Verizon FiOS. Great service, terrible equipment

Tech Talk
#1

Please dont turn this into a “shouldve stayed with cable” topic. It wont help.

My dad recently decided to go for Verizons FiOS package for my family as a surprise. The TV and phone service is great. The internet though I’m still having networking headaches with. Verizons tech support was no help.

Before we got the FiOS service installed, we had a cable internet connection, and a wireless router servicing our home, a Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router, model # F5D8230-4, a 108g speed router with tremendous range.

When we got FiOS, the new modem was one of those shitty hybrid modem/router things. It’s a ActionTec MI424WR. The way FiOS is connected, you have forced to use the router ports built in so you can connect it to your main PC. Coax cable and ethernet cable come into the device from your wall, and another ethernet cable goes into your PC from on of the 4 ports.

http://www.actiontec.com/products/broadband/broadband_routers/index.php

Since I have to use wireless to get online with my computers(wires are out of the question, I am just too far away), I have to use my Belkin router, which offers huge ass range and double the speed. Naturally, this hybrid thing is messing it up.

Here are the issues I’ve had with my wireless PC(the “main” PC is my fathers, not mine):

-Totally unable to join any game servers via Steam. HL2/CS:S/etc.
-Torrents have gone to shit. They have NAT issues(whatever those are) and take forever. I use Azuerus.
-My wirelessly networked XBOX360 has occasional hiccups when playing games online.
-All of the fowarded ports on the Belkin router seem to go ignored.

How can I stop this FiOS hybrid thing fro messing up my network?

#2

I’m not a FiOS subscriber (not available in my area yet) but I’d like to take a stab at this problem.

The unit that Verizon supplied you with doesn’t look like a modem/router hybrid like they supply with DSL connections but more like a generic wireless NAT router. But I’m making a big assumption here since I noticed that the unit has both RJ45 or coax WAN side connections. If you have your PPPoE login and password information, you could always plug that in to your Belkin and see if it’ll log in to the network. Or even try DHCP instead of PPPoE since sometimes, Verizon will provision you for that from the get go also.

So try plugging in you Belkin, since it seems that you’re happy with that particular wireless router and using that instead of the one supplied by Verizon. But that’s all dependent on if the router is connected via RJ45 or coax (from the supplied picture).

#3

Also a lot of your issue you describe sound like cheap-router issues.

When dealing with a high speed connection, spending money on quality routers are worth every dime.

Attempt what the user above said though, they were good ideas. Personal experience with Verizon DSL has lead me to find on multiple occasions the routers/modems they give are utter shit. (I’m aware you have FIOS, but Verizon will still be cheap in every way possible imo)

Plain and simple.

#4

Ive had my belkin router to Verizons glitchy thing sicne day 1, hence the problems.

I DMZ hosted my Belkin router and it solved some problems, but Steam is still messin’ up.

#5

I just switched the Fios and i’m pissed about the internet as well. Mine is a different problem though.

I need to open up a port for torrents but i can’t seem to do it on the actiontec as well. All my torrents are slow as shit.

My internet keeps cutting off when torrents are running as well. Can anyone help me with this?

#6

I would stay away from the two router/two NAT network setup. Pull one and try activating uPnP on the one router you’re using. If you’re using XP, add the uPnP networking add on in the NIC (you’ll need the disc). See if that clears things up a bit with Steam.

#7

I’ve had problems with high seed torrents or opening up a lot of torrents on crappy/older routers. The processor [in the router] can’t keep up with all the connections being opened and closed in a large swarm. It tends to overwhelm them and connectivity suffers. That’s the only thing I can think of at the moment.

#8

damn that might be seeing as i have massive shit on it and barely hitting 3kbs

edit - goddamn…worst mistake switching over. Reason i did it was for fios tv for discovery HD. Now my previous cable company has all that shit now.

#9

I think this is along the lines of the guy 2 posts ago, but you’ll want to:

  1. see if these problems exist without the 2nd router in the way, but you’ll want to take the appropriate measures to make sure the ip addresses are reset, usually you can unplug the power to it for a few minutes and it’ll be ok. I’m not familar with that specific models.

  2. If the problem is definately the two router setup, you probably just want to disable the NAT/Firewall/DHCP on the 2nd router (making it just an access point for the original router), that way it won’t try to assign it’s own ips or create a subnetwork, here’s some information on a belkin, but you’ll have to find the one that works for your model

#10

Optimum Online/Cablevision, huh? Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised when I was going through the guide one evening and I noticed Discovery HD finally being available.

Question for both FiOS users, is the router connected to FiOS/WAN side via RJ45 or coax?

#11

rj45. ive never had any of these problems and ive had fios for about a year

#12

yea i had fios about 3 months now and have no problems and i have the same modem