These are reviews of Instaconnect from 2007.  For more current reviews, visit Instaconnect the entry.

20070115 16:23:19 nbsp I have been at Viking Apartments since September and the only thing worse than the Internet service has been the customer service.  I have called several times to complain about low signals, slow speeds and recurring dropoffs, and usually the representative said someone would come over to do a power cycle, which is just turning the system off and on again.  When that didnt work I called again and was told there were no known issues at my apartment, but that someone would call me back, and of course nobody did.  I called a third time and nobody even answered the phone, even during business hours.  After about five days of nobody even picking up the phone, I finally got someone to set up an appointment to come to my apartment.  Of course nobody showed up and apparently someone called, but did not leave a message, so I did not even know they had tried to contact me.  Someone should hopefully be coming out tomorrow, but Im not holding my breath. Users/MattStauffer

20070131 07:49:01 nbsp Most of the instaconnect APs I see only use MAC address filtering to verify your account, therefor its easy to steal access by using a MAC spoofer, doing this also messes up the access of the legitimate user. basically what im trying to say is, I dont recommend this service since its very unsecure Users/JoeCool

20070131 22:52:45 nbsp Instaconnect sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its unstable and the service is not the same as what they advertised. Even if there is a problem and you call them for help, they cannot really help you. Service is crappy and slow. If you can get it for free, I guess its okay. But if you need to pay for it, might as well find another company. Users/CarlieYang

20070209 19:00:33 nbsp Instaconnect is horrible!!!!! there were days that our service was out for three days straight..a whole weekend! and two of my roomates hardly ever got service at all.  When they called instaconnect to ask about it they said it was their computers problem not the service. That is when they actually picked up the phone, i have their answering service memorized.. The only time they even offered to have anyone come out here to check out the problem was when we said we wanted to cancel, which by the way, you must pay a ONE HUNDRED FIFTY dollar cancellation fee that they dont tell you about when you sign up in order to cancel early.  And its slow as hell.  Users/SaraNetto
  20070711 19:09:52 nbsp This is in response to those people who mentioned the excessive cancellation fee. You can always dispute a charge made to your credit card if you made a good faith effort to resolve it with the merchant. Basically, by not providing you with a minimal level of customer service, Instaconnect has sold you an unsatisfactory product/service, thus your credit card company will usually just refund the charges. I believe you have to dispute within 3090 days of the charge though (unfortunately for me). In fact, you can even dispute their original charge to your credit card! Id recommend anyone whos recently signed up for the full year plan do this ASAP. Users/davisGeek

20070225 13:37:05 nbsp The free wireless service supplied by Instaconnect at Greenbriar Apartments has been either very slow or nonfunctioning for a month now. I called Instaconnect to complain twice. The first time, the support tech told me that they would fix the problem at the end of the day, but I saw no improvement. I called again about a week later, but no one answered the phone at 1 PM. Users/NerdUp

20070306 14:04:31 nbsp I currently use Instaconnect at Alvarado Sunset Apartments.  The internet here has been incredibly slow for a month and a half and I have had to call nearly twice to three times a week to even find out what is happening with the internet.  Their customer service is awful.  Although I will be staying in this complex next year THERE IS NO WAY I am keeping my Instaconnect service. Users/JeremyGimbel

20070708 16:27:45 nbsp Instaconnect offers subpar service.  Sometimes the connection suddenly becomes extremely slow.  Sometimes all access points just disappear (no connection).  When that sorta thing happens, there is not much you can do, even though the blackout periods have lasted up to 4 days in the past.  But perhaps the most infuriating part was to have been deprived of internet the day before dead day, dead day and the first day of finals for Fall, Winter and Spring Quarters.  Yes, all three.  I guess thats when everyone starts browsing the web for information.  Still, unacceptable.  If you want to get a C on you final because your internet was down and you wasted 2 hours the night before your test, get Instaconnect. Users/PaulWilburn

20070711 16:02:51 nbsp Well, it certainly sounds like everyone has been having problems with instaconnect, and complaining about them far more eloquently than I could.  I called them to complain today  they claim that ALL of their wireless access points have been working perfectly, EXCEPT AT MY APARTMENT COMPLEX!!!  They snottily implied that somehow it was my fault for living in a place where stuff keeps happening to their access points.  Just fyi, my service went down on July 5th, tech support voicemail was full, and monday morning I got a call saying their staff had gone home for the holiday weekend.  What kind of company doesnt have customer service on weekends?  So anyways, I am interested in hearing everyones Instaconnect horror stories  you can post em here or email me: sursurrus@yahoo.com

Also, just FYI, anyone buying the prepaid years service  they WILL double bill your credit card!  I paid it all up front, yet I still have been getting $28 charges to my credit card every month.  I think this is part of their dishonest business practice to defraud unsuspecting customers (particularly those who have parents who pay for their internet service).  Know your legal rights  you may demand interest to be paid on any fake charges to your credit card.
  This is not intentional.  Im not exactly sure whats going on there, but Im going to try and find out.  Users/RyanCastellucci

Anyways, if you too feel like you are getting an unacceptable level of service, contact me.  I worked for a crooked telemarketing company that STILL provided better customer service than instaconnect!!  Also, to maximize your chances of speaking to a real person, when you call the instaconnect number (5307591570) enter the extension for new account activation (I believe it is #4).  They only are interested in talking to you when taking your money )
  If nobody answers at Aria its either because everybody is on the phone or out of the office (yes, Aria has staffing issues.  Turnover sucks.  Ive complained about this often internally.  It seems that it is being worked on, though I do 99% of my work remotely, so I am less in touch with what is going on there.).  All those options go to the same group of lines as far as I know, and our current phone system is too dumb to tell the rep what option you pushed.  Im supposed to be replacing the current phone system with Asterisk by the time classes start back up to deal with those issues.  Key added features will be hold queuing (hopefully with hold tickets to call back later and get to the front of the queue, we know a lot of people use cell phones, and using up airtime waiting on hold sucks), and the ability to page the on call tech.  I have been complaining about the limited functionality of our phone system for quite a while, so dont think nobody cares.  I give a damn at least. Users/RyanCastellucci

Id like to thank everyone for sharing their stories about this deplorable company.  Id like to go down to their office with all their dissatisfied customers in person!  Also, I notice that for the last year or so (since 2006) Mr Ryan Castellucci has had no response to any of the customer complaints.  Ryan, this comment is directed at you or any other instaconnect employee who reads this.  What kind of crooks are you?  How can you even pretend to compete with legitimate businesses such as Comcast and Verizon DSL? Users/davisGeek
  Ok, Ill bite; the crook comment did it.  I have not lived in Davis since December 2007, and Ive been very busy with school since August 2006, which is why I have not been addressing things on the wiki (I significantly cut my hours with Aria at that time).  Responding to complaints on the wiki is something I was doing in my spare time when I could; it is not and was not my responsibility to do that.  Ive since been going to college full time, which most people here should understand is a huge timesink.  Only reason I saw this is because someone mentioned your comment on my user page.  I do have my own internal list of gripes, mostly related to staffing and the phone system.  Ive also had gripes about the way customer service gets handled, and that is WHY I was monitoring the wiki. Users/RyanCastellucci
   Dont be fooled.  Instaconnect did the same thing last year before I signed up  Ryan went around and made excuses and I bought it, they were working to address their issues, etc.  The point is, these are known issues, the company is woefully understaffed, and run by a crook (John C. Reedy).  They promise the world, then cant deliver on half their promises.  DONT BE FOOLED THE SAME WAY I WAS!!!!!!!  Note how changes are only being made so they can suck in a new years worth of prepaid customers.  Even the current phone reps seem to be dissatisfied with the company in similar ways to Ryan.  Dont let a shady, fly by night local company scam you!  They have the attitude that college students are cash cows to be milked, and could care less about customers (except when they complain loudly, longly and annoyingly, then they offer token refunds). Users/davisGeek
    There are some outstanding issues that need to be addressed, and some that have been taken care of.  I am personally working on the phone system, since that is something I can make better.  I actually give a damn about people, and have personally been onsite past midnight working on an issue more then once, and have gone to peoples apartments to spend hours fixing their computers. Dont make ME personally out to be a bad guy.  Im not.  Users/RyanCastellucci

20070711 17:43:02 nbsp They are the worst internet provider I have ever met!!!!!
The internet is VERY SLOW AND UNSTABLE. The worst thing is that, everytime you complain they promise you they will fix it but they ignore it.
I do also have the weird problem about the service, by which I cant open any page. I can log in to their service but I cant open other pages, everytime I try to open to page it keep bringing me back to their front page!!! THIS IS FRUSTATING PLEASE DO NOT USE THEIR SERVICE UNTIL THEY IMPROVE. Users/UCDgrad

20070711 18:34:13 nbsp I want to say Im in painful to this instaconnect provider. Even it is very cheap compared to other providers but I always feel bad about the connection. The signal is always unstable and have problem all the time. From my experience, I could not use internet almost 1 week a month, I did believe me. Icalled service center to solve the problem and they said they will fix it for me but nothing happened!!!!!. I cant see ANY reason for the existance for instaconnects technical service anymore.  Users/mac

20070711 23:11:33 nbsp When using Instaconnects public wifi services in/near downtown Davis, Ive noticed unreliability similar to what some on this page have complained about  e.g. being redirected to the captive portal page mere minutes after seeing it, even though I maintained a constant connection during that time.

However, I find the recent nasty pseudonymous reviews very difficult to credit.  Theyd have a lot more credibility if they maintained a more respectful, balanced tone and used their real names.  As it stands, I wouldnt be surprised if one or more of them were competitors or otherwise acting in bad faith. Users/GrahamFreeman

20070712 01:41:31 nbsp My experience with Instaconnect was positive.  I lived at College Town Commons apartments for more than a year and Instaconnect was included with the rent.  (One of the few good things I can say about those apartments.)

There was an access point mounted just outside my apartment.   I had a strong reliable connection for over a year.  The one time I couldnt connect I got through to Customer Service almost immediately and she made some adjustments on her end that took care of the problem over the phone.

Maybe I had such good luck because the access point was right outside my apartment.  But really I had no complaints and especially not for free.  I left Davis six months ago and maybe things have changed. Users/SteveGreen
  20070712 08:58:59 nbsp Id like to suggest in response to the comment about Collegetown Commons that it fits the pattern of certain apartment communities being second class citizens in the eyes of Instaconnect.  I can only speculate as to why: physical distance from the main office, relatively few people who use the service, perhaps the presence/absence of Instaconnect employees also living there.  Maybe someone smart can do a distance based plot of complaints vs distance from Instaconnect main office?  I bitched out an Instaconnect employee and she admitted that the company has an extremely small number of employees.  I spoke to an Instaconnect repairman and he said that theyd only recently hired him, and hes their second repairman.  So  seems like it makes sense that the closer you live to Instaconnect office, the faster your internet goes back up (especially if the repairperson must physically powercycle the AP). Users/davisGeek

20070712 22:30:04 nbsp Also, last I knew, Ryan no longer works for Aria/Instaconnect.  Its highly likely no one there has any idea whats being discussed here Users/TarZxf

Having worked for a WISP I can say that having everybody in an apartment complex maintain an acceptable level of service is quite a task.  In fact, we only did it once, because its such a pain in the ass.  You can have a signal pushing the FCC limit, multiple access points and lots of bandwidth and still have tons of problems.  Unless you have very expensive tools you cannot track the source of interference and even if you could track it, you cant control it.  Other people have the right to run wifi routers, microwaves, cordless phones, etc.  These things can effectively DoS an entire network...and youd be surprised how far away a microwave can be and still interfere.  If your internet goes out every time somebody in your complex uses a microwave, youre not gonna have very stable internet.  The point of this is that while I would agree that Instaconnect is definitely not an ideal solution, that doesnt mean theyre just ignoring you and not trying to fix the problem.  That doesnt mean theyre not, either.  It could be that theyre not answering the phone cause theyre out working on the problem.  Who knows.  I dont think a lot of people understand how wireless connections and internet access work.  Basically, the chances of a it being reliable in an apartment complex are very close to none.  I do not understand why there is any demand for this type of service at all, but for some reason there is.  If there is a demand for it, people are going to be trying to make money off of it.  Im VERY surprised that this whole wireless apartment thing still exists.   Cafes, restaurants and stuff are a whole different story.  Right, so the point is that Instaconnect probably does have you unhappy, but that doesnt mean theyre out to fuck you.  I actually dont doubt that theyre trying to fix the problems that people are having.  That doesnt mean the problem will get fixed though.  Theyre just trying to provide a service that for some reason there is a demand for.  If people had researched this a little more before they subscribed, Im sure they would have strongly considered a different service.  However, maybe they didnt have the information, which is what I  hope this message will give them...even though it is kinda long and messy.  Users/BradBenedict
   I quote from above: It could be that theyre not answering the phone cause theyre out working on the problem.  Who knows.  Well, last time I checked, most businesses do not have their receptionists also handle onsite technical service issues, leaving them unable to answer the phone.  They are usually separate entities...maybe you did both at your WISP?  That must suck.  Point is, Instaconnects customer service is dismal, AND their actual service happens to be substandard.  This is why people are questioning the motives of this company.  It seems more than mere coincidence that they cant come up to par in either area, dont you think? Users/Eganio

20070717 11:35:04 nbsp Great point, Brad.  Learned something about wireless from yer post.  So basically by not having staff on weekends theyre almost guaranteeing outages, since all those things you mentioned could screw up the connection, and the fix is to reboot the wireless APs.  As far as them not being out to fuck me:  I feel fucked whenever Ive got something important (like bills, work etc) and the connection goes down, and tech supports voicemail is so full I cant even leave a message.  I think a lot of people in Davis are very nice and slow to assume malice where it could just be stupidity/incompetence  Im not one of them!  Bottom line is they should make it very clear what youre getting with the service.   Users/davisGeek

20070727 19:36:40 nbsp you have to keep in mind, the professional network link strives for 99.9 percent uptime, it would appear that aria doesnt come close / Users/StevenDaubert

20070802 15:29:05 nbsp Instaconnect at College Town Commons has been okay for the last few months  I can remember more than once in the last year though that they upgraded the APs or the network just went down, and it took an entire week talking to customer service to get it fixed  they either werent there, their hours suck, they have no idea whats going on OR they just lie to get you off the phone. (And if internet goes out on Friday, youre screwed until Monday!)  Only once when I called for a tech problems do I feel like I got an actual tech and not just a receptionist. Overall its okay but when I move Im getting DSL again; students need something reliable... and if they really do roll out captive portals at apartments I will be switching the day I see one.. Users/AshleyRummel
  There is captive portal software at the complexes where the management isnt paying to give it to all users.  Its supposed to only pester you once every couple of weeks, and not every time you connect, precisely because it would be annoying for it to come up every time. Users/RyanCastellucci

20070822 17:25:33 nbsp Ive been unable to use any public Instaconnect hotspots all summer. I used to get the login page in my browser and continue on successfully, but now I never see the login page. I tried logging onto their http://support.instaconnect.net support site, but it wont load. I tried emailing their support address, but it bounced. I tried calling their support, and got routed into a loop back and forth to a nonexistent receptionist. Does this company even exist anymore? If so, do they support Macs? Users/RobWestergaard

20070822 20:04:07 nbsp Ive got a huge complaint to add to this ever expanding list. I started using Instaconnect in late June signing a threemonth contract with them just for summer session. The service was dreadfully slow to begin with and it was frustrating to do the simplest things like researching information, etc. About four weeks ago, at the end of July, one of the access points at the Sycamore Lane Garden Apartments, mysteriously disappeared. I dismissed it as the first day went by just saying that the internet must have been out and Instaconnect would send a tech out immediately to fix it.

When our internet was still out after two days of no service, my roommate called, demanding to know what was wrong with the service. They responded that they knew about the problemas others had complained about itand would send a tech out to fix it. A week and a half went by without any blip of service whatsoever.

My roommate and I were told that our service was disconnected for absolutely no reason and they had turned it back on for us. I had thought this was kind of weird and it didnt seem like she knew what was going on at all with our internetdespite being part of the technical support staffand just said that someone would come to fix it.

They also took this opportunity to lie to us and tell us a tech was sent out to resolve the problem that day. But, like I said before, nothing had changed. By day five, I started calling them more frequently and talked to someone named Stephanie. She told me she would look into getting me a refund and would get back to me. Every single time I called and spoke with Stephanie, she always told me the problem was being looked into, the problem was being looked into, etc, etc, etc.

Finally, I guess enough people complained and Instaconnect sent someone to deal with the problem. The tech simply reset the access point and it began to work. After a week and half of having no service, we were awarded with subpar internet. Finally, I decided to pursue my refund. Stephanie told me she would look into getting a refund for me and get back to me. After about one week of waiting for a response, I finally decided to call again and ask her what had happened. She told me, she would look into a refund for me. I was surprised that she hadnt even decided to do anything about it in the first place.

At the end of it, today, I finally got ahold of her again and told demanded to speak to someone who could tell me about a refund. She told me that she had the details of the refund worked out. I was going to be refunded $18.

Do not get this service. Stick with DSL or comcast, service is always slow and signal strength (at least in my apartment) is subpar. This is just a shoddy company who is highly disorganized and willing to allow a problem to fester before taking care of it. Users/CalvinCheng


20070827 18:48:26 nbsp I suspect they use a caching proxy server, on at least some of their systems. Many people have intermittent problems authenticating to UC Davis websites while on instaconnect.  http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3143 Users/TheodoreSuryapurnama
  We used to use squid, but stopped doing so due to load issues.  There was one problem a couple years ago causing authentication issues with UCD sites that was an issue with Instaconnects routing setup (the same problem was also causing people to be booted off instant messaging programs fairly often), but that was long since fixed. People do have problems authentication to MyUCDavis from instaconnect sometimes, but as I understand MyUCDavis in general has authentication issues fairly often (our other nix guy looked into it a couple times, and thinks that its just UCDs servers being moody, but I havent been able to look into that problem myself). Users/RyanCastellucci

20070827 19:21:17 nbsp you know, a buddy of mine and his friends lived in Jstreet appts and used instaconnect, it was reliable to the point where they had no complaints... Users/StevenDaubert

20070830 20:53:40 nbsp After weeks of customer service hell they finally refunded about 4 months of service (about $100).  Unfortunately I had to threaten them with small claims court, and spend hours of my time being lied to.  PLEASE THREATEN THEM WITH SMALL CLAIMS IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET A REFUND. Anyone who regularly has outages should persue this.  Dont even bother with customer service  talk directly to Evan Grey, call the instaconnect number and then hit extension 20 or email MailTo(egray@solisys.com).  He will lie to you, but stand your ground.  Maybe if enough people do this it will force this blatantly dishonest company out of business. Users/BillSimms

20070830 20:55:19 nbsp Dont believe Castellucis lies, nothings changed Users/BillSimms
  This is not a place for attacking (ex?) employees.  Ryan really does care about solving customers problems, or did when I (briefly) worked for SoliSys several years ago.  This page may be in need of cleaning up old comments/reviews. Users/SeanRegan
    I do, in fact, still care about making people satisfied. Thanks for backing me up, Sean. Users/RyanCastellucci
  Rather then personal attacks, why dont you just state what Ive said that you feel is untrue and why.  I havent knowingly said anything false here, and I dont appreciate accusations of such. Users/RyanCastellucci

20071002 01:47:31 nbsp I signed up for one month and checked the do not renew option. But they charged me for another month. Now I have to dispute the charge. Sigh. Users/AndreyGoder

20071008 22:08:17 nbsp im using instaconnect at university commons right now, where its provided free. the service died over the weekend (no response from the wireless spots though they were up) and no one i know here can connect to any .ucdavis.edu site (though it was fine a couple weeks ago, the past week it has stopped connecting to any ucdavis site shrugs). its also painfully slow during peak hours during evenings . ive decided to resort to purchasing comcasts special of $19.99 for 6 months going on right now.  Users/MiranPark

20071009 19:02:44 nbsp DO NOT USE INSTACONNECT.  They are complete LIARS and the internet is totally shitty. DONT DO IT. Users/LizzEhrenpreis

20071117 13:24:47 nbsp Dont get Instaconnect.  The speed is abysmal, and getting them on the phone to cancel your subscription is nearly impossible.  Plus, I told them about how I could only connect to the net 35 times during the three weeks that I used it, they said they would refund me, then never did.  Attempts to contact them later were entirely unsuccessful.  These people have shady business practices, and I cant imagine theyll remain in business much longer.  It is truly amazing that no one ever answers the phone, and when it goes to the answering machine, the machine is full since they never check it.  A very bad experience, and I got charged for an extra month that I didnt even request.   Users/digweed014

20071119 12:46:48 nbsp Simply put: Instaconnect blows at Arbors, all the time. Users/jefffy

20071124 18:46:24 nbsp The wireless at Greenbriar Apartments has been flaky for several weeks now. Sometimes it works fine, but frequently connections time out. The apartment manager called Instaconnect to complain, and the customer service representative tried to convince the manager that the age of her computer was the true culprit. Im no network engineer, but I dont see how the age of a computer causes connections to time out. Apparently, the age of the apartment managers computer also somehow influences the terrible service that the rest of the apartment residents experience. The quality of Instaconnects internet service is abysmal, and their customer support staff do not seem interested in remedying the problem. If you have a choice of going with another ISP, do it. Users/NerdUp

20071127 14:23:47 nbsp How do you cancel your Instaconnect account?  I cannot find a way to do so on the Instaconnect website, and I am able to access an Instaconnect hotspot because I am abroad right now.  My account has been billed $40 a month ever since I left my apartment in the beginning of August.  I selected a two month temporary contract, so it should have been automatically canceled.  But apparently if you read the fine print, your account remains active even after the contract.  This is a dirty trick to make money.  I have written emails asking to have my account canceled, and I received an email saying that I was being billed because my account was not selected to be terminated, but that this problem had been corrected and that I would be receiving a refund for the months that I did not use the service.  However, about two months after that email, I have been charged each month, and just recently, twice this month!  I have received no refund either, so my account is still clearly active.  What terrible service, I hope I dont have to sue this company for extortion.

If anyone can figure out how to cancel an account either on the Aria Communications website or the Instaconnect website, please help!  Users/Marrs487

20071129 21:43:15 nbsp It is true, Instaconnect does suck. But, they are improving!! I hated their services until about a month or two ago. And while the phones are not always answered, I have been getting calls back. I was billed twice, I called, left a message and it was taken care of almost right away. The people were helpful and friendly (despite popular belief). Sorry that others had a bad experience, but I like it! Users/sarahk

20071224 21:08:25 nbsp instaconnect is unusable @ university commons. But I dont really care since Im using comcast, just letting everyone know dont pay for it when their service is so bad  Users/acidicbase
