Questions about switching to Chatr

[clozecall]

As much as I hate Rogers I have to admit Chatr looks quite appealing, $25/month (call display, etc included) looks great. She lives in Brampton but studies in Hamilton and the Chatr map shows Hamilton as part of the unlimited calling range, but I was wondering:

1. Just how good is the reception? Is it as good as Rogers? (If you live anywhere in their unlimited calling area please let me know, and which city you use your phone most in, to give me a better idea of reception quality based on region).

1b. Similar to my first question, if you live in Brampton how good or bad is the signal? Myself being with Rogers, signal was horrible but in the last couple of months its amazing, perhaps due to their LTE upgrade they improved their overall network?

2. Can her phone number be ported from Wind to Chatr easily? Like simply call Chatr and get a customer rep to transfer it over?

3. Any ridiculous hidden fees? (System access fee, government regulatory fee, etc)

4. This might seem daft but no harm in asking, any Rogers/Fido phone will work on this network to full potential right?

Thanks!

[**OZ**]

1)Network is Rogers/Fido. Same Reception
2)Port/# transfer is done at the time of "signing up" do not cancel your existing wind account
3)No hidden fees. Although 800/877/310 numbers have been reported to be billed out at higher rates.
4)Any GSM phone including wind phones will work (no 3g for wind/mobi phones)

Also when I was comparing plans, flat rate no roaming while travelling in the states $.25 a minute north america rate. Very reasonable LD rates. Texting and Data are not Zone based within Canada. Only voice.
The only big downside for me is the Data. I use all my 100 MB before my monthly renewal. If they would offer 500 MB of data, i would have no reason to leave.
Also, sign up for auto pay and your $25 plan is $15 for 8 months.
Hopefully Rogers does not screw this up.

[rockjock]

1)Network is Rogers/Fido. Same Reception
2)Port/# transfer is done at the time of "signing up" do not cancel your existing wind account
3)No hidden fees. Although 800/877/310 numbers have been reported to be billed out at higher rates.
4)Any GSM phone including wind phones will work (no 3g for wind/mobi phones)

Also when I was comparing plans, flat rate no roaming while travelling in the states $.25 a minute north america rate. Very reasonable LD rates. Texting and Data are not Zone based within Canada. Only voice.
The only big downside for me is the Data. I use all my 100 MB before my monthly renewal. If they would offer 500 MB of data, i would have no reason to leave.
Also, sign up for auto pay and your $25 plan is $15 for 8 months.
Hopefully Rogers does not screw this up.

Not all the Fido phones work, I have a v180 that does not work with chatr but thats not a deal breaker. I have plenty of other phones in the spares drawer that work just fine. Call clarity has been perfect for me and no issues calling out. None of this home zone away zone no zone bollocks. We have several chatr sims for work ( Engineers from across the pond use them to keep in touch with us ) with auto pay and no problems there either. I have called in and had nothing but helpful reps. I am hearing talk of a larger data bucket being talked about so that maybe an option but for talk and txt it has proven to be a great non contract option. The Wind to Rogers port should go well... just call chatr and they take care of it all but as OZ said do not cancel your wind line as rogers will do that for you. What handset were you planning on using? any q's just ask.

[surfguy17]

Also, sign up for auto pay and your $25 plan is $15 for 8 months.

Thats not the case from talking to one rep a couple weeks back. i had called chatr about this same thing for my aunt. they told me the $10 for 8 months doesnt make your plan cheaper what it does is add an extra $10 to the account so u can use it for long distance to the US or extra text messages etc. so you are still paying $25 but are getting $10 more for add on's

[blown_by_GSM]

3. Any ridiculous hidden fees? (System access fee, government regulatory fee, etc)

Thanks!

Be careful with chatr when dialing 310 numbers and also toll free.

310 numbers simple won't connect (even with area code). Calls to customer service connect with clueless agents. They're trained to say "we sell you unlimited calling", but somehow they don't consider 310 numbers as "calls ".

Another issue is with toll free calling. I've heard of users getting random per minute charges (ranging from a few cents to $6/minute).

I stayed on them a grand 3 days and ported to wind. You will also get NO refunds on your prepaid balance.
In short, stay away from them!



Sent from my Nexus S using HowardForums

[rockjock]

Be careful with chatr when dialing 310 numbers and also toll free.

310 numbers simple won't connect (even with area code). Calls to customer service connect with clueless agents. They're trained to say "we sell you unlimited calling", but somehow they don't consider 310 numbers as "calls ".

Another issue is with toll free calling. I've heard of users getting random per minute charges (ranging from a few cents to $6/minute).

I stayed on them a grand 3 days and ported to wind. You will also get NO refunds on your prepaid balance.
In short, stay away from them!



Sent from my Nexus S using HowardForums

I have had no such issues and we have 4 lines on chatr, we use it for when visiting employees come from across the pond. The coverage is perfect for our needs and the call quality well no 1/2 duplex no home zone away zone no zone.. to this day I still wonder why people put up with that! As fr as refunds.. I think your tone may have sunk you my friend. I have had funds put back on the company credit card with no problem.

With chatr you can just gibe them a go, use your rogers/fido handset or just about any unlocked one and see for yourself. at the end you can decide if it is up to you and you are not stuck with a grey market phone that no one will service. ouch..

[Scotch-guy]

no home zone away zone no zone.. to this day I still wonder why people put up with that!

What are you talking about, of course chatr has zones. They copied Wind and Mobi.......remember?

[rockjock]

What are you talking about, of course chatr has zones. They copied Wind and Mobi.......remember?

" no home zone away zone no zone" maybe I was not clear.. I can be in a home zone for wind, that becomes an away zone due to dust in the air or light drizzle ( do not laugh I have been told this from wind itself as well as the pay trolls on the forums ) so you lose signal and now you are away.. well no roaming in a home zone so then you are in a no zone. The chatr is seamless and no dead spots in the advertised home zone. As far as as who copied who.. it was said that Rogers did have a zone based system in mind 6 months before wind was ever spoken about. But as we know you can put anything on paper..

[ceredon]

What are you talking about, of course chatr has zones. They copied Wind and Mobi.......remember?

Give credit where credit is due. Rogers/Fido invented zones and created Chatr around the concept. They are a way to artificially introduce roaming to their users for usage while still on their own network. What is one of the things people hate most about cell phones? Roaming while traveling. Rogers/Fido found a way to bring this to their users without having to leave the network.

Wind and Mobi don't really have zones in the same sense. They have pockets where their network exists and everywhere else is roaming, just like with Rogers you would be roaming if you left their area of coverage (i.e. were in the US). Wind/Mobi have no choice but to deal with the physical reality that their network is not yet national. But, their plans are network-wide. Chatr can't say that.

[SIMCITY]

I tried Chatr and found it quite good. They just don't have the data I need. 100MB is too small. So I didn't stay with them.

[ceredon]

I tried Chatr and found it quite good. They just don't have the data I need. 100MB is too small. So I didn't stay with them.

I think that is Rogers having a bit of a laugh at their subscribers expense (literally). Although marketed as a discount brand and meant to 'compete' with Wind/Mobi, they end up with the most expensive data of all the Rogers brands.

[the_rus]

2. Can her phone number be ported from Wind to Chatr easily? Like simply call Chatr and get a customer rep to transfer it over?

29 hours so far... # is still not ported from Wind.
Called 611 yesterday... said it takes 24 hours
Called 611 today... said it takes 48 hours...

Will call tomorrow.

[rockjock]

2. Can her phone number be ported from Wind to Chatr easily? Like simply call Chatr and get a customer rep to transfer it over?

29 hours so far... # is still not ported from Wind.
Called 611 yesterday... said it takes 24 hours
Called 611 today... said it takes 48 hours...

Will call tomorrow.

So who is holding it up? has wind released the number?

you may want to try this.. email customer service

الرياح يرجى الافراج رقم هاتفي

[the_rus]

So who is holding it up? has wind released the number?

you may want to try this.. email customer service

الرياح يرجى الافراج رقم هاتفي

Never figured to ask that... Will ask that tomorrow as i was STILL not ported.

I called 611 every day so far... The lady guaranteed it will transfer tomorrow.

She says it takes 48 hours to transfer. But it HAS TO be business hours... so since I did it on the 24th and it was on the weekend... Chatr didn't do anything and they are so swamped with customers that there is a delay. So now that its business week it will be done tomorrow.

If the number is not ported tomorrow... I will cancel the port and move to Bell on a 3 year contract and never ever get anything from Rogers again. Ever. I will pay premium and use anyone else. I am sooo mad.

My phone # is the only way to contact me. So this has been very VERY frustrating.

I thought the porting was all automated? There are people regulating this? There are people answering customer service but no people regulating porting? That seems silly.

[ceredon]

^Gotta wonder if Rogers would have been as nonchalant about it if you were porting to Rogers or if it is simply that Chatr ports are considered lower importance.