Smart WiFi – my feedback
February 3rd, 2006 | by ka edong |After using Smart WiFi for 5 days, this is what I can say about Smart WiFi:
Speed
I get good Internet speed.
Before I go into hard figures, this is my measure of good Internet speed: I made a Skype call to online friend Warren in Singapore. I was getting crisp audio without much audio delay. That’s fast enough for me!
As for figures, this is what I got from the GlobeQuest Bandwidth Meter:
Your current bandwidth reading is:
451.23840 kbps
Fast, isn’t it? That’s my speed on a P988 subscription advertised to provide 256kbps.
Service
You’ll read from my previous articles that not all is rosy and sweet with Smart WiFi. I am not satisfied with their technical support. But what I do have are low expectations. And that keeps me sane.
Signal
I haven’t experienced any problems with my signal. But let’s wait until the rains come and I’ll tell you if my speed is affected. Likely, actually, it’s just a matter of finding out how much the signal will be disrupted.
That’s it. What more can I say? I’m okay with Smart WiFi. I’m not here to advertise Smart WiFi. I’m not here to praise them. I’m here to tell the story as it is, whether I have a good experience or a bad experience.
Reliability
Every now and then, my Internet connection stops. Sometimes it has something to do with idle time, I think. To fix the problem, I just disable+enable the LAN connection. Sometimes I reboot the antenna or the computer. I don’t mind, it has happened a few times, but not too often.
And that’s my Smart WiFi story so far.
So far …
ka edong
47 Responses to “Smart WiFi – my feedback”
By emman on Feb 3, 2006 | Reply
hmmm. ba’t di ko alam tong globequest na to. anyways, i’m getting 752 kbps now
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By ka edong on Feb 3, 2006 | Reply
na-search ko lang iyan. Galing sa isang comment sa blog ni yuga http://www.yugatech.com/blog/?p=25 .
I used to use mcaffee speedometer. pero inaccurate daw yung (at agree naman ako) kapag geographically distant ang tester at ang testee.
ka edong
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By ka edong on Feb 3, 2006 | Reply
ang bilis, emman!
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By shattered on Feb 4, 2006 | Reply
use testmy.net mas accurate yun. yun mga gngamit ng mga installer na pang test like globe, mcafee e inaccurate. hehe
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By ka edong on Feb 4, 2006 | Reply
thanks, shattered.
Test Results from Testmy.net:
slower than typical DSL which is 256kbps-1500kbps daw.
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By ka edong on Feb 4, 2006 | Reply
Test number two:
tsk tsk tsk … not looking good, huh?
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By ka edong on Feb 4, 2006 | Reply
Test #3:
baaaadddd …. actually nga, kahit di ko i-test, I can observe the slow internet connection.
That’s the Smart WiFi life. Should be better
ka edong
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By vemsan on Feb 4, 2006 | Reply
http://infospeed.verizon.net/
=)
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By shattered on Feb 4, 2006 | Reply
dahil dito siguro kaya mabagal pa connection mo:
Dear Valued Subscriber,
Our most earnest apologies for the slow internet connection you are
currently experiencing. This is due to the upgrade that we are now doing
in our network. The upgrade will be completed in two weeks, and you will
start to experience an improvement in your connection by next week.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. We are doing our best in
order to give you the best broadband service.
Yours very sincerely,
Hyacinth H. Fernandez
*******************************
We would like to apologize for the inconvenience brought by a prolonged downtime you experienced with us there will be a 19days downtime period starting Feb. 2, 2006 till Feb. 21, 2006 this is to give us time for the upgrading of our system in our Central Office.
Very truly yours,
Customer Affairs
Meridian Telekoms / SmartWifi
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By anon on Feb 4, 2006 | Reply
kamusta na yung Netgear router mo? Naikabit mo ba? Wireless router ba yun?
curious lang.
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By vmyap on Feb 4, 2006 | Reply
hi i doubt using globequest.com.ph speed test mostly they are FAKE! or let just say estimated results. The speed test is good to check if you have a good speed but not geeting the real result.
Try testing it on testmy.net its more reliable.
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By JM on Feb 4, 2006 | Reply
Sir Edwin! May I know your exact address (well, not exactly EXACT)? Anong barangay ka ba, and san ka malapit na establishment? Para naman malaman ko if I’ll still go through with this wireless thingamajig, kasi medyo malapit lang *ata* ako sa’yo, and I’m not sure if there are any *visible* smart cell sites around my place. Basta malapit lang ako sa mandaluyong science high school. Thanks. ^__^ Hope you can help. ; )
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By ka edong on Feb 5, 2006 | Reply
shattered,
siguro nga. i’m back to fast internet tonight.
anon, something similar to this: http://www.netgear.com/products/details/WG602.php . Got it free with a laptop that my brother bought at villman mega.
vmyap, maybe …
jm, secret!
. near samat.
ka edong
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By JM on Feb 6, 2006 | Reply
Ah. so malapit ka sa mrt boni station (i dont know where exactly samat is but taking it from its name it’s that area in mandaluyong na puro mountains ang pangalan ng streets?)? Hehe… ano ba itsura ng smart cell site? =p
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By ka edong on Feb 6, 2006 | Reply
hi jm,
some cellsites look like this
ka edong
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By ka edong on Feb 6, 2006 | Reply
anon,
yes, napagana ko ang netgear router. pero not for long, I had to return it to my brother who owns the router.
ka edong
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By danieljohns on Feb 8, 2006 | Reply
I’ve been having this problem about my smart wi-fi connection since yesterday. It says “limited or no connectivity.” If does not repair contact your network provider. (or something like that) is there anyone here who experienced the same thing? Coz the tech hotline is suggesting me to have my computer reformatted. What an excellent suggestion. They doesn’t admit their mistake. Please need help. Thanks!
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By ka edong on Feb 8, 2006 | Reply
I get that too. It’s normal to me especially since my Smart WiFi is not permanently plugged into my computer.
Nuon, what I do is re-boot the antenna or reboot my computer.
I’ve learned lately to just disable-enable the local area connection in Network Connections. I do it once, twice or sometimes thrice until the connection gets established.
subukan mo …
ka edong
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By 3g4y56 on Feb 17, 2006 | Reply
@all
sa mga low speed na smart wifi subscrber, kung kaya nyong itaas yung antenna nyo! kayo n lang ang gumawa dahil mabagal ang tech support nila!
ako ganon ang ginawa ko itinaas ko ang antenna at nilagyan ko ng tali para d gumalaw! dahil paggumagalaw yan sa hangin mahina ang sagap!
just an advice!!!!!!!!!
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By ka edong on Feb 17, 2006 | Reply
nice, 3g4y56!
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By k3nToY on Feb 23, 2006 | Reply
Hi guys. Thank go napadpad ako dito. been looking for good place to air my concerns over smart wifi.
Ive had it for a month now and nakakainis. First week after connection, ok naman. but then Every week after that palagi may downtime. Just this week, 4 times, pag malapit na 12 midnite, bumabagal or no connection. Pag umuulan, ganun rin.
Ive called tech support each and every week! The hard part is, alang may smart celphone dito so landline kami. eh taga tacloban, leyte kami. long distance yun. mahilig pa naman ung tech support mag put on-hold!
The thing is, their main tech support knows nothing. puro lang basic troubleshooting sinasabi (which im sick of, because i already know how to clear my internet cache and reset the PoE because ive been calling these guys each week cos of the problem and they give me the same troubleshooting steps). pag mag rerequest ka naman ng higher tech support eh mag c-call back daw after 24 hours. by experience, more tha 48 hours bago tumawag sa amin.
So now, theyre sending field people to look at my set-up at home. i hope this works. they billed me for this month, but im gonna complain if they make me pay and theyre connection is sucky.
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By ka edong on Feb 24, 2006 | Reply
k3nToY,
kanta tayo:
sige lang, sandal ka lang
at hwag mong pipigilan …
g’dlak!
;-p
ka edong
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By k3nToY on Feb 25, 2006 | Reply
lol. medyo pissed off na ko kahapon. pupunta naman daw ngayon. Kagabi lang pinagalitan ko ung tech support eh. palagi na lang “sir, finorward ko na sa higher tech support. tatawagan kayo ng meridian within this day..” eh walang tumawag.
So tawag naman ako ulit, pinagalitan ko ( i don’t feel guilty. they deserved my fury. hehehe. And i worked in a call center before so i know exactly what to say to get what i want… muahahahaha).
Sabi naman nya, “sir tatawagan ka na lang po kc pinapa sked ka for field visit”. Sabi ko naman ” Always naman kayo ganyan. Bigyan nyo ko ng exact time or day kung kelan kayo pupunta dito sa amin. “. Eh palagi na lang sabi sa kin e “sir, kinocoordinate po namin”. Sabi ko ” Thats what the last person told me. Give me something definite or i may need to speak to your supervisor”…
Kaya yun, i got put on hold for 15 minutes kasi hinihintay nya raw yung info sa kabila. Hassle talaga tech support nila.
Pag hindi pa rin ma solve to, Supervisor na yung kakausapin ko.
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By ka edong on Feb 26, 2006 | Reply
Yeah, i’ve learned (the hard way) how to get what i need through customer service.
share mo naman tips mo, o.
ako ito tip ko for getting customer service results:
a.) take note of a csr name, time of call.
b.) give them 1 or two chances to serve you well.
c.) on the third (or second) failed attempt, get a supervisor on the phone.
d.) make the supervisor accountable. Tell the supervisor that you have noted his/her name and that you will call him/her for results — and that you will escalate the complaint to a higher manager if the supervisor doesn’t bring results.
of course, that’s highly ideal. Often, it’s not worth my time, so I just walk away if there’s an alternative anyway.
We need to be kind to our own hearts.
ka edong
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By k3nToY on Feb 27, 2006 | Reply
thanks for the tip. i did just that. unfortunately, “my supervisor is still entertaining a call”…
hay nakoooo…
ka edong, share ko lang to:
http://p4.forumforfree.com/smartwifi.html
it’s a forum of smart wi-fi users in this country. dun mo makikita kung anong klaseng service ung smart. Simply Amazing yung kabulukan nla.
lol.
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By ka edong on Feb 28, 2006 | Reply
k3nToY!
I try to avoid headaches. Kayo nalang muna mag-kwentuhan diyan sa forum ;-).
Pag may serious headaches na ako, saka ako mangungunsulta sa inyo.
ka edong
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By k3nToY on Feb 28, 2006 | Reply
lol.
all the same salamat ka edong. i hope it works out better for you.
almost a month na, my intermittent connection problem still hasnt been solved.
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By ka edong on Feb 28, 2006 | Reply
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By ka osang on Mar 2, 2006 | Reply
sakit sa ulo talaga yang smart wi-fi na yan, sinabi ko na sa kanila na gagawa na ako ng Request for Cancellation/Disconnection sabi gagawin daw nila muna ang part nila exhaustedly on their part, sinabi ko yun sa kanila kasi para mag reflect sa kanila na may nag cancel dahil di nila magawa part nila, sampal sa kanilang tech support un
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By ka edong on Mar 2, 2006 | Reply
hope it works, ka osang.
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By k3nToY on Mar 6, 2006 | Reply
I just might try that ka osang. smart is one big pile of poop. 1 month and one week na ang problema ko di pa rin na sosolve!
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By j3an on Mar 6, 2006 | Reply
hmm.d0es any1 0f u is using Windows XP Service Pack 2 here?c0z m having pr0blem with XP SP2 with my smart wifi c0nnecti0n..ive askd the tech 0f smartwifi already but they can’t gve me any answers…
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By ka edong on Mar 7, 2006 | Reply
hi j3an,
I use WinXP with SP2. No serious problems with SmartWiFi.
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By stealth.entry@gmail.com on Mar 13, 2006 | Reply
First time ko mag post and so far ok naman ang smart ah! OK na pasabogin! Kung cno may mga connection sa inyo sa mga NPA etc, malaking sympathy makukuha nila kapag Smart Sites ang tirahin nila! We have to go on the offensive! Marami pa din nabibiktima yang Smart na yan and angkakapal ng mukha nagoffer pa ng FREE 3G service na nakikigamit sa already overloeaded internet service natin!! Napansin nyo ba na from Bad service they’ve gotten really worse! Kung dati minsan slow connection, ngayon totally walang connectivity!!! Thats partially because of 3G and of course ung signups they insist on taking!
Give me all your Sun and Globe numbers and I will create chain letters and hate mail to destroy Smarts reputation!! You can also send me email addresses of filipinos para maikalat tong katarantaduhan nyang mga yan!
Guys stop na reklamo.. Lets go to war! Make Smart pay!!! Boycott lahat ng smart products, change sims, kahit ano basta do something!! I will!
Jay
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By Sikret on Apr 8, 2006 | Reply
Bat ung saakin “limited or no connection” daw….. gamit ko ngaun is dial up… inis na ko sa smart wifi eh… gustong gusto ko mag laro ng MMORPG kaso wala talagang connection 4 days na
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By lady_assasin on Apr 27, 2006 | Reply
Hehe.. your blogs have been pretty much helpful.. pinapahanap kc ako ng boss ko ng high speed internet access service na pede naming iinstall sa mga branches.. e about 80% ng branches nmin nsa probincya.. parang auq n 2loy qmuha ng smart bro..
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By ka edong on Apr 28, 2006 | Reply
Hi lady assasin,
Salamat, glad you found technobiography useful.
Ano ang alternative na tinitignan nyo ngayon?
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By solo on May 15, 2006 | Reply
mga bro baka meron sa inyo makatulong pano isetup ung canopy ko.. kasi wala me connection… ano ba ang setup ng conopy nakabit rekta ung apara sa pc ko… please help
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By karl imanoel on Jun 27, 2006 | Reply
I have three smart wifi connections. 2 wifi 988s and a smart bro.
in the afternoon, which happens almost always, connection is really bad.
my 3 wifi connections is spread in 3 different locations, and i wanted to upgrade my two wifi 988s, but smart wireless center in ozamiz city tells they can’t do it. well, maybe i can ask the tech guys, esp. engr. marchito gonzales about this. we’ll, you might lose valued customers - if you will continue to act like this.
if smart bro should be 7x the dial-up speed, it should be having a bandwidth speed of 392kbps, right. so far i haven’t gotten near that figure.
imanoel
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By ka edong on Jun 27, 2006 | Reply
dapat, mabigyan ka ng award ng Smart! Di na nga masaya sa service ngunit tatlo-tatlo pa ang subscriptions mo
.
At least we’re able to compare the service from different locations. And you’ve proven that consistently, their service isn’t satisfactory for all three subscriptions.
Musta jan sa misamis occidental? kailan kaya ako makaka-bisita diyan?
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By Merwin on Dec 7, 2006 | Reply
Mga Dude,
Pano ba i-setup ang canopy, inilipat ko kasi ang antenna pero malapit lan din sa bahay then ayaw ng umana, sabi ng CSR P1,400 daw ang relocation fee, sabi ko malapit lang naman bakit napakamahal, ayaw naman nilang ituro na lang kung paano i-setup..
Help me naman mga tsong.
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By notdhacker on Feb 12, 2007 | Reply
eto bago: just love smartbro. i can connect in any area using my laptop in wireless mode, without any bills, hasole, redirection, i can also hockup in all clints connected in, and even shutdown their base stations. So i love smartbro. frm: dhacker biba roca. hahahaha, kaya nioyan? Ako? hindi ko kaya yan.
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By jon on Feb 14, 2007 | Reply
mga tol my tanong lng ako! pag tinaasan ko ba ng another 10 feet ung antenna ko, bibilis ba ung internet connection ko? sure ba na nakakabilis ng internet pag itinaas mo ung antena? tnx
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By ka edong on Feb 16, 2007 | Reply
I think so. It improves the visibility, the line-of-sight between the antenna and the cellsite.
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By Ken on Oct 3, 2007 | Reply
hello people my ask ako kung pwd mg advice naman kau jan my smartbro ako ung 999Pesos a month 384Kbps…3months na ako sa smartbro pero ngaun parang nagka problema ang connection speed ko halimbawa pag mg download ako ng worth 3MB’s aabot ng ilang oras yan minsan na puputol pa ang download hindi gaya dating na ilang sigondo finish na mg download ng 3MB’s size…normal ba ito nagun?
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By L@nn on Jan 30, 2008 | Reply
mga bro, alin ba ang mas mainam? ang USB smartbro P799/mo o ung fix antenna na P999/mo? d pakasi available dito sa amin ang P999/mo.
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