Sun Broadband Sim Experience

Sun wireless broadband prepaid sim experience

Price paid: P50

Frustration level: high

Objects used: sun cellphone, sun wireless broadband stick, laptop

Satisfaction: 5/10

Since I no longer had access to a PLDT modem + router during the weekdays, I decided to use my dad’s old Sun Wireless Broadband USB stick. I bought a prepaid sim for P50 which came with 5 hours free internet, consumable in 5 days. I plugged it, installed the software and pressed connect and got the ERROR 619 message. Repeatedly. I also got a text in my dashboard saying that my sim wasn’t activated and to activate it by calling 220. I tried it, also repeatedly. Didn’t work.

So I called up the hotline at 333. I was unable to talk to anyone for 1 hour: I only got female voice recordings and bad music. Thank god for loudspeaker!

Finally, I got connected to a tech support guy. For this final call, there was a waiting time of 5 mins and a talking time of 15 mins. While I must complain about how long it took me to get through to someone, I must recommend this person for being patient and professional.

What I learned from the call:

• To activate sim, text BALANCE to 2225. This was not in my prepaid booklet: it stated that the balance inquiry is for balance inquiry, not for activation. It may have been in the USB booklet, if ever, but I didn’t have it. Why in the world would I get that stupid text then?
• Blue is best. Check the color of the connected stick. This is the faster of the two. Try getting the blue by using the WCDMA only settings and manually searching for 3G. If not, you’re stuck with 2G, which is pretty much crap on laptops.

So I guess, for my area, I wouldn’t choose sun broadband since I can’t connect to their 3G network. It’s prepaid so it’s okay with me, and it’s a bit expected. If only the hotline didn’t take so long, I’d give this experience a 7.

Does anyone know if I can use a Globe/Smart sim with the sun stick?