r/Fios • u/Signal-Newt-4488 • 1d ago
Repair/Tech Support Help!
After literally spending days over the course of weeks trying to fix this, I'm at my wits end.
I pay for 1gb fios internet speeds. But I have never seen higher than 200 down/200 up via wifi.
Pre-reqs info: I'm working from an M1 Macbook Pro, and a 2013 Iphone. I am referring to speed tests all done directly facing my router at approx. 4-5 feet away - no obstacles between me and it. I am using a Verizon brand CR1000 router. I'm running speed tests in terminal and on Verizon's speed test site (terminal to circumvent any browser constraints). For my laptop, I have to use the business site because for whatever reason the personal speed test website won't work on my laptop despite an absurd number of attempts and configurations. I'm doing the verizon tests in an incognito tab in chrome. So I don't think the hardware is the limiting factor here, despite the helpdesk wanting to blame everything on my devices.
I know that I can hardwire my computer, and the apple TVs in my home. But I can't hardwire my phone. Verizon simply shrugs and says "we can only guarantee speed from us to your router." IT'S COMPLETELY USELESS TO TALK TO THEM. These speeds have been consistent over my entire 5 years with Verizon, but now it has started to get worse.
In the past couple of months my speeds have been so bad that I have had to cancel work calls or had to drop from video calls midway through. I consistently have to close all AI apps on my laptop (whether something is actively running or not) to ensure call quality. I've also experienced blips in service that my neighbors in the same building are not experiencing.
I live in DC and I know it's a congested area. I've tried every hack I can think of to optimize the browser and the router both. Calling verizon pushed me from 12 mb download speeds, to 196. After all the tweaking, I did once get 375 down / 22 up, but that happened once, and then went back to the more balanced 190s / low 200s for speeds in all tests since on both my phone and my laptop.
I did have one decent conversation with a rep who acknowledged the drops in service are definitely signs of a problem on their side somewhere. He sent me a router, or claimed to. I had to follow up a week later after it never arrived, and someone else actually sent it. When it did arrive, it was a G3100 - a step down in router capacity. When I called the help desk again, she made no offer to replace it, just told me the G3100 should be returned.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET THE INTERNET SPEEDS I PAY FOR???? TBH via wifi, anything over 500 would be amazing. but 200mbps is ridiculous. I might as well downgrade my plan and fight them for a refund for the absurdity of the situation.
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u/thebemusedmuse 1d ago
I have a M5 MBP with Unifi U7 Pro APs and get the full Gigabit on FIOS, and closer to 2Gbit locally.
5 years ago I had the M1 MBP with Google APs and got about 400-450Mbit.
So about half of your problem is your old Mac with WiFi6 support (you will never get above 400-450 with that Mac) and half of your problem is the WiFi access point.
Question is, what are you willing to spend to fix this?
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u/Signal-Newt-4488 1d ago
Ok this is very helpful thanks. FWIW I'd like to fix as much as I can that isn't the macbook, because I don't have other pressing reasons to upgrade the laptop. and I clearly haven't yet maxed out the macbook's capacity for wifi speed yet, so I don't think that's the problem based on what you're saying (I've never ever seen speeds up or down of 400+ on any device)
re: wifi access point, what do you suggest change about the access point?
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u/thebemusedmuse 1d ago
Well I would start by plugging the Mac in and making sure you get the gigabit there. Make sure that the problem isn't in your FIOS service.
From there, choose your own Access Point. I'm a fan of Unifi, but if you're non-technical then there are other options like the TP-Link Archer BE9700 - do some research and buy a unit that you like the look of.
Your MacBook can only do WiFi6 but your phone may do WiFi7, I'm getting about 700Mbit on my phone right now, through a wall to my nearest AP.
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u/krypdoh 1d ago
- You need to test WIRED first to get a base reading. You should get 900+/900+ with a CAT6 cable, with a capable device.
- The WiFi on your MAC is old. You can try disabling the other bands on the card and only use ONE band (802.11a for instance). Whichever is the newest one. Check for uncontested channels for your router to use.
- If you NEED higher bandwidth on your MAC, use a cable. If you can't cable to your router (distance) then try getting a WiFi booster/router access point for your room and plug the MAC into that.
- With your old ass devices, you can easily get away with 300/300. Save some money that way and save up for a new MAC ;)
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u/Signal-Newt-4488 1d ago
did check for optimum channels ✅
Working on figuring out a wired connection the whole way to my desk, but to your point I should still be able to do a nearer term wired speed test without all the fuss... will update once I've located an adapter for my macbook.
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u/CTFowler9789 1d ago
If you are getting your speed hardwired then the Verizon fulfillment is done. No guarantees on wifi.
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u/JE163 1d ago
I doubt you’ll get bigger speeds with those devices. What router do you have and can you change the channels being used? Are your devices connecting to WiFi 5 bands?
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u/Signal-Newt-4488 1d ago
yes post-tinkering routing everything through the 5ghz bands (will likely change this to be SON off + IoT stuff on 2.4 and then everything else on 5).
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u/su_A_ve 1d ago
What are you doing that requires you to have more than 300/300?
If you do, you may want to invest in a better WiFi system or at least connect via Ethernet.
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u/Signal-Newt-4488 1d ago edited 1d ago
My point here is that I'm paying for something that I'm not ever able to actually GET. so what's the "better wifi system" you're suggesting? that's literally the whole question of the post.
And, if you had read the whole post, you would already know for starters, I expect video calls to not drop when I'm paying for this kind of capacity!
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u/Jaffa0813 1d ago
I mean 100 is more than enough for video calls.
I would look at some Third party router options and use those. Like Netgear. I have had a Netgear Orbi for 6 years in my Fios network I get about 250-340 on average both up and down on my 300/300 plan and about a 8ms ping. I have no doubt if I had a gig I would be getting close to that. Probably more 900mbps and some change.
I also have a TP Link Deco unit setup in another home with Fios. Too new for me to give my thoughts. I do like the Netgear setup better however even today. My ping is Def higher with the Deco on wifi unfortunately but the node in use and the wiring in the wall might be the culprit I haven't tried to figure that out yet cause I have no real world issues from that.
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u/Jaffa0813 1d ago
But umm don't replace your router with them. Just turn off the Fios router's wireless access point (wifi) and maintain the Fios as a router. And put the Netgear or whatever you get into bridge/access point mode to behave as the wifi access point only.
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u/Fiosguy1 1d ago
Wifi speeds are irrelevant. If the wired speeds are good, which they are 9 out of 10 times, the issue is either the router, wireless environment, or your device.
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u/Apart_Ebb_9867 1d ago
we can only guarantee speed from us to your router
First thing is to test while wired directly to the ONT. I understand that is not the configuration you want to run, but it rules out any Verizon problems.
4-5 feet away - no obstacles between me and it
That's strange. Are there any large metal panel somewhere around the router (not in the line of sight, as you said that's clear)? Can you use a relatively long ethernet cable to move the routher elsewhere for testing? Can you borrow a different router from somebody, again for testing.
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u/Signal-Newt-4488 1d ago
The verizon speed test does their network to my router, and that's coming back at 940/880 pretty consistently. so not likely on that side or with the ONT.
Metal panels, no, not that I know of... it's on the corner of my kitchen, an my unit is an add-on to a city brick row home - meaning my unit is not built of brick like the ones below me. I'm going to ask the same questions of my neighbor immediately below me (same apartment layout for the most part) and see if he has any different experience. I'll update when I hear back.
Also just thank you for a real response and consideration here!
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u/drewster85a 1d ago
Does your work laptop have a VPN or Zscaler or similar security platform?
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u/Signal-Newt-4488 1d ago
I do. I did the speed tests with the VPN off because everything I read said that can slow it down, but I also read something that said it can speed it up. re: VPN just let me know where the VPN needs to be running from to get the benefit. I'm willing to experiment here. I typically toggle it from my computer because I don't think the verizon router allows a vpn to run through their routers?
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u/Procrastodolist 1d ago
Log into the router and enable 6Ghz wifi and see if that makes a difference.
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u/bbear_r 1d ago
I have the CR1000 myself and test ~1,600 Mbps on my iPhone with 5 Gig. Granted though, my iPhone 15 is from 2023 and supports that speed. Your M1 MacBook from 2020 will average about 150-200 Mbps up/down on WiFi, though it does have a max physical link rate of 1,200 Mbps so if you hardwire you’ll get gigabit speeds.
Nothing is guaranteed over WiFi. Verizon’s G1100 Quantum Gateway from 2014 technically supports gigabit (1,300 Mbps over 5 GHz w/ 802.11ac), even though Verizon didn’t start selling gigabit themselves until 2017. The bottleneck in the majority of cases is the device. Even today, most devices are rated for gigabit at most with a wired connection, and less over wireless.
TLDR: If you want bleeding-edge wireless performance, you need bleeding-edge stuff. If you’re looking at a WiFi 6E router that gets 950/950 from the ONT, your entry-level MacBook from 2020, and a 10 year old iPhone, I frankly don’t understand how you arrived anywhere near the conclusion that Verizon’s equipment is the limiting factor here.
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u/nefarious_bumpps 1d ago
- Do you get the same results on your macbook and iphone? Are both of these devices managed by your employer? Do you have an unmanaged laptop or phone you could use for additional testing?
- Just to confirm, you've tried speedtest.com, openspeedtest.net and speed.cloudflare.com and can't run a test to any of these sites? This indicates some kind of problem with these devices' network stack. Are you able to ping those servers? If not, you might try manually changing your DNS servers to Cloudflare's or Google's public DNS servers then trying again.
- Are you using a VPN? If so, that could be limiting your performance.
- The Apple TV's will be fine with as little as 50mbps, probably even 25mbps, and an iPhone will be more than happy with 100mbps. Don't waste time chasing 1gbps on these devices because it will make zero improvement in how that work outside of nice speedtest results.
- It is possible that the RF environment in your home is overcrowded and there's just not enough clear, usable WiFi spectrum to get better performance. This is often a problem in multi-tenant buildings and densely-packed urban neighborhoods. Spending $20 on a USB-Ethernet adapter for your MBP is a good investment; at least it would eliminate poor WiFi from the equation.
- What issues are this causing you in real life? I agree that 200mbps is well below expectations, but that is still plenty enough for anything 99.9% of people actually use. I understand wanting to get what you pay for, but usually it's better to only pay for what you need and can actually use.
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