Progressively worse picture quality (tiling, drop outs)

[Greg26001]

Last few weeks, I've had worse and worse PQ.  I started getting awful tiling on SD channels via the DCT700's I have.  Some channels won't even work at all.  Now on the HD Arris boxes several channels have bad pixelation/stuttering.  It's getting very slowly but somewhat progressively worse.

I cannot get through the Fios online help for Picture Quality Issues.  It keeps going to DVR problems, which I don't have.  I've read that some people get this fixed with a replacement of the ONT.  Mine is an old one (I-211M-G).  I've doublechecked all the splitters and what not, everything is tight.  I doubt Verizon would do a housecall at this time, but I can't even report it to them.  Can't call them, can't chat with them, and the online automated help like I said doesn't work.  

What can I do?

[Edg1]

Online fixes will do nothing. You either have bad coax, ONT, or even the fiber loop could have an issue. You will have to stay on hold until you get through or try @VerizonSupport via Twitter or Verizon Direct at dslreports.com

[Greg26001]

I changed the coax coming from the ONT to my 6-way splitter, no luck.  Verizon Direct said they couldn't do much as there was a "National Outage."  There's clearly many random reports here and over on that forum of pixilation issues, just mine haven't gone away.  Either the ONT is failing, or I don't know what.  

[clem21]

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@Greg2600 wrote:

I changed the coax coming from the ONT to my 6-way splitter, no luck.  Verizon Direct said they couldn't do much as there was a "National Outage."  There's clearly many random reports here and over on that forum of pixilation issues, just mine haven't gone away.  Either the ONT is failing, or I don't know what.  

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Good start, is there any way you could get support to send you a splitter to replace the existing one? It's the next easiest fix you can try.

[Greg26001]

@clem

I coupled the line right out of the ONT to the trouble line and it's still poor.  Basically what I've surmised is that the signal either coming into the house or from the ONT has degraded enough that on an inferior device (DCT700), the effect is much worse.  However, even on the IPC1100 devices, I'm getting bad PQ and video breaking up from various rooms in the house. 

I have one 6-way splitter, one of the lines, that goes to the 2nd floor, has one 2-way splitter on it.  That's it.  I've tried 3 different splitters on the 2-way, no change.  Yesterday I replaced the coax from the ONT to the 6-way split, and moved it, no change.  I'm planning to replace more coax that dates back 20 years upstairs, but it's going to be a few weeks.  

@jerro

I agree it's on Verizon's end, but idk if that's going to be resolved.  People on DSL reports and here continue to report pixilation problems all over the systems.

[clem21]

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@Greg2600 wrote:

@clem

I coupled the line right out of the ONT to the trouble line and it's still poor.  Basically what I've surmised is that the signal either coming into the house or from the ONT has degraded enough that on an inferior device (DCT700), the effect is much worse.  However, even on the IPC1100 devices, I'm getting bad PQ and video breaking up from various rooms in the house. 

I have one 6-way splitter, one of the lines, that goes to the 2nd floor, has one 2-way splitter on it.  That's it.  I've tried 3 different splitters on the 2-way, no change.  Yesterday I replaced the coax from the ONT to the 6-way split, and moved it, no change.  I'm planning to replace more coax that dates back 20 years upstairs, but it's going to be a few weeks.  

@jerro

I agree it's on Verizon's end, but idk if that's going to be resolved.  People on DSL reports and here continue to report pixilation problems all over the systems.

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Try looking in menu>settings>system information at the info page you should see SNR and quality levels for the current channel and the overall signal reaching the box. If they are not GOOD, there is an issue with either the in-home wiring or the signal getting to your house.

[merlin96]

What does it mean if the System Information shows as good?  I am also having pixelating and intermittent freezing, especially on CNN and MSNBC, both SD and HD versions of the channel, and on all television sets.  I don't have a DVR.  It started this morning and I found this thread when I came to the forum.  Maybe Verizon is just having a temporary problem with some of the channels?  if not,  does anyone know what it means if the channel shows as good when performing that menu>settings>system inquiry?  Thanks.

[jerro1]

Its not a on the customer's end it on Verizon's.. 116,117,118,119.CSpan more & many Channels are fine. had 7 ONTs changed out everything over the years.. Its not us its them.

[nowjustjo]

We are having the exact same problem on ALL of our TV's and boxes.  Like you, we can't reach Fios in any way.  Sadly, their customer service being useless is not new.  We're wondering if the stutter and pixelation and freezing has something to do with COVID-19 (more people home using up bandwidth or whatever) but we can't even reach someone to ask.

[merlin96]

I posted a question via the comments on Fios' Facebook page and received a reply with a link to see if there was an outage in my area (Philadelpha, PA), which there was not.  I just posted back and will let you know what I hear from them.  Here is the link if you want to try to check if you have an outage where you are.  https://vz.to/39vZMsb

[merlin96]

Update to my Facebook complaint on this issue - long and short of it is the Verizon rep is claiming that since the link shows there is no outage in my area, there isn't a problem and is just keeps asking questions about my ONT - what lights are on, rebooting it (which I didn't do because there are 60 posts on my neighborhood Facebook page complaining about this exact problem and I really don't think it's my ONT).  Anyway, the problem seems to be resolving, at least for now, so maybe someone else other than this person did something about it.  Lesson learned - the FB comment section is not all that useful IMHO.  Hope it's getting better for you all too.

[clem21]

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@nowjustjo wrote:

We are having the exact same problem on ALL of our TV's and boxes.  Like you, we can't reach Fios in any way.  Sadly, their customer service being useless is not new.  We're wondering if the stutter and pixelation and freezing has something to do with COVID-19 (more people home using up bandwidth or whatever) but we can't even reach someone to ask.

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You probably hit the nail on the head with the bandwidth issue almost overwhelming the servers. I'm sure none ever counted on the demand this situation has caused, and I'm sure it also impacted On Demand worse. I would bet they are working on expanding their capabilities. The system info tells you if your system is operating correctly from the ONT to the box you are checking. If it is all good, then the odds are it's a server end issue, nothing you can fix in-house.

[Greg26001]

@clem53

Thanks for the tip!  The DCT700 line is split off to another room which has the IPC1100 client box.  The SNR on ch. 103 is 42db, which is far better than the 31db I'm getting on the DCT700.  That said, since this is an IP box, I've been told the channel data is actually coming off the VMS1100 main server we have, rather than off the QAM feed like the DCT's do.  i.e. I'm not sure if it's an appropriate comparison/test now.  

@merlin96

Yeah, there's no service outage in my area either.