# Verizon Fios - Any suggestions on install/setup?



## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

I'm considering switching from Time Warner RR cable Internet to Verizon Fios Internet with telephone service as part of bundle. Any suggestions or words of advice on installation and setup?


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

I don't have any first hand experience, but if you have not already you should check out www.dslreports.com and browse to the FiOS subforum. Lots of smart people over there on the subject


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## funhouse69 (Mar 26, 2007)

Are you looking for anything in particular? I've had FIOS for a while and I am sure you are going to love it.

Off the top of my head I would make sure that they connect your modem to the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) via Coax and not Ethernet. The reason being is that Coax can actually support a higher speed and will prevent a service call if / when we ever get up to those speeds. 

For me (A hardcoare networking guy) Once they installed the Router I went in and disabled the wireless since at the time it only supported WEP which is pretty crappy encryption and can easily be cracked. It is possible they've updated it since then but I have my own coming back in via a VPN Tunnel which brings me to what I did next.

I have my Verizon Router as my first device but have been told that you can use your own (I've never tried this and can't since mine is connected to the ONT via Coax). From there I have it connected to my own VPN Device which I have set up as exposed to the Internet via port forwarding I am able to do site to site as well as roaming VPN connections. 

Oh one other thing... You have a choice of where you want them to install the ONT which is about a 1 foot square box that they stuck on the side of my house. You can also have them put it in your house if you so desire. They are also going to install a small UPS which will keep the phone only portion of the ONT up in you loose power. That also needs to be mounted somewhere but will be inside the house and have to connect to the ONT so keep that in mind when picking a location. 

I don't know what else to say since the rest is pretty standard when it comes to operation. You will find that it is FAST and very reliable. I've had it for years and I think I've had maybe one time when I wasn't able to access the net for a while. Keep in mind that I monitor my connection remotely. Needless to say I've been very impressed with the stability and consistent speed.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Hansen, with FIOS's speeds, I'd check out VOIP to replace your plain old telephone system (POTS). I use Phone Power, and I give them an A+ for cost, reliability, and customer service. MUCH better than Verizon for phone.

I am connected to the ONT with ethernet cable, and it works great. The one thing I hated with FIOS was their Actiontec router, which you need if you're getting their TV service. Fortunately, I was a very early adopter and also have a D-Link DI-624 router which works great. I also have a very good ethernet switch that does the actual routing.

I thought ethernet was faster than coax, so I'd urge you to do some research on your own.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Hansen, with FIOS's speeds, I'd check out VOIP to replace your plain old telephone system (POTS). I use Phone Power, and I give them an A+ for cost, reliability, and customer service. MUCH better than Verizon for phone [...]


I'm a VOIP fan as well, having had great success with Vonage (also an A+, based on my experience with them).

That said, Verizon has rolled out a new "digital voice" service in the NY area that may be available to the OP as well. It's not 100% VOIP, in that it doesn't move across the public internet until it gets to the head-end, but it's treated the same as VOIP re: taxation and other add'l fees.

As a result, Verizon is now offering a 15/5 Internet + Phone "double-play" in my area for a flat $60, with supposedly no extra fees. They want a 2-year commitment, tho.


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

funhouse69 said:


> Are you looking for anything in particular? I've had FIOS for a while and I am sure you are going to love it.
> 
> Off the top of my head I would make sure that they connect your modem to the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) via Coax and not Ethernet. The reason being is that Coax can actually support a higher speed and will prevent a service call if / when we ever get up to those speeds.


That is actually the opposite of what most say as if you do it via ethernet you can replace the verizon router with your own. :lol:


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## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

Thanks. The VOIP stuff sounds interesting. I currently have TWC RR for highspeed Internet. How does it work with something like that? Can I use my existing phones or do I have to buy new equipment? Will work with security systems that are tied to the phone system? What are tyical entrycosts and monthly fees?


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I have FiOS Internet at home. Here are my three tips:

(1) Make sure the installer runs Cat5 from the ONT instead of coax, especially if you're not ever planning on getting FiOS TV. If you do change to FiOS TV you will need a rewire but in the meantime having Cat5 means that you can use any router you want. The one they supplied me was only Wireless-G. 

(2) If you have a spare computer, let the tech set up the internet service on it instead of your primary computer. He may want to install all sorts of crapware and you don't need it. If you don't have a spare computer, set a system restore point and uninstall that stuff when he leaves. 

(3) If you do plan on using your own router, you will need to release the IP address from their router first. The ONT acts like a DHCP server with only one address in the range. There are instructions on how to do this all over the internet. 

PM me with other questions if you'd like.


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## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

Thanks everyone. Signed up for Verizon Fios Internet and Phone, and install is set for next Friday. 

It sounds like ethernet out of the ONT is the way to go since I'm not planning on giving up my DirecTV and I want to run my Linksys WRT-610N router. 

Any other suggestions or thoughts are appreciated. 

Thanks again.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Hansen said:


> Thanks everyone. Signed up for Verizon Fios Internet and Phone, and install is set for next Friday. [...]


You should love it. Did you sign up for "digital phone" or the "freedom plan"? If the former is available in your area, you won't get charged any add'l taxes.

I recently dropped my FiOS internet. Not because I was dissatisfied in any way with the service, but simply because Cablevision made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I was paying Verizon $42 for 10/2 service under an old grandfathered agreement dating back to 2006. Cablevision just offered me one year of 15/2 service for $30/month, no commitment required.

Closest Verizon has is a $60/month internet/ digital voice bundle that would give me 15/5 service, but I'm locked into Vonage until the end of the summer. Verizon also wants a 2-year commitment.

I figure I'll wait to see what Cablevision does with my pricing when my year is up and take it from there. Just in case, I'll go month to month with Vonage once my current deal expires later this year.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Hansen, I want to reiterate my previous advice, because I think you'll find it very important.



> (3) If you do plan on using your own router, you will need to release the IP address from their router first. The ONT acts like a DHCP server with only one address in the range. There are instructions on how to do this all over the internet.


The tech will want to install the Verizon router, which in my case was an Actiontec Wireless-G router. I suggest letting him do this so he can finish his quality control tests. Then after he leaves, search for instructions on how to release the IP address on the model router he gives you. Print that out.

If you forget to release the IP address, you will have to call tech support or wait 24 hours for it to release itself.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Yeah, the Actiontec router is crap. You'll not want to use it (although it IS required for FIOS TV)


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Yeah, the Actiontec router is crap. You'll not want to use it (although it IS required for FIOS TV)


You're not alone. I know a couple of folks on here appear to hate those routers with a passion. I had no problems with mine whatsover, so I'm not sure what it is about them that folks dislike. :scratchin


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

Steve said:


> You're not alone. I know a couple of folks on here appear to hate those routers with a passion. I had no problems with mine whatsover, so I'm not sure what it is about them that folks dislike. :scratchin


I have not had any problems with mine either.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

BTW - I never got the Actiontec router to work with my HR20's. My ancient VZ FIOS Dlink router is still happily working away with very good performance.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> BTW - I never got the Actiontec router to work with my HR20's. My ancient VZ FIOS Dlink router is still happily working away with very good performance.


Mine (Rev. "D") worked OK with the HR20's. But really any router that supports PPOE works just fine with Verizon. I was actually using my old Vonage/Motorola router as my gateway router, to insure best quality for my phone calls.

Unlike Stuart, I never had a problem release/renewing my IP with any router I had connected to FiOS, or switching routers for testing purposes. It was always instantaneous. There's apparently a difference in how the ONT's "phone home" in LA vs. NY.


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## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

My install is tomorrow. They ran the cable from the street to the house and buried it underground. Did a nice job. Even had to go under a creek bed that runs thru the front yard. Question is, will the tech be able to entend the fiber line? The cable crew left only about 10 feet extra and the ONT will need to go In the wiring closet in the attic...about 50 feet from where the crew terminated the fiber cable next to the house.


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## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

Thanks for all the great tips. The install went well in the end. I had planned on installing it in the attic in an area that is essentially the home run for all cat 5, telephone and coax in the house. He was resistant to do that and got his supervisor to agree but then they would have to send out the business unit to splice a UL rated fiber cable (used for business offices internal space) to the existing and then run through the house attic given it was about 70 feet away from the where the cable was entering the house in the garage. But that meant rescheduling install. Decided I didn't really want to take another day off of work so had the installer put the ONT inside the garage. They used an indoor rated ONT, which meant, another guy had to deliver one since my installer only had a exterior rated one. Ran ethernet from the ONT in garage to the home run area in the attic and tied into the cat 5e line to the router in the library. I suspect that's pretty close to what I wanted originally so I was good with that. Of course, the ONT's board was bad, which meant a trip to get another. Finally finished about 4 pm. Very professional install. Installer understood I planned to change out router so he just did a quick set up of it. Did some speed tests with Verizon router first. Released IP as suggested by Stuart. Hooked up Linksys WRT-610. Rebooted everything and I was off and running. Speed tests with my router were essentially the same as Verizon one. No relevant difference. The speed is really great. I had TW RR high speed cable internet, which was fast, but this is even faster...especially upstream.

Thanks again for all the tips. Now working on figuring out how best to modify my network to get the most out of the infrastructure I have in in place. See this thread. http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=175085


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Yeah, the Actiontec router is crap. You'll not want to use it (although it IS required for FIOS TV)


I've been using the Actiontec router for a couple years now with my FiOS internet setup. No problems at all, and I've had up to four computers running wirelessly on the network as well as a wired DirecTV HD DVR.

I don't have FiOS TV yet, but the offers are tempting...


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