(no subject)

[missizzy]

Today the U.S. Open started, and it looks like I will be watching what I watch of it entirely on ESPN+, because my cable box is broken. I am supposed to switch our household to Fios at some point in the near future; my mother and my sister seem to have decided that was my job this time. I am still struggling to figure out how you do things like that. I found articles explaining it today, but some of them contradicted each other. The excessive amount of AI content getting in the way didn't help. My sister actually did it years ago, and I may end up asking for instructions from her. She seems to think I can do this because I put a PC together, but perhaps she should've remembered the multiple times I had to email one of her friends for help while doing so. Though who knows if the process is the same.
Her father in law finally died recently. I say "finally" because not only did everyone know it was coming for literally years, but because it was over half a year since his doctors started saying he had weeks at most. Still, I get the impression my brother-in-law is not coping well, and that he was never going to.

Comments

[graycardinal]

Mmm. While converting from cable to FIOS does involve replacing hardware, it's not necessarily all that complex on the user end, in that it's also a matter of switching service providers...and the new service provider should handle most of the hard parts.

As your initial research may have explained, traditional cable and FIOS are essentially identical in one way - both bring media and Internet into your house (or apartment or condo) via hardwired cables. FIOS is just the newer and more powerful version, running on fiber optic wires.

Thus, the first question is whether your living space is presently wired for FIOS. I was lucky; when I moved into my current place several years ago, it had both cable and FIOS connections pre-wired. When I switched, all I had to do was disconnect my network router from the incoming cable connection and hook it up to the FIOS service box. (When I switched, I dropped my cable TV subscription and set my (smart) TV up for streaming; you may want to consider that as well.) Note that if you're in an apartment or condo, the landlord or HOA may need to approve installation of FIOS wiring if it's not already in place.

Also like cable, FIOS providers generally operate in specific geographic service areas, so it's likely less a question of picking one provider over another than of arranging for installation and/or connection of service. You should be able to find a Web tool that will tell you who your potential provider is. And once that's established, and you've determined what level of service you want, the provider's installation people should do most or all of the work for you.

The joker in this deck may be that if you're renting in an older building that isn't currently wired for FIOS, the building management may not be prepared to approve installation in the first place. If that's how the dominoes fall over - and depending on where your Internet service comes from - your options change. (The major cellular services are now getting into the Internet business, notably including T-Mobile and Verizon; again, the 'Net should tell you whose coverage is available in your vicinity.)

[missizzy]

Thanks.