Switching to Verizon Fios

[Nick Kaufman]

So verizon fios is finally available in my neighborhood and I am thinking about switching. A quick perusal of their website reveals that I can get more than I get from my cable provider for less.
 
However, while googling, I find that tons of people have tons of complains about their customer service, along with some dirty tricks like overbilling you and forcing you to waste time to fight them. Do soshers have similar experiences to share?
 
Moreover, I do some stuff over the internet in which speed is less important than relaibility. Put simply, I want to avoid any internet drops as much as possible. How satisfied are verizon users here in this respect?
 
Last but not least, what's better. Committing for 2 years or going month to month?
 
Thanks

 

[Pesky Pole]

I've had Fios for 3 years since moving to PA.  They've been 100 times better than my previous experience with Comcast.  Service itself is better (more channels, clearer picture, faster internet with no degradation) and I can only recall one real customer service screwup on their part (they switched the Red Zone package and folks had to click on something to get to get the channel - which was very slow as everyone did it at the exact same time on the first Sunday of the season).  Other than that, they've been great.  When I went to renew this year, I did have a slight issue billing wise.  They offered me something then the terms changed when the email confirmation came.  I called back and they fixed it.  Not sure if that was bait and switch or an honest mistake. 
 
I committed to two years but only because of the deal they offered to lock-in.  They'll usually give you a prepaid credit card as incentive to do a long-term contract but that's up to you.  I say go for it but I'm sure you'll get many more opinions. 

 

[Orange Julia]

We originally signed up with Comcast when we moved from FFX to PWC and they screwed us over so we went with FiOS and we really couldn't be happier. I think we swapped out the router once in the last 4 years, but other than that, not much of a blip. I can't even remember (knock on firmware) the last time the cable or internet were down.

 

[AbbyNoho]

I don't have anything to add for you advice-wise, but I'm in a similar boat. My (non-FIOS) Verizon internet is intermittent and annoyingly slow, so I'm looking to upgrade when I can. If you decide to go ahead with this post a follow-up, I'd like to know how it works out for you.

 

[mascho]

Got FIOS when we moved into our house in September of 2012. Absolutely love it. Customer service has been great, install was flawless, and the only time we have lost the Internet was when we lost power during Sandy. Otherwise, no service drops of any kind. Would highly recommend it.

 

[bohous]

FIOS is by far the most reliable cable/ISP service I have used so haven't had much need to call CS and I was able to negotiate a better deal when we moved a year ago.
 
The biggest negative would be their menu system. Everything seems scattered and a sub-menu too deep like an old Nokia phone. They also recently went to a "home" page with a screen full of options every time you turn on the TV, which is really annoying.

 

[ChinaCat2]

We've had fios since about 2010, I think. Much more reliable than Charter was, we almost never have drops, and I no longer have to reboot my router every couple days. We havent needed service, so no complaints. I didn't like their DVR at all, so we bought tivos, and returned that one. It means we don't get their on-demand stuff, but I don't miss it.

 

[Dollar]

FIOS is by far the most reliable cable/ISP service I have used so haven't had much need to call CS and I was able to negotiate a better deal when we moved a year ago.
 
The biggest negative would be their menu system. Everything seems scattered and a sub-menu too deep like an old Nokia phone. They also recently went to a "home" page with a screen full of options every time you turn on the TV, which is really annoying.

 
Go to Menu > Settings > Television > Promotions, set it to "Off".  And that should turn off that home page.
 
And I agree with the majority in the thread, Fios is great.  Even the live chat on their website has been great, and really responsive to any questions I've had.  No problems with the service either.  I wouldn't hesitate in signing up for 2 years if there is a good promotion, but having a month-to-month contract is always nice too.

 

[bohous]

 
Go to Menu > Settings > Television > Promotions, set it to "Off".  And that should turn off that home page.
 
And I agree with the majority in the thread, Fios is great.  Even the live chat on their website has been great, and really responsive to any questions I've had.  No problems with the service either.  I wouldn't hesitate in signing up for 2 years if there is a good promotion, but having a month-to-month contract is always nice too.

 
Thanks for the tip. Never would have found that on my own.

Edit: although the instructions for disabling it were probably right there on the home page and I chose to ignore it.

 

[B H Kim]

Verizon dug up my neighborhood to wire for FIOS almost 5 years ago, but didn't start offering service until earlier this year (I probably called Verizon to find out how soon we could get the service about 25 times during that period).  I replaced DirecTV/Verizon DSL as soon as FIOS was available and I couldn't be happier with it.  The internet speeds alone have been worth it.  I'm consistently getting 75+ Mbps down/30+ Mbps up.  And I really haven't had anything to complain about.  I was worried about HD availability for Extra Innings (only some games are available in HD), but every Red Sox game so far has been in HD.  And I wasn't thrilled to give up the Sunday Ticket package, but I'm hoping that enough of the Patriots games will be shown nationally/locally in DC that I can get by without it.  I haven't had any issues with customer service (although I really haven't had any reason to contact them once my install was completed).

 

[NortheasternPJ]

With the XFinity X1 DVR from Comcast, Verizon and Comcast are pretty similar. You have the opportunity most of us don't, put the screws to both of them to get the lowest deal possible. My father and brother are both in Comcast & FIOS areas. They're both paying about $30 a month less than I am in a Comcast only city. One has FIOS, one has Comcast. I actually called on their behalf for all their deals and on my own. Since you have both, just leverage the shit out of each other and lie til you get it down as far as possible. 

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

I had FiOS in my apartment for two or so years, generally great experience. Speeds consistently at or exceeding what they promised, rock solid reliability, literally never went down for me. I would recommend it enthusiastically.
 
I did go with the two year contract (I think month by month was not available yet), and that did bite me in the ass when I moved to a non-FiOS zone, couldn't keep it and still got stuck with the early termination fee. If month to month is an option and economically similar, I'd take it, the savings with a contract would really need to add up to be worth the nigh inevitable dicking over with a fee if you can't perfectly time an exit.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

Thanks everyone. It seems that the decision is clear cut to switch.

Some observations:
 
- I also thought about negotiating with my current cable provider, but they re $20-30 more expensive and they would need to cut more than $40-50 in order to make it worth my staying. I don't think they ll cut $20 to be honest.
 
- I am ambivalent about the 2 year contract. I guess you re supposed to take it because you get a better price and you insure yourself against price hikes. However, it doesn't seem to me that the bonus offer is so much better than the one you get with month to month and I am thinking that while you take a risk of price hikes, it's tough for verizon to push them when they already have competition with my cable company and there's a very good chance they ll face even more from google, apple etc. Plus, the two year thingy seems to be a major source of complaint for people who tried to move out of their home.
 
Again, thanks for the feedback.

 

[TheRooster]

For a 2 year commit, I got a $500 gift card.  FWIW, I don't see the huge difference between Comcast and FiOS others have noted, but to save money, I'd switch to either.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

Ok, I am looking into their price offerings and it needs some time to decipher it. They do give a $300 card, but only if you select phone service and a two year contract as well. If you don't -and I don't- they don't. The phone service is an additional $10 per month so that's $240 for the two years. So, in effect the bonus is $60. As far as the difference between month to month and a 2 year contract, you lose $10 discount after the first 12 months, which conversely means your bill would go up by $10 after a year.
 
So, there's a tradeoff you make between stability and guaranteed prices and the ability to negotiate or switch whenever you want to. I am guessing the real benefit of the 2 year contract is $180.

 

[Curll]

I moved to Waltham a few years back, called Verizon and they gave me 25Mbps up/down for $40/month. No contract, no attempt at a bundle. Haven't gotten a single flier trying to get me to upgrade. Have not had a single issue, you can read my raves in other threads.
 
No cable, no contracts. Can't comment on that aspect. 

 

[BillyJo]

Thanks everyone. It seems that the decision is clear cut to switch.
Some observations:
 
- I also thought about negotiating with my current cable provider, but they re $20-30 more expensive and they would need to cut more than $40-50 in order to make it worth my staying. I don't think they ll cut $20 to be honest.
 

I made the switch from Comcast to FiOS at the end of June, and am quite pleased that I did.  I had an excellent experience with Comcast, and while they had always been able to offer discounts in the past, it would still cost quite a bit more than what FiOS was promoting.  Finally, I spoke to CS at Comcast in June as a promotion I had was expiring, and they would not give me a new one.  I checked out Verizon and made the switch.  I would have been OK with paying more to stay with Comcast, but at some point, I couldn't ignore the chance to save $45-50/month.
 
I got the Prime HD service as part of a triple play, and while I did not get the same number of channels as I got with Comcast, it did come with considerably faster internet speeds (75 up/35 down) and a DVR.  The HD quality was noticably better, as others pointed out.  Installation was quite easy, but I did notice that they cut the old copper telephone line to the house; we hadn't used that since 2005, so I don't think it will be missed.
 
Good luck!

 

[Bongorific]

Moving into a new home and looking at Fios as I hate Time Warner. What are people paying after the 2 years are up? We are debating whether to just do Internet and stream our shows through prime/Netflix/etc. The 50mb Internet is $45, the bundle with TV is $89 (plus fees, equines, tax). I'm curious what those numbers will look like in 2 years.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

If you do a 2 year commitment, I think you would be paying the same. If you do month by month, you will pay $10 more after the first year.

Many people choose, the former, I chose the latter for two reasons. With netflix, apple, google, hulu and others trying to change the tv market, you don't want to be locked up if a new innovation comes along. Most importantly, if you re getting verizon fios, this means you have at least one cable operator competing against them. Just the existence of such a competitor should keep verizon honest; if not, you can always leverage their presence for a better deal. In fact, my old cable provider sent me a discount offer once I let them know I was switching providers. It was too late by that point, but it shows that you have options.

 

[CheapSeats]

I just got Fios a couple weeks ago when I moved into a new apartment in Belmont.  The speeds have been great, and the television package is decent (I liked the Tivo UI from RCN better, but that's nothing big).  The problem is that about every two days the connectivity will glitch.  The television broadcast will go out for a few seconds, while the internet will go out a little longer (probably more to do with the connectivity of wireless internet to laptop vs television receiver).  On top of this, three times now the internet has gone out and not come back for a long time.  The first time I woke up and it was dead, but it as back by the time I got home.  The second time I called and they had me powercycle the battery in the basement.  The third time happened last night, and I just went to bed without bothering.  We'll see where it stands this evening.
 
I was hoping for more, but I'm still withholding judgement.

 

[loshjott]

I've had Fios about 3 years, after switching from Comcast, which was so bad anything would have been an upgrade. No problems at all with Fios, and in fact they just gave me "free" HBO until the end of Dec. 

 

[phrenile]

- I am ambivalent about the 2 year contract. I guess you re supposed to take it because you get a better price and you insure yourself against price hikes.

It gives you the right to call them every month and yell at them when they jack up the price even though they weren't supposed to. And then call the public utilities commission to force them to put a note in the account that someone is supposed to manually apply a discount to give you the "guaranteed" price, because it turns out that the discounts they offered you can't be applied automatically in the system for a period longer than the initial six months. And then call them every month when someone fails to follow up and apply the adjustment.

 

[Ferm Sheller]

Bumping this old thread because I have two FIOS-related questions that I'm hoping someone can answer for me.  We have three set-top boxes: two HD ones and an SD one. We're replacing the SD one and we're thinking about replacing it with a multi-room DVR box (which apparently would allow us to record a show on the DVR box but watch it on any one of the three TVs).  My questions:  
 
(1)  With this specific set up, can I record a football game (or whatever) and start watching say, 30 minutes or so after the game actually starts and fast-forward through commercials (in other words, watch while I record), or do I have to have to wait until the recording is fully done before I can begin watching?
 
(2)  If the answer to (1) is that I can watch an earlier part of the game while I record a later part, am I limited to doing so only on the TV that has the DVR box (in other words, can I use the fast-forward feature on one of the TVs that is connected to a non-DVR box)?
 
Also, I have two other related, but not FIOS DVR-specific questions: what is the best lag time for waiting to watch an NFL game that is currently being recorded (so that I wouldn't "catch up" to the live action until close to the end of the game)?  What about for an NHL game?
 
Another general question, how many of you actually do this (delay watching a live sporting event)?  Given participation in the Patriots' game threads, I would suspect not many do this.  I can't imagine doing it for baseball, but for NFL games, and to a lesser extent, NHL games, I think it would be a pretty awesome way to save time and not have to deal with annoying commercials.

 

[jayhoz]

1) you can start watching and fast forwarding while it is recording.
2) don't know

I often start watching Sox games late and catch up by the mid to late innings.

 

[Marceline]

I hardly ever watch sporting events live any more - almost always delay by an hour so I can skip commercials as I watch.

For NFL, the delay time depends on if you are skipping only commercials or also skipping time between each play. If just commercials, probably about an hour. Otherwise, you can cut out about 2 hours - if teams don't use a hurry up offense the 30 second skip button works perfectly for the time between each play.

 

[6-5 Sadler]

To answer your second question, you can watch a game that is still recording on your non-dvr box. All of the same features (fast forward, rewind, pause) will work as well.

I mostly do this for sox games but for an NFL game I guess it depends on how aggressive you are with fast forward. If you only FF through commercials and halftime I would guess 45 minutes would be about right. If you FF to the start of each play you could probably wait 2 and a half hours to start watching.

 

[Ferm Sheller]

Thank you, guys.  Much appreciated. 

 

[B H Kim]

When I got Fios earlier this year, I elected to go with multiple single-room DVRs instead of the multi-room set up, primarily because the multi-room features weren't worth giving up the extra recording capacity of multiple DVR hard drives (I believe that the multi-room DVR has the same size hard drive as each of the largest single-room DVRs).  (But I also didn't see much benefit to the multi-room features, since I very rarely have a reason to watch something on a set other than the one I recorded it on.  It's also worth noting that some of the Fios DVRs are expandable with eSata external drives and if the multi-room DVR is one of those, the storage issue becomes moot.)  

 

[finnVT]

Sorry to bump a stupidly old thread, but a quick question for other FIOS subscribers.  My 2 year contract is up, and I'm in the process of renewing to drop the price a bit, and am also trying to decide which TV package to get.  We're currently have the Extreme HD, but I'm considering dropping to Preferred HD, which is $10 less and loses only a handful of channels.  The big ones it loses are MLB (but i have mlb.tv) and NHL (but I have gamecenter).  Curiously, NFL Network is listed on both, but when chatting with a customer service rep, (s)he was adamant that we'd lose that one as well.  Does anyone know if NFLnet is included in the preferred HD package?  Or short of that, should I trust the person or the online channel list comparison?  (Does it vary by location?  If so, I'm in Pittsburgh, but that might also explain why the customer service rep wouldn't know?)
 
More generally, has anyone had success negotiating for better terms in exchange for a renewal than what you can bet by default through the website?

 

[Red Right Ankle]

They cut mine by 10 bucks a month just for calling for the same package I have.

No idea about your channels question though.

 

[B H Kim]

Sorry to bump a stupidly old thread, but a quick question for other FIOS subscribers.  My 2 year contract is up, and I'm in the process of renewing to drop the price a bit, and am also trying to decide which TV package to get.  We're currently have the Extreme HD, but I'm considering dropping to Preferred HD, which is $10 less and loses only a handful of channels.  The big ones it loses are MLB (but i have mlb.tv) and NHL (but I have gamecenter).  Curiously, NFL Network is listed on both, but when chatting with a customer service rep, (s)he was adamant that we'd lose that one as well.  Does anyone know if NFLnet is included in the preferred HD package?  Or short of that, should I trust the person or the online channel list comparison?  (Does it vary by location?  If so, I'm in Pittsburgh, but that might also explain why the customer service rep wouldn't know?)
 
More generally, has anyone had success negotiating for better terms in exchange for a renewal than what you can bet by default through the website?

 
I don't know, but never trust the Fios customer service reps to know what's in each package.  They're clueless. Use the web site channel/package listings.  I spent 4 hours one afternoon in a chat with 9 different Fios customer service reps trying to find someone who would acknowledge that I was supposed to get the Universal Sports Network channel in my package.  I failed (until they called me out of the blue two weeks later to apologize for the mix up).

 

[Chuck Schilling]

Sorry to bump a stupidly old thread, but a quick question for other FIOS subscribers.  My 2 year contract is up, and I'm in the process of renewing to drop the price a bit, and am also trying to decide which TV package to get.  We're currently have the Extreme HD, but I'm considering dropping to Preferred HD, which is $10 less and loses only a handful of channels.  The big ones it loses are MLB (but i have mlb.tv) and NHL (but I have gamecenter).  Curiously, NFL Network is listed on both, but when chatting with a customer service rep, (s)he was adamant that we'd lose that one as well.  Does anyone know if NFLnet is included in the preferred HD package?  Or short of that, should I trust the person or the online channel list comparison?  (Does it vary by location?  If so, I'm in Pittsburgh, but that might also explain why the customer service rep wouldn't know?)
 
More generally, has anyone had success negotiating for better terms in exchange for a renewal than what you can bet by default through the website?

The guy who did our installation suggested changing the name on the account upon renewal, said we'd get the various new user discounts all over again.
 
I'm in the Boston area with the Preferred package, we get both MLB and NFL HD, but no NHL network. Some channels, like Sundance are SD only unless you go up a level.

 

[BS_SoxFan]

Sorry to bump a stupidly old thread, but a quick question for other FIOS subscribers.  My 2 year contract is up, and I'm in the process of renewing to drop the price a bit, and am also trying to decide which TV package to get.  We're currently have the Extreme HD, but I'm considering dropping to Preferred HD, which is $10 less and loses only a handful of channels.  The big ones it loses are MLB (but i have mlb.tv) and NHL (but I have gamecenter).  Curiously, NFL Network is listed on both, but when chatting with a customer service rep, (s)he was adamant that we'd lose that one as well.  Does anyone know if NFLnet is included in the preferred HD package?  Or short of that, should I trust the person or the online channel list comparison?  (Does it vary by location?  If so, I'm in Pittsburgh, but that might also explain why the customer service rep wouldn't know?)
 
More generally, has anyone had success negotiating for better terms in exchange for a renewal than what you can bet by default through the website?

 
We have Preferred.  Definitely used to not have NFLN but I just checked and we do now.  They must have changed the tiers.

 

[Harry Hooper]

They cut mine by 10 bucks a month just for calling for the same package I have.

No idea about your channels question though.

 
Were you at the end of a 2-year contract? So far (via mail/email) they've offered 2 different packages to me as the end approaches: one slightly weaker and one slightly better, but I just want to keep what I have (with a $10-15/month discount to boot)

 

[Red Right Ankle]

I was.  I have been with them for 4 years.

 

[Harry Hooper]

Spoken to 2 FIOS reps. I am still only getting 2 options from FIOS: keep same TV package and upgrade internet speed for an extra $5/month for 24-month contract, or pay the same as current bill for a weaker TV package for 24-month contract. I find neither of these options compelling. Oh, my current price will go up $25/month at the end of the contract.
 
Hard to believe, but I am gong to talk to Comcast instead.

 

[BlackJack]

Have you tried looking through their website? I am up in January. When I looked the other day I thought they had a 'keep your current deal' option that was the same price.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

Spoken to 2 FIOS reps. I am still only getting 2 options from FIOS: keep same TV package and upgrade internet speed for an extra $5/month for 24-month contract, or pay the same as current bill for a weaker TV package for 24-month contract. I find neither of these options compelling. Oh, my current price will go up $25/month at the end of the contract.
 
Hard to believe, but I am gong to talk to Comcast instead.

 
Go online and try downgrading to a lower internet plan. I just did and the system gave me a slightly better offer on my current internet plan. I am also thinking that 25/25 might be enough either way compared to the 50/50 I am getting now.

They really aren't giving much though. They also hiked the prices on my service by $25 and aren't willing to give much unless I commit for two years.

It's also frustrating that trying to compare tv plans is a convoluted process.

 

[Orange Julia]

I cannot believe that anyone in their right mind would choose comcast over Verizon FiOS for any amount of saving. 

 

[Harry Hooper]

Have you tried looking through their website? I am up in January. When I looked the other day I thought they had a 'keep your current deal' option that was the same price.

 
My particular plan is no longer available, according to the website.
 
 
 

I cannot believe that anyone in their right mind would choose comcast over Verizon FiOS for any amount of saving. 

 
I hear you, but switching to Comcast for several months at least before becoming a "new" FIOS customer again is looking more and more tempting.