yeah...that is where things do not make sense. It could be on another channel. Some times operating systems/older computers get out of date. I know that in the past...people would give me something they bought at a garage sale...or some old laptop was given to them....and I would put in some linux distro....and I could not get firefox to connect. Even though my connection was valid. It would depend on the distro....and age of the hardware. Real pain in the ass to say the least.
I know you have a mac...what age is it...and what is the age of the distro(and name)???
Verizon can't blame you for anything....like screwing up. It's Verizon for God's sake....
I have had more issues with Verizon on the internet side of things than anyone else in the past. I once had to wait for 5 days to get internet back. One kind soul finally gave me the real answer. They were waiting on a higher up to give the go ahead on some major outside box replacement(very expensive)...and the higher up was afraid to make the call over the weekend. Nothing to do with my end of things at all...and it was nothing near my house. The guy on the other end was just as pissed off as me...but I am always extra polite and patient. I have found that such is the only way to get to the truth. Respecting others....
It may be time for a new computer...and unfortunately...you are a MAC user...and this is the worst possible time to buy new things...if you can find them. That's a whole other story I'll share later. And it's not good currently.....