Poor Signal and Tech Support

[jkicska]

I have had home 5g for 6 months, and have had 3 bars and great speeds.  Recently I noticed 1 bar and loosing internet.

I originally thought it might be my netgear router, but connectivity to the LAN is ok, and looking at the router logs I turned my attention to the VerizonGateway WNC-CR200A

After trying to talk to a robot for 10 minutes, then some out of country person who "has the tools to fix the issue" and 58 minutes later she transferred me to someone in the credit department.  I don't understand how they say they are in the US but they don't speak good english, and there is a 2 second delay between them and I talking so over talking each other is so frustrating.  This is a phone company right, they should have that figured out right?   you would think.

I tried again, and they asked me if I dropped my unit.  Really?   It sits on a shelf where it has from the beginning.  Then she had me do a  factory reset and had no idea how to get me back into bridge mode, said they don't support netgear devices.  OMG!

So my question is how the heck do I talk to someone who knows what they are doing? They don't know what a second level NOC tech is.  Its bad bad bad.
Is there a newer gateway that can provide me with a stable connection?
Is there an external antenna they can attach to this to get me the 300mbs I am paying for?
Can they do something on their side to uncap the bottleneck, or increase my signal strength?

As I sit here do I just call and cancel, the cable companies are offering 2 year deals for 50% cheaper than this plan.

[scott31339]

What's your signal strength in the router status menu?

There's no external antennas supported on the recent Verizon devices.

You should know how to put your own device in bridge mode, most companies do not offer tech support for specialized setups like that.

[jkicska]

1 bar.

Looks like waveform has one.

Actually found steps to put it back in bridge mode on verizons website. Soo yeah, that.

[scott31339]

That's for the older modem, and I suspected you had a newer one since you got it a few months ago. The newer ones have the antennas done by spring connectors, and last I checked, Waveform antennas will not work. Verify first.

I also meant the DB levels - one bar doesn't really tell much.

Should look like

5G Signal Strength

-110.0

[jkicska]

The unit I have is the  WNC-CR200A

is there a newer one?  

Not sure where to find the signal strength you mentioned.  It's in bridge mode so I can no longer access the gateway via an ip

[scott31339]

It's your IP address -1 (ie, go to whatsmyip.com and get your IP, then subtract the last number by 1) or the default gateway that your actual "bridge device" detects.

so if your IP is 55.55.55.55

You'll want to go to https://55.55.55.54

I connect to my 5G router in bridge/IP passthrough mode all the time.

[jkicska]

Thanks for the help

It says 5g is -100.0

[vzw_customer_support]

We're sorry to read that you've been having issues with your router, as we know how vital it is to stay connected. To clarify, does this happen when you use it by itself without the Netgear modem connected? What speeds are you receiving when this happens?

~Freddy

[jkicska]

It loses internet connection at least 2 times a day, and doesn't restore until I do a reboot of the gateway.  The lan is ok.

[vzw_customer_support]

Thank you for the insights. Did you recently move the Gateway to a different room or location?

~Maria

[jkicska]

No same place that your tech support helped me find back when I got it.  A second level tech guy called me and made sure everything was good, and he said he boosted my signal on the backend.

2nd floor bedroom.  Had to have cat5 run to the downstairs mesh router.  This has cost me more than saved.

[scott31339]

Mines usually happy if it's -110 or below. Might be an over saturated area.