Verizon FIOS M1424WR REV.F Router,extremely low speeds

[heizenbrg]

Hi everyone, I just moved to a new home and purchased verizon quantum service 75down/35up, but it is not performing as expected. The previous owner had the same setup, kept the router in the basement. Am getting 20download/10upload with wifi, even if I have the laptop right next to the router. As soon as I connect the ethernet cable, I get up to 85mbps. There shouldn't be much interference, floors are made of wood, but there is a big tank with oil for the furnace right in the basement. What could cause such low speeds, and more Importantly, is Verizon responsible for fixing these issues for free, since I'm paying for a service that doesn't perform as required? I can pay for such low of a connection with only 20$ a month.

 

[USAFRet]

I have FiOS as well, 50/25. Verizon is apparently supplying the full speed to the router, as evidenced by the 85Mbps when wired in.

So it would seem to be something with the WiFi. What laptop and what WiFi adapter is in it?

BTW...the basement is the worst place to put a WiFi router.

 

[heizenbrg]

Yes I thought so too, the previous owner was an engineer, did all the wiring in the house miself with CAT5e cables but kept his entire setup in the basement, there is no way I can get the router in the living room, all the wirining is down here!
The laptop is Macbook Pro 13 inch Early 2011 model, Wi-Fi wireless networking (based on IEEE 802.11n specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible.
Since Verizon is supplying the full speed, I'll obviously have to pay an arm an a leg to get a guy to come here and move the router, unless I can do it myself (how?)
On another note, I'm a big online gamer, I have a desktop Pc connected through ethernet, am getting huge latency and lag in online games. I had much better performance with 30mbps connection for 20$ back in a small studio I was living in.

UPDATE: Could these be my options?


1. You can get a wireless signal extender connect it in your house in a central point between the router and the affected device and it should increase the wireless signal.

2. you can get a wireless N router and piggy back that to your Verizon Router - this provides the strongest wireless signal that you can possibly get in the house, by replacing verizon's old G router technology with the new N router standard that gets a lot further distance than verizon's router.

3. You can get a really long coax and run the wire yourself and bring the router closer to your PC (very inexpensive fix my 12 foot cable cost 3 bux)

4. You can hire verizon to come in and do the same for you (crazy expensive)

5 You can go online to a place like EBAY and purchase a NIM 100 or another Actiontec MI424 router for $20 bux or more (depending on which auction you get it from).
This option will only work if you have a working coax connection in the 2nd room.
My recommendations
If I Wanted to stay wireless then I would probably get the wireless N router and call it a day.
If I didn't care about wireless and I Wanted speed and performance and I had a working coax connection in the other room, I would by a tv splitter, and the Actiontec or the NIM (Depending on the price) and hook that up in the 2nd room.
this option would look like this wall ---> coax --> splitter --> one side goes to TV --> other side plugs into Nim100 or Actiontec -- > ethernet cable from the router to the PC.

I do have a Netgear N150 Router, could I get it connected to the verizon one?

 

[USAFRet]

Question - Do you also have TV through FiOS? If so, the splitter idea won't work. All that (I believe) need to go through the ActionTec as well.

Options:

1. Move the router. All you need is to route the coax from the ONT box to where you want the router.

2. A the secondary router. Turn OFF the DHCP and router functions of the ActionTec. Plug the new router into the back of the ActionTec. That will then become your primary router amd DHCP server. Place it where you want.

 

[heizenbrg]

Question - Do you also have TV through FiOS? If so, the splitter idea won't work. All that (I believe) need to go through the ActionTec as well.

Options:

1. Move the router. All you need is to route the coax from the ONT box to where you want the router.

2. A the secondary router. Turn OFF the DHCP and router functions of the ActionTec. Plug the new router into the back of the ActionTec. That will then become your primary router amd DHCP server. Place it where you want.

Thanks for the reply
The biggest question right now is how in the world does the speed drop more than half as soon as I disconnect the ethernet cable connected to the router and turn on wifi. I'm less than an inch away from it but get the same speed I would get from the third floor.
There is a TV connected through Fios, there is a coax able that the owner placed for TV. Sorry am not very knowledgeable of networking, to get a longer coax I would need to wire it from the ONT through an entire floor and through a wall, isn't that a huge job? Since there is a Coax for TV, couldn't I possibly split that for router and TV? I that was possible, I would also have to find a way to connect an ethernet for the Desktop PC, but there are no ethernet cables close to the TV coax.

 

[USAFRet]

If you're that close and still getting very low speed, then there is something else going on. Either router settings or settings in the laptop.

Before you go rewiring everything, do you have a friend with a laptop, to see if they get the same 20/10 WiFi speed?

 

[heizenbrg]

If you're that close and still getting very low speed, then there is something else going on. Either router settings or settings in the laptop.

Before you go rewiring everything, do you have a friend with a laptop, to see if they get the same 20/10 WiFi speed?

Yes, I've tried with a windows laptop and another macbook, same thing. Connection via Ethernet seems to work fine. I'll have to call tech suport and send someone over, they just did a quick job, were supposed to call to make sure everything was functioning.
Am checking router settings, there is a big difference in received and sent packets, don't know if that is an indication of anything. Anything in particular I should look for, I guess it really is a router setting, especially if the single is low even when the device is sitting right next to it.

 

[USAFRet]

If you're that close and still getting very low speed, then there is something else going on. Either router settings or settings in the laptop.

Before you go rewiring everything, do you have a friend with a laptop, to see if they get the same 20/10 WiFi speed?

Yes, I've tried with a windows laptop and another macbook, same thing. Connection via Ethernet seems to work fine. I'll have to call tech suport and send someone over, they just did a quick job, were supposed to call to make sure everything was functioning.

If two laptops are doing it, it's probably something in the router WiFi settings.

Under Wireless settings, Advanced Security Settings, Level 3 - 802.11 mode
Either Compatibility Mode (802.11b/g/n) or Legacy Mode (802.11b/g)

Compatibility Mode is what you want.

 

[heizenbrg]

If you're that close and still getting very low speed, then there is something else going on. Either router settings or settings in the laptop.

Before you go rewiring everything, do you have a friend with a laptop, to see if they get the same 20/10 WiFi speed?

Yes, I've tried with a windows laptop and another macbook, same thing. Connection via Ethernet seems to work fine. I'll have to call tech suport and send someone over, they just did a quick job, were supposed to call to make sure everything was functioning.

If two laptops are doing it, it's probably something in the router WiFi settings.

Under Wireless settings, Advanced Security Settings, Level 3 - 802.11 mode
Either Compatibility Mode (802.11b/g/n) or Legacy Mode (802.11b/g)

Compatibility Mode is what you want.

It is on Compatibility mode, I can try performance(802.11b/n) but am unsure all my devices will connect.
found an article that describes exactly my problem. Seems like the router provided shouldn't be used for the speeds I'm paying for. I doubt they'll come in and exchange it+ fix the router problem, even though I paid for a contract and am supposed to get these speeds. I also changed to wifi channels, to no avail.

 

[USAFRet]

If you're that close and still getting very low speed, then there is something else going on. Either router settings or settings in the laptop.

Before you go rewiring everything, do you have a friend with a laptop, to see if they get the same 20/10 WiFi speed?

Yes, I've tried with a windows laptop and another macbook, same thing. Connection via Ethernet seems to work fine. I'll have to call tech suport and send someone over, they just did a quick job, were supposed to call to make sure everything was functioning.

If two laptops are doing it, it's probably something in the router WiFi settings.

Under Wireless settings, Advanced Security Settings, Level 3 - 802.11 mode
Either Compatibility Mode (802.11b/g/n) or Legacy Mode (802.11b/g)

Compatibility Mode is what you want.

It is on Compatibility mode, I can try performance(802.11b/n) but am unsure all my devices will connect.
found an article that describes exactly my problem. Seems like the router provided shouldn't be used for the speeds I'm paying for. I doubt they'll come in and exchange it+ fix the router problem, even though I paid for a contract and am supposed to get these speeds. I also changed to wifi channels, to no avail.

This prompted me to check mine. Exact same router, same revision. 50/25 advertised speed.
I just checked and got 23down/26up on WiFi. Wired speeds have been in the range of 57/37.

I never noticed before, because I rarely use the WiFi. Pretty much only for the Eye-Fi in my cameras.

 

[heizenbrg]

If you're that close and still getting very low speed, then there is something else going on. Either router settings or settings in the laptop.

Before you go rewiring everything, do you have a friend with a laptop, to see if they get the same 20/10 WiFi speed?

Yes, I've tried with a windows laptop and another macbook, same thing. Connection via Ethernet seems to work fine. I'll have to call tech suport and send someone over, they just did a quick job, were supposed to call to make sure everything was functioning.

If two laptops are doing it, it's probably something in the router WiFi settings.

Under Wireless settings, Advanced Security Settings, Level 3 - 802.11 mode
Either Compatibility Mode (802.11b/g/n) or Legacy Mode (802.11b/g)

Compatibility Mode is what you want.

It is on Compatibility mode, I can try performance(802.11b/n) but am unsure all my devices will connect.
found an article that describes exactly my problem. Seems like the router provided shouldn't be used for the speeds I'm paying for. I doubt they'll come in and exchange it+ fix the router problem, even though I paid for a contract and am supposed to get these speeds. I also changed to wifi channels, to no avail.

This prompted me to check mine. Exact same router, same revision. 50/25 advertised speed.
I just checked and got 23down/26up on WiFi. Wired speeds have been in the range of 57/37.

I never noticed before, because I rarely use the WiFi. Pretty much only for the Eye-Fi in my cameras.

Ok, you should do what I just did, change the encryption to WPA2 personal. The password will be in the settings. I just tested mine and im getting up to 45 on the first floor, right above the router. At least that is some improvement. I got a question, is your ISP resonsible solely for providing bandwith, or are they supposed to set it up for you to get actual speeds? I can't imagine a couple that is ignorant of such things but needs the speed provided, but can't have the time to get money's worth. I'm sorry but it is kind of BS that someone pays premium for extra service, only to get what some other guy gets for much less, especially if the person is unaware of the crappy speeds.

 

[USAFRet]

Mine was already WPA2 Personal. I'll have to look into it more. Maybe a firmware update.

As for the 'responsibility' aspect...yes, when the guy leaves it should all work as advertised. In my case, I upgraded from 25/25/ to 50/25. So the original speed was just fine on WiFi. Moving up to 50/25 a few months ago, I never noticed that the rarely used WiFi speed had no changed.

 

[heizenbrg]

Mine was already WPA2 Personal. I'll have to look into it more. Maybe a firmware update.

As for the 'responsibility' aspect...yes, when the guy leaves it should all work as advertised. In my case, I upgraded from 25/25/ to 50/25. So the original speed was just fine on WiFi. Moving up to 50/25 a few months ago, I never noticed that the rarely used WiFi speed had no changed.

I have 30 days of cancellation, won't pay unless I get my advertised speed. I understand the technicians have lots of jobs in a day, but I think it's imperative you get what you asked for. I'll have to call an electrician anyways to figure out the countless wiring around the house. Ex-owner was an engineer and did everything himself. Thanks for helping!