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63W

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 10, 2020
122
64
I have the worst luck.

In my apartment I’m getting around 200Mbps on 5G, even if I’m seating outside on my balcony. Once I walk 20 yards towards parking lot, I’m getting 3Gb. This is on iPhone 14, 5G set to manual in cellular settings.

Today I picked up Verizon’s 5G Modem/WiFi router combo for home internet. Speeds barely go above 220Mbps. 😕 I was hopping Verizon router would have a better antennas and a cpu so I could get better speeds, but no luck.
If I lived on the other side of the building, I would be getting Gigabit speeds.

I did enable pass through on Verizon’s router and connected my own WiFi router. It’s an Asus ac68u and it delivers 560Mbps on WiFi all day long. Speeds are just as slow via lan connection ( 200Mbps ).

I have 30 days to think about it if I want to keep VZ 5G home internet. A 10 year price guarantee is highly attractive. If I could get 500Mbps, I would be happy as a pig in mud.
 

Juicy Box

macrumors 604
Sep 23, 2014
7,530
8,864
What do you typically use your internet for?


200Mbps could be perfectly adequate for what you do.
 

63W

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 10, 2020
122
64
What do you typically use your internet for?


200Mbps could be perfectly adequate for what you do.

Currently using Xfinity, 800Mbps, $60 a month. After two years, the price will automatically go up over $100.

I torrent movies and tv shows. I don’t mind waiting extra 10min because of slow speeds, but with Xfinity I have to use vpn. In my past experience with Verizon, they don’t care what you download. VPN puts additional load on my 2014 MacAir CPU. It’s not much ( 10-15% ), but CPU barely handles it at times while I’m torrenting and I’m paying bills online at the same time.
 
Last edited:

Juicy Box

macrumors 604
Sep 23, 2014
7,530
8,864
Currently using Xfinity, 800Mbps, $60 a month. After two years, the price will automatically go up over $100.
Dealing with ISPs can be a pain, but I have figured out some tricks to make it easier.


Up until I purchased my current home, I had access to both Xfinity and FiOS. I would switch back and forth between them, always getting the new customer rate, and switch as soon as the rates increased. I tend to stay away from contracts, as they would rarely save me money.

I used my own router (AirPort Extreme), purchased my own cable modem to save me money with Xfinity, and when I had FiOS, I would plug my AirPort into the ONT box with Ethernet so I didn't have to rent their routers.

I tend to go with the cheapest tier, which wasn't always the slowest plan for Xfinity. 15 yeas ago, it was around 25Mbps down 5Mbps upload for Xfinity, and 25Mbps down and up for FiOS, typically around $30-$40 a month. The speeds would increase over the years, but the price remained around the same.

When cancelling one service for another, I would always tell the retention rep that if they kept the same rate without the increases after a year, I would just stay with them. They always offered me what they called "a good deal", but it was always something more than what I was currently paying, and never as good as what I would get as a new customer for the other ISP.

Maybe about four years ago, I was doing my usual switching, this time from FiOS back to Xfinity, and the retention rep for FiOS surprised me. He told me that if I would go some "FiOS Mix and Match" website, I could sign up for a better deal than I am currently getting for the same price. Also, the price was fixed, and would never increase. He said that Corporate Verizon finally was listening to the retention reps that said that people doing what I was doing (switching back and forth) would just stay with FiOS is they could continue getting the new customer rate.

The only thing was, the retention rep couldn't do it over the phone and I had to go to the be done via that FiOS website.

I tried it, and the rep was correct, I was paying for 100Mbps FiOS service for $35 a month (Normally $40, but I was getting a $5 Veteran discount), and they offered me 200Mbps service for the same price I was already paying, $35.

I signed up for the deal, and it instantly worked without any hassle. The FiOS speed was over provisioned too, the actual speeds was I was getting was 310Mbps download and 350Mbps upload, all for $35 a month.

This was all great until last year when I bought the house I am currently living in. I wanted to go to a more rural location, which is only 3 miles from my old house, but only Xfinity was available.

Now, I am paying for Gigabit internet, not for the download speed which is totally overkill for my family, but the upload speed which I need. It is still only 35Mbps and still too slow, but I don't have a choice.

Slave to the ISPs.
 

satcomer

Suspended
Feb 19, 2008
9,115
1,973
The Finger Lakes Region
5G Cellular comes in two parts, millimeter (the blazing fast that doesn't go thought walls) and upgraded $G to 5 G slower speeds using thdenlong frames slower speeds! Just only a little faster the 4G! Sorry to tell you the truth! Unless your in the middle of the city you won't get the 5G millimeter an time soon and speeds are only good if your on the outside!
 
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