Maxnet/3Bb Limiting Internet Access In Thailand

[Phil Conners]

If internet works when you use an Ethernet cable the problem has nothing to do with 3BB. Probably something in the Wifi setup of your router and/or your PC that doesn't match.

[jadenoel]

Yes, I know that much. Sometimes ISPs require that a specific host name and domain be entered in the router's settings. I just don't know what it is that 3BB requires (but I'm pretty sure they are never going to get back to me) so I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem here and what did they end up doing to solve it?

[nikster]

Yes, I know that much. Sometimes ISPs require that a specific host name and domain be entered in the router's settings. I just don't know what it is that 3BB requires (but I'm pretty sure they are never going to get back to me) so I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem here and what did they end up doing to solve it?

Make sure your wifi router is set to be an access point only, and not a DHCP server. Leave the DHCP server role to the modem. Then it should all work. Some WiFi routers are set up to be DHCP servers by default and then you might get problems... what kind / brand of WiFi router is it? Consider getting a new one if you can't make this one work... and turn off the password initially, to make sure that's not the problem. I have also had issues connecting to a DLink WiFi router on my Mac even though PCs worked fine. Password wouldn't work on the Mac.

[nikster]

Yesterday evening, VPN suddenly wouldn't work on my 3BB line. Very strange. Internet seemed to work fine for the most part, only the VPN wouldn't connect - timed out trying to reach the server.

I know it's not the computer because when I switched to my secondary CAT CDMA / MiFi connection - which is also over WiFi on the computer - the VPN worked just fine.

Today, VPN is working again on 3BB.

[spacemunk]

looks like 3BB still limiting bandwidth to singapore and tokyo,japan and also australia

Edited August 12, 2010 by spacemunk

[robblok]

looks like 3BB still limiting bandwidth to singapore and tokyo,japan and also australia

Thats how it looks before i had great speeds to the USA and Holland but they seem to be real crap at this moment. I am thinking of getting a cheaper package as i don't get the speed anyway. Before i could download with 1mb sec from the USA now if im lucky 160Kb.

Is this a problem everyone has ?

[Hawk]

Yes, my speed has gone way done since last month.

Also, I can no longer call their call center #1530 as they are somehow blocking my home number. I know its being blocked as mobile calls get through to them.

[sammycic]

Any 3bb customers in Issan having trouble downloading torrents. fine this morning now nothing. connecting to tracker O.K.but all my peers are being snubbed.

Looks like TOT back up and running and now its our turn.

[spacemunk]

Still having problems with connections to singapore , japan , aust.

3BB first said it'll be fixed within 3 days. Today it's been a week.

After using 3BB for 8mths with no problems about connections to anywhere , im paying a premium 10mb line just to get 1-2mb speeds.

Looks more like 3BB telling me to switch ISP's

[sammycic]

I can't make head or tail of it. One minute I am maxing out my connection and then to zero downloads. MY 3bb has been fantastic since Xmas.max download speeds, i think it has a lot to do with them upgrading all their plans. I am pretty sure will all settle back to normal soon.

Hope so as TOT is the only other option here in Ubon.

[delboy]

It has a lot to do with the ID of the computer you are connected to. Apparent recent changes in 3BB policy have meant that I only get top connection speeds if I am connected to other computers within Thailand (and sometimes SE Asia and Australia).

I can be downloading/uploading at full throttle one minute and then zero or very low speeds the next minute.

Luckilly for me there seems to be a lot of Thai users that are downloading/uploading the same stuff as me.

[moo9]

At my side BBB seems to be back to almost normal now. Let's see. It was a nightmare over the last 2 weeks.

[robblok]

I made some changes in how i download newsgroups and now i am back at full speed. It does look that they block or throttle some ports but not all.

[Robbogeordie]

They are doing it again,for me at least.Up in Chiang Mai.

Https pages either don't load at all,timeout,or take 10 minutes for 1 page.

Helpline not answering.

[FrankFrink]

Most of us experiencing the recent 3BB service issues appear to have "Premier" accounts. Before 3BB changed their package descriptions, they recommended Premier accounts for things like VoIP, bittorrent, online gaming, etc...the things that are not working well or at all now for many of us now. The new, 5 MB 2,500 baht Premier package does not mention these things anymore. All it says about Premier accounts now (per Google translation): "For those who have broadband Internet experience. And to increase efficiency of use.". Very meaningful! It's as if any of us NOT with this new 5 MB Premier account are experiencing the crappy, filtered service most people get with an Indy package. Could this be a brilliant marketing attempt to get all of the 1,100 baht 3 MB Premier account holders to upgrade to 2,500 baht 5 MB? Is the 3BB marketing department smart enough to figure something like that out? Probably not.

I'd say the marketing department are PLENTY smart to figure that out... It is one of the golden rules of Chinese, and Chinese-Thai business practice and as old as the hills - shaft your customers! Actually in this society it is seen as a desirable characteristic to be able to be cunning enough to make MORE money from your customer through ANY slight of hand. This rule and way of seeing business is what explains NEVER finding the correct information when talking with companies and always information is kept secretively to a select few - knowledge being power (and money).. The middle managers at 3BB, the real earners and those above on big bonuses and commissions are creaming all the fat into their coffers. The poor, uneducated and untrained - not to mention woefully underpaid - frontline staff are merely cannon fodder. These managers will certainly be after your money and your move to the 2,500 Baht service..!

Another working principle here is that the left hand never knows what the right hand is doing, thus all of our recent problems may also be due to the tech staff acting under some notion of 'doing the right thing', and in the process totally f*cking up the entire network, messing with throttling, proxies, government interference... you name it.. Thus by tomorrow we'll all have blistering speeds and no bottlenecks.. and the reason, ultimately might just be because the boss needs access...

FF

[Hawk]

They are doing it again,for me at least.Up in Chiang Mai.

Https pages either don't load at all,timeout,or take 10 minutes for 1 page.

Helpline not answering.

Only 10 minutes, I waited about 15 minutes to open my Paypal and it wouldn't do it, so I gave up.

The helpline #1530 hasn't worked for two weeks now.

[Suradit]

I'd say the marketing department are PLENTY smart to figure that out... It is one of the golden rules of Chinese, and Chinese-Thai business practice and as old as the hills - shaft your customers! Actually in this society it is seen as a desirable characteristic to be able to be cunning enough to make MORE money from your customer through ANY slight of hand. This rule and way of seeing business is what explains NEVER finding the correct information when talking with companies and always information is kept secretively to a select few - knowledge being power (and money).. FF

While TOT (and possibly TT&T/3BB) is definitely a poorly run business with no regard for the customer, to generalize from that to some global racial stereotype that suggests innate deviousness on the part of all Chinese or Thai-Chinese business people is just racist bigotry.

I have dealt with Chinese, Thai-Chinese and Thai businesses that were totally honest, reliable and which were prepared to remedy problems that arose. I’ve also dealt with American, British and other farang businesses that have had shoddy business practices, deplorable customer service and who used deceptive marketing.

Incompetence exists everywhere and it generally is nothing more sinister than that. Good business practices can be found everywhere and they exist because of a realization that satisfied customers will cause a business to grow. Both depend on levels of competence within management and have nothing to do with genetics.

[FrankFrink]

I'd say the marketing department are PLENTY smart to figure that out... It is one of the golden rules of Chinese, and Chinese-Thai business practice and as old as the hills - shaft your customers! Actually in this society it is seen as a desirable characteristic to be able to be cunning enough to make MORE money from your customer through ANY slight of hand. This rule and way of seeing business is what explains NEVER finding the correct information when talking with companies and always information is kept secretively to a select few - knowledge being power (and money).. FF

While TOT (and possibly TT&T/3BB) is definitely a poorly run business with no regard for the customer, to generalize from that to some global racial stereotype that suggests innate deviousness on the part of all Chinese or Thai-Chinese business people is just racist bigotry.

I have dealt with Chinese, Thai-Chinese and Thai businesses that were totally honest, reliable and which were prepared to remedy problems that arose. I’ve also dealt with American, British and other farang businesses that have had shoddy business practices, deplorable customer service and who used deceptive marketing.

Incompetence exists everywhere and it generally is nothing more sinister than that. Good business practices can be found everywhere and they exist because of a realization that satisfied customers will cause a business to grow. Both depend on levels of competence within management and have nothing to do with genetics.

Yes, I agree generalisation is unwise. However, it's still true that here in Thailand it's often seen as a desirable trait to be devious in business. I would be equally critical of certain types of business elsewhere in the world too but right now I'm only concerned with the practices here. It's not a generally held view that cunning and slight of hand are qualities in business in some other locations of the world, of course that doesn't mean it doesn't happen, far from it. Business is war. To some.

FF

[grrr]

Back to the original topic (countrywide block of https connections), once again I can't access any https sites this morning! Everything worked fine last night. Anyone else seeing this again?

[Phil Conners]

I wouldn't say dead, but it's slow, that's for sure. http:// seems fine.

[spacemunk]

i've been getting it the whole 2 weeks.

0 connections throughout asia

[ManInSurat]

I'm utterly disgusted with Maxnet/TT&T/3BB or which ever permutation they decide to call themselves this week. They are a terrible company offering internet services that do not comapre to their advertisements even slightly. (I understand there are issues in most countries around the world with regards to broadband speeds advertised and received - 3BB takes this to a whole new level.)

I've been a customer of theirs for over 3 years. I started off on 4MB Premier back in 2007, was bumped up to 5MB Premier when the marketing change happened a little while back - i.e. when they rolled out the 3BB idea - an evil creation if there ever was one. Then more recently I plumped for their 16M 3BB regular service, simply because I had a very stong sneaking suspicion that they had lumped every subscriber they had on all premier packages onto that one single premier package they had left and subsequently destroyed the only decent product they ever had.

All I can say is for the last year and a half I have watched their quality of service gradually change from 'only just acceptable' to 'f*cking ridiculously awful' over that time.

A word of advice with regard to DNS (domain name server) to make your 3BB slightly more manageable - I'd strongly recommend you download a piece of software called namebench which was produced by Google Code - you can get that HERE. It clearly shows you how to modify your DNS setting should you choose to do so.

In layman's terms, what it does it checks your browsing history or uses predetermined data to check all DNS providers worldwide and in your area to see if there's another provider in your area that can offer you a better connectivity using their DNS. For my connection, specifically when I use namebench, True's DNS always comes out on top and the performance increase I get is normally about a 70% increase in speed and it drastically improves my page load times. I cannot say this will be the case for all those that try.

On my many pained visits to the local 3BB office in Surat Thani, I always end up speaking to a 20-21 year old Thai girl, straight out of college who is there to look pretty and make sure contract get signed and little else. Their inhouse staff have absolutely no technological knowledge with reference to their own products. Never once have I been in their office at the same time their manager is there. Convenient or what? And GET THIS! My last visit was to their new stall in Tesco Lotus in Surat and their unit they had installed for potential customers to try their service (as is common practice nowadays) did not work for the whole 2 hours I was there. Nice one 3BB. That's how to run an ISP!

Ocassionally I've had their technicians round to the house in a futile attempt to see if there's been an issue with the lines, building work, water damage, etc. At these times I'm told it is my fault - my equipment is bunk. I have a top of the range wired Linksys router instead of their crappy Huawei Mickey Mouse router they sell/giveaway as standard. Of course, it's my equipment.

Visiting the local True offices in Surat Thani was SUCH a breath of fresh air! I tell you. I was placed infront of a very knowledgable 30+ year old female shop manager who knew her products, spoke very good English and had maps and data to show their local coverage and plans etc. I was VERY impressed. Alas their infrastructure has not yet reached my moo baan and is just across the main thanon from me - about 500m. I was told with assurances I actually believe for a change, that they'll be in my moo baan in 5 months time. I will do whatever it takes to change over at that time. (severance pay etc) I'll just have to suffer and put up with this sh*t until then.

Also, in the shop the manager made a fantastic revelation to me which greatly impressed me. She mentioned that the closer you are to your local exchange (your ISP main connection hub to BKK or the outside world) affects your connectivity greatly also. She advised me, if at all possible to look to get an office or rent a house nearer to their exchange in Surat Thani, should constant and flawless internet connection be an absolute necessity. I'm still undecided on this one, but the fact I was even presented with the knowledge and choice really made me very happy. (I know some of you will say this is pretty common knowledge - but it was not to me.)

Just looking at True's website instils me with great confidence, they specifically make a point of advertising the fact they have the best international bandwith in the country on their Premium packages, which are not only cheaper than 3BB, are also in English for you to read. Alright True are no angels (had a few minor billing/mailing issues) and their TV service I have lacks choice, but I've never had a serious service problem with them and they're fully aware of the farang's importance to their customer base instead of actively trying to <deleted> their customers in the ar*e while bleeding them dry - like other ISPs I wont mention. *Ahem...3BB.. cough ..TOT..cough cough*!!

If any of you are in a region where you can get True, and this is from personal experince of visiting friends in BKK and Phuket and playing with their connection, do anything you can to change over. More evidence of True's progressive nature is the fact that they are the first ISP in Thailand to offer ultra high speeds in BKK of upto 50M if you're lucky enough to be within their coverage area.

Listen I am not expecting miracles from True, but I seriously have no doubt that they are easily the best looking ISP in Thailand. My hope is that True will end up with nationwide coverage over the next 5 years and the likes of 3BB and TOT will suffer such a lack of subscribers through exodus that they will ultimately fail and die, which I think they fully deserve.

If any of you are subscribers in southern Thailand I'd love to know you experiences with them, please do tell.

I know I come across as Mr Ranty McRanter from Rantsville about 3BB, but this is off the back of 3 years of continuous hel_l and paying 2-3k for the priviledge. About 100k all in all. I really know what I am talking about.

With regards to the OP here - all day today I have not been able to access Gmail, Paypal and other https connections using my 3BB connection, YET, when I switch my UK VPN on, I can access it fine (I really don't like doing this due to security concers and it was just for a test.)

If they are actively restricting access to some of the most important sites on the planet then there is absolutely no hope for them at all and I sincerely hope their company dies and very soon.

.....getting back in box now....

Best of luck with your ISP woes wherever you may be! :jap:

Edited August 19, 2010 by ManInSurat

[Robbogeordie]

Https almost dead up here in Chiang Mai.

[Phil Conners]

Actually it seems to be all overseas websites. Thai websites and Thaivisa (which I think is now located in Thailand) are all fine, https or http...

[mistitikimikis]

Since a couple of days quit slow Google, but now I cannot login in my GMail, either in Yahoo-mail, nor in my Flickr-album or in my SmugMug-album. Furthermore everythine "fine", thanks! Even the "rebel"-sites, Youtube etc. can be reached!

I have 3BB because True was aggravating slow where I am living (Nimitmai) and they where not willing to place an amplifier.

[ManInSurat]

Posted in error.

Edited August 19, 2010 by ManInSurat

[ManInSurat]

After running some exstensive tests, I discovered that my altering the DNS had appeared to have affected all https connections.

I just reset my DNS back to Maxnet/3BB's own (202.69.137.137 & 202.69.137.138) from True's (119.46.240.5 & 119.46.240.1) and I can now access all https without issue - Gmail, Paypal, Banking etc.

Just a suggestion for those that are want to play with their DNS setting - like me!

Maybe go back to your own ISP's DNS if you're currently having problems. Many of you might point out that this goes against the section in my above post about the DNS issue, but that genuinely did have a beneficial effect for me for quite some time. So for now and until I see any need to do any further research I'll stick with Maxnet/3BB's own. Sorry for any confusion here.

I still stand by my statements that Maxnet/3BB are horrible company with disgusting business practices though!

Hope this helps!

Edited August 19, 2010 by ManInSurat

[trd]

This is driving me nuts! As well as https I can't access my VPN with remote desktop unless I switch to my AIS GPRS modem. This is pathetic service!!!

Is there a workaround to this? I tried TOR but that doesn't seem to help.

[ManInSurat]

This is driving me nuts! As well as https I can't access my VPN with remote desktop unless I switch to my AIS GPRS modem. This is pathetic service!!!

Is there a workaround to this? I tried TOR but that doesn't seem to help.

Depends what you're using the VPN for, I have a few for the UK and they're all connecting fine at the moment, but one of mine (my-private-network) was out for about 5 hours yesterday - so be sure it's not your provider that are having issues at the moment.

Failing that a quick-fix suggestion if it's just browsing you're interested in would be to get a web (browser) proxy - the paid ones are much better. (You can find free ones but the time you spend looking for a working one is a sheer waste and very frustrating).

It's as simple as getting the IP from the company you get it from, the login and password. Change the connection settings in Firefox and/or IE-Chrome and then use the login/password for authentication and you should be fine.

I personally use THIS company. Althought plenty of others are available - some that offer free trials too. Note that this is not a plug, just what I personally use!

Note that if you like to download stuff from the BBC to watch, you can't use a browser based proxy to get past the Windows Media player license authentication, you'd still need a VPN for that. If that last sentence means nothing to you, then pay no attention to it!

TOR is rubbish and it's as hit and miss as trying to find free proxy servers anywhere around the world. Actually I would say it worse as you can't dictate where the location of the next IP is coming from and you could end with an IP in Uzbekistan for all you know. I'd avoid it if you need speeds above an absolute crawl.

Other suggestions would be HideMyIP or IPRental, which again are both paid subscriptions.

The only free option I know if getting lucky with a free web (browser) proxy lists of which can be found a places like THIS

Those are the best suggestions I can think of. Best of luck to you. Chok dee na khrap! :jap:

Edited August 19, 2010 by ManInSurat

[trd]

Changing my DNS as you suggested seems to have done the trick maninsurat. Thanks https OK. VPN OK.