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Review by nsts See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost: $33 per month
Super cheap (HALF the cost of my Rogers phone, and I have more features w/ Wind!), great reliability, friendly staff
A few dead zones, sometimes slow internet
Thank you for saving me from Rogers, Wind
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've been wanting to move from Rogers to Wind for several years now. When the end of my Rogers contract finally came, I researched Wind (and other 'cheap/low-budget providers -- I was shocked to learn Fido = Rogers, Koodo = Telus and Virgin = Bell) -- Wind and Mobilicity are the only low-cost providers that (currently) aren't a part of "the big 3" it seems!

I was aware a big complaint people have with Wind, is their roaming. So I immediately messaged Wind's official facebook profile (supplied my phone # and pin) and requested a cancellation on roaming/away capabilities so I do not get hit with roaming. When I hit a dead zone, my phone simply goes into SOS mode until I reach the nearest Wind zone again. I highlight this point as being imperative if you don't want any 'unexpected' charges!

People's 2nd biggest complaint, is the dead zones. I expected a lot more of these than I found. I live in Cambridge, work in Toronto and frequent the Niagara Falls/Buffalo area. The only dead zones I've spotted (so far) are along Milton/Campbellville on the 401 and a short stretch of the highway just leaving Niagara Falls en route to Toronto. (Dead zones = are because I disabled roaming. Rogers/Bell/Telus all enable roaming by default too.. this is where a lot of the 'unexpected' charges come from if you frequently travel the province)

I've read that Wind are expanding their towers, so I hope these dead zones get addressed so they can become even bigger competition for Rogers, Bell and Telus. The 'Network Builder' on their site is pretty handy and addresses these dead zones, by allowing you to report them: »care.windmobile.ca/Suppo ··· ult.aspx

My only real complaint is retail staff seem a bit flustered at times and can goof up on your requested plan, so make sure you double-check your plan before you leave the store (and not in the car like I did).

Positive: I dealt with Wind over Facebook, email and phone support. Email support takes about 2-3 days for a reply, phone support I've always had them call me back.. even when I wasn't expecting it! (Follow-up calls to Facebook messages I've sent them) -- and each and every time I've dealt with friendly and helpful staff. By far, my favorite method of contacting them is Facebook. To-date, I get replies within the hour (or less) usually. I haven't had to bug them much since my services are currently perfected to my liking, so time waits may have changed depending on the volume of messages they receive.

The internet speed is a bit iffy.. at times, it's ultra quick.. other times, it's like dialup. I'm not sure what causes the difference but I'd like a steady speed at all times.

Wind saved my butt after being screwed over from Rogers.. Wind's generous unlimited data means I can plug my Blackberry into my computer and surf the web uninhibited, without worrying about going over my limit.. when my primary internet connection is down... (migrating from Rogers to a 3rd party ISP like Teksavvy or start.ca is fraught with difficulties as of late): »[Ultra/Lite] Rogers Bullies when cancelling or »Is Rogers Slowly Crushing Indie ISP TekSavvy Through Inaction? [73] comments

Caveat: Unlimited data means you won't be charged if you go over the 'fairness usage' limit of 5-10gb.. I've read complaints on Wind's facebook where people complain they get throttled, which I don't have a beef with as I use my (phone) connection to picture text, surf the web and use Blackberry messenger.. users that abuse it by downloading movies and albums/other massive files should be throttled in my opinion, as long as that means *I* don't have to have a cap! ..(I use my home connection to download large files)

Another caveat: Wind isn't in all areas (yet), check to be sure your area(s) of work/home are available before you sign up: »www.windmobile.ca/en/Sup ··· age.aspx - if you post on Wind's facebook, they're generally very good about replying to inform people whether or not Wind is in their area yet. Some parts of Toronto allegedly have spotty coverage, but in my experience of navigating the city I've not hit any dead zones to-date.

All in all: I recommend Wind to everyone I know. It's refreshing to be treated as a customer rather than a bottom-feeder, like Rogers treats their customers. I hope Wind grows into even bigger competition for the big 3 and drives the mobile and internet prices down even more!

If Wind wasn't an option in Ontario, I'd of likely gone full circle.. I've already had mobile service from Telus -> Bell -> Rogers. So far, none are even close to my satisfaction with Wind.

member for 10.5 years, 28 visits, last login: 10.4 years ago
lodged 10.4 years ago


vp
@acanac.net

vp

Anon

wind mobile service/phones

SAVE YOURSELF THE AGGRIVATION - DO NOT DEAL WITH WIND
THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
nsts
join:2013-09-02

nsts

Member

Re: wind mobile service/phones

Why did you respond to my review with this? Write your own review! So far, I've had nothing but good experiences dealing with wind support. And even if I do one day have a bad experience with support, it still won't be half as bad to the experiences I've had with Rogers!!