Using my own router with new FIOS install not working

Question

I just had fios installed using my own router (netgear nighthawk).  The tech installed the ONT in the basement.  My router was set up upstairs in my guest room via the wall outlet network jack.  The tech did all this and left but wifi was never working to begin with.  he said give it an hour and it will work, so he was long gone and 3 days later i have no solution.  I went and got a Ethernet adapter port for my macbook and when i connect that to the wall jack it all works fine.  So all my phone calls to the fios team conclusion is the same, the connection works but i never got help setting up my router and no one on the phone helps because it is not a verizon router.  Any help/ tips appreciated

gs0b · Accepted Answer

Verizon only supports their routers.  They will not help with this issue.

If you are plugging your computer into the same jack the router was plugged into, you are connected it directly to the internet without the protections a router provides.  While useful for testing, you should not do this on a regular basis as your computer is exposed directly to the internet with no firewall or other protection.  The fact that it works tells us Verizon has done their job – you are getting an internet connection.  The rest is up to you.

It sounds like your router is not setup right.  For any router, the Ethernet link from the ONT must be connected to router's the WAN port.  Check and make sure you’re using the correct port.

If you share some more details about what is working / not-working, others here may be able to help.  For example, when you say WiFi is not working, does that mean you can connect to WiFi but can’t access anything or can you not even see a WiFi network?  You may need to perform a factory reset on the router to get it back to a known state.

Since it’s a Netgear router, you can get support from them or try their user forums, too.

Good Luck.