ApprovedModemwhat your ISP actually allows

Verizon Fios: can you use your own modem?

Own modem not allowed

No — Verizon Fios does not allow customer-owned modems. Its fiber service terminates at equipment Verizon Fios installs and owns, so there is no modem for you to buy. A modem bought elsewhere cannot be activated on the network, so buying one would waste your money. Everything below is quoted from Verizon Fios's own page, last checked 2026-08-25.

Connection
fiber — Verizon markets Fios as "100% fiber internet" (https://www.verizon.com/home/internet/fios-fastest-internet/). …
Verified
2026-08-25
  1. Your modemyou buy it, or you rent it
  2. Your ISP's networkthey decide what connects
  3. The internetthe part you actually want
Your equipment has to satisfy Verizon Fios before it reaches the internet at all — which is why their published rule, not a retailer's compatibility claim, is the one that decides.

Can I use my own modem with Verizon Fios?

No. Verizon Fios does not permit customer-owned modems on this service; it provides the equipment. Not permitted / not offered for the modem — there is no modem to buy on a fiber line; the ONT is Verizon's and Verizon-installed. Verizon publishes no bring-your-own-router policy and no approved-router list. Its equipment page opens: "Verizon offers a wide variety of advanced equipment and accessories to maximize your Fios, 5G Home, and High Speed Internet (DSL) connection. For complete information, user guides and step-by-step help in setting up your equipment, select your router below." — and every device listed beneath is Verizon-supplied.

Does Verizon Fios charge an equipment rental fee?

"no hidden fees or equipment charges" — from https://www.verizon.com/home/internet/fios-fastest-internet/, in the 3-year price lock section: "For new and existing myHome customers on all internet plans. Plus no hidden fees or equipment charges." No separate router rental amount is published for current myHome Fios plans.

Two boxes

  1. Modemtalks to the ISP line
  2. Routermakes the Wi-Fi

One box — a “gateway”

  1. Modem + routerone unit does both jobs
Verizon Fios treats the modem and the Wi-Fi router as separate questions. Read their wording below before assuming one box covers both.

What should I do instead?

Use the equipment Verizon Fios provides. If a retailer listing or a forum post tells you otherwise, trust Verizon Fios's own page linked below — a device they do not support cannot be activated, and returning it is your problem, not theirs.

Where does this information come from?

Every statement on this page is quoted from Verizon Fios's own published page:

Last verified 2026-08-25. Approved lists and equipment policies change without notice — re-check the source above before you buy.

Other providers to compare

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