Verizon FIOS with Powerbook G4

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
so i have the 17" powerbook G4 purchased 2 summers ago, and i just ordered Verizon FIOS in California. The lady said that it wont work wirelessly with a mac only windows, is this actually true? because i see websites on how to set your mac up to DCHP so that it may also work with the fios along with windows. I also found a link to download IPnetTunerX idk what it does but ya? haha



anyone have some words of advice to help me get my mac running wirelessly when they install it in a few weeks?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    k squaredk squared Posts: 608member
    I log onto a wireless FIOS network at a local coffee shop all the time. The owner of the shop uses a mac as well. What she probably meant was that the software was PC only? For example, my Linksys router runs software which is PC only, but I can still control basic router functions through Safari. For upgrading firmware though, I need to uses windows.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    The difference here is "works" vs. "supported." They don't support mac usage of the wireless router they ship you. However, if you throw the ethernet feed into your own router, I can't imagine there being a problem. I'm actually looking into getting FIOS, and I would insist on being able to hook it up to my industrial 802.11 access point



    1W radition power driven to an 18dB omni! You can shoot that signal a ways.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    I have FIOS and use the provided access point (kinda a cheap thing...I forget the brand) with my MBP. No issues. You can use your own access point if you like...and the one they give out sucks but I've been too lazy to upgrade it since sooner or later I'll put in a Pre-N router.



    Vinea
  • Reply 4 of 15
    ebaydan777ebaydan777 Posts: 269member
    i have a D-Link router right now that i paid a lot of money for, but they are sending me a different D-Link router that they said i should recommend using when they install it all. Oh well im sure i will figure out a way for it to work, i found this link too:



    http://www.reelsmart.com/2006/02/10/...ible-and-fast/
  • Reply 5 of 15
    FIOS wireless will work fine on your laptop. Verizon tech support is just awful. What they mean is that the installation package is Windows only. You don't need that stuff, just connect with your Airport setting on DHCP and enjoy it, speed thrills!
  • Reply 6 of 15
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Dont forget to set the router password to something else.



    I turn off remote web access and web access from the wireless network too. Means I need to plug something into the router to change stuff but its not often I do that.



    Alas, I am stuck with crummy WEP because of an older laptop. Its less open than my neighbor so hey I'm somewhat safe.



    Vinea
  • Reply 7 of 15
    japplejapple Posts: 91member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sherman Homan View Post


    FIOS wireless will work fine on your laptop. Verizon tech support is just awful. What they mean is that the installation package is Windows only. You don't need that stuff, just connect with your Airport setting on DHCP and enjoy it, speed thrills!



    For what it's worth, I've found their tech support people to be quite helpful. But their mac support is sketchy, that is to say that their tech support is quite helpful in walking you through the work-arounds for my mac to work.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    I am using FIOS with a Macbook pro.



    It took several weeks for a change over and placing the correct optical cables/fiber optics through Verizon after months of bull.



    This cost me nothing, of course, because Verizon wouldn't give regular DSL only FIOS in my area.

    I only had to wade through the bull until it was fixed after signing on for DSL and nothing worked.



    The "engineers" made the connections and gave me a wireless unit that looks like a giant transformer with blinking lights. It is huge. It 's the size of a computer itself.



    They were cluesless on how to connect my laptop. Only PC and not Mac/Apple.



    I was up and running after 5 minutes and never a problem since.



    The crap I went through with Verizon, forget it. The FIOS just doesn't seem that fast. Optimum Online is just as good or better at my other house with my G5.
  • Reply 9 of 15
    k squaredk squared Posts: 608member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AnalBarbiturates View Post


    The crap I went through with Verizon, forget it. The FIOS just doesn't seem that fast. Optimum Online is just as good or better at my other house with my G5.



    I general usage you probably wouldn't see a difference. Have you tried downloading something? A friend of mine upgraded from DSL and was amazed at how much faster an iTunes album downloaded.
  • Reply 10 of 15
    k squared, I download often and didn't notice a huge difference or any.



    Maybe, I was expecting more with the FIOS. Optimum Online is pretty good in my area.



    I can try to download the same album on both computers and see also. That's not a problem or if you have a better suggestion I'm all for it.



    I switched because Verizon is actually charging myself less than Optimum Online and I'm considering going with Verizon's package deal. Cable is cheaper than FIOS at my other house. Cable is more than the regular rate at the other due to the area or so I was told.



    One thing I forgot to mention is about the wireless router provider through Optimum Online that I was using for the MacBook Pro. I was getting horrible lack of signal even moving into the next room.



    Granted, it was probably the router and I keep both computers meticulously up to date with the OS on all accounts. I also follow the forums for such problems.



    I have not had the same problem with the monstrous router provided by verizon even going

    outside. Very strong signal always to a point.



    The little bit of savings and strong reception are definite pluses. There has never been a hiccup.



    Verizon's support was pretty bad though both on the phone and in person twice due to their mistakes (disconnected my house phone lines). I may have been a bit brash with my other reply. I'm sticking with the FIOS.
  • Reply 11 of 15
    admactaniumadmactanium Posts: 812member
    mind if i ask what city you're in? i'm about to move and i think, sadly, that where i move will be somewhat influenced by where i can get fios. i'm probably looking at manhattan beach for a number of reasons, but i'm always interested to see if the roll-out is spreading.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AnalBarbiturates View Post


    I am using FIOS with a Macbook pro.



    ...



    The "engineers" made the connections and gave me a wireless unit that looks like a giant transformer with blinking lights. It is huge. It 's the size of a computer itself.



    They were cluesless on how to connect my laptop. Only PC and not Mac/Apple.



    I was up and running after 5 minutes and never a problem since.



    The crap I went through with Verizon, forget it. The FIOS just doesn't seem that fast. Optimum Online is just as good or better at my other house with my G5.



    There are 3 components to your FiOS install. There's the largish gray box that is the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and in many installs it sits outside your house. Then there's a battery backup unit and a wireless router.



    In many cases the 5Mbps FIOS connection won't be any faster than the 5-8Mbps of most cable services given the upgrades that some cable companies are putting in. Typically upload speeds are higher than cable (2Mbps upstream vs 384Kbps typically).



    For a few bucks more you can get 15 Mbps in FiOS. For a large amount of money more you can get 30-50MBps. Some cable operators are starting to offer 15 MBps service but even with DOCSIS 3.0 the FiOS service should be much better. In the end FTTP is better than HFC.



    Vinea
  • Reply 13 of 15
    trick falltrick fall Posts: 1,271member
    I have the 15Mbps service and it is smoking when downloading anything. It's also a much more reliable connection than my cable connection that would bog down everynight.
  • Reply 14 of 15
    audiopollutionaudiopollution Posts: 3,226member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by trick fall View Post


    I have the 15Mbps service and it is smoking when downloading anything. It's also a much more reliable connection than my cable connection that would bog down everynight.



    What download speeds are you seeing?



    I have a 100Mbps connection in my condo and I don't think I'll be able to bear a slower connection if I move ... but just perhaps, if FIOS is as good as I've heard.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    I've got the 5mbps verizon fios in pittsburgh. This works out to around 690K/sec sustained downloads in my experience. (As reported by MenuMeters) Theoretically, it should be minutely slower than that.



    So far it has been flawless. The fios connection has never once dropped in around 9 months of service. I'm using my own dgl-4300 router instead of the actiontec router they provide. It connects via dhcp and since the connection is so solid, i've had the same WAN address for the last 9 months. This is despite only paying for a non-static address. With DSL I had to constantly reboot my router to deal with dropped connections. Ever since getting FIOS, i've had to touch the router precisely zero times. I couldn't recommend fios more.
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