Somebody's gotta have the inside scoop on Google Fiber launching tomorrow..??

[DRU]

https://fiber.google.com/savethedate/

Live broadcast over YouTube tomorrow. Anybody have any early news on this? Will it be available all over the Metro? How long will the waiting list be?

Anybody know anything? I'm impatient.

[GloryDayz]

Geek alert. They use PON, so they only terminate one of the two strands they'll run into box on the side of the house. Pretty sturdy stuff. About the size of silver satin cable, has two fiberglass rods outside of an inner gold-filled tube with two strands in it.

They only terminate the one, and the other is in case the technology changes, the kid says they never use it as a spare.

[GloryDayz]

Sunday is install day. Ooma box arrives tomorrow. Woot.

[Dr. Gigglepants]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

Sunday is install day. Ooma box arrives tomorrow. Woot.

It's pretty good - wireless vs hard wired results attached

[GloryDayz]

First day's opinion(s)....

1) The speed is awesome. Duh! See attached.

2) Now that they've sold you on the "all the TV boxes in the house are a wireless AP and will be an extension of your overall Google Fiber home WiFi network", then they get there and tell you they won't enable it unless you demand it. They want the APs to be 150-200 feet apart before they're actually OK with it. Evidently it's the typical salesman vs. engineer deal, and the feature really isn't ready for prime time. According to the people who actually look you in the eye (unlike the corporate/sales assholes), Google doesn't actually want to enable it right now because the radios apparently step on each other and all the wireless devices get confused, quit working well, disconnect and reconnect a LOT, and it's causing a lot of calls. So it'll work someday, but the sales people don't have the balls to quit selling it like it's ready for Prime time.

3) It blows that Google decided to have their "TV Box" be controlled by a Blue Tooth remote. So if you're coming from Time Warner where you got one "official" remote (like Google), most off-brand remotes could still do 99% of what the Time Warner remote could do, and controlled the TV box and the TV too. Not so with Google. And there appears to be an IF receiver in the box, so it's bothersome. Google's answer is to use their Google Fiber App, and that App kinda sucks for being a Set-top box and TV controller - you can't do things like control volume, and that's dumb. So that off-brand universal "in the kitchen" remote you might have used to mute the TV for family dinner is now junk. Simply stupid IMO.

4) While their Android and iOS "Google Fiber" App seems OK for the phone/tablet/iPad, watching TV on your laptop is a pain! Instead of them having you logon to Google on your laptop, then giving you a TV guide, Google has opted to give you links to about 25 TV show's web sites and from there you have to tell those many different sites you're a Google Fiber subscriber before you see the program. We'll see if it allows you to watch those "channels" even though you're not connected to your home network because you are simply a Google Fiber subscriber. So far it looks like it will, so that's nice I guess. But I think Time Warner 1000% wins that feature.

5) They won't run Cat5e cable to all the wired locations you want, they'll only run one; so chose the location you want the full Gig wisely. The rest are probably going to be wireless. I know I'm going to be using a couple of 5-port Gig switches and running some Cat5e on my own!

6) The remote seems to have a lot more lag in operations like pulling up the guide. It was enough slower that I was pressing the guide button twice because I didn't think I had pressed it.


So, I'm not trying to sound too negative, but I'm offering true feedback. I think too many people will be too giddy about the 970Mbps and forget to remind Google they have some areas that aren't as cool as the people they're competing with.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

First day's opinion(s)....

1) The speed is awesome. Duh! See attached.

Thanks for info

So probably best to only do internet for awhile?


Already have 2 routers daisy chained to provide wireless signal through entire house. I assume that my existing setup will work with Google.

[DRU]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

2) Now that they've sold you on the "all the TV boxes in the house are a wireless AP and will be an extension of your overall Google Fiber home WiFi network", then they get there and tell you they won't enable it unless you demand it. They want the APs to be 150-200 feet apart before they're actually OK with it. Evidently it's the typical salesman vs. engineer deal, and the feature really isn't ready for prime time. According to the people who actually look you in the eye (unlike the corporate/sales assholes), Google doesn't actually want to enable it right now because the radios apparently step on each other and all the wireless devices get confused, quit working well, disconnect and reconnect a LOT, and it's causing a lot of calls. So it'll work someday, but the sales people don't have the balls to quit selling it like it's ready for Prime time.

You can turn this on/off yourself from within your router settings. It's nothing that Google is keeping from you. It works just fine if you enable them, but it's simply overkill to have that many access points within a small area. The feature is there if you need it, but the reality is most people simply don't. Especially not on all boxes.

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

3) It blows that Google decided to have their "TV Box" be controlled by a Blue Tooth remote. So if you're coming from Time Warner where you got one "official" remote (like Google), most off-brand remotes could still do 99% of what the Time Warner remote could do, and controlled the TV box and the TV too. Not so with Google. And there appears to be an IF receiver in the box, so it's bothersome. Google's answer is to use their Google Fiber App, and that App kinda sucks for being a Set-top box and TV controller - you can't do things like control volume, and that's dumb. So that off-brand universal "in the kitchen" remote you might have used to mute the TV for family dinner is now junk. Simply stupid IMO.

This hasn't bothered me one bit. If you need to mute your TV, just use the Google remote. That said, I have my TV hooked up to a stereo receiver, so of course I can use that remote if/when I want to mute the TV. In fact, my factory TV remote remote, Google remote, and my receiver remote will all control volume for me.

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

5) They won't run Cat5e cable to all the wired locations you want, they'll only run one; so chose the location you want the full Gig wisely. The rest are probably going to be wireless. I know I'm going to be using a couple of 5-port Gig switches and running some Cat5e on my own!

If you have your own Gigabit network then you're fine. That includes a Gigabit wifi router. You won't get 900+ Mbit over Gigabit wifi, but I typically get 600 - 700 Mbit where-as the wifi router they provide only gives you around 200 - 300 Mbit (only...lol!)

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

6) The remote seems to have a lot more lag in operations like pulling up the guide. It was enough slower that I was pressing the guide button twice because I didn't think I had pressed it.

When I first got mine there was quite a bit of lag booting up the TV box as well as in the menu, etc. They released an update, though, that fixed all of that. Maybe you have boxes that didn't get the update..?? It happened a couple of months ago.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

Thanks for info

So probably best to only do internet for awhile?


Already have 2 routers daisy chained to provide wireless signal through entire house. I assume that my existing setup will work with Google.

I did too. I'd do it, but there's nothing stopping you from shutting off their wireless (both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz radios) and do your own. At least until they fix this issue. I'll try theirs for a while, but it's just maddening that they sell it like you'll have -40db everywhere, then the install guy is forced to give you the bad news.

[GloryDayz]

You can turn this on/off yourself from within your router settings. It's nothing that Google is keeping from you. It works just fine if you enable them, but it's simply overkill to have that many access points within a small area. The feature is there if you need it, but the reality is most people simply don't. Especially not on all boxes.

Funny, the guy told me that it's been wrought with issues. perhaps I'll try it and see if he was wrong.

This hasn't bothered me one bit. If you need to mute your TV, just use the Google remote. That said, I have my TV hooked up to a stereo receiver, so of course I can use that remote if/when I want to mute the TV. In fact, my factory TV remote remote, Google remote, and my receiver remote will all control volume for me.

I'm sure I'll get over it in time. It's just a downgrade folks might want to know about when doing apples to apples comparisons. And the fact that they broke from the norm, until it is the norm, they deserve some criticism because going from IR to BT appears to have no advantage.

If you have your own Gigabit network then you're fine. That includes a Gigabit wifi router. You won't get 900+ Mbit over Gigabit wifi, but I typically get 600 - 700 Mbit where-as the wifi router they provide only gives you around 200 - 300 Mbit (only...lol!)

I have/had three "N" routers and have a few 8-port Gig switches. I'll run some 5e and get things tuned pretty well.

When I first got mine there was quite a bit of lag booting up the TV box as well as in the menu, etc. They released an update, though, that fixed all of that. Maybe you have boxes that didn't get the update..?? It happened a couple of months ago.

Good to know.

[DRU]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

I have/had three "N" routers and have a few 8-port Gig switches. I'll run some 5e and get things tuned pretty well.
Good to know.

What you want is "AC" not N. I would recommend this one: https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTAC68U/

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by DRU

What you want is "AC" not N. I would recommend this one: https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTAC68U/

That's a big 10-4 good buddy, I just bought my routers before AC was available. I like me some AC.

That being said, I did enable the wireless functions on the two settop boxes (of the three I have) that aren't sitting right next to the network box. Hopefully that'll help in those farther reaches of the house.

What I'm struggling with right now is being sure which device any of the Win10 devices is connected to. The MAC address in "netsh wlan show...." commands aren't matching any of the MAC addresses I'm seeing listed for any of the boxes when I look at them when I'm logged into Google's fiber page - not even the network box's MAC address. It's all good, I'll figger it out sooner or later...

[Dave Lane]

Originally Posted by DRU

What you want is "AC" not N. I would recommend this one: https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTAC68U/

Dru do you know if that one has dual gateways? I'm looking for one that can have 2 gateways (Verizon modem and Satellite ethernet) with a fall back feature in case one link goes down.

Any chance this one can handle it?

[DRU]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

Dru do you know if that one has dual gateways? I'm looking for one that can have 2 gateways (Verizon modem and Satellite ethernet) with a fall back feature in case one link goes down.

Any chance this one can handle it?

Yes, it has Dual WAN.

"RT-AC68U provides Dual WAN support. Select Failover mode to use a secondary WAN for backup network access. Select Load Balance mode to optimize bandwidth, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and prevent data overload for both WAN connections."

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

First day's opinion(s)....

1) The speed is awesome. Duh! See attached.

2) Now that they've sold you on the "all the TV boxes in the house are a wireless AP and will be an extension of your overall Google Fiber home WiFi network", then they get there and tell you they won't enable it unless you demand it. They want the APs to be 150-200 feet apart before they're actually OK with it. Evidently it's the typical salesman vs. engineer deal, and the feature really isn't ready for prime time. According to the people who actually look you in the eye (unlike the corporate/sales assholes), Google doesn't actually want to enable it right now because the radios apparently step on each other and all the wireless devices get confused, quit working well, disconnect and reconnect a LOT, and it's causing a lot of calls. So it'll work someday, but the sales people don't have the balls to quit selling it like it's ready for Prime time.

3) It blows that Google decided to have their "TV Box" be controlled by a Blue Tooth remote. So if you're coming from Time Warner where you got one "official" remote (like Google), most off-brand remotes could still do 99% of what the Time Warner remote could do, and controlled the TV box and the TV too. Not so with Google. And there appears to be an IF receiver in the box, so it's bothersome. Google's answer is to use their Google Fiber App, and that App kinda sucks for being a Set-top box and TV controller - you can't do things like control volume, and that's dumb. So that off-brand universal "in the kitchen" remote you might have used to mute the TV for family dinner is now junk. Simply stupid IMO.

4) While their Android and iOS "Google Fiber" App seems OK for the phone/tablet/iPad, watching TV on your laptop is a pain! Instead of them having you logon to Google on your laptop, then giving you a TV guide, Google has opted to give you links to about 25 TV show's web sites and from there you have to tell those many different sites you're a Google Fiber subscriber before you see the program. We'll see if it allows you to watch those "channels" even though you're not connected to your home network because you are simply a Google Fiber subscriber. So far it looks like it will, so that's nice I guess. But I think Time Warner 1000% wins that feature.

5) They won't run Cat5e cable to all the wired locations you want, they'll only run one; so chose the location you want the full Gig wisely. The rest are probably going to be wireless. I know I'm going to be using a couple of 5-port Gig switches and running some Cat5e on my own!

6) The remote seems to have a lot more lag in operations like pulling up the guide. It was enough slower that I was pressing the guide button twice because I didn't think I had pressed it.


So, I'm not trying to sound too negative, but I'm offering true feedback. I think too many people will be too giddy about the 970Mbps and forget to remind Google they have some areas that aren't as cool as the people they're competing with.

Your installer sucked. Mine ran multiple lines, Did something to make the remote not lag and set up both wifi's passworded. My remote is flawless on its speed. I rather use it than my phone. Even with the problems you are having, still 10x better than the competition.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Valiant

Your installer sucked. Mine ran multiple lines, Did something to make the remote not lag and set up both wifi's passworded. My remote is flawless on its speed. I rather use it than my phone. Even with the problems you are having, still 10x better than the competition.

Yeah, I just told the installers that I had to have cable in multiple locations, and that wifi simply wouldn't suffice. They shrugged and said "OK", and ran Cat6 all over.

[Dave Lane]

Originally Posted by DRU

Yes, it has Dual WAN.

"RT-AC68U provides Dual WAN support. Select Failover mode to use a secondary WAN for backup network access. Select Load Balance mode to optimize bandwidth, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and prevent data overload for both WAN connections."

Awesome ordering one today thanks rep!