Thinking of Imagine Wimax? Think again!

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

So for any of you that don’t know I switched from Digiweb to Imagine Wimax for a painstaking 8 months, after seeing them advertised on the television with “Unlimited Download” and “7mb speed” their sleek advertising [and song] got me to switch. Worst decision ever.

For a start for the entire 8 months I was with Imagine’s Wimax I never once recieved 7mb speeds. Of course most ISPs use the whole “up to 7mb” so I wasn’t that suprised, what I was suprised at was after doing speed tests it was clear i wasn’t getting more than 2mb speed.

Now Imagine WiMax have a 1mb, 3mb and 7mb package, I was advised by their sales staff that my location did in fact have 7mb conectivity and that 12mb conectivity would be rolling out after Christmas. So I let it go until after Christmas dealing with my terrible speeds hoping that it would get better.

So after Christmas there is still no improvement in speed, at this stage I’ve called Imagine at least three times over this. You get the same crap fed down the line to you each time.. “Do some speed tests, via ethernet and wireless and we’ll get back to you”. I did a rake of speed tests, both on Imagine site and on speedtest.net.

Imagine get back to me with a soution about a month later.. “Plug Links”.
“Plug Links” plug into your power outlets in your house and send the internet through the power cables, according to Imagine they would “boost the signal”, I was skeptical; but weither on not these plug links would boost my signal didn’t matter, I waited an additional month and a half to recieve these plug links, being told they were out of stock. When I eventually recieved the plug links only one of them worked, making both of them useless!

Imagine also dislike Wi-Fi users, the first ISP I’ve come across that takes this stance. They’ll actually lie  about the speed capabilities of Wi-Fi speed and try to blame your Wi-Fi for their low speeds, however I assure you Wi-Fi isn’t your issue,  since I’ve changed back to Digiweb my Wi-Fi is hitting download speeds of 8.28MB…

David @ Imagine let me know the following:

Similarly, all speeds that are quoted are line speeds, actual connection speed relies on factors outside the control of the ISP such as routers/switches that are congested or poorly maintained but are not the property or even the responsibility of the ISP. As no ISP can guarantee anything outside of their own network, all ISPs rate their packages based on their given line speeds and nothing more.

Interesting stuff really, so from reading between the lines Imagine don’t even own the infrastructure they are built on, round of applause for those guys!

What I found hilarious in all this, and by hilarious I mean; seriously annoying marketting was the whole advertised “Unlimited Download”, sure they can give you unlimited download, because you actually can’t download anything!! What use is unlimited download at 1mb speeds?

Imagine also advertise their WiMax as being a good technology for gaming. I actually stopped playing Xbox Live for the months with Imagine as it was just SO laggy!

So if your thinking of Imagine’s WiMax, seriously think again your in for a nightmare, I’d recommend Chorus first as an ISP [if you can get them] and next Digiweb.

I wouldn’t go back to Imagine Wimax again if they were the last broadband[?] available.

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Posted in Internet

  • Daffster

    You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

    WiMax is a technology.
    Imagine is the company.

    Which one are you criticizing here? You keep referring to WiMax as if it were the company.

  • http://www.gamersnews.org Sean McNamara

    What word?

    Yes I agree re-reading through it seems like I’m mixed up between complaining about the technology and the company. I’m really complaining about Imagines version of WiMax. Not WiMax in general. I’m not complaining about Imagine in general either as I’ve only had Imagines Wimax not their other internet services.

  • Segaliberationarmy

    I’m currently being brought to court by Wimax. I’m refusing to give them
    another cent.

    My service was always crap, some days it would take 10
    minutes to load a minute long youtube video. It wasn’t anywhere near
    what I was paying for (3mb).

    In fact, it later turned out theres no way I
    could have possibly got that speed in the area I’m living in but they
    insisted they could in the beginning when they blitzed my neighbourhood
    with leaflets and posters.

    Anyway the breaking point came when they
    disconnected me without warning in September. I had fully paid up. I
    rang ‘em and they said there was a temp problem with my account on their
    end but it had been sorted. I was switched back on. Then I got a letter
    the next week informing me I had to pay a reconnection fee for getting
    switched back on. I ignored it thinking it must be a mistake. Everything
    was grand (well as grand as could be expected, was still getting awful
    speeds) until the following month when I was disconnected AGAIN! It came
    at a really bad time; I was working from home and needed to get a lot
    of documents sent off that day. I rang them up and told them I’d like to
    cancel my subscription.

    They said I couldn’t because I’d agreed to stay
    connected for a year. I told them they had broken the contract
    by not providing the service I had paid for in good faith. My account
    was turned back on even though I did no request it. I rang them back
    again and told them I did not want their service anymore. I bought a 3
    dongle and got my work done, even the weak signal was faster then what
    I’d been paying for before! Imagine had my lazer details so I cancelled
    my card in case they tried to dick me around again. A few weeks later I
    got a letter in the post looking for that months money and 2
    re-connection fees!!!! I sent them a polite email and told them theres
    no way they would get that money and explained clearly what had happened
    in the run up to me cancelling. I told them I’d been left with no other
    choice. I didn’t hear anything for another month (october), then out of
    fecking nowhere in november they ‘re-connected’ me and wanted money for
    that month (+septembers +2 reconnection fees).

    The router hadn’t even
    been plugged in! I emailed them back AGAIN and told them no way and
    asked how I could resend the crappy router I had got from them in the
    start. I wanted to clean my hands of them entirely.
    In December things got a bit nuts. I got calls from them practically
    every second day looking for the money. Most often they’d come first
    thing in the morning. I’d explain my case and the representive said
    they’d take note of it, but the next day someone else working for the
    company would get in touch with no knowledge of the last person! I
    didn’t hear anything from them in January, but then the letters started
    again.. each one getting more and more serious in tone. I started
    getting texts and voice mails in Feb saying the same thing. At some
    point along the way, they slapped on an extra 20 euro to what was
    apparently owed?!

     Last week I got a letter saying they are taking me to
    court. I’ve documented EVERYTHING so they don’t have a leg to
    stand on. They are fucking mental. Its like some crazy ex girlfriend you
    get rid of but they won’t take no for an answer. Fuck you Wimax, you
    bunch of creepy assclowns. AVOID.

  • http://www.seanmcn.com/ Sean McNamara

    Just an update on this, nearly a year later WiMax decide to drop my bill. Amazing