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Smarttap Ethernet Connections Gone

Discussion in 'Southern Walk Announcements' started by Larchmont, Jul 15, 2019.

  1. Larchmont

    Larchmont New Member

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    Post Verizon install, due to weak WiFi at the front of our house, decided to take my WiFi router plug it into the smarttap Ethernet connection up front to cover this area with WiFi. Discovered there is no longer any Ethernet internet connection at this port. Began investigating and discovered that the only Ethernet connection active is the one where the Verizon router is plugged in. Looking at my service drop box in the garage, there is only one Ethernet cable out on the Verizon ONT, and no switchgear (otherthan the Openband Netgear network switch which is not being used) to split the Ethernet as the Openband connection did. In googling around it appears the Ethernet cable out of the ONT cannot be split prior to the Verizon Router, which if true defeats the purpose of the Smart Neghborhood smarttap system.

    Is anyone else concerned about this and is there a solution to activate the smarttap ethernet connections? If not, then what is the purpose of a gigabit speed that is distributed only over wifi??

    Our speed tests are in the 50-60 mbps range for the wifi and 800-900 mbps for the ethernet.

    Thanks for the help to those who do...
     
  2. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

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    verizon didn't disconnect openband when they did our switch over. They provided the wireless router which is not just the wireless hub but also has 5 Ethernet ports on it. To enable the hard wired network I disconnected the network cable from the openband fiber converter to the 10 port switch and connected it into one of the open connections on the wireless router.
     
  3. Larchmont

    Larchmont New Member

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    Thanks for the reply. In my case, my Verizon router is inside my house on 2nd floor and my Verizon ONT fiber converter is in the garage. When Verizon wired it, they did it the same way you describe but used the Ethernet wire from the Openband to the smarthub close to the Verizon router. Yes the router has 5 Ethernet ports on it, but I think the only way I could make that work would be to put the Verizon WiFi router in the garage and plug the house wired Ethernet cables into those router Ethernet ports. I doubt the WiFi coverage would be very good having the router in the garage, but that would seem to get the Ethernet active in the house at the smarthubs. I was wondering if anyone has successfully switched the Ethernet cable out of the ONT fiber converter before it goes into the Verizon WiFi router, if so that should be a solution but don't want to just try it for fear of damaging something....
     
  4. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    Larchmont... based upon what you are thinking, you would end up putting the feed from Verizon into your switch prior to the Router. Remember, your router (in simple terms) is what gives your devices their IP addresses and firewall capabilities. You would not have your devices on a home network at that point either.

    I run my Verizon ethernet from the Fiber into my own Mesh network router and then run a cable from that router into my 24 port switch which is also where all of my Home network drops connect. By having a Mesh network, I then have 2 more additional WiFi hubs on my second floor giving me great coverage all over my house, patio and deck. A Mesh network would run you around $180. Make sense?
     
  5. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    You don't want to do that.

    Coming out of the Verizon ONT will be ethernet, but it will only support giving an address to one device. Hence, the ONT ethernet should always be connected to a router of some type (the FIOS router, your own router, a wifi router, etc). Behind that router, you can use an ethernet switch to connect many jacks/devices. The FIOS router is a router/switch/wifi station all in one.. like most wifi routers are these days.

    I've not seen the media cabinet used in the smart homes, but you will have choices. You can use your in house wiring to run ethernet to where the FIOS router is.. and then use wiring to run back to your media cabinet if there is another cable run available. Or, you can put a router in the cabinet, feed it from the ONT, then feed the house wiring from it's lan side.

    Final config will depend on choices.. but at the basic.. you will need ONT -> Router -> Switch -> Optional Additional router/wifi

    Where you put what depends on your wiring options available to you. The simplest, least complicated setup is to get a mesh wifi setup.

    You'd go ONT -> Mesh Node in cabinet -> Ethernet Switch from LAN side of mesh node. And just put additional mesh nodes around your house as you see fit. That setup will have everything on the same network, no double NAT, ethernet jacks available, etc.

    Also, when you go to remove the FIOS router, log into it and tell it to release it's DHCP address from the WAN side before trying to connect a different router. This will ease your setup.
     
  6. Larchmont

    Larchmont New Member

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    Thanks for the response, yes it makes sense although I do not have any experience with a mesh router, I get the concept. Not sure about eliminating the Verizon router because of that that coaxial cable for the TV however.
     
  7. Larchmont

    Larchmont New Member

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    Thanks for the reply,this was one answer I was looking for. At this point is seems the best thing to do is to move the Verizon router to the service panel in the garage, connect it to the ONT Ethernet and a coaxial cable, and then use the Ethernet ports on the Verizon router to plug in the Ethernet smart home wiring. Then add another wifi router to the Ethernet in the house by plugging into a smart tap. If this doesn't give good wifi coverage, then it seems the mesh router concept is the way to go. I am not sure about eliminating the Verizon router because of the coaxial cable connection which is apparently for the TV.
     
  8. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Yes, your solution will work fine. Plug a wifi router into one of the ethernet switch ports using the LAN side of the router, disable DHCP in it, and it will act as an ethernet bridge.

    So ONT -> FIOS Router -> Ethernet Switch -> House Wiring -> LAN Port of regular wifi router

    In that configuration, everything is on the same subnet. I did a similar config for a long time before moving to mesh. Mesh just gave a lot more simplification and more reliable connections for us.

    And if you are a FIOS TV customer, yes, you will want to keep the FIOS router as it acts as the bridge between ethernet and coax for your set top boxes.

    In my setup (not a southern walk home)

    I do
    ONT ->FIOS Router -> House Ethernet -> Google Wifi ->(lan port) -> house wiring -> Ethernet Switch -> house wiring

    But I have coax from my ONT, and I cope with double NAT (both routers are NAT routers) because I need to keep the FIOS router at the front end due to my coax from ONT. That's not the install gigabit customers get (my install is older).
     
  9. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    Steve - related question. After I switched to my Deco Mesh... I plugged my 24 port ethernet switch from the second port on the Deco router... seems to work fine except for one device. I have a Win 10 machine wired to the switch... but the light on the switch where I plug it in appears as amber, not green. My PC does not get an IP assigned. The Ethernet cable is new, I terminated it myself. I tested the cable and got green light indicators across all 8 so it seemed good to me. I am troubleshooting but thought I would see what you think.
     
  10. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Amber suggests the interface is not coming up fully at the ethernet level. Could be negotiation issues or could be cabling issues. Make sure PC adaptor is not accidentically forced to speed/duplex.

    Direct connecting device to switch with another cable is a good way to test negotiation interoperability issues. If both sides are auto, and can't negotiate, even with known good cable for the wire speed.. then can be an interop issue. If switch is managed, can also try forcing speed down to 100 with the PC matching to try.

    Negotiation issues are pretty uncommon these days (unless one side is forced and forgotten). I'd focus on the wiring first.
     
  11. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    Yea wiring is my first thought since I did it myself... only the second time I have tried. But the tester I used showed my what I thought was a good signal. I don't have any other way to try a new cable in this location. Maybe you could "stop by" and I can share a draft from the keg while you take a look? I pay well!
     
  12. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Keg? Party time :rockon::cheers::partyrave:
     
  13. woopity

    woopity cdubs ya know!

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    I was so irritated with the mess the FIOS guy left in my basement. I kept my own wireless router in the mix, plugged into the FIOS router, which i kept stashed in the basement. I had more issues with devices connected to my personal router disconnecting for minutes at a time every 30-90 minutes....very irritating. I wanted to keep the FiOS router in the mix b/c of some of the built-in parental stuff they had built in----so i ended up just taking mine out of the mix, moving the FiOS router upstairs....and cleaning up the pile of crap that guy left behind. Nice guy....but doesn't know how to properly cable a comm panel. I should send the picture i have of it to Verizon so they can see the "quality" work.
     
  14. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    I would reach out to the SWHOA and get a POC for the Verizon installs. Or send them (the SWHOA) the picture. I would think Verizon management would want to know.
     
  15. glencastle

    glencastle The Paterfamilias

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    Verizon installed mine yesterday. The installer said he was not too impressed with the performance of the FIOS routers, and said that Verizon had "oversold" Gigabit speed in the Southern Walk area, so now everyone is getting sub-optimal speed until they upgrade their system upstream. Thought that was interesting, since they basically had a captive audience and a known footprint and count of existing homes before they set foot in our neighborhood.
     
  16. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    I'm sure it's because under normal circumstances not every subscriber would buy the top end speed... where as here you have every house getting the top end speed. If you follow your normal build out model... that kind of oversubscription could happen. And big corp could just say "well, we'll fix it afterwards if its needed.." vs spending up front.

    I'd still take the front-line employee's take with a grain of salt tho :)
     
  17. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    I agree with Flynnibus here. I do believe that there are issues with the Quantum Routers covering the total square footage of all of our homes. Some homes are in excess of 4,000 sq feet. In these cases, it makes sense that you don't get top wifi speed everywhere in your home. I also have run hundreds of speed tests using this tool, https://www.verizon.com/speedtest/, and in every instance, I see speed to the router at advertised gigabit speeds. Now that I bought a new computer, my device speed almost always returns the gigabit speed.

    If they oversold gigabit speeds it might mean they sold us gigabit speeds but there was some misunderstanding that gigabit meant 1024/1024 mbps... no matter what. It is dependent on your home wiring, type of device, type of connection, whether or not you use a gigabit switch versus the original switch, and in some cases traffic and congestion on the network. When "they" update "their" system upstream, is this meant to suggest that Verizon has more work to do to upgrade their infrastructure to deliver gigabit speeds or does that mean the homeowner must upgrade to cat 5e/6 wiring, gigabit switches, newer devices (computers, phones)?
     
  18. btsnod

    btsnod New Member

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    When my installation was completed in mid July the VZ tech was extremely professional and neat in his install. He said their was a known issue in the “Broadlands install” that users were not seeing the 1gb speeds and they were working to correct that. I did some testing of my wired Ethernet speeds and saw 400 Mbps typically the first week of my install.

    This week I have performed the same test on a few different wired Ethernet connections at different times of day and seeing 1gb speeds so hopefully any issues in the network have been corrected. For wireless I am using my own Netgear multi antenna router in access point (AP) only mode. I have disabled the wireless networks on the Verizon router and use it as router and switch only. The Netgear AP is on a new dedicated CAT 6 Ethernet run to a location in basement in middle of the house with each antenna pointed in a different direction. On my two 4K capable devices I configured 5Ghz wireless and see 500Mbps wireless for streaming video. For my older wireless devices and laptops I prefer the coverage I get from 2.4Ghz wireless and see between 50-100Mbps depending on where I am in the relation to the Netgear AP. Hope this helps others and will continue to monitor.
     

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