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Review by lytener4 See Profile

  • Location: Cypress, Orange, CA, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month (24 month contract)
First month of service
Remaining 23 months of service
Do not subscribe if you have other options
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Services:
Value for money:

Initially the connection was very good with Clear. If you read a lot of reviews, this seems to be the case for most people. The biggest issue is their advertising says that their speeds are fast and unlimited. People have high expectations that it is like a landline ISPs. They shouldn't sell it like that.

I documented outages and speed caps. I reasonably could not playback streaming videos (Hulu Plus, Netflix, YouTube). I generally would watch my media during off-peak hours and would experience this.

I would recommend against Clear/Clearwire. I would even be willing to work with bandwidth limits like other wireless providers do as long as they disclose them. In the end it makes the customer feel cheated.

member for 17.7 years, 11 visits, last login: 3.9 years ago
lodged 12.3 years ago


Review by amandakirschner

  • Location: Orland, Glenn, CA, USA
  • Cost: $40 per month (24 month contract)
Unethical billing practice and unreliable internet service
BAD news!
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This is the worst company I have ever had to deal with. I had little to no internet reception and had to spend hours on the phone with tech support. They could not fix the problem, and I was told by their customer service that I would not have to pay the early termination fee because of that. However, they ended up charging me a ridiculous fee for early termination. Why would I stay with an internet for 2 years when I the internet does not work?! I have spent hours on the phone with them trying to get the charge reversed. One of their customer service people said the charge was "unauthorized" and should be reversed. Clearwire has since called me 3-5 times per day, and it is becoming something more than an annoyance. Today I answered and let them know I want the charge reversed and I want them to stop calling me. This is nothing like I have ever experienced before. They will rip you off and charge you money that you DO NOT owe them. Stay away!

(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 12.4 years ago


Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: Brooklyn, Kings, NY, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month
low price and good speed was advertised
slow speed and REFUSE TO REFUND MONEY
STAY AWAY, not worth the effort
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I decided to give Clear wireless a try so I could lower my internet costs.
I liked their "100% Satisfaction Guarantee" and 30 day trial. I signed up
at one of their kiosks, including purchasing a modem. When I got all set
up, I found that the service was noticeably slower than the cable internet I
currently had. I gave it a few days, decided it wasn't worth the switch,
and called to cancel. They gave me a partial refund, then said I would get
the rest after I mailed back the modem. They gave me another partial
refund, but still held on to some of my money for no apparent reason. After
multiple phone conversations, some lasting several hours, including with
"'supervisors", I was told I would get all my money back. Weeks go by, and
no refund. No explanation. No money. This company is not living up to it's
claims about the speed of the service or the satisfaction guarantee.
Poor product, poor service. No wonder they are getting close to declaring
bankruptcy. It's true, look it up.

(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 12.4 years ago


Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: Atlanta, Fulton, GA, USA
  • Cost: $60 per month
Speed if you live .2 mile or less from there tower
Customer Service
Not good, stay away unless you live near a tower and need home service only
Pre Sales Information:
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If you are lucky to be living next to a Clear tower " and I mean it very
close not more than 0.2 miles", then it worth to try them as long as you
don't need to speak with customer service. Clear have the worst customer
service ever, I have been calling them every day for the past 4 days to
cancel my service, but for a reason or an other they are pushing it so I
will pass the 30days return policy. I asked to speak with a supervisor who
is located on the other side of the world and he told me my account is
cancelled but he cant send me a confirmation by email or by fax for my
security "non sense".

I give them

* * * * 4stars for home service if you live next to a tower
* * 2 Stars for home service if you live 0.5 Miles from a tower
* * 2 stars for the mobile Serviced
* 1 star for customer service
* * 2 Stars for for technical support

Check there coverage map and check the nearest tower to you before you order
service
Learn from others experience with this company, because I didn't listen to
those who warned in there reviews about Clear customer Service when I was
shopping for internet Service and now I learned the Hard Way.

(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 12.5 years ago


Review by BurkeGuyy1 See Profile

  • Location: Jacksonville, Duval, FL, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
Strong solid connection, steady speeds consistantly all day so far.
None so far.
So far, great. Will be updating frequently.
Pre Sales Information:
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I had Clearwire about 2 years ago and didn't have the best experience. Wasn't completely bad, but was annoying enough for me to cancel my contract and end up going with Comcast (which I despise as a company). Went through three modems in a 6 month period, had to reboot modem every day, even with 5 solid lights, speeds would slow down to dial up speeds for no reason; until I rebooted modem etc. Second time around I hope to have a better experience. I tend to root for the under dog so I'm giving Clear another opportunity to impress me. I'll update this frequently as to how the service is going.

Got my modem from Clear today, of course the "installation" of simply pluggin in the modem is nice. I'm about 3 or 4 miles from the closest tower, yet immediately I got 4 out of 5 lights on my modem, occasionally going to 5, then back down to 4. I chose to get the modem with the built in Wifi from Clear and have to say I'm impressed by the look of it as well as the range of Wifi it provides. I have a 2 story 3200 sq. foot home and with the modem located upstairs in a corner of the house, I can easily move my laptop around the entire house and still have a strong connection.

As soon as I got the internet connected and set up my Wifi settings, the very first thing I did was run a speed test. Now I went with the unlimited package of no cap for D/L. (With Clear we all know that 6 Mbps is what they claim with bursts up to 10). U/L with speeds up to 1 Mbps. Very first test I ran my ping time was 94 ms, 13.94 D/L and 1.56 U/L. I have been on the computer all afternoon (Full time college student from home) while streaming music; and have ran probably 5 or 6 speed tests through out the afternoon. Speeds have changed slightly on the lower side, but still impressed with the speeds I'm receiving so far.

»www.speedtest.net/result ··· 9521.png

That speed test was ran while streaming a HD movie from Netflix.

I'll update this frequently due to my last experience with Clearwire.

**DAY 2**

»www.speedtest.net/result ··· 4836.png

**DAY 3**

»www.speedtest.net/result ··· 0372.png

member for 12.5 years, 33 visits, last login: 11.2 years ago
updated 12.5 years ago


Review by Darvin1023 See Profile

  • Location: Chicago, Cook, IL, USA
  • Cost: $30 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 1 days
Good for light surfing
Not for houses with thick walls
Not for everyone.
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1. I have been using Clear home wimax for 21 months now as my backup ISP. So far, so good. I like the fact that I can take it everywhere in the Chicagoland area and use it.

2. It worked around Chicago, Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Schaumburg. I know this because I've let my friends borrow the modem when their internet went down.

3. My plan is 4mbps download, 512kbps up For $25 a month, plus the modem rental fee. But the average speed I always got was around 2.5 to 3mbps. (three to five bars on the modem).

4. If you have thick walls and windows, it's a hit or miss. You just have to find the best location in your house to get the best signal. (usually near a window). 2nd floor or higher would be best. If youre in a basement, forget it. Your speed will be less than 1mbps, if any.

5. It is good for light Internet surfing, itunes downloads, and YouTube videos. But don't expect to watch Netflix in HD with this ISP. You will see "buffering" A LOT.

6. So for $25 a month, I say it's with keeping, but if you are a heavy user, go with Comcast.


member for 22.6 years, 69 visits, last login: 11.8 years ago
updated 12.5 years ago

hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Pings

as with any wireless service the pings are HIGH. That is the only reason NetFlix has a "buffering" problem but can be dealt with. Also your speed package was low. If would have been "unlimited" download the service probably would have been better.

Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: Portland, Multnomah, OR, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
easy to set up
impossible to cancel service without extra payments
do not get Clear!
Pre Sales Information:
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I have been frustrated with Clearwire from the first day I got it. I live in
downtown Portland and the service was terrible. Every complaint I had was
unanswered. I eventually decided I wanted to end my service. Who knew that
the return policy was created to be as difficult as possible as a scam to
get more money from you. You can not cancel your "month to month" policy by
simply going to the store you purchased it from but have to call the
company, wait on hold for 28 minutes and then talk to someone who will
refuse to let you cancel your service without a better reason than "I am
unsatisfied , it only works 50% of the time". I spent 15 minutes having to
convince the lady on the phone, eventually yelling at her, in order to get
my account cancelled. Who knew that once you cancel your account you cant
simply take the router back to the store, but must print out a receipt of
the cancellation and mail the router back to Clear. Could they make it any
more difficult? My account has been "cancelled" for 3 months now, however I
receive 2-3 calls everyday from Clear asking me to restart my service.

I am so incredibly disappointed with the quality of the Clearwire service
and the difficulty of ending the service and the excessive calls I still
receive from them.


(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 12.5 years ago


steverafail
@ameritech.net

steverafail

Anon

To The Unhappy

Clearwire is the best mobile broadband I've ever had. From Chicago to Austin, TX and Tampa, FL I've never had much of trouble. Even when storms knock out cable.
It's cheap. Yes, really cheap to use.
I am on a month to month plan but I get great service.
I think you guys that are paid to badmouth are sick but you can't keep a good service down.

Steve Rafail
steverafail

steverafail

Anon

Re: To The Unhappy

Oh by the way, I'm writing this letter while listening to CNBC video and downloading chuck Norris movie on VEOH.

UNLIMITED CLEARWIRE.......45.00 per month

Try that at Verizon ATTTT or anywhere else
FauxReal
join:2001-12-11
Portland, OR

FauxReal

Member

Re: To The Unhappy

It's not really unlimited. I have Clear on their "unlimited" plan and noticed my connection kept getting really crappy near the mid/end of the month.

I did some tests and was getting only 20kbps down. So I contacted them and was told I was "using an unreasonable amount of bandwidth" in those very words.

They throttle your connection after 6gb per month. I was using it as my primary Internet connection which included Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and online gaming via Steam. Buying one game can blow right through that quota in a day.

It's strange that they can advertise unlimited but then start throttling you.

So everyone out there should keep that in mind if they're looking to use Clear as a primary ISP.

Review by picacho See Profile

  • Location: Tualatin, Washington, OR, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Install: about 5 days
Pricing and mobile capability
Performance is location dependant
Not for everyone but suits our purpose
Pre Sales Information:
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Value for money:

What other options did you consider for broadband?
We had Comcast but tired of the cost creep. We now get broadcast TV and Netflix via internet.

What SPEED/package did you order, at what monthly price?
We have the “pick two” plan with unlimited download speed, up to 1 Mbps upload and unlimited bandwidth. The monthly price is $50 which includes $15 lifetime discount.

How was the order & install process?
Self installed.

What brand/model was the supplied equipment?
Motorola WiMAX modem, Cradlepoint ClearSpot. The fixed modem is connected to our home wireless network router supporting numerous devices. The Clear Spot is used at another residence to provide similar services.

What good or bad experiences most struck you?
The variation in performance at different locations has been a surprise. Some locations are poor and others are great. It is impossible to predict where the units will work best in advance.

We have used the service since December, 2009 and are generally happy with it. Our download speeds now average about 5 Mbps which is an improvement from initial rates of 2 - 3 Mbps. Upload speed as specified in our agreement are 1 Mbps maximum. The speeds aren’t high enough for heavy users but we use Netflix via Tivo HD and seldom see any pausing on streams. We don’t do online gaming but we do have a Wii connection to the internet which is also used to watch Netflix occasionally but not at the same time the Tivo is used for the same service.

member for 13.9 years, 19 visits, last login: 11.8 years ago
lodged 12.6 years ago


Review by janet7555 See Profile

  • Location: Atlanta, Fulton, GA, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month
ummm.... still thinking
business practices, customer service
Watch out for the bait and switch
Pre Sales Information:
Services:

Unscrupulous business practices: Promised a discounted modem when I
signed up and then received a call 2 days later stating I had to sign
a two year contract. Immediately cancelled the account and was
promised a refund; stated I would receive confimation email in 24
hours. When the email never arrived, I called only to be told that I
would not receive a refund until the equipment was returned. Call
center is outsourced and obvious communication barriers exist. The
last person I spoke with actually hung up on me when I asked to be
transferred to a supervisor. I was asking for the confirmation email
to be sent, as promised, and I just got scripted b.s. I don't think
anyone at the call center is empowered to solve customer problems.
It's been 4 days and I still don't have my $141.07 back that Clear had
taken out the minute I signed up.

Partial transcript of on-line chat 8/20/11 showing dishonest and evasive behavior of CSRs:

Jerry:  I understand that you need assistance with the refund that should be credited back on your account.
Janet:  yes
Jerry:  I have checked your account and our records show that you were refunded $42.00 last August 16 per cancellation policies.
Janet:  That is a partial refund. I was told on 8/12/11 by Joan, employee 621640, that I would receive a full refund of $141.07. She stated I would receive a confirmation email in 24hrs and a full refund in 3 to 5 business days. Neither has occured. I want the additional $99.07 credited to my account now as promised.
Jerry:  Unfortunately, our records do not show information that the equipment was received already. Please be assured that appropriate refund will be credited back to your account once we confirmed from our warehouse that the modem was already returned.
Janet:  I confirmed with FedEx (as I paid to send it back) that the modem was received in the warehouse on 8/18/11.
Jerry:  Yes, I understand that. However, there is no note yet from our warehouse that the equipment was returned already. Once we receive a note from our warehouse that the modem was returned already, the refund will be credited to your account right away.
Janet:  Again, this is not what I was told when I spoke with Joan. She stated the refund would be credited in 3-5 days.
Jerry:  In this case, please contact our Account Services department at 1-888-888-3113 for further assistance.
Janet:  That is the main Clear number. I was under the impression that this chat service was the same thing. If I need to talk directly with account services, then I need a direct number.
Jerry:  That is the only number we have for our Customer Phone Support.
Janet:  Why can you not help me? I have been trying to resolve this problem since the 12th and I want the full refund credited to my account.
Jerry:  I have already provided you the information base on your account notes.
Janet:  You have provided me with no new information.
Jerry:  There is no note yet from our warehouse that the modem was return already, therefore, we are unable to credit your account.
Jerry:  That is the only information we have on your account records.
Janet:  Jerry, is there no note regarding the conversation with Joan? Why have I not received the email confirming cancellation? She mentioned nothing about the warehouse or the modem or otherwise. This is all very unscrupulous.
Jerry:  There is no note with your conversation with Joan.
Janet:  That is very shady as well. It's a good thing I got her employee number and it is a good thing I have already contacted the BBB. This is fraud.
Jerry:  Do you have any other concerns that I can assist you with at this time?
Janet:  I am concerned I have not received my refund as promised and that the issue is not being addressed. Can you help me with that?
Jerry:  In this case, please contact our Account Services department at 1-888-888-3113 for further assistance.
Jerry:  Thank you for chatting with me today! Before you go, I would like to mention that we've recently added many new features to www.clear.com. By logging in with your username and password you can now make a payment, view your bill, request a return label, request 24x7 live web chat, and much more. If you're interested in staying current with all the latest CLEAR news, please sign up for our newsletter. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us; we are available in live WebChat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Have a great day!
Thank you for visiting clear.com. You may now close this window.
Your session has ended. You may now close this window.

member for 12.6 years, driveby review (so far)
updated 12.6 years ago

wirelessdog
join:2008-07-15
Queen Anne, MD

wirelessdog

Member

Did you return the equipment?

Did you?

Review by kdeuser See Profile

  • Location: Suwanee, Gwinnett, GA, USA
  • Cost: $30 per month
  • Install: about 3 days
Very easy to set-up, excellent reception at my home.
Throttled by Clear
Not a replacement for DSL or Cable if you are an active user (ie NetFlix)
Pre Sales Information:
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Value for money:

Update July/2011
Throttled! The network management software keeps us below 1mb. The connection is unusable for anything other than browsing. Unfortunately there is not enough capacity or they have severely oversold the service. Have switched family back to IFITL @1.5 down. Once wife and kids were off the connection and usage dropped to around 200mb/day, it returned to about 5mbs downloads. Needless to say, I am disappointed.

Update 01/20/2011
Turns out my son was using a poorly configured torrent program that caused us to eat up 27 GB in a single day and Clear capped us at .6 for several weeks. We are now back to normal, but our speed tops out at 2mb during peak hours due to general congestion. Our tower is scheduled for an upgrade in Feb to solve the problem according to a Clear tech. Have been playing Black Ops online since Christmas, have to be selective about servers due to ping times being naturally higher.

Update 12//27/10:
Unfortunately it is apparent that Clear has issues with network capacity. This is typical of my connection over the last 7 days. First level tech support offered no help other than blaming the issue on "downloaders" or "interference". Will cancel soon if there is no improvement.

.59 download test
»www.speedtest.net/result ··· 1897.png

Original Review:
I subscribed to the "home" service and purchased the requisite equipment (wi-fi modem). I had no trouble ordering online and did not have to contact tech support or customer service for anything. The online ordering process was very easy and the equipment was here in two days. I was up and running within 5 minutes of opening the box - hence my excellent ratings.

Once I figure out how to bridge my router ( I am a novice at networking), then I will be completely satisfied. This is the one weak spot in the offering - the router. The wifi-modem provided by Clear says it is "N", but only connects at 72mb, vs 300 for my D-Link. Really a nit, since thus far I really can't complain. However, I have not yet roamed the house with my laptop to test the signal strength of the Clear Wi-Fi.

There are plenty of horror stories on the Clear forums regarding tech support or customer service. I would advise that you pay close attention to the coverage map and TEST the signal strength (friend, sales, anything) prior to committing to a contract. I chose to purchase my hardware and sign a month-to-month contract since I am skeptical about anything "new". If you use netflix or do a lot of other bandwidth intensive downloading, be prepared to have your speed throttled, according to users on the forums.

member for 23.5 years, 694 visits, last login: 6.7 years ago
updated 12.6 years ago