Gigabit Internet Feedback

[Varg]

I am seeking input from users with experience with with the new Gigabit Internet connection - speed, quality of service. I get varying speeds with my 100Mb connection. So how reliable is this claim? My current 2 yr contract is less than 30 days old and I am asked to pay $30.00 extra for the bragging rights.

[jonjones1]

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@Varg wrote:

I am seeking input from users with experience with with the new Gigabit Internet connection - speed, quality of service. I get varying speeds with my 100Mb connection. So how reliable is this claim? My current 2 yr contract is less than 30 days old and I am asked to pay $30.00 extra for the bragging rights.

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Like any internet service the speeds will vary.

i normally get 940/870 which is what Verizon advertises. Yes gig speed is 1024/1024 but in reality you will go slightly lower. Like I said many factors affect it. 

[Wiltfan13]

Don't do it; it's a ripoff!  I had my own router and a 50Mbps plan.  I moved to a new apartment, was told the router I was already using with FIOS could not be used and I had to rent (or buy) one of theirs. I have the 1G plan.  I can't get any faster than 125Mbps standing right next to the router with an iPhone 7plus.  The AC antenna should allow me to get some robust speeds and NO I am not looking for 1GB on my speedtest.  I'm a field technican for a cable operator and when our subs have a 300down plan, the speedtest always registers a bit more (say 330Mpbs).  With a 1GB connection, I was looking for speeds in excess of that.  The tech didn't run a speedtest when he installed the svc.  I tried chatting with their support team and my call was dropped twice.  This is **bleep**.  I've had service for a bit more than 2 weeks and I'm cancelling on Monday.  My other issue is the need to constantly reboot the router.  Every time I run their WiFi optimizer, it tells me to reboot the router.  I kid you not, if after rebooting the router, if I check the optimizer, it tells me to reboot it...again.  I get the feeling it isn't checking anything, just tells customers to reboot.  The second issue is constant noise on the channel..any channel I am on.  I understand how noise works; I literally do this for a living.  I don't live in my company's footprint, so I have to use FIOS and it sucks.  Best internet?  Really?  Fastest?  Really?  What a crock!

[Fahed]

Garbage, been with them since forever, and I always face slow internet speed

[smith6612 · Accepted solution]

If you're getting varying speeds with 100Mbps, moving to 1Gbps won't solve the problem. Best to troubleshoot your current 100Mbps service first, before planning to move to Gigabit. A faster connection could just make the problem worse, if your issue is due to a bad light over the Fiber, for example. Or if the problem is due to Wi-Fi, then nothing will change, and you're just wasting money unless you plan to upgrade the Wi-Fi equipmnt on both ends.

People are also seeing mixed results with the Gigabit product. For some, 940Mbps up and down is what you'll see, and is actually what Gigabit service provides, due to Ethernet overhead. Others are seeing mixed results, presumably because they are on busier PONs (Keep in mind, each FiOS connection is a part of a PON, that is a Passive Optical Network. The PON connects to a port at the Central Office on an OLT - Optical Line Termination). Verizon currently uses GPON tech (Gigabit Passive Optical Network), which is limited to 2.4Gbps down, 1.2Gbps up. A PON can have anywhere from 1 home to 64 homes sharing the bandwidth. That assumes Verizon has more than a 1Gbps Ethernet port on the OLT Side of things to back up the bandwidth - which they probably do if they've sold 1Gbps to you. So with that said, people have reported issues on the upload side of things with being a bit varied, which comes as no surprise. Verizon has provisioned a speed that is grossly oversubscribing the PON by design, on the assumption (and based on statistics) that people will hit the download harder than the upload. After all, you're not paying for the guaranteed Gigabit, but the connection should provide acceptable enough performance that for $200 or less, it's better than what Cable will provide. Unless you're in a Comcast/XFinity area where you're within the magic 500ft range of where Comcast will install "Gigabit Pro", which is an actual Metro Ethernet product.

In the future, if Verizon moves to GEPON, which can do Symmetrical 10Gbps, or NG-PON2, which can do 10Gbps down, 2.5Gbps up, or a newer tech, you'll find 1Gbps far more sustainable on FiOS.

[Varg]

Thanks for taking the time to respond. This is very nice tutorial and very informative. I learnt a lot.

Your reco about fixing the current speed and bandwidth issues is well placed and I will focus on this for now. Bragging rights of Gig-a-bit Internet will have to wait.

[emilkostov]

Most likely the tech who installed your FiOS service penetrated the fiber cable(and never perform the test) with those stupid gardner bender cable staples and I guaranted you, that's what weakens your speed. 

[geek2]

My view is Verizon should know, or suggest, what is needed at each step to get the 1Gb performance. One really needs to check the speed coming into the router, and out of the router it must be ethernet connected "Not WiFi (which will be much lower)".  Then on the other side of the ethernet,  which is the computer, there needs to be a dual-band network card,  or atleast include a 5G network adapter with a matching driver.  After that one may come close to a high speed, but still only wuth ethernet.  You will be lucky if you get 1GB.

Without the above essentials after upgrading to the verizon 1Gb service I was getting 30 Mb on WiFi at 50 feet from the Router, and was  getting 49Mb with the competitors 50 Mb service but their router was only 10 feet away. When connected via ethernet to Verizon 1Gb service was getting about 100 Mb.  The service on the input of the router did test to be about 980/920.  Alhough my laptop is only 6 months old (is i7 generation),  it  must have a 2.4Gb network card.  I am waiting to relocate the Router because ethernet connection has to go to a different room,  my dual band USB adapter is on order, and even after that the best I can expect on WiFi will be about 300 - 400 Mb.  By the way, the technician was getting 300-400 Mb on WiFi with his/her super duper tester.  If this writeup helps anyone I will be happy.  

[Joe_Broadband]

I have had Fios Quantum service for 2.5 months.  I am greatly disappointed in it so far.  I have a pc connected directly to the Fios router and I am getting slower internet than my former Optimum 50mb plan.  I've tried all the recommended adjustments.  Nothing is helping so far.  As for the WiFi, its VERY poor.  The signal is far weaker than my old Optimum router, which was 3 years old.  The technician who installed my setup, did an Excellent job.  Clean wiring and he really took the time to set it up right.  However, its just not nearly as advertised.  The Fios speedtest from the router shows 800-900 for both up and down.  This seems like a false reading though as NOTHING seems any faster than my old setup.  Directly connected devices have topped out at about 90mb.  Nothing seems very fast, yet this is supposed to be at least 20 times faster than previous setup.  I'll call Fios back for help, but if this is the best, I may go back. (even though I disliked Optimum).

[Joe_Broadband]

I should add that I am getting non stop grief from my family.  The internet is slow and goes out often.  The television is also a nightmare, since I lost so many channels and it is difficult to navigate. Overall, as of today I would rate Fios Quantum a C-.  That's being generous.

[Angolaroad]

I hope they find your problem as I have Gigabit upgrade from 50mps installed next week. One possibly helpful tip for your PC: There are settings that can be changed on the PC to optimize them for how you get Internet, varies with the speed you bought from FIOS, etc. I use AVG Tuneup that is simply great to optimize all such settings, also fix Registry errors, cleans up unneeded files, etc. I tried other similar programs but like AVG the most. There is a free trial version, but usually the full paid versions are worth it. Your WIFI problems are another matter; I use Ethernet wiring from the router for almost everything - except one smartphone.

[jonjones1]

The simple fact is I suspect your new Fios speeds were not provisioned correctly.

speeds over 50/50 should be on ethernet connection. You are on ethernet?

if you are the problem can be the router would need to be replaced just to make sure.

the speed you listed 800/900 is within gigabyte range.

my speeds are always around 940/880 +/- at different times of the day or night.

my wifi speeds etc are great because I use a very high end router by Netgear.

the wifi speeds on the Quantum Gateway G1100 is known to not be that great. Google and you can read for yourself.

another poster recommended using a registry cleaner/fixer DO NOT USE THIESE PROGRAMS they cause a myriad of issues when files, dll and registry entries are changed or deleted.

my mother in law used a Avast program yesterday and after she ran it the Microsoft Runtime Environment was corrupted and other things went missing. It has taken me all day and I still have it installing 132 updates to the OS as I type this. I have now placed her files back on and everything is running great. But think. 8 am till 9:02 pm and still going. So don't use any software to fix anything.

i will surmise that the router is malfunctioning call Fios up 1-800-VERIZON and have them replace it.

[Angolaroad]

I have used AVG TuneUp for many years and it has worked well for me and several friends who had major PC problems.  But before you use any of such "cleanup" programs it is wise to "create a restore point". just type those words into Windows Search and follow the instructions. (I am talking MS Windows, not Apple). Always use the latest updated versions. All this updating can take a lot of time (Good that I am retired), and is one reason I am now updating to FIOS Gigabit - to be installed tomorrow.  Will post the results after it is done. 

[CRobGauth]

If the speedtest from the rotuer shows ok and you get very poor performance from your PC there are a few possibilities:
1) Are you running speedtest to speedtest.verizon.net? If not, that is where the router tests and verifies access speed which is all Verizon (and other providers) can guarantee.

2) If you are doing that and still getting porr performance it is possible that you either have a network issue (is PC conencted directly to Verizon router) or there is an issue with your PC. If it is fairly new, then it might be a dirver issue. If it is older, it may not support Gig speeds.

3) For wifi, did your older router support 5G? If not, you may be connecting to the G1100 via 5G which although faster, doesn't have the same range as 2.4G. Give each network a different SSID to see if you get different performance.

4) If you have an android device, download an app called WiFi Analyzer. It can help you check wifi for issues like interference (old router may have been on a different channel than G1100 which has interference) plus can check signal strength.

[harley8004]

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@Joe_Broadband wrote:

I have had Fios Quantum service for 2.5 months.  I am greatly disappointed in it so far.  I have a pc connected directly to the Fios router and I am getting slower internet than my former Optimum 50mb plan.  I've tried all the recommended adjustments.  Nothing is helping so far.  As for the WiFi, its VERY poor.  The signal is far weaker than my old Optimum router, which was 3 years old.  The technician who installed my setup, did an Excellent job.  Clean wiring and he really took the time to set it up right.  However, its just not nearly as advertised.  The Fios speedtest from the router shows 800-900 for both up and down.  This seems like a false reading though as NOTHING seems any faster than my old setup.  Directly connected devices have topped out at about 90mb.  Nothing seems very fast, yet this is supposed to be at least 20 times faster than previous setup.  I'll call Fios back for help, but if this is the best, I may go back. (even though I disliked Optimum).

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Try changing your ethernet cables to cat-6, if you haven't done so. may help.

[jffrider12]

Not getting anywhere close to advertised speed,2017 acer labtop,best i get is 230mb up and down,had new ONT box installed,technician was nice but insisted he was getting 900+mb on "HIS EQUIPMENT"..after a few excuses,he left...not happy..NOT WORTH THE MONEY..

[jonjones1]

Did you check your speed at https://www.verizon.com/SpeedTest/instantinternet.aspx

which is the only speedtest Verizon accepts.

That laptop has a high enough speed rating so make sure you have it plugged into the routers LAN port (there are 4 of them) and then run your above speed test.

it is possible you are not provisioned correctly. A call to 1-800-VERIZON should have them test your connection from their server to your home router.

do not attempt any speed test over wifi since those numbers will in many cases show lower speeds. Also make sure your computer has all the updates and then turn it completely off and back on.

[jhartmac]

When you say not provisioned correctly what does that mean?  I used the verizon site, it does say the Quantim router is 900 900 but that isn't making it when I wire both my computers direclty .these are not...

[jonjones1]

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@jhartmac wrote:

When you say not provisioned correctly what does that mean?  I used the verizon site, it does say the Quantim router is 900 900 but that isn't making it when I wire both my computers direclty .these are not...

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I think that should be self explanatory. It simply means when you have gigabyte speeds it should be close to 1024/1024 and Fios states up to 940/880 which is clearly stated.

the speeds you are showing are within that disclaimer.  Here is what I normally see speedtest wise from Verizon’s Test serverOctober 1, 2017

[jhartmac]

You are correct, however that speed test on the verizon speed test site cannot be accurate.  If it were, then my speeds wouldn't have gotten better after I rebooted the ONT.......before the reboot the verzion site was saying 900/900 to the router.  None of my hardware has issues......and  have Cat 7 and no other interference issues......so something is obviously wrong......

[jonjones1]

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@jhartmac wrote:

You are correct, however that speed test on the verizon speed test site cannot be accurate.  If it were, then my speeds wouldn't have gotten better after I rebooted the ONT.......before the reboot the verzion site was saying 900/900 to the router.  None of my hardware has issues......and  have Cat 7 and no other interference issues......so something is obviously wrong......

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Did you read what you wrote above in the quote and in the previous post you made about speeds after rebooting the ONT? I don’t think so.

if you previously had 900/900 and you think that is not fast then reboot the ONT and your speeds show way less then there is either a credibility issue as to just what numbers you are showing, and maybe posting in reverse. Bad numbers are the lower numbers you posted and not the good 900/900 so please get your facts and figures correct.

Cat7 is just a fantasy at present. It has not been certified the last ethernet is cat6e and Fios installers use cat5e so that new 7 means nothing. Just a way to pick your pocket.

And the Verizon speedtest site is a proprietary network. It is not fraught with internet obstacles or slow downs you will see with outside test sites like speedtest.net etc.

if your speed from Verizon’s servers are showing 900/900 to your home then that is all Verizon Fios will accept as being up to as their service qualifier.

Nothing you can do it’s just the way it is.

Your device speeds are not really a concern to Fios. They give a test to see how fast it may connect to them. Nothing more.