Verizon Sent Me Another Rotuer That's the Same as the One I Have

[MyTHstery]

I signed up for gigabit service and was automatically sent a shiny new gigabit router.

My old router: FiOS-G1100, shipped firmware 01.03.02.02

My new router: FiOS-G1100, shipped firmware 01.03.02.02

Notice anything interesting?  That's right, Verizon sent me another rotuer that's exactly the same as the one they sold me in May 2017 (and which I've been using since then).  Now I get to pay $5 per month to rent this great new router, and I'm supposed to be grateful it's discounted from $10 per month.

Don't they have a database that shows I already purchased and activated the very same router?  That seems like something worth keeping track of, both so they know to send a new router to a customer that needs it and so they don't send an unnecessary router.

Oh, and I'm still getting the same 150 Mbps service as before, too.  I'm not terribly upset, since I was happy with the service before, but I do wonder why they went to the trouble of selling me an upgrade and sending me a new router.

       - M

[Edg1 · Accepted solution]

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@MyTHstery wrote:

I signed up for gigabit service and was automatically sent a shiny new gigabit router.

My old router: FiOS-G1100, shipped firmware 01.03.02.02

My new router: FiOS-G1100, shipped firmware 01.03.02.02

Notice anything interesting?  That's right, Verizon sent me another rotuer that's exactly the same as the one they sold me in May 2017 (and which I've been using since then).  Now I get to pay $5 per month to rent this great new router, and I'm supposed to be grateful it's discounted from $10 per month.

Don't they have a database that shows I already purchased and activated the very same router?  That seems like something worth keeping track of, both so they know to send a new router to a customer that needs it and so they don't send an unnecessary router.

Oh, and I'm still getting the same 150 Mbps service as before, too.  I'm not terribly upset, since I was happy with the service before, but I do wonder why they went to the trouble of selling me an upgrade and sending me a new router.

       - M

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I don't know why they do that. It is not the first time I read that on here. 

Two things you should call and tell them to take that charge off since you already have that router. Second thing if your still getting 150 mbps they will probably have to make sure your provisioned for a gig.

[MyTHstery]

Thanks for the response.  Within a few hours, the speed jumped up into the 400-600 Mbps range with occasional higher bursts, depending on which test I use.  Maybe Verizon set up their network to wait and provision the higher speed only after they detected the new router online.

They really should have a way to complete the provisioning without delivering and activating an unnecessary new router: either remember the last router they sold me, or sense the router currently in use, or ask me whether I want a new one.

             - M

[MyTHstery]

The saga continues.  When I called Verizon customer service to inquire about why they sent me a router that was the same as before, I got a confusing answer.  I ended up speaking with a second representative for about 45 minutes and eventually, both I and the representative thought we understood the situation.

Back in 2017, when I paid a $150 fee to upgrade to 100 Mbps service, I thought I was buying the router.  Verizon thought they were giving me the router for free, and the $150 was for the service upgrade.  Perhaps I misunderstood.

This year, Verizon changed its policy and decided to resume the practice of charging for router hardware.  By upgrading to Gigabit, my account fell under the new policy, and I could no longer continue to use the free router.  Instead, I needed to send that router back and install an identical one so they could start charging me the monthly rental fee.

When I complained that it seemed like an unnecessary effort to swap identical hardware just so they could charge me more, the representative pointed out that the $10 monthly rental fee was discounted to $5.  Then she figured out how to apply another unrelated $10 monthly loyalty bonus to my account.  That means, in some sense, I'm saving $5 per month for the next 24 months.  OK, fine, but the swap still seems silly.

          - M