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Review by sebastien198 See Profile

  • Location: Beloeil, QC, Canada
  • Cost: $119 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 7 days

J'ai toujours eu une crainte concernant Bell. J'ai toujours été avec VL pour les 3 services à part pour l'internet et la téléphonie résidentielle ou j'étais avec EBOX pendant pratiquement 1 ans.

J'ai switché à Bell car c'était disponible à Beloeil . J'ai commandé mes 3 services (30 chaines à la cartes, internet FIBRE 15-10, ainsi que la ligne résidentielle et sa me revient à 119.19 pour 1 ans.

Jusqu'à présent, j'ai aucun commentaire négatif à dire. La vitesse internet est excellente, la télévision est super clair ainsi que la rapidité pour changer les postes et surtout la clarité de l'image est vraiment wow.

Je ne suis vraiment pas décu jusqu'à présent.

Reste à voir coté facturation, qu'est ce que sa va va donner.

member for 10.7 years, 1779 visits, last login: 91 days ago
lodged 10 years ago


Review by mitchfromtor See Profile

  • Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $131 per month
  • Install: about 30 days
Worst service I have ever had ! Kept billing me $600 !!
DO NOT USE THEM !!They will overbill you the first month and you'll spend 6 months trying to get your money back

I have an 87 year old father that I look after and i personally signed him up for your services 7 months ago now. We were promised a total rate of $131 mthly for all services. First months bill was almost $700 and this after we were promised the first month free for a botched installation. It then took them another 3 months just to get the internet working right and still no credits. Finally after they threatened to disconnect us over the $600. Dec 18th I finally got a supervisor that said she fixed everything and we were fine and up to date. Fast forward to today and now we are being threatened with disconnection again unless we pay over $600 !!!
This has also happened I found out to one of my best friends also and now you're going after him for $600 which he was supposed to be credited also ! I don't know what to do as my father has dimensia and is watching TV pretty much all day long...This is extremely unfair and \i don't think it should be happening. All I ask is that someone there at Bell have a heart and/or a conscience and fixes this soon as we are slated for disconnection this week.
mitchfromtoronto@gmail.com
BTW I went on the BBB site (»www.bbb.org) and read the following on bell
Rating: F
And they have a warning about them which is
June 28, 2011 - The Competition Bureau announced today that Bell Canada has agreed to stop making what the Bureau had concluded

were misleading representations about the prices offered for its services. Under the terms of a consent agreement filed with the

Competition Tribunal, Bell is also required to pay an administrative monetary penalty of $10 million, the maximum amount allowed

under the Competition Act.

The Bureau determined that, since December 2007, Bell has charged higher prices than advertised for many of its services,

including home phone, internet, satellite TV and wireless. The advertised prices were not in fact available, as additional

mandatory fees, such as those related to TouchTone, modem rental and digital television services, were hidden from consumers in

fine-print disclaimers.

"I am pleased that Bell cooperated with the Bureau's investigation and is taking steps to correct the misleading advertisements,"

said Melanie Aitken, Commissioner of Competition. "When a price is offered to consumers, it must be accurate. Including a fine-

print disclaimer is no licence to advertise prices that are not available."

As an example, Bell's Web site had been advertising a bundle for home phone, Internet and television services starting as low as

$69.90 per month. However, it was impossible for customers to buy the bundle for the advertised price. In fact, the lowest

possible price, including the mandatory fees, was $80.27 - approximately 15% higher than advertised. Customers purchasing any of

the services individually were also faced with the same misleading information, as additional fees were excluded from those

advertised prices as well.

Under the terms of a consent agreement filed with the Tribunal today, Bell has agreed to:

* modify all of its non-compliant advertisements within 60 days; and
* pay an administrative monetary penalty of $10 million.

The Competition Bureau, as an independent law enforcement agency, ensures that Canadian businesses and consumers prosper in a

competitive and innovative marketplace.

Please view the following link for additional information:

»www.competitionbureau.gc ··· 388.html

- See more at: »www.bbb.org/kitchener/bu ··· york-on-

1043848#sthash.k97Na9OZ.dpuf

That says it pretty much all.
I truly think that we should try to get a class-action lawsuit against them and if anybody else is as disgusted with them ripping off seniors and such let's teach them that it isn't OK to do business this way

member for 14.3 years, 1 visits, last login: 10 years ago
updated 10 years ago


Review by Cloneman See Profile

  • Location: Montreal
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
Solid Backend Network, Excellent Technical support on DSLReports Direct Forum
Company is still way to convoluded to recommend to most people
Good Product, quality of execution varies.
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

Bell is confused company. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. If you can accept that your bill will fluctuate constantly, that the company itself has a long history of bad customer service, the underlying product itself is actually quite reasonable.

Fibe, or rather VDSL as it should be called, is a solid product. There's some issues with questionable modems chosen by the ISP which cause disconnections, but at the heart it's a connection that is far better than most people would give it credit for (if you get on the proper profile to avoid sync-no-surf, get your own modem, etc.). With up to 10mbps upload speed, its easily 10-15 times faster than ADSL2+ for upstream, and reliable... once you get it right.

Can't say I have really many complaints, except for how confused bell is as usual. Technical support on DSLReports direct forum is _spectacular_ , although only available during business hours. The Installer was very professional and helpful. I noticed a big improvement on bell techs recently.

It's the complete opposite for their salespeople, who are very poorly informed by the higher ups at bell that devise documentation. They don't know what they are selling, and they make stuff up along the way. Some of their traveling salesmen in particular are pompous and confrontational for absolutely no reason.

I had an incident while I was with Teksavvy, was approached by a Bell Salesperson who set up a booth outside my gym. I told him I was interested in Bell and would be switching in a few months (because bell had free installation and a good bundle deal), but at the moment I was happy with another company. I tried to end the conversation several times and go to my workout, but he kept insisting that Teksavvy was using older lines and that bell was infinitely better. Things just got weird. It was clear I wasn't ready to buy today, although I was interested. Despite my body language indicating I wanted to get on my way, he seemed to want to not want to let me leave until I admitted Bell had the best network and no one else had access to it. Almost as though he was "closing the sale"... but not of a product, but an idea...

member for 21.5 years, 3536 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 10 years ago


Review by thejames See Profile

  • Location: Whitby, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $50 per month
  • Caps of 350 gigabytes/month
they matched a competitors price + more usage
price continued to creep up
VERY surprised Bell matched TekSavvy...
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

Had my total Bell bill (sat.TV + DSL 25/10 + 190 GB) reduced to $104 due to some major billing problems. Over the last year and a half the bill crept up to $140.

I seriously looked at going to TekSavvy as the service was cheaper for the same speed and had more usage (300 GB).

I call Bell up today and quite calmly told them I was cancelling my Internet service as TekSavvy was offering the same but cheaper. Also told her I was unhappy about my "bill creep". I literally was calling up to cancel... the price is just ridiculous. The first words out of my mouth were "I'd like to cancel my Bell Internet service." No BS. Just said it in a matter-of-fact manner.

She told me she'd look to see what they could do... came back and said they could offer 25/10 + 350 GB for $44.95 (which is what I would have paid at TekSavvy... $39.99 + $5 for dry loop).... so they matched the price and tacked on an extra 50 GB. I couldn't say no. I told her I was pleasantly surprised they could do that...

To myself I wonder if this is really what it takes? I wasn't going in threatening to cancel... I was going to cancel. They lowered my price... I have no reason to cancel now. The service has always been good for me in Whitby just have problems with Bill Creep.

Fair warning: reviewer joined this week
updated a few minutes ago

member for 10 years, driveby review (so far)
lodged 10 years ago

Longpipking

Anon

Bell vs Teksavvy

Bear in mind that the Bell match deal is only for one year while Teksavvy has no expiry date.

Review by Darkshadow24 See Profile

  • Location: Niagara Falls, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $72 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Great dowload speed, Great support
They can not supply 10mbps upload speed in my area
Do not get if you live in Niagara Falls Ontario.
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I ordered the bell fibe 15 \ 10 thinking i was going to get a good upload speed i was dead wrong, The package is normally priced at $59.95 a month for a 60GB download cap i had to also buy the unlimited package for $10 extra, I already used over 60GB in the short time being with bell. The tech that installed it was very knowledgeable about the install we ran a new line for the DSL service to minimize the risk of my old line not giving a quality signal. Then the problem started we ran speed tests to see if i was getting the right speeds and make sure everything was up to standard i capped out at 15mbps not a problem then the upload speed was tested next it capped out 0.90mbps at this point i was shocked and in disbelief about the speed so we retested with the same out come, Checked the line making sure there is no noise in the line found out one phone grounded it self some how, unplugged the phone and set it aside retested it again slightly faster same upload, At this point he called in and found out my area can only serve 1mbps because its ADSL not a VDSL and i'm 3km away from the Victoria street CO, I will not get the speed I'm after unless bell does a total upgrade in my area. The bell tech said there are rumor's about upgrades happening in march or end of summer. I at this point sat down at my computer and started to do a basic line check while the bell tech was still here, I ran tracert to see if there is any packet drops right away there was i said to him look at theses packet drops he was shocked and then we both realized most likely because of the Toronto outage fair enough. After 2 - 3 days of on the service my modem lost total connection to bell i called in and i was back on the internet in a hour, Great ran a few speed tests i was capping out at 11 - 12mbps i called in again they had no answers they passed it off to the senior tech 24 - 48 hours later my problem was fixed, While they were fixing it i lost connection 3 times in one day without warning speed drops down to 5mbps very outraged by this. I been reaching out to all sides of bell tech support on this forum and threw the online chat to verify when upgrades are coming to my area without any sure answer just "they are coming" everyone i spoke to on this forum and threw the chat were very helpful went totally out of there way to help me find answers. After all this I'm stuck with horrible upload speeds unable to upload anything without it taking 4 - 5 hours, Skype calls again horrible. The only thing bell has going for them is some what a reliable download speed. connection hub sagemcom with about 4 feet CAT4e Ethernet cable. At the end of all this I'm going to get rid of my bell service because they are unable to provide me what i need in my internet.

member for 13.4 years, 42 visits, last login: 8.9 years ago
updated 10.1 years ago


Review by f4natik See Profile

  • Location: Waterloo, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $58 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Caps of 350 gigabytes/month
Advertised Speeds, Good Promotion
Monthly calls to Bell questioning extra charges, bad service, changes done to plan without notification
Don't buy Bell unless you're willing to pay extra for things you're not aware of

In early September, I purchased a student plan that was on for promotion. It was an advertised 25mbps download speed and 10mbps upload speed. The original price was about $61 (without taxes), and included a cap of around 100 GB. The promotion lowered the price to $45.95 for the first 9 months, along with an extra 250 GB. Sounds great right?

Wrong.

Although installation went pretty smoothly, there were many problems with BILLING.

So after the first month, I received a call asking if I would like to participate in a "trial" where other people in my neighbourhood would do the same, testing some sort of internet experiment. We were told we'd get "unlimited usage, faster speed and a monthly bill of $0 for the 3 months" if I participated in the trial. Free internet? Of course I took it. So then we had an extra modem installed, and it was just a matter of time when I noticed that the speed went down. I tested the speed and it turns out the speed got reduced to 15 mbps, and the internet was NEVER free. I didn't mind paying the original advertised price, which was $45.95 before taxes, although I wasn't too happy the speed was reduced; however we still had unlimited usage at no extra cost.

At the end of the next month, my bill was $124.47, which was ridiculous because I haven't made any changes to my account. I looked at my online account and noticed that I was charged for an unlimited usage cap add-on, and a bunch of other charges that made no sense, which added up to $105.15 before taxes. I called Bell, waited around half an hour before they actually picked up. Now the woman who picked up had NO idea what she was talking about. She was just about the typical customer service representative with the weird accent and only repeated what she read on her computer screen. I was irritated that she was only telling me what I already knew, and that she couldn't answer my questions, so I demanded to speak with her supervisor. Another 40 minutes pass before I could get any words in with him. When I told him the problem, he informed me that there is "no such trial/promotion" and that I will have to pay the charge of $124.47. No, I am not paying that amount. Although I don't like to, I had to loudly argue with this supervisor about how terrible this company is for having the employees not knowing what happens in each branch that is relevant to the customer. I criticized him for having an employee who offered me a promotion that they couldn't follow up on (and yes I am aware that they may be from different departments), but it was all to get my money back. He put me on hold for another 30 minutes, then apologized when he came back on the line, and told me that I will pay the original amount that I was supposed to, and will get the remaining amount of money in credit per month.

The "trial" was 3 months in length, so when it ended, I assumed that I'll just get my original student promotion plan back as normal (which was what I was told before I agreed to participate in this trial). However, Bell decided to charge me for the features that I received in the trial, which included:

Bell Fibe Internet 15/10 - $53.95

Unlimited Usage Plan - $30

Other charges and credits

Bell Fibe Internet 15/10 -$43.16

Unlimited usage plan - $14.00

Bell Fibe Internet 25/10 -CR $35.96

These charges totalled up to $76.63. Now first off, nothing was reverted back to normal; I had no discounts from my promotion going, and I didn't get my advertised speeds/price. Secondly, I did not order unlimited usage (was included in the trial for free) nor did I ask for them to lower my speed to 15/10, then charge me for it. I'm not even sure that the "other charges and credits" meant. Again, this meant another call to Bell. It was a very long day for me. I had to wait 20 minutes before my call was picked up. This time, I had a nice lady who could speak fluent English and understood what she was telling me. She could only answer the top layer of my questions and did not go into depth, because it wasn't in her department. She offered me a plan for $81.95 that would get me my 25mbps, and 100 GB of usage. That was no where near my old promotion, which I told her. She told me that if I were to FIRST ACCEPT THE CHARGE, THEN she would transfer me to the loyalty department so that I can attempt to get a discount on that. NO WAY am I agreeing to that ridiculous price, so after a few minutes of arguing my case and asking to be transferred to the loyalty department first, I was told that I "may not get the same price" that she is offering me. GOOD, I don't like that price. So in 15 minutes, I was talking to the loyalty department. I explained my case and he looked it up. Now this here is the part where I really wanted to cancel on Bell. So I was talking, and sounded upset, because I was, since my hard earned money was being cheated by this huge company. After I finished, he started talking, then took a pause. I assumed he finished talking, so I interrupted with the one word "wait" and he sighed and said in the most annoyed, attitude filled voice, "can I finish what I'm saying first?". I was appalled. I did not like being spoke to like that, not after what this company has been doing to my money. But I shut up, since I wanted the promotion back. Again, I had to argue with this guy about what happened and in just a little over 40 minutes, I was able to get my promotion back. HOWEVER, I was a little bit confused on when it would start again (since this was early January), and he told me a date that I sorta remembered. To confirm, I asked again at the end of the call, and he again, SIGHED and told me in an "are you stupid" voice, the date. At the end of it all, I was not happy and inquired about the notice that I have to give before switching providers. Then, he was sounding upset and said "I JUST gave you this promotion and you want to switch?". Do you want me to refer to you as god because you gave me back what I had taken from me? No sir. At the end of the call, he told me to have a great night in a "I hate my job" voice and I just waved it off, since I knew that he didn't like speaking to me.

TL;DR Do not go into Bell under any circumstance. I ignored all the bad reviews about billing online and assumed that those were just faulty mistakes before joining Bell. Worst decision I have ever made. Unless you are prepared to use about 2 hours of your time every month to call Bell inquiring about that extra $50 charge on your bill, knock yourself off. I will say that you are better purchasing V Media, or TekSavvy.

member for 10.1 years, 1 visits, last login: 10.1 years ago
lodged 10.1 years ago


MacGyver

join:2001-10-14
Vancouver, BC
·TELUS
Actiontec T3200M
Arcadyan WE410443-TS
Sipura SPA-2102

MacGyver

Bell Billing? ARGH!

Bell's atrocious billing system was enough to chase me away as a customer. Strangely enough, I get to see the bill for the Bell cell phone I have for work and the amount is the same every month. Bell never could do that with my residential service more than three months in a row. And my current ISP won't hesitate to cancel a bill on the spot and reissue another one instantly if there happens to be an error in it, unlike Bell who holds your money hostage until the next bill - if they remember to apply the credit.

The sad thing is their front line staff have to deal with unhappy customers because of the billing system, something that they have no control over and are probably just as frustrated with as customers are.

Review by zhuyyu See Profile

  • Location: North York, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $52 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 14 days
  • Caps of 350 gigabytes/month
Once I purchased a new modem replace the one from Bell, it's stable.
the Modem from Bell is terrible
At least I can spend some extra money fix it
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

With the Sagemcom Modem from Bell, I have "Sync no Surf" issue since day 1. Reach out to customer service, they give me a brand new one Sagemcom, issue still there. I have to pay 140$ to buy a SmartRg modem online, replace it. Now the line is stable.

member for 10.2 years, 62 visits, last login: 6.9 years ago
lodged 10.2 years ago







Review by mds99 See Profile

  • Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $70 per month
  • Caps of 140 gigabytes/month
If bundled, you save a bit
Terrible Modems (Sagemcom = Synch No Surf Issues), overseas calls centres, low usage cap with high fees for overages
I don't know why I suffered as long as I did... Switch to Start, Teksavvy or similar
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

I've had Bell's DSL service since it was available to me -- so that's makes me a pretty loyal customer (given that I've had it since at least 1996, and since 1998 at the same location). In fact, I had their home phone, LD (when that was a separate service option), mobile phone, Bell Expressvu and Internet services all bundled together for most of those years -- but slowly I've been trimming those back as I realized that their costs just didn't justify the quality of service. The first to go was LD, then mobile, then the landline when to Primus (and now Ooma). Since this review is specific to their Fibe DSL service, I'll just highlight my last 2 years' experience, and why I finally made the decision to cancel ALL my remaining Bell services (ExpressVu, Fibe).

Two years ago, I was on their 7 mbit service (a Sympatico-branded service)... and paying about $50/month for that... at some point in late 2012, I did some speed tests, and realized that I was actually getting around 4 mbit -- I called, and they stated they had accidentally downgraded my service (for at least a year) so I was paying $50 for what was, in essence, a $35 plan. They were extremely apologetic, and offered to upgrade me to Fibe 15/10 for free (no installation costs) in January 2013, and provided a "deal" where I would get the Fibe 15/10 for $50/month for the first year (which hardly made up for a year+ of paying extra fees for a service level I wasn't getting, but I also didn't want to go through the hassle of a big switch at the time).

The trouble began when they disconnected my current Bell internet, but hadn't yet installed my new line (which was to be a dry loop since I'd already moved my phone service to Primus). It happened because a service technician came to our house a day before our "switch" was scheduled and did some rewiring (telling my wife that everything would be fine, which it was not). Then, the day that the "switch" was to happen, no tech showed. When I called Bell to complain I had no internet at all, they could only apologize & offer to get me a service appointment in a few days -- I begged them to "just put it back the way it was" which of course they couldn't, so I ended up paying a $70 "rush fee" to have someone come out the next day to connect the Fibe 15/10. That negated the "free upgrade" but whatever, I was caught between a rock & a hard place without home internet which I need for work.

Fortunately the "rush fee" service actually meant someone showed up the next day. I had the Fibe 15/10 installed -- and did a speed test to confirm that I was getting the 15/10, but I then suddenly started to experience the dreaded "synch no surf" issue -- the fact that it even has a common name tells you something. Over the ensuing weeks, I spent hours on the phone with their overseas tech support people before I discovered on DSL Reports that this was a common issue (certainly Bell's tech people make it seem like I'm the only person in the world, and that it "has to be my modem" which they swapped out twice).... Turns out, all I needed to was to have profiled switched. Knowing that could've saved me hours on the phone (and Bell overseas tech support likely took years off my life). After many days of back & forth with a Bell tech on DSL reports, a very helpful Bell Darryl was able to find a interleave profile that seemed to work. My service never hit 15/10 again though -- at best getting 10/5 (sometimes 12/5), but at least it was stable.

Then -- unfortunately -- the recent (December 2013) ice storm in Toronto took down my phone line. I called Bell -- waited patiently 5 days without service. One service tech came, looked at the downed wire, and left. I called Bell -- they apologized and assured me someone would be out the next day. That service tech showed up and was about to leave when I caught up with him -- he told me that he couldn't fix it (it was clear most of these guys were just "punching the clock" after the ice storm, getting their time-and-a-half and didn't want to climb poles). He gave me all kinds of excuses (the downed line cross over to my neighbours -- when I said I'd get permission he then said that his shift ended in two hours and that wasn't enough time; when I told him I knew it wouldn't take that long he assured me he would fix it but "just had to go to the central office for a few minutes". Of course he never returned. Another call to Bell, another wait, now day 7 without connection -- and finally someone came out to reconnect the line.

Now, unfortunately during this time, it appears that they reset my profile... so as soon as I had the line re-installed, sure enough the "synch no surf" issue reappeared. Posts to the direct forum went unanswered for days -- until one of the Bell techs in the Bell forum PMed me and was able to put my on an interleave.

However, the quality of my new connection is worse -- I'm not getting 15/10 (at best getting 8/4 now), so that was the final straw. Time to move on.

The issues that I have with Bell are basically this:

1. They provide the Sagemcom modem, which a percentage of people cannot get a stable connection from. Calling Bell to try to resolve the issue is futile, and only a few techs in this forum actually know how to fix it; if someone isn't aware of DSL Reports, they're S.O.L. The "fix" means that you get a poorer connection than others, since your ping rates go down (or in my case, overall speeds are impacted).

2. Their overseas call centre, which I've had the unfortunate situation of having to deal with for at least 8 hours of hold/discussions in the last year, are useless. I know BCE saves some $ by outsourcing this, but it really is the WORST tech and customer support I've ever experienced. Their call scripts are useless ("are you getting synch? can you turn the modem on/off to reset it?" when I explain I can see the phone line lying on the ground disconnected; never willing to escalate an issue unless you start to demand it, etc.)

3. Value: The fact that the only way to get a good deal from Bell is to threaten to leave (and to have their retention department suddenly finding all these costs savings) tells you that their business model is "capture as much ARPU as possible from the customer unless they're going to leave, them try to retain them". That's their "competitive pricing" strategy. I'd rather switch to providers that give a clear, fair price to everyone (Smart, Teksavvy, etc.)

So I also decided its time I cut Bell out entirely. I've cancelled my ExpressVu service as well... funny thing is, I hold BCE as a stock, which has been good to me (so the practices that enrage me also pay me a decent dividend and an increasing stock price). However, I'm fed up -- as I know many others are as well -- and hope that my next review can be far more positive when I review my new ISP.

I'd consider Bell now a "last resort" for anything: TV, home phone, internet -- unless you really want poor tech and customer support with non-competitive pricing, there's very little positive I can say about this company. Perhaps its time I sell those shares in BCE.

member for 20.3 years, 78 visits, last login: 2.2 years ago
updated 10.2 years ago


Review by the_maxwell See Profile

  • Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $150 per month (36 month contract)
  • Install: about 12 days
Internet speed is good, included wireless router is dual band 300Mbps N. Installers ran all new cable. HD is sharp.
Repeated service calls to replace DVR, they last about 3 months of LIGHT usage
Not worth the fuss to get the excellent picture. Not recommended for casual TV users
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

We have one TV and we don't use it that often. Playoff times, the odd big event (Olympics, news coverage, etc). Previously we were in a condo that had coax cable included. We just stuck the cable into the TV and it worked - always.

We moved to a house and ordered Bell Fibe, Tv, internet (5/1) and home phone. Our monthly bill is $150 for all three.

This is our first experience with a set top box, a Motorola 1232. The box works intermittently. We are on our 3rd box, as once they start to fail they usually go belly up in a few weeks. It died again last night. Powering up the box (After unplugging it) gives one gear, then two gears, then three dots, then one gear, etc etc. Sometimes you get a red X, sometimes two red X and sometimes even 3 red X. last night it showed a red x with a 1 underneath which I hadn't seen yet. I am an expert in the reboot process for these boxes. It takes 2-3 days to get someone out to fix it, and first they spend 2-4 hours troubleshooting remotely. Every time. Oh and you may have to reboot the whole house which takes out your phone and internet too. Make sure they install the router somewhere easy to access, you'll be using it a lot.

We are very frustrated because you can't just turn TV on and watch. You really have to plan ahead. Last night I wanted to see what the score was on the hockey game before going to bed. Tried turning TV on at 9:30. At 10pm I went to bed, never got it to work. You can't just throw it on to grab the news, check a score or see the weather. It doesn't work reliably enough for that. Since we never watch any shows regularly we rarely 'plan' our TV time. I have learned that if I DO want to watch something at 7pm, to start at 6:45 at the latest so I can get the stupid box to work before the show starts. The convenience of TV is gone. We used to check the weather in the morning. It's faster to boot the computer than turn on the TV!

The last time the guy replaced the box he said it was a problem with the hard drive. I asked why that matters? I never record anything, so I don't care about the record function at all. if the hard drive fails, can't it just play 'live' tv and give an error message about the record function? Why would not being able to record prevent me from watching live tv? Bad design? I also wanted to know if we got another TV, when the main was down would the other one work. The answer was no, the main box has to work for ANY tv in the house to work. Also seems like bad design to me. Finally when it does work, it often freezes or require a reboot. When that happens if forgets the settings and I have to reset it to 720p. I do that at least weekly, it is pretty annoying. Let' see it goes like: Menu, 5 rights, 2 downs, one right, 2 down, ok, ok, one up, ok. Yup that should put you in 720p mode!

The TV is plugged into a Monster power bar, we got that because the cable in the condo was quite noisy (old building) and the coax filer on the Monster fixed it up nicely. Of course we don't use the coax filter anymore. The box is hooked to the TV via component (Sony XBR flat screen - a gift from a friend who though it was weird we had no TV Our PS3, an original 2006 model, also has a hard drive, is right next to the cable box, plugged into the same power bar and has never failed. Just 23 more months and they will give me the box for free. And then it will die anyway.

So, the picture, when it works is really clear. It is an impressive leap over the old cable line for sure. But for me the reliability is not worth it. I'd take a slightly fuzzy picture and a reliable service over this.

Also the remote control is a jumble of tiny buttons in no particular order. I still have to study it carefully to find the right tiny buttons. And they even botched the Favorites button. It used to bring up a list of channels. Now it brings up a menu where I have to hit down then Ok to bring up the actual list of favorites. In our case the favorite is simply all the channels we get. It was painful to program that, the program guide is useless because we don't get most of the channels.

So, there you go. If you are a serious TV family it might be worth the fuss to get the excellent picture. If all you want is a TV that works reliably, Bell Fibe is not the way to go.



member for 10.4 years, 7 visits, last login: 6.8 years ago
updated 10.2 years ago

the_maxwell
join:2013-10-30
Toronto, ON

the_maxwell

Member

update

So I planned for a 2 hour test fest last night. ready to run up and down stairs rebooting various devices, reporting various status etc. Instead they just said they would change the box based on my (highly detailed) description. Today between noon and 6. We'll see If they show, it's 50/50. I might be able to watch hockey on Saturday after all...
the_maxwell

the_maxwell

Member

Re: update

OK so an update in Jan 2014 10 weeks after I posted this. The tech did show up and change the box. BUT it is a whole different model, not another refurb 1232 again this time it is a "VIP2262". It is much smaller. It is much, much better. It only shows channels we subscribe to. It has never failed to remember 720p. It is much faster at changing channels and working menus. The 'last' channel feature shows you your last 5 channels. Most importantly, in the ten weeks we've had it it has never needed to reboot or restart. We've never gone this long before! Fingers crossed this keeps up...

If you get Fibe ask for the 2262 and fear, fear the 1232.
Norman_C
join:2010-11-07
Toronto, ON

Norman_C

Member

Fibe experience - downtown TO

My sympathies - I switched to Bell FIBE 6 months ago and have never had an issue since (touch wood). It works brilliantly.
Using Cat5 from the modem, though.
mintaka905
join:2006-11-03
Holland Landing, ON

mintaka905

Member

1232

Hard drive functions for OS boot sector code and memory functions not just recorded content. Yes 2262's are better. Yes you can just turn tv on in fact I just turned mine on in 10 seconds something wrong in installation me thinks.

Here's what WIKI says :

A boot sector or boot block is a region of a hard disk, floppy disk, optical disc, or other data storage device that contains machine code to be loaded into random-access memory (RAM) by a computer system's built-in firmware. The purpose of a boot sector is to allow the boot process of a computer to load a program (usually, but not necessarily, an operating system) stored on the same storage device. The location and size of the boot sector (perhaps corresponding to a logical disk sector) is specified by the design of the computing platform.

On an IBM PC compatible machine, the BIOS selects a boot device, then copies the first sector from the device (which may be a MBR, VBR or any executable code), into physical memory at memory address 0x7C00. On other systems, the process may be quite different.

Im sure Motorola's is a little different from the others but the process is the same.
Just my 2 cents!! If you do a hard firmware update you will notice that the hard drive is reformatted in the process. All previously recorded content will be lost in the process. Why? Because the ROM will rewrite that sector on the disk and thus needs to format the disk first. Don't know if their is a new file structure on the 2262 or not, or if its the same on the 1232
Cheers ......

Review by SevereLag See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Unlimited Cap, Good/Fast Internet
Nothing anymore.
You don't have a choice though (no competition)
Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:

UPDATE: I have received a new modem, and it's a lot better than before. Online is now playable again. Thanks for sending the new modem Bell, I really appreciate it... but it did take you guys over a month or so, lol...

---------
I switched from Rogers to Bell (because of horrible lag, but after 10:00 PM and it was very responsive, but I don't wanna pay for internet that only works at late nights) so I got the 15/10 package with Bell around late September. The first few days were perfect (no lag at all, no matter if it was day or night) like it should be, but after September 30th/October 1st, I started experiencing horrible button delay online (like I did with Rogers).

For instance, if you play FIFA, your players feel like they weight 500 lbs, can't turn, can't pass, can't do anything. Your players are so slow and can't even run. Ronaldo can't even outrun anyone with this lag. Winning would literally be a miracle when experiencing this lag. Your opponent doesn't get affected by this, and runs circles around you. It is a HUGE disadvantage.

Around early mornings (around 2 AM) is when it gets better and the lag almost goes away...

So far, Bell has done nothing to try to fix this problem. I believe it's a congestion issue and I'm not sure if this happens in all area's, but my connection is horrible for gaming.

If you're the person who just downloads stuff and surfs, it'll be fine, but gaming is impossible. Rogers isn't any better.

Until Bell fixes this, I'll keep this review up. If anyone on Bell plays FIFA, please message me and let me know if you experience the same thing.

---

Update:

They refuse to fix (the person on the phone that I spoke to was... lol no comment) So if there's a problem, they won't fix it. Simple as that.

Good for web browsing, downloading, whatever, but for video gaming, IT'S AWFUL.

---
Update #2 (Nov 14/2013):

So thankfully, Bell did something. I received a brand new modem, never used before (after waiting for a month and two weeks), and this one is definitely better than the old one (the replacement one). Response times are better, and control inputs are more instant and less lag. Although it's not perfect like it was the first few days of my service, it's definitely a difference (positive) and now gaming is possible (for now, knock on wood).

So thanks Bell for at least trying something (although it took you guys over a month and two weeks to send a new one). It makes a difference and I'm glad at least you guys have tried to do something, unlike Rogers. I had a feeling it was a combination of a bad modem/so many people on at once, but now, it's not a problem with the modem anymore, I just know there's a lot of people on at once, and that's what can cause lag, for people who don't know. (a lot of pro players know about this, when the connection gets better at late night's/early mornings where as the average joe/casual player won't notice a difference)

So again, Thanks Bell. Hopefully I don't have this problem again. (truly hope I don't)

--

November 28th, 2013:

No issues with the new modem. No lag, no problems. Great service ever since I got the new modem.

Thanks Bell for sending a brand new modem. I'm no longer experiencing issues.

--

December 14th, 2013:

***Knock on wood***

Everything has been great. Absolutely no lag online... ever since I got the new modem, it's been rock solid. In my opinion, if you're a gamer, you should definitely get Bell Fibe... compared to cable, there's A LOT LESS lag compared to playing on Bell's internet... a HUGE difference and will probably increase performance for online gaming... would HIGHLY recommend.

Amazing ping times... 26 ms to NYC, 13 ms to Chicago, 36 ms to Dallas, 71 ms to San Francisco.... absolutely insane.

member for 10.4 years, 35 visits, last login: 10.2 years ago
updated 10.2 years ago

chall2k56
join:2007-10-03
Edmonton, AB

1 recommendation

chall2k56

Member

Not the ISP's fault

2 different ISPs experiencing the same problem?

not likely

You will find that the problem isn’t the ISP, but the route your packets take to getting to the game server.

There isnt much Bell can do, except for peering or buying IP transit from a different provider who may or may not offer a better route
SevereLag
join:2013-10-06

SevereLag

Member

Re: Not the ISP's fault

I've asked many people around the world if they experience this lag, they say NO. When I experience lag, it's against everyone, no matter where they are from.

When I don't experience lag (when it's early mornings) I don't get lag against anyone, not even against Europeans.

Also, FIFA is P2P, you connect directly to the other opponent.

jtl999
join:2012-11-24
canada

jtl999

Member

Re: Not the ISP's fault

My friend has played various CoD and Steam games on both Rogers and Bell in Ottawa and no horrible lag. Lag compensation, routing all a factor.
SevereLag
join:2013-10-06

SevereLag

Member

Re: Not the ISP's fault

Maybe his area isn't congested. I think it's a problem with my area.
chall2k56
join:2007-10-03
Edmonton, AB

chall2k56 to SevereLag

Member

to SevereLag
What you don't realize is that on VDSL, congestion of the type you are speculating isn't possible, until the traffic LEAVES the Bell network (and if there was congestion, it would affect ALL traffic and slow speed/pingtests would result)

There are also NO commercial games in which the control traffic does not get routed to a central server.

There's no reasonable reasons to suggest that there is a problem with any of Bell's network that serves you.
SevereLag
join:2013-10-06

SevereLag

Member

Re: Not the ISP's fault

This doesn't explain why the first few days of my service (24/7 stable btw) was perfect. No lag at any time of the day... it was perfect, until October 1st. From there until now, the lag goes away at 12 AM/1 AM... all games stop lagging.

There is an issue, I'm 200% sure of it. You don't get perfect service, and then it turns into crap for no reason and only works part time, at certain hours.
chall2k56
join:2007-10-03
Edmonton, AB

chall2k56

Member

Re: Not the ISP's fault

What Does explain it is this

In September, the Median throughput (on Torix) was around 80GBps, now, its closer to 90 and its only going to steadily increase.

You have more people using services like Netflix, Youtube, and gaming

This is not a Bell problem

You're assuming there is a problem based on flawed logic....its cold outside...must be a problem with the weather

You've been able to reproduce this problem on 3 different topologies among 2 major technologies. TSI may use Bell's last mile, but thats it they use their own network and their own peering arrangements with other providers.
SevereLag
join:2013-10-06

SevereLag

Member

Re: Not the ISP's fault

This is what I get during the day, during peak times:

»/speak ··· wYXJ0LTI

This is what I get, when I experience no lag (early mornings):
»www.speedtest.net/result ··· 3094.png
dra6o0n
join:2011-08-15
Mississauga, ON

dra6o0n

Member

Re: Not the ISP's fault

Seriously? You have 15 Mbps downstream and 8Mbps upstream! That's WAY more than enough for games like Fifa.

I'm talking the minimalist speed with no 'bandwidth drag' due to internet sharing, is 1Mbps up and downstream.

You're game needs at least 1Mbps unless it's streaming videos or textures, the upstream is even less due to you sending only controller packets!

So your issue isn't that you don't have fast enough speed, it's that your speed is being degraded by something you have in the network.

If you share your network, if you use additional programs, etc. It all adds up to the long time.

Also, it is best to use a router to connect to a gateway, and computer to the router, because the router has faster performance and routing a DMZ mode to the router will enable all traffic to flow through quicker.
dra6o0n

2 edits

dra6o0n to SevereLag

Member

to SevereLag
You really should seek IT based solutions than whine about a company offering you traffic shaped connections.

Do ping tests, do tracert, do everything you can to prove that it's not your side, rather than whining about something and thinking that it's right.

I'm not saying Bell and Rogers are in the wrong, but if they are in the wrong all the time for decades, they would have gone bankrupt before you know it!

Check your PC's connection with the operating system, there are variables in there that delays your internet connection unless you optimize that.
Check your routing network to make sure you aren't using wireless b/g or something with slow transfer between devices.

DMZ your Bell Gateway modem to a router, then port forward ports on that router to a computer... What tends to occur sometimes is that the gateway themselves, if Bell updates new firmware for 'security purposes', tightens your bandwidth performance even more so due to additional security.

More security = Less efficiency or performance, as you are delaying the packets to check for it.

EDIT: If you're upstream is lower off the peak hour, it means there are lots of activity with the upstream on your network that lowered it.

Then again, you have sufficient rates, unlike the Cable internet users who's upload rates are unbearably under 1Mbps!

All it takes is 1 person uploading a simple file to bottleneck the entire network!

Also, more smarter customers are better economical solution than more smart businessmen!
SevereLag
join:2013-10-06

1 edit

SevereLag

Member

Re: Not the ISP's fault

What do you mean by "IT based solutions"? Do you mean getting a dedicated Fiber connection to the home? Sorry, lol, didn't understand what you meant. I'm not a computer wiz.

I don't play on a PC, I only play on the Xbox 360. I've tried port forwarding/DMZ on the Sagemcom modem (I don't have a new router, just some old Linksys router from 2007) but the weird thing is, on this modem, it actually creates more lag... I don't know why. I even tried setting a static IP outside of the DHCP range, but that didn't work well either.

My brother and I are the only one's who use the connection. No one uploads anything while we play. With the tests that showed lower upload speeds than usual, no one was on the Internet as well.

But recently, Bell sent me a brand new modem, and there's a lot less lag, it's playable/decent now (huge difference between before and after), but I do notice that when you play in the early mornings (like anywhere from midnight until 6:00 AM) it's like the connection is on steroids, when you play online, everything is just so fast/smooth/responsive where as during the day, it feels a bit more sluggish.

Anyways, no more problems as of now. I wished that the game felt very smooth/fast/responsive like it does in early mornings, but after all, it is a shared connection. At least now it's playable where as before it wasn't, and now it works well.
dra6o0n
join:2011-08-15
Mississauga, ON

dra6o0n

Member

Re: Not the ISP's fault

By any chance was that modem a 'old white 2Wire gateway' that loves to 'secure' itself by blocking all incoming connections? Even ping and tracert and all?

Also, it's possible Bell's resort to traffic shaping again without you noticing, because generally with with your downstream and upstream remaining in normal levels, your 'ping' might have increased during those times.

IT based solution, I mean't optimization and tweaks on OS like Windows and devices like routers and gateways and the likes.

I once had a 2wire modem from bell, it started out workable but over time (and power surges) the modem seems to be on the fritz, DMZ doesn't work, ping gets blocked, to the point where I had to flash the firmware with something new, which fixed the issue...

Then something happened and the modem borked, and eventually stops allowing me to log onto it unless i hack it or something, due to factory reset being override from the flashing. At that point I go 'mifi telecom' which is basically Teksavvy Cable via 3rd party.

But yeah, that modem sure loves to break down and mess with ya, other than you are still at bell's discretion.

Also note, Bell can do 'maintenance' at DSLAMs near your place, the phone box in that case where your phone lines in the neighbourhood wires up. If so, then your packets will be forced to take alternate routes, or even lose internet whilst maintenance are being done. They usually do this past midnight.