I was pretty disappointed after my Verizon Fios install to learn that the Actiontec M1424WR modem/router combo only goes up to a G wifi signal. I’ve been using my Time Capsule with an N signal for a while and it’s great. I was even more disappointed to find that I wasn’t simply able to extend the Fios wifi network to use Time Capsule as an extra base station for my backups.

To help anyone who may have a similar problem, the solution was to connect the Time Capsule into one of the Ethernet ports on the Fios router so it would pick up the internet connection from there and create a separate wifi network on the Time Capsule. Now I actually have a better setup since I can force N-only mode on the Time Capsule so that my signal doesn’t degrade to G for everyone when a G device is connected (the newest Time Capsules can now support both simultaneously.) The G downgrade would happen more often than not because of my wife’s older Mac and my iPhone.

The recipe:

1. Connect an ethernet cable between one of the numbered ports on the Fios router and the incoming WAN port of the Time Capsule
2. Open the AirPort Utility and click on Manual Setup with your Time Capsule selected
3. Click on the Internet icon at the top
4. Under the Internet Connection tab change Connection Sharing to Off (Bridge Mode). I’m not sure if this is necessary but it worked for me and sounds like a good idea
5. Click Update to reboot your Time Capsule

After this setup I have a B/G wifi network that everyone else will use in the house, including my Fios TV boxes, and another N-only wifi network that my MacBook Pro can connect to for the internet and Time Machine backups. This also allows me to make my Time Machine backups even more secure because I never have to give someone else access to the wifi information.

By the way, the Fios TV menus are way better looking and easier to use than Comcast. I haven’t looked at the on-demand service a lot yet but at first glance it looks much better too. I haven’t really noticed the internet being faster but that’s probably because the bottleneck will continue to be the servers I connect to and not my connection to the internet. If I don’t lose my internet connection for 30 minutes at a time randomly then I’ll know for sure that Fios internet is better too

Fios internet speed test results are below.

Time Capsule wifi:

Your download speed is: 7.543 Mbps

Your upload speed is: 5.957 Mbps

Actiontec wifi:

Your download speed is: 7.601 Mbps

Your upload speed is: 5.033 Mbps

Actiontec wired Ethernet:

Your download speed is: 7.845 Mbps

Your upload speed is: 5.967 Mbps

We took a great week-long vacation at Myrtle Beach recently. I would highly recommend anyone unfamiliar with this concept of vacation (as I was) to take one. You get to sit around and do… well, nothing. I couldn’t believe the positive effect it had on my attitude toward life. But then I came home and have been on call for the 2nd week in a row and am thinking it’s time for me to have another. Luckily for me I’ll be in the Bahamas in under two months time as a married man! Anyway, here’s a picture of us being awesome.

We finally moved into our new house this weekend. I would send pictures if we had actually unpacked by now but we haven’t. At least not my stuff anyway. All is well now except for the fact that Lowes is less than a mile away and there are more things I want for the house than I can afford.

Next installment: “Dammit that grass just keeps growing, doesn’t it?”

Not only am I getting married this September, but we also just bought a house in the suburbs. That’s right, I’m selling out. Completely. I’m leaving the fast(?) streets of Squirrel Hill to settle down in suburbia. And you know what? I can’t wait.

Turns out I’m just lame enough to leave the excitement of city life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to miss having local bars and shops within walking distance (I hate driving.) But there’s something I hate even more. Noise. Sounds funny coming from a guy who can’t wait to buy the drum set he’s been dreaming of since he played in this first band, but it’s true. The fact is I don’t want to hear my neighbors having parties or yelling in the hallway or stomping their feet up the echoey 100+ year-old staircase anymore. I feel like I’m living in a dorm. So we picked out our nice little two-story with the deck and we’re getting the hell out of dodge.

Wait for the next installment of this saga coming soon: “Something’s broken and now I have to pay someone to come and fix it.”