Is it really worth moving to Eir Fibre broadband

flop

Hi all,

I had the sales rep call to the house today with the hard sell of 1Gbps for 45 euro a month for the next two years. I am currently on 250Mbps with VM for 60 euro per month.

From a cost perspect it seems like a no brainer, however I am very aware of the issues with customer service. A look at trust pilot and some searching of boards.ie it seems that the customer care of Eir is not so good (that said VM are really bad too from my experience). I also had a negative experience with eircom back in the day with my landline, plus some issues with their sales reps cold calling every other week to entice me back.

From a technology perspective have folks found their fibre to be realiable? I work from home more or less all the time now, and spend a lot of time on video calls so the connection needs to be realiable. Plus I have a Google Mesh connected to ensure decent wifi across the house. I'd rather not swtich if it meant saving 180 but had to deal with issues with eir customer card.

Thoughts welcome

Flop

DopeTech

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058301551/is-it-really-worth-moving-to-eir-fibre-broadband

Fibre generally is more reliable than copper. i.e. you get closer to the speed advertised, similar to VM. If you have Eir available you probably have many other providers available to you too. Enter your eircode on Switcher.ie and see what the best deal available is. I personally would only return to them as a last resort if no other provider was available. Spent almost a year trying to get them to correct my bill and refund me hundreds. So far I've been with Pure telecom and Sky and can recommend both. Straightforward signup from both of them and reliable service.

RobiePAX

If Eir's 1GB is available in your area then you should definitely consider switching. You'll have more bargaining power as a customer. Virgin Media holds a monopoly over their cable. You can go with Eir, but if you are concerned with customer care then you can go with Vodafone, Sky, Pure they all use the same cable. And you'll have more options switching each year.

One thing be careful with 2 year contracts it won't stay at €45/pm. In April it will go up even if you are in contract. For example if you would have signed up last year then this year they would have increased you up to €52/pm.

Sterling Archer

So you have Fibre available to you, you can sign up with a multitude of different providers

https://www.openeir.ie/open-eir-irelands-largest-wholesale-full-fibre-network/ is an old link but shows some of the providers, sometimes the smaller companies can have decent pricing too

With attractive offers check the full pricing layout it'll likely jump later in your contract, when you sign up put a reminder into your calendar for when the contract is up, helps avoid getting stung with price hikes

yrreg0850

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120737174#Comment_120737174

I was caught in that trap by Eir. signed up this time last year for €39.95 , now paying €45.95 since April with 12 months yet to go.

If I had signed for 12 months I could now go to sky for €30.

Beware of 24 month contracts.

DopeTech

Sky fibre €30 for 12 months, best deal available at the moment. I’d avoid eir at all costs. Service is ok but billing/customer service is a shambles.

peter_h1979

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120736918#Comment_120736918

I was a VM customer for years and eventually made to the move to the OpenEir FTTH network with Pure for a year and now with Sky. Much better speeds than VM and better price. Pure had good service (had some billing issues when I terminated the contract, I'm not sure I would go back due to these billing issues but cant fault their service from a technical side), no problems with SKY so far.

As many have said all ready the key advantage of leaving VM and getting connected to the OpenEir network is that you have multiple providers that use the same infrastructure so every year you can simply jump from provider to provider to get the best deal. As long as they are OpenEIr all they they do is sent out a new router that you connect to your ONT and your sorted (or just use your own router).

HildaOgdenx

Their customer service has improved a lot, in my experience.

I know others will probably contradict that, but as I said, in my experience, it has.

I have occasionally needed to contact them over the past few years and things were sorted within a very reasonable timeframe.

limnam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120813083#Comment_120813083

Agree with this

Even when it was at it's worst it's on par with the others imo.

The good thing is you should very rarely have to contact them. Eir is by far the best network.

So if it's available. move.

ELM327

First time ever in my life I signed up to a door to door sales call. We had starlink before, rural wexford with 2 tech professionals working from home 5 days a week we need reliable fast broadband. Starlink had deteriorated in the last 2 months and this was the same cost without weather interruptions, so it seemed a no brainer. Our speed is now 900mbps at the router and 150-250 around the house depending on device limits. Only in a couple of days but so far no issues.

I dont necessarily care about a fiver a month here or there on billing , so signed the 24 month contract with the CPI inflation increase clause at mth 12. Stll cheaper than the 65 quid I was paying to starlink!

limnam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120813872#Comment_120813872

I thnk overall Starlink is a game changer especially in rural areas without access to fiber.

But you can't beat the FTTH. Especially with WFH.

leex

On a 1gbps line with Eir for a number of years. Has worked faultlessly for all that time. I did change to my own router as I found the Eir supplied device appeared to have issues with a lot of simultaneous wifi connections - multiple smart plugs in my case.

I call them at the end of every contract period to review the price and they normally give a nice discount - not the cheapest on offer on the market, but I am happy to stay and avoid the bother of downtime and changing routers during changeover. I use it for WFM a few days per week and there is no issue. I stick with the "devil I know".

At my last renewal, I moved 3 x mobiles to the contract also. I am paying 9.99pm (equiv of GoMo 15eur pm deal) for each and they tell me they will renew that at the end of 12 months. My fibre contract is for 2 years.

yrreg0850

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120737174#Comment_120737174

I had a similar experience --signed up last year on a two year contract for €39.95 now paying 44.95 and up again next April. Contract up in May.

If I had signed a one year contract I could have Sky now for €30.

Moral of story one year contract only.

mad m

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120896143#Comment_120896143

With VM, years. BB is ok, but can not great up in Attic or out back garden. Usually get the half price deal for 9 month malarkey. Eir rep knocked on door. €39.99 for 500meg Fibre BB, €9.99 for TV, €9.99 for phone (mobile sim) a month. Contract is 2 years. Rep said it should be installed by 3rd or 4th August. Having 2nd thoughts now after reading this about the two year contract and the sneaky price increase. Also how exactly do they install cables. Rep said they’ll run it from box on lamppost down road or something.

mutley18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120813933#Comment_120813933

My Eir 24 month contract is just up. Do you reckon I should call them and ask for a discount? Does that work? I dont want to change providers as I have never had an issue with their service.

swoofer

Ring them but if you have FTTH the switch is painless, I have gone from VF to EIR to Pure within 14 days no loss of service.

pure has 35 a month with calls for 500mb. You dont need 1gb.

TCDStudent1

I have been with Eir since 2020. Their customer service was terrible the one time I had to contact them about something.

However, the service has been very reliable and that's the reason I haven't changed during those 3.5 years (even though it means I missed out on more cost effective deals)

DopeTech

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120929157#Comment_120929157

Their service is reliable usually but they are not the only one offering good service. You will be paying over the odds every year if you never switch.

TCDStudent1

Yeah, I’ll probably change next time but I have been happy with them

mad m

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120910066#Comment_120910066

So got Eir Fibre installed, fairly easy. Solid connection. Apply TV box arrived day or two later, God I'm not that gone on it tbh. Thinking of cancelling the TV and trying SKY. Also seen on the one big switch website, they have an EIR offer of 34.99 a month (12months) as opposed to my 39.99 a month (24months) for same 500Mb package with €100 euro free credit once you go over the 14 day cooling off, although I have the 1st two months free so much of a muchness. Anyone any thoughts on Sky TV? good, bad etc?

babelfish1990

The Apple TV experience from Eir is very different to legacy TV boxes from the other providers. It takes a little getting used to, but in my view the advantages significantly outweigh the shortcomings. Being able run all TV apps on one well supported platform is a huge advantage. Multiroom also benefits from the recordings being centrally held in the cloud vs on a hard disk in one box. Eir dont advertise this feature, but if you buy additional boxes, you can do multiroom without paying any additional monthly fee. They also sell refurbed Apple boxes outright for €59.99, which is a very competitive price. If you are comparing Sky Stream, which is probably the closest experience to Eir, then Eir TV is far superior, and a lot cheaper. Read the Sky Stream thread, and you will find users complaining about severe limitations recording BBC on Sky Stream. This is a serious limitation since BBC I-Player is not licensed in Ireland. Eir TV allows full recording of BBC. I expect all TV providers will eventually move to cloud platforms similar to Eir & Sky-Stream, if only because it gives them better control over the advertising revenue, and Sky will save the Satellite distribution costs when they move everyone to Stream.. Some channels, like RTE may continue to resist the change, but they wont stop you using their players as they retain their advertising this way.

Ah-Watch

Sky Stream can't be out much longer than a month so I would expect teething issues. There's no comparing SkyQ with Eir TV though, SkyQ wins hands down but more expensive for sure. Streaming will be the way it goes but neither Vodafone TV or Eir TV beat Sky-yet. One thing Eir TV / Streaming TV services have over SkyQ say is there's no need to run coax. To be fair alot of houses would have had Sky over the years so the same coax can most often be reused so might not be a big deal for many.

mad m

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990029#Comment_120990029

Thanks for that insight. I thought the package Sky offer is a usb stick, plug and play so no need for coax.

pizzahead77

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120996470#Comment_120996470

You are thinking of the NOW TV which are HMDI stciks (and powered by USB) but the new Sky Stream is a box

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120929157#Comment_120929157

I would love to switch back to Eir as their service is extremely reliable, unfortunately their pricing is more than I think data is worth, when I am getting 150 Mbps for €49 a month vs Eir's 500 mbps for €76.

I had issues when I left Eir, but they weren't financial as I just cancelled the direct debit mandate so they couldn't just take my money and they had to ask me to pay them for the router I returned but which they failed to acknowledge receiving. Making sure Eir has to chase you for money is the way to handle those financial and consumer logictical incompetents.

_Kaiser_

The service itself is fine, but if anything goes wrong be prepared for many hours on the phone and lots of frustration in my experience over the years.

Personally I'd go with Sky as they're just reselling the same thing anyway.

Gadgetman496

Can you specify where in the house you want the router installed or do they insist on taking the easiest route regardless?

denismc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121003571#Comment_121003571

If it's a new install connection, I'd say you have a little wiggle room with regards to where it enters the house but they do seem to keep the cable run as short as possible.

I have a wireless repeater that I purchased at my own expense, it minimises the amount of cables required and it ensures good signal throughout the house.

TCDStudent1

When they installed mine, they suggested the attic despite their website saying they wouldn’t go near the attic!

In my experience, they’ve suggested various places and give you the pros and cons of each

With them for my 6th year. Just came out of a 2 year contract that I had negotiated down to new customer prices.

My renewal for 500mbps and 2 SIM only was 80.

After talking to a "senior " manager it became 65.🤣 It was a 10second conversation with said manager.

Anyway, eventually got a 3rd Mobile added for the same price plus 50e credit. Works out at 61 pm.

conorking

I’m approaching the end of my 2 year contract with eir and would like to stay with them (I like the Apple TV) but not at ‘existing customer’ prices.

How and when did you negotiate the ‘new customer’ price reduction? I’m normally pretty good at that with gas/electricity/etc but not familiar how the internet/tv suppliers operate.

chonix

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120813933#Comment_120813933

Mind me asking which router you bought?

davejacko

Been with them for almost 2 years. Getting fibre in was a complete mess but once it was in, I have found it to be reliable. I like the Apple TV, it's great having all apps on one box. Eir TV is fine but we are not heavy users. Customer service is awful but in fairness I haven't needed to contact them in a good while.

My pricing started at around €40 almost 2 years ago, its now €95 so when the contract is up I'll be looking for a steep discount or I'll be gone.

abdc1243

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988935#Comment_120988935

Deciding on whether to get Eir TV or Sky Stream. From reading the threads and the post above, it seems that Sky Stream is limited in recording BBC whereas Eir TV is not. I'd like to be able to record MOTD at a minimum and the occasional decent drama as well as stuff like Wimbledon or Glastonbury. Can someone confirm that I can record these shows using Eir TV?

babelfish1990

I can confirm that eir TV does not have the same limitations as Sky Stream when recording BBC. You can record and series record MOTD, externally produced drama as well as BBC produced material. I am not aware of any limitations on recording BBC on eir TV. It's great. because even in UK, viewers complain about not being able to get MOTD on BBC iPlayer. Paradoxically, there are limitations on recording RTE on eir TV. but at least you can fall back on RTE player for locally produced content.

abdc1243

Thanks for the reply. Eir TV, it is then!

IceGiant756

All of these chats have been very useful as I was considering switching from my current Virgin Media 360Mb. It’s an old contract called Connect 360 and it’s €64 per month so I think I’m paying more than I need to. Historically (pre Fibre) Virgin Media’s (Cablelink) copper cable blew everyone else out of the water for speed but that’s all changed now with FTTH.

But one thing that makes me cautious about switching is the consistency of VMs cable connection. Every time I test, it’s never gone below 300Mbps download and 30Mbps upload and generally much closer to the provided 360/30 and that’s plenty for our household. I almost went with Eir recently as they have just rolled out in our area of Dublin which has lots of houses in the local area by the way. They were offering 1Gps for €40 I think so from a cost point of view it’s a no-brainer. I rang Virgin Media and said I was thinking of changing and the sales guy said beware of Eir’s contention ratio, that they say “up to” 1Gps but we'll never get near to it,

I see Sky say “up to” that too. We've been with Sky for TV for years.

So I’m worried that I’ll actually drop speeds if I go with them as lots of houses nearby and lots of people sharing my fibre connection.

My question is: Is anyone else on a Sky or Eir fibre connection in a built-up area and noticing drop in speed or is it ok? Maybe the VM sales guy is spoofing me to stop me from switching?

Thanks for any feedback

P.S. I have opinions on SkyTV which I’ll reply to separately 

IceGiant756

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990029#Comment_120990029

There are some questions about SkyTV compared to Eir etc. I haven't used Eir's but from a general usage point of view, I'd be amazed if any of them come even close to Sky Q for user experience. I have their 2TB SkyQ box and the older satellite dish with coax. Everything is pretty much perfect, the signal is nearly always perfect, the user interface is excellent, the remote is lightning fast, the recording and series recording is excellent with very very rare hiccup. We watch a lot of BBC, Channel 4 and some Sky channels like Arts and some RTE. 

We never watch live and just record everything onto the 2TB box and fast forward through the ads. I can get through a five minute ad break in less than 5 secs sometimes with the remote :) Lots of Sky users dont know about the feature where if you pause first and then use the right direction button, it skips a minute of ads so once you get used to it, the ad breaks are toast. Most users just use the normal fast forward where they are 30 times live fast forwarding which is slow and also mental on your eyes for an entire ad break. The minute skip is infinitely better.

Also we have our Netflix and Apple TV+ on the SkyQ box so everything in one place.

One bad thing that drives me nuts (1st world problem I know) is that they charge and extra €10 per month for HD resolution, not even 4K. So if you don’t pay that you’re just getting 720p which is like viewing through vaseline and I think almost unwatchable, but I refuse to pay it because they are fleecing customers by charging them for HD when it should be free a decade ago at least, let alone now. It's not 720p on all channels though, they can only charge it on their own Sky channels and others like Eurosport. The “normal” channels like RTE, BBC, CH4 and Virgin are all full HD 1080p in their standard package. I get Eurosport as an extra for LeMans 24hr but that’s on 720p now as I cancelled the extra cost for HD that I got as free-be after complaining a couple of years ago, so now I'm back to vaseline tv :) and I’m considering subscribing to Discovery Plus directly and trying to Apple TV mirror it to my tv to get it separately as that’ll be HD/4K as standard I think. 

So yes, Sky TV is relatively expensive but if you watch a decent amount of terrestrial TV and are willing to pay 10 per month extra for HD for non-standard channels then go for it. Or if you'll only watch RTEs, BBCs, CH4, Virgin even better so. I’d argue that the user experience is so good that it’s worth the extra cost for an easy life.

By the way, I know lots of people have 4K TVs these days but we don't, we just have a very good quality 40 inch TV so full HD 1080p is perfect for us. So if you "need" 4K then you might want to look up Sky's charges for that resolution.

Anyone has anymore questions on Sky, please ask and I’ll try to answer

jusmeig

Anyone any experience switching back and forth to the same providers? I'm with VM but considering a move to Eir as its much cheaper across a 12 or 24 month contract, with the idea being to switch again after that.

If I was to go back to VM you are presumably loosing the new customer discounts?

Henry Ford III

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120766008#Comment_120766008

I got rid of Vodafone recently and replaced it with Eir. Fibre BB with 500mbps.

Switching was simple. Unplug one router, and plug in the new one basically.

Vodafone quoted about €45p/m and their retentions team brought that down a bit when I rang them. They still couldn't even match the Eir offer which was €35p/m for 12 months with €100 cash back. That's €26.66p/m all in.

Aror8282

Hi Henry

I'm in the same situation for renewing contracts.

Received same offer from Eir rep but not signed yet

Can you advise on reliability broadband Eir compared to Vodafone (been with them for many years) but pricing is getting out of hand, need to change provider now.

Thought about Sky as they have offer 30e/month now 500mb.

Citygirl1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122882753#Comment_122882753

Hi - I have much the same question! I had an Eir rep call to the door recently offering a 2 year deal for Broadband + Landline deal for €39.99 per month, plus TV package at €9.99. (Increase in April).

I'm currently paying €92 per month to Virgin Media for the same thing (with an old slow TV box). Though, the broadband is very reliable.

Hesitating about changing, as I'm hugely reliant on the broadband for work from home, so even if it was gone for more than a day, or dropping intraday, would be in a major fix.

Interested in recent experiences of moving to Eir (Dublin area)??

Also, Eir rep said that they would bring a new cable in to my electricity meter. Can someone help clarify (and apologies for my ignorance!)

• Is this the "fiber" cable?
• Would I have to keep the router beside the electicity meter or start running new cables across the house?