Verizon FiOS problems/solutions.

In My Humble Opinion
1

Please don’t hate me because I work for Verizon, I don’t work for them directly at least. I’m one of the guys that people ask for personal extensions for, and ask to speak to my supervisor to tell them how great I was. My point being, I’m not the foreign/a-hole/idiot/dumbass you may have talked to before.

I do tech support for Verizon DSL. I used to be in the Premium Tech Support area, but they recently phased that out of the center I work in. I just took the test required to get into FiOS support, and I’m pretty sure I passed (they gave me new access on one of my tool sites).

The amount of info we’ve been provided with is effectively zero in re: FiOS, or anything new really.

What would really help me, perhaps I should say REALLY help me, would be any info that any FiOS user has in regards to problems and (preferrably) the solutions to those problems, to any FiOS specific issues.
Even for DSL, the training was mostly fluff/corporate BS. The VAST majority of specific troubleshooting skills are learned on the call floor. The chances of the same being true for FiOS, seem to me to be 100%, based on previous experience.

So, I’d love to hear about any problems that FiOS users have had. If the issue turned out to be a PC issue, a browser issue, or an OS issue, it probably won’t be useful to me. Line issues, sync issues, throughput issues, modem issues, router issues, are all game and welcome.

Also, if any of you can tell me about the hardware involved, I’d love to hear about it. We’ve been told NOTHING yet, not even the types of modems, or even how things are wired. I’m assuming that there will be a modem to PC via ethernet connection, but I’m not sure how the modem to FiOS connection will look like.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

2
  • but seeing as I’ve praised FiOS as the best thing since sliced butter, I guess I’ll chime in.

The FiOS CPE setup is pretty involved - we have the fiber termination with battery backup in the basement, hooking up via UTP to a wireless router in our den, as well as into our phone jacks. The router was supplied by Verizon. (I’ll find model numbers etc. when I get home).

Much to my surprise, I haven’t poked around in the router setup. It seems to work, and I’m just not that curious about things that don’t break. Apart from a fiber-breakage outage, the only problem I’ve encountered was a DNS server issues, so I called Verizon and asked them to give me the DNS server addresses for me to enter manually - which they did.

Not much help, I know.

3

Well I guess I might celebrate my second coming to the SDMB by praising FIOS(I delurked and then re lurked a few years back). After about 6 months the only problem I’ve had was my roommate forgetting to pay the bill and the service getting shut off for a day. Its is actually comparable to the speeds I get on the T3 at work. I wish I could give you more input on the problems and solutions but so far the only thing I got is - pay bills on time :slight_smile:

4

See my experience with the installation from hell here. Not the actual physical installation, because the guys who did that were great, but as I recount in that thread, my order was somehow screwed up beyond belief and it took more than two weeks to get it all sorted out.

It was a real pain in the butt, but I got a credit for the missing days. Since then everything has pretty much been fine. I have the full package: TV with HD DVR and premium movie channels, Internet, and phone. (My second phone line still comes in over copper.)

My hardware setup is exactly the same as Spiny Norman’s, although the fiber termination is in the closet on my rear deck, just a few feet from the closest computer. The cable modem/wireless router is an ActionTec MI424 MW. Seems to work okay, although I just found that the wireless signal is weak at the farthest point in my three-bedroom condo. It’s not a big deal because there’s already a wire running there for my office computer, and I rarely bring my laptop to that room. But in another thread someone said it should reach that far.

I haven’t had any service interruptions or slowdowns, the phone is fine, and the TV pictures are good. My only complaints are fairly minor issues with the user interface for the TV service. For the most part, it’s great, so all I have left to focus on are a few minor quirks.
[ul]
[li]I’d like to have more storage capacity in the DVR, and/or the ability to connect my own external hard disk to the system.[/li]
[li]In an earlier version of the interface, you could set the program guide to display only your selected favorite channels. This was very convenient. But after a recent “upgrade,” it doesn’t work that way any more. [/li]
[li]Also removed from an earlier version were the one- to four-star ratings for movies. I think this coincided with a change in the provider of the program guide data and descriptions, because the blurbs were suddenly much more poorly written, with spelling and grammar errors, and major spoilers. :eek: Things seemed to have improved since then, but I miss the star ratings. [/li]
[li]The worst part of all this is that Verizon apparently has no mechanism for reporting suggestions to correct problems like this. When I spoke to a phone rep, he said he had no way to report them, and the Web site similarly had no provision for reporting suggested user interface improvements. I tried sending a message in a form that was not intended for that purpose, but I doubt it got to the right people.[/ul][/li]
I don’t know if this was exactly the kind of thing you were looking for, but I think it’s great that you’re dedicated enough to doing the job well to post this thread.

5

Everything, nay, anything is helpful at this point.

I was just informed today that I got a 90% on my test for FiOS, I guess I missed two. I know one of the questions I missed, it was something like:

Which of these connections doesn’t support audio:

a) Coaxial
b) HDMI
c) Component
d) Composite

I knew coax was a/v, knew component was a/v, and thought HDMI was complete a/v, plus composite means 1. made up of disparate or separate parts or elements; compound, I thought that sounded like a/v, but I guess I was wrong.

They also had a question asking which video card slot was the best:

AGP
IDE
PCI
USB

I answered AGP because it was the best listed, but PCIe would be the real life answer.
So, now I get 6 weeks of training for FiOS only, I can’t IMAGINE what might take 6 weeks to explain, given we already know the ins and outs of the current communication system.

They took the crème de la crème of the agents in our center, and it looks like Verizon corporate might be training us directly. We’ll see how that pans out.

I deleted a lot of what I was going to say, in the interest of keeping my job, I am still dedicated to fixing problems though. I always will be.
I need to open a DBA, this is lame.

6

The question is a little vague, since some of these terms have multiple meanings. But I’d say that the answers are C and D. Both of them are video-only connections. Coaxial (i.e. RF coaxial) is an analog signal that blends audio and video, and HDMI is a digital signal with a discrete audio channel.

7

I love Fios.
The problems I had/have do not entirely pertain to what you’ll likely be dealing with, but anyway:

Major bitch1: They cut the copper wire when they installed Fios. That just isn’t cool. I have no desire to go back to copper, but don’t force me to stay like that.

Major bitch2: Fios internet is a credit card deduction. I apparrently can’t pay any other way. They can’t send me a bill, they can only do the CC. My Fios TV is a paper bill. Can’t be done any other way. Combining the 2 on one bill? HA!

Minor bitch 1: Any TV you want hooked up needs a settop box. At a charge.

When the tech hooked up the Fios TV, he hooked it up HDMI plus the audio cables from the settop box to the set. The Audio cables appear superfluous - removing them changed nothing. He also hooked up the box via composite cables, or started to but didn’t finish: they just dangled from the TV going nowhere.

Actual service: Reliable. Speed not quite as advertised, but still plenty good enough.

8

Since the “upgrade” to the new menus and guide, I cannot fast forward in DVR more than 10-seconds at a time. Any fix for that?

9

Yeah, I would have been bugged about that, but since I have two phone lines (three at the time), I was able to keep one on copper.

Hmmm… I’m getting everything on one paper bill, except the copper line, which is billed separately (and is okay with me, for business reasons). They even offered to pay me $25 to move my Verizon cell account onto the FIOS bill, which I accepted.

It might be different in your region, but you may want to try calling customer service again.

10

Doesn’t work that way for me. How long has it been? Could be a defective remote, or low batteries, or you’re hitting the wrong button.

11

Have you tried DVR->Settings->Skip & replay? The skip & replay are supposed to be settable values, which may have gotten reset during the upgrade.

12

I really don’t hope to enrage you, but I might. I heard second or third hand that there were differing laws between the treatment of copper vs. fiber lines. Apparently, copper lines are “public domain” (my term, not anyone else’s, just for the sake of clarity) and fiber lines are “private” or owned by a company (again my terms).

If I understood correctly, and the info provided to me was accurate, once a FiOS line takes out the copper wiring, it’s gone. If the customer wants to switch to a different service, new wiring has to be run. I doubt phone companies run new copper for free.

Soon everything will be fiber anyways, but I hate to mislead.

I’m just glad to be dealing with a more tech savvy base. I’ll not have to explain what a space bar is for a long time (hopefully).

I’ll stop now.

13

Thank you thank you thank you! This fix, alone, justifies my SDMB annual fee!

If only Verizon had given me a “M” so I could RTFM"

14

No problem. I’ve found it useful to spend half an hour or so going through every choice on every menu just to figure out all the useful stuff, like how to turn on closed captioning. Just don’t do it 30 seconds before your wife wants to watch Desperate Housewives, on the off chance you’ve screwed up the HD resolution to something your TV can’t handle and you have to power cycle the box to get it back.