on line at a time so it's a fair comparison.
Again, bottom line: FiOS just rocks. If you can get it, get it. I seriously doubt you will be disappointed...
Followup comments:  
Beth999
@rr.com | Yeah, FIOS Rocks Everyone I talk to says FIOS / Verizon service rocks. It's the best deal with the best quality... hands down. | |
| tasmithe
join:2002-09-16
Graham, NC | HD haha...don't like Weather Channel in HD?? How bout QVC in HD...now THAT is a waste of bandwidth if you ask me.  | |
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N3OGH
Bear patrol must be working like a charm
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: HD Well, it would seem they have bandwidth to waste. In spades.
I like TWC in HD, BTW as I'm a weather junkie.
And according to my speed tests the 25/15 I was sold is actually a symmetrical 25/25. Can't remember the last time I was sold something and given more than I was offered.
Hey, Verizon is just another blood sucking leach of a corporate giant, but as of today their service is the best I've encountered so far. If someone comes along that can do better, they get my hard earned cash. But having been on the Internet since my early college days back in the '90's I can honestly say this is the best it gets.
Other providers can claim they have a fiber optic network, but I've had the opportunity to evaluate both side by side, and nothing beats running that big fat, veiny fiber optic pipe 40 feet from my desktop....
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power… | |
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Review by rebus9
UPDATED: 55 days ago
member for 7.6 years, 633 visits, last login: 7 days ago
Tampa Bay
$50 per month (24 month contract)
about 9 days
"Fastest internet ride available in the area"
"Static IPs are ridiculously expensive"
"You get what you pay for"
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So far, the connection is substantially faster than the advertised speeds. How often do you get MORE than what was promised, especially from an ISP?
The install went smoothly, and our router (we didn't use Verizon's junk) grabbed an IP address and started passing traffic almost immediately-- no fuss, no muss.
Price is good compared to cable, for the speed you get. Knowing that VZ keeps raising prices, I took the 2 year agreement (and the price was of course lower than a 1 year contract). If they come out with better packages, we're allowed to switch mid-term. The early termination fee only applies if you cancel entirely.
I'll update the review for a more long-term viewpoint, once time has gone by. Today, I'm just enjoying the speed which is a huge improvement over 7/512 Road Runner-- which was A+ reliable for 7-1/2 years but just too slow by today's standards compared to FIOS.
The reason I dinged them 1 star on Install Coordination is the only info I got was a single email (9 days in advance) indicating the install date, and there were no followups. They gave no indication whatsoever of what time the installer might arrive, so be prepared to take the whole day off work in case he doesn't show up until afternoon. They could at least give us a 4 hour window like the cable company does.
Followup comments: sneumann55
join:2002-07-27
Yonkers, NY
| wow Wow somebody dropped the ball big time with your order, i know when mine was installed many automated calls and a few emails to confirm.The install however was excellent. Its a good product, no if cs could be as good.........
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SNeumann, Southern NYS,Fios 20/20,,Sprint Mobile Broadband, MagicJack X 4 | |
| | rebus9
join:2002-03-26
Tampa Bay
·Verizon FIOS
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| Re: wow I wonder if the difference was Residential vs. Business. Mine is a business connection.
I wasn't very impressed with the sales end. I placed the order at the VZ website first thing in the morning and got an order confirmation email, but when I used the status checker webpage it threw an error. When I placed the order I did not provide my Social Security Number (I don't give it out online) which the order page said was OK-- just that someone from VZ would call me to verify the order was not fraudulent.
After 8 hours of nobody calling me, I called them just before 5 p.m. to verify the order was in process. I got passed around to several different departments (..grumble..) and when I finally got the right person, she said there was no record of my order in the system. She checked by order#, phone# and name. So she created a new order over the phone. Another 20 mintues of my life wasted, and she said there was a problem-- the system would not take my order. (maybe because the first order really DID exist?)
I finally got the verification call the next morning-- for the original web order-- asking for my SSN. Minutes later I got another order confirmation with an install date 9 days into the future.
After that, I didn't hear a word until the ground crew showed up the day before installation to bury the fiber. Then first thing the next morning the installer showed up. I had a specific location on an interior wall where I wanted the jack and I was told the installers would only drill through exterior walls, so I did my own attic climbing, wire fishing, and RJ-45 jack installation, and left the other end in the utility room where the equipment was going to be mounted.
All the installer had to do was screw the ONT to the side of the house, snap in the fiber connector, mount the power supply, attach my pre-installed Cat-5e cable, and activate.
He never even came inside the house, and was here-and-gone in about 1 hour-- probably the fastest, easiest install he did all day. | |
| | | antioch
join:2007-10-06
Pomona, CA | Re: wow Sadly it seems a lot of our business sales office is still learning about the FiOS order writing. I'm sorry you had so many problems with that.
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Message Of The Day
Error 500: | |
| | | | rebus9
join:2002-03-26
Tampa Bay
·Verizon FIOS
·RoadRunner Cable
| Re: wow said by antioch :Sadly it seems a lot of our business sales office is still learning about the FiOS order writing. I'm sorry you had so many problems with that. Well, it wasn't so much problems; it was lack of communication and bad information.
1) Online orders apparently go into a queue that is not visible to the phone reps, which is why the woman I spoke with couldn't find it. (and would also explain why the system rejected the order when she tried to enter it manually) The morning after the online order, I got the promised phone call asking for my SSN, so the online order process did work-- just not same-day.
2) The "communication problem" was not knowing when to expect the installer. I knew the date, but no idea if morning, noon, afternoon, or evening.
3) The only other complaint was my inability to get the online-access account established-- the one where you pay the bill, manage email, etc. The system wanted a 13 digit order# and zip code to create the account, but my order# was only 10 digits and the system wouldn't accept it. I phoned the helpdesk but was told I'd have to wait until I got my first invoice which would contain a "code number" to key in. (???_say WHAT_???) So I went almost a month with no access, and no way to create email accounts. And when the bill did arrive, it contained no such magic number.
It finally took a LONG phone call, being passed around to several reps (and waiting in-queue each time) before I was connected to an exceptionally friendly and helpful lady who immediately solved the problem. A+ to her, grade F to the others.
The phone support departments need a LOT of work. Every call so far got me bounced around person to person, having to sit in queue each time. Very poor. But the FIOS service itself has been A+. | |
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Review by tombutler
Posted: 56 days ago
member for 2.1 years, 9 visits, last login: 51 days ago
Portsmouth,Portsmouth City,VA
$90 per month (12 month contract)
about 12 days
"INCREDIBLY FAST!"
"NONE!"
"Definately worth the money!"
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This service is just fantastic! Beats the pants off of COX cable! NO THROTTLING!
VERY clean installation. The VZ tech agreed with my decision on where to place the Optical Network Terminal. Installation was done in a little over 2 hours. Considering everything that has to be done, that was pretty good time.
Had the service for about a week now, no problems.
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Review by icici
UPDATED: 56 days ago
member for 3.9 years, 1009 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Ashburn,Loudoun,VA
$40 per month (12 month contract)
about 10 days
"consistent speeds gr8 price"
"need more knowledgable tech support"
"worth the money"
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I got FiOS Internet on 12/15/2006.
.I had been waiting for since July 06 (when the ran the cables) for it to become available and enrolled as soon as I came to know that it is available. That brings me to the slightly lower rating on the presales: I had enrolled on their website to notify me as soon as it becomes available but I never got notified. I just happened to check on their website on 12/05 and learnt that I was eligible for both, Internet and TV.
Install Co-ordination: I subscribed for the 5/2 plan online on 12/5. The earliest available date was 12/14 but I scheduled for 12/15 due to my prior appointments. 1 thing I will like to note here is that I had a online chat with their CS and was told that I will get the free wireless router only if I enroll online (ie. no free wireless router if I called in to order the service). I later learnt that this is not true. Not that it mattered since the price was the same..but I felt a bit mislead. By 12/10 MISS UTILITY had done all the markings in my backyard. On 12/12 they ran the optic cable from the junction box to my wall. Nice clean work with minimal grass damage. My wife (who loves gardening) couldnt even tell that they had dug up the lawn. I got a automated call confirming the appt a coulpe of days before 12/15.
I tried to find how th installer(s) would run the wiring due to my setup but nonoe could give me a convrete answer. (the ONT is on the backwall of my townhouse and my office is on the front top floor. Finished basement and little/no attic. No ethernet wiring but Coax wiring exists). I was prepared for the installer to run a cat5 over the roof into my office. It turned out better.
The installer (fernando) came on time (9:00 am) on 12/15. Very nice, professional and helpful. He looked at my house wiring and said "no probs" since he was going to install a 612 ONT (MoCA enabled). I new Verizon were testing such a ONT but didnt know they had already deployed it. I couldnt have been more happy. That meant no/minimal drilling. He let me watch the whole process while answering all my questions. (I am in IT..so not a total novice). Installed the BBU in the basement at the location I specified. He used his laptop to set up my online account since I didnt ant the MSN/Yahoo "extra" installed on my PC.
Connection reliability: Once I optimized my PCs (1 desktop, 2 laptops), I am consistantly getting 5 mb UL and 1.8 mb DL. Sometimes I see speeds go down to 3/1.2. But I dont do any gaming. So the lower speeds dont impact me in any way. I work from home a lot and have VoIP (vonage) and havent had major issues with either since switching to FiOS.
I did have a problem with the vonage device loosing internet connection 1-2 times everyday. The only way to get the dialtone back was to power cycle the vonage linksys. I had to assign a static IP to it to fix the issue.
The verizon provided actiontec router is huge but I have had no problems getting the wireless signal thruout my house.
Tech Support: I had to call tech support only once - when I was trying to debug the above-mentioned vonage issue. They just gave a "run of the mill" answer: we dont support other VoIP devices. The "tech" guy spoke nicely but just seem to be reading all his responses from a book. He didnt even know what I meant when I asked "how long before the actiotec reassigns new IP addresses to the local devices". I wish he was more knowledgable. I ended up getting more information on the FiOS forums here.
Value for money: Worth the money. hope I never have to go bck to Adelphia/Comcast HSI. FiOS is costing me $35 for 5mb/2mb whereas I was paying $43 for 2mb/384kb with cable.
I might get FiOS TV sometime in the future. Not now. Primarily because we TBS (which th Mrs. loves) is not part of the FiOS local lineup. (TBS is included in the cable local setup that we have).
UPDATE (1/16/2009) - No complains with FiOS. Its been solid so far. Abt a year ago, I had issues with the internet (random disconnects). A quick call to tech supp and it turned out to be a dying ONT. They had a tech guy come by withing 2 days who replaced the ONT and the FiOS internet has been good since then.
The Actiontech router (Rev A) "hangs" up once in a while (maybe once a month) - all my wirelss laptops fail to connect but hte wired device (VoIP ata) works fine. I just do a power recycle and alls back to normal.
My price increased to $39.99/month after the 1 year's intro price ($35).
UPDATE (10/1/2009) - FiOS still going strong. A few months ago, Verizon sent me a new adaptor for the Actiontech (Rev A) - free of charge. I did the replacement. No complains/issues.
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Review by bbking
UPDATED: 57 days ago
member for 2.8 years, 232 visits, last login: 6 days ago
Cockeysville,Baltimore,MD
$127 per month (12 month contract)
about 1 days
"Rock solid all three fronts (video, internet and telephone). Plenty of HD channels"
"Too bad they got rid of the 2 year contract option"
"If you have FIOS in your neighborhood please sign up. You won't be sorry. I am not having any billing issues."
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My speed: 20/5 with Extreme HD
Followup comments: guyjr
join:1999-08-30
Madison, NJ | 1 yr / 2 yr it's a 1 year contract but should be a 2 year price guarantee - the best of both worlds! | |
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 Review by Jaime
UPDATED: 58 days ago
member for 8.4 years, 5035 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Norwalk,Los Angeles,CA
$53 per month (24 month contract)
about 7 days
"Fast, cheap, quick installation"
"Indoor battery unit"
"Best internet access available in Norwalk"
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06/18/2008
Before this I had Charter, since their promotion of 10/2 ended I downgraded to the 5/2 package at nearly the same cost as the package I'm getting now with Fios. At the moment I have 15/2 service but I will hopefully get boosted to their new speeds of 20/5 if »50Mbps, 20/20Mbps FiOS Tiers Hit All Markets is true. Installation was relatively quick and the only think I really wish could have happened is them connecting the ONT with ethernet instead of coax; that and the backup battery unit must be inside. So far speeds have been consistent and line quality is good.
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Review by NickP65
Posted: 59 days ago
member for 350 days, 283 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Trenton,Mercer,NJ
$150 per month (24 month contract)
about 10 days
"Fast reliable internet, no dropouts, number of channels, picture quality"
"160gig dvr, sales associates not as knowledgable as they could be"
"Great service, one bill for tv/internet/phone/wireless, worth the $$"
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Only option other than FiOS was Comcast. Satellite not an option. Verizon has Comcast beat on both the number of channels offered, the picture quality and the number of HD channels including both Philadelphia and New York stations in my area. FiOS is never down like my old Comcast service and my internet speeds have been exactly what I'm paying for every time I've checked.
I've ordered extra boxes from Verizon and not had any problems. The initial install process was long but there were no issues (Premiere package, sports/movie package, HBO, 1 HM DVR, 1 HD box, 2 SD boxes, 2 Digital Adapters). I've not had the billing issues that others seem to have experienced but I have not changed my programming since signing up in Feb. 2007.
I have been bitten by the HDMI handshake issue between the Motorola boxes and a Samsung LCD TV but Verizon continues to try to fix things. IMG 1.7 is supposed to be a stable upgrade. They also continue to roll-out new features. I'm a big fan of the remote DVR functionality.
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