Helio

[Gessho]

Hello,
I'm thinking of switching to Helio. I like the Ocean and the flexibility that it offers. Does anyone have any experience with Helio, good or bad?
Thank you

[Bill Clinton]

From what I have heard Helio is not bad. They are a Sprint MVNO.

You are better off just switching to Sprint. The Ocean is a decent phone and Helio is alright, but you can get better deals from Sprint. Take a look at the SERO plans because those are great offers. $30.00 a month gets you 500 minutes and unlimited data and text might still be included.

Sprint Employee Referral Offer

[SpinMixr]

Actually, Helio is not part of sprint. Helio is their own company. Helio roams on the Sprint network, Verizon network, Alltell Network, and...(one other...but I can't remember it right now.)

When you think about all the combined network power, they really are a good company as far as coverage goes. But I won't switch to them because I have verizon and im happy with them, and everyone I know has verizon so I really take advantage of IN-Calling/messaging.

[Gessho]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm a Verizon customer but I've not been that excited with their phones and an additional data plan of $80 is not worth it.

[PCSuser]

Helio runs off the Sprint PCS network (CDMA side).

They are a SPRINT MVNO - which means the 'lease' Sprints network for their customers to use as a 'native' Helio network.

[Bill Clinton]

Originally Posted by SpinMixr

Actually, Helio is not part of sprint. Helio is their own company. Helio roams on the Sprint network, Verizon network, Alltell Network, and...(one other...but I can't remember it right now.)

When you think about all the combined network power, they really are a good company as far as coverage goes. But I won't switch to them because I have verizon and im happy with them, and everyone I know has verizon so I really take advantage of IN-Calling/messaging.

Yes I said that Helio is a Sprint MVNO not that Helio is part of Sprint. Helio uses Sprints network, then other CDMA carriers when Sprint coverage is not available. Sprint also uses Sprint's network and VZW, Alltel, US Cellular, and many small regional providers. Sprint has a network which they maintain. Helio pays Sprint to use Sprint's network. I personally would choose Sprint over Helio but give Helio a try. They seem reasonable and I haven't heard anything negative about them.

[x7bren]

I've spoke to some of my friends who have their service. They say the quality is good but the care is lacking a bit.

I'll see if I can more info for you.

[Kat Strat]

I have also had major issues with Helio activation. Today marks day 14 of the waiting... Here are two of my emails to Helio:

Number ONE (send 1/22/08):
Subject: I am VERY disappointed.
Dear Helio,
I received my beautiful Helio Ocean on Monday, January 14th, 2008. Today is January 22nd, and my device STILL hasn't been activated. I have contacted the UN-helpful people in your customer service department several times. So far, I have spoken with Ray, Pearl, Florence, and another gentleman whose name I cannot recall. Each representative I have spoken with has assured me that my device will be activated in X amount of hours or days. Each time one of those milestones passes, I am forced to contact customer service yet again.

The initial mistake was my own--on January 14th, instead of putting my current wireless account number in the "Account Number" field on the activation page on your site, I put the mobile number I wanted to transfer over. As soon as I realized my mistake, I contacted Customer Care. I was told that it would take until Friday, January 18th, for the mistake to be corrected in the system. I was then told that it could take as long as Monday, January 21st. I contacted Customer Care again on Monday the 21st, and was told that it would take 24 hours or less for my device to be activated.

Well, I just got off of the phone with Florence, and she informed me that not only had the information not even been corrected in the system, but also that it would take until tomorrow afternoon for my device to be activated.

This is UNACCEPTABLE. If my phone is not working by tomorrow afternoon, I am canceling my "service" with you, AND taking this information to Consumer Reports.

Thank you for your time.

Any assistance with this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Yours truly,

Kat Strat
(714) XXX-XXXX
(714) XXX-XXXX


And Number TWO (sent 1/28/08):
Subject: STILL not happy.

Hello,

My name is Kat Strat. This is my SECOND email regarding this problem. I ordered my Ocean from your website, and received it on January 14th, 2008. As of today, January 28th, it STILL has not been activated. I requested to port my number from Verizon Wireless.

On the 14th, I attempted to activate my device online. I mistakenly put the wireless number I wanted to transfer over as the "Account Number" in the form. After I realized my mistake, I called "customer care" on Tuesday, January 15th. I spoke with a gentleman whose name I cannot remember and then a female named Pearl. According to the "customer care" representatives I spoke with on Tuesday, my concerns would be "elevated to a higher department", and my device was to be activated in 3-5 business days.

I called "customer care" again on Friday, January 18th, and spoke with Ray. I was told again that my device would be activated in another 3-5 business days.

I called again on Monday, January 21st, and was told that my device would be activated by Tuesday afternoon. I called again at 6:00PM PST on Tuesday, January 22nd, and was told that my device would be activated in no more than 24 hours. During this conversation, I said very clearly that I would cancel my service, and return my phone for a full refund if my device was not working within 24 hours as promised.

By this point, each representative I'd spoken with had read back the incorrect account number when "verifying" my information. I've explained to every representative I've spoken with what happened when I attempted to activate the device on my own, and told them that the Verizon Wireless account number I'm giving them is the correct account number. Still, the incorrect information is repeated back to me each time I call--which tells me that the information I've had to repeat on 8 or 9 different occasions is not getting recorded properly.

By Wednesday the 23rd, I was extremely frustrated. My phone was still not activated as promised. I called again--this time, intending to cancel my service, and received the same "3-5 business days" answer. I called back immediately, and asked to speak with a supervisor. The woman who took my call not only left me on hold for over 18 minutes, she wasted time asking me questions and NEVER let me speak to her supervisor.

At this point, I explained to her that I had been waiting for almost 10 days for my phone to be activated AND that I'd spent over 3 hours of my life on the phone with "customer care" trying to get this situation straightened out. Each time I called, I was given the same "3-5 business day response". I told her that I was fed up, and needed to be compensated for the time I'd wasted with this company. She started crying and asked if I would hold while she spoke with her supervisor. After a very long (5-7 minute) hold, she came on the line and said "Please call back in 3-5 business days." I asked if I was going to be able to speak with her supervisor, and she said, "No," as she promptly hung up. To recap-- no compensation was offered, my phone was not activated, AND my request to speak with a supervisor was denied.

After being treated so poorly by the customer care representatives at 1-888-88-HELIO, I was at the end of my rope. I looked up the phone number for an actual Helio Store in my area, and begged them to help me. The woman I spoke with there was 500 times more helpful than anyone in "customer care." She gave me a different number (800) 505-3202. I called that number, and initially spoke with Juan.

Juan looked up my account information and history for me. He, again, read the incorrect account number back to me while "verifying" information. In tears, I explained the whole situation to him, and he was able to tell me that the hold up was not on Helio's end, but Verizon's. He then said that some one in the "higher department" was working on it, so it should be taken care of in the next day or so. He also said that my bill would be "prorated" as compensation for my troubles. I thanked him for the information he'd given me, and immediately contacted Verizon Wirelsss to see if we could get the process moved along faster.

After a lengthy conversation with Verizon Wireless, I discovered that the last (and only) time Verizon had been contacted by Helio on my behalf was on Monday, January 14th, 2008--when I attempted to activate my device on my own with the wrong information. This tells me that EVERY representative I've spoken with at Helio has not only lied to me about when my device will be activated, but also about someone in a "higher department" working to solve this problem.

After finding out that Helio had never even bothered to contact Verizon with the correct account information, I contacted Cayleb at (800) 505-3202. He told me that he understood my frustration, and offered to let me call back if my device was not activated by the end of the week. Well, the end of the week has come and gone. Today begins week 3 of this ordeal.

There are several things I expect once my device is activated. I expect to be credited for the device that has been sitting on my desk gathering dust for the past 14 days. I also don't even want to SEE a bill for at least 6 months.

As I promised in my first email regarding this issue, I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Reports with this information. I also have half a mind to post this on every online forum I can find regarding Helio and wireless service.

Thank you for nothing so far,
Kat Strat
(714) XXX-XXXX
(714) XXX-XXXX


I am SO over this... I would cancel if they would listen to me long enough to let me... instead of putting me on hold for upwards of 20 minutes per call!!!

[Eric47]

Wether or not they roam off other companys is irrelavent IMO.

native footprint is always the best kind of service, and sprint general is lacking in that department.

not to mention Helio's "unlimited Services" have soft caps that will get you terminated, for instance going over 160mb of data in a month is a TOS deal breaker

[jrip]

helio is actually pretty good, i stopped using my sprint and nextel phones after picking up an ocean. the device is pretty awesome itself, the only problem with helio is that their devices use wipi c. which means 3rd party apps are not everywhere for it. on the same note a few geniuses over at heliocity have written a couple programs to "wrap" almost any j2me app with the proper headers and footers. not to mention gmonk has actually written the first 3rd party wipi c app that we know of. this means without a doubt almost anything is possible with helio devices, maybe not tomorrow but in the near future. the thing that most like about the helio ocean/mysto/fin is the capability of viewing any web site in real full html. not just wap or chtml, i like the look on iphone owners faces when i show them what the same web site they are looking at looks like in html when compared to the "real internet" they have on their iphone.

check out helio it cant hurt, and you also have the 30 days to cancel if you dont like it.

[brandonschooley]

As a Helio customer, RUN!!! Stay far away from Helio, and if you have already signed up within the last 30 days... get out of it. I have had Helio for a year, gone through 2 phones that broke unexpectedly and guess who picked up the bill for Helio's screwed up devices... ME. 400 dollars worth on top of purchasing my original phone and my monthly payments. They have the WORST "customer service" and if i could go back i wouldnt think twice about going to a different carrier. They will definately lose my business when my contract is done. The service is horrible and i constantly have to keep re-sending my texts to just get one to go through.. and all of a sudden when i send a pic message.. the recipient does not get them... but im too scared to bring this to their attention for fear that my pockets will be emptied again on another phone.

Once again.. my advice.... you get what you pay for.... except when dealing with Helio... stay away!!

[AGGeek]

I've personally been with Helio for almost a year and half (first with the Drift then with the Ocean) and I haven't experienced any problems. Of course, I haven't tried (or needed) to contact customer service but if you're the type to go and figure stuff out on your own, I'd recommend it. Sometimes I feel the Ocean is more of a weapon than a phone (since it's so heavy) but it keeps me up-to-date with emails, texts, net surfing, and more for one flat fee.
At my current home, it is the ONLY one that gets me decent signal too over Verizon, Cingular/AT&T, AND Sprint...

[larry]

Originally Posted by AGGeek

I've personally been with Helio for almost a year and half (first with the Drift then with the Ocean) and I haven't experienced any problems. Of course, I haven't tried (or needed) to contact customer service but if you're the type to go and figure stuff out on your own, I'd recommend it. Sometimes I feel the Ocean is more of a weapon than a phone (since it's so heavy) but it keeps me up-to-date with emails, texts, net surfing, and more for one flat fee.
At my current home, it is the ONLY one that gets me decent signal too over Verizon, Cingular/AT&T, AND Sprint...

You do realize that Helio uses Sprint's network don't you?

[AGGeek]

Originally Posted by larry

You do realize that Helio uses Sprint's network don't you?

Yes, thank you. It could be the difference in phones too but my housemate with Sprint phone barely gets 2 bars while I get full bars.

[larry]

Originally Posted by AGGeek

Yes, thank you. It could be the difference in phones too but my housemate with Sprint phone barely gets 2 bars while I get full bars.

Interesting. Then it has to be a phone brand/model difference.

[Particular]

Helio is ok, there Ocean is the best phone. Also the company really has to get more of a bigger selection of phones.