first, I have no problems with broadband internet at all, running great since i installed.

but, how do you search for tv shows, maybe i am missing something. There search engine has the worst features, ive seen.

Lets say I get home and want to watch a show at 9:00pm how do you search for shows that start at 9??? I have some 1800 channels, I dont know what movie I want to watch i want to just see what starts at 9. its 8:45 and I have hundreds of channels to go through just to see what shows start when, I still see every channel even if the show started at 6 and ends at 10. Argh. also there is no way of reminding me of a show. my choices are to record the show. I dont want to record just remind me.

So I call verizon and they tell me to use the menu::Search function, i tried to explain that function lets you search all movies but doesnt tell you what time it is, or even what day until your 4 menus deep. Its a waste of time if you want to watch a movie tonight at 9. or 9:30.

The problem came to light because of packet errors, namely framing errors on received packets. This could also be a combination of a weak transmit from the VZ “modem”. At one point, I put a basic 4-port switch between their wall jack and the line running to the server. It made the problem go away. I had lost power and did not have a UPS on the 4-port switch so I moved the switch closer to the server, to pull power from the UPS. This meant that the network wire was put back in its original path, RIGHT NEXT TO THE AC/DC adapter (rectifier)! I started getting packet errors once again, even though the switch was still on the line.

I had tested cables and replaced just about every component and then considered interference. I never paid much attention to it, but I noticed AM stations in the car would become inaudible due to noise when I pulled into the garage. I read that you could use a portable AM radio to help find interference. BINGO! Turn the volume up. Place it next to a network cable. Start at the lower end of the AM dial and slowly increase the frequency until you hear what sounds like classic digital pulses. Kind of cool really since it you can hear the chatter and hum. Next, move the radio around, scanning for sources of noise. In my case, the AC/DC adapter made a huge screeching sound as far as 2ft radius! Of course the network cable paralleled the full length of the adapter less than 1/2 inch away. This could be considered my fault since I installed the cable run to the server, but since their RJ45 socket was installed below and between their battery and AC adapter, I put it right between them on my way up the wall. Argh! I now run the cable down and away from the two power belching units before starting up the wall. Eventually I will punch another hole in my garage wall, away from it all, to ensure there is no interference at all.

Should have just remembered my past nightmares with VERIZON DSL, and how the DSL box would lose connectivity (2-3 times) almost daily. Trying to get a hold of a service rep was in itself a nightmare (couldn’t understand the long distance INDIA Accents depending on who spoke better English). After a few months, We nailed it down to the box we rented for 3.00 bucks a day, and told Verizon that it was our DSL box that was the culprit, and they told us we were wrong, and that it was our router, or our computer, or copper wiring, and not their box, time and time again. Finally after over an entire year of losing connectivity (all the many calls, disconnects, reboots, etc, etc, etc,), they finally figured out that that DSL model was bad and had to be replaced…..WOW! Suddenly No problems! My wife was so upset, after a few weeks of perfect DSL connectivity, she decided to stop all service and try Comcast. Been with them for 3 going on 4 yrs now. Only problems I’ve had with them is their free web space change over. I lost all the HTTP coding and what took me weeks to set up.

Corporate America is all about the money. Customer Service for the most part is VERIZONS biggest complaints and have come to the conclusion, VERIZON is nothing more than CORPORATE GREED and is only about the money, not customer service, integrity or good working equipment. Didn’t like the idea that VERIZON also had the exclusive rights to dig up all our city streets to install their fiber optic cable (months of noisy trucks and tearing up our street and sidewalks, now littered with paint markings, new concrete vs old concrete to this day (3 yrs later), not to mention trample and destroy many of our trees and plants on the front of our property (called the easement).

I feel terrible for the many here that have had nothing but problems with this greedy company that hasn’t the intelligence nor the integrity to change their image, nor improve their customer service. But am very thankful to have been able to read all these complaints which I believe will save me from making another painstaking mistake as I once did years ago. For that! I applaud you all, and will STAY CLEAR OF VERIZON as if my life depended on it.

Only problem I have with Comcast right now is the HD box. I think it’s time to replace it (well over 3 yrs old). Either that or since everyone has gone cable, Comcast may not be able to handle the higher volume for High Def T.V. and needs to increase the band width. Wife just called Comcast (consistent 2-3 minutes wait time) They said they’re is a 20.00 appointment time guarantee, that if they service technician doesn’t arrive by 12:00 (2 hour time window between 10:00 and 12:00), there will be a 20.00 dollar CREDIT on our next billing statement. They said they would do a complete diagnostic from the lines all the way out to the main box and bring another HD box for replacement….No Problem! btw, service techs are quite savvy and well trained from our experience and The Phone Line or keeping/changing our phone number has never been an issue. But like most ISP’s, from time to time they do late night maintenance and your internet and phone shuts down with no pre-warning email. For emergency’s I recommend a back up cell phone ;)

I was a Verizon landline and DSL customer. I decided to have the DSL upgraded to Fiberoptic and at the same time get FIOS Television. The discounts seemed pretty good, but buyer beware… The installation took place last weekend on January 17th and it took roughly nine hours. They got the order wrong and gave me a standard set top box instead of a HD, and that’s where everything fell apart. I’m particularly annoyed because I told the technician that I wanted a HD set top box when he was here, and also because I will have to get someone else to come to fix an installation error.

No one at Verizon customer service could help me swap out the set top box from standard to HD. Customer service said that they would ship one out, but somehow the order was never placed… I tried to swap out the box at the Verizon store or with the technician that is coming tomorrow, but was told I couldn’t because there are ten pending orders in their system. When I asked what orders they were talking about, they said that they could not call up the orders in the system…

To make matters worse, the customer rep prior to the FIOS order told me that I would get the HD set top box for a year free of charge. I called again a few times, and they said there is no record of that agreement, but not to worry it’s a promotion item so they would fix it. Long story short, I will not get the full discount, but maybe three months free. It’s not really about the money, but the principle.

Another example of poor customer service was my purchase of their Internet Security Program. The customer rep on January 19th sold me on it, but never bothered to put it in. I called again and I got through to customer service after about six hours today. Two techs tried to put it in through a deinstall install process, but it turned out that no one authorized me to have access to their Internet Security program. They said that they could see the authorization in their system, but apparently it was passed along to the customer system. What a colossal waste of time.

I think Direct TV has their act together, and I would strongly encourage anyone considering Verizon FIOS to stay with Direct TV. I’m going to switch back soon. Fios has a thirty day purchase guarantee, but I have a feeling that’s going to be a battle too…

Of course I’ve called Verizon for help but they had no solution, of course.

Oh yeah, The guy who originally installed my FIOS box for internet on the outside of my house decided to install it in such a place that my gate won’t close anymore. I guess he thought I should just leave it open permanently.

Finally, I keep getting an email stating that I didn’t accept the bundle agreement and that I will get charged more if I do not accept, but when I try to go and accept the agreement, it says that I already did.

Billing issues with Verizon? Don’t get me started. I’ve called them so many times to correct their mistakes after they screw up I feel like they owe me a free year’s worth of service just to make up for wasting many hours of my weekends….I feel like I have to monitor my bill constantly just to ensure I don’t get ripped off…