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Smart Bro Prepaid Kit – a Review

Posted by: pamela15s on: February 16, 2009

smartbroprepaid

I was at the NSO today and endured a freakin’ 5 long hours of processing. Man, was I exhausted! However, I finally got a Smart Bro Prepaid Kit later this afternoon, and it was about the only thing I looked forward to today. I was speaking too soon…

Naturally, I arrived home and tried it right away with my husband. It took a while to connect. When it did, well…I really don’t wanna say it, we were actually disappointed, at least as far as my PC is concerned.

In the bedroom, the signal was not as impressive. My dial up is better. Really. We took the laptop out into the balcony and it worked better there and for fairness sake, it was FAST. I wonder what a few meters difference is? We tried it several times hoping that maybe it was coincidence that the signal was stronger at the same moment we tried it outside. Nah, we ruled it out. It IS better outdoors.

This is good news for my husband for having the benefit of going wireless from time to time, but for my heavy duty dual core CPU and 17″ monitor, that won’t do for me. Is my life getting any harder?

Oh, I forgot to mention, the Smart Bro Prepaid Kit is now only Php 1,995 (from P2,500 original price) since V-day and it’s P100 preloaded. We bought it in case of emergency and a P10 charge for every 30 minutes isn’t bad as long as you don’t need to be online the entire day or you might as well try the Unlimited Plan.

With a subtle eavesdropping at the Smart Business Center, I heard, the signal isn’t the same over the city. Some areas won’t have services as satisfactory as the others, that’s why they ask you first where you are stationed so they could advice you. I know, I don’t get the point either. The kit should allow you to be online WHEREVER you are.

Lucky for us, we do have a good signal here in Tumaga ( I think pretty much because of the Government office in the vicinity?) but not so lucky for Divisoria, or so I heard.

I live in Zamboanga so I don’t know how it works for the rest of the Philippines. I do think, however, the same theory applies.

23 Responses to "Smart Bro Prepaid Kit – a Review"

The pre-paid kit i think is the only choice when it comes to laptop. I am using smartbro but the unlimited plan because now I do everything with my desktop PC. Smartbro works with the principle of line-of-sight so naturally outdoors is better but if you want to improve signal indoors, you can get routers that can pick up the signal outside and transmit it efficiently indoors/with multiple computers without loosing signal strength.
Halata bang tech support ako ng ISP? lols!

wow, thanks for that! galing ah!

yes, it’s true because smart has a strong signal over Philippines like gprs, 3g and HSDPA areas. sa globe ok kaso paglabas mo sa 3g medyo mahina na yung signal di kamukha dun sa smart malakas kahit saan, madali pa makahanap ng smart wireless center outlets.I suggest we take all smart!

hi lio, thanks for that info. yes, we were kinda looking at the globe wireless too, but we thought, Zamboanga isn’t so much connected with the Globelines except on celfones.

At least you kinda confirmed that we made the right decision on choosing Smart!

thanks for the comment.

Just passing by.Btw, you website have great content!

Line-of-Sight works only with the rooftop antenna (used by Smartbro postpaid and other ISPs). (You’d notice the connection lags when it rains or when there’s a tree blocking the LOS between your antenna and the cellsite.)

Not so with the USB device. It should work on a radius/radial signal, like a cellphone, otherwise it would not work at all when inside the house (think of so many things blocking a clear LOS from your phone to the cellsite).

The reason your connection got better outside is that you got closer to the nearest cellsite, thus the signal got stronger. Also, walls naturally block some of the signal that goes into the house so that’s why you experienced lower signal inside, but that’s to be expected.

Thanks for the review. I might choose Smart over Globe, since there’s a cellsite just a few feet from our house hehe.

Mucho gayot factors que puede apekta el dituyu signal strenght. El manga ya dale opinion tiene tamen gayot sila manga buen puntos.Sabe io que sabe tambien tu que dos clase ese smartbro set que ta oprese sila: Roaming or prepaid kit y Fix (unlimited)type.El roaming amo ya ese tu ta usa, for which when you can go roaming anywhere in the philippines,and get broadband connections.Kaya nga lang siyempre ta depende tambien ese na dituyu computer speed y na network capacity other signal strenght. According to Smartbro customer service counter na Zamboanga PLDT: not all their sites supports better speed especially alyi canaton na area de Tumaga.Io tiene tambien smartbro roaming y fix type na mio casa. The problem is that no puede tambien man access better speed and signal strenght.Na fix type, tiene gayot aerial unit normally installed outside on your house roof top with pole and guy wires. Pre-paid isn’t the only choice for laptop only, you can use any type of computer. The only reason why we opted to use this is dahil ala nga tayong DSL di ba?Malayo sa kabihasnan ng mga linya ng telepono di ba?Oo roaming nga rin.If you have landline di DSL mo na lang, kaya nga ala ngang bakante.I have my piltel residential landline, ala naman bakanteng DSL.Most broadband communications used are in the UHF spectrum of radio frequencies and short than 10m wavelenght will only recieved within the line of sight and may even be absorved by clouds, objects, and water vapour in the atmosphere.Yes its true that the solution to your problem is to use router with USB port, then a network cable up to your computer, solve di ba?Anda lang tu na Octagon. Anyway I just only like to throw a share k?

Anybody likes Wi-Fi? Here is more about it:

Wi-Fi, an abbreviation for wireless fidelity, is a wireless communication technology that can provide connections between portable computers and wired connections to the Internet. To connect users with the Internet, Wi-Fi devices use low-power transmitters and receivers equipped with special computer chips containing radio modems. The chips can be installed in laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and cellular telephones.

Radio modems provide the same functions as modems that operate with conventional wire-based networks: They modulate and demodulate signals to mimic digital bitstreams, the same format used by computers. Wi-Fi-equipped computers, cell phones, and PDAs provide mobile, wireless access to e-mail and Internet sites. The radio modems must be in range of a Wi-Fi device containing a transmitter and receiver that is connected to a landline providing Internet access. Areas within range of a Wi-Fi transmitter and receiver are known as hot spots. Current technical standards limit the range to distances of about 90 m (300 ft). Many transmitters, however, can be linked to cover a wider area, such as an airport or hotel. Current Wi-Fi standards enable data to be sent at high speeds ranging from 11 to 54 megabits per second. This is known as a broadband connection because a vast amount of data can be sent quickly. A new technology known as WiMax promises to extend the range of a transmitter and receiver to about 48 km (30 mi). The WiMax technology also expands the capabilities of broadband connections by enabling users to remain connected to Internet hot spots even when traveling in an automobile or train at speeds up to 250 km/h (155 mph).
Rodel

hello Rodel, muchas gracias na information.

Yes, you’re right, it’s really frustrating nuay pa DSL aki na Tumaga. PLDT said by March chene ya pero nuay pa man sila advice asta ara. Astra ara pending lang syempre di amun application.

We wanted the wifi akel fixed type pero it wouldn’t be as convenient kasi kere kame chene kame internet while on the go, especially my husband who needs internet most of the time.

So now akel prepaid kit lang anay kame for the mean time when the need arises. Currently tan dial-up lang anay yo kng hinde gat demanding kame nisita na internet.

thank you so much for the sharing of information, really appreciate it!

There’s just one problem with the Smart BRO kit. I recently encountered the “Cannot update phone book” error. I called the Smart customer service assistance but they couldn’t solve the problem.

So, I reinstalled the software. But the problem is still there. “Cannot update phone book”

After an hour of thinking, I uninstalled the software again… then i checked the c:\program files\… the directory is still there!…. WTF? this smart bro software does not cleanly uninstall!!! so I deleted the smart bro directory in program files…

I reinstalled the software again… tried to connect…

connected!

If a problem like this happens, you know what to do…

thanks for that bacs, I’ll sure keep that in mind.

hi guys! ok ba smartbro prepaid here in Bay, Laguna?

Smartbro prepaid is the best! You can surf unlimited only if you know how! bwahahahha!

hello i need help please..
i have this smartbro plan 1995
using my laptop windows vista
when i connect to the internet it keeps on saying “connection terminated” but when i try it on the other user it’s working help!

also this smart bro plan 999
it always say error code P30220
i don’t know how to fix it because my quick fix is also not working.
but when i try it on my friend’s laptop its WORKING..

my god help meeee..

Hi hanie thank you for your comment. I don’t have that much experience with Smart Bro plan 999 but you could try calling your operator. They usually have your computer ready for your internet. I mean, as a subscriber, they owe you good service, don’t you think?

I hope this helps. :D

Good Luck!

hanie – try uninstalling your smart bro software. delete the folder that is associated with smart bro in program files. Install the software again. not 100% guaranteed but just try it.

@hanie : yeps, nde ka pde mgConnect sa INternet using ur admin account in Vista.. ganun din nangyari saken, sabi nung techy guy dun samen, may settings daw sa vista na blah blah blah.. nde ko na maalala.. hehe, gawa kna lng ng isang user account for your Internet browsing. oki?! :)

same problem with hanie, gumana sya sa laptop (vista sp 2) when i first installed it, pero the following day ayaw na laging may error (ie, connection terminated, modem not configured properly etc.) naghahang din pag shutdown since i installed the program. pero its working 100% okay sa desktop na xp. badtrip! eh dapat nga sa laptop sya magamit kasi portable.

u will appreciate the speed when ur usb socket is usb 2.0 the data transfer much faster than usb 1.0 or usb 1.1

may problem po ako sa smart bro ko… gumagana nman po sya.. i can connect sa internet, then HSDPA pa nga po ang connection nya but the problem occurs pag from HSDPA sya then count lng ng mga 12secs nag-3G sya tas disconnected ako … nde po ako tuloy-tuloy na mkpaginternet.. help nman po ..

Hi dette,

Di ko pa na-encounter ang problem na yan, pero the shifting from HSDPA to 3G or vice versa usually happens din sakin pero I don’t get disconnected, but a change in speed can be noted.

Could it be, I may be mistaken, baka depende yan sa signal sa area mo?Baka mas malakas signal ng HSDPA dyan kesa 3G. Can you get to higher ground? Or nearer to a site?

I hope that helps.And thanks for the comment.

Hi guys. ano ba mas ok sa dalawa kung globe tatoo ba or smart bro prepaid kit? kung mahina ang signal indoor pwede ba yun gamitan ng router for the laptop? makakatulong ba ang router? pls give me an opinion before buying any USB internet device.

hi vel, thanks for your question.

I think depende yan san ka sa Pilipinas. Some places kasi are dominated by smart and some Globe. You might wanna ask both providers how is their signal strength sa lugar nyo.

About routers, you might refer to comment no.1 above. :)

Thank you for the visit!

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