Last updated Wednesday April 24th, 2024
My fiancé and I are living in a rural area. I looked into purchasing a hot spot however, exede had prices that were slightly cheaper.
Pros
During my initial phone call to set up the service and appointment time, the customer service representative failed to mention that there would be a $50.00 charge for installing the dish into the ground instead of the roof. The technician that came out to do the install was nice enough to tell me they would refund my $50.00 if I called and complained. Sadly, I had to call twice. First, to ask for the refund. The second because I still had not received the credit after my second billing cycle. I have to say the technician that did the install was very informative and professional. One other plus of this service is the speed of the internet. I only use it for school work and the light web browsing.
Cons
If you want to get anyone on the phone, good luck! You will wait at least 20-30 minutes every time you call. I dread having to call them. Their website is horrible. To get anything accomplished you have to call and wait. I considered purchasing a larger data plan (I am currently at the lowest 10GB for 70 a month) and was amazed there was not an option to do this online. If I can purchase individual increments to add on monthly, why can I not change my plan? I have always been curious how I can use 10GB of data and trust them that that is what I am actually using! I am seriously considering purchasing a hot spot.
Internet Usage Fraud
Got the Dish Excede internet in June 2012. Initially had the 10 GByte anytime for about $80 per month; then in June 2014 we ran out of usage 2 days before end of billing/cycle. We then "upgraded" to 15 GByte anytime for $90.89 per month. (We did this even though our internet usage has not changed.) The next cycle we ran out 8 days before the billing cycle ended. This past time we ran out with 21 days left in the cycle. This cycle looks like we will run out with 23-24 days left in the cycle.
We have called Dish numerous times and they consistently blame us, the customer, for internet usage. We tell them we have not changed our internet usage habits. In fact, now we do less on the internet, and the usage is gone in less than a week.
The Dish operators all say the same thing, like they are reading from a script or they have been trained on exactly what to say to the customers. Either way, they are aware of the scam; if you ask them if they have heard the complaints before, they admit they have.
We have also told them that when we are not on the internet, we unplug from the modem, (we do not use routers), and overnight we lose anywhere from 200 MBytes to 5.5 GBytes.
The first 24 months of service (Jun 2012 to Jun 2014) we never exceeded 10 GBytes of anytime data. At least according to the usage meter. Was the meter reading low during that time? And now it is reading correctly? But that still does not explain the huge data loss when no computer is plugged into the modem.
Also noticed, the complaints on this issue went exponential starting in 2013. Timed in conjunction with some important events about to take place.
Hands down the most horrific company I've dealt with
Do I have to give them even one star?
Satellite internet is the only option where I live. I wish I would have researched this company before signing a contract though. If I would have, I probably would have dealt with no internet at our house.
Install was OK. And our service was "eh" at first. We knew we would be limited in streaming and that we had a data cap.
We ended up having to increase our data usage and we had to cancel our Netflix watch instantly because we could no longer stream videos without maxing out our data. And this is coming from a family that does not do nearly as much surfing as the average American family. I could live with all of that. The killer was when we moved!
We moved from one house to another ON THE SAME 10 ACRE PROPERTY and had to pay over $500!!!!! It took almost 3 months for the company and technicians to get their poop in a group and get someone out here to help. I cannot blame the technicians as they are an independent company I suppose, but Exede all but lied their butts off when it came to how much it would cost and did not relay to the technicians very well as to what needed to be done. I could have cancelled/broken the contract, but that would have cost an arm and leg and probably would have ended up in some credit damage the way this scam of a company works. It was a lose lose situation.
I think having to sign any contract for luxury services (internet, phone, TV) is just plain bull, but after this I will be MUCH more wary of companies. I cannot warn potential customers enough of this company. Although I have never had a rude customer service agent, the amount of time holding and communication skills are meager at best.
I would hope for this company to join the fiery pits of hell, but I would probably have to pay for that too.
Don't get unless you have absolutely no alternative to internet
We had to move our farming business due to a major life change and found that there were no alternative internet services other than satellite or just using our Verizon data package at this site. We had had bad experience with this company in the past but decided to give them a try while we hunted for something else. Don't be fooled by the high speed they advertize as they restrict the service so much you can't use it for anything. Late night free zone is usable for people that just want to down load large files for entertainment but this service can not be used for someone that wants to watch a live event or even monitor live stats for sporting events or used for any type of monitoring equipment due to the EXTREME bandwidth restrictions. We understand that there are limitations to what can run over this type of connection, yet they don't mind selling extra bandwidth to people of course. If they could get beyond the greed factor on how they run their company and offer at least reasonable amounts of bandwidth to their customers they would be an ok service but until they do that STAY AWAY! Look for wireless broadband companies that can reach you before being duped into this company.
To be fair to them, their speeds usually run at or above the advertised speeds, however the high ping (not their fault just a function of how this type of service works) makes the speed seem slower than a service with a much slower speed with a fast ping. The only experience I have had with their customer service the person I talked to was very polite but I know this is a major complaint and I may find out in the near future as we attempt to connect to a newer wireless broadband company in our area and if successful we will have to cancel and I am bracing to have to deal with a rude unhelpful person. I just hope they will be able to prove me wrong on that front.
Buyers Beware!!
I would give 0 stars if possible. This company is absolutely horrible. Not only do you wait an outrageous amount of time to speak with a customer representative, but they also are rude. I've had several hang up on me.
After I FINALLY got my service cancelled, they've charged my card over $230. I was told I had 21 days to have the equipment returned before they charged me. This is day FIFTEEN. THIS COMPANY IS TERRIBLE - DO NOT GET SERVICE WITH THEM! They were the only company that serviced my area, and I wish now I'd just done without internet!
Too much month, too little access
Every month about 8 days in, our data access starts becoming very limited. Towards the end we can't text or download anything. They have told us several reasons why and we correct them but still have a huge data loss. I am not happy with this service at all. We can't afford to pay for data usage.
Have Never Dealt With A Worse Company
Same complaints that other reviews have stated.Will add that every time I tried to contact "customer service" I waited at least 20 minutes to speak to someone or they hung up or they were rude.After 3 months of trying to reason with this company and cancel our service we just gave up.We also bundled with Directv.Shame on them,there should be some course of action that can be taken.Consolation is in the fact that you can't run a company in this manner & stay in business much longer.
Horrible! Do not get it!!!!!!
Worst service ever!!!! I can't believe this company even Exists. I ordered this service because it was recommended by directv and since directv is known for great service I figured they would a great company for internet. Boy was I wrong!!!! So they offer 20GB for 6 months as a promo and they say that is more than enough. Wrong again! We used it for 2 1/2 days watched 1 movie on netflix and my kid was chasing the wifi on her iPad. Oh we were only able to get wifi in the room it was installed. So basically in 2 1/2 days they say we used 22 GB. Customer service is the worst I've ever experienced and they want to charge 50 dollars a month for 2 years if we cancel. DONT get this company, they are a nightmare
Do Not Get It
I signed up for this service thinking it was part of a package with DirectTv. I found out it was a separate company. I was aware there was a data cap, but was told that from midnight to five in the morning the cap did not pertain. The service was the worst and that includes those hours. When it rained or was windy, I would call and they would tell me the service was affected in my area and nothing could be done, no credit offer would be made or given when asked. Some would "offer" a technician to show up, but it would cost $150 for the visit alone. They also always have the same "fix" unplug and replug.
To make matters worse, the reps I would get were very difficult to understand. It is very obvious they use another country for their reps, so why try to cover it up with a southern drawl?
I opted to cancel early and pay the rest of the month. They sent me a box to return the modem and transmitter. I live in a two story and they put the dish on the highest peak of the house. There is no way to reach it. My options are to pay $300 for not returning it or $150 for one of their technicians to come out and get it. No where in the contract does it state that the transmitter must be returned. After several arguments they agreed to send someone out to get it at no charge.
This company is not worth it. Stay away.
STAY AWAY!
This company deserves no stars. If I would've read these reviews prior to calling DirectTV, it would've saved me alot of stress. I was with excede for 2 days when I decided to cancel, keep in mind I already paid $63 for first month. The rep told me I'm locked in for 2 years and would have to pay $15 a month for the remaining 23 months.. FML. You wonder why this company has no grace period after installing, wonder no more. I have no clue why DirectTV bundles with them and was offered this service by the DirectTV rep. This company is by far the worst company I've ever dealt with in my life.