OFFICIAL WIND Mobile Discussion Thread
 

LAST UPDATED: 02/19/2016

Due to the popularity of this thread, Graeme S had suggested that I should revamp the original post to include an overview and FAQ for WIND Mobile, so that the information is consolidated and found in one place. This would hopefully limit redundant questions and answers. So here goes..

OVERVIEW

As you may or may not know, WIND Mobile is one of the newest mobile entrants in Canada to offer exceptional value for their mobile wireless services. They operate within the AWS 1700 MHz frequency, which does not work with MOST phones from Bell, Rogers, Telus, and their sub-brands.

PHONES THAT DO NOT WORK ON WIND

- iPhone 3G/3GS/4/4S/5 (NO iPhones WORK)
- Nokia Lumia 900
- Nokia Lumia 800
- Samsung Galaxy Note*
- HTC One X

.. Just a few off the top of my head that I know that certainly won't work on WIND.

Although they may be 3G or 4G smartphones, these phones use a different frequency that is not compatible with the WIND network. So for example, a Blackberry 9700 from Rogers, though it may be the same model that WIND has, will not work on WIND, due to its differences. To ensure that your phone will work for sure with WIND, it is best to purchase your phone directly from a WIND store.

*The Galaxy Note can be rooted, and flashed with a custom software which can then work on WIND. However, not all of us possess the technical knowledge to perform this, and rooting the phone voids the warranty. Therefore, I will list it as an incompatible device.

PORTING TO WIND

If you plan to keep your existing number and transfer to WIND. DO NOT call your current mobile phone provider and cancel your service with them. You will LOSE YOUR NUMBER. Instead, go to a WIND store and they will port your number over.

WINDTab

WINDTab allows you to purchase a brand new smartphone without paying the regular price depending on the plan you choose. If you select a $40 monthly plan, and you go on WINDTab, you receive a discount off the original price. Every month, WIND will take off a certain amount off of your WINDTab, for up to 3 years. The amount taken off monthly varies on the cost of the monthly plan you're on, and after three years, any remaining credit you still owe will be automatically wiped off. Essentially, you will not owe anything after three years if you are still with WIND.

For example, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is $649.99 for regular price. If you subscribe to a $40 plan and go on WINDTab, you pay $299 upfront. The remaining will be deducted on a monthly basis for up to 3 years. After 3 years is up, if you have any balance owing, It will automatically be cleared.

WIND PLANS
I've noticed that there's been some confusion regarding WIND ZONE and WIND AWAY with their respective plans. I will attempt to explain it in the easiest and simplest way to understand.

WIND ZONE*:
Vancouver
Victoria (Coming Soon)
Whistler Village
Calgary
Edmonton
Toronto
Ottawa
London
Kitchener
Barrie
Kingston

*Refer to WIND Mobile site for exact area of coverage

WIND AWAY:

This is the area that is NOT covered by WIND Mobile, thus you are roaming on Roger's network. You will incur additional roaming expenses if you use your phone.

EXAMPLE 1: You have a 604 or 778 number, and you're on an UNLIMITED LOCAL calling, texting, and data plan with WIND Mobile.

If you are in any of the cities listed above under WIND ZONE, you get UNLIMITED LOCAL CALLING, TEXTING and DATA in that zone. Say if you're in Toronto, but you have a Vancouver number, you can only make LOCAL CALLS (Toronto numbers) without being charged (same with texting and data). If you call or text back to Vancouver, you will be charged.

EXAMPLE 2: You have a 604 or 778 number, and you're on an UNLIMITED NATIONWIDE calling, texting, and data plan with WIND Mobile.

If you are in any of the cities listed above under WIND ZONE, you get UNLIMITED NATIONWIDE CALLING, TEXTING, and DATA in that zone. Say if you're in Toronto, but you have a Vancouver number, you can make LOCAL CALLS (Toronto numbers), AND NATIONWIDE CALLS (anywhere in Canada, even back to Vancouver) without being charged (same with texting and data).

RECEPTION

I have been a WIND customer since Sept 2011, and I often frequent the North Shore, Downtown, East Van, and Burnaby, and find very little reception problems when I am outdoor. On the rare occasion, when I am in an underground parking lot, elevator, or within a concrete building, I will have poor or no signal at all. Now this is not the fault of WIND, rather the nature of the 1700Mhz frequency band. Unlike Rogers, Bell and Telus, they have a 850MHz band that can penetrate through elevators and concrete buildings much better than WIND, that's why you pay a premium for their services. However, WIND is currently working on obtaining the 700MHz block from next year's wireless spectrum auction, which shares similar characteristics with the 850 MHz band, so I would suspect that reception will only improve from this point forward.

Honestly, if you don't talk much on the phone like me (less than 100 minutes per month), and rely primarily on data, the reception isn't an issue with WIND, unless you live or work in a complex that's made of concrete. At the end of the day, it's best to try WIND for a week (14-day return policy), and see for yourself if it suits you.

SPOTTY RECEPTION

- Concrete buildings
- Underground Parking lot/Basement Suites
- Elevator
- Expo Line (Stadium to Burrard Station)
- Canada Line (Underground Portion)
- T&T Metrotown
- River Rock Casino

DATA SPEED
Download speed varies between 1.5-9.0Mbps throughout Metro Vancouver.

WIND Mobile Network Update
For those whom are interested in keeping track of WIND Mobile's network improvements. It can be tracked here: http://networkupdates.windmobile.ca/archive

Canadian Cellular Towers
A map that highlights all of the Canadian wireless towers in Canada - http://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/c...ayers=o&pid=33

FREE Voicemail (3rd-party)
As far as I know, this only works with Android (with selected roms, so this may or may not work for you). Please let me know if this works on other mobile OS.

Refer to this link for further details: http://www.revscene.net/forums/65957...ml#post8119626


WIND does NOT have WALL-PENETRATING frequencies.
If you live/work in a concrete building or often underground. You will have little to no reception.




EDIT: I am no longer a WIND customer due to their network congestion problems, so I will not be overlooking this thread. I hope someone else can step up and take my place. Good luck!

Do you have confirmation that it is permanent or the fact that it doesn't state the one year deal hitch?

Besides that, I'm gonna try it out. Seems like WIND is having more success than Mobilicity in terms of progress.

it is a good plan.. but I dont call/txt to the US.. so spending the extra $$$ on it would be a waste..

I will stick to my 1 year $29 plan.. buy the time my first year is up, there will probably be another good plan... Or call up the Loyalty department and see if they can "Offer me a deal i cant pass up"

I read on HoFo that it's permanent, besides that, everything will be publicly disclosed in a few hours. :)

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think they offer retention plans. Also, with the mass number of cities that WIND will be expanding to in 2012. I think It's safe to say that this will be the last Holiday Miracle-type plan you will ever see.

If it's a permanent plan, then it's pretty good if you combine it with the Tab+.

$400 off a phone / 36 months Tab+ = Allocated to ~$11 per month. If you can get 2 other family members on this plan and get the "Better together" savings ($5 off per member on the same account), it could work out to be an effective cost of $24/month ($40-11-5). Of course, you'll still be paying $35/month, but you save $400 upfront.

so do we still get tab if we have our own phone?

now i really wish that i didn't enter into a rogers contract for 3 years. :pokerface:

when you call in, theres an option to speak to Loyalty department... its option 5 :fullofwin:

yes, but you still have to buy one of their phones when you sign up (to get tab).

otherwise just bring your own phone and get a sim.

I'd consider switching to Wind, from Mobi, for better coverage and speeds IF data tethering was included.

still $40 + Tax is a long way from my $25 tax in/month

I feel even better knowing I'm not with Rogers anymore taking a dry pine cone up the butt for 3 years at a time

People on Mobilesyrup and Howardforums are saying that tethering is included. Something along the lines of "Tethering is included in all data plans" (too lazy to find the links again =/ )

yeah i just read that too. however the Wind site says nothing regarding that.

It is included in a sense that they don't have any method of determining whether you are tethering or not. Having the $10 "tethering" add-on will allow you to use 10GB of data at full speeds before getting throttled. If you don't have the tethering option, you may get throttled after 5GB

You think so? I'm on their 29/month plan right now but now I'm tempted to switch over just cause its permanent. Do you guys have full confirmation its permanent not just a year? What makes you say wind won't have any other good plans coming outt in the future?
Posted via RS Mobile

Check this link for more info on the tab
Any eligible Pay After customer can use WINDtab or WINDtab+ towards the purchase of a new handset.

Lol I hope you didnt think they would just give you $400 credit to just sign up...




This years HMP doesnt include tethering, from what i read.. which is the only difference from last years HMP

Its confirmed on the site and hofo that its permanent. I already stated one of the reasons in what u quoted. Another is that, as more cities Wind serve, there are less direct competition with Mobilicity, so they dont need to compete with them at pricepoint and value. Winds current plans are already more expensive than mobi, that gap may widen next year when they rollout 5 more cities. With the recent firing of mobis CEO, and the lack of foresight with the company's plans for 2012, the outlook currently doesn't look too great for mobi.

I have the 29 dollar plan too, and I'm planning to switch.
Posted via RS Mobile

It comes with a 5gb softcap for tether. The 10 dollar tether addon is for added functionality and 10gb softcap.
Posted via RS Mobile

Thanks for the info man. I'll switch over as well then. I'm on a pay before plan so I'm going to change tto pay after so I can take advantage of the tab+.
Posted via RS Mobile

I'm still debating whether to switch or not. My main concern is WIND's coverage/reception and if I get a Nexus S then I'm obligated to stay with them for at least 3 years (kinda like a contract unless I don't mind paying off the remaining balance on WIND Tab+). I'm thinking about getting one of those Huawei's then buying a Galaxy Nexus or using one of my Rogers' accounts' HUP for it.

So, can you guys tell me about your experience with WIND?

My experience has been great so far, the reception and coverage is better than Mobilicity. The only real issues I see is signal penetration, and data speed in Vancouver. it usually can't penetrate well into basement floors and concrete exteriors (not the fault of Wind, but rather the nature of the frequency band). The data speed has been worse the past few weeks. Just don't expect to get over 3mbps down consistently. The value is great, the roaming plans are even better. I sent 10 text messages in the states a few weeks ago, and it only cost me a $1.50, Rogers would've charged me $7.50. Roaming rate is only 25cents per minute vs. $1.50/min with Rogers.

Everyone's experience will be different, I suggest that you get a line with Wind and a cheap phone and test out the network yourself for 14 days. If you don't like it, you can return the phone and just pay for that one month of service.

I signed up for Wind when they launched in Vancouver a year ago.. 6 months i switched to Mobi to try then out for 3 months.. then switched back to Wind... Mobi was alright but i didnt have coverage in my house.. which was annoying.. but when I was in the main part of the cities, it was pretty good.. Wind is a little better due to the larger coverage... About call quality and call drops, Ive never had any major issues with either.. Wind is still expanding into other cities while Mobi is sitting idle, so this might tell you something, Mobi seems to be fading.. or they just want to be regional and not national carrier..

Dont get a Huawei phone... rather get a cheap Nokia then a huawei phone... even if you splurge and get the Galaxy Nexus or the Nexus S, you can always resell it.. lots of people are on wind/Mobi that would like to pick up either devices but for the right price.. You do have the 14day or under 30mins of talk time to try them out with a full refund.. just make sure to go to a good reputable store..



why dont you switch to the HMP.. you get free unlimited calling/txt to the US... sounds like you would benefit from it..

Which store would be considered good and reputable? I'm assuming the Robson and Thurlow one since it has the big wrench logo? I was thinking of going to either the one on West 4th or Broadway and Cambie since those are the closest to my area.

I've thought about it and I'm going to go with a Nexus S. I already know that I'm gonna get pissed off at a Huawei or Nokia phone so really no point in torturing myself. You're right about selling it so my as well :)

The HMP includes calling and texting to the States in a Wind zone but not from the states so he would have to pay those roaming charges whether he's on the $29 plan or HMP.

the Wrench logo is their service centre.. your better of going to that location, if there any problems with your phone, it be easier to deal with as they are a service centre themselves..


lol i read it wrong.. i thought he was in the wind zone and txt to the states..

Got mine $40 Holiday Miracle plan today.
This promo ends on December 25, 2011. Do it soon!

^same! But I also got the windtab on tthe bold 9900.. The guy in the store said the plan ends today but it actually got extended to the 31st... And if you get tthe bold on the 26tth you get 100$ off from the windtab. I'm pretty choked the guy didn't tell me so I don't have to come back this week...
Do you guys know if I can get the bold for the discounted price if I come by during the promotion? Such a hassle.
Or would I be bettter off calling them?
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