Verizon has been a major player in the tech space (particularly mobile phone services) for the better part of the last decade and is headquartered in New York City. Recently, it has expanded into other technology areas with FiOS (fiber-optic) service and the purchasing of AOL as a means for generating content and other forms of media.

Verizon FiOS is a relatively new service that began in 2005 and has greatly expanded with increases in internet speeds. In areas where FiOS is available, customers can enjoy download speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 940 Mbps.

In summary, FiOS from Verizon specializes in high quality/fast internet as well as a basic TV subscription. The availability of the service is somewhat limited compared to other television providers. However, if Verizon FiOS is an available option in your area, it is definitely worth looking into because of its fast speeds and competitive pricing.

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The Good

TV Packages
Fiber Optic
Competitive Pricing and User-Friendly Features
Valuable Mobile App
Multi-Room DVR Service

TV Packages

Verizon FiOS offers two types of TV packages: a customTV package and a traditional TV package. Custom FiOS plans offer a variety of channel options, which means that customers only pay for the channels they want to watch. Verizon FiOS offers the following traditional FiOS plans:

Preferred HD

$74.99 per month for 1 year + taxes, equipment charges, and other fees
280+ channels (105+ HD)
Includes channels such as Comedy Central, Fox News, MTV, TNT, ESPN, and SyFy

Extreme HD

$79.99 per month for 1 year + taxes, equipment charges, and other fees
350+ channels (130+ HD)
Includes channels such as NFL Network, BBC America, FX, ESPN, OWN, DIY

Ultimate HD

$89.99 per month for 1 year + taxes, equipment charges, and other fees
425+ channels (160+ HD)
Includes channels such as NFL Network, FLIX, Showtime, ESPN, The Movie Channel, Epix

Prices for a greater range of bundled options that include FiOS Gigabit Connection and a home phone can be found on the company website.

Fiber Optic

What sets Verizon FiOS apart from traditional cable and satellite companies is the use of fiber optics. Fiber optic is considered a cutting edge technology that will improve the communication/entertainment industry. Fiber optic technology allows customers to be constantly connected to their TV (as well as internet and phone if applicable).

Verizon FiOS has increased both the speed and capacity that traditional cable has to offer. For those who are getting started, FiOS installation usually requires 4–6 hours. Technicians typically test the existing coaxial cable for quality and signal strength to determine if it is possible to use existing wiring.

Competitive Pricing and User-Friendly Features

Prices and features are competitive, and in some cases better than what other television providers are offering. At the bottom of this expert review, there are additional details and services regarding the packaging. Also be sure to check out the ever changing promotions to switch to Verizon FiOS TV.

Verizon FiOS TV has a few better features compared to other top cable or satellite TV providers. First, you are able to record 12 shows at once. This is a significantly larger increase when compared to four or five DVR recordings by DISH and DirecTV. Depending on the package, you are able to access over 500 channels. This maximum amount of channels is better than other top packages from other providers. However, basic packages from Verizon FiOS TV will fall short of this maximum amount significantly.

Other features for an FiOS TV One customer include 4K Ultra High Definition compatibility, a voice remote, and multi-room DVR access.

Multi-Room DVR Service

Any FiOS Customer can watch their DVR recordings from the FiOS TV app and manage settings and recordings from a smartphone or any connected computer. Verizon offers two FiOS DVR options:

FiOS Multi-Room DVR Enhanced Service — users can record up to six shows at once and watch on up to five TVs
FiOS Multi-Room DVR Premium Service — users can record up to 12 shows at once and watch on up to 10 TVs

Valuable Mobile App

Mobile viewing is a huge benefit of the Verizon FiOS service. You can watch live TV or stream On Demand movies from your tablet, laptop, smartphone, or streaming product. You no longer have to be sitting in front of the TV to enjoy your cable service and can watch all of your favorite shows and movies whenever you want, where you want.

Overall, users have been pleased with the functionality of this mobile app lately. Currently, the app enjoys a 3.8 out of 5 star rating from 26,343 reviews on Google Play. Verizon FiOS reviews suggest minor functionality issues did exist but have been corrected, such as navigation and sub-accounts inability to access live streaming TV.

Verizon Wireless customers can stream data-free through the FiOS TV app, meaning that data used on the app does not count towards a customer's data limit. Users can begin streaming from the app even before Verizon FiOS has been installed in the home.

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The Bad

Only Available in Eight States
2-Year Commitment for Triple Play Bundle

Only Available in Eight States

Availability is a huge issue with the Verizon FiOS service. As of right now, Verizon FiOS only offers services in eight states. It is currently working to get into all 28 states where Verizon provides landline phone services. While Verizon FiOS has competitive prices and features comparable to other cable providers, it simply does not service enough people nationwide due to the fiber optic limitations. Verizon FiOS TV is currently available in the following areas:

Delaware
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Providence, Rhode Island
Virginia
Washington D.C.

Two-Year Commitment for Triple Play Bundle

While not uncommon among TV providers, it is unfortunate to have a two-year commitment requirement as part of your contract with Verizon FiOS TV bundles. If customers wish to cancel their contract before the time period is up, they will be assessed a fee(s) based on how long they have been a customer and their payment history. Also, the most basic TV package available does not come complete with many of the channels found in the packages of top competitors.

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The Bottom Line

Verizon FiOS is a great option for cable TV, internet, and phone if it is available in your area. Service is limited based on where you live, so there is a chance Verizon FiOS TV is not offered in your area. Fiber optics help speed up service as well as increase capacity and quality to create a great alternative option to satellite and cable television providers.

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Call our recommended rep over at Verizon Fios TV below.

1-(877) 595-8234

Or you can visit Verizon Fios TV's website.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

3.4

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91 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

34%

4 grade

18%

3 grade

20%

2 grade

1 grade

20%

Sentiment Criteria

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gingerharrell Hoboken, NJ

I am very happy with everything about my Verizon Fido’s internet and TV service with the exception of one very annoying problem. The navigation through recordings is terrible. It is a solid blank background with extremely bright white lettering which is one of the worst text/background combinations ever! The white is like an extremely bright light and very difficult to even look at, much less read. Every thing else about the service is fine but the legibility of the screens to view for looking at recordings etc. is terrible. I am seriously considering changing my service for this reason only! If you do any research into what text/backgrounds are best, you will never find a recommendation for white text on a black background. Whomever designed this certainly did. It do any research on what would be best for your customers!!! That says a lot about your company.

4 years ago

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Jeff Dallas, TX

I was in one of the first neighborhoods to receive Fios TV and had been waiting for it! The service itself was outstanding. 100% dead on reliable! FAST!!! LOVED IT. Until.....One day, it was dead. I called Verizon Fios and they said they would send someone out. Two days later, all is good! Its working again! However, when I got my next bill, there was a charge for over $800 to "run new fiber optic line to home". WTF?!?!?!?! Turns out.....When Verizon ran the fiber cable into my house, they didn't protect the cable. After 5-6 years of my lawn crew using a weed eater they damaged the line. It was NOT cut. Externally, you couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. But, I was told the line had been damaged. I was furious that I was not asked if I wanted them to run a new line. NO WAY would I have agreed to pay $800, I would have just cancelled (I was not under contract) and changed to a different ISP. Clearly they knew this made customers angry because BEFORE THE BILL WAS EVEN DUE I got a call from an out of state "collections agency" to pay the bill. They were clear that the bill was not overdue and there was no threat to my credit report, but the amount of the bill was why they were given my account to collect on. WTF??!?!! I fought this like crazy but I got stonewalled. I paid the bill and told them to come get their equipment that I was cancelling. Still makes me so mad I can't see straight.

3 years ago

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Anthony Ruiz Nottingham, MD

When it’s working it’s good. We constantly have channels that come up as unavailable one day and work fine the next day. It’s very frustrating to be watching a show and then all of the sudden it just stops and says the channel is unavailable Don’t know how much longer I can take this

4 years ago

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Liza Sotchenko Parkville, MD

The service itself is not horrible, but not worth the money you pay because you don't get any good channels. On top of that they installed the lines incorrectly when I first got the service and it kept going out. Instead of coming out and doing it correctly free of charge they charged me money to fix their technicians mistake. Not a very organized company.

3 years ago

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Hans Bellen New York, NY

I switched from Spectrum to Fios in NYC. It s definitely a surprise I ended up with way less channels, even ESPN wasnt included unless you went for the sport package. Image was great, internet speed great. Customer service so so. My installation stopped working 30min after the guy left and took me hours on phone to fix. They kept charging me for a modem i had purchased for months and sent me to several stores to fix that for no reason.

4 years ago

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Amanda Vangeli Denver, CO

Terrible internet service, and TV interface for cable was clumsy and not user friendly. I often had issues with my DVR (it would crash and then I would need to call Verizon to troubleshoot about once a month). Very disappointing when you order a movie on demand and you have to wait hours to watch it.

4 years ago

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Noriko Johnson Pleasant Grove, UT

Our kids really enjoyed having an on demand. It was very convenient for our busy life. We had to cancel the service due to they discontinued a specific channel we would like to have.

6 years ago

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Jordan Priest West Jordan, UT

Verizon is king and they know it. Fortunately, there are not frequent issues, but when there are, you'll be very respectfully told there is nothing they can do. Customer for 15 years

6 years ago

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Drew

They lie. At point of sale I was told my payment was locked in, would not go up. A year later it has gone up. Their customer service is awful.

2 years ago

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Jack Lambert Salt Lake City, UT

Installer came and couldn’t use the already created holes from another company. They would have had to drill through the house again to put their stuff in.

3 years ago

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Michelle W Coraopolis, PA

I had fios tv for a brief stint. Like all big cable companies they are over priced and there are plenty of cost effective alternatives out there nowadays.

5 years ago

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Lorraine Fordham Silver Spring, MD

Adequate. Expensive. Picture quality very good about 90% of the time, but does lose signal,on occasion.

7 years ago

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Cheeter Karnas Montclair, NJ

Way To costly, system times out at times :programs you get and pay for are not there and when you want an extra channel you have to by a bundal.

3 years ago

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Vantresa Scott Annapolis, MD

Not a cost effective service. Too pricey for the line up of channels. Most of the channels for the package I had were garbage.

4 years ago

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Lesa Stewart Saint George, UT

This has changed are entertainment game in our house. We can get everything we want to watch. We also love th phone. Service.

5 years ago

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Tony's Babygirl Staton MO

Did not like the hidden fees or limited coverage

2 years ago

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Nathan Johnson Palmyra, PA

Service is fine but costs significantly spike after promotional period

6 years ago

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Tatiana Bloomfield, NJ

Good company and working hard for their customer.

3 years ago