# Land line moved to Verizon Home phone connect



## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

Can a Tivo be connected to a Verizon Home Connect service?
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/hpc.jsp
A friend of mine got rid of her Centurylink home phone and went with Verizon wireless Home connect. It says on the website that DVR updates are not supported, but I wondering if anyone was able to make it work? The friend did get wireless internet, but it is metered, so I am thinking I don't want her two TiVos using up all her monthly allowance. 
I am her 'I.T.' person.
But like all I.T. persons, I am stuck trying to fix something I advised her not to get. Or at least I suggested other options that she didn't take. 
I have two wireless Tivo adapters that I can take over and connect if the Home connect will not support the Tivo phone line. 
It would be nice that she would have internet capabilities on her Tivos (something she has never had as she had dial up internet before) Then she would have the extra search capabilities and download capabilities. But downloading any videos is going to eat up her 2 gig per month allowance. (also shared with her Droid phone. Ya, Ya, I know, she could have done much better, but who ever listens to the IT guy when getting ready to buy the stuff I am going to have to maintain/configure?)


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

She might want to consider netzero with a hotspot. http://www.netzero.net/


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

cannonz said:


> She might want to consider netzero with a hotspot. http://www.netzero.net/


Why?
She just signed up for Verizon. Is there something better about netzero? Does it work with Tivo, is it cheaper, is it more reliable???!!!!


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## cannonz (Oct 23, 2011)

The hotspot would work with a compatible (to the tivo) adapter. I would think verizon would have hotspot available too, but with that warning about DVR's maybe not.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

replaytv said:


> Can a Tivo be connected to a Verizon Home Connect service?
> http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/hpc.jsp
> A friend of mine got rid of her Centurylink home phone and went with Verizon wireless Home connect. It says on the website that DVR updates are not supported, but I wondering if anyone was able to make it work? The friend did get wireless internet, but it is metered, so I am thinking I don't want her two TiVos using up all her monthly allowance.
> I am her 'I.T.' person.
> ...


Let me see if I understand.

She had a landline.

She had dialup internet over that landline.

Were her TiVos contacting the mothership via their internal modems over that landline?

She replaced her landline with something that's basically a tethered cell phone to which you can hook your house's phone wiring?

Is this the same device which is providing her internet service now?

If so, can she treat it like a cable modem and hook a router to it?


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

Yeah, that is about the long and short of it, except that it is an Analog Terlephone Adapter, not really a tethered cell phone. The idea is similar, though.

The warnings about DVR service, faxes, etc, are because the digital voice system used to provide POTS capability is not generally compatible with phone modems or faxes. Hooking up the Ethernet port to the Internet service would be no problem, although I expect the network speed would not be sufficient for NetFlix and maybe not even for YouTube. Ordinary guide updates would be no problem, and services like Amazon On Demand should be OK. If she finds she uses more than 2G a month downloading videos, then she is going to have to pay for the privilege. That is entirely within her control, though.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

replaytv said:


> It says on the website that DVR updates are not supported


No surprise, there.



replaytv said:


> but I wondering if anyone was able to make it work?


Well, I have never had that particular service, but when I first got Vonage, my S1 TiVo stopped getting its updates and my alarm system quit working. By working with Vonage, I was able to get the S1 to work for a while, but it eventually quit, again. That's when I got a TurboNet adapter. Working with my alarm company, I was able to get the alarm working, however, and it is still working.

Given the statement on the website, I doubt Verizon would be willing to work with you on getting the modem working. A DSL filter might help, though.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

unitron said:


> Let me see if I understand.
> 
> She had a landline.
> 
> ...


Were her TiVos contacting the mothership via their internal modems over that landline? yes
She replaced her landline with something that's basically a tethered cell phone to which you can hook your house's phone wiring? Her cell phone is separate from her wireless home phone. The home phone isn't connected to the home wiring, but I will connect the phone and the TiVos to the home wiring if the Tivo will connect through that home wireless link. I will first disconnect the home wiring from the outside line though.


Is this the same device which is providing her internet service now?
No, there are two separate devices. One provides the home phone, the other metered wireless internet.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

According to a post on Verizon's forum it uses the EVRC-B codec, which compresses speech by taking 20ms chunks of 8000Hz 16-bit samples into 171, 80, 40 or 16 bit data.

I haven't worked with EVRC-B, but in setting up Cisco VOIP systems I found out the hard way that anything less than G.711 wouldn't support fax lines and even the hold music sounded awful. Speech codecs can perform miracles in voice compression but they suck at any kind of sine wave.

You might stand a faint chance if you slow the TiVo down to 9600 baud, but I doubt it.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

replaytv said:


> The home phone isn't connected to the home wiring


Huh? Howzat, again?



replaytv said:


> but I will connect the phone and the TiVos to the home wiring if the Tivo will connect through that home wireless link.


Um, why would you not connect the "phone" to the home wiring, regardless of what the TiVo does? What do you mean by the "phone"? Does she not have more than one POTS? Or do you mean the phone adapter? Either way, I have the same question about the home wiring.



replaytv said:


> I will first disconnect the home wiring from the outside line though.


It's probably not absolutely necessary, but it is a good idea.



replaytv said:


> No, there are two separate devices. One provides the home phone, the other metered wireless internet.


It actually doesn't really matter.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

ggieseke said:


> I haven't worked with EVRC-B, but in setting up Cisco VOIP systems I found out the hard way that anything less than G.711 wouldn't support fax lines and even the hold music sounded awful. Speech codecs can perform miracles in voice compression but they suck at any kind of sine wave.


You can say that, again. Voice lines are a pain no matter what, but I shudder when I hear one of our smaller clients is going to order one of our packet voice services and attach a fax. I can just about bet dollars to Navy Beans it's going to generate one ticket after another.



ggieseke said:


> You might stand a faint chance if you slow the TiVo down to 9600 baud, but I doubt it.


I could easily be mistaken, but I seem to recall the TiVo internal modem is only 1200 baud. OTOH, that is my recollection of the S1. S2+ TiVos may have faster modems, or at least modems set at a higher baud rate.

Edit: It seems my memory failed me. Apparently the default is 56K. Changing the dialing prefix string to


```
,#096
```
will decrease the baud rate to 9600, so inputting that dialing prefix and adding a DSL filter may allow the TiVos to work using the phone line.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

How much was she paying for landline service that made this wireless house phone (that I thought would let her continue to use her existing phones but apparently not) more attractive?


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

unitron said:


> How much was she paying for landline service that made this wireless house phone (that I thought would let her continue to use her existing phones but apparently not) more attractive?


I think she was paying $45 bucks with long distance included and all taxes and such. The Verizon wireless home phone line is $20 per month with more features and free long distance. She IS going to use her old home phone just by plugging it into the Verizon box.

Quote:
Originally Posted by replaytv View Post
The home phone isn't connected to the home wiring
Huh? Howzat, again?
The home phone is now connected directly to the verizon wireless box. I was only going to connect the phone and verizon box to the home wiring so it would connect to the Tivos that are already connected to the home wiring.

Were her TiVos contacting the mothership via their internal modems over that landline?
yes

If so, can she treat it like a cable modem and hook a router to it? 
I don't know about that. If I am going to connect the Tivo to the Verizon wireless internet, I will just use a Tivo wireless G. I have two extra ones of those. Verizon said that would work. 
Verizon said they would not help me to try and connect the Tivos to the home phone wireless network device.


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## xirian (Oct 10, 2008)

I'm assuming that since she went with verizon theres no dsl or cable available, but has she checked if there are any WiSPs around? Or even clear if she can get a good signal? Cell data is a horrible choice, especially with a 2gb limit, and an unmetered connection would be easier than trying to use a modem over a highly compressed cell line.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

xirian said:


> I'm assuming that since she went with verizon theres no dsl or cable available, but has she checked if there are any WiSPs around? Or even clear if she can get a good signal? Cell data is a horrible choice, especially with a 2gb limit, and an unmetered connection would be easier than trying to use a modem over a highly compressed cell line.


I figured she would like to go with DSL or cable for internet, but she went with Verizon wireless internet. (That is Wisp, correct?) I don't know why she went with Verizon, she said 'I have been with them for a long time, and I get a discounts'. I advised against doing anything with Verizon.


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## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

The Netzero option is a great option for updating guide data for Tivo. You just pay for the mifi device $99 and you get 200MB of data for free every month, but you also need a wireless adapter for a Tivo ~$30. It still pays for itself in 3 months if you're paying $45 per month for a land line. 200MB per month is more than enough for updating the guide data on a Tivo.

Local governments have really high taxes and fees on land lines that are almost as much as the service itself.


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

Well, I finally got over there and connected the Tivos to her verizon wireless home phone line. But the Tivo wouldn't work. But I didn't try to decrease the baud rate. Right now her home phone voice quality is not that good, so need to call Verizon to see if they can fix it. Then will try again to connect the Tivo at a lower baud rate to the home phone line so as not to use the metered internet access. She has Tivo basic on one Tivo, so it doesn't have much data coming down the pipe, and she has never used the youtube and other features on the full lifetime. 

Her smart phone quality isn't that good either all the time, so so much for Verizon quality. And he smart phone battery doesn't even last a day. I trying to get her to shut the screen off manually instead of waiting for the time out of 1 minute that it is set for.

A couple of months ago I suggested buying a internet TV so she could watch youtube and download movies on the TV directly, but she wasn't interested.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

shwru980r said:


> Local governments have really high taxes and fees on land lines that are almost as much as the service itself.


That's not really the case. It's just what the phone company wants you to think. Expenses that other companies would treat as costs of doing business -- like, say, paying their property taxes -- the phone company breaks out as line-item fees to their subscribers. In other cases, they simply name charges in a deceptive way. They do this for two reasons: 1. So that they can claim a lower bottom-line than what they actually charge, and 2. To trick customers into supporting deregulation.

For example, the biggest item under "Taxes, Fees and Other Charges" on my phone bill is the "Federal Subscriber Line Charge". I mean, it must be a tax -- it says "Federal", right?

"It's a fee the FCC allows phone companies to charge to recoup the cost of having phone lines connecting your house to the network. The only thing 'federal' about it is that the FCC caps it at $6.50 per line." -- http://consumerist.com/2007/06/what-is-the-federal-subscriber-line-charge-and-how-can-i-buck-it.html


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

wmcbrine said:


> For example, the biggest item under "Taxes, Fees and Other Charges" on my phone bill is the "Federal Subscriber Line Charge". I mean, it must be a tax -- it says "Federal", right?


Well, not mine... but it used to be.



wmcbrine said:


> "It's a fee the FCC allows phone companies to charge to recoup the cost of having phone lines connecting your house to the network. The only thing 'federal' about it is that the FCC caps it at $6.50 per line."


One of the best things I ever did was dump AT&T (SWB at the time) for VOIP. 'Superior customer service, vastly superior call quality, far fewer problems, and less than half the cost.



wmcbrine said:


> -- http://consumerist.com/2007/06/what-is-the-federal-subscriber-line-charge-and-how-can-i-buck-it.html


Yeah, and it is pure bull pookey. First of all, $6.50 times close to 100 million customers buys one whole hell of a lot of copper, especially when one considers some copper lines are still in use after over 100 years. Secondly, however, AT&T doesn't use that $7.8 Billion a year to upgrade their copper lines (or even their fiber). When a local LSO needs to upgrade their infrastructure, they go to the PUC (or whatever equivalent resides in the state in question) and obtain an approval for a rate increase to cover the cost. They very conveniently "forget" the $6.50 a month they are allowed to charge to fund such upgrades.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

wmcbrine said:


> For example, the biggest item under "Taxes, Fees and Other Charges" on my phone bill is the "Federal Subscriber Line Charge". I mean, it must be a tax -- it says "Federal", right?
> 
> "It's a fee the FCC allows phone companies to charge to recoup the cost of having phone lines connecting your house to the network. The only thing 'federal' about it is that the FCC caps it at $6.50 per line."


On T1-PRI business lines AT&T charges that "tax" for each of the 23 virtual circuits. Many of their competitors like Logix only charge it once for the entire T1, so AT&T's claim that it's a mandatory federal tax is bat pookey.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

wmcbrine said:


> That's not really the case. It's just what the phone company wants you to think. Expenses that other companies would treat as costs of doing business -- like, say, paying their property taxes -- the phone company breaks out as line-item fees to their subscribers. In other cases, they simply name charges in a deceptive way. They do this for two reasons: 1. So that they can claim a lower bottom-line than what they actually charge, and 2. To trick customers into supporting deregulation.
> 
> For example, the biggest item under "Taxes, Fees and Other Charges" on my phone bill is the "Federal Subscriber Line Charge". I mean, it must be a tax -- it says "Federal", right?
> 
> "It's a fee the FCC allows phone companies to charge to recoup the cost of having phone lines connecting your house to the network. The only thing 'federal' about it is that the FCC caps it at $6.50 per line." -- http://consumerist.com/2007/06/what-is-the-federal-subscriber-line-charge-and-how-can-i-buck-it.html


Isn't there something on there that was intended to help pay off the Spanish-American war debt?


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## replaytv (Feb 21, 2011)

I am now really sorry that when she got a smart phone I mentioned about internet service at the same time. But she doesn't like to 'shop around' and find out all the info needed to get a good deal, and she wasn't helping me shop around for her, so I just caved in and now she has bad home phone wireless service and sketchy cell phone service at times, both from Verizon. 
Guess I will have to go over there and get on the line with Verizon and try to get things worked out. 
She does love having a smart phone and it using it a lot. 
Her laptop only has one gig of memory and I don't think that is enough for Windows Vista, so will probably have to get more memory. 
She had AOL McAfee before that she has canceled, but it appears that the McAfee is still working except not being able to download new virus definitions and not being able to scan. But I too have McAfee and am on the computer for 4 to 8 hours a day and only have had 5 or 6 items found over 4 years or more and no problems. Knock on my wooden head! So maybe I will leave the McaFee running on her computer if she will put up with the reminders all the time. But maybe if I took the McAfee off and used Windows firewall and virus scanner free suit, then maybe she wouldn't need more than One gig of RAM?! She doesn't use her computer for buying or bank account or anything, so not a security risk if she gets a trojan or virus.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

Yank the AOL McAfee, turn Windows Firewall back on and install Microsoft Security Essentials. Antivirus without updates is almost worse than nothing because it gives you a false sense of security.


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## zowwie85 (Jul 25, 2010)

replaytv said:


> ...she has bad home phone wireless service and sketchy cell phone service at times, both from Verizon.
> Guess I will have to go over there and get on the line with Verizon and try to get things worked out.


Why? Both of those things sound like her problems  At some point the value of your time has to outweigh her cost 'savings.' Modem over that home phone connect device is unlikely to ever work reliably at any baud rate.

You could try a proper repeater with an outdoor antenna to boost her signal strength, but your friend will likely get the dollar store version in the form of the metallic sticker you put inside the phone.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

zowwie85 said:


> Why? Both of those things sound like her problems


See the latest Jack in the Box "swavory waffle" commercial for the answer to that question.


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