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Review by Dooly00000 
UPDATED: 71 days ago
member for 4.9 years, 31 visits, last login: 7 days ago
 Flushing,Queens,NY
 $54 per month (12 month contract)
 about 2 days
 "Friendly setup teams; FiOS"
 "Wasn't price I expected; took a while to set up (definitely longer then any other service I known)"
 "It's FAST, with waits worth it... but... definitely time-consuming (especially waiting) and pricy (as of yet)."
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This is/was FIRST DAY REVIEW, PLEASE AWARE!
Amend included
I MAY UPDATE FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT FOR NOW, THIS IS REVIEW I MIGHT STICK WITH. IF YOU WANT MORE SERIOUS REVIEW AROUND MY AREA, READ OTHER ONES OR WAIT FOR ME TO EDIT.
After couple month of "Verizon FiOS will be available on Flushing, NEW YORK!" banners and witnessing FiOS cable setup right front of my house, my wait time of approximately 3 months felt like three years. With constant failure of Earthlink + Time Warner cable mix (upload speed of 50KBPS WTH), I was ready to switch to even DSL if nothing were to happen...
Just the same day I was about to give up, I received the phone call; I think at this point, I am well aware of fact that I probably am one of first one who have FiOS in Flushing. YES!
So, after calling and told them "I'll consider about other packages and call you back", they actually constantly called me back until my answer was definitely "no". And that answer was even coerced out of me. I feel like I was forced to make this choice, even as I was well aware of the fact that my family will not need other two service; I only need INTERWEB... oh wait... (***/*****)
And then I have waited 2 days for setup; not bad, right?
Tiring time consuming wasn't there... setup part was.
Good warning to those who plan to have it: They WILL drill your wall, in case you're not aware yet. And this wasn't even my apartment. Surely, I talked to my landlord and got their permission, but that huge terminal setup (in fact, setup crew had to go around the backyard and go through the fence to set up against the wall, area that wasn't even jurisdiction of my landlord's) took a long time; I think that took least good 2 extra hours. After they brought the cable over and drilled the wall, they plugged in the terminal, and wired the router and gave me handydandy (notebook!) NO STEVE, THEY GAVE ME WIRELESS ROUTER! **gasp** this wasn't what I read! I thought everyone got wired!
Made my life easier; they even helped me set up most throughout my Laptop and my PC (though all they did was just told me what to do, but WEP part is IMPORTANT to Wireless as everyone knows)
Immediate connection test ran approximate ten times showed Up/Down average of 20/20mbps. Wait, I thought I ordered lower end. That's helluva faster then what I know.
So for all those following three, so far, I have given *****/*****
for value for money, as I said, for me, price wasn't what I expected. 54.99. It could be well as that because I have no other service with Verizon. But I do have cell and they said discount can be applied after I do some bill combining. So we'll see then. Until then, my FiOS bill is 54.99 + tax.
Surely faster then what I been having at Cablevision and TimeWarner+Earthlink. Definitely fast. But I just wish it was slightly cheaper... 49.99 will blow me, personally... but that much is my opinion. And I even got setup fee and router fee taken off my bill. Can't complain further.
Slightly bitter but I think FiOS deserves it; definitely cheaper then even Cablevision's 29.95 Optimum deal. (After all, speed what I have is... what, about 4x faster?)
Verizon, loose bit of bubble on market please... but definitely, I think I'm a content customer as of now.
AMEND 01: After couple time of net blinking, and when router completely failed to cycle, I decided to call Tech Support.
There, after couple of ongoing talks, we found out that maybe something was faulty in my house.
They called Techie, and about in hour, he showed up on my door.
After couple clashins, when we innitially thought ONT had problem, the problem was couple blocks away, where bad fiber was there, being repaired same minute.
He was then talking about how my neighbor, who recently also ordered his FiOS service and had problem, seen him outside and goes "Oh, so you guys repaired FiOS?"
Verizon is slow on updates, this goes to show, but at least they were doing something about it (and many were not afraid to admit...)
I'm happy with service, now that net does not blink anymore (while I'm using it, anyhow) and there's nomore redlight on ONT. But I'm still monitoring.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Verizon FIOS |
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 Review by Niarlan
Posted: 71 days ago
member for 7 years, 2353 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Manville,Somerset,NJ
Contract price not specified.
"Rock Solid and Fast"
"initial billing snafu's"
"Best for the bucs"
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Speed is as advertised and I've yet to have an outage in over a year of service.
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Review by weasbri
Posted: 71 days ago
member for 5.8 years, 233 visits, last login: 43 days ago
Vienna,Fairfax,VA
$50 per month (12 month contract)
about 15 days
"Fast"
"Making changes resulted in billing errors"
"Solid connection, now if they could just get their billing dept straight"
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I've had FIOS Internet for a while now, and, other that a problem with my outside box's wiring that took a while to get sorted out, they have been rock solid. I use VOIP from a separate company which works fine as well. The only problem I had was when I called to get my speed upgraded (for free), they added a bunch of stuff I didn't need and tried to charge me for a new router (also not needed). I eventually got the problem sorted out, but it was not fun. Every attempt by them to fix it required me to wait for the next bill to see if they had fixed it, so it was four months of frustration.
Everything has settled down now though, and the speed is fast, so I have no other complaints.
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Review by kaos333
Posted: 72 days ago
member for 6.3 years, 633 visits, last login: 5 days ago
Elkridge,Howard,MD
Contract price not specified.
"Fast, reliable, and price competitive."
"None"
"The best in the region. Get it."
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Excellent product. It beats the competition (Comcast) on every level. If you are in the Baltimore Washington Corridor there is nothing better.
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 Review by DadeMurphy
Posted: 72 days ago
member for 7.3 years, 3311 visits, last login: a few minutes ago
Danvers,Essex,MA
$98 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
"Superfast, no caps"
"Provided router, MOCA"
"Awesome service"
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So we finally got the chance to drop Comcast and came over to FiOS. I have been extremely pleased with the service so far. We went with the Extreme HD/20D5U package and it is just amazing. Have not had any issues with Billing.
The installer almost listened to what we wanted as far as location of the ONT, rather than hanging a new board next to our phone distribution point he hung the ONT off the side of it, not a huge deal.
The install ended up taking about 6 hours from start to finish, and the installer was quick and professional. At one point he joined me outside for a smoke and chatted with me about the service, overall I was pleased with what we received.
The only complaint I have is the need to use the provided router or hang it off a leg of my router if I want to maintain the TV guide data. Currently we are running our 24 port switch off the provided router, but eventually we will be moving over to our own high capacity router and hang the Actiontec off of it.
The bottom line is I am very happy to be rid of Comcast and have amazing speeds with low latency.
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Review by lmchu
Posted: 72 days ago
member for 8.2 years, 540 visits, last login: 1 days ago
Asbury Park,Monmouth,NJ
$322 per month (24 month contract)
about 14 days
"great speeds"
"long waits for support"
"good service all around."
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I switched over from comcast to verizon, fios,tv,phone my fios speed plan is 20/20 total price monthly plus tax is 322 dollars per month. The order and process went smoothly the modem is an actiontec 1 hd/dvr for 1 tv and 3 hd converter boxes for the rest. The only bad exprience which really isn't bad is just long wait for support but I feel lately its getting better.
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Review by dave
UPDATED: 73 days ago
member for 9.5 years, 5055 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Littleton,Middlesex,MA
$130 per month (12 month contract)
"It's fast and it's here"
"Complicated billing system"
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No real review yet. I've been using Verizon DSL since it was Bell Atlantic DSL in 2000; I started at 640/90 kbps and ended with 1500/384 kbps. I've been awaiting FiOS since it was announced, but although it was in my town, it took 5 years to reach my neighborhood (underground utilities!).
But today my FiOS installation was completed. I've subscribed to the so-called Triple Play package (phone/TV/network), which seems like it'll work out a little cheaper than my previous complicated household communication arrangements(Verizon local service on 2 lines, AT+T long distance + international, Comcast for TV, Verizon DSL).
But of course billing is so complicated that I can't be too sure until I actually get billed.
My particular moan is that I have the 'Extreme HD plus premium channels' package (the 'best' triple play) but getting a statement of what those premium channels are is kind of difficult. It doesn't map exactly to any category you can find on the online channel listing. It's not HBO for sure. It includes Showtime but not Encore. What's the logic here? At least structure the channel listing so I can see it!
But this is a network forum. Nominal speed is 25M/15M. Initial tests show around 20/10.
Ordering and installation couldn't have been smoother. The tech was knowledgable and efficient, and quite happy to pitch the conversation at the right level (me = network competent but FiOS ignorant). He was in and out in rather less than the projected time.
Switching the internal house network from DSL to FiOS was no problem at all. For half a day I was running the two in parallel (two phone lines, remember) and then simply moved the internal LAN from one to the other without problem.
One minor glitch: once I was happy that FiOS was working, I called to have my DSL service discontinued. "I'm using the same mailboxes through FiOS so please make sure they're not disabled". "No problem". 5 minutes later, guess what? No mailboxes. I called tech support and they said it'd take 'em 24 hours to fix; I insisted that since it only took 5 mins to screw me over, unscrewing me shouldn't take much longer. I got an expedited request and was back emailing within an hour.
But apart from that one problem, it's been painless.
Followup comments:  JohnA
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Pittsburgh, PA | DSL to FIOS
You're not supposed to disconnect or discontinue your DSL. It's all just migrated to your FIOS account. One would have thought you would have gotten some guidance in the FIOS forums, prior to needlessly complicating your service continuity. Enjoy | |
| | dave
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio
 ·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Re: DSL to FIOS I had two phone lines. I intentionally wanted a brief period with DSL on line 1 and FiOS on line 2, since I could not tolerate any loss of access (such as I could imagine happening if some glitch showed up during FiOS installation). In particular, I was using the net over my DSL link while the Verizon tech was installing FiOS.
Engineering caution: always have a backup plan.
Note only that, but I definitely wanted to be paying for only one phone number after the dust had settled, and I definitely wanted that phone number to be "line 2", not "line 1". Too many people know my number is line-2 for me to want to change.
Once I was happy with FiOS, I ordered line 1 service to be discontinued entirely. That's what took out the mailboxes.
I most assuredly did have to explicitly disconnect that phone service, otherwise I'd be paying ~$50/mo for a phone number I no longer wanted.
I understand that the S.O.P. would work well if I replaced DSL on one phone with FiOS on the same number, but that's not what I wanted. And naturally I checked with tech support that this could be done. | |
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Review by guyjr
UPDATED: 73 days ago
member for 10.2 years, 45 visits, last login: 4 days ago
Madison,Morris,NJ
$118 per month (12 month contract)
about 6 days
"Internet speed, HD TV"
"Phone dial tone died within 12 hours"
"Go for it!"
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I finally made the switch - after 10 years as a steady Speakeasy DSL customer (first with 768k/768k SDSL, then when I moved 3.0mb/768k ADSL), I finally decided it was time to make the switch to FiOS. The economic realities of comparing our current phone / internet / tv plans (AT&T local, Speakeasy ADSL, and DirecTV), with a FiOS triple bundle, made it quite clear that FiOS would save us at least $60 / month, without any discount, bundle, etc. With a bundle, we're looking at saving well over $100 / month.
So... how has it been so far? Mixed.
First, I did my research - I'd read all the horror stories about billing, so I was not surprised in the least to discover a few of the following "mistakes" made to my initial order:
1. Ordered 15/5, got 25/25 (according to the tech), really have 25/15 (according to Fiber Solutions Center), but supposedly will be billed at 15/5 rate, after speaking with three separate billing reps.
2. HBO / Cinemax bundle on the tv, which I did not want, but comes as a "free" trial. "Free" is in quotes, because it defaults to a payment plan after three months. In other words, back loaded spam. I've since called to remove this "feature".
3. Some "unlimited gaming / Starz" bundle, which supposedly will cost $20 / month. Apparently another "free" trial that defaults to a payment plan after just two weeks of use. This one I have to log in to my account online in order to remove, or call a different toll-free number.
4. Telephone service - worked great for approximately 12 hours, and now no dial tone. The Fiber Solutions Center rep contacted a network technician who claims this is part of a NY / NJ metro outage. Uh huh... then why don't I see everyone here screaming bloody murder over the loss of their telephone service. Maybe it is an outage. Still, not a good sign when your TELEPHONE company cannot provide TELEPHONE service.
Ok... now for the positives:
5. Internet is blazing fast. No, scratch that... my house may burn down because it is so DAMN FAST !!! Unbelievable - I'm pulling over 3.0MB/s, and pushing the max to the Speakeasy speed test - the Verizon FiOS test claims I'm getting the full 25mb up too, but come on - unless I'm running a server farm at home, ain't no way I'm actually going to be using that much speed! Still, it's nice to finally feel like I'm in the 21st century. 
6. HDTV over FiOS BLOWS AWAY DirecTV - no question. Especially the SD channels... I guess DTV just doesn't have the bandwidth and has to resort to encoding at a lower bitrate. Too bad. FiOS with a TiVo (m-card ftw!) via HDMI to a 46" Samsung in glorious HD - the home entertainment center is finally complete, and watching the US Open last night in full HD with 5.1 surround - wow... I don't think we would have had a better experience if we'd actually been there (and I've been there once!)
7. Technician - VERY professional, and did a very clean install and placed the router exactly where I wanted it. Couldn't have asked for a better guy to do the work.
Now, since I was still subscribed to the Speakeasy DSL when the technician arrived yesterday, he had to leave all the copper connections to the house intact. I have to say, I can pretty much deal with #1 - #3 above - billing errors and such I was well prepared for, and will fight no problem. Having no telephone service, regardless of how it is delivered to my house, is 100%, unquestionably, unacceptable.
I was all set to start calling Speakeasy and DTV today to cancel those accounts, but will be leaving them in place. I'm glad there is a 15 day window to cancel, and I really hope I don't have to... but this loss of dial tone is a deal breaker if it isn't resolved very, very soon (read: end of today).
I'll post back when I get some more info about the phone issue... but at least everything else seems to be working as expected!
--- UPDATE 9/15/09 12:21pm ---
Phone is back up, after six hours of downtime. A voice server failed which served our area, and they needed to rebuild it. ETA was 10pm, but it came back up roughly 12pm.
--- UPDATE 9/16/09 11:40am ---
Phone has had zero problems since the server came back online, and internet speeds are still blazing, and HD TV still looks gorgeous. I called DirecTV today to cancel, and they tried to get me to stay with first a $300 credit, and then they upped it to $400! I was not expecting that, but unfortunately for them, it's already too late. Looks like I'll be sticking with FiOS for at least the next year, but so far, things are looking good!
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Review by SoCalDude
UPDATED: 75 days ago
member for 1.3 years, 120 visits, last login: 8 days ago
Oxnard,Ventura,CA
Contract price not specified. (12 month contract)
"Fast, stable internet connection and low ping times"
"None really"
"Get it if it's available"
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I signed up for the 15/5 tier. Since I only ordered FIOS internet, the installation was pretty fast. The tech didn't mind running and using the CAT 6 cable that I gave him. I'm currently using the Westell 9100 router they gave me, works pretty well. I get my advertised speeds 24/7, so that's awesome .
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Review by BDF
UPDATED: 75 days ago
member for 1.9 years, 165 visits, last login: 2 days ago
Boylston,Worcester,MA
$105 per month (24 month contract)
about 12 days
"Stellar performance, no more lightning"
"none over the few years we've had the service"
"install it again in a heartbeat"
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Since signing up for FIOS internet and telephone, replacing Verizon copper phone and Charter internet and TV we have been very satisfied with the service. Since FIOS TV is disallowed in our town, we installed a UHF antenna and amplifier to get digital TV.
Since we have buried service, Verizon sent a crew out to bury the fiber ahead of time. I looked at the end of their cable and chose to drive the access hole to our electrical closet myself. Installation tech was polite, and pleasant.
A couple of times when issues have come up with FIOS, the technical support line has been helpful, quick and pleasant, when they get bogged down with calls they advise the wait time and offer to call back, and they have called back at the appointed time. The last exchange with support was to diagnose why my upload speed had dropped from 15mb/sec to .05mb/sec, they spent the appropriate time on the phone helping diagnose to the Actiontec router box failure, they over-nighted us a new box with a return label for the old box, very smooth.
Since disconnecting the coax cable and removing the copper telephone wire to the pole, we have not had any more lightning "snaps" in our electrical closet, FIOS light pipes don't conduct electricity like the metal wires they replaced.
At present we have unlimited America calling, reduced telephone rate service to Europe, 25/15 mb/sec internet with 5 mail boxes in use for $105/mo. TV is free since we get 25 digital channels with our antenna and amplifier.
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