Clearwire Speed test is a FALSE reading

auzworld · 13-11-2007 2:54pm #1

I finally got out of my contract with CLEARWIRE and would be happy to tell as many people about their terrible service. I signed up for the 1 mg account and never got over 100k download.... they kill your account after 1-2 months.... this happened to a friend aswell... it was going great then they cut the download speed.....

But when they ask you to test it at www.irishisptest.com/ ... it opens the flood gates for the time you test it then it returns to the crap speed again...
I tested it using a internet monitoring software ....

Thanks clearwire for being so sneeky and ripping so many people off !!! Please send back my money and I'll try not to continually let people know the con you have going !! infact keep the money .. I'll just keep telling people the truth !!

boopolo · 13-11-2007 10:42pm

are you sure that the software you are using is not telling you the actual download speed per second from a given site. for a 1Mb connection, if i remember rightly 100KB/s would be near enough normal.

boopolo

AlmightyCushion · 13-11-2007 10:51pm

If you were downloading at around 100 KiloBytes a second then you were getting your full 1 Megabit.

steveland? · 13-11-2007 11:35pm

1 Mb = 1024 Kb per second.
1024 Kb per second = 128 KB per second.

There are 8 bits in a byte (or 8 b's in a B so 1024Kb divided by 8 is 128KB).

100 KB per second is about right for a 1 Mb connection.

128 KB per second is pretty much the theoretical maximum you're going to get from a 1Mb connection, given overheads and line quality, contention etc etc etc it's practically impossible to get the full 128KB per second on any line.

I'd say if you were getting ~ 100KB per second download speeds you were pretty much alright.

The ISP test site downloads a file from a server to your computer and then uploads a file to it and uses the speeds they came and went to/from your computer to calculate given that a Byte is 8 bits, a Megabit is 1024 Kilobits which is 128 Kilobytes etc. If it says your line is 1Mb (or just under it) it's probably fairly accurate if your download was around 100KB per second.

(Sorry for all the bolded letters, it's important to stress the distinction between a bit and a byte in broadband terms. Not trying to be condescending)

Random · 13-11-2007 11:39pm

steveland? wrote: »

1 Mb = 1024 Kb per second.
1024 Kb per second = 128 KB per second.

There are 8 bits in a byte (or 8 b's in a B so 1024Kb divided by 8 is 128KB).

100 KB per second is about exactly right for a 1 Mb connection.

128 KB per second is pretty much the theoretical maximum you're going to get from a 1Mb connection, given overheads and line quality, contention etc etc etc it's practically impossible to get the full 128KB per second on any line.

I'd say if you were getting ~ 100KB per second download speeds you were pretty much alright.

The ISP test site downloads a file from a server to your computer and then uploads a file to it and uses the speeds they came and went to/from your computer to calculate given that a Byte is 8 bits, a Megabit is 1024 Kilobits which is 128 Kilobytes etc. If it says your line is 1Mb (or just under it) it's probably fairly accurate if your download was around 100KB per second.

(Sorry for all the bolded letters, it's important to stress the distinction between a bit and a byte in broadband terms. Not trying to be condescending)

Thank you for the bold. Honestly. It does my nut in when people jump between b and B.

Did you try any other speed tests at all ?

steveland? · 13-11-2007 11:46pm

ciaranfo wrote: »

Thank you for the bold. Honestly. It does my nut in when people jump between b and B.

Yeh it's confusing and I can see where many people who haven't sat bored sh*tless through lectures where a guy stands in front of the class going "one zero zero zero one one zero one" and so forth could go wrong when signing up for broadband packages

Out of interest, I've never actually read through any of the T&Cs or documentation for any of the broadband packages around, do any of them make the distinction to potential customers the difference between a bit and a byte? Seems to me a lot of people could get very pissed off if they signed up for something thinking they'd be getting 1MB per second (gleefully rubbing their hands thinking they're going to download an average MP3 in 3 seconds, or heaps of porn in 10 minutes) and end up getting 128KB per sec...

Suppose it's up to the customer to understand what they're signing up for but it'd probably save a lot of hassle for ISPs if there's an explanation of the difference (at least telling them the max theoretical speed they'll be actually downloading files at) up front.

Random · 13-11-2007 11:53pm

steveland? wrote: »

Yeh it's confusing and I can see where many people who haven't sat bored sh*tless through lectures where a guy stands in front of the class going "one zero zero zero one one zero one" and so forth could go wrong when signing up for broadband packages

Out of interest, I've never actually read through any of the T&Cs or documentation for any of the broadband packages around, do any of them make the distinction to potential customers the difference between a bit and a byte? Seems to me a lot of people could get very pissed off if they signed up for something thinking they'd be getting 1MB per second (gleefully rubbing their hands thinking they're going to download an average MP3 in 3 seconds, or heaps of porn in 10 minutes) and end up getting 128KB per sec...

Suppose it's up to the customer to understand what they're signing up for but it'd probably save a lot of hassle for ISPs if there's an explanation of the difference (at least telling them the max theoretical speed they'll be actually downloading files at) up front.

If you sign up for 3 then you'll be plesantly surprised. They say you get 10Gb and then give you 10GB.

steveland? · 14-11-2007 12:07am

ciaranfo wrote: »

If you sign up for 3 then you'll be plesantly surprised. They say you get 10Gb and then give you 10GB.

Hmm, now something tells me that's your download limit cos if it's a 10GB connection I'm there... That'd be, what, 80Gb per second? 81920Mb per second? 10485760KB per second? I've probably gone wrong somewhere in those calculations... My laptop's hard drive would be full in 4 seconds!

[/joke]

EDIT: Oh and something else I'd like to point out to auzworld, where I mentioned the difference between the max theoretical speed and the actual speed I wasn't referring to defects on Clearwires network or your line that would cause you to not be able to reach max speed (although these also could be factors).

You also need to take into account the fact that the server you're downloading from (whether it be a webpage, an MP3 or a movie) is also limited in the speed it can upload to you. The ISP test is alright because it usually finds the closest server to you (I know one of the tests gives you the option to select the server, with the closest one to you highlighted) which would probably give you a faster reading than a server in, say, the US.

There's a lot of factors that could cause you to not reach maximum capacity on your line so I don't think Clearwire are entirely at fault with your line (if at all, the DL speed you got seems about right).

Was downloading files usually around the 100KB/s mark or was it usually significantly lower than that?

eth0_ · 14-11-2007 3:09pm

Good to see Clearwire are still ripping off their customers! I had their service 2 years ago, got it a month or two before their official launch and it was great until they actually got some customers.

Slow as mud, and they block ports.

Stay away from them unless you just want the internet for emails and reading simple webpages.

watty · 14-11-2007 3:43pm

steveland? wrote: »

1 Mb = 1024 Kb per second.
1024 Kb per second = 128 KB per second.

There are 8 bits in a byte (or 8 b's in a B so 1024Kb divided by 8 is 128KB).

100 KB per second is about right for a 1 Mb connection.

yes. Due to protocol overhead, divide by 10, not 8.

Only Memory is really always 1024s
Storage of files can be 1024 or 1000 depending on application.
Communication speed is usually 1000s and RAW bit speed, not including overheads of protocol or error correction.

foggy_lad · 16-11-2007 2:19am

i had same problem with Clearwire cutting my speed after approx 8weeks my speedtests went completely wild with speeds from 50kbps-93mbps showing that their service relies on burst speed rather than on a proper stable sustainable service!

yet they still insisted on two months of trouble shooting before deciding on taking the modem back leaving me with no service at all!

asked for a partial refund for the two months i had dial up and they flat refused saying i had use of the modem haha what a shower of scam artists

steveland? · 16-11-2007 12:05pm

foggy_lad wrote: »

i had same problem with Clearwire cutting my speed after approx 8weeks my speedtests went completely wild with speeds from 50kbps-93mbps showing that their service relies on burst speed rather than on a proper stable sustainable service!

yet they still insisted on two months of trouble shooting before deciding on taking the modem back leaving me with no service at all!

asked for a partial refund for the two months i had dial up and they flat refused saying i had use of the modem haha what a shower of scam artists

Have a read through their terms and conditions. As far as I know Eircom are obliged to provide you with 256Kb or higher (~30KB/s download speed) and, even if you're paying for a 2Mb service they don't have to refund you (as you can still use the service, albeit in a diminished capacity).

I'm not sure if that's an Eircom only thing or a Government/ComReg limit imposed on them.

In any dispute about charges or refunds for lack of service then document all your correspondence (some companies have a habit of insisting they ring you instead of mailing you back on queries so you have no paper trail) and try to establish a tendency to have very bad speeds, bad fault response (if they are indeed bad) and lack of service and, if they still won't refund you as a result of your issues then send the paper/e-mail trail to ComReg and CC the ISP in question.

From the look of your fault though you were getting over a 256Kb speed (if you were getting between 50 - 93KB/s) and the service was still usable so I don't know how far you'll get.

A partial refund or some sort of gesture wouldn't go astray though if you were getting a really crappy service for 2 months and they wouldn't cancel your service (presumably from what you say above you wanted to cancel it but they insisted on troubleshooting it for 2 months before hand).

Does Clearwire have a minimum contract? I thought I read somewhere it didn't (but could be completely wrong). If they don't then there's no reason you shouldn't have been able to say two months ago "I cancel, take the modem away"

Edit: Sorry, I just reread that your line speeds were 50Kb and not download speed of 50KB/s (see, capitalisation does matter...). Yeh if you were getting 50Kb while paying for 2Mb then you should definitely insist on a refund and, if they don't play ball, get ComReg involved.

foggy_lad · 16-11-2007 12:37pm

it was only a imbps connection and my problem is that it became totally unstable after approx 6-7weeks giving those wild results!

and rather than admit they could do nothing about it two months ago they insisted on two months of trouble-shooting and regularly ignored my emails and now they wont refund for those two months

i am only looking for half back and €30 of the €39 set-up fee! its not a lot to ask for only getting 10% of the advertised speeds!

oh just as a warning it would seem that clearwire have oversold in this area as their speeds are rubbish and they have even stopped flogging their wares in fairgreen!

auzworld · 23-12-2007 3:00pm

Thanks for replying... and the info on speeds...

although I should have mentioned that the normal download speed for me over 10 months was 30k/s ... far below what I expected ... even when i was on a 2 meg line for 6 months before going to 1 meg

I complained a number of times to clearwire and they said they were working on the problem and tried to keep my happy with credits to my account which half the time i had to chase after them as this would not happen.

Finally a engineer tested my system and said that the service was "broken" .. and that they coud not fix it.... ( even with a srong signal on my box - 5 lights )

now i'm with smart and would never look back.... stay clear of clearwire !!!

Snaga · 23-12-2007 4:02pm

Semi off topic but theres no harm rehashing this as this crops up quite often here...

Networking data (bit) rates are measured using SI Base 10 units of measurement - always, not in base 2 (like storage tends to have been in the past... though this is beginning to change also).

So in the case of broadband speeds...

1 Megabit = 1000 kilobits, (not 1024 kilobits).

For the official SI units look here...
http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/prefixes.html

Look here for the base 2 units of measurement and a few words on why there was a transition to base 10 units of measurement.

http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html

Fun.

ZENER · 26-12-2007 12:07am

eth0_ wrote: »

Good to see Clearwire are still ripping off their customers! I had their service 2 years ago, got it a month or two before their official launch and it was great until they actually got some customers.

Slow as mud, and they block ports.

Stay away from them unless you just want the internet for emails and reading simple webpages.

Exact copy of my experience. Cancel the direct debit straight away. With me they took 12 months (over 470 quid) out of my account in one day and my mortgage payment wasn't paid - took a week arguing with them and my bank to get the money back. 3 months later they did the same again spread over 3 days - I still haven't got a refund from them, w@nker$. I'd cancelled due to breach of contract in November or December that year and they took the money from my account in April/May the following year !!

They are IMO a shower of chancers. I had a 6Mb connection in Swords in July when I started but couldn't get any more than 10Kb on downloads after 6 weeks. If you're into downloading anything - be it via torrents, p2p, ftp or http (webDAV) and need to use any port other than 80 443 25 or 110 then avoid this shower like the plague !!!

ZEN

dub_commuter · 26-12-2007 12:47pm

AFAIK Clearwire have never offered a 6MB connection so not sure where you are getting that information from?

In any case they've been open about p2p and skype for quite a few months now, the following exerpt from their usage policy

At Clearwire, we always strive to provide the best possible service to the broadest section of our customer base possible and therefore, bandwidth intensive applications such as Skype and Peer-to-Peer are not ideally suited to our network.

If customers do use these services with Clearwire, their experience may not always be ideal and they may find that their overall service may be curtailed or withdrawn as per our Accepted Usage Policy.

Billing was indeed a mess in Clearwire, a friend got billed at random times or not billed at all at certain times, but it seems to have improved now, no doubt you were billed 12 months as you were not billed for 12 months previously. There seems to be a customer facing billing department there now which has improved billing no end. Of course, some people who have not been paying their bills or have not been billed correctly are likely to be charged for such months.

Out of interest where were you using the Clearwire Service?

ZENER · 26-12-2007 3:36pm

dub_commuter wrote: »

AFAIK Clearwire have never offered a 6MB connection so not sure where you are getting that information from?

In any case they've been open about p2p and skype for quite a few months now, the following exerpt from their usage policy

I was one of the first Clearwire customers in Swords when they started up. The called me several times in the first few weeks to enquire about my experience with the service which at that point was fine. The chap who demo'd it at my house used Limewire to demonstrate the download speed achievable with their system. At that time I was subscribing to a 3Mb service. I was told they were going to "open up" the "modem" to allow it operate at full speed: 6Mbps. Shortly after this it all went Pete Tong.

ZEN

dub_commuter · 26-12-2007 8:19pm

The highest they offered for home users was 2mb it sounds like this was a while ago and the sales rep if he told you this was either poorly trained or told you incorrect information in order to register a sale. It sounds like the later. That being the case I would have reported it to a manager in Clearwire as you were obviously mis-sold.

ZENER · 26-12-2007 8:30pm

dub_commuter wrote: »

The highest they offered for home users was 2mb it sounds like this was a while ago and the sales rep if he told you this was either poorly trained or told you incorrect information in order to register a sale. It sounds like the later. That being the case I would have reported it to a manager in Clearwire as you were obviously mis-sold.

I'm not a complete idiot you know. Can't you simply accept my version of the deal ? I had a 6Mb connection for the reasons I gave above - I am capable of telling the difference. I wasn't SOLD a 6Mb connection, I bought a 3Mb setup but they opened up the connection which was capable of speeds up to 6Mb.

Have you worked for Clearwire ?

ZEN

StaunchyDJ · 03-11-2009 2:37pm

First time poster, long time reader... :-P

Have to agree with the opening poster, they've done the exact same to us. I just did a test on the same site an for a 1Mb service from Clearwire I'm gettin 1.89kbps, basically 2kbps! WTF This cann't be right to do this to your customers at all. Any time we get onto them they direct us to a site they use and it comes up grand, very suspect the site they send you too says it's working good OR they have bumped up the speed because your onto them because it always goes back to slow ville the next day or so. Conspiracies Conspiracies

Cabaal · 03-11-2009 2:41pm

DON'T DRAG UP OLD POSTS!

Clearwire Speed test is a FALSE reading

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