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User Submission from a Very Unhappy Clearwire Customer

January 15th, 2008 | by Tim |

My problem with Clearwire is not based on a misunderstanding of company of the Terms of Service agreement, but rather with the directly misleading practice of bandwidth limiting and throttling. It is fairly well known that many ISP’s directly control the amount of bandwidth given for certain ports and protocols. A lot of information regarding this fact is available on the internet. Obviously I knew this when I signed up for the service because I read their Legal Disclaimers, as any consumer should, paying special attention to the “Acceptable Use Policy.” The document states:

“You may not use the Service or take any action, directly or indirectly, that will result in excessive consumption or utilization of the system or network resources (i.e. excessive peer to peer applications or continuous FTP uploading or downloading, or commercial purposes (except where permitted by Clearwire)), or which may weaken network performance, as determined in Clearwire’s sole discretion.”

That seemed rather vague to me, and I was skeptical. I play online games, and also utilize several p2p applications to download TOTALLY LEGAL content via torrents. When talking to the clearwire representative at one of their retail locations, he said he understood my concern, but was not familiar with the Acceptable Use Policy. (Friendly, misinformed salespeople; i almost feel bad for them, like they’re selling heroin disguised as girl-scout cookies.) He told me that there was no commitment if i took a modem home and tried it out, so i did. I was able to download at ‘acceptable’ rates and ping times and bandwidth seemed ok in my games; although slightly less than advertised, even on speedtest and dslreports.

Up until now everything seemed legit, and seeing as my 1916 house was not wired for telephone landlines or cable, it seemed an appropriate solution. I returned to the retail location, and told them I was ready to sign up. Although after-the-fact I did some digging and found the information available in “fine text” areas of the site; it was not CLEARLY stated in any of their advertisements or by the salespeople that there were a bundle of hidden fees. Modem rental fees, activation fees, early termination fees, etc. After doing the math vs local competition it was still competitively priced, only because i would have to pay to have cable or phone service connected to my house.

This is where i get really upset. After paying for the service, i go home and without interruption everything was working fine. After two or three days, my torrent downloads went from 100-200kB/sec to 5-15kB/sec without any change in software or hardware on my end. When I contacted customer support the girl i spoke with told me she did not understand my problem and i needed to talk to a specialist. The ‘specialist’ tried to use the same torrents i was and reported he was able to get them just fine, so i must have no problem. He was very nice and even tried to help me troubleshoot any problems with settings in my torrent program, as he appaprently used the same one. Eventually i started getting very frustrated, only to find out he wasn’t having any problems because he wasn’t using clearwire. Their tech support guy lived in an area that clearwire did not serve. How are you going to help troubleshoot a problem, when you have never even used the service?

In short, i understand how much bandwidth p2p apps use, and i understand why ISP’s limit it. However, i was specifically told by one of their reps that the trial would be exactly what i would eventually pay for. This was completely untrue. The bandwidth throttling started AFTER I STARTED PAYING. To this day i have called probably five times, all i want is to terminate my service, and i do not want to pay my early term fee because i was intentionally mislead. I have no problem with the rep, because he was not given the tools or information to properly inform me. I am upset with the overall misleading and deceptive practices of this company. It is a scam and the only people i have spoken with who are happy with their Clearwire, are internet first-timers who don’t know the difference.

At this point all i do, and will continue to do, is inform anyone interested in how poor the service, support, and morality of the company are. I make it a habit to stop whenever i am walking by a clearwire retail location, and politely ask anyone waiting to talk to a rep for a few moments. I then explain to them as concisely and efficiently as possible how bad CLEARWIRE SUCKS.

Thank you,
Very Unhappy Clearwire Customer

  1. 23 Responses to “User Submission from a Very Unhappy Clearwire Customer”

  2. By Me too on Feb 26, 2009 | Reply

    I also faced same thing.

    It really sucks

  3. By same here on Apr 13, 2009 | Reply

    Same problem here and I’m wrapped up into a 2 year contract.

  4. By pamela on May 2, 2009 | Reply

    I was thinking about signing with clearwire..but…thanks to all the negative comments..you’ve saved me from a big diaster..not
    just the lack of speed, but the lack of customer support is shocking

  5. By Dewayne on May 7, 2009 | Reply

    We have had Clearwire for over a year. Wife joined the military and after she completed training we moved to Hawaii. The apt. we moved into is in an area where clearwire doesn get service. they are still taking money out of her account and told her it was her choice to live there and that they wont let her out. Wowwwww this company blows!!!!!!

  6. By Dedee on May 13, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks! I almost fell for it and signed up but luckily came here first. Clark Howard is always singing clearwire’s praises–he knows better than to promote this shit. I’m starting to wonder about him now.

  7. By Pedro on May 13, 2009 | Reply

    Hi,
    this is pedro from spain..

    I was just about to hire clearwire before I read your blog.. Can anyone tell me the main reasons why clearwire really sucks? Is it mainly because the customers service or because the tech is shitty?
    also mention that i’m not an internet expert..
    I would appreciaty any comments..

    thanks

  8. By GRRRR on May 14, 2009 | Reply

    Big mistake i got Clearwire because my Verizon would intermittently die for no reason and it coasted less. but now that 6 months has come up my bill has magically jumped $15, my p2p and just ping to anything in general is terrible hell i am being throttled right now. usually 2Mbps now less than 500Kbps i cant wait till my contract expires. My sprint mobile broadband usb adapter is faster than this crap. and is less sensitive. i am DONE

  9. By Danny Blaze on May 16, 2009 | Reply

    I would like you to forward me any information that will be helpful in bringing this to the eyes of the public through the news papers and radio. All information will be verified and I am very interested in military personel that have had clear wire and had a hard time of getting their contract cleared due to the call of duty.

    Thanks,

    Danny Blaze

  10. By terrell chrisp on Aug 5, 2009 | Reply

    im having the same problem with them and i sign up for a 2 year contract. i use a torrent for download and my kbs are from 5 to 15 kbs my spirit phone internet is better then that. if anybody is reading this don’t get clear wire you want be happy i got less then a year left on my contract im happy it almost up

  11. By david on Aug 9, 2009 | Reply

    I added phone service to my clearwire (shitwire) account because i was going to need to use a fax machine. long story short, fax does not work consistantly or should I say rarely. when i added phone service i was supposed to get bundled price. i did not pay attention to my bill but eventually discovered i was paying too much. when i told billing about the problem they said it was my fault and they would not credit me for all except two months. i told the billing person that her company was stealing from me, much to my surprise she agreed. i can’t blame her because of their policy but if my service did not work as needed and promised, i should be able to disc it without a penalty. WRONG…. you will pay the penalty. i disc the service 2 months ago. i noticed on my bank statement they were still taking money out of my account. this is a rip off company, don’t deal with them unless you want self imposed grief. i am going to call today to find out why they are still billing me for something i don’t have….should be interesting. i think i had better take a xanax before i call, because calling the support number is usually distressing.

  12. By Herb Eash on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply

    FILED WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU ON AUGUST 10, 2009 AT 9:26 AM

    Thank you for using the Better Business Bureau’s Online Complaint System.
    Your complaint has been assigned case # 22213221.
    A confirmation will be emailed to : Herbeash.com
    Please print a copy of this for your records.

    Filed on : August 10 2009

    Filed by :
    Herb Eash

    Filed against :
    Clearwire Corporate
    5808 Lake Washington Blvd NE Ste 300
    Kirkland WA 98033

    Complaint Description:
    Sales representative said that I’d have a fast and reliable service using their internet service. All I got was choppy and long wait times. I told them that I was a Webmaster and needed the fast service to view videos, music, and other stuff that I would need a fast connection. I went through their service dept., technical dept., and even had a tech come out and try to fix my service. The tech was baffled of why I was getting only upto 3 bars on my modem. They could not fix the problem and since I was on a contract I could not break it. Two weeks ago I called in and asked the service person what type of service would give me better speeds so that my videos would not be choppy and give me no wait times. They put me on the unlimited service for $11.13 more. After performing all the shut downs and restarts of my computers and modem so that the service could take affect I still had slow and choppy service. I called and spoke to clearwire Technical Support and they did a speed test with me 513kbps upload and 4.38mbps download. the tech could not fix these slow speeds. I think I’ve done enough and wasted more time then I should have with Clearwire!

    Your Desired Resolution:
    Reimbursement of the following payments made to clearwire. 08/07/09 $11.13 07/31/09 $35.37 and No Contract Cancelation Fee

    This case will be reviewed by a complaint specialist at the Better Business Bureau, and then forwarded to the business for their response. It is our policy to allow the business 10 working days to respond to your complaint. You will be notified when the business has responded.

  13. By Keith Henline on Aug 16, 2009 | Reply

    I just bought the unlimited version of Clear! I went home installed and tested the connection. 5mps download 450kb upload. I was pleased and happy I had finally found a ISP that worked better than Cox’s intermittent service. Wow, was I ever wrong! A few minutes later it happened, NO SERVICE! After trying several times over a 30 minute period it went back on for exactly 4 minutes then off again and has been off ever since. When I attempt to use the internet it has a big black screen with welcome to clear, as if to say F U I just got your money fool…….

  14. By Keith Henline on Aug 16, 2009 | Reply

    Well it just get’s worst…. it’s been over an hour now and the internet has not been on for more than 3 minutes at a time. It is lucky to be on for a whole minute at a time… well Clear you picked the wrong guy to screw. I am on S.S. and do not have to work any more, which means I can be at your front door from opening until closing very day with big huge pickets and lists of other customers they have screwed. I will greet each and everyone of your customers and tell them the truth about your service, every day until I get my money back. Come on down and join me at Wireless Toys- MLK & Charleston.. Send me any complaints you have to be added to my list: My email is wildvacations@gmail.com

  15. By Narckman on Oct 1, 2009 | Reply

    Get Deluge so you can download torrent at your maximum bandwith…it has a very effective encryption system that seems to be the only one working for clearwire…I tried utorrent, bittorent, bitcomet etc and they all failed…Deluge is it for us guys.Spread the word :D

  16. By andy on Oct 24, 2009 | Reply

    clearwire will drop your connection at randoms parts of the day. and when you aren’t dropped the connection speed is usually slower then dial-up. very rarely will you be provided with the high speed they guarantee.

    If your thinking about buying clearwire, don’t. it would be much easier for you to just go down to your local library and use the internet there. its basically what I’ve been doing.

  17. By Phillip on Nov 9, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks to the person who started http://www.clearwiresucks.com I was getting ready to become a dealer and now I am having second thoughts.

    I would have distributed heart ache to many friends and current customers, I have an excellent business reputation with over 250,000 current clients and any negative issues would be a wasted 25 years of hard work down the drain.

    Thank you, once again.

    A friendly professional business message to CLEARWIRE, get it right! There will be issues, but customer service is first and if CLEARWIRE treats people like this, what does it say about the owners character.

    I’m not getting suckered….How about You?

  18. By Carol Aiken on Dec 29, 2009 | Reply

    Had Clearwire for two years with absolutely no problems but I only do email and surf the web. Got the new Clear modem 2 months ago and it has been hell! I had faster service with dial up. I can’t get to any websites and when I try to do a simple search it just bogs down to a slow crawl.
    Of course the tech says get my computer looked at. Going to switch, just don’t know which way to go now.
    Poor customer service, terrible connection, stay far, far away.

  19. By Tammy on Mar 12, 2010 | Reply

    Ya, got wireless for the first time ever with my new laptop and was really exited. So i signed with clearwire, paid extra to not be in contract 2 years, and my signal drops all the time. How stupid is it to require the modem to be near a window anyways? Satellite technology has come too far, does tv service require your tv to be near a window? Maybe we should watch tv on our roofs like clearwire expects me to sit by a window. So of course i got a router so i can move around, but even with the modem being in a window, it drops. SO tech support requires you to run around with the modem to several different windows asking you to point it towards some random landmark that you dont know where it is. I havent had any problems with customer service agents, YET. But the agents seem to be the only cool thing about clearwire. But i didnt sign up to pay a company to talk to people, i want the service i was promised. I’m definatley cancelling at the end of my contract.

  20. By Not Telling on Apr 20, 2010 | Reply

    Dallas Tx. I got 9 bars (about 6ft above PC on a cisco USB2 extension Clear did not provide)! But still drops out many times each day. Takes whole minute to re-authenticate. Bandwidth also decreased drastically after 7day money back trial. Torrent appears at least partially blocked. Zero upload KB gets through, which puts me on absolute lowest download priority with every swarm.

  21. By JW on Apr 21, 2010 | Reply

    You can get them to waive the cancellation fees if you can get them to do a “truck roll”. What happens is that the technician will come to your location and verify the claims of slower speeds. What also helped was that when they attempt to have you move the modem, and run various commands on your computer, stop them and tell them that you have already
    attempted that and it didn’t work.
    Also tell them that you are ready to cancel your service and that you are done troubleshooting. They will offer some sort of statement credit to keep your account. Don’t fall for it. You do not have to wait until the end of your contract to cancel. I was able to get them to waive all termination fees on my account and I was 6 months into my 24 month contract. You have be persistant and you will get the fees waived.

  22. By Darlene on Jun 14, 2010 | Reply

    I was just about to get Clearwire when I saw this page. Yikes!
    I’m retired on SS but I would rather pay the higher rate I have, than get Clearwire at a lower rate and crappy service.
    Thanks for the info.

  23. By Darlene on Jun 14, 2010 | Reply

    P.S. The Better Business Bureau gives them a rating of “C” on a scale of A+ to F.
    http://www.bbb.org/western-washington/business-reviews/internet-services/clearwire-in-kirkland-wa-22022842

  24. By Katie on Jun 21, 2010 | Reply

    I’m shocked they got THAT much… That’s considered AVERAGE! This company makes money off of scamming people!

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