Last week, we began experiencing an odd on and off connection of our Smart Broadband (SmartBro). Thursday, they advised us that their technical crew will visit us on Friday morning. Came Friday morning, the technical crew arrived, but there was a power interruption in our area, so I asked them to comeback the next day at around 1500H (since I have a class in the morning).
Saturday came, and at around 1300H, my wife sent me an SMS advising that the SmartBro technical crew are already there — too early for the 1500H schedule. So I sent instructions to my wife, based on what the CSR and I had agreed upon — to replace the LAN cable and AC adaptor of the Motorola Canopy antenna. To my surprised, my wife sent me an SMS again saying that the SmartBro technical team advised her that the LAN cards (01 onboard the mother board, 01 PCI, and 01 USB) are all NOT WORKING. What?! I immediately called home, and advised the technical crew to wait for me til 1400H (that was 1335H already).
When I arrived home, some 15 minutes later, the SmartBro technical crew were nowhere to be found. Apparently, they had lunch while waiting for me — that’s OK! So, when their team leader finally came face-to-face with me, I asked him what is their findings, and he said that my LAN cards are all defective. WTF?! Is that a coincidence or what?! I told him that it is impossible, since the PCI LAN card came from a workstation, that is in tip-top condition, plus the USB LAN card is working 100%. As I see it, it’s the Motorola Canopy antenna or the LAN cable from the Canopy to my LAN cards which is defective.
So, he brought a new (still sealed) Motorola Canopy antenna, attached a new LAN cable to it and the other end to my LAN cards (testing each of the network adapters), and still the error is “A network cable is disconnected.” He then insisted that my LAN cards are all defective. But, I told him, during the installation of the service two years ago, the technical crew had to change the Motorola Canopy antenna four (04) times, before we were able to connect to their base station. So, with a grin in his face, he went back outside and returned with another set of sealed Motorola Canopy antenna. He said, if this one will not work, it is really my LAN cards which are damned. But, before I let him attach the new antenna to my PC, I showed him that the onboard LAN card (Intel) is indeed working, as reported by the diagnostic tools software.
So, the cables were all changed, the new Motorola Canopy antenna attached, and wallah! SmartBro is back online in my PC. Now I firmly believe that their technical crew are NOT that technical at all. You see, troubleshooting needs some analytical thinking, and I do not know if they have it.
Sir Bob! Is SmartBro ok? Kasi we’re currently connected with PLDT and their service SUCKS!!! Ive been wanting to switch to Globe Broadband pero some say SmartBro is ok rin daw, but SmartBro is affiliated with PLDT dba?
@Kat Santiano: Even if Smart & PLDT are sister companies, I think Smart is still better than PLDT, though there are times wherein their (Smart) customer support is more of a headache than a solution.
teh wife needs internet connectivity for the house (i don’t since i confine all online activity while in the office hehe) and applied for Smart Bro. Hopefully the installation will get done without any hassle
oi bro ok yong smartbro tawag mu lang sa tech kasi hindi full activated young connection nyo e kaya ganyan sa inyo sa amin yong isang smartbro namin nilagyan namin ng router nag top kami ng 4 pc ang bilis 800 kbps per pc
try nyo mag reklamo sa tech sopport>>>>>>>>>tawi from cebu
panu poh pag di na umiilaw yung green light sa motorola adaptor? sira po ba ang adaptor or there’s something wrong sa connection?… help po pls..
Pano po ba ang tamang way ng pag-troubleshoot ng smartbro? Gamit namin ay share-it na smartbro, nung una ok po siya, medyo mabilis lalo n pag manonood ka ng clips sa youtube halos tuloy tuloy ang panonood namin. Hanggang nitong bago naging issue ang automated poll 2010 at ng lumabas na kung sino nakakuha ng contract, may napansin kaming kakaiba. Ang plan namin ay up to 2Mbps lng pero bigla po sya pumapalo ng 20Mbps up to 30Mbps ng mga isang linggo. Ang bilis nga po at nakaka-satisfy ang speed. Pero after that ay parang pagong na ang internet namin. Sinubukan na namin na magpalit ng gamit na computer, at minsan kapag merong pagkakataon nakakahiram ako ng laptop para lang ma-check kung ang problem ay sa PC lng. Pero ganun pa din sya, napakabagal kahit na ang signal sa unit nila ay malakas. Kung sisilipin mo sa configuration ma-ko-confirm mo nga na malakas nga ang signal at doon din po ay nakita namin na walang ibang nakaka-access kundi iisang PC lang. Sinubukan ko na din na i-hardware reset sya ng maka-ilang ulit pero ganun pa din. Hindi kaya masyadong mina-maximize ng smartbro ang capacity nila na halos overloaded na sya kaya di na halos maka-access sa internet ang ibang subscriber. Kung manonood ka nga sa youtube e pahinto hinto na sya pag nag buffer iyong movie clip. Kahit na sinubukan na namin sa ibang website na may video eh mas malala pa ang nangyari. Minsan kahit mag open ka ng mail o messenger ay napakabagal din. At kung minamalas ka ay di mo sya magagamit kung kailangang kailangan mo mag check ng mail. Isa pang napansin ko ay minsan na nag-download kami ng file sa isang file sharing website tulad ng hotfile at rapidshare. Hindi po ako makapagdownload kahit makailang ulit na ako mag antay. Ang sabi ay “you are currently downloading a file” at intayin po muna na matapos ito. Nakakainis nga po dahil hindi ka pa nga nag da-download eh. Doon ko din po nalaman na naka proxy kami sa iisang IP add. At doon daw ay sabay sabay na nag a-access ang ibat ibang mga subscriber ng sabay sabay. Hindi ka man lang makagamit ng kahit dalawang pc para maka-access sa internet dahil iisa pa lang e sobrang bagal na at mauubos ang oras mo kung aantayin mo sya. Sayang naman at nag-share it pa kami para magamit namin iyong isang PC namin sa doon ground floor namin. Unfair sya kung ganon, parang patikim lang nung una ang ginagawa nila sa mga subscriber e hindi bale kung wala naman contract na kahit anong oras pwede kang umatras o ipa-disconnect. Kahit na itawag namin sa tech ganun ng ganun pa din ang nangyayari halos kabisado ko na ang papagawa sayo (check ung power pati cable, reset mo, antay ka ng 15 – 20 sec. palitan cable etc..etc). Minsang may pumunta na tech nila wala din nagawa ganun pa din. Sabi kasi congested daw, kaya wala daw sya magagawa at mag antay na lang muna. Ano ba itong serbisyo nila. Nagbabayad ka naman ng nasa tamang oras tapos ganito pa ang mangyayari sayo.
bakit ang bagal ng internet namin ano ang aming gawin na halos ma ubos na ang oras namin sa ka hintay malakas naman ang signal
I am so pissed with SMART right now.. well, I am with all the internet companies here in PI anyway. As in walang matino. I have been working online for the last 4 years and I have never had good internet connection. I’ve only been with SMART for 3 weeks and I’ve been encountering a lot of problems. I’m also more pissed when the tech supot would keep asking your info for verification daw pero wala naman silang maibigay na solution.