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Review by Elodean 
member for 1.5 years, 32 visits, last login: 2 days ago
lodged 23 days ago
 South Weymouth,Norfolk,MA
 $35 per month- (month by month)
 about 3 days "simple setup, functional speeds" "latency, inconsistent performance" "a viable alternative to cable/dsl, or if you have no other option"
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I was never a fan of wireless broadband because of the rather unreliable nature of radio signals. Any fixed radio-based wireless networking setup will either work or it won't work. Even if it works, the signal typically depends on all sorts of factors, including weather. Still, back in November 2011, I decided to give Clear a try to see if their wireless offering was usable.
First of all, I see a lot of complaints about Clear. Apparently, if you can get good signal, people are generally happy; if you don't have ideal signal, then people are unhappy, and the infamous Clear customer service doesn't help either. I actually suggested Clear to a friend, who signed up but couldn't get a signal. He had a hell of a time trying to cancel service. (He even tried to go to a Clear brick-and-mortar establishment in New York and they said they couldn't cancel him at the store.) In the end, it took months and a lot of arguing to cancel his service.
I was one of the lucky ones; it worked for me right out of the box, so I didn't have to deal with support. I got a G-Series modem, and was able to position it in a good place near a window with a relatively open view towards the nearest tower to get 5 bars (~25dB CINR). Latency was better than what I was expecting, but still not on par with wired services. Basic network access worked well. However, weather events such as snow and rain definitely affect the connection. I agree with many other reviews that if you don't get 5 bars, then even basic network access becomes unpleasant.
Based on the Clear coverage maps and my past year of use, my signal is apparently "borderline" good (which is why it's so jumpy). In my particular case, sustained download speeds can swing wildly across the range, so streaming media such as video and voice would often stutter. These days, sites that don't let the user set the video quality will automatically adjust the quality based on the current bandwidth. For a bursty connection, the result can be very frustrating, as the video tries to change to high definition, then pause before dropping to lower quality because the jumpy speeds can't maintain the video buffer.
I was originally on their $50 uncapped service, but dropped to their $35 1.5Mbit offering because I figured that if they could only really sustain about 2Mbit consistently, then I'd rather pay for a lower tier of service. But apparently, the practical speeds dropped as well, with speeds often hovering between 100kbit and 700kbit. As some people have pointed out, hacking in an external antenna should greatly improve signal, and I'm definitely starting to consider that option. Hey, if your connection is lousy and the warranty expired, you've really got nothing to lose.
In the end, Clear is pretty good - for wireless. Their service is bound to the same limitations as all radio-based technologies. While the price is decent (since it includes all fees and taxes here), the connection quality makes the service inferior to other ISP offerings in the equivalent pricing tier (typically the $29.99 DSL or cable plans, when you add in taxes and fees). A good signal makes all the difference. Sadly, their signal map is only a rough estimate; the only way to get a good idea of the practical connection quality is to try their service yourself. If you don't get ideal signal, I'd say Clear would be fine for occasional network use. If you often deal with streaming, gaming, video/voice conferencing, remote desktop, development/productivity, then you need a strong signal, or look for a wired solution.
Comments:
 Reviews:
 ·Comcast
| re: Clearwire Review i found when i went to their home service the speed dropped like an anvil. i went back to my clearspot in the window and was getting 16-18 /1.5 mbps. I use it now for backup and went to Comcast. the latency was killing me for video conferencing. Have you tried to buy an external antenna. I have seen this improve connections. I am in CT and it works great in some places and doesnt work in others. | |
| | Elodean
join:2011-10-29
South Weymouth, MA Reviews:
 ·Clearwire Wireless
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: re: Clearwire Review I don't think an external antenna would help me much here; I'm already 25dB CINR and -65dB RSSI, which I consider pretty good. But I do plan on hacking in an external antenna just for fun - after I sign up for another service first, so I have a fallback in case I mess up the modem while cracking it open and drilling holes.
I think the problem for me is that I'm at the edge of Clear's coverage area (not just the edge of a tower's coverage area, but Clear's entire Boston coverage area). Based on their maps, my location has strong service (dark green), but I only have access to 1 tower, and I'm betting that this tower gets congested. Also, when the connection goes down (maybe for maintenance), the modem can't switch over to another tower, so I get occasional and annoying bouts of downtime, frequently at night and weekends.
Another point is that Clear resells its service to FreedomPop. If you use Clear for a backup connection, you're probably better off dropping them and just getting FreedomPop, which will get you free wireless service up to about a gig a month, based on their current service descriptions. (However, I'm not sure if you'll need a different modem for FreedomPop.) | |
| | | Reviews:
·Comcast
| Re: re: Clearwire Review Yes you would need a separate modem. I think I have two towers by my house and its mostly residential here. But I believe when I look up the stats it always points to one tower in particular. I have gotten Comcast 50/10 now and they have a 6 month special. So I keep it as a backup or when I am travelling in my car in the local area. I really have had good luck with them despite some people not having such good luck. I find its always good to have a backup in this day and age. Storms and such can put you out of contact really quickly. | |
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Review by SanAntonioTx
member for 4.8 years, 125 visits, last login: 11 days ago
updated 26 days ago
- San Antonio,Bexar,TX
- $45 per month
- about 2 days
- "Only if you live with in 2,000 feet of the nearest sprint tower"
- "You get what you pay for"
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This is one of the worst 4g providers how ever when you do get a signal the data is Unlimited the only time you will see past 10mbps is at night time at 4 am unless the local cell phone tower *sprint* tower is not over congested by the unlimited data users best speed i've ever seen on clear wire was back in 2010 26mbps down and 1.5mbps up now today if lucky I'll see 12mbps down and 1.5mbps up
if you have no other options and a very tight budget and don't really stream anything and for basic internet clear wire would be good for you
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| | re: Clearwire Review yes thats about right. good accurate review  | |
| | | | Re: re: Clearwire Review I absolutely hate the clear 4g service i live an go to school in the middle of nrw york and have yet to see the 4-g hotspot actually work at 4g speed or 3g speed for that matter hell just getting it to work at all without losing signal is a job in an of itself i can't wait for the day something better comes along im switching asap | |
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 Review by Snowy
member for 10.1 years, 5703 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 48 days ago
- Kailua,Honolulu,HI
- $35 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 1 days
- "They got caught ripping me off"
- "Adding worthless premium features without my consent"
- "They cheat customers using phantom charges"
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DO NOT USE Clear's Autopay option!
They think 'autopay' pay means they can auto add premium service charges without bothering to ask the customer how they feel about it.
A $9 mo overcharge that ran 4 months before the crooks got caught.
The CS believed that since they credited the $36 back to the account I should be grateful.
I am not grateful for crooks paying restitution.
Despite Clear's unclear terms & costs it does have a place as backup connection.
With RR as my goto provider a recent rash of power outages has either knocked me offline or RR offline, Clear to go has kept me online.
Clear to go has been dependable.
Not fast but dependable.
Clear to go has saved the day twice in the past year when TWC went offline.
As a backup, it's not a bad thing to have.
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 Review by PamelaTS
member for 9 years, 1017 visits, last login: 2 days ago
updated 49 days ago
- Dallas,Dallas,TX
- $52 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 3 days
- "When Moving the home modem is all you have to move and the service moves with you"
- "Much higher latency than I expected, FAR short of the UPTO claimed max speed"
- "I will likely take advantage of the $15 p/m intro for two months and switch to Cable ugh"
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See my newer CLEAR review; post moving.
I admit I was skeptical going into this. Had been an SBC DSL customer for near on 10 years. The recent rate increase they were putting forward were the last straw.
Information on installation is EXTREMELY spartan. Had to call tech support just to initialize the account. I understand green means saving paper there comes a point when taking it to such extreme is just ridiculous. No where was there any indication what to do setting up my third party router? is this a DHCP setup, or what?
I was supposed to see 6m down and 1m up. I see anywhere from 1.2 - 4.5mb down very inconsistent and the best up I've seen is low 600kb (very briefly). Based on wireless I anticipated higher latency SBC/AT&T I saw 16-19, latency on Clear is 64-97. Pingtest.net scored it a D, before it got blocked!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Called to cancel, gawd I wanted this to work well. It does work the latency is really high though. The initial sales rep was attempting to use high pressure which I did resist. The second rep I talked to was better, yet it would seem still dishonest. This morning the best rates I could get where under 2.75M down and barely over 500K up.
Customer service wanted to con me into waiting and trying other things with tech support so that my 7 day trial would evaporate. I'm hip to their high pressure BS.
I'm sure that if they would invest in rural towers where DSL is not and cable maybe then this could potentially be a viable option. In the city though where ROCK solid performance by DSL VDSL and even cable exist this is NOT a credible, economical option.
Want a laugh they actually expect you to believe they are gonna run a reliable VOIP service on this shaky connection, and sales was Oh yeah you can send/receive the occasional fax over VOIP. Sales said affirming oh yeah no problem, LOL! No, I didn't try the VOIP add on wanted to see a solid ISP first. There is no way a reliable VOIP is gonna run on the wild roller coaster connection, much less FAX over it.
Not happening, don't believe it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8-17-2011 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok, I moved a slight distance (3 blocks) had issues with AT&T no longer could get the elite tier. TWC had a wiring issue in the building which I wasn't going to pay for.
Giving Clear a second chance a friend informed me since I first tried them they had improved. I did not want a 2 year contract but that what the jerk gave me, Tha'ts ok, that Ccard expires soon I'll use that and the issues I been having since to renegotiate. Oh second tier tech support determined the modem was bad (flaky) expecting a new one today.
Still no way in hell they gonna run stable voice/phone on this and I'm only 5 minutes from downtown Dallas, Parkland Hospital and Love Field airport This is not a REMOTE area just blocks from I-35 the Dallas North Tollway and a mile from North Central expressway
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Review by cmarslett
member for 6.5 years, 70 visits, last login: 16 days ago
updated 119 days ago
- Pflugerville,Travis,TX
- $52 per month
- "FAST, EASY setup. No contract, cheap install ($50)."
- "Storms do take it out (wireless, y'know)"
- "After several months, I am even more satisifed than when I started"
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The standard Clear package for my location is 3-6 Mbit (estimated, not guaranteed) using a wireless modem/router (refurb, $49). Initially, corporate VPN got about 480 Kbps, most FTP transfers get about 1.5 Mbps, Netflix worked, and the flash speed test typically reported 3.3 Mbps up, 1 Mbps down. I am paying $52/mo, a bit more than AT&T DSL, but it works all the time!
Bought the modem at Fry's, brought it home and plugged it in. Can't get much simpler. Modem is a Motorola 25725 black monolith.
After several months, the connection has settled down (maybe they had a lot of sales last summer?). Early on connections varied a lot. Sometimes no connection (say 20 hours the first 3 months), sometimes 8-9 Mbit down and 1-2 Mbit up. I have had about 2 hours down in the last three months and haven't seen a connection above 5 Mbit down. Uploads are still 1-2 Mbit. Which suits me fine.
Mostly I notice how easy everything is, I did do some moving of the modem around the house to find the best spot, but that runs rings around the hassles of getting a cable or DSL connection to work in this house. Since one early speed test (where I got 13.2/0.9 Mbps) I consistently do not get download speeds as fast as my DSL, or upload speeds as slow as my DSL connection gave me.
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Review by wfidler42580
member for 163 days, 0 visits, last login: 163 days ago
updated 163 days ago
- undisclosed location
- $50 per month
- "Slower than watching paint dry"
- "never again"
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Got Clear for my home me and my son play games on pc and console and we also watch netflix as far as multi-tasking goes this isp blows we couldn't play a game on the pc and watch netflix on the ps3 at the same time and i starting getting dial up d/l speeds. When we cancelled our service they cut off our service a day before our billing cycle had ended even though it was paid for till the next day. Would never do buisness with them again. Switched to centurylink and never been happier 30 bucks cheaper a month and have not had any issues with it. we are loving the 12mbs with centurylink and would never go back to clear.
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| | 4 years of making payments on time and Piss Poor Service Clear just cut my internet today after 4 years of dedicated and religiously making payments on time, and sometimes 2 or 3 days before due date, and them delivering piss poor service. I only stayed with them because I thought one day they would try to improve their service, and I could watch streaming video without interruptions. They have got to be the slowest internet provider in the world, one step above dial-up maybe. I would not recommend anyone getting service with them. Stay as far away from them as you can. You have been warned! | |
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Review by ALLENIRON
member for 176 days, 0 visits, last login: 176 days ago
lodged 176 days ago
- Odessa,Ector,TX
- $60 per month
- "If its all you can get may god be with you."
- "Everything you can imagine and then some."
- "Stay away don't get ripped off by these crooks!"
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I have used clear since they first rolled out as Clearwire. for 6 years now i have suffered there worst and
there best. from grade a customer support to a support team i wouldn't pay pennies. from people who were
courteous to the rudest people on earth that make people like Hitler look like a saint.
I have always expected some bad service hear and there. After all no one is perfect and nothing infallible.
However the last 7 days have been unbearable. I have dealt with over 10 reps and while only 4 of them were
trying to help the rest could give a shit and care less. Speeds have been below Dial-up Speeds and sometimes
non existent . We get no credit on our bills when we cant use the service. We get no information about why its
going on they wont own up to anything just tell us its us and not them then it magically works for a few hours
at blazing speeds then back to nothing for hours. Tech reps tell you to reboot your modem never do this this
kicks you from there networks for hours. Also they throttle everyone the same. You say no big deal almost
everyone throttles. This is true but I pay for the high end service as we watch Netflix and play games online.
Other people may pay for the lower end service around 20$ a month I pay 50$ and I get throttled to the same
below dial-up speed as the lower end service which in no way do I feel is right or ethical to do to a customer
paying your paycheck.
At this point I wouldn't recommend Clear to my worst enemy as they wont even tell us why we don't have service
and would like to keep us chasing our own tails and bullshitting us to believing our hardware is broken.
Hell I had one tech rep tell me I wasn't covered in service area Last night! I have lived in the same house for
entire time I have had Clear. My modem is fixed to the external wall of the house in a custom fabricated case
which keeps it clean and safe from the elements and ensures no direct sunlight and maintains a beautiful 5 bars
of signal worst ever being 4 bars.
Now I assured the tech rep my house being 2500 sq-ft had not in fact moved out of the service area magically
floating or otherwise. After this he decided to terminate our conversation.
So for those of you thinking of investing in clear before you do check out
»www.google.com/finance?client=ob···DAQ:CLWR
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Review by paule123
member for 10.8 years, 393 visits, last login: 131 days ago
updated 257 days ago
- Cleveland,Cuyahoga,OH
- $52 per month
- about 1 days
- "When network isn't busy, it's great, and no caps!"
- "In congested areas speed is pretty bad, worse than 3G"
- "Good bang for the buck if network not overloaded"
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Originally purchased the Clear 4G Mobile USB (PXU190) on the $45/month plan, no contract, purchased modem for $79. Received modem overnight, installed, and was up and running quickly. Had trouble with a dead zone in the DC area, so I decided to cancel service. Clear's website is great for information on ordering and support, but surprise - there's no way to cancel or suspend your account. I submitted a support request to that effect, but never got a response. So thumbs down to Clear when it comes to terminating service on a month to month plan.
Anyhow, I ended up keeping the account open so I could test for my business in Cleveland. Cleveland launched service in November 2010, and the speeds are great since there are no users on the network here yet. I upgraded my account online to the $52 plan and the 6M speed cap was removed instantly. Routinely getting at least 10M down / 1M up. Had some downtime last week, it appears the new tower near me died overnight for a few hours (no signal)
Now, the bad news. I took this Clear modem to downtown Chicago and the speeds were pretty bad. The uplink speed was a pathetic modem like speed of 50 or 60Kbps. Download speeds were jumping around 1-3Mbps. I had the same experience when I returned to Washington DC in an area with good signal. So, it seems when Clear gets popular and the network busy, performance can suffer dramatically.
I did a side by side shootout at these locations (Cleveland, Chicago, DC) with the new Verizon Pantech UML290 4G LTE modem, and I have to say the VZW LTE blows away Clear. LTE speeds are typically in the 12M+ down and 2-5M up range. (we shall see if this changes when VZW's 4G network gets busy) Clear should really consider increasing the upload cap to at least 2M on the more expensive plans if they want to compete with LTE.
Update Sept 2012: We've found Clear 4G (WiMax) signal penetration inside large buildings to be quite poor. Unless you're near a window, it doesn't work well. VZW 4G LTE has been our go-to when travelling around the country because the 700MHz signal penetrates buildings quite well.
Comments:
Reviews:
·Clearwire Wireless
|  Clear v Clearwire
Clear seems to be getting much better reviews then Clear wire , causing the customer ratings numbers to be better than they would be if these were reviewed separately | |
| Alky
join:2001-08-12
Cleveland, OH | Clear Is there a forum on dslr for Clear? I just ordered them because of AT&T's impending caps and forced u-verse upgrade.
I have one friend who has has it for about 4 months now, and he says it's great. | |
| | | Save yourself the time The salesperson told me that they covered my area and there was actually a tower right down the road. He signed me up for the wrong service. After more than an hour with "customer service" they tell me that service is not available in my area. Thirty minutes later I am finally able to can the service.  | |
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 Review by UnKown
member for 10.7 years, 1944 visits, last login: 285 days ago
lodged 288 days ago
- Lake Worth,Palm Beach,FL
- Contract price not specified.
- "fast"
- "spotty coverage"
- "if it works in ur area its worth a try"
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Ive got the boost mobile 4g phone that uses clearwires WiMAX. Its good where it works bit the coverage área is shotty, and the ping is Great. Speeds are always above 5mbit nd always getting 1.5mbit on the upload
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Review by yates
member for 3 years, 782 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 316 days ago
- Norwalk,Fairfield,CT
- $35 per month
- about 5 days
- "A great secondary internet connection for working on the road or when my primary internet fails"
- "Clear's coverage isn't as broad as I would like"
- "Definitely worth it, but check to make sure they cover the areas where you need to use it."
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I have a primary internet connection at my home through my cable provider, but it isn't always the most reliable. That, combined with the fact that I am on the road for meetings somewhat often and Clear's promise of unlimited internet at a decent price, made their offer seem worth it. I purchased their Voyager Hotspot and the 1.5Mb/s ($35/month) plan. It arrived in a few days and worked right out of the box.
Overall, I've been pretty happy with it. I typically get slightly better speeds than I pay for. While their wireless coverage isn't as extensive as I would like in a perfect world, Clear does have coverage in most of the places that I find myself, bu this is something worth looking into before signing up for their service.
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Worst ever