Quantum Fiber Installation Tips

[jrref]

Because of the recent $35 price for 1Gbs bi-directional, non-shared internet service that Quantum Fiber has been offering, there have been many people, who can get the service, switching from cable and a lot of discussion on how to get the best WiFi coverage with Quantum's included WiFi7 equipment.
From my experience, you should get a premium installation without any intervention but here are some tips to make sure it’s installed optimally.
Quantum will install what they call a SmartNid device usually in the white data cabinet in your garage. This SmartNid is a combination Optical Network Terminator which terminates the fiber optic connection to your home and a Router. It has two 1Gbs ethernet ports, one fiber port and a power supply connection.
They will also provide WiFi7 Pods. One pod will be a larger “main pod” which has to be hard wired via an ethernet cable to the SmartNid in the garage. The remaining smaller pods work wirelessly off of the main pod and are installed in other areas of your home for maximum coverage. The number of smaller pods needed will depend on the size of your home. Because these WiFi7 pods provide wireless signals in the 2.4, 5 and 6Ghz bands, they give you effectively a “stronger” WiFi signal than previous versions of WiFi devices so the main pod might be all you need for a smaller home where in a designer home you may need one remote pod and in a larger premier home you may need two remote pods. The technician has an app that will tell them based on the signal strength in all of your rooms, lanai, etc, how many if any remote pods are needed. If there is any doubt, always ask the technician for at least one remote pod that you can move around your home at a later date if needed.
In most homes here in the Villages built circa 2012 and newer, the builder installed blue cat5 ethernet cables from the white data cabinet in the garage to most of the rooms in your home. They were installed and wired as telephone jacks even though no copper landline service was ever installed. Only 4 out of the 8 wires are typically wired in the wall jacks. I don’t know how older homes in the Villages were wired but I’m sure over the years they were done in different ways. The point is, if you have these blue cat5 ethernet cables, the Quantum technician will use them to provide the hardwired connection from the SmartNid in the garage to the main WiFi7 pod and if you ask them they can also use the 2nd ethernet port on the SmartNid to give you a hardwired connection for your computer in you office if you have one.
Given this background, here are the installation tips:
1) Make sure the main WiFi pod is installed as close to the center of your home as possible. This may mean installing it above or under one of the cabinets in the kitchen where there is an ethernet jack available or in a guest bedroom closest to the main living area. Most every home has a connection somewhere in the kitchen. You can also install it in your office near your main computer if you have one. The main WiFi pod has several ethernet jacks so if installed in your office near your computer you can hardwire everything you want in that room easily. If you install the Main WiFi pod anywhere except in the center of your house you may need a remote pod to get a strong WiFi signal throughout your home.
2) NEVER let the tech install the main WiFi pod in the garage with remote pods throughout your home. This will never work reliably.
3) If you install a remote WiFi pod in a room where there is an ethernet jack, ask the technician to hard wire that pod via the jack to the SmartNid. This will make the remote pod work better.
4) Before the tech leaves the installation, ask them to do a speed test to verify and show that you are getting the speed you ordered. Plugging directly into one of the RJ45 ports on the Main Wifi pod is best but with a not too old cell phone on the wifi should read in the "ball park" of the speed you ordered.
5) Be aware of what's on the other side of the wall where the Main WiFi Pod is installed to make sure there is nothing big and metal there potentially blocking the signal to the rest of the house. If there is, then choose another location.
6) Make sure if you are using a smaller remote Wifi pod for additional coverage that it's plugged in, in another room close enough so it gets a strong signal from the Main WiFi pod but far enough away that it doesn't interfere with the Main Pod.
7) I always recommend using the same existing WiFi network name and password for the new Quantum Wifi so you don't have to go to all your devices and re-connect them to the new WiFi equipment. Always give the technician the existing network name and password so he can configure the new Wifi with this information. Just be aware, even if you do this, there still may be some devices that don't connect to the new WiFi and in these cases you will need to reconnect them manually.

The exceptions for the advanced homeowners:
1) If you have your own WiFi equipment such as an Orbi, TP-Link, Amazon or any other favorite system, all you need to do is plug it into one of the ethernet jacks going to the SmartNid in the garage. You will be double NATing because your equipment will have a router butr the small delay is not noticeable. If you are a purest or have special needs then you can log into the SmartNid and put in ByPass mode which disables the built-in router but I personally don’t believe it’s worth the effort.
2) The WiFi7 equipment that Quantum installs is actually very good and will work great for a majority of people but an Orbi or other premium WiFi7 equipment will be better.

For the Advanced Homeowners who want to prewire your home in preparation for the Quantum Install:
1) Find a central location to install the Main Wifi7 pod. This can be under one of the Kitchen cabinets since almost all homes here in the Villages have an ethernet jack there or in one of the guest bedrooms that's closest to the main living area.
2) Find the blue ethernet cable running from the RJ45 ethernet jack in the room where you are planning to put the Main Wifi pod to the white data cabinet in the garage. There are many ways to "buzz" out the cables to locate the one you want to use. I prefer using a Kolsol AT338 Optical Wire Meter Tracer. It has an Optical power meter (which you won't need) and multifunction cable scanning and continuity testing functions. You can use the cable scanning function to "buzz" out and locate the correct blue ethernet cable at the data cabinet. There are many ethernet continuity testers on Amazon but I like this one the best.
3) Once the ehternet cable is found in the data cabinet, use a RJ45 Ratcheting Ethernet Wire Crimper / Stripper / Cutter, for Pass-Thru connectors such as the Klein Tools VDV226-110 to install the Rj45 plug onto the end of the cable. Always use RJ45 Pass-Thru connectors since they are easy to use and provide a perfect connection 99.9% of the time,
4) Next examine the connection at the RJ45 Keystone ethernet wall jack in the room where you plan to put the Main Wifi pod. You will probably see 4 out of the 8 wires terminated. Since they are almost never terminated properly, pull out what's connected so you can re-terminate the blue ethernert cable on the jack. Look to see if the pin-out on the jack has the T568B code. If it doesn't have the "B" pin-out code then best to replace it with a new keystone jack.
5) Once the blue ethernet cable has the RJ45 plug terminating it at the data cabinet in the garage and the RJ45 "keystone" wall jack on the other end use the Kolsol contunuity tester to verify the terminations are correct. If so, then put the wall jack and plate back together and lable the other end in the data cabinet in the garage for the tech when he arrives.

The Quantum tech will do all this for you but if you want to pre-wire then these are the steps you need to take.

After working at Verizon for 30 years and much of that with Verizon FiOS, I can say we are very fortunate to have fiber internet service in many locations here in the Villages. I hope this post helps provide potential users of Quantum Fiber with some good information. I’ve overseen many Quantum installs here in the Villages so my comments are based on my actual experience. If anyone has any specific questions I would be happy to help. And of course, if you have had Quantum fiber installed and made any tweaks to improve performance, please share them.

[jrref]

Did anyone with Quantum Fiber ever make changes to their installation or come up with a better arrangement?

[Pinball wizard]

Not sure what you mean.

I have their new WiFi7 pod in my living room (woodside) and it easily covers the entire house.

[MorTech]

Gawd I miss FiOS! 3ms pings! Seriously low latency!

Thanks for this! The CenturyLink ONT boxes in my neighborhood are large and mounted to the outside of the house. Nice they can terminate in the white cabinet now. You could really just use a WiFi7 Access Point. Does the SmartNid provide DHCP?

[Risuli]

Went with Quantum back in August of this year after the $35 "for life" offer with the WiFi pods. However, the fiber run pre-built into my home only went to one bedroom on one side of the home. Tech installed the "modem" there with a WiFi pod, but the signal wasn't all that strong in the living room, and even worse on the other side of the house. Tech installed a second pod in the living room area but signal still wasn't all that great (< 200 Mbps on wifi; it had been ~350 with Xfinity's wifi). Tech had no more pods and promised to return with an additional pod to hopefully strengthen the signal through the whole home (which is only about 1600 sq. ft.!?).

Long story short... Tech never came back as promised. While everything worked for my uses (streaming, emails, gaming, etc.) it was bothersome that my promised 950 Mbps was well below 200 Mbps throughout even when my PC was hardwired into a Wifi pod. Decided to swap the Quantum wifi pods and purchased and installed a TP-Link AX3000 mesh wifi (3 units across the home). Speeds improved markedly, and while directly hardwiring into a pod on wifi my speeds are about 500 Mbps (pod directly wired to Quantum's "modem" gives the 950 Mbps). Anyway, a bit disappointed with Quantum's install, but overall happy with the service after some "self-help".

[jrref]

Went with Quantum back in August of this year after the $35 "for life" offer with the WiFi pods. However, the fiber run pre-built into my home only went to one bedroom on one side of the home. Tech installed the "modem" there with a WiFi pod, but the signal wasn't all that strong in the living room, and even worse on the other side of the house. Tech installed a second pod in the living room area but signal still wasn't all that great (< 200 Mbps on wifi; it had been ~350 with Xfinity's wifi). Tech had no more pods and promised to return with an additional pod to hopefully strengthen the signal through the whole home (which is only about 1600 sq. ft.!?).

Long story short... Tech never came back as promised. While everything worked for my uses (streaming, emails, gaming, etc.) it was bothersome that my promised 950 Mbps was well below 200 Mbps throughout even when my PC was hardwired into a Wifi pod. Decided to swap the Quantum wifi pods and purchased and installed a TP-Link AX3000 mesh wifi (3 units across the home). Speeds improved markedly, and while directly hardwiring into a pod on wifi my speeds are about 500 Mbps (pod directly wired to Quantum's "modem" gives the 950 Mbps). Anyway, a bit disappointed with Quantum's install, but overall happy with the service after some "self-help".

I believe they switched to the WiFi7 pods probably right after you had yours installed. Initially they had a lot of issues getting the main and remote pods to sync up. That's all fixed now and they sync up very quickly and provide good coverage.

Do you remember if they were using the newer WiFi7 pods? If they were there would have been one large pod as the main and a smaller as the remote. If they were all the same size then they were the older WiFi6 pods which didn't have as good range. The new WiFi7 main pod has a better antenna system effectively giving you better and stronger coverage.

The TP-Link mesh wifi system you purchased is very good and I'm glad you got it sorted out. WiFi is not 100% so you need to "play" with it to find optimal placement for the devices depending on your specific home.

I feel the WiFi7 equipment that Quantum provides is more than adequate for most here in the Villages but if you want something better I like the Orbi and TP link Wifi7 WiFi systems since they offer several models at different price points depending on you specific requirements. You can't go wrong with either system. I have the Orbi 970 because I wanted the best backhaul system I could get because I didn't have an ethernet jack behind my main TV in the Living Room. The more affordable Orbi 770 works great as well. I installed one for my neighbor who teaches remotely from home. Both the husband and wife work from home.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Risuli]

You are likely correct with regard to the Quantum wifi pods. Both are exactly the same size and I believe the tech indicated they were only wifi 6 capable. I'm fine with my current set up with Quantum, though disappointed in their failure to properly provide the wifi they claimed.

My only question for the future is when they likely say I have the "for life" plan but try to impose a fee for their wifi pods, where do I take or send their equipment (wifi pods) back? I've looked online and don't see any locations to return equipment.

[jrref]

You are likely correct with regard to the Quantum wifi pods. Both are exactly the same size and I believe the tech indicated they were only wifi 6 capable. I'm fine with my current set up with Quantum, though disappointed in their failure to properly provide the wifi they claimed.

My only question for the future is when they likely say I have the "for life" plan but try to impose a fee for their wifi pods, where do I take or send their equipment (wifi pods) back? I've looked online and don't see any locations to return equipment.

Quantum's web site is very good although its very slow like they are running it on an iPad LOL. On the lower left side of their home page are a variety of links including returning equipment. Basically you print out a mailer and return via UPS. This is the link:
Equipment Returns | Quantum Fiber (https://quantumfiber.com/support/equipment/returns.html?_gl=1*10lkc36*_ga*MTA3NDkyNTIwLjE3MzI 0MTY4MTI.*_ga_F71YKTV7KY*MTczNDM1NTA5MC4xMS4xLjE3M zQzNTUxMjQuMC4wLjExOTg1MDMwMTU.*_gcl_au*MjAzNTIzOD g4MC4xNzMyNDE2ODEyLjEwNjY2NzAxMC4xNzM0MDIzMDQzLjE3 MzQwMjMwNDI.*FPAU*MjI4NTQyMDExLjE3MzI0MTY4MTI.*_ga _8TD7KVX61Y*MTczNDM1NTA5MC4xMC4xLjE3MzQzNTUxMzQuMT YuMC4w)

Agreed, I sometimes think about if they start charging for the equipment what will happen? Although we will never know until or if it happens, my guess is they won't charge because the trend in the industry is to provide the WiFi equipment as part of the service.

Since i've been here in the Villages, Quantum's pricing for what they provide is very reasonable compared to the rest of the country and they let you easily switch between plans on their web site at no charge so I believe we will be OK for a couple more years.

And Remember, When the cable guy comes by your house trying to win you back with a "great" temporary offer, tell them to come back when they offer non-shared, bi-directional service. It's a shame how many here in the Villages don't realize that the cable companies offer good download speeds but terrible upload speeds that can vary especially during prime time due to the limitations of the copper cable.

[JRcorvette]

Because of the recent $35 price for 1Gbs bi-directional, non-shared internet service that Quantum Fiber has been offering, there have been many people, who can get the service, switching from cable and a lot of discussion on how to get the best WiFi coverage with Quantum's included WiFi7 equipment.
From my experience, you should get a premium installation without any intervention but here are some tips to make sure it’s installed optimally.
Quantum will install what they call a SmartNid device usually in the white data cabinet in your garage. This SmartNid is a combination Optical Network Terminator which terminates the fiber optic connection to your home and a Router. It has two 1Gbs ethernet ports, one fiber port and a power supply connection.
They will also provide WiFi7 Pods. One pod will be a larger “main pod” which has to be hard wired via an ethernet cable to the SmartNid in the garage. The remaining smaller pods work wirelessly off of the main pod and are installed in other areas of your home for maximum coverage. The number of smaller pods needed will depend on the size of your home. Because these WiFi7 pods provide wireless signals in the 2.4, 5 and 6Ghz bands, they give you effectively a “stronger” WiFi signal than previous versions of WiFi devices so the main pod might be all you need for a smaller home where in a designer home you may need one remote pod and in a larger premier home you may need two remote pods. The technician has an app that will tell them based on the signal strength in all of your rooms, lanai, etc, how many if any remote pods are needed. If there is any doubt, always ask the technician for at least one remote pod that you can move around your home at a later date if needed.
In most homes here in the Villages built circa 2012 and newer, the builder installed blue cat5 ethernet cables from the white data cabinet in the garage to most of the rooms in your home. They were installed and wired as telephone jacks even though no copper landline service was ever installed. Only 4 out of the 8 wires are typically wired in the wall jacks. I don’t know how older homes in the Villages were wired but I’m sure over the years they were done in different ways. The point is, if you have these blue cat5 ethernet cables, the Quantum technician will use them to provide the hardwired connection from the SmartNid in the garage to the main WiFi7 pod and if you ask them they can also use the 2nd ethernet port on the SmartNid to give you a hardwired connection for your computer in you office if you have one.
Given this background, here are the tips:
1) Make sure the main WiFi pod is installed as close to the center of your home as possible. This may mean installing it above or under one of the cabinets in the kitchen where there is one of these ethernet jacks available. Most every home has this connection.
2) If you don’t want or can’t install the main pod in the kitchen then have the technician install it in your office near your main computer if you have one. In this situation you will need remote pods to get a strong WiFi signal throughout your home.
3) NEVER let them install the main WiFi pod in the garage with remote pods throughout your home. This will never work reliably.
4) The main WiFi pod has several ethernet jacks so if installed in your office near your computer you can hardwire everything you want in that room easily.
5) If you install a remote WiFi pod in a room where there is an ethernet jack, ask the technician to hard wire that pod via the jack to the SmartNid. This will make the remote pod work better.

Now for the exceptions for the advanced homeowners:
1) If you have your own WiFi equipment such as an Orbi, TP-Link, Amazon or any other favorite system, all you need to do is plug it into one of the ethernet jacks going to the SmartNid in the garage. You will be double NATing because your equipment will have a router but the small delay is not noticeable. If you are a purest or have special needs then you can log into the SmartNid and put in ByPass mode which disables the built-in router but I personally don’t believe it’s worth the effort.
2) The WiFi7 equipment that Quantum installs is actually very good and will work great for a majority of people but an Orbi or other premium WiFi7 equipment will be better.

After working at Verizon for 30 years and much of that with Verizon FiOS, I can say we are very fortunate to have fiber internet service in many locations here in the Villages. I hope this post helps provide potential users of Quantum Fiber with some good information. I’ve overseen many Quantum installs here in the Villages so my comments are based on my actual experience. If anyone has any specific questions I would be happy to help. And of course, if you have had Quantum fiber installed and made any tweaks to improve performance, please share them.

That is an awesome detailed article…. Thank you. Are you for hire???

[JRcorvette]

Went with Quantum back in August of this year after the $35 "for life" offer with the WiFi pods. However, the fiber run pre-built into my home only went to one bedroom on one side of the home. Tech installed the "modem" there with a WiFi pod, but the signal wasn't all that strong in the living room, and even worse on the other side of the house. Tech installed a second pod in the living room area but signal still wasn't all that great (< 200 Mbps on wifi; it had been ~350 with Xfinity's wifi). Tech had no more pods and promised to return with an additional pod to hopefully strengthen the signal through the whole home (which is only about 1600 sq. ft.!?).

Long story short... Tech never came back as promised. While everything worked for my uses (streaming, emails, gaming, etc.) it was bothersome that my promised 950 Mbps was well below 200 Mbps throughout even when my PC was hardwired into a Wifi pod. Decided to swap the Quantum wifi pods and purchased and installed a TP-Link AX3000 mesh wifi (3 units across the home). Speeds improved markedly, and while directly hardwiring into a pod on wifi my speeds are about 500 Mbps (pod directly wired to Quantum's "modem" gives the 950 Mbps). Anyway, a bit disappointed with Quantum's install, but overall happy with the service after some "self-help".

Having your own Mesh router is the best way to go. I have been using Eero system for years. They have been bought out by Amazon but I have not seen any changes. I believe that TP-Link is a Chinese company.

[Risuli]

:wave: President Xi!

[jrref]

That is an awesome detailed article…. Thank you. Are you for hire???

Sure if you need some help, please PM me.
John

[jrref]

Having your own Mesh router is the best way to go. I have been using Eero system for years. They have been bought out by Amazon but I have not seen any changes. I believe that TP-Link is a Chinese company.

Agreed, but for the majority of homeowners who live here in the Villages, most want a turn-key system from the internet provider which is why the system that Quantum installs, in my opinion, is very good.

[jrref]

Concerning the Pods that Quantum uses, the older WiFi6 pods were built and licensed by another company who makes and sells them. The new WiFi7 pods, Quantum had them either built specifically for them or have some arrangement where they own the device making it cheaper which is why I believe they are sending WiFi7 pods out to their existing customers. This is what a tech relayed to me. The new iPhone16 use WiFi7. Whats nice about WiFi7 is the protocol is much more efficient when you are using lots of devices and there are lots of throughput improvements too complex to discuss here. Good reading if you google WiFi7 or search YouTube videos.

[jrref]

One more thing about WiFi7. I'm not suggesting that everyone should go out and get WiFi7 routers. My point is, WiFi7 offers new technology that makes it more efficient, faster ( if you have newer devices ), and most importantly, More Reliable. Quantum and a host of other companies are starting to deploy WiFi7 equipment because 1) they are more reliable which means less call-backs and 2) as a selling point to get customer's to sign-up because this equipment, right now, is fairly costly.

WiFi7 technology is way ahead because there are not many WiFi7 devices available. The largest up-tick is the recent iPhone 16 which has WiFi7. Because of this, my guess is WiFi7 will be leading edge for many years until the newer devices catch-up.The next step will be higher frequency bands which may be problematic since the higher the frequency, the shorter the range.

From my experience with my iPhone 16, the most significant difference I see with WiFi7 is my phone switches to the strongest node in my home more seemlessly vs it hanging on to one node until the signal gets too weak. I also can get pretty close to 1Gbs speeds, not that I need it, on my iPhone when in the same room as the WiFi equipment.

It will be interesting to see what the future of whole home wireless networks holds and how all plays out.

[jrref]

If you get Quantum Fiber installed and are not getting the advertised speeds or the installation doesn't look correct to you, please PM me.
John

[Bilyclub]

Anybody having trouble with 2.4 stuff like light bulbs and cameras. I’ve had Quantum for a month and my devices outdoor were pretty solid with my router, but not so much with the Quantum router. I have the Quantum WiFi 7 currently running. Switching locations didn’t help. Might try installing the router up high on the wall.

[jrref]

Anybody having trouble with 2.4 stuff like light bulbs and cameras. I’ve had Quantum for a month and my devices outdoor were pretty solid with my router, but not so much with the Quantum router. I have the Quantum WiFi 7 currently running. Switching locations didn’t help. Might try installing the router up high on the wall.

Just to clarify, the white SmartNid which is the Optical Network Terminator And the Router should be located in the data cabinet in the garage. The main WiFi pod is the white square thin box hard wired to it. Where is this main WiFi Pod located? And do you have a 2nd smaller box which is a remote WiFi Pod?

[jrref]

If you want to learn more about Quantum Fiber check out their web site. Get Blazing Fast Fiber Internet for Your Home or Business (http://www.q.com)
Its slow but loaded with good information if you are thinking about it.

For $35/month, if you can get the service, you can't go wrong. So many people here in Osceola Hills and the surrounding Villages have been signing up that they had to expand capacity here.

[Packer Fan]

Exceptional article, thank you. I am having this installed on Dec 26, so it is timely. I do have a few questions. We only have the correct ports in the kitchen and one bedroom in a Jasmine so NOT central, especially when I want good WIFI out on the Birdcage to the far corner of the house. I would much prefer the main pod in the living room in the center of the house. Will they be able to run a port there? Should I push them to or just accept the kitchen?

Also - Since all our Cell phones (Google Pixel 8 and 9 Pro XL) have WIFI 7 capability and I want them to be able to use it in the birdcage, will they check for that or allow us to? I am guessing we are going to need a satelite out there in the Lanai, but how will I know?

Last- should I be pushing him to activate the ethernet port in the bedroom (my office) so I can hard wire my desktop computer and home cloud, etc? What does he need to put there for me to do that? Would like highest speeds in there....

Any advice is appreciated. Glad I am getting rid of my $81 a month Xfinity 200 service for almost a Gig of fiber!

[brewbob]

Since this thread seems to be active...Im posting my recent ordeal with Quantum fiber. 3 weeks ago inet went out at approx 2am. Tech came out and replaced modem. All was well until next Monday inet died again around 2am. Got a second tech out (always seems to be 3 days later) and replaced the router. Didnt work. Replaced 3 routers and no joy. He did talk with support tech(in Philippines of course) and they still could not resolve inet issue. Tech left and said maybe inet would come back on, inet came back on that afternoon. So was good until this morning around 2am...no inet. Of course I did all the usual unplug power stuff. No joy! Everything looks fine from the support end. Internal wifi is fine...just no connection to inet. The fact that the inet drops out at 2am surely is a clue. I have devices that logs data to inet...thats how I know when the inet connection fails.

Modem and router show green lights.

The wifi is fine....but no inet. Could it be the router? Should I buy my own router? Will that fix the problem?

I live in village of Fernandina. Curious if anyone else is having similar issues. This 3 week issue is getting old. BTW Im posting this via mobile hotspot.

[brewbob]

Since this thread seems to be active...Im posting my recent ordeal with Quantum fiber. 3 weeks ago inet went out at approx 2am. Tech came out and replaced modem. All was well until next Monday inet died again around 2am. Got a second tech out (always seems to be 3 days later) and replaced the router. Didnt work. Replaced 3 routers and no joy. He did talk with support tech(in Philippines of course) and they still could not resolve inet issue. Tech left and said maybe inet would come back on, inet came back on that afternoon. So was good until this morning around 2am...no inet. Of course I did all the usual unplug power stuff. No joy! Everything looks fine from the support end. Internal wifi is fine...just no connection to inet. The fact that the inet drops out at 2am surely is a clue. I have devices that logs data to inet...thats how I know when the inet connection fails.

Modem and router show green lights.

The wifi is fine....but no inet. Could it be the router? Should I buy my own router? Will that fix the problem?

I live in village of Fernandina. Curious if anyone else is having similar issues. This 3 week issue is getting old. BTW Im posting this via mobile hotspot.

This is too funny!

I remembered I had several old Asus routers I brought here when I moved to the villages. These old asus routers are running Fresh Tomato. I had 4 of them in a network before I moved here.

I removed the quantum router and replaced with the asus router and it connected to the quantum modem and inet is working fine! Speed is a 100 up and down...but at least its working!

Im going to purchase a mesh network from amazon today. Seems the quantum routers are trash!

[jrref]

Since this thread seems to be active...Im posting my recent ordeal with Quantum fiber. 3 weeks ago inet went out at approx 2am. Tech came out and replaced modem. All was well until next Monday inet died again around 2am. Got a second tech out (always seems to be 3 days later) and replaced the router. Didnt work. Replaced 3 routers and no joy. He did talk with support tech(in Philippines of course) and they still could not resolve inet issue. Tech left and said maybe inet would come back on, inet came back on that afternoon. So was good until this morning around 2am...no inet. Of course I did all the usual unplug power stuff. No joy! Everything looks fine from the support end. Internal wifi is fine...just no connection to inet. The fact that the inet drops out at 2am surely is a clue. I have devices that logs data to inet...thats how I know when the inet connection fails.

Modem and router show green lights.

The wifi is fine....but no inet. Could it be the router? Should I buy my own router? Will that fix the problem?

I live in village of Fernandina. Curious if anyone else is having similar issues. This 3 week issue is getting old. BTW Im posting this via mobile hotspot.

This is odd. First you don't have a modem, that's cable. The white box in your data cabinet is called a SmartNid which is an optical network terminator and router. When the router boots, The light should go from Red to flashing blue to solid green. The fact that your router light is green means the router believes it's connected to the internet. If it were not, the light would remain flashing blue.

You are correct, the fact that it fails at 2am is not a coincidence. Something is happening back in Quantums network. Getting your own router will not help.

I just want to make sure, when checking for the internet you are plugging your laptop or whatever device into one of the ethernet ports on the SmartNid in order to isolate the rest of the system?

If so, I would call Quantum support today and tell them what's been going on and tell them you want to be put on a "different DNS" server. Back at Quantum, each customer is on a specific server and it's possible the one you are on is overloaded and you are getting what we call a "stale IP address".

The fact that they replaced the SmartNid several times means it's not the hardware.

I would be happy to talk to you to help troubleshoot this.

[jrref]

Exceptional article, thank you. I am having this installed on Dec 26, so it is timely. I do have a few questions. We only have the correct ports in the kitchen and one bedroom in a Jasmine so NOT central, especially when I want good WIFI out on the Birdcage to the far corner of the house. I would much prefer the main pod in the living room in the center of the house. Will they be able to run a port there? Should I push them to or just accept the kitchen?

Also - Since all our Cell phones (Google Pixel 8 and 9 Pro XL) have WIFI 7 capability and I want them to be able to use it in the birdcage, will they check for that or allow us to? I am guessing we are going to need a satelite out there in the Lanai, but how will I know?

Last- should I be pushing him to activate the ethernet port in the bedroom (my office) so I can hard wire my desktop computer and home cloud, etc? What does he need to put there for me to do that? Would like highest speeds in there....

Any advice is appreciated. Glad I am getting rid of my $81 a month Xfinity 200 service for almost a Gig of fiber!

Based on your information, your best choice is to have the tech activate the ethernet jack in the kitchen. You can have him install the main Wifi pod under the cabinet near the jack. There should be enough room even though you probably have under counter lights. The other option is to instal the main pod at the top of the kitchen cabinet but that means drilling a hole to get the ethernet wire through the cabinet to the top. They will not run another new port to the living room because this involves going into the attic and running a line. If you want this you will need to call an electrician such as Galaxy Home Solutions but the install in the kitchen should be fine. I've done several of these without issue. If you can get him to install the main WiFi hub under the counter, I can come by and "clean up" the wiring if needed.

As far as the Lanai, ask them to install a remote wifi pod that you can plug in anywhere near the lanai so you have good coverage there.

[jrref]

This is odd. First you don't have a modem, that's cable. The white box in your data cabinet is called a SmartNid which is an optical network terminator and router. When the router boots, The light should go from Red to flashing blue to solid green. The fact that your router light is green means the router believes it's connected to the internet. If it were not, the light would remain flashing blue.

You are correct, the fact that it fails at 2am is not a coincidence. Something is happening back in Quantums network. Getting your own router will not help.

I just want to make sure, when checking for the internet you are plugging your laptop or whatever device into one of the ethernet ports on the SmartNid in order to isolate the rest of the system?

If so, I would call Quantum support today and tell them what's been going on and tell them you want to be put on a "different DNS" server. Back at Quantum, each customer is on a specific server and it's possible the one you are on is overloaded and you are getting what we call a "stale IP address".

The fact that they replaced the SmartNid several times means it's not the hardware.

I would be happy to talk to you to help troubleshoot this.

UPDATE: So Bob was nice enough to let me come over to his house to see what was going on with his situation.

I first checked the Quantum installation and everything seemed fine. I also used my ethernet cable tester to double check the hard wired ethernet connecton from the SmartNitd in the garage to the Main WiFi pod in the kitchen. Again, everything was fine. Bob also had an old Asus wifi/router connected in place of the Quantum Wifi pods and everything was working.

So after disconnecting the old Asus Wifi/Router and reconnecting the Main and remote Quantum WiFi Pods, we were getting WiFi internet on our phones but all the other devices, laptops, etc in Bob's home had a WiFi connection but No Internet.

At this point I was concerned that the 2.4 and 5 Ghz Wifi bands on the Quantum pods were turned off since our phones that were connecting were using the 6 Ghz band. So I looked at the Quantum App on Bob's phone and eventually found that he had the parental controls turned On for all his devices which is why he was loosing internet, but not WiFi on a schedule. The minute I deleted the parental control profiles, everything started working.

This was an interesting learning that I wanted to share with everyone since in all my time, I've never seen anything like this issue. We have no idea how the parental controls could have been set up but they were.

Bob want's to see if the problem re-occurs but I'm confident the problem is solved.

[brewbob]

UPDATE: So Bob was nice enough to let me come over to his house to see what was going on with his situation.

I first checked the Quantum installation and everything seemed fine. I also used my ethernet cable tester to double check the hard wired ethernet connecton from the SmartNitd in the garage to the Main WiFi pod in the kitchen. Again, everything was fine. Bob also had an old Asus wifi/router connected in place of the Quantum Wifi pods and everything was working.

So after disconnecting the old Asus Wifi/Router and reconnecting the Main and remote Quantum WiFi Pods, we were getting WiFi internet on our phones but all the other devices, laptops, etc in Bob's home had a WiFi connection but No Internet.

At this point I was concerned that the 2.4 and 5 Ghz Wifi bands on the Quantum pods were turned off since our phones that were connecting were using the 6 Ghz band. So I looked at the Quantum App on Bob's phone and eventually found that he had the parental controls turned On for all his devices which is why he was loosing internet, but not WiFi on a schedule. The minute I deleted the parental control profiles, everything started working.

This was an interesting learning that I wanted to share with everyone since in all my time, I've never seen anything like this issue. We have no idea how the parental controls could have been set up but they were.

Bob want's to see if the problem re-occurs but I'm confident the problem is solved.

All is working well this morning. John(jrref) found and solved the problem. I have no idea how the parental stuff was turned on. John was very generous with his time to solve this problem. I dont think 100 calls or visits from Quantum support could have found this problem. We are very lucky to have someone with his skills and generosity to help us here in TV.

Merry Christmas to you John. You gave me a great birthday present as today is my birthday and saved my the cost of buying another mesh system.

Cheers
Bob

[jrref]

All is working well this morning. John(jrref) found and solved the problem. I have no idea how the parental stuff was turned on. John was very generous with his time to solve this problem. I dont think 100 calls or visits from Quantum support could have found this problem. We are very lucky to have someone with his skills and generosity to help us here in TV.

Merry Christmas to you John. You gave me a great birthday present as today is my birthday and saved my the cost of buying another mesh system.

Cheers
Bob
Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas to you Bob and thanks for the kind words.

Investigating and solving these internet issues involves a lot of "detective work" and can be fun, for me, at least. I know most of the Quantum techs who work in this area of the Villages and I'm surprised that none of the several who were out to your home were able to diagnose this problem. I have to admit, I've never see your issue especially here in the Villages since no one has teenagers in the home where we would potentially need to use the parental controls in the router and my guess that's what threw them off the trail.

As we discussed, although I'm retired, I do sign-up my friends, neighbors and any referrals I get for Quantum Fiber here in the Villages. They have a referral program where we both get $100 for signing up. In return, I go to home and configure the data cabinet to accept the Quantum SmartNid, instruct the homeowner what to tell the installer for the best installation locations and am available after the install to troubleshoot any issues or answer any questions that might arise. This "service" usually makes the process go smooth and without issue.

I'm looking forward for the next challenge so if anyone is having issues, please post them here.

[MorTech]

What's strange is pulling a cat5 cable to the living room jack was an OPTION when you spec your own home. It should have always been a standard feature. I luckily checked that box when spec'ing my home. The placement of the cable modem router is near the center of the house so I have entire home coverage (and then some) at 5ghz WiFi 6. I still use 25 dollar a month cable modem from Xfinity (80mbs) but will probably go with Quantum Fiber when a PFL sale happens.

Do you recommend putting the NID in bridge mode or my WiFi 7 router in AP mode?

[jrref]

What's strange is pulling a cat5 cable to the living room jack was an OPTION when you spec your own home. It should have always been a standard feature. I luckily checked that box when spec'ing my home. The placement of the cable modem router is near the center of the house so I have entire home coverage (and then some) at 5ghz WiFi 6. I still use 25 dollar a month cable modem from Xfinity (80mbs) but will probably go with Quantum Fiber when a PFL sale happens.

Do you recommend putting the NID in bridge mode or my WiFi 7 router in AP mode?

I logged into my SmartNid and put it in Transparent Bypass Mode and use my Orbi WiFi 7 router to do the routing. The firmware on the Quantum SmartNid was fixed so this now works. The only difference is the light on the SmartNid will be white instead of Green. The router in the SmartNid is actually very good and gives you lots of control but my feeling is using your own router is probably best since you are in control and can either call the company or google the web to find out any information if needed. Also your router will probably be better. Quantum router support is OK but they are not going to give you much information. Congratulations on having the Ethernet cable installed behind the TV in the living room. Until recently they installed cable outlets and installed cat5 wire for phones. Fortunately they used cat5 and the right connectors so they could be repurposed for Ethernet. Always check the socket wiring because they only wired 4 of the 8 wires.

[MorTech]

I logged into my SmartNid and put it in Transparent Bypass Mode and use my Orbi WiFi 7 router to do the routing. The firmware on the Quantum SmartNid was fixed so this now works. The only difference is the light on the SmartNid will be white instead of Green. The router in the SmartNid is actually very good and gives you lots of control but my feeling is using your own router is probably best since you are in control and can either call the company or google the web to find out any information if needed. Also your router will probably be better. Quantum router support is OK but they are not going to give you much information. Congratulations on having the Ethernet cable installed behind the TV in the living room. Until recently they installed cable outlets and installed cat5 wire for phones. Fortunately they used cat5 and the right connectors so they could be repurposed for Ethernet. Always check the socket wiring because they only wired 4 of the 8 wires.

Thank you for this! You are most helpful!

Yeah...The option was for a phone line jack to be installed in the living room...that was literally an option on the home spec sheet that probably not many people checked. They wired 4 wires of the cat5 8-wire at the phone jacks and in the white cabinet.

I wonder if the cat5 they pulled will handle 10gbs at that length...I guess it really doesn't matter.

Always remember - When you can't figure it out, "Factory Reset" is your friend :)

[Bilyclub]

Just to clarify, the white SmartNid which is the Optical Network Terminator And the Router should be located in the data cabinet in the garage. The main WiFi pod is the white square thin box hard wired to it. Where is this main WiFi Pod located? And do you have a 2nd smaller box which is a remote WiFi Pod?


No, the installer set the white square box up in a bedroom. I moved it to the centrally located living room. I call it a router because there are 4 spots to plug stuff in. No other pods.

[jrref]

No, the installer set the white square box up in a bedroom. I moved it to the centrally located living room. I call it a router because there are 4 spots to plug stuff in. No other pods.

Thanks for the information.
The Main WiFi7 Pod includes an ethernet hub which is providing those ports. The Routing occurs in the SmartNid installed in the white data cabinet in the garage. The SmartNid also has two ethernet ports.

From my experience, most of the Quantum Tech's are very competent when doing the install but in some cases they don't install the WiFi pod in the most optimal location which is why I created this thread.

In most homes circa 2012 or newer the most centralized location to install the main Wifi pod is in the kitchen unless your home was built with an ethernet jack in the livingroom area. The only homes I've seen with this livingroom area jack are when the homeowners requested it at build time or they got an electrician to run an ethernet cable after the fact. The kitchen always has a power outlet and hard wire connection to the white data cabinet in the garage. Below is a picture of how It should be installed if you choose this location. When installing it in this location, most homes will not need any additional remote pods. If you have a larger home, then you can add an additional remote pod to get full coverage. I've re-worked several Quantum installs for my friends and neighbors like this and they all are very stable and work well.

When installing this main pod in a bedroom, you will always need additional remote wifi pods to get full coverage throughout your home.

I'm glad you were able to move the Wifi pod to a more central location. When you did this are you now getting good coverage?

[jrref]

Thank you for this! You are most helpful!

Yeah...The option was for a phone line jack to be installed in the living room...that was literally an option on the home spec sheet that probably not many people checked. They wired 4 wires of the cat5 8-wire at the phone jacks and in the white cabinet.

I wonder if the cat5 they pulled will handle 10gbs at that length...I guess it really doesn't matter.

Always remember - When you can't figure it out, "Factory Reset" is your friend :)

Interesting you mentioned this. From the homes I've seen here in the Villages, the Cat5E runs are usually 50-75 feet at the most. With larger homes they will be a little longer. Cat5E and above can handle different data rates depending on how long the run is. At spec, Cat5E can handle up to 1Gbs but it's been tested to work at 2.5Gbs and even 5Gbs with shorter lengths. I did an experiment where I set up an OpenSpeedTest server in my home to test the speed of my wired internal network and was able to get 8.5Gbs over an installed Cat5E cable running from one of my bedrooms converted to an office to the data cabinet in the garage. In addition, If you don't have ethernet cabling where you want it and you don't want to hire and pay an electrician to run a line, you can get a TP-Link or Orbi Mesh system which can give you near wire speeds wirelessly using their dedicated wireless "backhaul" system. I have an Netgear Orbi to get near wired speeds to my home theater system in my livingroom area. You can also get a Multimedia Over Coax Moca device to run ethernet over your existing coax in your home. I tried this too and it worked fine up to 2 Gbs if you get the right adaptor. Just depends on what you want to accomplish but I though this information would be interesting and maybe useful.

[DARFAP]

Concerning the Pods that Quantum uses, the older WiFi6 pods were built and licensed by another company who makes and sells them. The new WiFi7 pods, Quantum had them either built specifically for them or have some arrangement where they own the device making it cheaper which is why I believe they are sending WiFi7 pods out to their existing customers. This is what a tech relayed to me. The new iPhone16 use WiFi7. Whats nice about WiFi7 is the protocol is much more efficient when you are using lots of devices and there are lots of throughput improvements too complex to discuss here. Good reading if you google WiFi7 or search YouTube videos.
My tech told me they don't do the small pods any more. We still get good coverage throughout our house. Speed test shows 950mb to the house, but only 90 ish for down/up load from the router for wifi.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Interesting you mentioned this. From the homes I've seen here in the Villages, the Cat5E runs are usually 50-75 feet at the most. With larger homes they will be a little longer. Cat5E and above can handle different data rates depending on how long the run is. At spec, Cat5E can handle up to 1Gbs but it's been tested to work at 2.5Gbs and even 5Gbs with shorter lengths. I did an experiment where I set up an OpenSpeedTest server in my home to test the speed of my wired internal network and was able to get 8.5Gbs over an installed Cat5E cable running from one of my bedrooms converted to an office to the data cabinet in the garage. In addition, If you don't have ethernet cabling where you want it and you don't want to hire and pay an electrician to run a line, you can get a TP-Link or Orbi Mesh system which can give you near wire speeds wirelessly using their dedicated wireless "backhaul" system. I have an Netgear Orbi to get near wired speeds to my home theater system in my livingroom area. You can also get a Multimedia Over Coax Moca device to run ethernet over your existing coax in your home. I tried this too and it worked fine up to 2 Gbs if you get the right adaptor. Just depends on what you want to accomplish but I though this information would be interesting and maybe useful.

Great information from a professional on here willing to help others publicly. This is what i love about TOTV web site.

Our custom build in 2019 had spec'd out no phone system wiring and all ethernet connected wiring at the room outlets. We had to call them back the second day to get the correct wiring connectors made in every outlet in the house. We spec'd an ethernet outlet in the ceiling in the center of the house, and they got that one right, as it was non standard. I was seriously surprised that they didn't get the connections correct as part of the build spec. Most likely someone didn't read the fine print and just did the normal routine.

So the smart house concept here in TV is not something that has been well designed into the standard house features. So new buyers please spec what you can about the wiring and check ASAP you take ownership, as the internet is now a modern day requirement for living.

[jrref]

Great information from a professional on here willing to help others publicly. This is what i love about TOTV web site.

Our custom build in 2019 had spec'd out no phone system wiring and all ethernet connected wiring at the room outlets. We had to call them back the second day to get the correct wiring connectors made in every outlet in the house. We spec'd an ethernet outlet in the ceiling in the center of the house, and they got that one right, as it was non standard. I was seriously surprised that they didn't get the connections correct as part of the build spec. Most likely someone didn't read the fine print and just did the normal routine.

So the smart house concept here in TV is not something that has been well designed into the standard house features. So new buyers please spec what you can about the wiring and check ASAP you take ownership, as the internet is now a modern day requirement for living.
I'm not 100% sure but I think the "Smart Home" concept here in the Village's new builds means they install ethernet cabling to all your rooms and an ethernet hub connecting all these cables in the data cabinent in the garage to your internet connection. If you didn't get the "package", Centric Fiber will install a hub and terminate everything for you at an additional cost. With today's WiFi mesh systems I don't feel you need every room wired but it's nice to have if you want to hard wire a computer in your office or the TV in your livingroom. I think the wifi thermostat and irregation controller are now standard on all new builds. But beware, when I visited the new models down south recently, some data cabinets are wired nicely and some not. Below is an example of bad and good installs. If your's looks like the Bad one, get them to come back and install everything correctly. You can see the ethernet hub isn't even mounted. It's just laying on top of the irregation controller. The "good" install is my data cabinet where I have the Quantum SmartNid on top, Rachio Irregation controller, temperature sensor, and a battery backup so my internet is still running during a power outage for a little while.

[jrref]

My tech told me they don't do the small pods any more. We still get good coverage throughout our house. Speed test shows 950mb to the house, but only 90 ish for down/up load from the router for wifi.

Quantum was having problems with the Pods linking a couple months ago which is why they didn't want to install the extender pods. But now the firmware has been fixed and everything works well so it shouldn't be an issue.

When you do a speed test, the speed you get will be dependent on which device you are testing with. If you have an older phone it may only use the 2.4Ghz band and 90 ish is about all you are going to get. Newer phones that use the 5 and 6 Ghz bands will go almost full speed if you are in the same room as the Wifi device. Also always use this speed test with the CenturyLink Orlando server as the target.
Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test (https://www.speedtest.net/)

[DARFAP]

Quantum was having problems with the Pods linking a couple months ago which is why they didn't want to install the extender pods. But now the firmware has been fixed and everything works well so it shouldn't be an issue.

When you do a speed test, the speed you get will be dependent on which device you are testing with. If you have an older phone it may only use the 2.4Ghz band and 90 ish is about all you are going to get. Newer phones that use the 5 and 6 Ghz bands will go almost full speed if you are in the same room as the Wifi device. Also always use this speed test with the CenturyLink Orlando server as the target.
Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test (https://www.speedtest.net/)
Using iPhone 14. This is fairly new, yes? I have my smart TV connected by LAN using adapters over the electrical lines in the house. Haven't figured out how to speed test this.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

and a battery backup so my internet is still running during a power outage for a little while.

holy Crap! i can't believe you got a UPS in there! Can you tell me what model that is?

I put in two wiring cabinets to easily fit everything it without squeezing everything in and then having to replace something that's broken and the replacement is larger and doesn't fit. .

Most impressive. .

[jrref]

holy Crap! i can't believe you got a UPS in there! Can you tell me what model that is?

I put in two wiring cabinets to easily fit everything it without squeezing everything in and then having to replace something that's broken and the replacement is larger and doesn't fit. .

Most impressive. .

This is the largest unit that I was able to fit in there with all my equipment. It provides about an hour of backup power for the internet and the Rachio irrigation controller. The blue outlet strips I got at Home Depot.
Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DBAAJQ6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1)

[jrref]

Using iPhone 14. This is fairly new, yes? I have my smart TV connected by LAN using adapters over the electrical lines in the house. Haven't figured out how to speed test this.

Yes, the iPhone 14 should be fine to test with. Not sure why you are getting slow wifi speeds. When you plug in your laptop directly into the SmartNid do you get the correct speeds or something close? I'm assuming you rebooted the wifi pod?

[MorTech]

Nice! Did you replace the Hunter controller just so you could get all that to fit in there?...LOL

I have a UPS in the livingroom for my cable modem, Emby/NAS server and MagicJack. Never even thought of putting a UPS in that cabinet. Good you have a heat sensor...Does it cut all power when it triggers?

[jrref]

Nice! Did you replace the Hunter controller just so you could get all that to fit in there?...LOL

I have a UPS in the livingroom for my cable modem, Emby/NAS server and MagicJack. Never even thought of putting a UPS in that cabinet. Good you have a heat sensor...Does it cut all power when it triggers?

One of the first things I did when I moved into my house was to rip out that Hunter Irrigation controller and replace it with a Rachio controller.

I installed the battery backup so when we get those random couple second power glitches or a short powe outage, my internet and everything in that data cabinet would remain running. You can get this UPS on Amazon or a slightly smaller one that will fit from home depot.

The temperature sensor is used to alert me by text if the temperature goes above 100 degrees in the cabinet. With the small fans, it usually never gets that hot. I have a HomeSeer home automation system installed in my home that monitors temperature, water leaks, controls lights etc...

[DARFAP]

Yes, the iPhone 14 should be fine to test with. Not sure why you are getting slow wifi speeds. When you plug in your laptop directly into the SmartNid do you get the correct speeds or something close? I'm assuming you rebooted the wifi pod?
Both of our laptops (brand new) are wifi only. I have rebooted the pod several times. I figured out how to do a speed test with the wire connected TV. 90mbs is the best I get, regardless.

[jrref]

Both of our laptops (brand new) are wifi only. I have rebooted the pod several times. I figured out how to do a speed test with the wire connected TV. 90mbs is the best I get, regardless.

OK then I would call Quantum support and have a tech come out and investigate. Something is not right. Maybe the pods need to be put in a different spot? Please let us know what happens.

In the mean time, can you answer some questions:
What Village do you live in?
Did they install the old smaller Wifi6 pods or the new larger WiFi7 Pods?
Where did they install the pods?
Are you using your own router?
How are these electric line devices installed?

[dadspet]

I seem to have a similar issue to your issue. Lost my internet overnight and out for 3 days before quantum fiber could send a technician out that was awful enough but after a few days the same thing happened lost my internet overnight called customer support and they can't fix it or send a technician out until January 6th awful awful awful support. They first time they replaced most of the equipment in my house and I seem to get 500 when it came in but then after it went through a pod I got about 240 which wasn't the 500 I was supposed to get but good enough. The real issue is quantum fiber has zero internet and can't fix my problem for days and days and days awful

[jrref]

I seem to have a similar issue to your issue. Lost my internet overnight and out for 3 days before quantum fiber could send a technician out that was awful enough but after a few days the same thing happened lost my internet overnight called customer support and they can't fix it or send a technician out until January 6th awful awful awful support. They first time they replaced most of the equipment in my house and I seem to get 500 when it came in but then after it went through a pod I got about 240 which wasn't the 500 I was supposed to get but good enough. The real issue is quantum fiber has zero internet and can't fix my problem for days and days and days awful

I sent you a PM with my reach number. Please give me a call and I will be happy to stop by tomorrow and take a look. If you are getting service to the SmartNid, then I should be able to help you. John

[aviator]

I found John on talk of the Villages he almost immediately came over to my house and fixed my quantum fiber and all my junk TVs garage door openers , pool equipment,thermostat ,,you name it he got it all fixed up and online. I've had all this quantum fiber for 3 months had quantum representatives out here three times, many phone conversations and nobody could ever fix it. John fixed it in about 3 hours he had it all up and running and it's all running good. And let me tell you it was no easy task for him. But he knew what he was doing, and now it works. Highly recommend John I can almost guarantee he will get everything working. In a few years John he can get you $100 rebate on your quantum fiber install

[DARFAP]

OK then I would call Quantum support and have a tech come out and investigate. Something is not right. Maybe the pods need to be put in a different spot? Please let us know what happens.

In the mean time, can you answer some questions:
What Village do you live in?
Did they install the old smaller Wifi6 pods or the new larger WiFi7 Pods?
Where did they install the pods?
Are you using your own router?
How are these electric line devices installed?
Update/answer to your??
I live in the village of Lake Deaton. They installed the main wifi 7 pod in the guest room. I recently added one smaller pod in the MBR so coverage in the house is good throughout. The TP Link "wired" connection via electrical wires in the house to the TV have me 65ish up and download. I switched to wifi and it upped to the 90mbs that the rest of the devices get. Still using Quantum router. The best I get in the house is in the 90mbs range. I understand that my "plan" speed of 940 is an"up to" speed and that is what it shows coming to the house. I also understand that the 940 is not what I can expect to get over wifi; however, 90 just seems way low. I will say that I have no issues with buffering or such when streaming via YTTV/YT or other apps. So maybe this is what I get for $35/month.

[jrref]

Update/answer to your??
I live in the village of Lake Deaton. They installed the main wifi 7 pod in the guest room. I recently added one smaller pod in the MBR so coverage in the house is good throughout. The TP Link "wired" connection via electrical wires in the house to the TV have me 65ish up and download. I switched to wifi and it upped to the 90mbs that the rest of the devices get. Still using Quantum router. The best I get in the house is in the 90mbs range. I understand that my "plan" speed of 940 is an"up to" speed and that is what it shows coming to the house. I also understand that the 940 is not what I can expect to get over wifi; however, 90 just seems way low. I will say that I have no issues with buffering or such when streaming via YTTV/YT or other apps. So maybe this is what I get for $35/month.

No, your system is not working properly. I'll be happy to come over and take a look. I will PM you.

[jrref]

I found John on talk of the Villages he almost immediately came over to my house and fixed my quantum fiber and all my junk TVs garage door openers , pool equipment,thermostat ,,you name it he got it all fixed up and online. I've had all this quantum fiber for 3 months had quantum representatives out here three times, many phone conversations and nobody could ever fix it. John fixed it in about 3 hours he had it all up and running and it's all running good. And let me tell you it was no easy task for him. But he knew what he was doing, and now it works. Highly recommend John I can almost guarantee he will get everything working. In a few years John he can get you $100 rebate on your quantum fiber install
Kent, thanks for the kind words. As I was driving home I was thinking, I'm just a retired Verizon guy living in the Villages trying to help people with their internet when all else fails. I wonder how many other Villagers are out there with similar issues with no where to turn for help.

I've helped several Villagers in the past couple of weeks and although there were a couple of "questionable installs" the majority of the problems, I feel, are from inexperienced techs. I see this with Quantum and the Cable companies. As in your case, especially since you had so many techs back out to get everything running, only someone with a lot of experience with WiFi and smart home devices would have been able to get everything working. I don't believe if you had 100 techs come out that they would have been able to get everything running in your home, LOL. From what I've seen a lot of these companies are having trouble hiring experienced people and over time some of these issues will go away if they stay working in the industry. I don't think there is anyone in the Villages providing a service like this. Maybe I should start a Villages Club on how to troubleshoot your Internet installation LOL?

[jrref]

One other tip, when you switch internet providers, try to reuse your wifi network name and password. This way when the new internet service is activated, most of your devices on Wifi will connect. Be aware that some will not connect eventhough you are using the same netork credentials. In these cases, you will need to go to the device and re-connect to the new Wifi system.

[Risuli]

jrref,

I want to commend you for helping your fellow residents with your time and knowledge! I know the frustrations that many, many have with the tech involved with internet access, wifi, computers and other "smart" devices and getting them all working together. Not to mention the extreme frustration trying to deal with the various providers, their "not so knowledgeable" techs, and the mostly overseas support that only know how to read from pre-written support manuals. Fortunately, I have just enough experience to muddle through my own tech issues. In any event, I admire your selfless works helping those less fortunate!

[jrref]

jrref,

I want to commend you for helping your fellow residents with your time and knowledge! I know the frustrations that many, many have with the tech involved with internet access, wifi, computers and other "smart" devices and getting them all working together. Not to mention the extreme frustration trying to deal with the various providers, their "not so knowledgeable" techs, and the mostly overseas support that only know how to read from pre-written support manuals. Fortunately, I have just enough experience to muddle through my own tech issues. In any event, I admire your selfless works helping those less fortunate!

I appreciate the kind words. Thank you.

[jrref]

It looks like the $35/month for 1Gbs service offer is not available any longer here in the Villages. It was good while it lasted. I know many who signed up.

If you still see it, let us know which Village you live in.

[DARFAP]

OK then I would call Quantum support and have a tech come out and investigate. Something is not right. Maybe the pods need to be put in a different spot? Please let us know what happens.

In the mean time, can you answer some questions:
What Village do you live in?
Did they install the old smaller Wifi6 pods or the new larger WiFi7 Pods?
Where did they install the pods?
Are you using your own router?
How are these electric line devices installed?
Many kudos to John! After I made several posts about the exceptionally slow speed to my devices despite the speed coming to my router being greater than my 940mbs plan, John messaged me that he would be happy to come take a look. Today he spent nearly 2 hours investigating my install and found that the plastic plug-in connectors that go into the router in the garage and into the house jack for the wifi pod were not correctly attached. He installed new ones correctly wired, and now the speed to my devices has gone from a turtlish 90mbs to nearly full plan speed (depending on the device capability)!! I think it would have taken forever to get a Quantum technician to come out and look. I did a couple of chats with them using the Quantum app on my phone. The most they did was tell me to restart all equipment, which I had already done multiple times. Again, if you have issues, let John know. Also, if you are considering switching to Quantum, let him know. He can help the installation go smoothly. Thank you so much jrref!!

[jrref]

Many kudos to John! After I made several posts about the exceptionally slow speed to my devices despite the speed coming to my router being greater than my 940mbs plan, John messaged me that he would be happy to come take a look. Today he spent nearly 2 hours investigating my install and found that the plastic plug-in connectors that go into the router in the garage and into the house jack for the wifi pod were not correctly attached. He installed new ones correctly wired, and now the speed to my devices has gone from a turtlish 90mbs to nearly full plan speed (depending on the device capability)!! I think it would have taken forever to get a Quantum technician to come out and look. I did a couple of chats with them using the Quantum app on my phone. The most they did was tell me to restart all equipment, which I had already done multiple times. Again, if you have issues, let John know. Also, if you are considering switching to Quantum, let him know. He can help the installation go smoothly. Thank you so much jrref!!

Thanks for the kind words. So, the reason why Quantum support couldn't help you is because they assume the installation was done correctly. In your case, which I haven't seen in a long time, the RJ45 ethernet connector installed on the Blue ethernet wire in the data cabinet going to the Main WiFi Pod in your guest room was not attached correctly. I noticed the wires were slighly crooked in the connector so when it was crimped only a couple of the 8 wires made connection. The RJ45 Jack on the other end was of a type where I couldn't tell if the connections were any good there as well. So both had to be changed. What was interesting is you were getting partial connection and some internet so the tech felt everything was OK. The mistake he or she made was not to do a speed test to verify everything at the end of the installation. Also, in your specific case, as discussed, on the other side of the wall where the Main Wifi pod was installed was your kitchen with the refrigerator right there. Although that wouldn't stop the Wifi signal, it will block enough to give you less than optimal performance. Moving the Main Wifi pod to the other side of the wall corrected that problem.

So, another Installation Tip:
1) Before the tech leaves the installation, ask them to do a speed test to verify and show that you are getting the speed you ordered. Plugging directly into one of the RJ45 ports on the Main Wifi pod is best but with a not too old cell phone on the wifi should read in the "ball park" of the speed you ordered.
2) Be aware of what's on the other side of the wall where the Main WiFi Pod is installed to make sure there is nothing big and metal there potentially blocking the signal to the rest of the house. If there is, then choose another location.
3) Make sure if you are using a smaller remote Wifi pod for additional coverage that it's plugged in, in another room close enough so it gets a strong signal from the Main WiFi pod but far enough away that it doesn't interfere with the Main Pod.

I'm glad I was able to solve your problem fairly quickly. It would have been interesting to see how many Quantum Techs would have had to come out until one found this problem.

[jrref]

For the Advanced Homeowners who want to prewire your home in preparation for the Quantum Install:
1) Find a central location to install the Main Wifi7 pod. This can be under one of the Kitchen cabinets since almost all homes here in the Villages have an ethernet jack there or in one of the guest bedrooms that's closest to the main living area.
2) Find the blue ethernet cable running from the RJ45 ethernet jack in the room where you are planning to put the Main Wifi pod to the white data cabinet in the garage. There are many ways to "buzz" out the cables to locate the one you want to use. I prefer using a Kolsol AT338 Optical Wire Meter Tracer. It has an Optical power meter (which you won't need) and multifunction cable scanning and continuity testing functions. You can use the cable scanning function to "buzz" out and locate the correct blue ethernet cable at the data cabinet. There are many ethernet continuity testers on Amazon but I like this one the best.
3) Once the ehternet cable is found in the data cabinet, use a RJ45 Ratcheting Ethernet Wire Crimper / Stripper / Cutter, for Pass-Thru connectors such as the Klein Tools VDV226-110 to install the Rj45 plug onto the end of the cable. Always use RJ45 Pass-Thru connectors since they are easy to use and provide a perfect connection 99.9% of the time,
4) Next examine the connection at the RJ45 Keystone ethernet wall jack in the room where you plan to put the Main Wifi pod. You will probably see 4 out of the 8 wires terminated. Since they are almost never terminated properly, pull out what's connected so you can re-terminate the blue ethernert cable on the jack. Look to see if the pin-out on the jack has the T568B code. If it doesn't have the "B" pin-out code then best to replace it with a new keystone jack.
5) Once the blue ethernet cable has the RJ45 plug terminating it at the data cabinet in the garage and the RJ45 "keystone" wall jack on the other end use the Kolsol contunuity tester to verify the terminations are correct. If so, then put the wall jack and plate back together and lable the other end in the data cabinet in the garage for the tech when he arrives.

The Quantum tech will do all this for you but if you want to pre-wire then these are the steps you need to take.

Here are some pictures of the tools and connector I use. You can get everything on Amazon or Home Depot.
Hope this all helps.

[jrref]

Someone asked about Cat5E and Cat6 ethernet cabling and which is better. From my experiments in my designer home here in the Villages, most cable runs are less than 75 feet. Although Cat6 ethernet cable has a faster speed specification, with shorter runs like we have here in the Village's homes, you can easily get 2.5Gbs over Cat5E ethernet cable. I've tested up to 8.5Gbs in my home which is interesting to know. Again this will vary depending on the size of your home but for the majority of us, 1Gbs speeds is way more than enough even if you work from home or are a YouTuber so the existing cabling will work just fine. The newer homes down south have Cat6 ethernet cable installed because that's what most readily used and available these days.

What's most important is having ethernet cabling to the center of the living area such as behind your TV. Most homes North of Rt.44 don't have this unless you either specified it in the build or you had an electrician install it after the build. This is why these mesh WiFi systems are so popular. They provide "whole house" coverage without having to have ethernet wiring throughout your home.

[laboutj]

Someone asked about Cat5E and Cat6 ethernet cabling and which is better. From my experiments in my designer home here in the Villages, most cable runs are less than 75 feet. Although Cat6 ethernet cable has a faster speed specification, with shorter runs like we have here in the Village's homes, you can easily get 2.5Gbs over Cat5E ethernet cable. I've tested up to 8.5Gbs in my home which is interesting to know. Again this will vary depending on the size of your home but for the majority of us, 1Gbs speeds is way more than enough even if you work from home or are a YouTuber so the existing cabling will work just fine. The newer homes down south have Cat6 ethernet cable installed because that's what most readily used and available these days.

What's most important is having ethernet cabling to the center of the living area such as behind your TV. Most homes North of Rt.44 don't have this unless you either specified it in the build or you had an electrician install it after the build. This is why these mesh WiFi systems are so popular. They provide "whole house" coverage without having to have ethernet wiring throughout your home.

I would love to move my main WiFi pod to the living room, but I can't be bothered to purchase the tools for a one-time thing.

And I have an update from what I posted in another thread. I reset the main pod and now get anywhere from 170 to 380mb down and 175 to 350mb up, depending how far I am from the pods. That is with an iPhone 13

[jrref]

I would love to move my main WiFi pod to the living room, but I can't be bothered to purchase the tools for a one-time thing.

And I have an update from what I posted in another thread. I reset the main pod and now get anywhere from 170 to 380mb down and 175 to 350mb up, depending how far I am from the pods. That is with an iPhone 13

When you say you want to move the main WiFi pod to the living room, do you have an existing ethernet jack anywhere in that room? If not, what's the closest you can move the Main pod to the main living area?

Which model home do you have?

I have the tools and can help move the pod if there is a better location.

[laboutj]

When you say you want to move the main WiFi pod to the living room, do you have an existing ethernet jack anywhere in that room? If not, what's the closest you can move the Main pod to the main living area?

Which model home do you have?

I have the tools and can help move the pod if there is a better location.

Thanks for the offer. I have a Boxwood and the previous owners had xFinity. They had the router in the living room and when they left they placed notes on jacks in the kitchen and front bedroom that said there was an ethernet connection to the jack that's in the living room where the xFinity router was located. I'm assuming that's why the Quantum tech tapped into the second jack in the front bedroom, because the jack in the living room is tied to the others and not terminating in the garage

[jrref]

Thanks for the offer. I have a Boxwood and the previous owners had xFinity. They had the router in the living room and when they left they placed notes on jacks in the kitchen and front bedroom that said there was an ethernet connection to the jack that's in the living room where the xFinity router was located. I'm assuming that's why the Quantum tech tapped into the second jack in the front bedroom, because the jack in the living room is tied to the others and not terminating in the garage
Interesting, maybe we can find where they tapped the living room jack into and make it work. I'll PM you.

[jrref]

Has anyone used their own router and wifi equipment with Quantum Fiber? If so, can you tell us about your setup and why you choose to use your own equipment?

In my home, I don't have an ethernet cable running to my home theather equipment in the living room area. None the homes here in Osceola Hills and the surrounding Villages of that time had this installed unless you requested it. I had a choice of having an electrician install the ethernet cable or use equipment like a Netgear Orbi to get reliable internet to this location. Because it's difficult to get to the data cabinet from the garage attic with my model home, I choose to get a Netgear Orbi because they have a wireless backhaul capability. What this mean is they use separate 5Ghz and 6Ghz channels just for backhaul data transmission between the main router and the satelites. So, I was able to put a satelite at my home theather equipment and hardwire all my equipment to it. I tested it up to 5Gbs, way more than enough bandwidth using a local speedtest server I set up for testing. The only problem with this arrangement is the Netgear, TP-Link, Erros Wifi7 systems that have this capability are relitively expensive right now. But over time the cost will come down and it's an investment that will future proof you for many years.

Regular wifi set up correctly works fine for my situation and is fine for most people since streaming doesn't need a lot of bandwidth. I invested in this equipment because I wanted to see if I could get "wired" speeds and reliability from this wireless backhaul technology because I often stream from my NAS (network attached storage) device. It was an interesting experiment.

[jrref]

One last tip.

If you ever wake up and find your internet service is down. Go to the data cabinet in the garage and see if the light on the SmartNid is solid Green if you are using Quantum's router or solid White if you are using your own equipment and put the Quantum router in Bypass mode. If it's not, then unplug the SmartNid for about 30 seconds then plug it back in. If it still doesn't come back, take a paper clip and insert it into the reset button next to the power plug on the SmartNid for 20 seconds then let go. The light should go Orange, then Red, then flashing Blue then solid Green. If you are using your own router, you will need to log into the Quantum router and put it in Bypass mode again. For some reason, I found this "hard reset" often solves the problem. Fortunately, this is not a common occurance.

[jrref]

Does anyone have an ethernet jack in your main living area and if so, did you request it when the home was built? Did you get an electrician? Did you install it yourself?

[Pinball wizard]

Does anyone have an ethernet jack in your main living area and if so, did you request it when the home was built? Did you get an electrician? Did you install it yourself?

I bought the cable and hired an electrician. I did get a quote from Galaxy...Wayyyyy too expensive. They wanted $125 for an ethernet switch that I bought at Amazon for $17!

[jrref]

I bought the cable and hired an electrician. I did get a quote from Galaxy...Wayyyyy too expensive. They wanted $125 for an ethernet switch that I bought at Amazon for $17!

What did the electrician cost?

[Pinball wizard]

What did the electrician cost?

If I remember correctly: $175

[jrref]

If I remember correctly: $175

I think Galaxy Home Solutions was twice that. I believe they chage $175 plus $125 each hour just for labor.

[rjn5656]

I contracted with Quantum. I told them I did not want the fiber brought in to the garage but on the other side of garage into my living room. No problem, ran the fiber around the house.

[jrref]

I contracted with Quantum. I told them I did not want the fiber brought in to the garage but on the other side of garage into my living room. No problem, ran the fiber around the house.

Bob, are you in the Bonita Villas? If so, good tip! These Villas were built before data cabinets were installed in the garage. In these homes, Quantum will install the SmartNid equipment in one of the rooms anywhere along where the fiber runs to the house. This means the SmartNid is installed in one of the bedrooms, hopefully one that you are using for an office. I'm finding since the Villas are smaller homes, one WiFi7 main pod usually covers the whole house. If not, one remote pod is all that is needed. What's interesting since this is a new fiber installation, whether we need it or not, Quantum is offering 500Mbs for $50, 1Gbs for $75, 3Gbs for $100, and 8Gbs for $150 (don't remember the exact price). I was shocked to see 8Gbs speeds offered. Why is this significant? Because it's good to know, again, whether we need it or not, that Quantum is installing the latest fiber technology in the Villages. Something the cable companies are not doing.

How did they run the fiber to get to the livingroom? Did they run it through the soffit?

[rws333]

Installed Quantum 2G, but the Cat 5 cable will not handle that much bandwith. Need to install Cat 6 cable. Do you know of a good contractor to run Cat 6 ?

[jrref]

Installed Quantum 2G, but the Cat 5 cable will not handle that much bandwith. Need to install Cat 6 cable. Do you know of a good contractor to run Cat 6 ?

I will PM you and help.

FYI, technically, Cat 5E supports data transfer speeds up to one Gigabit per second (Gbps) at 100 MHz up to 328 feet.

Typically, in a home here in the Villages most ethernet runs are less than 75 feet. There are exceptions but this is the norm.

I've done extensive testing in my home here in the Villages and was able to get up to 8Gbs over my Cat 5E cabling using OpenSpeedTest on my own internal server.

There are numerous studies stating that although Cat 5E is "rated" for 1Gbs, it is still acceptable for 2.5Gbs and higher depending on the length of the cable. Even at 100 feet there are YouTube videos where you can see there was no difference between Cat 5E, 6, 6A or 7 at this length. They all were able to run up to 10Gbs.

All this said, this is only valid if you have good Cat 5E cable, which we do here in the Villages and the connectors and jacks are intstalled properly. This is always suspect.

This is why I would like to understand what you are experiencing and determine what's wrong because I seriously doubt its the ethernet cable unless there is some physical damage. Installing a new Cat6 cable will not help your problem if the existing Cat5E cable is fine.

[jrref]

I'm seeing several Quantum fiber installs in Bonita Villas where they are installing the SmartNid AND the Main Wifi pod behind a couch, dresser or some furniture. While the Wifi will work, the signal will be reduced becasue it has to pass through the furniture and you may not get a good strong signal throughout your home.

When the technician arrives, ask where they are planning to install the equipment an if its behind furniture ask them to put the Wifi pod on top of a shelf, table, desk, etc.. in the room or mount it in an area that's not behind furniture. Always try to put the main wifi pod as high as possible in an unobstructive location vs mounting it on the wall near the floor. In almost all these Villas, the Main Wifi7 pod is "strong" enough to cover the whole home without any remote pods.

If you have a situation like this and you are not happy with the wifi coverage, PM me and I can move the pod for you.

[jrref]

I ran across a Villager who was complaining of their TVs buffering. The Quantum Wifi signal was very good throughout the home. What I found was they were using a IPTV streaming service. There are many out there that offer basically everything for a very inexpensive cost. Not questioning the validity of such a service I wanted to point out the problem they do not necessarily have enough capacity to service all of their customers which can cause buffering.

So, in this case it wasn't the Quantum fiber internet service, it was the IPTV Sreaming service causing the buffering.

[jrref]

Quantum fiber was installed in a friend's Premier home here in the Villages today where the home is around 4,000 sqft. It's way larger than the usual home here in the Villages so an Extender Wifi pod was necessary. The plan was to pre-wire the main WiFi7 pod in one of the rooms as close to the center of the home as possible and then put an extender WiFi pod in a bedroom on the other end of the home. In this specific case, there was an ethernet/phone jack next to where we wanted to install the Extender pod so I pre-wired it.

If you can wire the Extender Wifi pod you don't have to rely on the main Wifi pod communicating with it wirelessly and you will get a stronger Wifi signal giving you more coverage.

Now you will have two wired ethernet connections in the white data cabinet in the garage so what do you do with them? The Quantum SmartNid consists of the Fiber Optic termination and router and it also has a two port ethernet switch/hub built in. So, in this case all we had to do was plug in the two wired ethernet cables, one from the Main Wifi pod and the other from the Extender pod into the SmartNid. Works perfectly.

I can tell you some techs are not aware of this setup so if your home has the ethernet jacks to support this, then ask the tech to hook it up this way.

[MorTech]

If you order the 960mbs or higher service, it will come with the 6500 SmartNid that has one 10gbe port. Lower speeds will be the 5500 model with 1gbe ports.

My Xfinity price-for-life just increased...Now I have to wonder whos "life" they were talking about :) The life of the CEO's hamster?

I guess I will go with the 500mbs Quantum for $50. It is far more bandwidth than I will ever need. At least it comes with WiFi 7 main and one pod at no extra charge. $50 is more than I want to spend but Xfinity NOW is "now" off the table. I am looking forward to single digit latency and jitter even though I doubt I will notice it.

[jrref]

If you order the 960mbs or higher service, it will come with the 6500 SmartNid that has one 10gbe port. Lower speeds will be the 5500 model with 1gbe ports.

My Xfinity price-for-life just increased...Now I have to wonder whos "life" they were talking about :) The life of the CEO's hamster?

I guess I will go with the 500mbs Quantum for $50. It is far more bandwidth than I will ever need. At least it comes with WiFi 7 main and one pod at no extra charge. $50 is more than I want to spend but Xfinity NOW is "now" off the table. I am looking forward to single digit latency and jitter even though I doubt I will notice it.

The 500mbs and 1Gbs speeds come with the 5500 model with 1gbe ports. In some areas in the Villages Quantum offers 2Gbs, 3Gbs, and 8Gbs and for those customers they use the Q1000K model with the 10Gbs ports.

Which Village are you located?

[DrMack]

We are completely satisfied with their service.

[jrref]

The 500mbs and 1Gbs speeds come with the 5500 model with 1gbe ports. In some areas in the Villages Quantum offers 2Gbs, 3Gbs, and 8Gbs and for those customers they use the 6500 model with the 10Gbs ports.

Which Village are you located?

I was over at a Villager's home this morning hard wiring his computer in his office who has the 2Gbs Quantum Internet service. The SmartNid looks the same but its a Q1000K.

The Q1000K combines the functions of a modem and a fiber-optic network terminal into one device. It decodes the optical signals that make your fiber internet work just like the 5500 unit.

The Q1000K is a high performance, 10G/1G XGSPON/GPON fiber SmartNID with a two-port LAN switch.

The Q1000K SmartNID is tested and certified to run at speeds up to 10 Gbps on the Quantum Fiber network. Talk about future proofing your home!

Plugging into the Q1000K or the Main Wifi7 pod, using my iPhone 16 I was able to measure 2gbs download and 1Gbs upload which is what is advertised for this service. Using the Wifi and my iPhone I measured slightly less than the wired speeds which I expected.

What we need to remember is at these speeds your device such as your computer, iPhone, etc, has to have the capacity to run at these speeds. My friend's laptop was an older model and although hardwired, was not able to reach the 2gbs download speed provided by Quantum.

[MorTech]

The 500mbs and 1Gbs speeds come with the 5500 model with 1gbe ports. In some areas in the Villages Quantum offers 2Gbs, 3Gbs, and 8Gbs and for those customers they use the Q1000K model with the 10Gbs ports.

Which Village are you located?

Ahh, yes...2gbs and above...The Q1000K is the new model. The WiFi 7 main (W1700K) has one 10gbe port. The WiFi pods (W1701K) have dual 2.5gbe ports. I can plug my Emby/NAS (2.5gbs ether) in the main 10gbe port (I don't own a television). I doubt I will need a WiFi pod but as long as it is no extra charge.... It is amazing to me that an Internet provider provides leading-edge WiFi 7 equipment included in the PFL price. My smartphone is WiFi 7 and my computers are all WiFi 6E.

Maybe I will order the 2gbs service just to get the Q1000K and then downgrade to the 500mbs...Would that be unethical :)

I am just south of 466a and have CenturyLink fiber pulled. I did not get CenturyLink cuz I did not want their large ONT box hanging on the side of the house. Xfinity cable modem was just simple and cheap way back then. I assume they will put a small outdoor to indoor fiber box (non-powered) on the house.

[jrref]

Ahh, yes...2gbs and above...The Q1000K is the new model. The WiFi 7 main (W1700K) has one 10gbe port. The WiFi pods (W1701K) have dual 2.5gbe ports. I can plug my Emby/NAS (2.5gbs ether) in the main 10gbe port (I don't own a television). I doubt I will need a WiFi pod but as long as it is no extra charge.... It is amazing to me that an Internet provider provides leading-edge WiFi 7 equipment included in the PFL price. My smartphone is WiFi 7 and my computers are all WiFi 6E.

Maybe I will order the 2gbs service just to get the Q1000K and then downgrade to the 500mbs...Would that be unethical :)

I am just south of 466a and have CenturyLink fiber pulled. I did not get CenturyLink cuz I did not want their large ONT box hanging on the side of the house. Xfinity cable modem was just simple and cheap way back then. I assume they will put a small outdoor to indoor fiber box (non-powered) on the house.
Correct they will install a small outdoor non-powered fiber box on the side of the house. Yes, I agree it’s pretty incredible Quantum is offering the WiFi 7 equipment included in the price. Most people don’t realize how valuable this is. And the fact that Quantum is offering all these speeds whether you need it or not, is blowing cable away.

[jrref]

Please be aware homes here in the Villages Circa 2012 and earlier that are wired for Quantum Fiber have the old style telephone jacks installed around the home. These jacks look like the Ethernet jacks but they are smaller so the ethernet plug will not fit. Fortunately, there is Cat5E cable going from these jacks to the white data cabinet in the garage.

That said, in order to use these wired points around your home to install the Wifi pods, you need to replace the Telephone faceplate and jack with an Ethernet faceplate and jack and wire it properly.

If your home is newer, most have the Ethernet RJ45 jacks installed BUT they are never wired properly for Ethernet. In order to use them, you need to remove the faceplate and jack and wire them correctly.

When you get Quantum Fiber installed the tech is supposed to do this all for you but there a some customers who want to move the Wifi pods around after the install and many are running into this problem.

If you need help, please PM me.

[jrref]

Installed Quantum 2G, but the Cat 5 cable will not handle that much bandwith. Need to install Cat 6 cable. Do you know of a good contractor to run Cat 6 ?

I'm glad we determined that your existiong Cat5 cable worked perfectly and you were able to get the full 2Gbs speed over it. I think the Quantum techs are new to these higher speeds and don't know the proper way to test.

For everyone else reading this, I went to Ron's home and plugged in my iPhone 16 directly into the main Wifi pod in the living room connected to the Cat5 cable that the Quantum tech said didn't have the capacity and that he needed Cat6. I was able to get 2Gbs download and 1Gbs upload as advertised. I then ran the speed test using the Wifi and got speeds slightly less than the wired speeds which I anticipated. The problem was, Ron's iPhone was an older version where it couldn't run at the 2Gbs speed. I then hardwired his computer in his office and everything worked fine.

The point here is, as long as the ethernet cable length is less than 100 ft. which most are here in our homes in the Villages, the existing Cat5E cable will be able to carry speeds close to 10Gbs as long as the connectors and jacks are wired correctly so there is no need to spend money re-wiring your existing ethernet cable. Of course, if you are having an electrician run a new ethernet cable, use Cat6 since that's now the norm and costs the same as Cat5E. But be aware, not all devices will go over 1Gbs. Also be aware, although you can still buy Cat5E ethernet cable, it's harder to get because Cat6 is "standard" these days.

[jrref]

When placing any Wifi device in your home, always look on the other side of the walls to see what's there. I'm seeing more people placing the router in a room where on the other side of the wall is the refrigerator. While the Wifi will still work, the signal will be diminished because it needs to pass through the refrigerator which is all metal. This can be especially true in a Courtyard Villa where the typical floor plan may cause this to happen.

If possible, try to place the Wifi device on the top of your desk or on the top of a bookshelf if possible. The higher the better because there will be less obstructions for the wifi signal to pass through and you will get significantly better coverage. You will need an ethernet patch cable, sometimes a long one to move the wifi device in some cases. You can get these ethernet cables on Amazon. Cat 5E or Cat 6 is fine for this short distance.

[midiwiz]

Did anyone with Quantum Fiber ever make changes to their installation or come up with a better arrangement?

yes I canned their 'wifi' router and went Orbi mash otherwise you aren't getting full 1GB on wifi.

[jrref]

yes I canned their 'wifi' router and went Orbi mash otherwise you aren't getting full 1GB on wifi.

Nice! Which Orbi did you get? and at a high level what problems were you having with the Quantum equipment?

BTW, I have Orbi as well and it's one of the best systems out there today for home Wifi.

[jrref]

On some recent installations the tech mentioned that they are instructed not to install an extender Wifi pod unless it's absolutely necessary. I can understand this as a cost cutting measure and less equipment means less potential problems. Also, if the remote pod is not placed properly, it can interfere with the Main Pod.

Because our floor plan layouts vary quite a bit, you can't make a blanket statment as to if an extender pod is needed or not. In some cases the Main Wifi pod works great and in other cases it only covers 90% of the home.

That said, If possible, try to place the Main Wifi pod on the top of your desk or on the top of a bookshelf or furniture vs the standard installation where the Pod is installed next to the SmartNid/router on the wall near the floor. The higher the better because there will be less obstructions for the wifi signal to pass through and you will get significantly better coverage. You will need an ethernet patch cable, sometimes a long one to move the wifi pod in some cases to the desired location.

The best method to get this done is to purchase a long ethernet cable before installation. Measure the distance from the Ethernet jack in the room to where you want the pod placed in your room. If you are in a home that doesn't have ethernet jacks, measure from where the fiber box is located outside your home. Then go on to Amazon and order an ethernet cable, either Monoprice or Cable Matters. Cat 5E or Cat 6 is fine for this short distance but get Cat 6 because that's what Quantum wants. Both are inexpensive. You can get a longer cable than necessary so you have the freedom to move the pod to several locations. When the Quantum tech arrives, explain what you want to do and give them the ethernet cable you purchased. The tech will usually use their experience to suggest the best location to place the Wifi pod for the best coverage. It's easier for them to install and they will want to give you the best Wifi coverage so they will be happy to do this for you.

Although, the standard installation is to mount the Main Wifi pod on the wall next to the SmartNid/router, you can lay it down on any surface like your desk or furniture when you move it. It's designed to be installed either way. Just note there is a small fan in the pod so make your you leave some air-space around the pod.

You can also move the Main Wifi pod after the installation yourself but it's best to have the tech do it for you.

[jrref]

I haven't seen any new posts about good or not so good experiences with Quantum fiber installation and service.

Please post your experience to see if there is anything else we can learn.

[jrref]

Another Tip:

I've been finding that some Villagers don't know what the fiber loop is by the electrical box on the outside of their home. Subsequently, if they have landscaping done, they may ask the landscaper to bury the fiber loop. When you do this, if you ever decide to get Quantum fiber, when they come to your home to do the pre-installation work, they won't see your fiber and put your order on Hold. You will then have to un-bury your fiber and call them to come back to complete the work. I know of one Villager where they buried the fiber under cement so they had to jack hammer it out. What a mess. I wanted to mention this because I've seen this happen more than once here in the Villages.

[MorTech]

A friend just had Quantum fiber installed. I told him to have the WiFi Main in the middle front room (Aspen model) and place a WiFi Pod in the living room and hardwire his TV to the WiFi Pod. The istall tech said he did not need a Pod and he did not have one with him anyway. He went online to his Quantum account and ordered a WiFi pod and they shipped it to him no hassle/no charge. The 1st Pod does not cost extra. I connected the Pod/TV for him using the Quantum app and it works perfectly...Whole house coverage including out to the front curb for any security cameras he might want to install. Easy Peasy. Nice system. The defaults in the SmartNid are fine...They use a DHCP lease with a 1 hour expire time and also an automatic DHCP Reservation for IP allocation to IP .101...A little odd but I understand why.

[jrref]

A friend just had Quantum fiber installed. I told him to have the WiFi Main in the front room (Aspen model) and place a WiFi Pod in the living room and hardwire his TV to the WiFi Pod. The istall tech said he did not need a Pod and he did not have one with him anyway. He went online to his Quantum account and ordered a WiFi pod and they shipped it to him no hassle/no charge. The 1st Pod does not cost extra. I connected the Pod/TV for him using the Quantum app and it works perfectly...Whole house coverage including out to the front curb for any security cameras he might want to install. Easy Peasy. Nice system. The defaults in the SmartNid are fine...They use a DHCP lease with a 1 hour expire time and also an automatic DHCP Reservation for IP allocation to IP .101...A little odd but I understand why.
Thanks for the report. So, I've been at installs where the same thing happened. Some techs are redicent to install an extender pod when it might be needed. They are supposed to do a wifi survey to make sure all areas of the home have an adequate wifi signal and if an area fails, they are obligated to install the pod. Actually, in many cases in our homes here in the Villages, the only place to out the main wifi pod is in one of the front bedrooms which many use for an office or under or over the kitchen cabinet. When you have the main pod at one end of the house, you may need the extender pod to get good coverage at the other end of the house. For the Aspen model you need that extender pod in the livingroom to get good wifi in the lanai and for the outdoor cameras so you did the right thing by calling the call center and having them send you an extender pod. As a final note, as your friend did you can hardwire a device like a TV to the remote pod. Some techs will tell you it doesn't work but they fixed the firmware so it now works. Good job!

[MorTech]

He wanted to make sure he could get coverage to the outside front of the house because he wants to install a security system since he has a Maserati. I did inform him that a better option would be just trade it in for a Corolla...He didn't seem appreciative.

The pod supplied WIFi all the way to the back of his property...about 100mbs download. The back bedroom was just fine.

Tested with WiFi 7 Samsung smartphone at Speakeasy speed test and others.

[jrref]

Another tip:
As discussed, many of the older homes circa 2012-2019 north of 44 don't have ethernet jacks placed all over the house, especially in the living room at the center of your home which is the optimal spot. That said, The Quantum fiber tech will most likely install the main Wifi pod in one of the bedrooms closest to the center of your home and if necessary, install an extender pod to get full coverage. But, on several installations, I've been working with the homeowner to install the main Wifi pod in the kitchen either above or below the cabinets since there is always an ethernet jack and power there and is always in the center of the home. Early on, some homeowners drilled a hole through their cabinets to route the ethernet cable to the top of the cabinets, then we tried mounting the main Wifi pod under the cabinet to avoid drilling. Both worked well but the higher you install the Wifi pod the less obstructions and the better coverage you will get. So, yesterday I met a Villager who signed up with me and showed me there is a space between the cabinets where you can snake the ethernet cable and power wires from the kitchen ethernet jack to the top of the cabinets without drilling. See the attached picture. (note this a pre installation picture without the power cable). This is an easy way to install the main Wifi pod on top of the kitchen cabinet which is the best spot very easy and without any messy wires. Attached is a picture of the installation under the kitchen cabinet and one showing the wiring through the existing opening to install on top of the cabinet.