xfinity or fios (renewal up for fios)

[adelphi_sky]

FIOS hands down. We ONLY have internet. Streaming and OTA Digital TV is enough to keep us entertained. No boxes with fees to worry about. our TV watching bill with all the streaming services don't top $50/month.

But when it comes to pure internet bandwidth and reliability, fiber optics to the home can't be beaten. I currently have gigabit internet with FIOS. Overkill, yes. But I'm in IT with my own home lab, I work from home, and I'm a techie.

But with various laptops, a mix of Rokus, Firesticks, and Google products (Nest, Google Home), my internet speeds are fine. I call it future proofing. We even have a scale that uses wifi.

So yeah, we cut that cable cord a long time ago. Just go pure internet if you can and you should be fine.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by NC211

2) Wifi is stronger with the FIOS per speed testing, but seems to load and go much faster than FIOS did for us. I have Apple wifi devices in my house. Tested it via several YouTube videos. Fios needed a few seconds to load before starting and would sometimes just stop in the middle of the video. Xfinity loads and goes instantly and doesn't stop.

Fios routers are highly configurable. I know if you're not a techie, you probably won't know or want to know how to configure it. But it sounds like Xfinity has a cache/QOS setting in their routers where they preload frequently visited sites. Or, they are using different DNS servers. Sometimes you can get different results just by changing DNS servers on the router. The most popular is Google. 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4.

3) Upload/download not balanced like it is on FIOS. Download much faster, but upload is slower. But we're not uploading movies or the like to where that would matter for us.

Consider how important this may be with online backups. (Photos, Music library, etc.). I use online backup services to backup important files and PCs. What used to take days now takes hours with FIOS fast upload speeds. My new DSLR camera takes 4k video. I can't imagine trying to upload/backup a 30-minute 4k video on anything slower than 300mbps.

4) "Gigabit" might be there in terms of marketing, but I think you need all of the latest and greatest to hit that speed. That being said though, we're running MUCH faster now. We have several devices hardwired into the system, such as the kid's gaming boxes, the TV's, cameras. We have a 16-port gigabit switch in the utility room that manages all of the wires and then goes directly into the router and out. But, we likely have only Cat5 wires in the house (2000 build). That all being said, I tested my son's xbox hardwire connection last night during what I assume would be peak-gaming hours. Came out at 380mbps download and 40mbps upload several times (+/- here and there). So nowhere near that 1000mbps.

Some network interface cards on devices won't be able to hit 1000. I have a hardwired Playstation 4 and can't hit more than 300mbps. I also have an HP G9 server in my lab that can hit 1000mbps because of its enterprise-grade network interface cards. Any switches you have should be able to handle 2gbps per port. I found this out when I discovered my previous switches were only 1gbps per port. You can find these switches on Amazon for less than $25. Then there's the wire. The length of the run of your cable matters to some degree. Cat 5 is okay, but Cat 5e or Cat 6 would be great. I have an old home and did all of the wirings myself with Cat 6 for future-proofing. But now Cat 7 is out there.

Haven't tried the Roku yet, might try it this weekend (have to buy one).

Get a Firestick or cube or whatever Amazon sells these days. We started out with Rokus (4 from Gen 1 to Gen 3). They are quirky. Our Firesticks, etc. have given us no issues. They also have an Alexa feature where you speak into the remote to search for and play your favorite shows.

[NC211]

Thanks for posting that chart! Maybe I have 5e in the house instead of just 5 (built 2000), as I'm running about 400Mbps on wired and 225Mbps on WiFi via the apple time machine router. Seem to be limited to roughly 80 Mbps on WiFi when pinging off of one of the smaller Apple airport 2's which I think don't have the full wifi-ability that the time machine one has. These are download speeds. Upload roughly 50 Mbps wired, 40 +/- Wifi regardless of signal location.


No argument from me that if you're into the serious stuff, Fios is likely much better. But in my opinion for the average home user, I'm really digging the Comcast Xfinity setup MUCH better. Glad we made the switch (so far)! And was notably cheaper.


In my opinion, Verizon needs to spend a little and focus on the interaction with the customer more. I mean that in both customer service, but more importantly, end user engagement on how they interact with their services. Comcast is so easy with that speak to tune channel feature, radio frequency instead of infrared equipment, MUCH easier menus to navigate and engage with, and ability to monitor and control the internet in a non-techy manner. Comcast really has something going here now with this that I've honestly never seen before. If Verizon could do this too, and the added benefit of the fiber optic lines, they'd be unstoppable!

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by NC211

Thanks for posting that chart! Maybe I have 5e in the house instead of just 5 (built 2000), as I'm running about 400Mbps on wired and 225Mbps on WiFi via the apple time machine router. Seem to be limited to roughly 80 Mbps on WiFi when pinging off of one of the smaller Apple airport 2's which I think don't have the full wifi-ability that the time machine one has. These are download speeds. Upload roughly 50 Mbps wired, 40 +/- Wifi regardless of signal location.


No argument from me that if you're into the serious stuff, Fios is likely much better. But in my opinion for the average home user, I'm really digging the Comcast Xfinity setup MUCH better. Glad we made the switch (so far)! And was notably cheaper.


In my opinion, Verizon needs to spend a little and focus on the interaction with the customer more. I mean that in both customer service, but more importantly, end user engagement on how they interact with their services. Comcast is so easy with that speak to tune channel feature, radio frequency instead of infrared equipment, MUCH easier menus to navigate and engage with, and ability to monitor and control the internet in a non-techy manner. Comcast really has something going here now with this that I've honestly never seen before. If Verizon could do this too, and the added benefit of the fiber optic lines, they'd be unstoppable!

Verizon's customer service leaves a lot to be desired. ALso, Verizon is moving toward being a media-driven company by purchasing Yahoo and AOL. So, hopefully, their user interfaces will improve.

I opted for FiOS when Comcast told me they had to dig up my yard in order to get cable to my house. Verizon came along the suspended wire from the pole. So, of course I chose Verizon. I've been with them ever since.

I cut the cable TV cord about 7 years ago. Never looked back.

I may consider upgrading my wire to CAT 7. But i think I'm good for now. With all of the Wifi devices in the home, there's more need for Wifi speeds than wire speeds.