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One2free 4G LTE broadband WARNING

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  1. #11

    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    4,012
    Quote Originally Posted by pkboy:
    Change your youtube settings to get the lowest quality by default, if it's unbearable then bump it up per video, you don't need HD video to listen to a song (assuming you're one of those people who use youtube for music)

    and also get something that'll monitor your net usage, when it hits 18gb and you have 2weeks left in the month, read a book.
    Maybe best to get one with pictures!

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Gold Coast
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    17

    Mislead

    We were given the impression it was an alternative to a fixed internet connection you normally have in a household. So this is what it is for us - for all the family, our Macs, iPads and iPhones, when we are at home, we are using this WiFi, and when we have guests over, we have a guest network they can use (we didn't use it yet, and YES, it is both hidden AND has a password, so it was not abused by neighbours).

    We don't up or download illegal files! Several family members do (did!) use Youtube quite a bit, more as an alternative to watching TV (don't have cable here). I use it for syncing files that are company related, across a dropbox and iPhone/iPad, and it all adds up. Besides that, social media, email, browsing news and doing all those normal things that computers and mobile devices were made for.

    All in all, we were mislead by the sales people and the website, into believe there was a cap, then a slower speed but fixed price. By the time my wife went to pick it up, they pushed her this other deal, where the price is like this, and bonded for 24 months.

    First 20 GB, the price is less than 25 HKD/GB, which is reasonable.

    After that, the price goes up to 99 HKD/GB, so the price is more than quadrupled! I am happy to pay after use, but 99 HKD pr GB on a 100 MBit connection, means you can theoretically use 26,000 GB in a month, or worth 2.55 million HKD! I know it is a far out example, as 1) the system is not really 100 MBit/s (esp not in peak hours), and 2) no-one uses any network connection anywhere near 100%.

    Of the theoretical maximum throughput pr month, we used 0.28% of what we COULD have used. Not 28%, 0.28%!

    But these guys were smart enough to bond my wife for 24 months, so now we are stuck with no youtube or other video, large downloads or anything which most normal people use their internet for.

    This month we will just about hit the 20 GB limit, but that is only because we cut down on the use, and were away from home about 10 days.


  3. #13

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    6,714

    So get a cheaper wired broadband connection to supplement your LTE connection, so you don't have to live in the stone age.


  4. #14

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    14,414
    Quote Originally Posted by emx:
    So get a cheaper wired broadband connection to supplement your LTE connection, so you don't have to live in the stone age.
    Yup and check the terms on that one too

  5. #15

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    4,713
    Quote Originally Posted by LGB:

    But these guys were smart enough to bond my wife for 24 months, so now we are stuck with no youtube or other video, large downloads or anything which most normal people use their internet for.
    you must be a local politician.
    elle likes this.

  6. #16

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Posts
    17

    I am not a politician, but those sales people could have been! Just a normal end user who wants internet for devices, like most other normal ppl do, in a 2013 modern society, doing normal stuff like syncing, youtube, email, facebook, reading news, looking up information and so on.

    We have now switched all mobile devices to 3 only, not using them on WiFi. 3 has no extra charge pr GB (over 6GB), but the speed can go down - FINE, that is what the One2free told us originally. So we only use the WiFi (one2free) for the Macs. All video will be watched on the mobile devices, but ironically - updating apps over 50 MB must be via WiFi ... so for those we still have to use the one2free - duh!

    Anyway, you all seem to be missing the point:

    They told us about this package as AN ALTERNATIVE TO FIXED INTERNET to USE AT HOME for NORMAL ALLROUND USE! If you only check email and browse text pages, no problem to stay below 20 GB, but for typical internet use (at home, multiple devices in a household), most people use much more than 20GB/month.

    Now, our internet is working again. After troubleshooting their phone support, we called them five times. The 20GB limit was reset overnight, to the next month, and I suspected THAT was the problem. But they had us reset the WiFi/LTE router to factory setting, twice turning off and waiting for 30 minutes, even though I told them we changed NOTHING since yesterday, and that they should look for our account status. Only in the last call, finally some person had some sense and went into their system to update something (but wouldn't admit what), and then it worked.

    No, I am not impressed ... slow (no way 100 Mbps at all), expensive, unreliable ... and good-for-nothing support. It is sooo easy to say "come down the the shop with your device" or "reset to factory settings" ... and all it was, was some toggle in their own accounting system!


  7. #17

    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    6,180
    Quote Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock:
    20GB per month is a huge amount of data! What on earth do you need that much for?
    Agree. I have 400Mb with "3" and seldom user over 100Mb in a month. Technically it would be difficult anyway considering 3's speed.

    Why not simply NOT watch movies on mobiles?

  8. #18

    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    11,711
    Quote Originally Posted by pkboy:
    Change your youtube settings to get the lowest quality by default, if it's unbearable then bump it up per video, you don't need HD video to listen to a song (assuming you're one of those people who use youtube for music)

    and also get something that'll monitor your net usage, when it hits 18gb and you have 2weeks left in the month, read a book.

    youtube for music on normal setting (ie, less than wvga/vga ) sounds bad (worst than 128kps mp3) on the basis that compression ratio for audio significant increases each time the resolution decreases, in fact, it's barely listenable and no difference from listening to background music on call waiting system when you call a company.

  9. #19

    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Mui Wo, Hong Kong
    Posts
    742
    Quote Originally Posted by imparanoic:
    youtube for music on normal setting (ie, less than wvga/vga ) sounds bad (worst than 128kps mp3) on the basis that compression ratio for audio significant increases each time the resolution decreases, in fact, it's barely listenable and no difference from listening to background music on call waiting system when you call a company.
    Quick googling shows that 240p videos uses 64kbps mp3 audio, this is pretty low but better than call waiting music (then again, my phones have pretty crap speakers so you could be playing FLAC audio and it'd still sound bad.)

    360/480p uses 128 kbps AAC since March 2011, again not great but listen-able.

    In my experience, youtube for music is great because of convenience, not quality. Maybe LGB is playing Gangnam Style in 1080p on loop 24/7 over all their devices...

  10. #20

    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    11,711
    Quote Originally Posted by pkboy:
    Quick googling shows that 240p videos uses 64kbps mp3 audio, this is pretty low but better than call waiting music (then again, my phones have pretty crap speakers so you could be playing FLAC audio and it'd still sound bad.)

    360/480p uses 128 kbps AAC since March 2011, again not great but listen-able.

    In my experience, youtube for music is great because of convenience, not quality. Maybe LGB is playing Gangnam Style in 1080p on loop 24/7 over all their devices...
    i rarely watch youtube video, but every so often i do use a downloader for ( usually for 720p or higher) for some of the youtube mtv every so often and the 480p was barely acceptable on headphones or via tv dock ( or straight usb) to a 1080p soundwise, but 720p was surprisingly ok for what it was (sound like closer to 160kps mp3,as i actually straight encode from cd myself which i do for all my music )