Clearwire (aka "Clear") NOT Recommended!

[blsJason]

Summary Update, Feb. 22nd, 2009
Hi, blsJason here, just updating everyone with a short, sweet, to the point summary of my Clearwire experiences:
1. Service was inconsistent, with frequent dropouts. My only remedy would've been placing the modem in a room on the other side of the house I live in, and either string up ethernet cables everywhere (rejected by family) or set up a home wifi network (outside of my level of interest/expertise). Speeds were also much slower than advertised, and deemed by me to not be worth the price.
2. I canceled Clearwire within 7 days. They e-mailed me a prepaid UPS return label for the modem, which I promptly shipped back. I was promised that a refund of all charges would be processed when they received their modem.
3. About a month later, Clearwire continued to charge my card for the service. A keen eye on my banks' online banking caught it while still "pending."
4. Contacting Clearwire customer service confirmed they received the modem and my account should've been canceled. I received my full refund several days after speaking to the last representative, about a month after I originally called to cancel.
Feel free to continue to read the thread for some in-depth thoughts and further information.
End - J

Clearwire recently launched in Portland, under the name "Clear." One of it's early subscribers in Portland was none other than someone around here that goes by the name "blsJason."

Rather than give everyone the long, drawn-out version, I'll give everyone the summary: I decided to stick with dial-up. Clearwire was inconsistent, overpriced, and quite simply did not meet my needs. I canceled over a week ago, received the UPS return label, and the modem is probably in Henderson, NV (where equipment returns go), by now.

This also means that, barring a change in telecommunications services, I'll be on dial-up at home for the foreseeable rest of my life. I simply refuse to sign up for cable internet, the phone companys' DSL is overpriced (I'm not in Verizon or AT&T territory, so none of the really cheap deals that get talked about here are available), the "city-wide" wifi service is gone (and was never available in my neighborhood anyway), and I decided I don't like the only other option available. But when the on-site wifi at the community college I'm currently attending is faster and is more reliable than a service that costs $35/mo., I would think that others would come to the same conclusion.
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Poetworld subscriber 2002-2012.
Don't buy Clearwire!

[Boz]

How much is Clear? What technology does it use?
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[plodr]

Is clear WiMax? This is supposed to be better than WiFi; of course it may take some time to get the bugs worked out.

I subscribe to Comcast (yeah I know it isn't cheap but I do tend to pinch my pennies elsewhere) and was surprised to see that they are launching a trial of free wifi to subscribers in parts of New Jersey in Bergen County. If ir works, they may roll it out elsewhere.
It sure would be nice to take my laptop in the area and not have to worry about finding a free hotspot, just knowing that if Comcast is around, all I'd need to do is login and start surfing.

[blsJason]

Yes, Clear/Clearwire is supposedly WiMax. If I'd remembered we discussed it here  over a year ago  , I might not have bothered to even try it.

They have a bunch of different service plans, and it gets more complicated in a hurry.
The "home" service, which consists of a paperback-novel-sized modem, costs $20, $30, or $40 a month, and unless you buy the modem outright they add a $5 montly modem rental fee. The service I tried was the $30/mo. plan, which was supposedly for 3 Mbps service. It was much, much slower than that, unless I accessed YouTube videos (and we all know YouTube is unnecessary). When I would try to access a useful site, I'd sometimes get only about 7 or 8 kb/s, which was only slightly faster than dial-up!

They also have a mobile service, which consists of a USB adapter which you can use in a USB slot. They require you to buy it outright for $50, and service on this one is either $40 for a limited amount of monthly bandwith, or $50/mo. for unlimited service.

I should also mention that all their services also have a $35 activation fee, unless you sign up (and qualify) for a 2-year contract.

I'll talk a little more about my personal experience.

The modem was extremely easy to install, all I had to do was plug in the power and the supplied network cable. It then takes a few seconds to acquire a signal. I personally had to reinstall the network card drivers on my main computer, as I wasn't using the port at all and disabled the integrated network port on my motherboard BIOS. One thing I noticed right away was that the signal strength was low... five LEDs on the top of the modem indicate signal strength. I realized I had one light, another flickered on and off (for a total of two) if lucky. BTW, two is the minimum signal strength they recommend.

When I booted into my OS, it functioned like any other network-cable-based ISP, I was always on. I opened up my web browser and tried a few sites, thinking "this seems a little faster, is this really worth $35/mo.?'

Shortly thereafter, a "Welcome to Clear" screen popped up, which wanted to make sure I read and accepted the terms-of-service. I clicked "OK," and was directed to an account management screen. No matter what, I couldn't navigate away from the page. Closing and re-opening the browser, restarting the computer, etc., all didn't work; every single URL I tried re-directed me to the "Welcome to Clear" page, followed by the same page. Not even the "support" links worked at first, then when that worked I realized that the only "support" there was marketing information.

My resolution was to call technical support, who had to "re-push" the modem. That worked, and I was finally online. The tech support rep. confirmed that one constant signal strength light on the modem was a weak signal, confirmed that I was using the service at the address I signed up with, that I'm in an area of town which should have a good signal strength, and suggested that I try putting the modem/computer in a different room (something that's unavailable to me, as I live with family, who outright demand that I have all computer equipment in my own room of the house).

I tried a few websites, and thought 'this is as fast as this service tier allows?,' as the speed didn't seem much faster than dial-up.

This was my first night experience, which set the tone for the rest of the week I had it. I'll probably post a little more about all of this, including my cancellation experience, at a later time (especially if others out there want to hear the rest of the story).
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Poetworld subscriber 2002-2012.
Don't buy Clearwire!

[plodr]

Yes, I'm interested.
Did they ever suggest putting the modem higher? I know for my router, the higher I have it, the better the signal spreads.

So if I understand, the modem has a power plug and then cat5/5e/6 to a computer?

[blsJason]

Yes, they suggested repositioning the modem, they also suggested I try another window (problem: one window in my room. More on why this is a problem later in this post). And yes, that's a correct description of the modem. I found a  picture   of what appears to be it on a Canadian site for a different ISP.

For a few days, it was so far so good. The speed seemed a bit slow, but for a few days I was really thinking the prospect of being online while not tying up the phone line would be enough to keep the service (I hadn't compared it to the wifi anywhere yet). A couple of times, the modem would seem to lose the signal for no reason, and both people who use the computer around here (myself and someone else) experienced no loss of signal, but for seemingly no reason whatsoever no websites would load. Rebooting the computer seemed to work... I had no idea why, and I still don't.

The last straw came over the weekend, when the modem seemed to lose the signal about every hour. When it did, anything I was downloading (even if it was a PDF) would corrupt, causing me to have to start over again when it re-acquired the signal.

This led me to try placing the modem elsewhere in the house. The recommendation is that the modem be placed near a window (which is where it was). The only window I got a solid, decent signal (and I couldn't try the service from there) was when I placed the modem on (get ready for this)... the dining room table. By now, I'd read numerous opinion pieces on Clearwire, some of which involved reps telling subscribers to place the modem near the window in their bathroom if that's the only place they got a decent signal.

When I told my family of the news, they immediately responded that on no terms would the modem (along with a power cord and a network cable) become the new centerpiece around eating meals (I knew that they wouldn't approve of it anyway). At that time, I decided the service simply wouldn't be personally worth $35/mo., and I wouldn't be interested in any service through them at any price if the connection would be unreliable.

I should mention that as soon as completed my siting experiment and realized the only decent signal was when I placed the modem on the table, I disconnected the modem and never plugged it in again. This happened after in-person customer service had already closed for the night, and I wanted to confirm with the others I live with that they'd be able to live with knowing that we'll most likely never be leaving dial-up. They agreed.

When I called to cancel, it took me less than 15 minutes (including hold time), partially because I had a general idea of what to expect. I'll mention that Clearwire has an option on their main menu for service cancellations, and when I pressed it I received no "menu hell," in a few seconds I was connected to someone in tech support.

The first thing they offered was sending someone out to look at it for no charge. I explained that the service simply wouldn't meet my needs and that I was actually happier with dial-up. I forget what the next thing the tech support rep said, but I commented that the sales rep. explained that I can cancel for any reason within the first 7 days and all charges would be reversed, and that is how they "can provide me with quality customer service today." (Yes, I really said that.) That was enough for them to understand that there was no way for me to not want to cancel, and they would transfer me to billing.

When I reached billing (yes, same phone call and with minimal hold time), I was offered to transfer the service to someone else I know and I'd receive two $50 gift cards. I declined, partially because I didn't know anyone else who'd want it, and because for all I know the gift cards would be issued by 'Bank of We're Going Under Tomorrow (And Gift Cards Aren't FDIC-Insured!)." I again explained that the service didn't meet my needs, explained that even though I live with family, we function more like roommates in the same house than anything else these days, and family was unwilling to put up with what it would take to obtain usable service.

They e-mailed me a prepaid UPS shipping label to return the modem, directed me to tape it to the modem box, and directed me to drop it off anywhere that accepted UPS pick-ups (there was a place up the street from where I live). That's been done, and the e-mails wanting me to take "surveys" and participate in "offers" to the e-mail address I provided them when I signed up stopped within a few days. My Clearwire experience is, for almost all purposes, over. Still waiting to see if/when any money is refunded.
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Poetworld subscriber 2002-2012.
Don't buy Clearwire!

[plodr]

Great writeup and thanks for the picture blsjason.
Interestingly for Rogers, it says you can take the modem anywhere that they have coverage area. If some company in the US gets this ironed out, it would be fantastic. I'd be able to take a modem similar to this to someone's home (I provide free tech support for some senior friends) and use it with my notebook. In most cases people use dialup and it is easier for me to bring the computer here, clean it up, then begin downloading all the large windows updates to get them up to speed.

[blsJason]

Clearwire offers the same kind of thing, but they will only sell you service if you're in their coverage area.

I'd like to point out that it simply didn't work for me and my situation, but it might be just what someone else is looking for. I would still say that the speed is quite slow for what they advertise.
_________________
Poetworld subscriber 2002-2012.
Don't buy Clearwire!

[plodr]

Maybe in a few years all the bugs will be out of the service. If they don't fix it, people will either stick with dialup, try a different service (cable, dsl, satellite) or use a cell-phone type modem card.
From what I've been reading, WiMax is supposed to be better than WiFi. I'm not sure whether this is hype or fact. The problem is that it is deployed in such a small area that customer feedback is lacking.
Again blsjason, thanks for providing a real-world experience. A report from one person who tried the service is worth more than thousands of press releases and news stories that "guess" what the service is like. I know YMMV, but it is still great to know that in the real world, you can't simply put the device wherever you want and have speeds faster than dialup.

[blsJason]

My Clearwire "experience" isn't over yet.

It's now been over 2 weeks since I canceled, and I'm still receiving spam-like newsletters, "offers," and "survey" e-mails. They have a link to get removed from their marketing list, which I tried, and afterwards said it will take "8-12 weeks" to be removed.

What I'd like to know is why it takes 2-3 months to be removed from lists one doesn't know they're going to end up on until well after they've subscribed! So, no more Mr. Nice Guy here–I went into my e-mail address' filters, and completely blocked the domains I was receiving the e-mails from. I'll just have to tell others I know to not use any Clearwire e-mail addresses they might have if they intend to reach me.

I will say that I like the concept and the idea. But, at this time, an early adopter of WiMax is paying for glitzy ad campaigns, marketing material, salespeople standing in tents on street corners driving to/from in lime green SUVs, and the "prestige" that they're trying something new. I'll make a forecast that if Clearwire takes off, other wireless service providers will notice, and launch their own WiMax service. I'm hoping the added competition will reduce prices and increase actual service (as in the speed of the connection).
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Poetworld subscriber 2002-2012.
Don't buy Clearwire!

[blsJason]

I'm glad I checked my account balances today... I canceled Clearwire four weeks ago, returned the equipment, and they are still billing me $30 for service I don't have! (My account shows a "pending" charge for tomorrow–I've noticed it doesn't include the additional $4.99 for the modem rental, but one would think that when service is canceled and unused since a day before canceling, that it would stop all charges.)

This was also in the e-mail I received shortly after I called to cancel:

Quote:

If you have requested cancellation of service in conjunction with the return of your device, your service will be terminated upon receipt of the device in our facility.

I'm not going to let them get away with this!

I know exactly where my next three calls will be:
1. Clearwire
2. My Bank (tomorrow, as today is Presidents' Day)
3. (if necessary) Oregon State Attorney Generals' Office

I'm sure of one thing at this point, which I'll make known good and clear () right now:
I do not recommend Clearwire (aka "Clear") to anyone, at any time, at any price, or for any reason.

I hope they're happy.
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Poetworld subscriber 2002-2012.
Don't buy Clearwire!

[Corrine]

Let's make sure this doesn't get buried. Topic subject edited and pinned.
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[blsJason]

Thanks, Corrine. I thought of doing something like this with the title, but didn't. I also posted a short summary of the ordeal–so occasional Freedomlist readers and those who might come across this thread on a search don't have to read through everything to get all the main points.

I am glad to report that I made a grand total of one call today, and that was to Clearwire itself... I explained the situation, and was connected to billing, where the representative there confirmed they received their modem back and the account should've been canceled. They stated that the account should be completely canceled within 24 hours and I should receive a refund (now totaling $99.99) in "3 to 5 days."

I do have to give credit where credit is due, every time I've called Clearwire, the representatives have been prompt and courteous. Today's call from me to them took a total of 10 minutes. However, that's obviously not enough to compensate in any way for service that works on one side of a house and not another, no clear way of telling where service is available (yes, pun was intended), and the fact that it's now a month later and I'm still being charged for a service I've returned and promised would be canceled.

Once again, I'm glad I checked my bank account earlier today. This is definitely the kind of thing that unsuspecting people who pay their credit card bills without looking at the charges every month might get burned, not to mentioned those with automatic payments and/or online statements that don't look at any of their financial information on a regular basis.
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Poetworld subscriber 2002-2012.
Don't buy Clearwire!

[plodr]

Also I think there is a time limit to refute some bills so if you miss the time limit, you might not gain back all the money. This is a note to everyone to check your credit card bills when they arrive!

[digger]

If they were smart they would have set you up with an outdoor antenna. It's a lot simpler and smaller than a satellite dish.

They probably have some delusional person in the company who thinks their network is so great that it works perfectly indoors for every potential customer.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the antenna inside the modem is directional, so in addition to position, the orientation might be important.

[blsJason]

They did say that the antenna was directional and was on the opposite side of "the logo." Part of the problem with even a simple direction was that several sides had logos on it!

I also want to update as promised that late last week, I received my full $99.99 refund. Hopefully this Clearwire story is over, but I'll be watching my account closely on and around March 14th to make sure they don't try to charge me again.
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Poetworld subscriber 2002-2012.
Don't buy Clearwire!

[daawgon]

I understand that Clear is actually part of Sprint. Just found this at pcmag.com:

Quote:

Sprint Pushing 'Clear' WiMAX to 10 Cities in 2009 ARTICLE DATE: 03.27.09 By Chloe Albanesius Sprint on Wednesday announced 10 new markets for its 4G WiMAX service. By year's end, the mobile provider expects to roll out the service to Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Forth Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland, and Seattle. Next year, that will also expand to Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C, Sprint said. Sprint's WiMAX service is currently only available in Baltimore. The company launched it there -under the brand name Xohm - in October 2008. But when Sprint and Clearwire completed their merger two months later, the service was re-branded as "Clear." In addition to WiMAX service, Sprint also plans to introduce new 4G devices over the next two years, including a single-mode 4G data card, embedded laptops, a small-office-home-office broadband modem and a tri-mode phone.

Originally posted to Gearlog.


Edit: Quotation enclosed in quote box. - v_v
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[blsJason]

That's interesting, the only thing I'd heard about the Clearwire/Sprint deal was that they were "partnering." I guess that's the new word for "merger." I did hear that Sprint will be reselling Clearwire service under their own name in Portland soon, but it will be the exact same service, only with a different name (so it will appear that both Clear and Sprint service will be available, however it's just the same thing–kinda like some of the dial-up ISPs here that sell service under several different names).

BTW, Clearwire hasn't tried to charge me since I called them on it in February. So yeah, my saga with them is over.
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Poetworld subscriber 2002-2012.
Don't buy Clearwire!

[plodr]

Maybe the service will get better towards the end of 2009. I read that Cisco/Linksys will be creating hardware to use Clearwire.
Source:  http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090513/D985D5HG1.html 

Note: I'm not recommending you try it again blsjason but if you know someone who may consider a trial, you might want to tell them to wait.

[blsJason]

Most of the people I know who I talk to about internet service around here who are going to subscribe already have. Portland is a very tech-heavy city with a lot of early technology adopters, and some around here even tell me I should quit whining, 'bugs are part of the system, get with the times,' and get pick between DSL, cable, or Clearwire again (yeah, right). Not if I have to pay upwards of $30-50 a month for something that doesn't work for me.

On the same token, several others I know don't have a computer, and if they were not attending college they'd have no access at all.
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Don't buy Clearwire!