If you’re searching for fast, reliable, and expensive internet in India, think no further than Airtel 4G. Launched earlier in 2015, we’ve all been bombarded by the (annoying) Airtel 4G girl ad — who challenges users to see if they can get faster internet than Airtel 4G. The most common reaction to the ad is.. ‘Abbe, Airtel phone network nahi hai, 2G aur 3G toh nahi chalta, kya Airtel 4G nonsense?’
Nonetheless, I’ve used Airtel 4G at home for over a year and have an opinion on the matter.
What’s great about Airtel 4G?
Airtel 4G for Home – Reliable but too expensive
- Fast — If you’re coming from BSNL or MTNL, Airtel 4G is SUPER DUPER fast. However, for those coming from ACT Fibernet, it’s not that fast. As you can see, I’m currently getting download speeds of 22 mbps and upload speed of 1.87 mbps.
- Relaible — I’ve used Airtel 4G for over a year and it has NEVER stopped working. Now that’s what I call reliable. The only time I had connectivity issues was when there was an issue with the sim card and all I had to do was take out the SIM and reinsert it.
- Wireless — You don’t need to drill holes thorugh your windows and have unseemly wires hanging all over the place. All you need is a modem, a sim card and a power point to plug in the modem. So simple. When we moved houses we had internet instantly, without having to call anyone to facilitate the move.
- Hotspot / Dongle — You can put the same SIM in a hotspot/dongle. Internet on the move is so easy with Airtel 4G.
- Mobile phones — If you have a 4G activated mobile phone, you can get Airtel 4G on your phone for free (free SIM upgrade swap). Just log on to their website. If you have Airtel 4G on your phone, the costs are the same as 3G for now. I’m planning to get a new SIM in the coming week. From my experience, Airtel 3G network sucks in most places of Bangalore (can’t even book an Ola/Uber cab easily). A friend with Airtel 4G found it much easier to book, so it’s worth the switch if possible.
What’s not-so-great about Airtel 4G?
- Expensive — It’s damnnnn expensive. We had a 50GB package for around Rs 3000 per month. Invariably, in this day and age of streaming, we would exhaust the package within 20 days.
- Slow speed after limit is crossed — Once the limit is crossed, the SPEED is so slow that you can’t even open Airtel’s own page to add extra data.
- Smartbytes are expensive — If you exhaust the package, you can purchase smartbytes, which are pretty expensive. 10GB costs Rs 1000. This made our total bill easily touch the Rs 3000-4000 monthly mark.
- The modem was expensive — Our Huawei modem cost almost Rs 6000. SO EXPENSIVE. Now I see that Airtel has another modem available on their website for Rs 2500 (after discount).
Can I switch to 4G for free?
On your mobile phones, YES! Just get on to their website here, and they will post you a new SIM card for your existing number.
Should I switch to 4G?
For home internet — if you have providers like ACT, I would say an emphatic NO. It’s just much too expensive, and, in my experience, while ACT does go down, their service is pretty decent.
For dongles — speak to an Airtel person before switching. It works great in cities like Bangalore and Delhi, however, if you are going to places like Varanasi, it doesn’t work at ALL. No 3G option.
For mobile phones — Firstly, make sure you have a 4G enabled phone. Then, speak to an Airtel person before switching. You may not get 4G coverage in your area. Personally, I have a new phone which has 4G capabilities, hence I’m planning to get a new 4G SIM for the new phone. Two separate lines.
Overall Review of Airtel 4G
The advertising blitz aside, Airtel 4G is a good option for your phone and those living in metros. However, for home internet / wireless, I’d say find another provider.
Worst Network total money waste. Pathetic Customer care people. First stop the ad saying India’s Fastest Network.
The worst network in the whole world.. Fedup..
Airtel, by far is the worst network in India. Not only because they claim to have 4g but are not even capable of delivering 2g speeds. But also because, they claim to be the fastest 4g network in India, but clearly they are the worst.
Totally waste.. Do not puches airtel sim..
I hv recharge for 4g Worst internet speed….waste of money..
I hv recharge for 4g Worst internet speed….waste of money..stupid😡😡
Pathetic service from Airtel
Ni qmmandengaaa puuukulooo network, kojjalangakodkalqarAaa,, pukkkuuloo extraalu meeku,, 2g kuda avvaduu , Ni pellqnndengaaa😠
Recently got my sim upgraded to 4g but be it 2g 3g or 4g, they all are the same. The network and internet speed is just bad. Two thumbs down to airtel👎👎
Puku
Airtel 4G network is getting worst day by day. Everything keeps buffering in 4G networ? This is not what was expected from Airtel. The speed is not even 3G.
Total waste of money & time..
Airtel 4g is useless..
Airtel jitna faltu network aur koi nhi h.
Okhala k naam pe chala h. Kon h be a okhala sb ko bana rahe chutiya
Pls Don’t waste your time & money…
Pls Don’t waste your time & money
Airtel is the worst network in India
CHOO**** Company ka CHOO*** Network
Inspite of repeated complaints I am getting very slow internet from airtel 4G.
i have been using Airtel 4G dongle since it was launched in Pune, because of the speed it claimed for. The services have declined now. Earlier i was very happy with the services, excellent connectivity and good service & support. So though the cost of the plans was on a higher side it did not matter.
But since 1 and a half year the services have been bad, there are connection issues, and the customer care and support services have also declined and are not upto the mark. I have repeatedly called the customer care helpline regarding the connectivity issues. Everytime i have called i have been given some reason like work going on with their towers, or an engineer will come and check at the location site etc, stating the issue will be resolved soon. i never had any engineer visit my location to check the issue. The connectivity problem persisted and was never resolved, and because it was a postpaid plan i was unnecessarily paying the bill amount.
Also every time you call up the helpline number, you get a message giving the complain / request number on your alternative number. That too stopped happening later and then you do not have any reference number to give them when you call back again to their helpline. Everytime we make a call, you have to make a repetition of the whole story, which consumes a lot of time.
So have finally made a request a for discontinuation of services. There is no value for money and for my connection atleast the services declined horribly. plus no good customer support. Airtel is unable to take care of the existing customers, dont know why it wants more people to join in…
i have been using Airtel 4G dongle since it was launched in Pune, because of the speed it claimed for. Earlier i was very happy with the services, excellent connectivity and good service & support. So though the cost of the plans was on a higher side it did not matter.
But since 1 and a half year the services have been bad, there are connection issues, and the customer care and support services have also declined and are not upto the mark. I have repeatedly called the customer care helpline regarding the connectivity issues. Everytime i have called i have been given some reason like work going on with their towers, or an engineer will come and check at the location site etc, stating the issue will be resolved soon. i never had any engineer visit my location to check the issue. The connectivity problem persisted and was never resolved, and because it was a postpaid plan i was unnecessarily paying the bill amount.
Also every time you call up the helpline number, you get a message giving the complain / request number on your alternative number. That too stopped happening later and then you do not have any reference number to give them when you call back again to their helpline. Everytime we make a call, you have to make a repetition of the whole story, which consumes a lot of time.
So have finally made a request a for discontinuation of services. There is no value for money and for my connection atleast the services declined horribly. plus no good customer support. Airtel is unable to take care of the existing customers, dont know why it wants more people to join in…
Do not go with Airtel.
I’ve tested connection speed with different types of applications, it shows high speed compare to JIO but but but when you use internet on JIO it provides the same speed as speed test app give while Airtel does not provide the speed as speed test app give, even does not provide half speed.
So go with JIO but do not go with Airtel.
On Airtel 4g network it take literally 30-40 second to load 13kb WhatsApp photos.even WhatsApp is slower..then what can u expect from YouTube???
Airtel 4G < other 2G…
Very very very very bad 4G ntwrk.
So Don’t waste your money…
Worst network i ever seen fuck this network don’t recharge its waste of miney
What they say that the Airtel being in quick operator. The world of the worst network. I the Airtel SIM change, and other network new
Ek dum bakwas network. They are only cheating in the name of 4g.
Pathetic network really, I get so much disopinted with airtel ,as they say they r fastest network but sorry to say it is worst than any thing , I m switcing thiz network I also recommend my all relative n frnds to switch to another one, really u r fraud company
Airtel network is f****** network
I throwed that sim
Very bad service 4G 3G 2G also
I complain too much times but no reply
9590617777
Airtel vs jio my area Airtel 4G network problem compare jio best network jio customer care replay very good Airtel customer care I can tell one problem but no response in Airtel customer care….
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I purchased 4g sim but network showing 2g
I did 451 recharge for 4g services but very pathetic condition of net .plz don’t purchase Airtel….I think will be better for us.
Now a daus, Airtel is the worst network in India. Don’t waste your money on Airtel. Network is too poor. Jio or Vodaphone is much better than Airtel in my experience.
I am using Airtel 4G modem since from last 1 year. I am getting very good speed that is no any other 4G network is capable to provide such a high speed. Within the span of 1 year network never stopped working. Most reliable and fast internet network. I will suggest to all to go for Airtel 4G network. To run behind low cost plans network bring only frustration and due to low speed it is not possible to consume whole data M.B. in validity period of 28 days. Hence due to very good performance i have given 5 stars to Airtel 4G network.
The service providers don’t provide us better service not even the Executive Supervisor. I am from Jaipur Rajasthan and I really need an perfect network to done my work but I used to stuck in completing that work because of bad network, I Have An Issue Regarding Airtel Customer Service, I recharged my Airtel No. to 348rs on 20–Mar–2017, but my 4G services didn’t activated yet. I called to customer care also on 20-Mar-2017 at night regarding my 4G services they registered my complaint They said to me that my 4G services will activate within 24 hours which didn’t happened not even within 72 hours, And as a result I called them again today(23-Mar-17) two times, First was at 9:15pm and again registered an complaint regarding this but they didn’t even told me the complaint number, And I again made an call to customer care at 23-Mar-17 9:49pm and asked the exact issue that why I am not able to connect to 4G network but they didn’t told me that what is the exact problem then they said we will file an complaint regarding this issue and they again filed an complaint and again said that this issue will be solved within 24 hours. And when I said that I called lots of times but I din’t get any solution yet. Customer Service mans don’t provide us the exact solution they only tell us the normal things like just remove your SIM and again insert and this will work. So I din’t get any solution.
Airtel 4g dongle is waste of money, No speed at all, Cheap device, I recommend not to go airtel 4g prepaid it’s waste.
Biggest Frod company in india
Yes i fully agreed with you. In mumbai airtel launch 4G plan if Rs349/- but it is actully 3G and speed also of 3G. And after recharge of 349/- Even message get that you do t have sufficient bal. this very stupid
Although airtel 4g LTE is fast enough wireless internet service But I am using CONNECT Broadband FTTH service at chandigarh and it is much better than 4G, You can check the FTTH broadband plans at http://www.connectcare.in and you can judge the difference yourself.
ATTENTION……..ATTENTION…….ATTENTION
Wrong practices by AIRTEL. I had 2 Airtel postpaid numbers under various plans, and now i want to tell everyone, DO NOT BUY AIRTEL POSTPAID, rather prefer prepaid service as they can not charge you illegaly. ( At Least you can expect them not to). The ordeal i have to go thru with Airtel is only made me question the type of company it is. AIRTEL is one of the most expensive service providers in the market and they claim to be the best (OPEN NETWORK stunt). The TRUTH in reality is a lot different. AIRTEL charges you money for services that they promise to deliver. No doubt they have good network coverage but this does not mean that the services are also worth the money they charge you.
1) Airtel sent me a bill that had an charge added to it twice, which was not even suppose to be there (Please see attached PHOTOS as proof). I had to make calls and send emails to get them off my bill which was amounting 200rs. This if overlooked would have made me pay the whole amount and this would have been non refundable. Later airtel official admitted their mistake and said SORRY(till next time).
2) One of my airtel number +91-70******99 was lost and switched off 3-4 months back. Till that time all bills were paid on that number. After that AIRTEL never contacted me. Now after 4 months I receive one (1) sms from AIRTEL on +91- 80******00 saying that I have an outstanding amount of some 800+ rs and need to pay the same. On receiving the same sms i got in touch with the Airtel local office and asked them to close the account and tell me the final bill. Till date im waiting for the same. And now AIRTEL have stopped my outgoing calls on the number+91-89******00 whose bill was paid. And not forcing me to quickly pay all bills without any discussion and then only they will start any service on my number.Despite a call on the customer care and confirmation that my number will be restarted soon, im still waiting for the same, when contacted the local office i was told that i need to pay the bills in full and it does not matter that i didn’t received any bill during 4 months time.And as the alternate number given to the account is of AIRTEL, that’s y airtel has stoped the services to the number whose bills were paid.As its there will to give the service or not.
3) During this time i got a fresh bill for the number +91-89******00 and i paid it in 2 parts. 1st via PAYTM and 2nd via cash in Local AIRTEL office. After checking today on Airtel app i found that the cash bill is not paid yet after 2 days. Now the fun part is that the local office is saying that they didn’t receive any amount from me. Now i am wondering that for what reason i visited the Airtel Store, if not for paying my bill. On asking Local airtel office told me that they do not have a operational CCTV system, hence my claim can not be proven. As a standard practise AIRTEL never gives a receipt and/or bill for cash bill payment. So now im at the mercy of the Local Office who is claiming that i only came to the store to chit-chat, as the same count not have been done via phone.
All the above statement are not from various people, it happened to just one person and im that person who is also writing this post. I am not related to any other network in any manner and any one want to verify can email me @ singhumang13@gmail.com and get in touch.
{Sorry can not give phone number as incoming me also be stopped after this post.}
To all AIRTEL officials,Prefer hiring well behaved and well spoken personnel in your regional/local offices as well. As they are equally important to hiring well trained and qualified personnel in your own head offices.
If you seriously wish to know the details, please feel free to mail me. Will provide you with an alternate number( NON-AIRTEL) for further follow up.
RGDS
Umang Singh
i am using airtel 4g since last 2 month and my phone only show 4g for 5 min a day .. worst service.. no effective customer care suport . no one solve your problem in airtel . C4GDC3070817754000 this is my complaint id pending since 2 month . so dont be fooled by 4g ..
Higher authorities are also not taking complaint seriously.
appellate.del@in.airtel.com
Hi All,
Same issue for me also, I was using 4G Dongle. Suddenly I got same signal fluctuation issue so I called airtel customer care. These people raise a ticket and kept quite till 4 days.
Suddenly I could not arrange other Dongle to do office work so I got oscillated in office .
So please be ready with spare dongle if you are doing office work with Airtel 4G dongle.
My complain number is – Reference No. 70155907
I contacted airtel escalated person – (Akash Patil) but still he told we cannot anything and it will take 4 days .
Thank you .
Pathetic service. I have called customer care 100 times in last 1 week, nobody comes to repair services.
IP tv is not working from last 10 days.
I told these stupid people to disconnect but still they are not sending anybody.
AIRTEL just knows how to make money
WORST SERViCES
WORST COMPANY
WILL NEVER USE AIRTEL AGAIN IN MY LIFE
PLEASE DO NOT USE AIRTEL
THIS IS A FRAUD COMPANY!
ITS IS FAKE!!! VERY SLOW.. DEAD SLOW AIRTEL…
Yes it’s waste
Worst network. It will be great only in ads not real