FIOS 35/35 speeds suddenly very slow in Washington DC area

[Headhunter6]

For the last two nights, my Verizon FIOS 35/35 download and upload speeds have come to a crawl. I have reset everything --- router and computers. No luck. Speed Test returns a result varying from less than 1M to maybe 5-6M if I'm lucky. Loading any page on the internet can be agonizingly slow, even things like CNN.com or the NY Times.  Why is this happening?

[smith6612]

Have you per chance attempted to reboot your ONT? Sometimes those units need to be rebooted as well as they can get into states where they don't communicate with the network properly or simply mess up with transferring data. To reboot the ONT, disconnect the AC Power adapter first and then disconnect the battery for the ONT. Wait about a minute, and re-connect the battery to the ONT and then the AC power. The ONT should boot up and services should all be restored. See if the Internet is any improved.

If it's not improved, run a traceroute for us on your computer so we can see if we could get an idea of where a problem may be. It's best to run a traceroute on a hardwired computer seeing the issue, simply to avoid any issues with Wireless interference skewing the results.

[Headhunter6]

Have never tried to reset the ONT, which I believe is mounted on the outside of my house, unless I am mistaken. Isn't that the big box on the outside that shouldn't really be messed with by laymen like me?

[smith6612]

It would be that big box. You can technically mess with the Coax, Ethernet and Telephone connections within the ONT, as those are considered customer servicable. What you should never, ever touch would be the Fiber line. Disconnecting that or damaging that can really cause some issues. Fiber is both a pain to clean and splice properly if something happens to the clean connection.

Your BBU should be located inside if the ONT is outdoors, as the BBUs are not weatherproofed like the ONTs are. You should be able to shut it down and power it up without heading outside. The only reason you'd need to go outside is to check on the ONT's status lights to see if it has power and if the network connection is there, which we're saving for other troubleshooting steps for other times.

[prisaz]

Don't bother asking for a tracert. It will just get edited out for privacy by some moderator..