WIND Mobile review: somewhat unique, somewhat the same
For the first time since possibly Fido (before it was acquired by Rogers), Canada has a new major cellular phone network operator: WIND Mobile. While many new wireless companies have formed over the past decade, such as Virgin Mobile, Koodo Mobile, and Speak Out Wireless, they are all either owned by one of the major operators (Telus, Bell, or Rogers) or they lease the usage of the major operators’ networks. WIND Mobile, on the other hand, actually operates its own network, and thus has the ability to be much more of a so-called game changer.
In many ways, WIND is different, for better or for worse! With WIND’s recent Vancouver launch, my curiosity has been piqued. Here are my thoughts and breakdowns of some of WIND’s major details. My goal is not to give a comprehensive review, but rather to share some details to think about when considering WIND.
No contract, almost
WIND’s offerings are contract-free, so figuring out how much the commitment really costs is straightforward… almost. You can cancel starting the next month and you can move on. And you can choose to go prepaid or post-paid on any of its monthly plans. (But don’t confuse prepaid with a true pay-as-you-go arrangement — WIND’s plans are still monthly plans.)
The catch, at least for now, is that you almost certainly will have to buy a WIND phone, and if you decide to leave WIND, you’ll have to have stuck around for 3 months before the phone is useful on other carriers. More details in the next point…
SIMs and phones
First of all, WIND will sell you a SIM card separately, which you could insert into an unlocked phone. So you can technically bring an unlocked phone to use with WIND. In the future this could be handy, but at the moment it is likely not so useful. Unfortunately, WIND uses the 1700 Mhz frequency band (also referred to as AWS), which is only used by some T-Mobile phones and the smaller Canadian wireless company Mobilicity. Up until now, most unlockable phones in North America are GSM phones, running on the 850 Mhz and/or 1900 Mhz frequency bands.
Once you’ve been with WIND for 3 months, the phone is quite useful because you can ask WIND to help you unlock it. WIND phones are 5-band phones, supporting the AWS band, the North American GSM bands, and the 900 / 1800 Mhz bands used in many other parts of the world, such as Europe. This is unlike some other Canadian carriers such as Koodo, whose phones will only work when you’re using Koodo, leaving you semi-stuck if you want to leave but don’t want to waste your phone. So the selection of WIND-compatible phones is somewhat limited, but WIND phones are compatible on a lot of other networks (even if they were probably forced to do this even be relevant)!
I’m not an avid cell phone model follower, so I cannot comment on the merits of the phones that WIND offers. You definitely don’t have your choice of all of the latest trends, though.
Yak bundles
WIND’s parent company is Globalive, which also runs Yak. Yak is best known for its long distance plans, but it also offers high speed Internet and home phone service. WIND’s website does not advertise this, but you can bundle some or all of its offerings in what they call Yak Paks. Pricing is competitive, but make sure you research reviews of Yak’s services and also decide whether you really want to put all your eggs in one basket!
Coverage, “zones”, and plans
WIND’s plans are good for the medium-to-heavy talk and text users. If you’re a light user (less than 100 minutes per month) look for something like pay-as-you-go with Speak Out Wireless. Data / web browsing is a standard add-on. It’s great to see that caller ID, call forwarding, call conferencing, and call waiting are included in all plans. Voicemail, though, is an extra $5 per month unless you’re on the highest plan. In keeping with the long-overdue trend in Canada, there are no extra 911 or system access fees with WIND.
An important and unique concept with WIND is the differentiation between a “WIND Zone” (aka local or almost-local) and an “AWAY Zone” (aka roaming). If you’re in one of the cities where WIND has built a network, you’re in a WIND Zone. Depending on your plan, you get province-wide calls from a WIND Zone; plus possibly unlimited incoming calls when in a WIND Zone; all the way up to unlimited Canada-wide calling from any WIND Zone. Because WIND’s network is relatively new (so far they’re in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa), this will be more of a perk as it grows.
AWAY Zone calls, including all incoming calls in an AWAY zone, are extra even on the most expensive plan. Their AWAY zone coverage map in Canada looks like Rogers’ coverage: in other words, coverage is as good as the other wireless providers but it’s obviously costing WIND to use the other networks. Other carriers have the benefit of a bigger network. At least with WIND you know you’re paying for what costs them and not paying so much when it’s cheaper for them… it’s semi-transparent. The within-Canada “roaming” rate actually isn’t bad (25 cents a minute extra for calls), and an unexpected advantage is that the US roaming rates are the same. WIND seems to beat Telus’, Bell’s, and Rogers’ US roaming rates by a large amount.
You can also roam and call internationally, although like any other Canadian carrier, be prepared to pay exorbitant amounts. If you want to make calls when you’re outside of Canada and the US, it’s usually best to get a SIM card from the local area. And if you regularly make calls internationally from Canada or from the US, get a calling card, use a landline, or use Skype or another VoIP option.
There is unlimited WIND-to-WIND calling (when in a WIND Zone) on every plan. This is consistent with WIND’s apparent approach of letting you benefit from their low marginal costs when you’re using their network — artificial charging of intra-network long distance calls is just not as bad with WIND.
Promotions
WIND usually has a promo going on. Some of its promotions have included $150 in credit when porting in a number; a free month of service for every new customer you refer; and 50% off plans for the first 6 months. Unlike the established carriers, these are deals worth being called deals, but remember to consider the regular price of the service once your promo has expired!
Also, if you’re an existing customer of another Canadian wireless company and you’re looking for a good deal, remember to try calling your current carrier’s retentions program!
Community
I can’t speak for WIND’s customer service, but they do have a community section on their website where you can post ideas and grievances, and share stories with other users. It’s one step below an actual forum or more fully-featured message board, which is likely a deliberate marketing move.
No WIND zone in Quebec 
While you can still roam on WIND Mobile in Quebec, WIND won’t have an official presence in that province unless it partners with Videotron in the future.
Conclusion
Combine the fact that there are so many mobile company options these days, with people’s ever-changing and ever-evolving mobile needs, it’s quite tough to give an overall and/or standalone assessment of any company or its individual plans. WIND Mobile certainly has some unique offerings. It’ll be around for a while and needs to grow its network and phone selection, and see how its initial offerings go. And that’s the extent of what I can conclude. An effective search for a new provider starts with defining your own unique needs, and then seeing what’s out there — WIND Mobile is possibly a good option!
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July 31st, 2010 at 12:51 pm
gens says:
Very important point is that the home/away zone is not related to the mapped home/away zone. For example, as Wind Mobile has patchy coverage within their mapped home zone, you may suddenly be flipped onto away network (Rogers) and you will incur away zone charges. I discovered this while using my smartphone to check email and surf the web in downtown Vancouver (sitting outside Starbucks beside Scotiabank Theatre on 900 Burrard St). According to Wind Mobile map, i was dead centre of home zone. However, for some reason, Wind’s coverage on this business core part of Vancouver was non-existent and I got a $10 charge for using away zone data even though I have unlimited data ($35 month). So, be careful Wind Mobile users. You could get big unexpected bills!
August 10th, 2010 at 11:52 am
Julia says:
Good to hear a review. I was excited for Wind, but don’t find it significantly better in pricing or service. The network they operate on just doesn’t seem adequate for their ‘home’ area.
October 15th, 2010 at 11:40 am
John says:
Crappy service, waste of time – stay with Rogers or Bell.
Reply from Peter: Can you please elaborate a bit on your experience?
October 19th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Chris says:
Wind is horrible. Their sales people know nothing and when you call the toll free number they know even less! They also do NOT refund your purchase even if you are within their refund period.
The reception was horrible in downtown Edmonton with the blackberry I bought and when I complained about it and asked for my money back, they refused to refund the phone or the rate plan purchase. They did however cancel the plan immediately so I had paid for both the phone and plan and got nothing in the end. My work work phone is with Telus and I’ll be switching my personal from Wind back to Telus because it simply works!
You may save a little money with Wind but you’ll be having every conversation twice because of the dropped calls. If you do decide to try and get your money back, you’re out of luck!
October 22nd, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Greg says:
It is still the best deal in Canada because of 25 cents per minute usage outside of the home zone and also in the US. Rogers, Telus and Bell still want to charge close to $3 per minute for using your phone in the US. Either that or pre-pay and if you don’t use the minutes they are lost. The big issue with WIND is that the coverage is spotty in the home zone, for me Toronto. If it doesn’t get better soon, I will switch. The phone works better in NY when it is on T-Mobile network. The other big advantage is unlimited US long distance for $10 per month. No one else offers this. Roger’s Chatr has a comparable plan with unlimited talk and text for $45 per month, a better network, 25 cents per minute in the US but no unlimited US long distance from the home zone.
November 2nd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Moe says:
Wind Mobile has come like a wind storm and soon will go away and disappear like a storm, and what will be left behind will be lots of cheated customers. For Canadians the most important thing is the quality of the service, something that this company does not have, why the companies such as Costco and Canadian Tire are successful and always getting bigger and bigger, because they have a good warranty and replacement policy!
I bought 2 Chinese brand phones Huawei U7519 and Huawei U8100 from Wind mobile and U7519 was defective right out of the box and the second one U8100 died after a month, I have been getting run around for a replacement for few days and in the Wind Mobile Store, this little sales kid named David E who had entered my address on my account as 123 fake street, acting as corporate spokeskid and after getting in argument with me calls police on me and telling me I will leave criminal record on your file. Do you thing such a company will survive in Canada.
The Egyptian owner of the company Naguib Sawiris had an interview with National post newspaper on Oct 28, 2010 and in between every few word there was a swear word and it clearly shows this man is very low life grown up in sewers of Egypt is an aggressive man who made a lot of money and all he wants is quick profit.
It has been said too good to be true, $ 25/month unlimited call and text across country with call display, voice mail, call waiting and ….., Quebec is smarter and does not allows this kind of winds to penetrate its borders.
November 16th, 2010 at 9:37 am
fred says:
question….why in the world would i look into the cell companies retention program and keep promoting non competition…give my money to some one who has been ripping me off for years and no is force to compete or strategically kill the competition. I would rather give my money to the new company, promote good competition…it is cheaper by a lot compared side by side. Why would i want to propagate a circle of Rip off’s by the big three. Why give money to their retention programs so once they kill the new guy, the will keep on bumping you in the night as always, without kissing you first. This in a way reminds me of Clearnet, it used to be really good and competitive, same with Fido…till the other Rip off artists ATE It. I WILL NEVER USE A RETENTION PROGRAM. I also don’t care if he is Egyptian. He clearly sees through the Canadian lie, and calls it for what it is. Kudos to him.
It took years for the big three to stop their network from dropping calls and that was based on connection fee lies…government fee, ya right. You all should be moving in droves to new companies, to give them the capital to improve their networks, instead of propagating the canadian lie. I don’t care if they are owned by canadians…the call centers are still over seas, and they are still a rip off…they will keep on being such rip of, if you keep supporting them.
November 25th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Michael says:
I’m at a crossroads with our Fido mobile service and was looking at Wind. I have to agree with Fred, that the big 3 are ripping us off… it’s unfortunate that Fido sold-out to Rogers. The only reason Fido’s (Roger’s) "retention" department is offering me a better deal than what I currently have is because of Wind. Fred makes a good point… allowing the retention department to keep you will hurt competition like Wind. And if Wind dies, our leverage to negotiate more sane voice and data rates is lost. Canada pays some of the highest rates in 1st world countries.
Do I committ to another 3 years of being at Roger’s whim because they have better coverage and can offer me an iPhone 4 for free? It feels dirty, but I must admit that stability and a free iPhone sound pretty nice…. even if I’ll have to take a shower afterward.
December 16th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Sylvester says:
Wind support is the worst support ever. Pray nothing is ever wrong with the service. I have been kept waiting for over 1 hour to resolve my data plan issue. I have been trying to get this issue resolved for over 4 days spending on average 1 hr on the phone. Very poor service
December 25th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
KCanada says:
I’m definitely going to be looking into Wind Mobile because I am so darn sick of Fido. Use to be with Rogers, than switched to Fido when it first came out. I’ve been a loyal customer for years and years. About 4 years ago, Fido started to give very poor customer service. Still stuck with them. Now I get dropped calls EVERYDAY! At least 5 or 6 dropped calls a day. It’s outrageous!! What’s up with that?
Time for me to look into Wind Mobile.
Just my 2 cents.
January 18th, 2011 at 9:00 am
Anne says:
Please do not switch to WINDMOBILE. Its customer service is very poor. Everytime I called, I had to wait at least an hour. The WIND home and away zone are very confused. Here is my story:
Last Christmas, I signed up for the Holiday Miracle Plan, which is unlimited talk, text and data in WIND Zone for $40/mth. Unfortunately, my invoice just came yesterday as $180, which I’m charged for away+roaming calls, messages and data regardless I was in the Wind zone. I spoke to a WIND representative, after an hour waiting, he said my invoice will be investigated and WIND will get back to me. He said, however, he was not sure if the charges would be dropped. I wonder how many WIND customers have got charges like this out there. Is it ridiculous when I’m liable for using my cellphone in WIND zone and it picks up other phone carriers’ networks? Please help.
March 9th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Calgary says:
Wind mobile service is very bad. They have a weak signal. Their billing system is very confusing. They charge you for two months, one month behind and one month in advance when the bill only indicated one month. You can’t argue with their customer service because they simply reply "sorry, we can’t change our system and you have to pay your bill regardless".
Just because I have to wait for three month to get my cell phone unlocked, I had to pay my bill. Here is the surprise !!! their online payment service does not work. I tried and tried and tried for several days but their online service was down, then had to go personally to one of their shopping stands to pay the bill. Now more surprise, the bill I had to pay had an amount very different from the bill shown online.
My advice, Never think about using windmobile service. It is a bit cheaper than other companies but will give you real nightmares.
March 15th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Jino says:
Wondering if anyone in the Edmonton area can comment on WIND’s reliability w/ regards to:
*Dropped calls?
*Picking up alternate carrier signals (ie. Saying you’re in the "AWAY" zone when you’re really in the "WIND HOME" zone?)
While I can see that sticking w/ the big-3 mafia will ensure continued non-drop calls, those companies are seriously giving us an ***-reaming and, as a previous post says:
"November 25th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Michael says:
The only reason Fido’s (Roger’s) "retention" department is offering me a better deal than what I currently have is because of Wind. Fred makes a good point… allowing the retention department to keep you will hurt competition like Wind. And if Wind dies, our leverage to negotiate more sane voice and data rates is lost. Canada pays some of the highest rates in 1st world countries."
In places like Costa Rica, or even MEXICO (courtesy of Carlos Slim Helu) you pay $35 USD per month, EVERYTHING is unlimited.
Why is my bill $180/mth and I’ve been w/ "ROBELUS" for 11 YEARS and made them countless THOUSANDS in the process? And their guys at the call center can barely save me more than $20/mnth by restructuring my plan??
Something is seriously wrong here…
Am I nuts to consider switching to WIND or Mobilicity??
April 1st, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Sean says:
I live in a high-rise condo in downtown Edmonton and Wind’s reception is pretty much terrible. I signed up for the Holiday Miracle plan before Christmas (unlimited North America calling and unlimited data for $40/month) and while the price is great, I’m strongly considering getting rid of it and going back to one of the Big 3.
It’s nice when it’s working properly, but I get a LOT of dropped calls, random static noises, network connection errors, etc. I keep my phone in the "Wind Home" only zone, which an employee told me would help reception, but there are times it just won’t work at all. Usually that only lasts a minute or two, but still very annoying if you want to make a call (or are in the middle of one).
While on business in downtown Calgary it seemed better, but that may just be coincidence.
If you go with Wind, I would evaluate how the reception is in your area without going over your 30 mins so you can still return the phone for a refund. I made the mistake of thinking "it’ll get better" but so far it hasn’t. I expect maybe they will get better in time as they add more towers, but for me it’s just not really a reliable phone network now, and I’m glad I have my Telus work cell as a backup!
June 8th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Jerry says:
WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE , Incompetent staff ….I purchased a phone in december at a wind kiosk the phone was priced for $140 … the rep indicated on my invoice under the section "NITTY GRITTY DETAILS" that my wind tab amount would be $98….I was happily suprised. A week later I log into my wind account and noticed the amount on my tab showing $140??? i called the hotline waited 30mins just to hear the rep say that i have to go to the dealer where i bought the phone and they will refund it. I go back to the kiosk spoke to the same rep that sold me the phone/plan he says to me "I can’t do refunds , you gotta call customer service they can refund you". I kept thinking is he being serious. 5 months later I called the hotline AGAIN ….I spoke to a rep for 45mins, he had no clue what I was saying at the end of the conversation and lots of pointless and rude statements on his end he says …"you need to go to the kiosk and demand a refund , they messed up and the have to give you the money , just talk to a manager he will help you." I couldn’t believe it. I am so fed up with there service, i just dont know what to do anymore. They do not value customers.
June 23rd, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Amy says:
Thought I would be open minded and give Wind a consideration despite all the bad reviews. Called up the customer service and the guy said: " For your information miss, all our information are published on the website, and it’s really easy to find!" If they are so offensive even with a potential customer, I can’t imagine what their attitude would be like to a paying customer!
I thank them for putting out a rate plan that I can bargain with my carrier’s retention department about, but I will never use a company that allows its employee to speak ( even insult!) with the customers with such attitude!
June 25th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Carl says:
Dear all on this review,
I must give some comments. I have been using Telus (previously QuebecTel) back in the day in Québec… for YEARS. I left the country twice for periods of a few years each, and have come back to Telus in Jan 2011. I had been in Toronto for over 2 years until Mar 2009. Then, companies started brightening up with Telus’s Koodo, and Virgin was around also. Koodo’s ads: "no system access" 7$ monthly, I thought "nice, finally a new company with no crap on their billing".
Back then the only thing I had was crappy phones from Telus, the LG Chocolate and LG Venus. Crap phones you say? Hell yeah! My Chocolate (loved the phone) was STILL under warranty, never tried to unlock/hack it or anything. I sent it off under warranty, it came back "warranty voided". ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? It was in a plastic case since I 1st left the store with it. Anyway, I could only reinstate the phone for 75$. I still had 18 months left on my 3-year contract (which I wanted to get out of SOO badly). For this along with OTHER issues, I called Telus. The only thing their complaints department could offer (after 1 hour of complaining nonstop!!!) was apparently a "huge discount" on a LG Venus. But guess what, I need to sign into another 24 month contract to have a proper deal. I thought to myself; "6 more months only, and I’ll have left the country and will need to lower my plan to the lowest until the contract is out". So I went ahead with 2 years. LG Venus? Shittiest phone everrrrr!! Anything else would have been MUCHHH better!
Anyways. I leave Canada, spend 2 years in the UK with a Nokia E71. BEST phone ever! I was told I could use it in Canada, not compatible with Telus’s network, F***. Ok, no probs. I left it to my gf. 6 months before I leave the UK I start shopping, and find that Telus was selling the E72. I arrive in Canada, and start dealing with Telus to have a deal on the E72 for very cheap for 2 years MAX. They NEVER accepted. The phone was about to be discontinued, and Telus, instead of lowering their prices to give the phone for 200$ on a 2-year plan, they said sorry. Start shopping around, and I’m told about Mobilicity and Wind Mobile. A buddy tells me he can call anywhere in Canada for 35$ unlimited and receive calls unlimited? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! That is IMPOSSIBLE! That’s what I thought with my ideology based on Telus’s "standards"… With Telus, to have an equivalent, to talk "unlimited" (or almost), I needed to take an "after 5PM" option for unlimited incoming and outgoing (locally), and my "Fav 5" to call my parents in Quebec unlimited all day. That was an extra cost. Plus caller ID and an SMS option along with 200 day minutes. My bill with taxes was at around 80$ monthly. I had paid that same rough amount from the day I arrived in Toronto until I left (2 years later). I got annoyed and started shopping. I looked into Mobilicity and Wind Mobile. A colleague suggested Wind Mobile as it had a heavy european financial backing (egyptian I know) and probably wouldn’t collapse anytime soon compared to other smaller ones.
I finally walked into a Wind Mobile store, best walk ever! I tried the Alcatel Android (pure crap), then the Nokia 5230. I live in downtown Toronto, and pretty much stay in town. At the time of purchase, I was CLEARLY explained the Wind Tab option (10% of the bill is credited towards the value of the phone), and returns policy (under 30 or 60 minutes of talktime) and xx amount of SMSs and data, I knew what to expect. Soon later I hear that Mobilicity had the Nokia E73. OH YEAHHH baby!!! Look into that option to just buy the phone from their shelves to use with Wind. Happy that I never opted for Mobilicity, they DO NOT have an "unlock" policy. Ask Wind? 3 months, that’s it. And they give you your unlock code, for FREE, and NO hassle (which I have already unlocked, and will work with other Canadian providers and european ones also!!!). I wanted the E73 so badly, that I bought it anyway, but needed a Mobilicity account. So I lost 35$ right upfront. Now I have the E73 sitting on my desk doing nothing, but I’ll be unlocking it tomorrow for 50$. Mobilicity and Wind Mobile have the SAME frequencies, so my phone will be a charm!
Anyways back to Wind and Telus; so before I changed to Wind officially, I called Telus asking for a deal on the soon-to-be-defunct E72 for 200$ on 2 years, "no, can’t do it sir. besides you haven’t been with us for a long time sir". ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 15 years isn’t long enough? They didn’t acknowledge the other years due to leaving the company and coming back. Alright, ok, please close my account.
Have since been relying on Wind in downtown Toronto and my vacations in Québec, and I need to say that it was the BEST choice ever. I am not aware of reception issues in other cities and do definitely empathize with peoples’ bad experience with the reception. But in my case, 4 to 5 bars on my phone constantly, except for when taking the TTC when underground
… Which new company doesn’t have issues at their beginning anyways? I remember ads from Rogers stating they had the clearest call quality and least amount of dropped calls, and that was just back in late 2006 or 2007 By then, they had been on the market LONG before that. So is Wind perfect in terms of reception? Probably not. Is it the BEST option for everyone? Maybe not. Is it one of the cheapest and most reliable option out there in terms of pricing and reliability, probably yes.
Customer service with Telus and Wind? When I called Telus, I ALWAYS called the French queue. With some luck, I usually spoke to people in their calling centre in Rimouski (eastern QC, I’m from the Gaspé coast). They were usually VERY competent, understanding, and genuinly friendly. Sorry for people calling the Big 3 and talking to people abroad, that’s why I prefer the French queues
.. before leaving Telus, I asked them if they could AT LEAST meet a similar plan to Wind’s 45$, for 50~65ish$, they couldn’t. The french rep from Montreal I assume told me to have something similar I’d need to pay 110$ roughly. Hahahah right ok, thanks. I did call Wind several times for paying my bills, on the English queues. I never waited 30 to 60 minutes to speak to someone. I did speak to an ignorant non-canadian born bloke about billing I think, and complained and asked to speak to a supervisor right away. Then was it that I had normal service. Other times when I called, the service was "acceptable". I didn’t have to deal with their Customer Service for returns, I would assume it might be somewhat hectic if you’re beyond your minutes (to be within their returning policy). Then again, people who complained in this blog probably busted their minutes hence not being able to return their phones and having bad customer service. Again Wind is a new company, and they need to mature into a fully functional one. Are they perfect? No. Do they have details available for returns and coverage and so on? Yes they do.
Overall, if I’d move back to my hometown, I wouldn’t be able to deal with Videotron or Wind; Telus Virgin or Bell only. Until then, I’m in downtown TO and I usually stay in this area (always in a Wind Zone); for 45$ I have UNLIMITED Canada-wide (USA also I think) calling (incoming and outgoing), UNLIMITED international texting, and UNLIMITED internet. I also bought Wind’s Huawei’s Wifi hotspot with unlimited internet for 25$ (price good for 12 months). Good reception with my phone; added an external antenna to my hotspot for better reception in my apartment building.
Until now, I’m sold to Wind in terms of pricing and reliability, and do NOT intend on switching out at all anytime soon. Their phones work with other providers and not the other way around.
Wind? Thanks for bring a breeze of fresh air into Canadian cell market
Carl
August 21st, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Fed says:
Stay away from WIND, their reception is horrible, it won’t connect to the network when ever you need it, most of the time I couldn’t make a call or receive a call. I ended up returning it with in the week and got my money back and switched back to rogers but lost my phone number and I had to get a new chip with a new number when I switched back to rogers.
August 30th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Brent says:
I dont know what anyone is talking about. Wind reception is fine. I never drop any calls or never get switched onto wind away.
However phone selection and zone restrictions are garbage.
I hope that rogers/bell/telus get their heads out of their asses and start offering unlimited plans like wind sooner rather than later.
I wouldnt even mind a contract if i could get a decent plan.
September 27th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Jack says:
Rogers is the worst, very dishonest and tricky, don’t waste your money with them.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Laura says:
I’ve been with Telus, and I’ve been screwed over by Bell. I didn’t want to switch to Rogers/Fido because of such bad things I had heard from friends so when Wind came on the scene I made the switch.
My fiance and I have been with Wind for 14 months now. We live in the Vancouver area and have had only a couple problems with Home vs Away network pockets, though none in the downtown area. I notified them of the problem areas and they’ve since been fixed.
I guess we’ve been lucky–our phones have been working fine. Dropped my Huawei U8100 in a
Hot pedicure bath and it still works perfectly. Go figure!
As for service, I haven’t had to call much so I can’t comment. Honestly, though, even if they turn out to be as bad as the service from the Big 3, I am still happier with Wind. I don’t expect anyone to kiss my feet when it comes to service–you just end up being disappointed.
Over the passed year, in our switch from our Fido and Bell accounts we have saved over $1200 in regular useage fees alone. We signed up on a special plan and, now that has expired, they are letting us switch to the latest promotional plan, so we still get a good deal.
We found it really helpful to start our accounts on Pay Before—–make sure you do this. That way, if you inadvertantly end up in an Away zone, your phone doesn’t let you have service unless you top up.You know exactly how much you are spending.
Amazing plans if you call long distance….none of this ‘free calls after 7′ b.s. No more $5 phone cards, or long distance add-ons that require you to unknowingly renew your 3-year contract.
I am thinking about their internet stick, bc they are giving a free wireless router at the moment. If we bundle our phones and internet, they take $15 off the bill each month, which means only $20/mth for unlimited highspeed without a contract…..seems unbeatable. Still doingbmy research on that one.
Just remember, not one phone company is going to make everyone happy, and it is the unhappy customer that usually writes reviews!