John Kettler Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 A friend of mine has Verizon DSL (NOT FiOS) and is pretty sure the router's the problem. Testing has found that unplugging, then plugging the router back in will briefly resolve major data rate issues and sticking, after which the system runs in broken back mode so severe that he's able to do E-mail and that's about it. Sounds like he's running at 28.8 or thereabouts, seeing as how he likened it to the way things were 5 years ago. In talking to Verizon, an exercise in total frustration to even get to a live person, he was informed that he would have to buy a new router, even though he's already paying a monthly fee for service. Not only didn't that go over well, but he's not even sure the woman he talked to knew what she was talking about. He spent hours on hold today trying to get some straight technical answers after being passed around, only to have the call dropped. What I'd like to know is whether he can just go get a router to replace the one that's apparently dead, or whether the Verizon router is in fact specially built internally and is therefore a must have item, as opposed to buying a vanilla router? Verizon's customer service is so awful that even if he decides to just buy the Verizon unit, it could take days, since he can't find live people to talk to there. Meanwhile, he's professionally hamstrung in terms of both graphics (would need a courier to transfer the huge files that are typical for digital retouch and finish, files normally moved over the Net) and marketing work. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tero Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 What is the nominal speed the ISP is promising ? If he has 2Mb promised it may still be that the ISP is not actually promissing anything more than 28,8 (if even that). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilhammer Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Does he have a router separate from the DSL box? My experience is that DSL comes with its own 'box', and a router placed in front of it needs to be 'bridged' to get the most of it. If he is leasing his router from Verizon, he can stop wasting his money, and just go buy one - I am fond of the Linksys WRT5g series, but it really does not matter. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilhammer Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 There is another possibility - has he gone over any Verizon monthly limits? I don't use Verizon (Road Runner for me), but I have read about Verizon having a 5 GB per month limit, that when exceeded, results in DSL becoming modem speeds. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 Tero, Don't know, but will find out. Wilhammer, Apparently, everything's in one module, whatever that means. Appreciate router suggestion! Was unaware of any monthly limit on Verizon, but given the gigantic files my friend handles at times, it's possible that if there was such a limit, he exceeded it. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Verizon cripples their routers with their own untested firmware changes. My FiOS router also needs a powercycle on a regular basis. A quick google will show you that Verizon doesn't deliver any working routers. You should be able to use any router that can clone the MAC address, but you might have to wait for the DHCP lease to expire. To prevent people from fiddling with things Verizon thinks it's a good idea to only answer out DHCP at times of their choosing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 Redwolf, I follow the first part, but what does the phrase "to only answer out DHCP at the times of their own choosing" mean, please? Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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