Reviews

Converge ISP Review: One Year After

Editor’s Note: This review was contributed by Lia Espina, a former blogger from Geek Girl Manila. Lia is now a streamer on Twitch. You can catch her streams at LeeYahGrl


Ok, I’m going to be straight to the point.

It’s February 9, 2019 and currently, I am NOT happy with Converge’s service.

I’ve been with them for a year already (subscribed December 20, 2017) and to be fair, the first year was amazing – fast application and installation, stable connection, low ping and latency to most online games, and delivered promised speeds of 50 mbps up and down.

But as of today, I AM EXTREMELY UNHAPPY with Converge’s service.

Since January 11, 2019, I have been getting a disconnection problem that happens every 1 hour and 30 minutes, exactly on the dot.

Here is a generated report of my Ping Monitor app which I have been running since January 23, 2019.

Converge Fiber X Review
Ping Monitor Detailed Report

I have been in touch with Converge’s tech support numerous times, and this is their usual reply:

This is to acknowledge your concern. We will forward this to our network team for further checking. Please keep your modem on and will revert you an update once given. Thanks.

A team was also dispatched to my home last January 21 to check on the physical wiring, and even a modem replacement was made.

Unfortunately, I’m still experiencing the same problem until now.

For an ISP who claims to be THE Gamer’s choice of ISP, this problem is possibly one of the worst things your subscribers can experience.

Playing ranked games in League of Legends, DOTA or any MOBA? Say goodbye to your rank because you’ll probably get disconnected in the middle of your game.

Playing PUBG and hoping for a chicken dinner? Say goodbye to that as well, as you might get disconnected when there’s only two of you left in the map.

Have you been raiding a boss in WoW or FF14 and is close to beating the boss? Oh well, say goodbye to a possible clear because you might get disconnected in the middle of the fight and that disconnection might cause your raid that 1% dps loss and cause a 1% enrage.

Want to be a streamer? Be prepared to disconnect every hour and to constantly apologize to your chat about being disconnected. See your viewer count plummet because no one wants to stay on a stream that keeps on disconnecting.

(On the bright side, you’ll find out who of your viewers are loyal and who genuinely enjoy your stream, haha!)

Oh, and check out how nicely your VODs are split into parts of 1 hour and 30 minutes (sarcasm right here, fyi.).

Converge Fiber X Review
This is on a good day…

But on a really bad day, this is what happens…

Converge Fiber X Review
Check out all those disconnections! Woohoo.

So, do I recommend Converge as an ISP?

If your activities on the Internet consist of surfing, streaming movies and shows on Netflix, downloading and uploading stuff from and to the Internet, then MAYBE, I could recommend them as provider.

To be fair, they DO deliver their promised synchronous speeds and they currently do offer the best bang for buck plansIF things are working properly in your area.

Geekgirlmanila Converge
Converge Speedtest

But be prepared to deal with slow and long application process, billing problems (double charging, etc.) and possible problem days of network outages (Internet here today, Internet gone tomorrow!)

(These are just some of the complaints I’ve read about while researching on my problem and hoping for a fix. I’ll be happy to point you in the right direction if you’d like to read these complaints, too.

And yes, I’m not the only one with the 1 hour and 30 minute disconnection problem. I’ve come across several people who are experiencing the same problem as well.)

Oh, and have I mention that it’s extremely difficult to get in touch with their hotline?

Be prepared to wait for hours on the phone just to have your call get cut. They do have email, but it takes them days to reply, if they do reply at all.

(To be fair, if you do get to contact a customer service rep, they’re kinda nice and respectful.)

They also supposedly recently upgraded their customer service hotline to be able to accommodate more requests. However, I haven’t tried contacting them again since I’ve spent a good whole 2 days before trying to get in touch with anyone there.

And honestly, I’m not ready for that headache.

If you aspire to have DREAMS of becoming a streamer and/or a professional gamer, or of becoming a business owner of a gaming cafe or net cafe, then NO, I currently DO NOT recommend Converge as a provider.

With all things said, my recommendation might change once Converge has fixed this problem.

During my first year with Converge, I had enthusiastically recommended their service to a few of my friends.

(Their application and installation is fuss-free, I said. Their speeds are fast, I said. No lag and low ping in games, I said.)

But as of today, if you ask me if you should sign up for Converge then my answer is a BIG, FAT DON’T.

Better to look at other options in your area.

For now, my streaming career is sadly taking a backseat, and I even have to use my mobile LTE on some days just so I can play games uninterrupted.

If anyone from Converge reads this review, please feel free to get in touch with me.

I’d be more than happy to work with you and provide you with any data about my connection (ping results, tracert, etc.) that can help your company figure out a solution to my (and a bunch of other people’s) problem.

So as of right now, I’m sorry, Converge, but I definitely won’t recommend your service to anyone.

But please, feel free to prove me wrong.

I am currently in a 2 year contract lockout so unless I pay the remaining 11 months, I’m stuck with them for a while.

XOXO,

Converge Fiber X Review

 


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Bryan is a geek at heart and a tech enthusiast by choice. He has a strong background in corporate communications, marketing services, and customer relations having worked in the telecommunications and banking sectors for over two decades. In his spare time, he enjoys watching clips on YouTube and binge watching shows on Netflix.

57 Comments

  1. Tuwa ko pa naman at nag linya na ang converge dito sa marilao bulacan. Nakita kong available na magkabit ng internet sa bahay kaya nagpakabit na ako. Ang bilis magkabit wala pang 1 hour nakabitan ka na ako dito sa bahay last Nov 28, 2020. Yun nga lang walang pa internet. I-a-activate pa raw sa pampanga. Hintayin ko lang daw mawala yung blinking sa PON. Ayun Dec 6, 2020 na, 8 days na wala pa rin internet, di pa rin tumitigil kaka blink ng ilaw ng PON sa modem.

    Yung tuwa ko unti-unti ng nagiging galit at inis dahil hanggang ngayon wala pa rin akong internet.
    Problema paano ka makakapag reklamo sa converge e wala pa akong account dahil kaka-kabit palang nga. At yung ahente na nakausap ko. Ang laging sinasabi ay “Tinawag ko na po sa office ito. Baka mamaya magkakaroon na kayo ng internet”

  2. Hi, sa mga naka Converge na 75Mbps, ok po ba ito na plan or parang 25mbps lang?

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