Gaming Verizon...

Zetta_x

The Insane Statistician
OP
Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
1,844
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
574
Country
United States
Over the past few weeks, my internet has been nothing but crap. The max we have ever gotten in this household is approximately .96 mbps when only one person is on (sometimes we have 5+ devices on at once).

In July-August we got a notification that the equipment for FIOS would soon be built into our neighborhood, so we were going to put up with it until then. When you upgrade to FIOs, you get a new better crap router so I hesitated in spending money for a new router.

Lately, it's been even more than crap. Since we do not have the equipment for FIOS we have the fastest DSL service we can get with them (which is pretty cheap in cost). It's not that our internet is not reaching max download speeds, our connections around the house are often dropping out and the upload speed is almost approximately .005mbps at any given time. So one night I got really drunk and sent them about 100 notification requests for when FIOS gets implemented. Each time I sent one, my name column was a sentence telling them how much I hate them. The 100th one, I put in an essay into the name column explaining how much more I hate them and pretty much went on a drunken rant.

So we called them up because I like pushing my problems on verizon and they spent an hour with me doing what I already have done to finally say they will try a new router. I get the new router, hook all of the equipment up, it detects the DSL line, but no Fliippping interrrrennnnettt serrrviiiiccceee... So I called them up (pretty drunk too) to work on another solution and subliminally add the word FIOS into each sentence. It was like, my internet !!F!! is not working !!O!!. I have done these steps... !!I!! and I'm sure my DSL is ho!!S!!ed.

When all said and done, they figured out that it was a problem with the central box and they gave us two months of credit. But the router I have before is above crap, the new router that was sent is nothing but crap, the router we would get with FIOS will most likely be not as much crap but still crap if they ever implement FIOS. They don't want to fix the DSL problem because they don't support it anymore, So I need a router recommendation.

It just needs to fit these requirements:

-Isn't crap
-I don't care wtf firmware is on it
-Won't overheat like the e3000
-possible to have simultaneous n and g connectivity
-Isn't crap
-preferrably something that has a a lot of reviews on it
-prefer to have the modem not built into it like these crap ones verizon keeps sending us
-isn't crap
-recommend a modem that would not have without a doubt some problems.

Thanks!
 

Joe88

[λ]
Global Moderator
Joined
Jan 6, 2008
Messages
12,736
Trophies
2
Age
36
XP
7,407
Country
United States
I just got fios installed today - 15mbps
upgraded from dsl - 750kbps
the new wireless router they gave me is pretty good, has b/g/n

anyway my old setup was:
Westell DSL modem
Linksys BEFSR41 4 port router
Linksys BEFW11S4 4 port wireless b router
Linksys WRE54G wireless b/g repeater
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person

Zetta_x

The Insane Statistician
OP
Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
1,844
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
574
Country
United States
I'm glad that the router you received from verizon was actually pretty decent.

You have convinced me to start terrorizing verizon with updates on when FIOS is actually coming vs trying to find a new router.

Apparently the DSL connection between Verizon servers to my house are pretty f-ed up and the Verizon tech team are having dozens of errors just trying to ping the entire connection to my house. I am going to continue to push towards replacement with upgraded equipment that is FIOS compatible especially it is somewhere on the plans of development.
 

Originality

Chibi-neko
Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
5,716
Trophies
1
Age
35
Location
London, UK
Website
metalix.deviantart.com
XP
1,904
Country
I have yet to find a router (modem included or otherwise) that has zero problems. The high end routers I've tried over the years, invariably, get very hot. So do the cheapest ones I've tried (which, a couple weeks after using, I give away - they're only used inbetween switching high end routers). Many routers have periodic disconnecting issues, although most routers I've had in the last 5 years automatically reconnect within 10 seconds of the d/c happening. Also, whilst brands generally don't mean anything when it comes to routers, I've noticed some brands tend to have less problems than others.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person

exangel

executioner angel
Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2010
Messages
1,571
Trophies
0
Age
40
Location
Tucson, AZ
XP
602
Country
United States
The closest to flawless router I've ever owned was from the Linksys WRT54G Series -- looks a lot like the one in the picture on the header of the article but is a later model. I even threw DD-WRT on it once but that caused it to overheat more. It lasted for 4ish years, and with its factory firmware, caused the least amount of problems. A few weeks ago it simply stopped connecting to the internet, when the internet was working fine if I made a direct connection to the cable box.
I've also used Belkin, Netgear, and several lesser known brand routers, and if it were a contest, Belkin would be the second runner up.
However, the high end Belkin Wireless-N router I own in Tucson required a shitload of configuration before it worked properly almost all of the time (a $80-100ish model, that has built in USB Print and Storage service which I have a 500GB external HDD connected to). On the other hand, I have a $35ish Belkin router in Texas, that was basically plug-n-play, real low on the features, only supports up to Wireless-G though.

P.S. I highly support your drunken harassment of any major telecoms. If you get the chance to harass T-Mobile for any reason, I'll buy you an e-beer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person

Zetta_x

The Insane Statistician
OP
Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
1,844
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
574
Country
United States
I am not sure what it is, everytime I have to call Verizon up, all the rum and cokes seem to gravitate towards me. Actually I know what it is; it's that they must treat me like someone who would try sticking a router in the DVD drive to see if it will work. By the time I decide to call Verizon, I usually understand that I have done everything I possibly can and it is more probable that it is not because of user error but something on Verizon's end. Thanks for the recommendation exangel and Originality. I swear I have asked this question on GBAtemp forums before, but I feel that it has been a significant amount of time that maybe possibly some new technology came out and a new line of routers are superior than last years.

I love reviewing products, to be honest, I spend a lot of my day just reviewing through newegg and other computer sites just looking at hardware. If I had to buy a microphone, I spend about an hour looking at pretty much every available product and analyze all the pro's and con's of each and eventually pick a decision that will probably satisfy my wants the most. However, everyone in the family is counting on me to do something about the internet because quite frankly, half the time even on GBAtemp I can't load the page and my posts will not get through (i think it's an upload problem). I spent countless hours looking at different routers, different brands, different reviews and all of them seem to have an unusual high amount of problems.

In statistics, you estimate something by observations. But from all my observations, I cannot make a good estimate and I don't want to buy a router and end up not fixing problems or worse for it to give me crap and think it's the phone line. So instead of looking for observations of reviews, I figured I would get some data from people I can trust at GBAtemp
 

exangel

executioner angel
Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2010
Messages
1,571
Trophies
0
Age
40
Location
Tucson, AZ
XP
602
Country
United States
I remembered something else that may be important. The WRT54G series is only rated to Wireless G, and when my father's old router failed I picked a Linksys Wireless N "saucer shaped" unit to replace it due to WRT54G not being stocked by Best Buy there anymore, and it was SHIT. Frequent disconnects when the DSL modem at his place wasn't exhibiting problems. My dad went back to using the internal Wireless-B in his ancient DSL modem even though it only has WEP security. (He got it in 2003 I think.. and it was a freebie.) I can't remember the model number of the little Belkin router we got for $30 or $35 on sale at like Office Depot. Probably was only Wireless G though.

So in the end both of my homes have Belkin routers. N750DB is what I'm hooked up to at the moment, and based on the reviews, I'd recommend if you are thinking of getting it, get it from Best Buy so you can physically exchange it if it's defective (or get store credit towards a different router).
Although Newegg's RMA process is fast, it's still by mail, and it's required to get a unit back to their premises within 30 days of your invoice to get an RMA and that's a lot more trouble than it's worth if you're actually expecting the product may be defective. It actually cost us less than what Newegg is charging for it at Best Buy and it wasn't even a major sale event. It was possibly due to the high return rate/defective rate >.>

4/5 Eggs
Tech level: 5/5
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year (about 2 months)

Pros:
After using the CD included with the unit to install it on one of my computers, configuration and maintenance was easy.
Troubleshooting worked all but one time, which turned out to be my cable company doing some shit with my line.
I can see that simultaneous dual-band "is working" but I don't have any computers with "N" adapters in my home to verify.
NAS works great, with an AC-powered external HDD I own, it's not very fast even over Wired, but it's just fast enough to stream 720p video (haven't tried higher). (Typically about 3mb/s to write to it.)
The router software only needs to be installed on one computer and it probably doesn't need to be installed permanently, but it has monitoring built in and can check for updates for you automatically if you want.
After a recent firmware update mine no longer randomly disconnects.

Cons:
Difficulty getting the router to work proper & stable the "traditional" way (by accessing its home page rather than an installation CD.)
I have to occasionally reconnect the USB cable to my HDD, for my router to detect it, when I reboot the router.
The aesthetic value makes it seem like it wants to pretend it's not sophisticated electronics, and I don't like that there's only one indicator LED (color-changing).
It still sometimes has trouble connecting to the internet after a reboot, it usually takes a couple power cycles of my cable modem and the router to get it working again, but this may because after a while, I've figured out that my cable modem is circling the drain too.

Other thoughts:
* Though the hassles of talking with tech support and the defective rate of this router is worrisome, I've never had to call tech support to get my internet connection back, and bandwidth seems great except when using my network accessible storage.
* I love the network accessible storage more because it works for the whole network without configuration, even on different OS, so transfer speed was a worthy sacrifice for this functionality.
* I primarily use two wired connections to the router, but I use the wireless for a number of devices and my mother has never complained of problems with the wireless either (Wireless G though).
* The configuration permits you to use two different types of security for both bands, which would be real nice if we had Wireless N adapters in the house, cause that way I could set only Wireless B/G to WEP for use with my DS.
* "Guest" login options are pretty interesting if you have visitors often.
* The router permits scheduled "self-healing" (rebooting) but this doesn't do much for me since my cable modem gets a little wonky with soft-reconnects.
I actually submitted my slightly modified review to Newegg because the existing ones don't say much as far as anyone getting NAS to work or firmware updates helping.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person

Zetta_x

The Insane Statistician
OP
Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
1,844
Trophies
0
Age
34
XP
574
Country
United States
Thanks for the information, I would actually prefer a dualband router. I see that you haven't been able to verify the N connectivity but I'd be fine with G if the N wouldn't work.
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2: "Now I know why he took his own life"