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lyth
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lyth

From Mississauga, ON

Is an Average User

I own a Nexus One

15 Posts

1 month, 2 weeks ago in Ideas and Suggestions

Wind article in the Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/business/money911/article/839466--roseman-customer-left-hanging-when-switching-wireless-carriers?bn=1 It's funny how the article is pretty negative in the beginning, but the comments are all very pro Wind. It shows that there are still problems, but Wind has definitely come a long ...
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240 reads / 1 comment
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1 month, 3 weeks ago in Phones and Plans

Does anyone know when the "Pay Now" link is going to be fixed? It's still trying to double charge for HST
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99 reads / 0 comments
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2 months, 2 weeks ago in Ideas and Suggestions

Please remove port blocking! This whitelisted ports policy is terrible. It does nothing to make the network stronger or better, but instead caused unneeded aggravation for customers who find common applications do not work. They then vent their frustration on poor front line CSRs, and then cause more work for ...
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184 reads / 7 comments

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

4 months, 2 weeks ago in Ideas and Suggestions

Lawrence and Port Union Plaza in Scarborough has massively improved reception now. Good job Wind!
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154 reads / 2 comments
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5 months ago in Phones and Plans

Wind still doesn't want my money? It's been three months now, and pre-authorized billing still doesn't work for me. Has anyone else had this problem?
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128 reads / 3 comments
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5 months, 3 weeks ago in Ideas and Suggestions

I got charged for a text message to the US - I thought texts to the US were included in the Always Shout plan? To put salt on that wound, I didn't even send that text message: it's a bogus charge. Yeah, it's only 15 cents, but it ...
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177 reads / 2 comments

Average rating is 5

1 ratings

5 months, 4 weeks ago in Ideas and Suggestions

Wind doesn't want my money? I've tried to pay my bill 3 times since February and it still hasn't gone through. The CSR's I talked to on the phone each time made it seem like my payment was processed, but then the charges never showed up ...
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154 reads / 5 comments
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6 months, 1 week ago in Network and Coverage

US roaming disappointment... I just got back from a week in Florida. I had been pretty excited about roaming without emptying my bank account. I called in a couple of times before my trip to make sure that roaming was enabled for me, and I was assured that it was ...
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371 reads / 6 comments
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7 months ago in General Comments

Yesterday I drove from Winston Churchill and QEW in Mississauga to the Gardiner and Jarvis in downtown Toronto , then up the DVP to the 401 and over to Port Union (total trip length was about 70km) with absolutely no loss of reception whatsoever, according to my N1. I'm pretty ...
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180 reads / 2 comments
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7 months ago in Ideas and Suggestions

Can we have an identifier for actual Wind customers on this community blog? It could similar to the Wind logo next to the Wind Cares user name. It would help weed out a lot of noise from non-customers posing as customers.
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126 reads / 4 comments
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7 months, 1 week ago in Ideas and Suggestions

These are the guys you should emulate for customer service: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/teksavvy Take a look at how their employees interact with customers and resolve problems and complaints. Also take a look at their reviews. They have an amazingly high satisfaction rate. Full disclosure: I do not ...
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239 reads / 6 comments
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7 months, 2 weeks ago in Phones and Plans

Nexus One unboxing - by ninjas!
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202 reads / 0 comments
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8 months ago in General Comments

Very happy with Wind and my Nexus One
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397 reads / 15 comments

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

8 months ago in Ideas and Suggestions

I'm really worried about port blocking now that I've read up on it... in fact, the most worrying part is that there is no official information from Wind about it. So can someone from Wind please clarify whether port blocking is intentional? If so, I'm disappointed, but ...
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374 reads / 3 comments

Average rating is 5

4 ratings

8 months, 3 weeks ago in Ideas and Suggestions

I'm really glad Wind if finally here, and I can't wait to become a customer as soon as the number portability kinks are worked out and one of my preferred phones (Nexus One or Xperia 10) becomes available. I have a suggestion for the data plans that I ...
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212 reads / 9 comments

Average rating is 5

3 ratings

196 Comments/Ratings

@MattyD: The whole security argument is your interpretation vs our interpretation of the CRTC guidelines. It's up to them to decide which way they want to enforce their rules. The security issue is bunk, in my opinion. There are absolutely no security gains to be had by blocking outbound ports. Also, note that the laptop data plans do not have these restrictions. Blocking ports does nothing to improve security. All it manages to do is create an artificial differentiation between the phone and laptop data plans, while blocking legitimate content to end users.

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I wonder how much money Wind is losing due to port blocking? A lot of high value customers still won't touch Wind because they don't want to go through the hassle of blocked ports.

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@MattyD: There's a thread on HoFo about it (but this board won't let me post the link) There are currently at least two complaints with the CRTC, and they are following up with Wind about it. I can see the CRTC forcing Wind to open up ports in the near future.

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MattyD, I would hope that you, as a network engineer, would know the difference between inbound ports and outbound ports. Firewalls operate by blocking inbound ports. Outbound ports are rarely filtered, and never as a means of 'security' So maybe you're a little confused about our problem with port blocking. It's the blocking of outbound ports that is causing issues. There definitely are valid reasons for inbound port blocking, and no one is contesting that.

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@Mainak: I tried to post a link, but my post kept getting rejected. Please google Howard Forums Wind. You should be able to find more information there

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Also, you can never predict what the next 'killer app' is going to be. There will be a ton of complaints if it ends up using a port that Wind has decided to block.

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@WindyN900: I think average people will run into this problem as well, since streaming music apps tend to use a diverse range of ports. But since most people aren't technically savvy, they'll just think that Wind's data network isn't as good as their old provider.

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Your "network ninjas" have been MIA for a very long time. I had a ticket for reception problems open since January, with no updates from them until May. Yes, 5 months with no information about my open ticket! And here's the kicker: When they did manage to call me back, they told me there were no plans yet on fixing reception in that area, even though it's a known weak/dead zone.

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Congratulations Wind! It's great to see how well you're doing :) Just improve reception in current home zones and remove port blocking and you'll have everyone flocking to you.

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Awesome idea! I remember that Wind thought this was a great idea last time it was brought up (a loooong time ago), but they never ended up acting on it. Hopefully your post will help get things rolling!

Average rating is 3

6 ratings

This is due to Wind's policy of port blocking, whereby all data ports are blocked by default. This causes most applications to not work. Wind has slowly opened up some of the more commonly used ports, so there are a fair number of applications that do work at the moment. But getting them to open up more ports is long and painful process, with no guarantees that the requested ports will be opened up. The CRTC has received a couple of complaints about this so far, because port blocking is an illegal practice. Let's see if they can manage to ...

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The area west of Winston Churchill from Laird to at least Burnhamthorpe is pretty weak, too. There's some reception on the street, but nothing indoors for much of the area.

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Another good option: * I refuse to have a data plan due to port blocking ;)

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The difference is that Rogers is abusing their dominant position. Have you noticed that Chatr is *only* operating in the same areas as Wind? Rogers already has the network and equipment in place, so there's no reason to focus only on the same coverage areas as Wind, except as an attempt to put an upstart competitor out of business.

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I also like the valley girl :)

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http://shop.windmobile.ca/ProductCatalog/Addon/AddonCategory.aspx?id=Text

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Yeah, I love that idea! It would help ease the sticker shock most people have when they see the prices of the new phones. However, I don't like the idea of accruing positive balances. The user shouldn't need to pay more than the cost of the phone at any time -- once it's paid off, they should just pay their normal plan rate until they decide to purchase a new phone.

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

Actually, I was just reading another comment where the person proposed prepaid data. I would love to be able to purchase blocks of data ahead of time that either don't expire, or at the very least last a couple of months. Something like $10 or $15 for a gigabyte block of prepaid data would be pretty cool. And having the option of topping it up through your phone would be impressive too!

Average rating is 5

3 ratings

Wind is definitely listening. I was at the launch at Queen's Quay on Wednesday (it's only been 5 days that they've been able to offer service!) and I had a chance to talk to a wide variety of Wind employees, from the sales staff all the way up to the CEO. They definitely listen to what we have to say, and I'm certain they'll have some new data tiers for us soon, as long as the community want them.

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

There are detailed instructions here: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?referrerid=295219&t=1430056 I don't have a bold, so I can't personally vouch for it working. It's still worth a shot!

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A better rate for data would be nice, but what is so evil about lower range data tiers? They work out nicely for people who know they won't consume huge amounts of data, but still want consistency in billing

Average rating is 5

3 ratings

I was at the launch - I was being interviewed by a CBC reporter when Tony came over and said hello - and I just want to restate what I said then. Congratulations to all Wind employees for sticking through some tough times and bringing both hope and choice to the Canadian consumer. We've been waiting for what seems like forever to finally do business with a company that considers us valuable partners rather than cash cows to simply milk. Go Wind!

Average rating is 4

5 ratings

There's absolutely no reason for google to withhold the nexus one from the Canadian market. I'll get a relative in the states to ship it to me, but we really shouldn't have to jump through hoops like this. I hope Wind does something to make the google phone available more easily to Canadian consumers!

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2 ratings

Exactly, where's the conversation?

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Thank you for sharing that, droidhacker! I'm impressed that you managed to root out all the details. I just wish Wind would be more forthcoming with this information - one of their biggest selling points is supposed to be their openness with customers.

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4 ratings

There's no official word one way or another. Some people say they intend to continue blocking most ports, but allow access through a select few. Other people are saying Wind will unblock all ports eventually. It's impossible to tell what is true until we hear from an actual Wind employee :(

Average rating is 5

6 ratings

Yeah, I'm rather taken aback by the port blocking, since Wind advertised their data plan as unlimited internet with no walled garden. Port blocking unfortunately *does* create a walled garden, and effectively limits us to simply web browsing.

Average rating is 5

6 ratings

Yeah, the port blocking thing bugs me a lot because it goes against two major things Wind is supposed to stand for: 1) "what you see is what you get" service with no catches 2) open dialogue with the community - I have yet to see any Wind employee acknowledge this issue publicly. There's been *no* conversation about it from Wind's side yet.

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Received my Nexus One late on Friday night (had a relative ship it from the states to me). I activated my Wind account on Saturday afternoon, and my number was ported over from Fido within 2 hours. Data took about the same amount of time to activate. Every Wind employee I've been in contact with, from sales staff to customer service and tech support have been extremely helpful and a joy to talk to. Coverage has been excellent for me in Mississauga and the Distillery District downtown, with the sad exception of my house. I've called in a trouble ticket ...

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

Oh, and I don't know if it's a fluke or what, but Google Voice somehow started working for me this evening!

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2 ratings

@ hey-joe: that's what I thought too, which is why I think it was some sort of odd fluke

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2 ratings

Hey guys, thanks for the info about Google Voice. I hadn't followed it at all until I decided to get a Nexus One, so I'm pretty clueless about it. @Hate_Big3s: Yeah, I took my phone in with me to the Meadowvale store. The sales reps were awesome and had me up and running with my free SIM in under an hour.

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

I'm getting just under 2mbs down and 400kbs up at home, where my signal is very weak. I have full bars at work, and the speed test was about 3.5mbs down and 600kbs down. Honestly, I was expecting double the download speed, but I have very little experience with phones and data, so I'm not sure if my expectations were realistic.

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I agree. I have the data plan currently, but I'll be cancelling it and sticking to voice and wifi until they fix their port blocking issues. And even then, I'll probably end up waiting until there's a mid tier data plan.

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It doesn't matter whether Rogers believes the change to be material or not. If you feel the change in contract was enough to allow you to cancel without contract, you can complain to the CCTS: http://www.ccts-cprst.ca/en/ Rogers has to pay a fine for any unresolved complaints, so they usually bend over backwards to come to a reasonable compromise. You *don't* have to accept their offers until you're satisfied. This may take some time and back and forth, but it seems like it would be worth it in your case. Good luck!

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I meant cancel without early termination fees. We need an edit button :P

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I get about 2 bars (50%) on my nexus one in the area, though my house gets 0-1 bar most of the time, and I'm spitting distance from the Costco on Laird. Reception gets much better as you get closer to the QEW

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well, 1 bar is about 25% reception in my case. I can make and receive calls on that and they sound just fine. Obviously I would prefer even better reception, so I did call in a trouble ticket about reception in the area. We'll see if they respond to it.

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That was very well said! I really hope that Wind officially responds to this, because the lack of response is severely undermining Wind's desired image of openness.

Average rating is 4

23 ratings

wheee! Thanks :) I think?

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Definitely follow up with Wind about it! I'd heard from several people who had trouble with number porting, but it seemed like thing had gotten better recently. In my case, my number was ported over within a couple of hours on Saturday.

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Seems like someone's flag happy tonight! (it took a massive amount of self-restraint for me to keep from flagging your post :P)

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doh, looks like I didn't need to

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I'm glad to see how hard you guys are working to improve your network! However, I do agree with droidhacker, even if I don't agree with the way he said it. Port blocking is a huge issue to tech savvy customers and potential customers. I know you have a thousand other things that are legitimately higher priority, so I'm willing to wait (sans data plan) until you're ready to fix the port blocking issue. However, I'm really disturbed that there hasn't been any official acknowledgement about port blocking. Is it really that hard to write up a post explaining Wind's ...

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Thank you, Chris, for joining this conversation! I'm really happy that you took the time to educate yourself about what seems at first to be an exclusively techie problem. However, port blocking *will* affect non-technical customers as well. People will complain that they can't do the same things on Wind that they could on Fido, for example, where all ports are unblocked by default. I understand and appreciate that you want to differentiate between the phone data and internet stick data plans, but blocking *any* port is a bad way to do so. I hope you will continue this conversation ...

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Congrats! I'm really glad they have it working for you

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I don't know how widespread these problems are - what percentage of Nexus One users are having problems? I'm one of the lucky Nexus users who hasn't had any major issues.

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hmm... maybe that's why I haven't had any 3G issues? I set my N1 manually to only use Wind's network whenI first got it (didn't want to give Rogers even one more cent).

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my response was to rhci's link, btw

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Where are you at? I'm at the Distillery District in Toronto right now, and I normally have full reception here, but the signal has been completely dead since I got in this morning (had decent reception on the GO train from Mississauga, though). I was just about to email Wind and ask if there were any network issues in my area.

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Bleh, I hope they get it sorted out soon, then!

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up at full strength here in the Distillery District

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Port blocking still persists, unfortunately. It's a deal breaker for me because it's aggravating when an application doesn't work and then I have to jump through all sorts of hoops in order to possibly get the affected ports unblocked

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I canceled my data service last night. There's no point in paying money for such a crippled service. For now, I'll deal with wifi and I'll consider getting a data plan again if/when all ports are unblocked and there's a low/mid tier plan available

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

I find it funny that most people who call me hang up on the first ring because they don't understand it. I wouldn't be so amused if any of those calls were important.

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No, actually, it's not. The current $35 plan from Wind is about equal to the $10 unlimited browsing plans from the incumbents. It's pretty sad, actually.

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ugh, too many actually's

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Not all ports are open. Unfortunately, I can't test it anymore since I canceled my data plan in protest. Most apps were working for me, but there were several other things that didn't work. For example, I just opened up several ports on my networked media player at home for administration, PVR, and media downloading (using my home DSL connection to download, but allowing control of what is downloaded and when through remote commands). None of those ports are currently unblocked on Wind, and I would have a hard time convincing them to open up these ports, since very few ...

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I still hope for a lower tier data plan, but I do agree with you that the current $35 plan should be completely unlimited with open ports. A lower priced unlimited browsing plan sounds good. I remember Chris saying that they still wanted a way to differentiate the phone data vs the data stick. That should be pretty simple: P2P such as torrents should be throttled on the phone data, and the 5 gig download limit before being slowed should be raised for the data stick plan - maybe have a 10 gig allowance before being slowed versus a 5 ...

Average rating is 5

3 ratings

We're here because we're part of a community. That community includes Wind staff, current customers, potential customers, and (unfortunately) trolls. I'm not accusing you of being a troll at all, TBR, but I've noticed your posts getting more and more hostile lately. I agree that Wind should more actively engage the community, but you're providing a lot of fodder for the actual trolls to take and run with. Anyway, it's not my place to tell you what to do or not to do. I just wanted to clarify that I feel we're all a part of this community together. I ...

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I've had the Nexus One for three weeks now on Wind. It's an excellent phone! Put a Wind sim card in the phone (you'll get one for free if you go in to a Wind Store and sign up for service), and voice will work immediately. For data, you have to add internet.windmobile.ca as the APN in the phone settings.

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The N1 works fine on both Rogers and Wind for voice. Data will only work full speed on Wind

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The strange ring tone has already been fixed. I just tried calling my cell phone from my work telephone to confirm it.

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it's 2PM and I'm still not fully awake :P I meant west side of Winston Churchill above

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Do you mean dslreports.com or teksavvy.com? I couldn't find anything like you mentioned on either site, so either I missed the link, or it's from an ad on the dslreports site? Ads are notoriously dodgy - I wouldn't recommend ever downloading something from one. If the product looks interesting, I suggest googling it first to see if it's legitimate.

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I know there was a relationship between the two, but I don't think Tek still deals with the Yak back-end. Either way, I really hope Wind can use these guys as a role model.

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I need an edit button: Lawrence and Port Union are in Scarborough

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that's a great question! I've been wondering that myself. I assume it would vary depending on the local terrain, but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable could provide us with general estimates?

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1 ratings

That does help, Graham. Thanks!

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It's still really weak at Lawrence and Port Union. Also, very weak reception from Dundas to Burnhamthorpe on the north side of Winston Churchill in Mississauga

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Yeah, that's really disturbing. I just messaged the webmaster at dslreports to look into it.

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I agree. I know a lot more of us would be more active here if we didn't have to wade through so much garbage from trolls and shills all the time.

Average rating is 5

5 ratings

lucky you. I have yet to get a call back that was promised to me on Sunday. I've tried calling a couple of times this week, but I rarely have much spare time, so I've hung up after being on hold for 5-10 minutes. I've also had no responses to the emails I've sent :( I'm trying to be patient, but it's hard sometimes :/

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Thanks, Graham. I've updated my profile to have a more reliable email address. I did end up getting through to a customer service rep about 20 minutes ago, but he didn't have any information for me other than letting me know that the techs are buried under a massive number of tickets and that someone would hopefully get in touch with me at some point. The reason I wanted a call back to find out what, if any, plan there was for dealing with the poor reception in my neighborhood - I opened my ticket on the 10th of January ...

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I canceled my data plan because of the port blocking, and will not re-activate it again unless all or most ports are opened up. Yes, most casual internet users won't notice if the majority of ports are closed, but it causes your most tech savvy and vocal customers a huge amount of aggravation. Also, you will lose customers when they find applications they've used on other providers will not work on Wind. They won't know about blocked ports, they will simply see the service as broken and leave. And tech savvy potential customers won't even bother to try your service ...

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8 ratings

I don't normally feed the trolls, but gmash, I haven't seen you post a single positive thing about Wind since launch day. You were never a Wind customer and it's obvious you never will be (because your paycheck probably comes from one of the legacy carriers). I really like mccan's idea of throttling non-Wind customers' posts, but I'm sure it strikes fear into the hearts of paid shills. Wind is not perfect, that's for sure. I've complained quite a bit about port blocking, and canceled my data plan in protest. Reception at my house is fairly crappy, but I'm willing ...

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@pay2talk: The problem is that it's often not the truth. Real issues are being buried by the flood of garbage that comes from just a handful of users who have never been and never will be Wind customers. You want the truth about Wind? Ask people who are actual Wind customers.

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

Thanks, Paul! lol@CM16 - I guess that could be appropriate right now ;) Trottie - I don't think anyone denies that there are problems currently. But the extent of those problems seems to be overblown here on this blog/forum/whatever this place is. I've definitely had issues, but my experience with Wind has been an overall positive one. All of my friends who have Wind are also very happy despite issues. All I want is to identify actual Wind customers so we can be a proper community when it comes to helping each other out. It also makes it easy for ...

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I'm not surprised that others are having worse problems than me. But we would at all at least have some more pertinent information if my suggestion is followed. It would weed out people like daniels creating multiple accounts and pretending to be Wind customers. Also, an ex customer's perception is important, but not as relevant as someone who is actually still using the service, For example, the network has improved dramatically since December 16th. Someone who tried it then and left after a week would have a radically different perception of Wind than someone who is a current customer. I ...

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Thank you for the update Chris. About port blocking... I really hope you understand just how disappointing it is that the majority of ports are blocked. Even some of the applications you mentioned in your last blog post aren't working yet. It's also aggravating having to pester your overworked techs to try and get new ports approved. It's much less hassle for everyone involved to just open up all the ports and keep your promise of a "no walled garden" approach. As I've said numerous times already, there are many, many ways to differentiate your phone data and internet stick ...

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That's pretty neat!

Average rating is 5

4 ratings

@mccans: Teksavvy's CEO and other employees post quite often on their forum at DSLReports. I'm hoping that Wind will learn from Teksavvy's example, because that is definitely a company to emulate!

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Unfortunately, network coverage is a mixed bag. In my experience, Wind is superior to what Rogers offered even three years ago in terms of coverage. Call quality is much better than Rogers. I travel mostly the same route from Mississauga/Oakville to Downtown Toronto and out to the border of Scarborough and Pickering. Reception in most spots I've been to in Mississauga is fairly good, though my neighborhood has poor coverage. Downtown Toronto has been flawless for me. The border of Pickering and Scarborough is spotty at best. The network is improving daily. Driving on the DVP and 401 is somewhat ...

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JAWG, there is a very obvious distinction between constructive criticism and trolling. Repeatedly posting negative comments about Wind without any substance is trolling, and many of here are honestly sick of that. I can tell that you're a smart person who can contribute meaningfully to the conversation, so it's extra insulting to everyone here that you're instead throwing tantrums. So far it seems to me that your legitimate issues with Wind are about poor coverage in Burlington and also the lack of responses in general from Wind management to the community. Presenting these concerns in civil manner will go much ...

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5 ratings

http://www.windmobile.ca/community/WIND-news/detail/network-update-where-were-building-now/ http://www.windmobile.ca/community/WIND-news/detail/crossing-canada-new-coverage-roaming-ring-tones-mixed-reactions/ You should read the blogs more :)

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did you get charged for the long distance, or did you get that annoying recording saying you need to dial 1 before making the call? I keep getting that recording while calling Vancouver, but I haven't been charged for any calls to there yet. I should change those numbers from +1-604 to just 1-604, because my N1 doesn't seem to be adding the 1.

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I'm glad to hear that you're impressed with the network!

Average rating is 5

3 ratings

Throwing a tantrum is not a conversation, JAWG. You seem to get really scared and angry every time someone suggests a way to make the conversation work better for actual, current customers. Yes, some people have called for bans, but this suggestion has nothing to do with banning and you're getting bent out of shape anyway. Learn to compromise and you'll find life is much more enjoyable that way :)

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lol, nice way to turn it around, JAWG. You also failed to address my point - pay2talk's idea has nothing to do with banning. I also haven't declared any support of banning. You just seem hysterical at this point, which is really sad. Please, calm down. It's not like Wind killed your kitten.

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3 ratings

@JAWG: You still haven't explained how or why identifiers for Wind customers would stifle 'free speech'. I think it's a great way to bring a little clarity to the conversation. @CM16: While I believe some people are having really serious problems with Wind's network coverage, I feel that an unfair picture is being painted that everyone else must be having the same issues. Nope, that isn't the case. There are a lot of people who are very happy with Wind's network, and we see that it is improving every day. I'm not dismissing the problems you've had with Wind, but ...

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Nice! It's good to see Wind is improving the network. Now, about improving reception in my neighborhood... ;)

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lol, I didn't set out to map the coverage. I just happened to look at my battery usage after I finished my trip and it said 0% downtime. :)

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I always assumed Bell would eventually buy Telus, but now I'm wondering if Wind should put in an offer ;)

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I really like Lincoln88's idea - send and SMS, but allow us to enable or disable them at our discretion.

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That, and not everyone is having those issues. Every person I know personally who has service with Wind doesn't suffer from those problems. I suspect it's limited to a few specific areas with poor coverage.

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The apn itself is internet.windmobile.ca from what I remember. Sorry, I'd check my phone, but I deleted the APN when I canceled my data plan in protest over the blocked ports.

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no, I think the $55 offering is something along the lines of broadband.windmobile.ca

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Yup, I think it's about time JAWG was perma-banned. He contributes nothing of value to the community.

Average rating is 2

7 ratings

gmash & company, you trolls need to grow up

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I still like mccan's idea about throttling the posting rate of non Wind customers. But I also think the trolls should be banned. Block their IPs and do not let people with a non Canadian IP post - this will easily remove the majority of proxies and make it much tougher on the trolls.

Average rating is 4

8 ratings

Shay - Wind coverage is generally very good in Mississauga, and near Sheridan College in Oakville. There are a lot of weak spots in the network currently (such as my neighbourhood by Winston Churchill and Dundas), but Wind is fixing things up very quickly.

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That's odd -- I called in a couple of days ago to activate my US roaming, and they had it set up for me within moments. Let's see if actually works once I get to Orlando, though :P

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TBR, don't you live in Vancouver? That means you haven't had the opportunity yet to be a Wind customer. I think the point you brought up is valid, but it's a little bit disingenuous to pretend you're actually a current customer.

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TBR, don't you live in Vancouver? That means you haven't had the opportunity yet to be a Wind customer. I think the point you brought up is valid, but it's a little bit disingenuous to pretend you're actually a current customer. Also cut and paste ;)

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That sounds like a great idea to me!

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

Yup. I'm really happy with wind in general and I have a beautiful Nexus One I brought over from the US, but it's pretty shocking Wind only has 4 phones available. They should be very ashamed at their poor selection of phones.

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Dunno what you're talking about -- US roaming works according to multiple customers.

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I'm glad to hear things are going well for you! I was a bit worried when I ported my number over as well, but it also went flawlessly (this was near the beginning of January).

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Yes, Wind does make it very easy to activate an unlocked compatible phone on the network. All I had to do was show my Nexus One to the sales reps at the store, and I had a free SIM card and service right away. My point, however, is with the selection of phones Wind has for purchase in store. 4 phones and one internet stick? The only company in the world with a worse selection is Public Mobile - they only have one crappy phone :P

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I was activated at the Meadowvale store as well. Adil was the rep who took care of me, and he was awesome! He was really knowledgeable and thorough with everything. I had a chance to talk to all of the other reps there that day, and they all seemed like a good group. I've also had a good experience at the Queen's Quay store.

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I was able to sign up for and use Google Voice using my 647 number without the need of an invite from my Nexus One. I don't really see much use for GV though, since the voicemail number is a US number and calling out using GV works by forwarding your call through a US number as well.

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Oh, and GV worked for me from the moment I signed up with Wind.

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That's why I canceled my data plan after only three weeks of service -- there's no way I'm going to pay any amount of money for a service that is crippled by design. I would be more patient if it was just a case of growing pains, but there seems to be little to no desire from Wind's side to have a proper, non-blocked data service.

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yup, I opted to use my own number. I'm pretty certain GV won't give a local Toronto number yet. Actually, it probably never will. Google doesn't care much about the very tiny Canadian market.

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lol, karma came back to bite me --- I ended up with no roaming all last week in Florida.

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You're lucky it worked for you at all! I was without service for all of last week in Florida. I really hope they get their act together, because I really want Wind to be successful. A good attitude is critical, but there needs to be competence to back up that attitude.

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blargh, I support the petition, but I'm not going to register to some random site just to sign it :p I'll send an email to Google instead

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I have no plans to return to any of the legacy carriers

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yeah, I like CM16's idea the best out of all the ideas I've heard so far for data.

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yup, that's the best idea I've seen so far for data plans

Average rating is 4

11 ratings

I would love to see a transcript of that call ;)

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this should probably be added to the FAQ

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It totally depends on how far away the towers are. At work, we have 3 foot thick concrete walls and I still get perfect reception because there are towers nearby. At home, I barely get a signal because the nearest tower is just under 2km away. From what I've seen and heard so far, the general rule is that you want towers less than 1.5km away from your location in order to get a proper signal.

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@EIPI - that's a real shame. I've been a loyal Wind supporter and am generally pretty happy with them, but the hopelessly crippled data package is a major disappointment for me. I'll probably end up leaving Wind altogether if mobilicity/dave/whatever can offer a proper data package with service and coverage to back it up.

Average rating is 5

4 ratings

Yeah, I just completed the survey. I hope they actually take some action based on these results!

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Which side of Winston Churchill are you? I find the signal strength is very low on the west side of Winston Churchill from Dundas to Burnhamthorpe at least. I get a bit less than 50% reception on the street, and considerably less inside. No reception in my basement and intermittent reception on the ground floor. However, Mississauga in general and downtown Toronto have been fantastic for me! I glad your experience with Wind has been as good (better, even) than mine! :)

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The vast majority of ports are blocked currently. Only a select few ports have been opened for common applications. It's sad how crippled data is considering Wind's promise of a no walled garden approach.

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I've never had issues with dropped calls, other than entering dead zones while traveling. I'm mostly really happy with Wind, so I tell my friends and family about my experiences. Right now, most of them are not willing to sign up yet because of poor coverage in certain areas, the crippled data plan, the poor selection of handsets, and being locked into contracts with the legacy providers. The few that have switched over are really happy with Wind.

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Oh yes, and the non-functional US roaming was another turn off for some friends. Has that been fixed yet?

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More options are always good. Most people get massive sticker shock when they look at Wind's phone prices versus the "free" or low price phones with other carriers. Yes, they end up getting locked in contracts, but most people don't care because the upfront costs are much lower.

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

Two things: 1) The Nexus One is selling far less than analysts expected (they are cutting their sales forecasts for the N1 by 70%). That may help prod Google into offering the phone in Canada. A small market is better than no market. 2) Even though Wind's stated ideals are hyper-compatible with Google's ideals, the sales aspect of offering the N1 is really tricky. Google insists on selling the phone directly to consumers, and offers the N1 unlocked for US$530, and at $180 or so on a two year contract locked to T-Mobile in the US. Since Wind has no ...

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Yeah, I don't see it selling very highly here despite the hype. It's a pity, since the N1 is a phenomenal phone. I think the only way the N1 could sell more than a handful of handsets would be if Wind somehow subsidized the phone price comparable to how the legacy carriers are subsidizing iPhones.

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It seems pretty lame to me. You get $150, and then locked into a contract with an overpriced plan where they're free to raise the rates at their leisure at any time. At least Fido was genuinely trying to compete with their winbacks. This offer from Bell is just lazy.

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It also adds to my peace of mind that you're not charging interest or any other sort of late payment penalties right now, so thanks for that!

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I hope it takes less than a month for the charges to show up! I'm not to concerned about it, and I find the situation really amusing.

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Thanks, Ayan. I sent you a rather lengthy email back. Things seem to have been sorted out with the awesome CSR I talked to this morning, so we'll see how my March bill turns out!

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@Windy900: Submitting a ticket about each blocked port and then praying someone actually acts on it is a really aggravating way to go about things. You're 100% right that a number of people will be switching to Mobilicity if they offer comparable plans with unblocked data. I know a number of people holding off on switching to Wind until all ports are unblocked, as well.

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It's ridiculous that the majority of ports are still blocked. I canceled my data plan back in January over this issue, as I refuse to pay any amount of money for such a crippled data service.

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I would be really surprised if the Nexus One was offered, since Google doesn't allow carriers to sell the phone. You have to buy it directly from Google.

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Wow, Rogers totally one-upped Wind on this one. But hey, at least Canadians can finally get a Nexus One without jumping through a bunch of hoops!

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It's a win for Rogers because they are obviously the only reason the N1 is offered in Canada at all. Wind isn't even named on the site.

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I hope so, but it's still a kick in the pants for Wind. But this does explain why the FAQs for the N1 mentioned Rogers right from the beginning

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Ok, maybe I'm being too negative. It's great for Wind, and Canadians, that the N1 is officially available in Canada. The part I'm lamenting is that AWS is no longer the exclusive frequency for the N1, which erases the advantage Wind initially had.

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I had the same trouble as the OP when I went to Orlando for the last week of February. My phone was able to detect both AT&T and T-Mobile, but was unable to connect to either one. I still don't know if roaming will work for me or not when I go to the states the next time.

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Both AT&T and T-Mobile showed up with their proper names when I went to detect networks. My phone was set to use both 2G and 3G, so that wasn't an issue. I tried automatically selecting a network as well as manually selecting T-Mobile. I kept getting errors stating that my SIM card was not authorized for use on that network.

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Of course Wind doesn't have the Nexus One available. No carrier does. The only place you can buy an N1 is directly from Google. I don't see why people find that so hard to understand.

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I've filed a couple of network tickets for that are as well. Hopefully more people doing the same will bump the priority up a little

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Spotify isn't offered in Canada right now anyway, because of licensing issues.

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I agree completely with K-133. It's inconvenient and aggravating not knowing which applications work and which ones don't, then having to wait an undetermined amount of time for the technical team to decide whether the application you want to use is popular enough to unblock a port for. This whole process goes completely against what Wind said they stand for.

Average rating is 5

4 ratings

@daniel_j, that's good to know! Unfortunately, the system Wind has for opening up ports is ridiculously bad. Port 80 is definitely unblocked, since that's used for normal web pages. Port 4070 is almost certainly blocked right now, and I don't expect them to unblock it unless a lot of users complain incessantly (like once an hour for a couple of weeks straight). Even then, it's not guaranteed. Peace of mind is very important to me. That's why I love my Wind plans for voice. I can call anywhere in Canada at any time of day and never have to worry ...

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was it ever working, or this another effect of the blocked ports fiasco?

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yup, the data service is pretty pointless and crippled due to port blocking

Average rating is 3

8 ratings

I canceled my data plan back in January due to the port blocking issues, so I don't know how things are now, but back then I had a rock solid 3G connection any time I had Wind Home reception. So it could be the phone, or it could be the portion of Wind's network that you're on -- not all areas are equal.

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And for reference... I used data on my phone on the Mississauga/Oakville border and in downtown Toronto near the Queen's Quay store.

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I haven't heard of anyone getting slowed down yet. They say throttling will happen only if your area is congested, while the congestion is occuring. And the amount of slowdown should be much more reasonable than Bell's ridiculous throttles. Also, since there aren't very many people using Wind's network yet, you should be safe from being slowed down even if you exceed the 5GB 'limit' for now. You don't need to worry about being cut off, either... the data service is explicitly marketed as being unlimited. So you should be able to use 300GB+ each month without worrying.

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It is a refreshing change to find no charges from my cell carrier rather than the random, excessive charges I got with my last carrier, except that I'm dreading the accumulated bill when Wind finally does manage to charge my credit card! I'm just grateful that they don't add interest or late payment penalties yet.

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Have any other blocked applications been dealt with? I recall other users having issues with Spotify, the Sirius XM app, and PPTP VPN

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The way Wind does port blocking will always be a problem. Currently they block ALL ports, and then eventually unblock ports for specific applications on a case by case basis per if there is enough customer demand/outrage. Last time, it took a bunch of users posting a request every hour before Wind bothered to take note.

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I called in the day the promotion was offered (beginning of March). But I was told yesterday that apparently my request had been sitting in some queue and they hadn't actually processed it, so I won't be getting my credit until May's bill rather than in April. I'm not very impressed with that attitude. I did everything properly, but I lose out on the promotion for this month because they messed up on their end?

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I agree with you as well. I don't think Wind is lying, though. They seem to have a lot of problems with communication in their company - ironic, eh? And it looks like boneheaded decisions usually get followed religiously. Why must the credit get applied for the month following the request? It should be simple to immediately apply the credit to customers who have been with you longer than one month.

Average rating is 4

4 ratings

I had been really excited about the X10, but it truly is outdated already. The X10 does not have multi-touch at all -- the hardware does not support it. The X10 also has considerably less memory than the N1. I can't speak for the N900, since I've never used one. But I do love the idea that it's a computer first, and phone second. Some people might not be too comfortable with that though. I get intimidated by phones with too many buttons, hence my preference of the N1 over a Blackberry or N900. :)

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I find Mississauga and downtown Toronto to be really good in general. I've had issues in some residential areas near tower boundaries in Mississauga. Scarborough is improving, but it's still pretty shoddy overall there. Btw, I was out in Milton last weekend, and I had solid Wind Home reception all along Main Street from Thompson down to Tremaine :)

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I happen to know the team that made the app. I could put Wind in touch with them if that's desired :)

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Wind's network looks like it's expanding really quickly, but they're being justifiably cautious in announcing new home zone expansions until the areas have been properly tested. For example, there is Wind Home coverage in Milton and Newmarket already, even though the coverage map lists them as away zones. I'm sure K-W will be covered very soon!

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There are a couple of towers active in Milton already. I had crystal clear reception along Main Street a couple of weekends ago. They'll probably add a couple more towers and test thoroughly before making Milton an official home zone.

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:)

Average rating is 5

8 ratings

I agree completely. I'm planning on checking my payment status in a couple of days because out of the 3 bills I've received so far, all three have had issues even though I'm on the preauthorized credit card payment system.

Average rating is 4

8 ratings

Reception inside any of the stores somehow doesn't work, but the parking lot now has 75% reception, where before I was lucky to get even 10%

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Man, you must have really ticked off one of the moderators. I didn't think they would delete accounts except for extreme trolls. Granted, I haven't been reading these forums much lately, but you never struck me as a troll in the least. You had very good reasons to be upset.

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Find out what ports it uses and contact Wind to make sure those ports are unblocked.

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I don't know how Wind manages this type of thing, but it seems like a port shouldn't be needed - it should just be a simple account change.

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Nope, they reversed that decision at the last moment, allowing Wind customers to switch into the F&F plan. There's still no reason it should be any different than switching from Always Chat to Always Talk. Yes, there should be checks to prevent abuse, but that could be handled much more simply than porting.

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Ah, so I'm not the only customer with this problem? Apparently, their system likes to forget all my credit card details. They did manage to charge me last month, so I assume it's been resolved. I should be getting my most recent credit card bill soon, so I'll check and see if they managed to make it work this month too. My only advice is to keep bugging them about it. At least you won't get charged interest or any other late penalties in the meanwhile!

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I actually like that message!

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Port blocking is the reason I still haven't re-activated my data plan. I know a number of people who refuse to switch to Wind unless it's resolved. I don't want to go through the hassle of setting up a VPN and leaving a computer running at all times at home just so I can have proper access to the internet on my phone. I also don't want to deal with the hassle of calling in every time I need a port unblocked and then having to wait for who knows how long until some tech decides whether that particular application ...

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

I got the payment is overdue email as well, which was strange because I had paid off my balance in full exactly a week ago. I called in and the awesome CSR took care of it for me, plus he helped follow up on a network issue I've had at my place.

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almost everyone I know is on Rogers and Fido, and so far the only issues I've had texting were probably caused by my phone when I've sent messages that were over 160 characters long

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I like that message :)

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I'm pretty easy going when it comes to fixing coverage gaps. I've noticed improvements and I do understand it takes time to build new cell sites. Proper information about specific areas would be highly appreciated, though. Wind is supposed to be about communication, and empty statements like Ante's answers are insulting rather than reassuring. The port blocking issue is assinine. You guys are creating unnecessary work for yourselves and aggravating your customers for no reason. The fix is simple: open all data ports, and then selectively close problem ports *if* they crop up.

Average rating is 2

19 ratings

This whitelisted pots policy is terrible. It does nothing to make the network stronger or better, but instead caused unneeded aggravation for customers who find common applications do not work. They then vent their frustration on poor front line CSRs, and then cause more work for members of the tech team who have to vet the ports according to some unknown policy. In the meanwhile, the customer is left for however long (months in many cases) with unworking applications. Customers will leave, cancel data plans, or not even bother to join Wind in the first place because of this. Here's ...

Average rating is 2

19 ratings

ugh, my formatting was completely demolished there

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

@Chall2k5: I'm with Teksavvy as well. They only block Port 25 for users with dynamic IPs because it's been proven to be a problem. I would much prefer Wind to use Teksavvy's approach! Teksavvy also does not throttle or otherwise shape traffic. They are, however, subject to Bell throttling their DSL lines from 4PM-2AM, unless you use the MLPPP workaround provided by Tek. @Ian B and @mariokarter: I agree with you guys completely. It looks like Wind really is losing out on a lot of high margin customers due to this backwards policy.

Average rating is 5

2 ratings

Yeah, I got disconnected from two call recently, both at exactly the 2 hour mark. It doesn't bother me much, but it is somewhat puzzling

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I've had it happen to me a couple of times, including with incoming calls. I can see both why it's a good idea and why it's a bad idea: Good: It prevents abuse, such as people falling asleep in the middle of a conversation, or listening to each other sleep on purpose :P It also prevents people from unintentionally racking up ridiculous fess if they aren't on unlimited or accidentally dial an international number. Bad: It makes the network seem more unstable than it really is and it's useless on an unlimited calling plan because someone who is in the ...

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@mturner: Content is both the information being sent and the method by which it is sent, according to the CRTC. Hence the prohibition from blocking P2P even though information sent via P2P can also be obtained through different protocols. So it follows pretty easily that outright blocking of ports is also a bad thing. And yes, you can call in and *request* for ports to be opened, but Wind currently doesn't feel obligated to open up ports unless enough users request the same port and are vocal about it. There are no guarantees that every requested port will be opened ...

Average rating is 5

19 ratings

They'll probably check with their lawyers first, but I would hope they get moving on this quickly. After all, I'm sure the CRTC is relishing the chance to jump on Wind again!

Average rating is 5

19 ratings

I posted about this in Hofo, but it bears repeating here: I think that thread was deleted because of the tone, rather than the content. Which is why this thread is still here. Wind hasn't done a very good job in communicating with the community on port blocking, but that doesn't give us license to spew bile at them. I think our words will get through better if we're civil about it.

Average rating is 5

19 ratings

There are two points to note here: 1) ITMPs must be as narrow as possible. Whitlisting of ports for 'security' purposes does not constitute narrow by any definition. Wind has no leg to stand on about this. 2) There is a lot of bad blood between the CRTC and Wind. I'm sure they will jump at a chance to smack Wind down again. I doubt Tony Clement will bail out Wind on this one.

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@droidhacker: While I agree with you that port blocking on Wind's data plans is illegal, the Social Blackberry and Robellus' unlimited browsing are probably exempt because while the content they provide comes from the internet, the services paid for are not the entire internet. Wind would be able to get away with port blocking if they change their data plans to explicitly offer only a walled garden subset of the internet rather than pretending to offer true unlimited internet.

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I do love that I can call anywhere in Canada at any time of day for as long as I want. It's worry free that way :) There definitely are a lot of problems, but overall I'm pretty happy with Wind. Btw, it's $90 including unlimited USA calling: $45 for Shout, $35 for data, and $10 for US calling

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I doubt it's illegal, since Social Blackberry is a service that uses the internet, not provides it. It's only illegal to provide internet access and then block content. I'm sure they could make Infinite Mobile legal by labeling it as a walled garden subset of the internet rather than true internet access.

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Yup, I've been complaining about west side of WC from Laird to Burnhamthorpe since January - calling in and filing out the network builder. So far all they've done is confirm that it's a low coverage area, but they have no idea when they'll get around to fixing it.

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Unfortunately unlimited data is currently a lie at Wind. Even though we can download as much as we want, the data connection is still artificially crippled by port blocking. Look, I like Wind a lot for the most part. Currently I'm paying far less than I did with my last provider and I'm getting far more (for voice). But I would love to give Wind even more money! I would gladly pay for the Infinite Mobile if port blocking were removed. So far the "conversation" about port blocking has been a farce. I hope Wind is able to address this ...

Average rating is 3

12 ratings

I share your frustrations about areas with weak coverage, but I've been with Wind since early January and I've noticed marked improvements everywhere in the GTA. Wind is getting better reception every day, but having perfect reception everywhere won't happen overnight due to the amount of time it takes to build and set up towers. Still, shifting priorities to beefing up existing home zones would be *very* welcome! ;)

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Ouch, that makes an already confusing situation even worse. I thought they had double taxed me when I looked at my bill, but then I did the math and saw it added up. But now when you go to pay, the payment portal adds HST again on top of your total bill amount. I'll wait until they fix this bug before I pay.

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Is the person calling/receiving calls also a Wind customer? Wind-Wind means free calling between Wind customers, not free calling to anyone who happens to be standing in a Wind home zone.

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