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Ilox - Pay for Installation Material ???


Out1

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23 hours ago, Deryck said:

The internet speed is junk. The TV is not even on and I got 13 MB minutes ago instead of the 70 MB according to the contract I signed. I sent another email to noc@mail.ilox.mx ... still no reply.

This is just another ripoff

Speed measured with WIFI or a wired connection.  Wired connection will be much faster than a WIFI  connection.  It is normal to pay for the fiber cable from the box to your house. Mine was over 750 Pesos but it was a long run.

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Just now, lcscats said:

Speed measured with WIFI or a wired connection.  Wired connection will be much faster than a WIFI  connection.  It is normal to pay for the fiber cable from the box to your house. Mine was over 750 Pesos but it was a long run.

Mine was 990 pesos.

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16 hours ago, tkessler said:

Very true the that internal Ilox Wifi router/modem is not ready for primetime.   I  turned mine off and installed 4 access points (Ubiquiti Unifi) to cover my property.  Problems gone.  The router also won´t bridge data between the ports.  In other words if you're depending upon the Ilox router to connect a file server on one network segment to say a computer on a different one (meaning plugged into different router ports), they won´t talk to each other.  The reason is there are users out their plugging multiple cables into multiple ports creating switch loops that congest tech support with service calls.   Simple fix:   Make sure all of your home network goes into one switch first, then run one cable from that switch to your Ilox router.   Devices that just need to communicate with the internet and not across your network can plug into the router. 

Since Ilox came in I´ve drilled down on about many different complaints of lousy service.   Nearly always customer side

- Customer was double natting...i.e. plugging the WAN port of his router into the LAN port of the Ilox router.
- Customer was switching his Telmex modem in and out of his network and not rebooting his devices.  Devcies  kept trying to use Telmex gateway even though disconnected.
- Bad cables plugged into 1Gb and 100 Mb ports working at 100 mb and 10 mb, or intermittent.-Other misconfigured routers
- Incredibly crappy and cheap hardware.
- Old PC´s
- Trying to stream with a private IP.   You will probably need a public IP address to have a chance at streaming.  Ilox will assign you one.  Public IP addresses are scarce.  One day the network will have to switch to IPV6.  Telmex is already doing it.  Isn´t competition great!
. A business contracted business grade service and resold it through a bunch of misconfigured inferior hardware with poor Wifi coverage.  All the blame went to Ilox. 


-Unrealistic speed expectations.  Ilox is high speed fiber within their network to their gateways.  They have a high speed backbone up through Dallas via Cogent.  They peer with Google, (Youtube) Netflix, and Facebook at their gateway.  Have you ever seen those services slow?   If you have then you really do have  a problem.  When you try to stream video,  you´re competing for shared bandwidth beyond Ilox control.  They pay for so much and that´s whats available.  Some of these streaming services come from Asia and Europe. The provider could also be choking on his connection.  And yes, Telmex, may have better routes to some places than Ilox.  And now we have Covid-19.   I´m not denying that poor streaming experiences are an unfulfilled expectation, but there are  more intelligent ways to address this problem.

If you think its a bad situation here, listen to this podcast.  https://www.npr.org/2020/05/29/865908114/small-america-vs-big-internet  .   Incredible that the lobbyists and special interests in the US are truncating the American way and keeping small towns from doing what we were barely able to do here.  Setting up and running an ISP is a very challenging capital intensive low margin project.  Not for the faint of heart.  And no thanks to the naysayers.   We got Ilox in, but with all the bitchers and whiners I don´t think they''re  doing  another residential service anytime soon.  Just imagine what these same misfits continue to cost in customer service headache.   They´re creating barriers to entry to new providers coming in, and those already providing service.  Money that could pay for better quality of service.

If you have Internet service, next time you have a problem, think twice before throwing up your hands and blaming it on the ISP.  He is responsible for his end.  You are responsible for yours.   Try calling a local professional to check your side first.    Now that Ilox is here,  the opportunity is to be fairer about where problems actually lie and how to fix.  Maybe this could help lower their service costs and get more streaming bandwidth.   I for one am going to work on a guide on how to be a better ISP customer.  

 

If its all so wonderful why do I have streaming problems with Lakeside TV, Global TV and WIFI TVj?   They have routing problems and don't admit it.  They turned off my service one month before money was due.  The telephone drops  calls 50% of the time within five minutes.   FYI I have the fastest service available 300 down. I have taken streaming boxes to Telmex running 10 and Telcel running 20 and they work better. They have never sent me any bills they just turn off  my service when I paid for a year and only got 11 months. Sorry the support is terrible for streaming boxes.  Always my fault.  I don't double NAT as I use an access point to get decent WIFI. I have eliminated WIFI from my streaming box.  Three people with ILOX that I know are having the same streaming problems.  All three have 300 down service.  All wired systems.  Some of us do know what we are doing.  Houston we have a problem. Yes I have a public IP.  Sorry but some of us don't deserve your lecture.

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2 hours ago, lcscats said:

If its all so wonderful why do I have streaming problems with Lakeside TV, Global TV and WIFI TVj?   They have routing problems and don't admit it.  They turned off my service one month before money was due.  The telephone drops  calls 50% of the time within five minutes.   FYI I have the fastest service available 300 down. I have taken streaming boxes to Telmex running 10 and Telcel running 20 and they work better. They have never sent me any bills they just turn off  my service when I paid for a year and only got 11 months. Sorry the support is terrible for streaming boxes.  Always my fault.  I don't double NAT as I use an access point to get decent WIFI. I have eliminated WIFI from my streaming box.  Three people with ILOX that I know are having the same streaming problems.  All three have 300 down service.  All wired systems.  Some of us do know what we are doing.  Houston we have a problem. Yes I have a public IP.  Sorry but some of us don't deserve your lecture.

I said much the same thing a year ago.

Mostly disregarded.

Sorry for your woes.

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I got past my streaming problems by using StrongVPN set to a server in Houston. My guess is that the Ilox internet routing jumps all over Mexico before it gets to a real high speed and stable link in the US. I think with the VPN my connection is direct to the US and therefore more stable.

Before StrongVPN a speedtest indicated 50 mbps down but I could not stream without buffering an HDTV stream that was about 5 mbps.

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49 minutes ago, Out1 said:

I got past my streaming problems by using StrongVPN set to a server in Houston. My guess is that the Ilox internet routing jumps all over Mexico before it gets to a real high speed and stable link in the US. I think with the VPN my connection is direct to the US and therefore more stable.

Before StrongVPN a speedtest indicated 50 mbps down but I could not stream without buffering an HDTV stream that was about 5 mbps.

I sent You a message 

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I don't know is this has anything to do with streaming but I have an observation related to downloads using torrents.

I have the 300mb package. From the beginning the maximum sustained torrent download speed was 10mb/second. It was much better than the 1.2mb I got from Telecable so I was happy.

Within the last month that max speed dropped to 2.4mb/second. It kept happening so I purchased Nord VPN and connected to a US server. By using the VPN I have seen speeds top out at 30mb/second. In the middle of a torrent I'd pause it, disconnect the VPN and continue using ILOX. Back to 2.4mb/second. ILOX appears to throttle the speed of torrents but again, that's just an observation of an event I can't explain.

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Upfront:  I hate to break you the news, but there is no guarantee of successful streaming of services like Lakeside TV, Global TV and WIFI TV.   Most of them don´t have International distribution rights, they are often  forced to service from far parts of the globe through  transit carriers under provide service under bandwidth available, or your provider themselves may not pay for enough bandwidth.   Little Ilox can do about that.  The 300 mbps you contract guarantees you service to their network edge connection.  The streaming problem by the way, is why Google, FB, and Netflix all take it upon themselves to pay for their own peering connections to Ilox and Telmex boundaries.  How often do you see a problem with them?   I signed up for the 300 Mbps service too thinking it would address the problem, it did so only partially.  

Out1:  Ilox doesn´t jump all over Mexico.  They have a super strong backbone up through McAllen, Dallas, and Houston via Cogent into the rest of the public Internet.  The reason your StrongVPN works so well is they are leveraging that backbone strength to get you there.  And from there, you must be going into services that pay for decent bandwidth for whatever service you have.  If you´re trying to use some fly-by-night service connecting to Madagascar, you´ll probably have buffering. .  Interestly, connections to other parts of Mexico usually go to MTY or the U.S. and then back into Mexico through carriers with even less bandwith than Ilox.   The Internet network in Mexico is very US centric. 

Telmex has their own routes and gateways with their own characteristics.   When you go with them, your´re mileage may vary.-  It looks like the higher quality Telmex connections are now IPV6.  Kudos to them.  IPV6 can avoid a lot streaming and fragmention problems with IPV4.   Hopefully Ilox has a plan to get there too.

It was damn hard to persuade an ISP to come in and take the risk to set up.   There were all kinds of issues.  Persuading people to prepay, then half of them leaving for the summer when Ilox was ready to install.  Planning the network.  Ilox having a tough time siting their operations giving Ajijic real estate prices.  Getting and keeping good help.  Having to deal with CFE poles.  Customers not taking care of their side.  My point is its really fragile to get an ISP to set up.  You need a lot of people asking what they can do, not what can be done for them.  And even then, the nature of the Internet may not be able to satisfy some people.   In the U.S. you´re up against the monopolies and lobbyists...  We've met the enemy, and he is us.  

 

 

 

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John I think you´re right, they´re throttling torrents.  Probably just trying to manage their bandwidth.   I don´t know, maybe they could tariff an adder for premium bandwidth.   They have to pay other carriers for that and manage that math.  

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32 minutes ago, John Shrall said:

I don't know is this has anything to do with streaming but I have an observation related to downloads using torrents.

I have the 300mb package. From the beginning the maximum sustained torrent download speed was 10mb/second. It was much better than the 1.2mb I got from Telecable so I was happy.

Within the last month that max speed dropped to 2.4mb/second. It kept happening so I purchased Nord VPN and connected to a US server. By using the VPN I have seen speeds top out at 30mb/second. In the middle of a torrent I'd pause it, disconnect the VPN and continue using ILOX. Back to 2.4mb/second. ILOX appears to throttle the speed of torrents but again, that's just an observation of an event I can't explain.

Based on John Shrall's comments above about throttling torrents, I am wondering if Ilox is throttling streaming; unless hidden by a VPN.

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11 minutes ago, Out1 said:

Based on John Shrall's comments above about throttling torrents, I am wondering if Ilox is throttling streaming; unless hidden by a VPN.

One would need to perform a similar test when streaming. Stream for a while without a VPN and if there are buffering problems connect the VPN and see if the problem persists or clears up.

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7 minutes ago, John Shrall said:

One would need to perform a similar test when streaming. Stream for a while without a VPN and if there are buffering problems connect the VPN and see if the problem persists or clears up.

I have done that many many times and a VPN is required to prevent buffering; at least in my case.

I am going to try and test if I can change ports without a VPN and see if that works. I don't know enough about port forwarding etc but i have plenty of free time right now to learn.

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3 hours ago, Upfront said:

i am makeing the effort to us quote marks here. "i hate to break you the news". why do you mock? i only rpeated my problem as described by someone els. i dont understnad why you are always defending what hs turned out to be an iffy service. stop blaming it on us all the time.

I didn't see that as 'mockery' but then I'm not in your shoes.

IMO, Tom K has done Lakeside a HUGE favor and has probably spent untold hours behind the scenes.  Had he not, there would most likely be NO fiber service Lakeside now or the foreseeable future. This is probably why Telmex is upgrading their services.... if in fact THAT is even a fact.

I also don't see iLOX as an 'iffy' service. If it is iffy how would one categorize Telmex.... pathetic? Yes, their modems suck for wifi and their telephone service for many is a joke. But for high speed Internet they are getting it done for most everyone that Posts here.

... end of rant

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Just a guess here... Ilox offers streaming tv and likely has a deal w/ Netflix. Sounds like they are throttling any competition and also explains the starting out with a private ip. Guess count your blessings they aren't doing the data cap yet.

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Residential internet service is designed for low tariffs;  beyond the ISP's own network, there is a certain amount of capacity that everyone competes for.  Netflix realized a long time ago there was no way customers were going to pay for their service if the quality was poor.  Ditto FB and Google.   These companies pay for their own high capacity connections to the ISP's boundary.  Is that throttling competition or acting competitively?        When is the last time you saw a slow Netflix or Youtube video on your Ilox or Telmex connection?    Unfortunately all the streaming services that don't do that don't have their service guaranteed. 

Ilox is still on IPV4 and they don't have enough addresses  to give to everyone by default.  They give you a private one and if you need a public one you must ask for it.  No conspiracies here, 

 Nor is it my intent to mock anyone.  

 

 

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Yes Tom did great work getting ILOX into town.  Now that the love session is over.  Tom explain why they turned off my service after 11 months when I had paid for 12?  It is called contractual fraud.  I am deciding whether to go to the Consumer Agency.  Explain to me the lack of communications of any kind.  Why does Telcel 20 work better than ILOX 300. Why do tests for routing errors show positive? I don't blame ILOX for poor performance on the european channels but it would be nice if CNN or HBO would work properly.  We pay 14,500P a year. We have no choice but to pay for a phone that doesn't work right.  My net talk VOIP phone works perfectly.  I would rather not pay for the cable TV channels also.  WHY WHY WHY?

So not to be a complainer. ILOX internet does file transfers very fast.  ILOX moved me in three weeks. Pretty good for Mexico.  And thank you Tom for your work even if we disagree on the ILOX product. I know it couldn't have been fun. 

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ok, here's my thoughts.

I've had Ilox since January, a default install, was a private IP address, and the DHCP server on the ONT was active. Turned wifi off from the ONT.

My casita is about 60-70 feet from the ONT, installed an Orbi RBK50, next to the ONT and in the casita, excellent wifi in the casita

For the first week or so, no issues, then IPTV started buffering, to the point it was unwatchable, email the noc, requested to turn off the DHCP server and assign a dynamic address, I assign my computers an address from the Orbi, this works for awhile, then buffering on some streams, if I select a channel that is 720 or less, no problem, if its 720 or above, it may or may not buffer.Had the noc send out a tech, they said there may be a charge, he arrived, I showed him the issue, he immediately said, "you need a dynamic address", I email the noc, yes you have a dynamic address, the issue persists. I started to keep a log of IP addresses assigned to the ONT, I have had the same address since May 31, before and after a reboot and a power cycle of the ONT.

I have tried a couple VPN's, protonvpn and mullvad, both paid plans, the buffering continues.

One of the tests the tech did was a speed test, his preferred site: https://www.nperf.com/en/

I have no issues with the speed, just the quality of the connection, I do believe there is some form of throttling going on, another user of the same IPTV provider, lives in Villa Nova, started experiencing the same issues with Ilox.

fastjune7.jpeg

june11nperf.jpeg

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I use an IPTV provider on a FireTV stick; I found that the VPN apps on the FireTV stick did little to eliminate the buffering; I tested ExpressVPN, NordVPN and StrongVPN.

Then I installed the VPN on the router that my FireTV stick connects with WIFI; NordVPN worked most of the time but StrongVPN solved my buffering problem as well as some other connectivity issues I had with NordVPN. I did not test ExpressVPN on the router as StrongVPN was working very well.

I believe Ilox is throttling streaming unless it is hidden by a good VPN.

 

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Lcscats:    Every billing case I've seen, about 20, a mail to noc@mail.ilox.mx  resolved the problem.  The consumer agency, Profeco, publishes complaint data  http://www.ift.org.mx/usuarios-y-audiencias/informes-estadisticos-soy-usuario  .   The data is similar every quarter.   Couple thousand.  Cellphone service  biggest category. about 60%.    Internet next, about 15%,  then landline, TV, etc.   AT&T and Telmex biggest offenders.  Charges and billing errors are about 20% of all.  They say about 90% of those resolved satisfactory.    You can get every last entry if you want.   .I've never seen a complaint against TVRey, ever.    Plenty of onesie's and twosie's against other small carriers.  

But I have to agree, Ilox are not the greatest communicators.  Maybe thats a Mexican thing.  But I've never seen a cordial exchange with the NOC end poorly.  One month charges can't be that big a deal. 

Buffering for streamers is clearly becoming the biggest issue.   If you've addressed things like public IP,  got decent wifi access points, checked your configs and cables, then unfortunately the problem is elsewhere in the Internet.   Unless your service is going out their way to make sure their bandwidth to you is good, (eg. Netflix, Google, FB) you're sharing the highways beyond Ilox with the masses.  Telmex has other routes that may work better in other cases.  So keep your Telmex if you want but they'll likely buffer on something else.  A good VPN may get you to a POP that has better connectivity.  I just signed up for the trial on USTVNOW, a completely legal service for Americans overseas...No buffering there at all.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Yesterday I signed up for StrongVPN and installed it on my Dell notebook.  Connected the notebook to my TV.   Connected to Houston, then to a well known US video streaming service.  Worked perfectly.  No buffering, ever.  Saw all the content as if I were in the US.    Tried connecting to some other cities around the world, didn't work as well.   US cities worked well. 

Then I did the same on my android box.  A good one, 16 gb memory,  4 processors.  The Strong VPN client connected fine, apparently.  When I logged into the streaming service, it  choked, buffered, worthless.  The box seemingly doesn't have enough horsepower to support encrypted VPN and quality video streaming.  If I hadn't made the comparison, I would have been bitching about Ilox all day long.   

This just reinforces the thesis that if you want to stream decent content, Ilox will work for you .  If you have a good VPN, you don't even need a public IP address.  Ilox has a strong backbone up to the US.   You just need to make sure your hardware is capable and  configured right, and you're using services that aren't depending upon rationed bandwidth beyond that backbone.  The same might be true for Telmex, especially if you have a decent speed.   Need to do some more experiments.

 

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I have tested both NordVPN and StrongVPN on an original Firestick and a Firestick 4K on Ilox to eliminate buffering on HD TV.

Neither VPN worked very well on the original Firestick.

On a Firestick 4K, NordVPN worked to some extent but StrongVPN worked just fine.

This was a quick 10 minute test of each VPN on each Firestick with 2 or 3 HD channels.

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