What a wonderful internet hub this country is

[Anthony5]

Last night I tested a True move H sim in my aircard, as I'm a bit fed up with Dtac, and it was flying. Websites I couldn't even acces with Dtac would open in seconds.

So this morning I went to the True move shop and signed up for a 1 year post paid package.

Loading my Gmail takes more than a minute, and get constant message " something is wrong we keep trying", as do other websites.

Thailand the Asean hub of internet, and most other things you can think about.

[vento]

What has a aircard/sim/internet to do with This? If you want proper internet, dont rely on some wireless product. Get a fixed Line...

[Anthony5]

What has a aircard/sim/internet to do with This? If you want proper internet, dont rely on some wireless product. Get a fixed Line...

Thanks for the advice, can you arrange a fixed line for me please. I'll pay you twice the monthly subscription for the next 2 years.

But last time I checked, 3G was also internet.

[manarak]

True SIM cards restrict some services, for example the SIP port (voip phone) is closed. There might be other service restrictions.

[Anthony5]

True SIM cards restrict some services, for example the SIP port (voip phone) is closed. There might be other service restrictions.

VOIP isn't restricted on True, as I have used it. Gmail or other websites are not SIP related.

[h90]

I have Dtac Trinet card on my phone and use it for tethering in the weekend house.

It isn't the fastest connection ever but it is reliable, stable and even some newspapers full with promotion load in reasonable time.

Usually I use 2 GB in 10-14 days

I use a Samsung Note 2 with some cleaned up ROM if that makes a difference.

[surangw]

do you happen to live in a building on a high floor, I find the signal does not do well in higher floors?

[manarak]

True SIM cards restrict some services, for example the SIP port (voip phone) is closed. There might be other service restrictions.

VOIP isn't restricted on True, as I have used it. Gmail or other websites are not SIP related.

Voip is not necessarily SIP - SIP uses a standard port 5060, which is closed on some True mobile internet subscriptions - maybe not on all plans though.

Gmail and other websites aren't SIP related, but may very well be subject to specific traffic routing / traffic shaping.

[Anthony5]

do you happen to live in a building on a high floor, I find the signal does not do well in higher floors?

I live in a freestanding house on the east side of Pattaya, 500 meter as the crow flies from the Highway 7 and 36.

I have a True sim in my phone and inserted it in my aircard, which is installed outside the house, adn it was a real improvement over Dtac.

Today I purchased a new sim with postpaid package and inserted it in the very same aircard, and connection is horrible. I inserted my phone sim again, and it has the same horrible connection.

My router shows the same signal strength as yesterday, but the speed with which the websites open is a big difference with yesterday.

[Anthony5]

Just been checking with the android signal meter, it seems that by moving the location of the aircard I can improve the signal from 89Db to 75Db, I guess that will be a significant improvement in speed.

Any advice before I move the router tomorrow, appreciated.

I also notice with the Gmail, that the inbox is loading, but it has problems to connect to the hangouts integrated in the web based email.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Anthony5

[vento]

What has a aircard/sim/internet to do with This? If you want proper internet, dont rely on some wireless product. Get a fixed Line...

Thanks for the advice, can you arrange a fixed line for me please. I'll pay you twice the monthly subscription for the next 2 years.

But last time I checked, 3G was also internet.

Actually 3G is not internet, its a wireless technology used to connect to the internet. there is a big difference. if whatever tech you are using to connect inst working properly, it will affect your experience, but it does not mean that internet in Thailand are bad as your sarcasm suggest. thats why i wrote what i did, i think its not a fair statement for other reading this forum and may consider moving to thailand. But i understand your frustrations. personally i would move, if i could not connect properly to the internet from my location.

I have 3 gmail accounts, a couple of outlook accounts and connection to various mail servers around the world. all works fine and have done so in the few years ive been here. On top of that, im testing connections and testing network package loss a good 8-10 hours a day (when my pc/laptop is online).

When i worked before, i used internet to communicate with teams around the world using skype and similar services, worked reasonable well.

As for gmail, i have used it on fixed line various places, on 3g (true) and 4g (dtac) and it works fine and have always done, i can only remember a couple of times with issues or periods with package loss, last time in patty was in high season, which could be related to the number of users (tourist) increaing that time. but im not sure about it, just felt like it.

As for communications with email in general, the protocol used have quite long timeouts and the connection need to be very bad (lots of package loss) before it fails. if using 100% web based service, these protocol are properly not used (at least in your side of the things) and all content is sent back to you using normal web techs and if that's a problem, again, its properly due to hardware/signal or similar issues at your end. properly down to package loss

I just tested gmail web based and it loads in 3 seconds and i have a ping of 62 ms to mail.google.com which suggest that the server that we are connecting to here from Thailand (or where i am) is in a nearby country and not in US, internally in their cloud, they may send data from/to US and the 62ms is just the server your are communicating with

Only issue i ever had was with a USB simcard hardware box i bought (i think it was dtac) which worked terrible, even though im in direct line with the mobile pole and can see the sender pole a good 150 meter away.

You write very little about your setup, but i would do something like this

- First of all i would have some ping running all the time. start by using ping to for example 8.8.8.8 (ping 8.8.8.8) and test your latency and package loss (how to do it, depends on your OS)

- i would connect to the router with a network cable (if possible) and during my test, i would keep it like that to leave out connections issues between your laptop and your own router

- i would move the receiver around various places, and if i was in a truly mobile setup i would test it a more central place in patty (if it works at sai song 2 perfectly, then you know your setup (laptop and box and sim are ok) but properly down to your location or local pole

- if you have some friends which uses similar setup. maybe they have some equipment you can test (the sim router or usb modem)

and i would certainly try out other browsers (properly chrome as my first choice) and yes, i have seen differences in the past, especially using webservices this this. in a perfect world, there should be no difference, but with all the web techs available today, there can be. using googles own browser to access their services, can not be a disadvantage, im thinking

You tried out different sims and i agree there can be a difference, im no expert in 3G, but i would not be surprised if you are connected to the same sender pole no matter if you are using True or Dtac, which is why i would test my setup elsewhere in patty. in other word, i doubt that true, dtac etc all have their own poles, so it might be that you are in a black spot.. again, test the setup elsewhere could elimitate or help you understand if thats the case

Cheers

[Anthony5]

Today, a speedtest to Bangkok server with Ookla speedtest gives the following results.

On the few occasions that it's able to be completed it will show 0.2 download and 1.4 Mbps upload, so they are clearly throttling the download. Disconnections all the time.

Informed them already that they can put the bill for the postpaid package where the sun doesn't shine.

Back to Dtac.

This is after the speedtest completed after about 3 minutes.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Anthony5

[vento]

Dtac sim, 2. Road, close to naklua roundabout

I Got sinular or better around in Thailand. Even Udon last week was fine

[vento]

About thrittlibg. Maybe yes, but not that much and i doubt that that us your problem

[Anthony5]

About thrittlibg. Maybe yes, but not that much and i doubt that that us your problem

So how do you explain such a large difference between download an upload. My router shows a signal strength of 74%, and that is reflected in the upload speed.

Definitely download throttling.

[vento]

Did u try put in the sim in a phone and do a test?

[vento]

About throttling, im sure they throttlle so it fits the product specifikation. If all if your equipment is ok, not a Black spot location etc etc it could be other things Like lack if capscity. There is simply not enough evidence to get the conclusion you Got. I Think its a simple problem and Easy to find the cause, but you seemed very convinced its an isp issue and im not sure of that. You have a wireless signal from your pc to your router ABS again to the antenna. Lots of places This could go wrong . Try your sim in a phone as the First thing i would suggest

[Anthony5]

About throttling, im sure they throttlle so it fits the product specifikation. If all if your equipment is ok, not a Black spot location etc etc it could be other things Like lack if capscity. There is simply not enough evidence to get the conclusion you Got. I Think its a simple problem and Easy to find the cause, but you seemed very convinced its an isp issue and im not sure of that. You have a wireless signal from your pc to your router ABS again to the antenna. Lots of places This could go wrong . Try your sim in a phone as the First thing i would suggest

I know you are an expert regarding everything internet, but it seems you have issues with reading.

I never said I connect wireless to the router, that was just something you dreamed up. In fact my router is connected by LAN.

In post #9 I also made clear that I own 2 True move sims and a Dtac sim, so it should have been obvious that I tried those other 2 sims in the aircard after I experienced problems.

The other True sim gave the same result, while the Dtac sim which however had a much poorer signal strength, gave a much better download speed.

Now to give you something to think about.

This afternoon around 1pm I spent 1 hour and 17 minutes on the phone with 1331 customer service, and during the phone call I kept running speedtests, of which most would not even complete.

Of course I got the standard idiot directions. Restart the router, take out the sim for 5 minutes, start the washing machine, check if the light in the kitchen works etc.

At some point I got very upset and after about an hour in the conversation they set up a conference call with the technical team, because clearly my aircard settings needed to be adjusted. The ignorant prick even didn't know that an aircard doesn't have any settings.

Of course the technicians couldn't see anything wrong, but mysteriously about 3 minutes later my download speed improved to 1.9 Mb. Again nothing wrong from their side, but they admitted they reset my connection.

After a few minutes the speedtest again didn't complete, of which I informed them since they were still on the line, and the next minute I got a 23ms ping and 2.1 Mb download.They still didn't see anything wrong from their side.Of course, all the time they were adjusting settings on their side. Before at times I got pings of 120ms to Bangkok server.

Their denial got me even more upset, because they continued to blame me.Take note that during the entire conference call with the technical team I didn't do anything to my router or aircard, but things improved dramatically.

The blame story went from the sim is bad so go replace it, informing them that the second sim also didn't perform but the Dtac sim did was no avail, to take the aircard to the shop to check and my PC would be the culprit.

Finally they found the cause when I uncovered that my Huawei E173 aircard had a Dtac logo on it. Telling them that True has been selling the exact same aircard, with the true logo, didn't help anymore. The Dtac logo on the aircard was the reason that my internet didn't function.

We are now 9.30pm and my speed hasn't failed, apart from a 43 second disconnection at 8.14pm, since I hung up the phone after their last ridiculous remark.

My suspicions are that during the weekends, when a lot of Bangkok and upcountry people travel to Pattaya, that they relocate bandwidth from lower populated areas around Pattaya to cell towers in Pattaya to accommodate for the extra network load in that location.

Anyone can confirm if the technicians have that possibility?

[NeverSure]

Just FYI a LAN is a local area network and can be connected as wireless or by ethernet or coax cable or fiber optic line or...

I take it you meant ethernet cable?

[Anthony5]

Just FYI a LAN is a local area network and can be connected as wireless or by ethernet or coax cable or fiber optic line or...

I take it you meant ethernet cable?

No I meant LAN in contrast to Wlan.

[vento]

I know you are an expert regarding everything internet, but it seems you have issues with reading.

I never said i was an expert of anything and i don't have to post my credentials here... why the attitude, just trying to help

but it seems you have issues with reading.

Yes when im using the mobile app which don't have a zoom function and my vision is not what is used to be, and again, you give a little and a few details, and yet, people are still trying to help you, even when not home, because we know and understand how frustrating it is.

I never said I connect wireless to the router, that was just something you dreamed up. In fact my router is connected by LAN.

I don't dream, i assume based on your information about the outside location... people are trying to help and you are grateful? no?

So test the sims in a smartphone as suggested earlier. if the issues are aren't related to anything local (at your end) you would get same results in a smartphone, one would assume. Properly the first test i would do

My suspicions are that during the weekends, when a lot of Bangkok and upcountry people travel to Pattaya, that they relocate bandwidth from lower populated areas around Pattaya to cell towers in Pattaya to accommodate for the extra network load in that location.

From throttling to bandwidth re-allocation... seriously? first of all, if they where doing that, the throttling would not be on each pole but a more centralized place (why put in throttling many places, instead of just one) and then it would affect not just you, but anyone, and believe me, you would see more forum post than this

Also, bandwidth locally in Thailand does AFAIK not have any issues and you are getting data from a server in Bkk

also, its low season. i did see a bit more package loss in high seasons using a prioritized fixed line from one of the imo best provider

just to far out, and im out of here... good luck

[Anthony5]

From throttling to bandwidth re-allocation... seriously? first of all, if they where doing that, the throttling would not be on each pole but a more centralized place (why put in throttling many places, instead of just one) and then it would affect not just you, but anyone, and believe me, you would see more forum post than this

Also, bandwidth locally in Thailand does AFAIK not have any issues and you are getting data from a server in Bkk

also, its low season. i did see a bit more package loss in high seasons using a prioritized fixed line from one of the imo best provider

just to far out, and im out of here... good luck

So you're still blaming the fault on my side, maybe you should go work for true if you don't already, because you conveniently overlooked this phenomenon and of course will have no reasonable explanation for it.

Of course the technicians couldn't see anything wrong, but mysteriously about 3 minutes later my download speed improved to 1.9 Mb. Again nothing wrong from their side, but they admitted they reset my connection.

After a few minutes the speedtest again didn't complete, of which I informed them since they were still on the line, and the next minute I got a 23ms ping and 2.1 Mb download.They still didn't see anything wrong from their side.Of course, all the time they were adjusting settings on their side. Before at times I got pings of 120ms to Bangkok server.

So for about 18 hours I get a horrible download, regardless of how many times I change sim, reset router and even relocate the router with aircard to get a better reception, and regardless also of the previous reports I made to the True customer service. I got download speeds as low as 0.20 Mb and pings to Bangkok server of 120 Ms.

But when I get really mad and the technicians get directly involved, who of course don't see anything wrong from their side, the speed improves dramatically within a few minutes and now about 24 hours later has failed only once last night and again this morning when I woke up. On both occasions I stayed connected to the signal tower with an IP address assigned, but didn't get any data.

A reset of the router, which assigned me a new IP address, solved the issue in both events.

Edited June 14, 2015 by Anthony5

[Anthony5]

Last night we were back to square one.

Signal of 77% to the signal tower, 2 Mb upload while 0.3Mb download and ping to Bangkok server over 100ms.

Called them up and same story, reset connection reset router 15 times, because I would get a signal from the tower above 70% but no IP address assigned. This lasted for about an hour before I could get it to work again.

This morning I called them back and insisted to speak with a manager, seemingly one with an IQ lower than my signal.

However my internet was working fine this morning she insisted that she reset the connection from the True side.

Result that I got in the endless loop again for half an hour. Regardless how many time I reset the router, removed and inserted the aircard again, I would get a signal to the True signal tower of above 70% but no IP address assigned.

The idiot on the other side of the line had even the courage to say that an ISP could not guarantee a connection at all time.

After I was able to establish a connection again she also had the balls to say, please call again if there is a problem, because now we can not check because there clearly is no problem.

My next action will be a report to the telecoms communication office, and all monthly statements will go unopened from the letter box to the trash bin.