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 Review by nbfree 
UPDATED: 294 days ago
member for 10.1 years, 144 visits, last login: 178 days ago
 Los Angeles,Los Angeles,CA
 $29 per month (12 month contract)
 about 4 days
 "Reliable, Easy, and Fast"
 "None yet, but no one is perfect"
 "I have had three different DSL providers, this is the best yet."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
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I dumped AT&T-SBC back in July 06. A five year nightmare that has finally come to an end. I have waited this long to write a review, since I wanted to make sure this service was up to par. So far, they have not failed me. I am pretty technically savvy so I did not experience a lot of problems setting up the service, though I know some people have had difficulty.
I signed up on line, they sent me an email when service was up. I reconfigured the modem/router and voila! The system has worked flawlessly for eight months.
Unlike SBC/AT&T, when they offer 3 megabits per second down, you get close to what you pay for. With overhead, I am getting about 2.5 Mbps consistently. Previously I was on an "exhausted router" (one that has too many connections which slows down the speed) with SBC/AT&T and paying the premium price for 3 Mbps. During peak day hours I got 1.75 Mbps or less.
I have not interacted with their customer service by phone or email, so I cannot comment on that end of their service. I do know that representatives are timely in responding to questions and complaints here on the DSL reports forums, so that's what sold me.
I only hope the price doesn't increase too much when my contract runs out. Though I would hate to leave DSL Extreme, but I am like all customers, I want a reasonable price for excellent service. So far I get that service. I will review them again after my contract expires and I may be singing a different tune.
Right now, for the price and the service, I am satisfied with DSL Extreme. I do suggest though that you research and do "due diligence" whenever switching DSL service. You will be stuck with a one year contract wherever you go. So do your homework.
I left DSLextreme for Sonic.net.
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Review by incendie22
Posted: 296 days ago
member for 296 days, 12 visits, last login: 282 days ago
Long Beach,Los Angeles,CA
$27 per month (12 month contract)
"Not getting dsl service after 1 week. will have to wait 2 more weeks"
"Customer support giving different answers to my problem."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
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A week ago I signed up for DSL Extreme and I still don't have internet access. Their online support and phone support gave me different answers on when I will get dsl access. They told me to wait 1 day, another said it might take 3 days, now I'm waiting 2 more weeks before they can give me access. I wish I never signed the 1 year contract with them. It was a waste of time to wait hours on hold and not get the problem fix. I just hate this company will not sign with them again when my subscription ends.
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Review by lionmich5
UPDATED: 296 days ago
member for 7.8 years, 76 visits, last login: 14 days ago
San Jose,Santa Clara,CA
$21 per month (12 month contract)
about 1 days
 AT&T
"Very cooperative and knowledgeable tech support, buffer between me and the dreaded AT&T, cheapest"
"They were hesitant to discuss router connections at initial setup. With gentle prodding and they answered my questions"
"Very good"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I got the 3000 kbit/sec package for $19.95/mo. I used my existing router and modem.
Smooth transition from AT&T to DSL Extreme. The only hitch was determining to use DHCP protocol rather than PPPoE.
The connection reliability still depends upon AT&T. However, DSL Extreme now interfaces with AT&T for me and I don't have to defend my house wiring and modem as being the problem after AT&T screws up my connection when working on neighbors installations and/or problems.
DSL Extremes first level Tech support are more savvy than AT&T's. After getting through the first "line of defense", (where the customer is always wrong at AT&T) the competence level at AT&T rises sharply and they always get to the source of the problem to fix it. DSL Extreme bypasses that excruciating first level support for you.
Followup comments:  
dslx_gm
Premium,VIP
join:2002-12-26
Winnetka, CA
1 edit | Thanks for the Postitive Feedback Hi lionmich5 -
Thanks for the positive feedback. Glad to hear that you are satisfied with our service! Please feel free to visit us in our forum here on BBR should you have any questions or need assistance.
»DSL Extreme
Thanks | |
| | lionmich5
join:2002-01-17
San Jose, CA
1 edit | Re: Thanks for the Postitive Feedback edited out | |
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Review by AmyDavies
Posted: 301 days ago
member for 301 days, 0 visits, last login: 301 days ago
Yucaipa,San Bernardino,CA
$41 per month (12 month contract)
"none"
"customer service/techs suffer from anal-cranium insertion"
"DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME (AND MONEY) WITH THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
| |
When my husband and I (recently married) moved into a new place together, I wanted to go with Verizon to set up DSL. My husband looked at the speed they were offering and the price they were charging and I decided to check out the company that Leo Laporte was always plugging on KFI and found their price and speed to be better. So he convinced me to go along with this and order service from DSL Extreme. We ordered service from their website and a week went by without so much as an email confirmation or a phone call. I am about to start school online soon, so it was urgent that we get this set up asap. My husband went onto the website on used the chat feature to talk with an agent and he said that he would resend the confirmation and email us when they had an activation date and we would recieve the modem within two days of the activation date. Another week went by and no word from them, so I call them and they inform me that since our service has to be dry-looped, that it will take four weeks to process and have set up. So I asked them to please cancel the service and they said they would. I immediately get a phone call from one of the managers named Michelle and she informs me that the person she was speaking to was wrong and that we can have DSL set up and ready to go as soon as tomorrow. So I decide to give them another chance and the next day the modem shows up just as they said. But when my husband set it up exactly according to instructions, he did not recieve a signal. He spent the next two hours on the phone with their tech support on his cell phone (because I dont own a house phone yet) and they kept shuffling him off to one tech agent to the next. They told him the account was cancelled and never re-opened. So he went bouncing from tech support agent to tech support agent and finally get somebody to re-activate the account after two hours and the DSL still wont work. So he's back going through tech support for another hour on his cell phone and they finally decide they need to write a trouble ticket and "pass it along". He gets a call back later that they need to contact Verizon to patch a dry-loop on our phone box, but they arent sure when they can get it done. I decided to cancell the service once and for all. I called back to cancel the service and the guy that I spoke with just laughed at me and said"whatever you want, have a nice day" and hung up. Meanwhile, my checking account still has over $40 taken out from this and we cant get anybody to let us know about refunding our money. I called back again and spoke with someone else and they said that the manager Michelle would have to handle it and she would call us back the next day. The next day comes, no phone call. I call Verizon to have internet set up and they say they cant do it because they are getting a signal from DSL Exteme. I was on the phone with DSL Extreme (on my cell phone for 40 minutes) and they hung up on me!. Now they are telling her there is a $200 charge for termination of service!!! We have not been able to get online with their service once and they want to be stubborn and charge us despite their incompitence. As a web designer, I am ready to start the largest online smear campaign against this company if the problem is not resolved and most likely take legal action against them. Im sure I can easily get a class action lawsuit based on all the people who are experiencing the same crap that I am.
Followup comments:
dslx_gm
Premium,VIP
join:2002-12-26
Winnetka, CA
| I reviewed your account... Hi Amy,
I reviewed your account and show that you placed an order for service on 1/20/2009 through our website with a self installation under a one contract term for dry loop DSL. Your dry loop order was processed immediately with Verizon to establish the service on your line. Though it can take Verizon several weeks to fully provision a dry loop DSL order, fortunately in your case your activation date of 1/29 was only 7 business days after the date you placed your order. (Not sure about the weeks that you mentioned above). Your service was activated on the 29th which as you mentioned, Verizon did confirm.
I show that on the 29th you spoke with our technical support team and were not able to get sync at your inside jack. Under the self installation it is your responsibility to ensure that your inside wiring is functioning properly. Our support team walked you through checking your line at the MPOE or NID. Since there was no tag at the NID from Verizon labeling your dry loop line, our support team was attempting to open a ticket with Verizon to have the line tagged. Unfortunately it appears that you didn't want to allow us to proceed with fully trouble shooting the line and attempting to get that resolved.
Though I can appreciate frustration with not having your Internet connection up and running, we as with any provider need to be able to fully trouble shoot a line and be able to send out a Telco technician if deemed necessary. Since service on your line is already up and likely just needs to be connected from your MPOE/NID to your inside wiring, it would likely be fastest to allow us to proceed with the dispatch to have your line tagged and tested.
Thanks
--
George
General Manager
DSL Extreme
Will work for reviews.  | |
| hottboiinnc
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH
 ·Time Warner Cable
·buckeye cable
| Dryline Self Install I've never heard of any dry-line being self installed!!
They all require a tech visit.
Sounds like you should just tell VZ to cancel that line or if they won't. issue a disconnect of the entire line and sign up with them. Even if it takes signing up a measured phone line.
As for wanting your money back; call the bank and tell them to reverse the charges that you never received the services ordered. They'll do it for DSL Extreme. | |
| | 
jadinolf
I love you Fred
Premium
join:2005-07-09
Ojai, CA | Re: Dryline Self Install Paragraphs sure would have helped.  | |
| | | hottboiinnc
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH
·Time Warner Cable
·buckeye cable
| Re: Dryline Self Install why? it was easy to read that. Just because i didnt type it in paragraphs doesnt make a difference it says the same thing either way.
next time i can just write everything in short hand and then scan it on | |
| | | | 
unhappy customer
@rr.com
| Re: Dryline Self Install The $250 early termination fees should become illegal as they inhibit competition. I have a similar issue.
The DSL extreme never worked for me since my activation. I was also unhappy with ATT. No other phone carrier works in my area except ATT and Cox. DSL extreme does not work with Cox phone so I either have to stay with the Evil ATT or continue to pay DSL extreme money for NOT receiving any service. This is clearly anti-trust and inhibits competition and should be ILLEGAL!!!
Same for all Cellular Companies!!! | |
| | | |
jadinolf
I love you Fred
Premium
join:2005-07-09
Ojai, CA
 ·DSL EXTREME
| said by hottboiinnc :why? it was easy to read that. Just because i didnt type it in paragraphs doesnt make a difference it says the same thing either way. next time i can just write everything in short hand and then scan it on No, just use paragraphs.
--
This post printed on 100% recycled bytes | |
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Review by msiemsen
UPDATED: 304 days ago
member for 6.7 years, 4 visits, last login: 300 days ago
San Bruno,San Mateo,CA
Contract price not specified. (12 month contract)
about 1 days
AT&T
"Always had good service and excellent tech support"
"None I can think of"
"I recommend DSLExtreme to family and friends. It just works."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I've used DSLExtreme for years now here in Northern California and am very happy.
When I moved here, my only cable option was San Bruno Town Cable, which had horrible reviews for Internet connection. I eventually picked DSLExtreme over PacBell based on reviews here and my feeling I would get better service from a smaller ISP than from the big phone company. I was right.
My initial connection took a couple of weeks to complete and was without problems.
In the years I've been a customer, I've had a handful of outages; once due to a failing LinkSys router, resolved by me buying a new router (i.e. it was my fault, which DSLExtreme helped me diagnose); once due to a failing modem, replaced quickly by DSLExtreme; and a few times by network maintenance. I've never been down more than a day or so; and at all other times my service has been rock solid at all times of the day or night. I used to play a lot of Tribes online and was always happy with ping and stability.
The few times I've called in to DSLExtreme I've had to wait maybe 10-15 minutes on hold, which a) seems like a long time when you're on hold; but b) really isn't that long. I've always had a good experience talking with their techs. I've had followup phone calls and emails and am all-in-all very happy with their tech support.
I've recommended DSLExtreme to friends and family and they all have had good experiences. I put my 80 year old mother on the DSLExtreme basic plan to upgrade her from dial up. I feel good because her service "just works" with no problems I have to help with.
I called DSLExtreme sales a few years ago to inquire about 3Mb service in my area. At that time I didn't qualify, but the sales woman suggested I switch my current plan around a bit and she saved me a couple of bucks a month, which was appreciated.
I was just able to upgrade from 1.5/384 to 3.0/512, made one call to get things configured correctly and was using the faster speed within an hour or so of placing the order, and a day later was getting 2.5/484. A few days later, on my official activation day, I had one glitch which was resolved in a 5-minute support call.
I'm sitting here smiling at my new 285 kB/s download in progress.
I am very happy with DSLExtreme.
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Review by NowVoyager
UPDATED: 305 days ago
member for 1.2 years, 4 visits, last login: 136 days ago
San Francisco,San Francisco,CA
$36 per month
"Connection is reliable although speeds fluctuate"
"They moved to gmail. I didn't sign up with them for gmail"
"I am looking for another provider."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
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(ratings match consensus)
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I was happy with DSLX for awhile. Then they moved to gmail. I don't ascribe to gmail's intrusive tactics. As DSLX customers, we should have been given notice of the supposed change and a vote.
My email has not been stable since the move to gmail. People don't receive my attachments. For a while, I couldn't send email at all. And gmail's "never die" email is a breach in itself. IMHO, we customers were "sold out" and our privacy (such as it was) was the ante.
I don't care how fast the service is, if it compromises my privacy via email...it is not what I signed up for.
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Review by avintel
UPDATED: 312 days ago
member for 313 days, 0 visits, last login: 313 days ago
Newport Beach,Orange,CA
$26 per month (12 month contract)
about 120 days
"easy sign up"
"lack of clear directions, poor customer service, long hold times, important emails hidden between spam"
"Not Recommended. Horrible experience."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
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This is actually the worst experience I've ever had ordering a service online. I am an avid computer user and programmer. I wonder if there will be a class action lawsuit filed against dslextreme someday if they continue to "extort" other customers like this. I signed up online, they bombarded me with emails about preparing me for service or checking if service was available to me (relevant information was in text format, so received the emails), then hundreds of advertising or misc information emails (in html that deliver to my spam folder daily), etc. but no information on how to hook-up or initiate the service (such as login or installation instructions). So, I got tired of waiting and got another ISP.
Then bills started coming. 3 months of service for $182 with their additional fees. No modem, just the contract. I called to inform them that I have not had internet access. They were unwavering because they feel that the contract that I accepted online is bulletproof. I even said I would cancel my other internet provider and use their service under contract if they show me how to get online and start my fees from that day. They were unwilling to make any adjustments and cancelled my service and indicated that I was in breach of contract and now owe the $182 plus $250 early termination fee (thought a big Italian guy was going to jump through the phone and start breaking stuff at my house with a tire iron until I paid).
I think that the government confiscated $500 million dollars from Enzyte for the same exact business practices. I wonder how long dslextreme is going to conduct these types of practices until it bites them in the butt...
I am disappointed that I signed up with dslextreme solely on Leo Laporte's (KFI AM640 tech guy) recommendation and this is the service they provide. I am more disappointed at myself for not checking into the reviews about this company because every online forum has at least 25% negative feedback for this company. Even if I was wrong (which I am not because they did not indicate that my service was working, I needed my own modem because I did not specifically request one from them and did not get installation or activation instructions) they should have started my fees from the day they gave me the information to activate and use my service.
I think by doing this, they not only lose my business but they damage the respect & credibility that I had for Leo Laporte's product recommendations, as well.
Followup comments: noisound
join:2004-01-02
Oakland, CA
| no spam. service wasnt as great as i expected i had a few problems getting my dslextreme connection up due to vague setup instructions but suffice to say i didnt get spammed by dslextreme at all
they said i had to cancel with my previous provider once my dslextreme is activated, but they already canceled it after activation, hopefully ! | |
| | 
mbaha
join:2009-03-01 | Re: no spam. service wasnt as great as i expected who is Leo Laporte? | |
|
ChicH
@dslextreme.com | Dsl extreme Just hooked up, installation was rough mostly Verizon troubles. $18.77 per mo. Seems slow but okay for my needs.
It's hooked up to Direct tv for vod and internet on 1 pc, 1 hour of Dexter (not hd) took 21 hours. | |
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Review by grumpy3b
UPDATED: 318 days ago
member for 7.9 years, 292 visits, last login: 11 days ago
Lompoc,Santa Barbara,CA
$49 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
Verizon
"After 8 yrs with DSLX they are better than ever, outstanding tech support!"
"None really...their Website Knowledge Base needs overhauling though."
"Super value. Have tried numerous ISP's over the years have have stuck with DSLExtreme, for 8-years now, without regret"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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01/09/2009 - FOLLOW-UP: It has been a few weeks now I just wanted to update that this new (ok old tech) PPPoE 7100/768 service has been ROCK SOLID. I am not sure why but my ping timings are extremely stable as well as my latency numbers. If you have DSLX and want more speed are on a dynamic IP this switch is a no brainer (for me it's CHEAPER than my 3000/768 static by around $8/mo) or even on a static IP...make the switch if it's offered in your service area. If you do have your own server and need a static IP you can always use something like DynDNS to work around that issue.
One caveat is you might lost the ability to have port 25 unblocked and also lose the DSLX firewall service. I can live with those issues though the firewall would certainly be very nice to have back.
See my Line Monitor here:
»/testhistory?v···rt=z&p=7
(the results are usually on pg. 7)
====================================================
Just upgraded my service from 3000/768 to a new tier offered in my service area and am thrilled with the 7100/768 PPPoE. Decided to go ahead because it's about $8/mo cheaper and , well almost 3x faster downstream. The swap went super smoothly and was an easy switch with my router for PPPoE vs. a Static IP.
Testing around 6400-6500/730bps so that is great as far as we are concerned out here where the sewer meets the sea...
Also they maintain an ACTIVE presence on the DSLExtreme forum here on Broadband/DSL Reports. Even George the GM is there offering help along side DSLX_Zak and others...heck, they folks are so thoughtful they even announce when they are going to be away for a few days...
I can only add that there have been a few issues that have arisen over the years and each time the tech support was beyond helpful. Always friendly and professional, but not overly officious (as in snotty like you might get with Earthlink/Verizon/Comcrap/etc...)
I seriously have no reservations with recommending DSLExtreme to folks in SoCal or anywhere else.
Thanks for the years of solid reliable service!!
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Review by msg
Posted: 319 days ago
member for 319 days, 0 visits, last login: 319 days ago
San Francisco,San Francisco,CA
$23 per month (12 month contract)
about 4 days
AT&T
"Fast loop transfer, competent tech support, good value"
"Contracts, contracts, contracts"
"So far, so good"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I have been a speakeasy subscriber since 2003, but the price was a bit higher than other alternatives. After reading the reviews, I settled on DSLX's 3 Mbps down/512 kbps up dynamic IP package for a promotional 1-year term of $19.99/mo.
I placed an order to move from Speakeasy on 9:30 am on a Monday. The telco moved the loop over on Thursday morning at about 8:30, with service provided by my old ISP until that point. On Friday morning at 7:45, the DSLX service was up. Total time elapsed between order and traffic: less than four days, with only one day of outage.
Self-install was no big deal, since I had already wired up the house. Instead of taking the DSL modem from DSLX, I started using a secondhand 2wire. It's a 1000SW, which works fine, although it is not on the DSLX supported modem list.
After turn-up, I noticed that my DSL modem (a 2wire device) was reporting a sync of 2496 kbps, which is about 500 kbps short of the target line. I wrote an e-mail to DSLX support, and a tech called me in an hour. He worked with AT&T to get the cap lifted, and 10 minutes later (!) I reset the DSL modem and it synced at 3008 kbps. Tech support even called back to make sure the cap was lifted. They clearly understood the issue, were easy to get a hold of, and resolved the issue promptly.
With the cap gone, I've been getting ~2550 kbps / 450 kbps net throughput as measured by a variety of speed testers.
Service for the initial few days has been solid, with the DSL modem reporting only a few seconds of downtime.
My only service complaint is that DSLX does not run an NTP server, so I needed to configure the NTP pool (see www.pool.ntp.org) rather than use a low-latency NTP server in the ISP's POP.
I've read a bit about the renewal dance, and it's frustrating, but I guess that's part of the price you pay for value.
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Review by KeeWay
Posted: 323 days ago
member for 323 days, 0 visits, last login: 323 days ago
Ontario,San Bernardino,CA
$49 per month (12 month contract)
Verizon
"Absolutly None"
"Everything"
"DO NOT SWITCH TO THIS ISP"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
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Well where should i start..
first off I had a verizon DSL line since the late 80's till 2007 when i decided to make the switch because DSLExtreme was offering 2x-3x the speeds. I made sure that online i qualified but took it one step farther and called their support to run a check on my line to verify as much as i can with their techs that i can get the 6000 speed that it shows i qualify for, well they said i could and it would be no problem.
This is where all the problems start 6-13-2007...
after getting my service switched over i got an install date and my service is switched over. now after the new service activation date i call DSLExtreme to find out why my service does not work and they pretty much tell me there is no way i can get 6000 so i will have to be downgraded, they said that my only option is to go to the 3000 plan so since that is my only option i agreed. now after another week i finally got service but not at 3000 and they said that it was because of my westell 2200 modem so i opted to order their recommended dlink modem from them. i got the modem a few days later and it really did not increase the speeds much so i just lived with the 2000-2600 speeds i was getting at the time.
a few months later (october 2007) i started getting quite a bit of frame errors so i call for support, the tier 2 tech pretty much tells me that my SNR is too low (which i remember at something like 6.5) and that there is nothing really that he can do so he opted to rebuild the circuit. that did help and was able to get the SNR over 7.
now here we are today my modem does not stay in sync and my frame errors are pretty much 1/3 to 1/2 of the transmitted frames. so i called DSLExtreme and opened a ticket, they pretty much said that i am now beyond the 3000 range and will have to be downgraded again to the 1500.
this is now unacceptable, and back where i started and if they have "Really" tested the line then it would have shown that i could have not gotten the 6000 or even the 3000 and i would have never switched in the first place.
also being that i could not get any reasonable service from DSLExtreme they will not let you out of the contract without paying fees and they just blame it on the line vendor which is COVAD, they say they don't guarantee speeds but when you talk with the techs they don't tell you anything to that effect.
also if you are in a verizon area they will not tell you but they will switch you over to COVAD which is a joke in its self. the last COVAD tech that came to my site to trouble shoot the problems came in a personal mini van then brought 2 of his personal DSL routers and plugged them into the line and verified the problems that i had. does this really seem like a professonal company or one that knows what they are doing?
anyone who reads this really needs to Think Twice before switching to DSLExtreme, i sure will spread the word to all my freinds and family and anyone else out there who cares about customer service..
Thanks
James
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