Make sure Verizon runs Ethernet if you want gigabit and to use your own equipment

Networking
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I have a cautionary tale to share…

I got FiOS gigabit internet installed but they didn’t run Ethernet cable cause I didn’t clear access to where they needed to run it. They told me over the phone they wouldn’t need access to that location. Then when they’re here, they pushed to get in there, but the person they had to deal with at home (I was at work) could not grant them access, so they installed the router in the garage and a repeater in the house. Epic fail! Should’ve told them to come back when I could clear access.

We called and told them I wanted Ethernet run for full speeds. They sent someone back a few days later. Tech is a total dick. When I tell him what I want, immediately he responds, “we don’t guarantee speeds.” He then tries to talk me into leaving the current setup, “I’ve seen plenty of setups that work like this.” What moron would leave a router in their garage, and yeah sure, you can use a repeater if you want to sacrifice half your signal. He then makes an unflattering comment about my home when he walks in.

Guy asks me how old my computer is, “about five years old.” He laughs and says I won’t be able to get gigabit internet through it. I give him a look that screams, “horseshit!” He hooks up my computer with Ethernet straight to the ONT and I get about 500 Mbps. Fuck you, I still want Ethernet cable run and I’m going to get it. (I have a gigabit Ethernet port on my mobo, but my real motive is to have the ability to use my own equipment). It was probably a bad cable anyway.

Only after telling the tech I took the time to clear access to run the cable and that the router’s current location isn’t secure does he acquiesce. After he leaves, I find out he drilled through the floor to run the cable where I wanted it, and didn’t put anything back that he had to move. He hardly communicated with me, but man, I thought I could trust the guy to run a frakking cable!

I was talking to a neighbor about this, and he told me they steal too. While I shouldn’t be surprised, I can’t say I’m not.

Moral of the Story

Watch your Verizon maintenance tech. Don’t trust them to even do a simple job they do all the fucking time.

Yes, I should’ve watched the guy and asked questions. Please don’t be smug and rub it in.
How the hell do I create a tag? You sure don’t allow for that many to be attached to a thread.

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Run one yourself, its not hard.

6 Likes
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I could…if I had the time.

Please don’t be smug and rub it in.

Read all the way through next time.

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I agree with @Ethereal on this one. Just get a cat6a ethernet cable for whatever length you need (try not to exceed 240feet), get a cable crimping kit off amazon, then just slice off any extra cable and crimp a new head on the end. There are tonnes of guides about how to easily crimp ethernet cables.

You could get away with cat5e cable, but if youre going to fiber interwebs then its best to setup something thats a bit more futureproof since cat6a supports 10gbit speeds at up to 300 feet, better resists interference/corsstalk and only costs a tiny bit more than cat5e.

Personally i never let telecom techs touch anything past the modem itself. even here in canada, they’ve proven themselves to be mostly lazy idiots who want to get the job done as fast as possible. I dont want any of them touching my small homelab and i definitely dont want them near any of my ethernet cables.

Honestly it doesnt take more than 10 mins to run a single cable, even if its long. figuring out the optimal path for the cable takes longer than actually installing it.

5 Likes
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Ah, you didn’t factor in the time it takes to determine the optimal path!

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Even then it is prob less than a half hour.

Also not so sure why you’re so upset he drilled through the floor. If you’re running cables you’re prob gonna have to do that or through a wall…

I feel for you honestly, and that service in inexcusable, but I think you’re making a bigger deal out of this than it is. At least the difficulty of installation

1 Like
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I expected the cable to be routed through the wall. That’s the typical expectation.

I don’t get the impression you feel anything. Yeah, the guy did the job, but he was a dick about it from start to finish.

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If you have a house then i’d argue its a lot easier because you can do whatever you want to it. Staying up a few mins late one night or waking up a bit earlier and you have enough time to at least do a basic run. Us folks in apartments generally get shafted when it comes to drilling and running wires.

IMO drilling through floors should be left as a last-resort type of situation, especially if its beautiful old hardwood or tile floors. Drilling through walls is fine because drywall is easy to patch up.

The tech who came in was absolutely a shitbag and you should report him (even if it doesnt do anything at least you tried) BUT at the same the expressions “play stupid games, win stupid prizes” and “you get what you pay for” could potentially apply here (no rudeness intended!)

Personally i’ve heard cases of folks who got the same treatment as you (including unnecessary drilling and other damage) and sued the company for property damage due to improper work. Not sure how that would fly in 'murrika but it has happened before. If you’ve got a lawyer buddy, ask him for advice on how to get new hardwood floors courtesy of verizon.

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You’re kidding, right? Like the actual floor? Not the top plate, but the floor? I’d lose my fucking head if they did that to my house.

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Imagine if OP has a century old restored hardwood floor. now THAT would be monumentally shitty. Plus it could result in a slight devaluation of the house. no one wants visible cables anywhere.

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Yes, my first thought was about the unsightly cable when we move. Then I realized the cost of replacing the hardwood.

A few minutes?! You assume too much. Things that should, “only take a few minutes” for me wind up taking several hours or days. I…don’t…have…that…time. In life, you will often have to decide what is more important: your time or your money. No, it didn’t cost me any upfront payment for them to come out, though I did lose some time, less time than if I did it myself. However, since he was a dick and went through the motherfucking floor, it remains to be seen how much this will cost in the long run.

I gave him a horrible rating on the survey, but the comment section doesn’t cooperate unless you write a script out, so I have to call and finish my complaint.

It’s a good thing you stated “no rudeness” intended, cause that expression comes off as a really dickish statement.

No, I’m not kidding, straight through the hardwood.

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That sounds like something you could get Verizon to cover. The tech should have asked you before drilling through the floor. There is a certain level of standards that they have to adhere to. I’ve had Cox technicians do a lot of work in my house and they’ve never done something that lazy.

As far as what you can do about it, I would first contact Verizon support and tell them what happened. They may try to make it better. If not, I’d contact your local BBB.

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If you think that experience is bad, wait until this weekend when I can finally do a proper vent on the last week I’ve been without internet and how horribly my ISP has handled it.

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Straight through hardware… My condolences. That truly does suck. I honestly would look into lawyer stuff, it’s possible to sue them for property damage due to improper installation. Ask around, who knows what you’ll get. Hope none of the floors were scratched during the “clearing a path” part of it.

I say that it takes minutes to do because that’s what it it took me to set up about 40 feet from one corner of my apartment to the other. While my landlord does allow drilling to an extent, I avoided it because I didn’t want to be a dick. Luckily because of all the quirks of my apartment, I ran the cable underneath my hardwood floors without needing to drill anything. Didn’t take too long to install and it’s easily removable so I was happy.

A bit of a personal question, but what do you do that doesn’t even five you 15 mins of free time at home? no need to answer if you don’t want to, just a curiosity thing.

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For people stuck in apartments sometimes you can run cable through air vents with a cheap fish tape. It isn’t always pretty but it’s better than tripping over cables. Had to do this in one of the places I lived in college.

EDIT: To the OP, I would be pissed too. No excuse not to ask permission before drilling. This is kind of incompetence and disregard is the main reason I learned to do all this kind of stuff myself. There is a learning curve, but no one respects your property as much as you do.

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From my experience they usually just run long coax/phone lines close to your battlestation and just setup a modem there

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@HK-47 , is it possible to take pics of hurricane verizon’s path of destruction?

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I am going to contact Verizon, but the BBB is a joke, not bothering with them. We have spare panels we could replace it with, but it’s mostly the time it would take to replace the panel and the principle here that pisses me off.

I can change the title of this thread into an ISP rant thread so you could share here.

I offered to move the entertainment center forward. When he said that wasn’t necessary, I should’ve been suspicious. This is a house, not an apartment.

Earlier this year, the cable company had to run new cable cause ours was faulty, so I know we have RG-6 cable in the walls now. I’ve got coax wall jack near my computer, so I can hook up a MoCA adapter and get a bonded MoCA through the coax once they come in and I can dump Verizon’s router and have a wired connection. We got FiOS TV too, so the Ethernet is run to the family room.

That is a good point. While, it’s too late to take pics of the laziness, I can get a pic of the cable coming out of the floor. Thank you for the suggestion. Also, you could’ve edited your last post and added this to that.

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I did and its the only logical answer. It doesn’t take that much time. You could do it in an hour.

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I personally would be interested to see just how bad it is. Even if time is an issue, i would argue that moving a few things out of the way for documentation purposes is worth it. Youll need as much evidence as possible that suggests the tech “did an improper installation job and damaged the house without your consent”. The ISP will try to weasel out of this at every possible step so having more evidence gives them less wiggle room. The extra few minutes could reward you with a completely redone floor paid for by verizon (its a possibility).

i would argue that knowing how to crimp and install Ethernet cables and doing it yourself is a very handy skill, especially for a homeowner like OP. Even if it takes time, it does save a tonne of headaches and potentially unwanted damage to your house by ISP mouthbreathers later down the line. I never let ISP techs deal with anything past the modem itself, everything after the modem is my property and im very picky about who gets to touch it. I wont blame OP for it, whats done is done. Everyones got 20/20 hindsight.

While i cant give you any advice on dealing with shitty ISP’s, mostly because my ISP actually somewhat competent, I genuinely do wish you luck with your upcoming brawl with verizon. I think everyone at L1T would love to be kept up to date on your progress.

Protip: OP, may want to get rid of any evidence that you have spare floor boards. They might try to weasel out and just replace the one board instead of the whole floor. Make it worth your while to hurt them by getting them to replace the whole floor and properly reinstalling the cable