FIOS outage

FIOS outage: a reader asks…

I have a Verizon FIOS connection at home. The router (with an Orange band) is connected to the FIOS service via Coax cable. One day when the internet connection failed, I found a yellow cable connected to one of the ports; other end was loose. I connected it to the port marked Ethernet. Is that correct? My laptop’s internet is still not working. We do not have any computer connected directly to the router.

First, if both ends of that same Ethernet (yellow) cable are plugged into the back of the FIOS router, then they aren’t doing anything for you. The Ethernet cable was probably given to you to plug the other end into a computer. If you only use Wi-Fi (wireless) at home, then you don’t need to use the Ethernet cable at all.

In most cases, a service outage is due to something going on with your internet service provider, in this case Verizon FIOS. Many outages get restored automatically after they find and fix whatever happened. But sometimes your router doesn’t automatically recover from an outage and needs to be rebooted or reset. If you call Verizon FIOS tech support, that’s generally the first thing they’ll walk you through doing, so before you call them, here’s the procedure you can do on your own:

1. unplug the power cable to the router, and then unscrew the coax cable from the back of the router,
2. count to 120 (seconds), then
3. screw the coax cable back into the router, and finally plug back in the router’s electrical connection.

Your router will start to power up, but it can take up to 5 minutes before everything’s back on. Watch the lights on the front of the router. After a couple of minutes, you should see the one marked “Internet” go from off to flashing yellow/orange to green and start flashing green. When that light is green, your internet service is restored. You can then go to your laptop and see if you have internet access. If not, restart your computer.

If the router’s Internet light doesn’t turn green after 3-5 minutes, then it’s time to call for service. The FIOS Internet repair service number is 1-800-837-4966. It’s tedious, but you will eventually speak to a human being who can either guide you through a more involved reset process, send you a replacement router (if the one you have has gone bad), or schedule a service call (if your FIOS ONT needs to be replaced).

The automated Verizon FIOS telephone system is really annoying, but they don’t give you a chance to bypass the system and speak to a human immediately. Please note that in order to get through the system you will probably need your account number, or some other information about your account. My last tip is to be patient, and when you do speak to a human, be really nice to them – they so often get yelled at by irate customers and that’s so unfortunate as they’re just trying to help you. Save your ire for the company itself.

You might want to explore more about both routers and Wi-Fi, here are some articles I’ve written:

• https://positek.net/diagnose-my-internet/
• https://positek.net/my-old-router/
• https://positek.net/internet-down/
• https://positek.net/the-mysteries-of-wi-fi/
• https://positek.net/crowded-wi-fi/