Does Clearwire work?
79Clearwire wireless internet connection
If you have found your way to this Hub, you A) live in a city covered by Clearwire (and have received enough of the mail advertisements for Clearwire to wall paper your house), B) Are considering untethering yourself from Cable/DSL for cost or freedom of choice considerations, or C) are a bit of a tech geek and are curious about whether the rubber meets the road. Welcome all.
Let me start my review by saying I am not a tech geek. In fact, I am probably a closet Luddite, so I will misstate anything technical. I apologize up front. What I hope to do is provide you with a seat of my pants review.
History:
I was connected to the local cable operator for high speed Internet access. It was not cheap... in fact it was about $30 a month more expensive than DSL at the time I signed up, but it was fast and fast is good. Before the cable hook up I had a DSL connection. DSL speed was adequate most of the time, but I lived in an apartment complex where a definite slowdown occurred at high trafficked times. The slowdown was unbearable. It reminded me of those old AOL days, when you could not get your 14.4 modem to connect to AOL because they were too busy. Thus, the switch to cable. Cable was superior to DSL in terms of speed by roughly a factor of 3, and I never experienced slowdowns on cable.
One day as I was watching Flava of Love , it occurred to me I should really cancel cable. Here I was, on a rare sunny Seattle Saturday, wasting away on the couch. After much thought and internal strife (how could I live if I missed an episode of Millionaire Match Maker!), I dug around in the recycle bin and found the most recent Clearwire mailer. It was advertising an inexpensive deal for DSL level speeds on an annual contract. I took the bait and signed up.
Wireless Internet
About two days after I placed my order, the Motorola Wireless Modem arrived. I disconnected my cable modem, and plugged in the Clearwire modem. The modem looks like a standard wireless router, a skinny gray plastic box, with five green lights on top. The lights work like the bars on your cell phone. The more solid lights you have, the better your wireless connection. When I first plugged the modem in I had, drum roll please... no lights. Well, okay, that is not true, I had all five lights lit, but they were blinking, which means zero wireless connection. Not good. I walked towards the window with my modem and was rewarded with a steadily lit single bar. Well, one bar should be good for a test right?
Wrong. while the steady light of that one bar meant I was connected, the connection was spotty... roughly a 50/50 shot at a web page loading. I stood up again and slid the modem around the window sill and eventually found a sweet spot. I had TWO bars. Two bars seems to be the threshold between actually having a reliable connection and being frustrated about not being able to read why Brangelina named their twins Lenox Cody whatever.
Speed Comparison/Performance
Okay, so now I have a connection. How does it compare to cable? To DSL? Is it really reliable? The cable comparison is easy to evaluate. It is slower. It feels like it is operating at roughly half the speed of the old cable connection. As for DSL, it is very similar to my last DSL connection in terms of speed, however the upload speed of my old DSL connection was faster by a small margin. I have not experienced any slowdown issues with Clearwire. As long as I have two bars, I have consistent DSL like speed.
If you use VOIP, you should consider talking to someone at Clearwire about their service or what sort of connection (how many bars are necessary) is needed. I have a third party VOIP, and the connection has been spotty. When placing or receiving calls, the other person's voice comes through with no problem, but the person on the other end says my voice is breaking up. I suspect this has to do with the upload speeds.
Summary
After a week of use, I am mostly happy with my Clearwire connection. If I were a heavy downloader or uploader of pictures, videos, and music, or relied heavily on a VOIP, I would consider going back to cable. Since I am more of a casual web browser/news junkie who only occasionally downloads songs and uses a cell phone, I am content with Clearwire. If you are considering a switch, I would recommend Clearwire on price vs. performance basis, but be sure to see how many bars you have in your home prior to canceling your current service. Clearwire gives you seven days to take a test drive.
Pros: Cost, Portable, Wireless Internet sounds cool, No more Flava Flave
Cons: So-So upload speed, Spotty VOIP, having to do the "how many bars can I get" dance at set up
CommentsLoading...
I enjoyed clear to the fullest for the first 3 months then it went down hill. All my lights are green, all of them!! YET my speed is slower than the lowest plan they offer!! IT has been almost 3 months of horrid service with little help. I spent 2 hours at a time with them 'troubleshooting' with no change. Last time I called the guy said there was a note in my account that said to allow me to cancel with no cancellation fee! He said there was nothing they could do to fix the issue. I wouldnt bother with using clear!
So far so good with Clear. I have 5 bars which means I have a great connection with them. I should since the tower is about 200 yards from my house. I did have to reset my modem tonight as all the bars were flashing. Not a big deal and I have had to do this with DSL and Cable as well. The speeds are good and I have no complaints.
It is all about the connection...like your cell phone. If you have a solid signal then all is good. If you don't then give up and return it!
I've been using Clearwire for a couple of years here in Portland Oregon. At first service was a bit erratic, but after I called Clear a couple times, the service got much better: Now my antenna has all the lights lit almost all the time and speed is very good.
However it's a different story with my EVO 4G phone: Even in my own home I cannot always get a 4G signal, and when I do, the speed doesn't seem much better than 3G. Two friends in Portland (one suburban and one in downtown) were unable to get a Clear signal at all.
My Clearwire 3G service has been a total disappointment. I am 3/8 mile from a tower and do not have a good signal level. Sometimes five lights and sometimes two - it is variable with no apparent reason. Resetting sometimes helps, but not is not a reliable function.
My speed tests are just as variable. From 8G to 0.2G.What a pain! Well if that were not enough, I just tested with "Test my ISP" at SAMKNOWS and it found my download and upload speeds at 0.3G and 0.1G approx. That is much slower than my old DSL rates. I call Clearwire and they are maxed out at being able to tell me to reset my antenna/router. Unbelievable.
I still have another year on my contract, and I am so very angry, very disappointed, and defeated by the "system".
Don't ever deal with Clearwire!
I will stay away from Clear. They provide the worst price vs performance. Clear promises any where between 4 and 6 Mbss service. It normally get about 3g and they charge $ 45.00 a month. AT &T, Century link and Brighhouse Networks in Orlando charge about half for that speed.
Service is spotty and unreliable. Clear has along way to go before being able to provide fast reliable internet connection. Brighthose Networks has speeds upto 25 Mbss service that they charge a little more than Clear.
If you can faster speeds for the same price, and you don't need wireless, you should not buy Clearwire. But, in most cases Clearwire costs less, and for some the coverage is good, then it is a good option. I can't get DSL or Cable where I live. The options are satellite or Clearwire, and Clearwire is a lot cheaper and a lot faster. I also really like the wireless mobility. I can use a Clearspot and have 4G speed on my iPad or iPhone anywhere in the Seattle area. It is too bad if you don't live in good coverage area.
PLEASE PLEASE do not buy or get Clear Wire one of the worse company out there I called their customer service to complain about their service 3 time and they hung up on me after laughing
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Anonymous 2 years ago
When was this article posted? Clearwire has expanded their marketing, if not also their coverage.
They're touting their WIMAX 4G SUPERDUPER whatever now... wondering if you were using the new and improved or the old and inferior and if it makes a difference.