how-to block ads
|
»next review in page
Review by foxsnipr 
UPDATED: 24 days ago
member for 1.2 years, 41 visits, last login: 3 days ago
 Waco,York,NE
 $34 per month
 about 30 days
 "Tech support on these forums"
 "Lots of talk and empty promises, connections drop, usually provide 1/2 speed promised"
 "If there was another provider I would have switched a long time ago"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I've had service for several years now, everytime they upgrade they promise more DL speed, never UL speed. I signed up for 6mb DL and still am waiting and using 1.5mb. They keep promising but they still haven't made good on anything. They provide a router a Speedstream 4200, no one installs it, they mail it to you with instructions (thankfully I know how to plug it in). Tech support is sketchy, best to call late nights and get someone who knows what is going on, but is not able to do anything about it. day time all you get is promises and the usual 'it's not their fault'. Tonight I was at dial up speeds and tech support wasn't able to do anything. Getting a tech to come out is impossible, I've requested one and they find some excuse around it. Maybe they don't have anyone that actually works in the field on their stuff.
DL & UL 12 hours later have gone from good back to worse, in between dial up and 1mb. It appears that at certain times of the day is when these problems arise. You don't suppose Windstream needs upgrades or something?
See added comments
10-28-2009 The forum Tech Support is awesome! They were able to get things up and running, no problems. Thanks guys!
Followup comments:  rlaw34776
join:2005-01-17
Redwater, TX
| You do not get what you pay for I have has valor/Windstream for years now and if there was any other dsl provider in my area I would switch in a minute.
When it works it is slow. I have called the dsl hot line / tech support countless times and get the same ole song and dance. | |
| foxsnipr
join:2008-08-17
 ·Windstream
| Windstream Tech's on forums Windstream Tech contacted me, worked on it the same day and got me up to close speeds advertised. Upload is something that needs to be increased, but I am not holding my breath there. The tech guys on the forums really take action, which is far more than I can say for the tech help desk ppl. Hopefully, the speeds stay up there and it is not a fluke (yeah I'm a pessimist, but I do have a small amount of optimism in me ) | |
| 
Windstream
join:2009-03-31
Twinsburg, OH
1 edit | We are here to help! If you are experiencing any continuing issues please let us know. We definitely want your experience to be a positive one!
You can email or PM us and we would be happy to help.
--
We're here to help! wci.broadbandhelp@windstream.com | |
| foxsnipr
join:2008-08-17
·Windstream
|  Update
Speeds are consistent 6mb DL 768 UL - advertised
hitting Chicago with a ping usually around 35ms, +/- 3ms
Outstanding work guys! | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
 | »next review in page (previous review)
 Review by lacibaci
UPDATED: 25 days ago
member for 9.6 years, 3875 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Export,Westmoreland,PA
$40 per month (12 month contract)
about 10 days
 AllTel
"Servers allowed, no ports blocked, rock solid 6000/768 speed"
"Good value for the money"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
This is my third broadband provider. After 'beta testing' Bell Atlantic/Verizon DSL and inconsistent cable service I signed with Alltel DSL. Advertised speed (tier 1) is 768/128 for $35 for the first 12 months and $49 after. The ordering and setup could not be smoother. Modem (SpeedStream 5200) arrived when they said it would and line was also turned on time. I even got a phone call from an Alltel technician to make sure everything was OK.
Update (3/24/2004)
Well, it's been a couple of months and the connection is rock stable. Alltel recently upgraded their tier1 to 1500/128 so it is a better value for the money. Called tech support a couple of times (DNS problems) and in all cases the wait was under 10 minutes. The techs were helpful and admitted that there was a problem right away. Try that with Adelphia!
Update (11/22/2004)
Recent upload upgrade (to 384) makes it very competitive. In addition, I was able to lock the monthly rate at $34.95 for another year. The best ISP I've had so far. Still rock stable.
Update (7/18/2006)
Upgraded to 3000/384 package for $29.95 which makes it an excellent value. One wish: naked DSL so I could ditch the local phone. Other than that the service is very reliable.
Update (12/25/2007)
Still rock solid. I wish they would upped the upload though.
Update (1/10/2008)
Big thumbs down for implementing DNS redirection. Also, forget what I said above about good technical support. It's been outsourced to India and you know what that means. Non-English speaking people reading of scrips.
Update (1/14/2008)
The DNS redirection issue has been resolved and WS now offers clean DNS servers:
nsvip05.windstream.net 166.102.165.32
nsvip06.windstream.net 207.91.5.32
The (1st level) support is still horrendous but if you manage to get transferred to the level 2, they usually know their stuff. On a positive note - the connection (and speed) is still very stable.
Update (7/22/2008)
Got Windstreamgram in mail to upgrade to 12Mbps service. My first reply got lost somewhere in marketing blackhole. I called and upgraded by phone with no problems. When I received new modem (SS4200) I called again for instructions to switch it to bridge mode. It took about half an hour with support in India to discover that they didn't know how. Called the same evening - got somebody in US and in 2 minutes I was surfing... Overall, the service is still great (sans the Indian support)
Update (2/9/2009)
Still working pretty good. I did noticed though that the reliability went down a little. Not a big deal if you're surfing but if you have VOIP it gets annoying. I may have to downgrade to 6M...
Update (2/16/2009)
Reliability of 12000/768 package went down so much that I had to downgrade to 6Mbps tier. I wish WS had 6000/768 tier...
Update (10/27/2009)
My wishes came true and Windstream increased upload to 768kbps.
Followup comments: FaRty Pants
join:2006-12-31
Nicholasville, KY | Wow Maybe I should move to PA. | |
| dturner357
join:2002-02-27
Atlanta, GA
| Windstream Service Reliabilty out the window. Service is down for days at a time. You call their support numbers and the hold time is out the roof. I complained about Comcast in the past but this service it the worst I have ever encountered. How many times to you have to turn your modem off and on? | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by ExNYer
Posted: 45 days ago
member for 4.2 years, 54 visits, last login: 2 days ago
Monroe,Union,NC
$54 per month
"DL speeds are consistently as advertised."
"UL speeds are usually slower that advertised."
"Reliable service, competitively priced."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Overall I'm happy with Windstream DSL. When I moved here I went with Time Warner Cable initially, for the price they were offering ,and because the old telco(CTC) didn't offer anything faster than 2mbps DL. When my TW contract expired I switched to CTC, because they had installed a remote terminal in my neighborhood and were able to offer faster speeds. Windstream bought CTC and they are my ISP now. I have had no problems. The DL speed is consistent.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by lso1123
UPDATED: 56 days ago
member for 4.6 years, 519 visits, last login: 1 days ago
London,Laurel,KY
$29 per month
AllTel
"easy install. speed ok 1325/324. connectivity steady as of now"
"None as of yet"
"a good alternative to higher cable broadband. good value for 24.95 a month"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I have had Alltel Dsl now for about one month all is well as i write this I recently switched over from Charter Pipeline because of price I thought i might regret this but as for now i am happy with Alltel, they sent modem by Ups and in about 4 days i was up and running speed is OK @ 1250/306 i do miss the 3meg from charter but i can live with it after charter raised the price. As of today i have not been down and connection has been steady. I just read on alltels web site of a 3 meg for 34.95 still cheaper then charter at 40.00 and you don't have to share bandwidth.So if you live in southeastern ky and dsl is there along with cable i suggest dsl that is if your pockets are not lined with gold
April17 2005 Have had a couple of bad days with alltel I couldn't connect to there server said my system had and issue in the dns and was refusing my connection a couple of days later i was back up seems strange that my connection was refused anyway speed still around the same 1200/306 i wont fuss to much anything beats dial up. May 16 2005 Alls well here in SE KY Alltel has been a blessing so far speed has remained consistent and have had only one outage since install. never will go back to dial up maybe cable if prices continue to drop. April 16 2007 Since the switch from Alltel to Windstream no problems actually a little better download speed from 1250 to about 1325 still a great bargain for the lower tier dsl i am satisfied.
Just a update on the Windstream Folks for the last two weeks my DSL connection had been dropping around every 7 minutes or so It was driving me crazy I thought maybe the problem was on my end since this had never happened before always had stable connection hardly any outage but I called Windstream got quick service looked at my line and said must be a bad line tech showed up the next day replaced all my filters with one on box filter ran a new line from box to jack in which modem was on. absolutely great service and have not had any problems since. Kudos to Windstream.
Sept 26 2009 I recently upgraded to the 3 MB service so far connection has been great no drops or problems. Since my last review I have hardly had any problem at all still good service and good customer support and the twitter feed is awesome if you have any questions or need help.
Thanks Windstream
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
| »next review in page (previous review)
 Review by spidyr2k
UPDATED: 68 days ago
member for 105 days, 23 visits, last login: 62 days ago
Sanford,Lee,NC
$49 per month (24 month contract)
"In general, DSL service has been very good. Especially considering that my house is a the distance limit from the closest DSLAM."
"The local service techs seem to have a somewhat limited repertiore of problem-solving tools."
"Being a rural customer, Windstream has a monopoly in my case."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I use the 1.5Mbps plan, because that's the only option available at this time. I am a heavy bandwidth user and suppose that's why I feel like I am getting good value from my Windstream service.
Recently had issues with bad ping and it took about a month of cajoling to get the problem resolved. This is the first time in the past five years that I've had an issue with the DSL service, and that's pretty darn good.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by Napsterbater
UPDATED: 72 days ago
member for 6.9 years, 2286 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Milledgeville,Baldwin,GA
$50 per month
about 5 days
AllTel
"Good solid connection the Full 12 Mbits/sec From 12meg package (Overtrain). and 600Kbits/sec up."
"No static IP unless With Business. Total cost 50 with greenstreak phone service."
"This is the only broadband I have availble to me and I luckly dont have a need for anouther choice."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Update 07-11-09: Just adding this speedtest,
»www.speedtest.net/result/515275401.png
Current setup is a D-Link DSL-2540B (synced at 14973/766, 20012/800max, SNR 14.9/13.5, Attn 22.5/8.8, Interleaved depth 1/1 Delay 0/0msec) Running PPPoA giving the public IP (via DHCP, "PPP IP extension") to a WRTSL54GS running Tomato 1.25 with QOS off for the speed test, Test was run a Windows 7 x64 Build 7100 with Wired 10/100.
Update 05-23-09: Really nothing to report service is still great. We did have a storm roll though one night and a tree took out phone lines and power for probably about 40 houses, but Windstream had a repair crew out the next day at about 8am working straight till about 8pm working on restringing and splicing cables and service is still great.
Update 08-09-08: We have 12meg ADSL2+ Greenstreak service ($50 a mounth) )now provisioned at 14973kbps Down and 766kbps up and have very very very stable service low pings 20ms - 40ms to the east coast and 80ms - 100ms to the west, with a limited use phone line (Greenstreak) free inbound calling 10c/min outbound to local and long distance with free 800 number outbound. We are currently useing VOIP as our primary phone but thanks to greenstreak I have the Linksys SPA3102 connected to the windstream phoneline providing lifeline service to 911 even when the power is out.
Update 10-31-07: We have 6Meg for about 9 months now and it's Trained at 7.2Meg so i get the 6Megs, good ping about 40-50ms to the east cost west coast is about 100ms minimum.Just wish i could get more upload stuck at 386Kbit.
08-??-05 We ordered 3/386 and been getting it every speed test i do.
Other then that Tech support in Very friendly not the most knowledgeable but they do their best.
And the People before us already had DSL so when we received the Modem (which was before we were even moved in) i plugged it up and it sycnd the first time.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by mdbrozik
UPDATED: 82 days ago
member for 7.2 years, 1101 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Fredericktown,Washington,PA
$39 per month (12 month contract)
about 17 days
AllTel
"ultimate is great rock solid service"
"now i want ftth"
"I'm Happy"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
UPDATE: 31 Aug 09. Got Ultimate service in May and am very happy. Connection is rock solid and uptime nears 100% as I use the WS line monitor svs offered in the WS forum here at dslreports and see results in my email each week. Now I want FTTH and 24MB service I see WS offering in some locations
UPDATE: 29 Mar 08 Windstream still only game in town. No upgrade to Ultimate 6M pkg yet. Can't complain; connection is usually rock solid. The speed sometimes fade in the Evenings or Weekends. I get 2.4m up .320m down during off peak periods. During heavy usage periods my up leg will fade to 1.5-1.8m. I would pay more for additional bandwidth and can only dream of fiber to the home.
UPDATE: Alltel sold to Windstream. Speed still OK but not great. Windstream refuses to upgrade to 6M speeds. I can't complain; It has rarely failed to work.
UPDATE: 27 Dec 04. Alltel Still OK Beats Direcway. Some DNS issues and modem power cycles required to fix occaisional slow connection. promo rate wore off now its $49/month. would like more upload speed, the 108 that i'm getting sucks.
I've been a direcway SRS customer for 11 months after using dial-up for 8 years. When Alltel announced DSL in my exchange, I said that I would ride out my d-way contract and make the switch. However, d-way has really been terrible as of late and I decided to jump early.
The initial sales staff couldn't find my address for a pre qual check. Told me to check back in a few days. On the third attempt about 10 days later, I was told that my line would work. The next day I got the speed stream 5200 VIA UPS RedLabel even though my service would not start for five days.
On my live date, all work well. I got a call from the installer at the co. I synch up and all has been well for the last week. Speed is advertised at 768 /128 and I've been averaging 615 /110. Direcway was faster but not consistant. I'd be downloading at 150K and drop to 30K back up to 110K back to 15K. Alltel DSL is a steady 80K download so far. Ping times range about 60-80ms. Service is dynamic IP but mine hasn't changed in a week despite modem resets when I was configuring my router.
Direcway was good at first too so I'm hoping for continuity of service with Alltel. I'll provide updates as I experience issues both good and bad.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by WD
UPDATED: 82 days ago
member for 1.9 years, 168 visits, last login: 32 days ago
Lexington,Fayette,KY
$25 per month (12 month contract)
about 4 days
AllTel
"low latency---speeds as advertised"
"none"
"good value for money---reliable service"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
Everything still going great--no problems--speeds consistently at 6mb and 680-700kb upload. Got a lower price for life with promotion.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
| »next review in page (previous review)
 Review by kringles
UPDATED: 88 days ago
member for 9 years, 2052 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Jasper,Pickens,GA
$39 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
"Consistent speeds up/down"
"None"
"Worth the cost versus other choices (dial-up, Satellite)"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
When I first relocated to the relatively low population area in North GA I soon found out that the only Internet services available were dial up (slow) and Satellite (expensive to set up and dial up speed for upload). After almost two years of trying to get service we finally got a group of about 20 residents in the area to sign intention to get DSL if available. We got this to the right manager in Alltel and they finally got the local equipment upgraded to support DSL! I spotted a local field tech and he had a contract to sign (12 months/free Modem etc with DIY install). I signed up and in a few days got the set up kit from Alltel. I called in and they setup the DSL upgrade for a few days later, so you could say the sign up to success time was about a week but the time from the first attempt to get DSL to success was about two years.
So far the connection has been reliable with speeds of 1100 to 1200 up (1500 advertised) and 200 up (128 advertised). The Modem is a Speedstream 5200 setup for PPPoE with dynamic IP. They say they will give out static IP if requested, I believe there is no extra charge.
update August 5. 2005
Appears that I was incorrect about no charge for static IP, another poster corrected this and is right. In my area they want an additional $40/month for the Static IP for a total of $79. In spite of their ads the Ultra Tier (3000 download) is not yet available here. They did bump the upload to 384 on 14 July 2005. My area has no real competition for Alltel, they have exclusive phone and cable services. I guess I have to satisfied with what I have, it is reliable but a little overpriced.
update 17 July, 2006
A couple of months ago my area qualified for the Ultra (3K download) service. I called to do the upgrade and found that there some new options that allowed me to bundle the upgrade and change to the flat rate long distance plan by Alltel. Their LD plan was cheaper than AT&T and the bundle allowed me to get the higher DSL speed at a cheaper price also. Since I have no alternate choice for broadband service (Alltel is also my CATV carrier and does not offer cable internet) it does not make sense to use VOIP. Therefore I took the bundle offer until some other options are available.
On the plus side we almost never loose connectivity or speed. On the down side I still wish they would raise the upload cap from 384K to 1000K or even 512K
Update 22 May 2008
DSL drops periodically after upgrade from 3 Mbps to 6 Mbps
Have be using Windstream (formerly Alltel) DSL at the 3 Mbps rate since it became available in my area (July 2006). SNR was about 21 and Attn 25. Service was reliable and often ran for weeks, even months without loss or drop out of service. Provisioning was at 3084/384 (I believe) and set for Interleave.
Recently was told that my area was eligible for upgrade to 6 Mbps service for ~$5/month more. requested the upgrade and after a few days and a few calls the service was re-provisioned at 7200/384, set for FAST and speed tests indicated it was working ok. A check of SNR indicated it varied from about 8 to 12 with an average of ~10, Attn was steady at 26.5. All was fine for about 4 days when internet connection was lost. SNR was displayed a -4. Rebooting the modem (SS 4200 f/w 004-D241-A83) corrected the problem. The SNR had dropped to 6 just before the loss of service. Drop outs have continued on a somewhat regular basis (3 to 4 days). Tried using a different SS 4200 and a Netgear DG384 with the same results. There is a whole house splitter at the NID with a dedicated Cat5e run to the Modem.
Some questions;
1. Is the current SNR/Attn sufficient to support 6 Mbps service? If not can SNR be improved?
2. I realize that this problem may be minor compared to others reporting here but is it too much to ask that the 6 Mbps service be a reliable as the 3 Mbps service was?
3. Since the CSRs in India(?) have not been much help who should be contacted, if anyone?
4. Should I just pack it in and and ask that my service be reset to 3 Mbps?
The main reason I don't want to have to reboot ever 3-4 days is that I often want make use of remote desktop login when away from home.
PS; have checked connections at NID and in house, all seem secure.
Update 6 June 2008
After some investigation and testing by local Windstream tech reps have decided to go back to the 3 meg service. Rather have a solid reliable connection at 3 meg than an unreliable one at 6 meg. See the thread I started on this here;
»DSL drops periodically after upgrde from 3 Mbps to 6 Mbps
Update 4 Feb 2009
After running at 3 Meg decided to switch back to the 6 Meg service again on August 2008. Since then have had good experience with SNR consistently at 11 to 12 db and attenuation 21 db on the downstream side. Have had good to excellent service with few drop outs.
I am using a Netgear DG834 Modem/Firewall/Router combo unit. Also have installed a freeware program compatible with this router called Routerstats that allows monitoring the line conditions. This program can also be used to select an automatic reboot if there are drop outs. This program is unfortunately not compatable with all modems. It is available at;
»www.vwlowen.co.uk/internet/files.htm
Update 25 August 2009
12 mbps/768 kbps service became available in my area. Put in order on 8/19 and was upgraded on 8/21. Had problems with upload speeds, download speed was great. Reported this via phone to Windstream customer service and on the Windstream forum here on DSLreports, see thread for details;
»Switched to 12 Meg, upload provisioning wrong?
To summarize a Windstream tech rep came on 8/22 (Saturday!) and after removing a faulty/incompatible phone line surge protector the problem was corrected! Now get consistently fast down/up (12.7 M/.66M) speeds and signal strength with no dropouts so far.
This is fast excellent service and hope is a sign of things to come for Windstream. I think that reporting the problem on the Windstream forum here greatly contributed to the fast repair service. Unfortunately most customers are not aware of this forum and do not get this advantage but those reviewing/posting here should be aware and take advantage.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
| »next page (previous review)
 Review by SliderNC
Posted: 91 days ago
member for 6.9 years, 2536 visits, last login: 30 days ago
Cornelius,Mecklenburg,NC
$39 per month
about 15 days
"Solid connection for a good price"
"Took them 2 weeks to get my speeds right"
"For the price, a great connection"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Moved from a Bellsouth (AT&T) area to a Windstream (formerly CTC) area. Called and got a package for phone, LD and internet for $69,99/month, no contract at the 6MB speed. They came out 3 days later and connected me up and I was up and running, but at 1.5MB speeds. Called TS a few times and finally got an engineer to come out and tell me that there is nothing but 1.5MB cards at the DSLAM and they would need to order new cards and install them. After about 8 days wait and multiple calls and troubleshooting over and over again, finally got a manager who knew what I was talking about and 2 days later, the tech came out and installed the new ADSL2 cards. Since then, no problems and a solid connection. One outage, but I wasn't home for it.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Windstream |
|
|
(21)
(16)
(29)
(16)
·
Windstream problems everywhere