Converge and ExpressVPN

[Onemore52]

First off the bat is Converge.

Last week the internet went down, so off to the Converge office we went and reported the problem, no outage they said but we will send the techs around to have a look.

Seeing we were in town we thought we would get some supplies, off to the mall and while we were there the phone rang, it was the Converge techs at the house wanting to do the checks, not bad service an hour after we reported the problem. Seems the rats got hungry. The techs called because they saw the 3 Belgians who were barking their heads off, just saying hello.

 

ExpressVPN, what a bloody waste of money, their shite just doesn't cut it.

Finally bit the bullet and went with NordVPN, works a beauty.

[Huggybearman]

Another ‘thumbs up’ for Converge.
Until a couple of months ago we had both PLDT and Globe Fibre internet. PLDT is 2899/pm for 50mbps and Globe 1699/pm for 20mbps. We had to have both PLDT and Globe as my wife works online as an English teacher and I use a UK TV streaming service. PLDT has reliability issues, often the TV would freeze or start buffering or would be down completely. Globe is better, but still has occasional outages. Back in May both PLDT and Globe were down at the same time. Converge recently came on the scene in our area so I took the plunge and I have to say, so far, over two months I am very impressed. Not a single outage or speed issue. We have the 50mpbs (upgraded to 100mbps for 3 months) for 1500pm. So for two months we have had all three ISP’s but have only needed to use Converge. Yesterday, with great pleasure, I gave PLDT the boot after nearly eight years of frankly rubbish service! We will still retain Globe to afford a level of redundancy but so far am very impressed with Converge. 

[hk blues]

6 hours ago, Huggybearman said:

Another ‘thumbs up’ for Converge.
Until a couple of months ago we had both PLDT and Globe Fibre internet. PLDT is 2899/pm for 50mbps and Globe 1699/pm for 20mbps. We had to have both PLDT and Globe as my wife works online as an English teacher and I use a UK TV streaming service. PLDT has reliability issues, often the TV would freeze or start buffering or would be down completely. Globe is better, but still has occasional outages. Back in May both PLDT and Globe were down at the same time. Converge recently came on the scene in our area so I took the plunge and I have to say, so far, over two months I am very impressed. Not a single outage or speed issue. We have the 50mpbs (upgraded to 100mbps for 3 months) for 1500pm. So for two months we have had all three ISP’s but have only needed to use Converge. Yesterday, with great pleasure, I gave PLDT the boot after nearly eight years of frankly rubbish service! We will still retain Globe to afford a level of redundancy but so far am very impressed with Converge. 

Just a tip - Globe will not contact you to offer you an upgrade so it's best to check their website periodically - don't waste your time in the store as they usually know next to nothing about what's available and mostly want to be left alone to play on their phones rather than serve customers IMO.  Cutting to the chase - you can now get 150mbps for 1699php from Globe - much faster than the 20mbps you are getting.  

I have had Globe Fiber for 18 months now and have had maybe 3 outages in that time - a big improvement on the old copper setup.

[Huggybearman]

58 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Just a tip - Globe will not contact you to offer you an upgrade so it's best to check their website periodically - don't waste your time in the store as they usually know next to nothing about what's available and mostly want to be left alone to play on their phones rather than serve customers IMO.  Cutting to the chase - you can now get 150mbps for 1699php from Globe - much faster than the 20mbps you are getting.  

Thanks for the tip. Will check it out. 

[Peaceful John]

22 hours ago, Onemore52 said:

First off the bat is Converge.

Last week the internet went down, so off to the Converge office we went and reported the problem, no outage they said but we will send the techs around to have a look.

Seeing we were in town we thought we would get some supplies, off to the mall and while we were there the phone rang, it was the Converge techs at the house wanting to do the checks, not bad service an hour after we reported the problem. Seems the rats got hungry. The techs called because they saw the 3 Belgians who were barking their heads off, just saying hello.

 

ExpressVPN, what a bloody waste of money, their shite just doesn't cut it.

Finally bit the bullet and went with NordVPN, works a beauty.

Thanks One for helping me make up my mind!  Express sucks completely and lately many of it's US servers are going down without explanation.  I have been toying with the idea of going to Nord, and after reading your frustrations, I will make the move today!!!

[OnMyWay]

8 hours ago, Huggybearman said:

Another ‘thumbs up’ for Converge.
Until a couple of months ago we had both PLDT and Globe Fibre internet. PLDT is 2899/pm for 50mbps and Globe 1699/pm for 20mbps. We had to have both PLDT and Globe as my wife works online as an English teacher and I use a UK TV streaming service. PLDT has reliability issues, often the TV would freeze or start buffering or would be down completely. Globe is better, but still has occasional outages. Back in May both PLDT and Globe were down at the same time. Converge recently came on the scene in our area so I took the plunge and I have to say, so far, over two months I am very impressed. Not a single outage or speed issue. We have the 50mpbs (upgraded to 100mbps for 3 months) for 1500pm. So for two months we have had all three ISP’s but have only needed to use Converge. Yesterday, with great pleasure, I gave PLDT the boot after nearly eight years of frankly rubbish service! We will still retain Globe to afford a level of redundancy but so far am very impressed with Converge. 

Strange how experiences can vary so much.

Here in Subic Bay Freeport, over the past 5 years, a lot of neighbors got pissed off with PLDT.  Meanwhile, my PLDT Fibr has been reliable, knock on wood.  I think Converge came to our area 3-4 years ago.  One of the expat neighbor's wife was / is sales for Converge, and people were saying "Call R and get set up with Converge".  Many did.

Now, the tide has turned.  Many are pissed off with Converge,  I no longer see "Call R" and R seems very quiet on our neighborhood FB group.  I am in an Angeles Expat FB group too, and seeing Converge complaints there.

Regarding Express VPN, I have never had any real problems and Express has been highly recommended here.

Picture one:  PLDT Fibr test for QC server.

Picture two:  PLDT Fibr with Express VPN Los Angeles server, testing to Wichita (it was the default)

 

[hk blues]

18 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Strange how experiences can vary so much.

 

Yep...for pretty much everything here that rings true.  Even in the same street we have different experiences with the same provider - our Globe experience has been very good for the past 18 months whilst our neighbour behind less so.  But, they have shared their password with neighbours and seem not to be at all tech-savvy so I suspect it's a little self-inflicted.  I also have a sneaking suspicion this was an "under the table" situation as she loves to do everything outside the system even when the system is perfectly fine!

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 8/2/2022 at 8:53 AM, Huggybearman said:

PLDT has reliability issues, often the TV would freeze or start buffering or would be down completely. Globe is better, but still has occasional outages. Back in May both PLDT and Globe were down at the same time. Converge recently came on the scene in our area so I took the plunge and I have to say, so far, over two months I am very impressed. Not a single outage or speed issue. We have the 50mpbs (upgraded to 100mbps for 3 months) for 1500pm. So for two months we have had all three ISP’s but have only needed to use Converge.

You have to remember that others will have different experiences with the 3 providers you mention depending on location. Converge new in your area, come back in a year or two and tell us how that is going. Probably now being new not much traffic on the line and perhaps new infrastructure.

[gopher]

On 8/2/2022 at 8:53 AM, Huggybearman said:

Another ‘thumbs up’ for Converge.
Until a couple of months ago we had both PLDT and Globe Fibre internet. PLDT is 2899/pm for 50mbps and Globe 1699/pm for 20mbps. We had to have both PLDT and Globe as my wife works online as an English teacher and I use a UK TV streaming service. PLDT has reliability issues, often the TV would freeze or start buffering or would be down completely. Globe is better, but still has occasional outages. Back in May both PLDT and Globe were down at the same time. Converge recently came on the scene in our area so I took the plunge and I have to say, so far, over two months I am very impressed. Not a single outage or speed issue. We have the 50mpbs (upgraded to 100mbps for 3 months) for 1500pm. So for two months we have had all three ISP’s but have only needed to use Converge. Yesterday, with great pleasure, I gave PLDT the boot after nearly eight years of frankly rubbish service! We will still retain Globe to afford a level of redundancy but so far am very impressed with Converge. 

How did the process of cancelling your PLDT account go? I've been trying to cancel mine and it is a nightmare, they can't seem to tell me how to easily terminate the account, and they keep adding new requirements each time I email/message/call.

[Onemore52]

8 hours ago, gopher said:

How did the process of cancelling your PLDT account go? I've been trying to cancel mine and it is a nightmare, they can't seem to tell me how to easily terminate the account, and they keep adding new requirements each time I email/message/call.

I went through exactly the same thing with the mongrels, the local office told us to go the office in the provincial city and they would cancel it there.

So off we went for the 2 hour trip to see the mongrels there, where we took a number and waited for 3 hours only to be told by someone who had an attitude, probably because after 3 hours I had an attitude that we should call the head office in Manila to cancel our service.

That was 3 years ago and every now and then we get an email to pay our outstanding bill and return their equipment but somehow I forget to do it, just like they forgot to come and fix the equipment after a big wind.

Converge, as I have mentioned in other  posts are great …touch wood.