[Unboxing and Review] Xiaomi Mi TV Stick Android Streaming Dongle

Heya! Finaaaally I got to publish this long overdue review on YouTube. The clips of this video have been sitting on my phone for months now and it takes up a lot of memory so it feels really good to finally have it out there. We've had the Xiaomi Mi TV Stick for around 3 already and I remember shooting the unboxing immediately, then totally forgot about it. 

The video covers some of the basic stuff you need to know about the Xiaomi Mi TV stick, what's in the box, specs, setup, and my general feedback about the product, which is good. So this blog post will pretty much be just a repeat, but with more details about the pros and cons I encounter along the way.

Let's go.

What's in the box

1. Mi TV stick
2. Voice remote (2 AAA batteries required - not included)
3. English user manual
4. Power adapter
5. HDMI extension cable
6. Micro USB power cable
   
   

Specs

• 1080p@ 60fps  max output resolution
• Quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU
• ARM Mali-450 GPU
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB storage
• Android 9.0 OS
• Wifi 802.11
• Bluetooth 4.2

You may also check the full overview from Mi Global site

Feedback

I liked the Chromecast feature a lot because it lets me listen to Spotify

We normally just watch on Netflix, Prime Video, or Youtube so in terms of memory and capacity, we're not overloading the stick given that it has a pretty low RAM. My hopes is that Disney+ will be available soon in the Philippines so we can download that as well!

I like how simple and minimal the remote looks, but it's a downer that it doesn't have an infrared blaster so I can't control the TV with it.

That said, you have to turn on the TV, then turn on the stick. I don't remember if I could launch the Mi TV stick directly with the TV off.

Google voice assistant is pretty cool, but it doesn't work on all apps and it's not that accurate too. 

It can be a bit sluggish when navigating.

It's not 4k ok? But that's ok for us. It's not like we have a big TV hehe.

It buffers a lot at home, which is weird because we're on Converge's 25mbps plan. We've tried it twice elsewhere and we didn't have any problems. We've tried it both on bigger TV's and slower internet speeds (hotel wifi and mobile hotspot) and it works flawlessly, so I wonder what gives.

I love how I'm able to connect my airpods to it so I can listen privately while watching. The only problem is it doesn't let me reconnect once the device is already paired. For example I just linked my airpods to the Mi TV stick, then I used it on my phone, then I want to get back on the TV. There's no option on the screen to reconnect. But somehow sometimes, it pairs automatically. It's so weird. So whenever I want to get back to listening on the TV, I have to unpair and pair my airpods again. Hassle lol.

Youtube buffering is bad. I rarely watch Youtube using the Mi TV stick because of how it buffers. The audio and video will just go out of sync, with the video paused while the audio keeps going, and then it catches up by fast forwarding the video until it's caught up with the audio. It's so bad lol. I'd rather have the video pause entirely instead of having the audio and video racing up to each other.

I wish it had a LAN port.

Overall it's still a pretty good portable streaming stick as it's very affordable. I mean, don't expect much for its price. If you're willing to shell out some more there's Roku!

It's a great staycation buddy. Now we don't have to bring a laptop to hotels anymore! Haha It's not our main though, to be honest. We have a Smart TV that's hooked up on LAN so it still gives the better experience.

Price and availability

I got the Xiaomi Mit TV Stick at Shopee Philippines for ₱1,699

[Unboxing + Review] Xiaomi Mijia Humidifier 4L Capacity MJJSQ02LX

I waited over a month before writing this post so I could review it completely. In three words, the Xiaomi Mijia 4L Humidifier is such an ACE! Affordable, convenient, and effective! Ohaaaa hahahaha! This is model MJJSQ02LX.

Video review

Apart from this lengthy blahber you may also watch my Youtube review here:

 

Backstory

I got this product for health reasons. The air in our room becomes super dry with the AC on every night when we sleep. It has resulted in me waking up with sniffles and dry throat almost everyday. There were nights I had to sleep with a face mask on just so my throat wouldn't get super dehydrated in the morning. That's when I decided to invest in a humidifier. To relieve the dryness in the room, in my throat, in my life. Charot. I thought a small diffuser would help, but our current EO diffuser only works for 3hours max so it still doesn't do the job completely. Plus, it can only hold 150ml of water HAHAHA so wa-epek. It just makes the room smell nice.

Research

I have no idea about humidifiers but generally I just want something with a bigger water tank that could run for more than 8 hours, and can diffuse aromatics too. I looked around online and found that Xiaomi has the biggest variety of humidifiers out there.

There's a gazillion brands under Xiaomi I have no idea what to pick, there's SmartMi, Deerma, Mijia, all of them looking great and priced affordably too. So I used the The Three Great Shopee Filters in narrowing down my choices:

✔️ Price
✔️ Location
✔️ Ratings

The Deerma FXXX line turned out on top of the list. High star ratings, priced below ₱2k, big water tank, ultrasonic feature, smart capability, and loooks reaaaally pretty.

But one thing turned me off. The water inlet is AT THE BOTTOM of the tank. Which means you have to turn the fuselage upside down to put water in, then breathe in and muster some strength to set the 5kg water tank upright. For a weakling like me, that process sounds too troublesome and accident prone. In fact, the moment I saw where the water inlet is, so many unfortunate things ran in my head. My face flowing with frustrated tears, a broken humidifier, and my husband trying to calm me down. Oh yeah, a flooded kitchen too.

So I had to let it go and look for alternatives. And that's how I found this baby...

Xiaomi Mijia 4L Humidifier MJJSQ02LX

It's super basic, can carry 4 liters of water, runs up to 36 hours, and the best part? Water is added directly from the top making it so convenient, and with a spacious mouth like this I don't have to worry about dying spilling or having to carry it somewhere safe to refill water.

Note that it's not suitable for essential oils, it's not a smart humidifier, you can't link and control it using the Mi Home app. Below you'll see what happened when I tried using essential oils with it.

Unboxing

You may refer to my Youtube video for the unboxing but basically the package comes with the unit and a Chinese manual. That's it.

What I liked (aka all of its features haha)

Like mentioned, some of its key features include:

✔ 4L capacity
✔ Upper head injection

✔ Up to 36 hours of continuous humidification and it's not loud at all. You'll barely hear it and if you do, it sounds like raindrops.

But apart from those, it also boasts of the following:

✔ Adjustable fog settings (low, mid, high)

Low, mid, high respectively

It humidifies at a rate of 280ml/hour and has up to 99% bacteriostatic effect. Even at the low setting, the strength of the mist is strong enough for a small room.

✔ Low level indicator

Which automatically powers off when water level is low and when the water tank gets detached from the dock.

✔ Size is just right

A bit bigger than a kitchen towel, just the right size for a bedside table or even the floor.

✔ Comes with a 220V type A power plug (2 flat plugs)

Which is normal here in the Philippines so no need to use an adapter.

✔ Easy to clean
✔ Simple knob switch control
✔ Looks sleek and is made of hard and durable matte finished plastic
✔ Super affordable

What I don't like 

✖ No English manual

✖ Not suitable for pure essential oils

See troubleshooting items. The seller mentioned I can use water-based aromas, but I have yet to find official literature confirming that it's indeed okay to use with EO's, specially that, unlike the Deerma line, it doesn't have that yellow tray at the base specifically for EOs. Maybe I can find this info from the manual, then again it's Chinese, so if you can help me translate or just give me a clue if it says anything about using essential oils... that would be awesome!

✖ Ok, not advisable for aromatics at all

Since you can only use water-based essential oils, you have to keep adding and adding because the smell doesn't last long and eventually it starts smelling funny when it's only the residual aroma left to atomize. Also, it's a hassle to lift the water tank just to add the oil so I'd rather not bother with it. Aromas clog the system easily too so you have to clean more frequently. I like to diffuse scents pa naman when I'm sleeping but I find that the product works better with just pure water.

Troubleshooting

In the one and a half months I've been using it, I've ran into two problems, all because I tried to use essential oils with them.

1. Very little mist coming out
And I mean less than what you'd expect from the Low setting. This happened when I tried adding waterbased essential oil in the tank. It worked for a night, then eventually residue formed and it clogged the system. Solution? Just clean it!

2. No mist coming out
Now, this happened when I tried to put PURE essential oils on the base. I put a few drops of what I thought was waterbased EO (it's too cheap to be pure so I thought it's actually water-based even though it says PURE EO on the label haha!). It worked fine for a few minutes then suddenly the mist was gone. I could still feel some air coming out but there's totally no fogging going on.

I thought I broke the unit. Thank God I was able to save it by cleaning it. Now I can prove this model isn't meant for any type for EO at all. Just look at how dirty it turned:

Yikes right? That's oil residue that I scraped off using cotton buds. Fortunately, it's easy to clean. And after unclogging it from all that gunk, it starts to work fine again.

Cleaning 

So how do you properly clean this thing? The water tank is fairly easy to clean, you can just reach inside with a damp cloth and wipe it clean.

I was also able to clean it with soap and water, it's pretty safe since there are no electronic things at the top part. Just make sure to dry it completely to remove the odor. And avoid getting water inside the mist outlet, just because it looks like it's not supposed to get wet hehe.

Now for the base...

I just use cotton buds to scrape off any residue. Just clean the sink area of the base, avoid wetting anything that's not touched by the water coming from the tank.

Our humidifier sits on a plank of laminated MDF and I noticed some kind of moisture settling at the bottom like this:

Just wipe it off, it's not a stain anyway hehe. It's probably due to the air coming in from the bottom of the humidifier because the air intake is positioned there (notice the round grills)

Maintenance tips

1. Avoid EOs, just use water. Pure or distilled water, preferrably.

It acquires residue faster when you use essential oils so I advise you to just use water and nothing else, if you don't want to clean more frequently! Also, I use water straight from the tap so maybe 

2. Don't let the water run low

I refill the tank with a pitcher of water every night before going to sleep just to keep it running uninterrupted. In my experience a full tank lasts me 3 days on low setting so that's around 24 hours of sleep time.

3. Don't fill it to the max

Just for safety. I'm praning it might get knocked over or something so I only fill it with around 3 liters of water max.

4. Clean once a week

I thought now that I only use water and nothing else, it'll be easier to clean. But somehow, after around 3 weeks of use, I notice some dirt forming at the bottom of the water tank. Similar to the brown dirt I scrubbed off when I used EOs. The base is also showing some yellow stains that I can't remove so it's also nice to clean at least once a week to avoid these dirt from accumulating. I'm not sure if it's because I use tap water directly but maybe it's better to use filtered water? 

So is it effective?

ABSOLUTELY. It's prevented my throat from drying and it's something that I noticed instantly like the moment I woke up after turning it on for the night. Amazeballs!

Our bedroom is only around 11sqm small and the low setting is strong enough to relieve dryness in the room the whole time. It's even positioned at the far end of the room (which isn't really that far maybe just 2 steps away from the bed lol) so I know it truly works.

Price and Availability

You can get this for less than  ₱2,000 at Shopee or Lazada. I have no idea of its SRP. Usually it ships from China, but if you filter it by location (which is what I always do), you can save yourself at least a week of shipping time by purchasing from local Xiaomi retailers. Also, for a product like this you'd want to get it locally (the nearer the better) in case you had to return it.

I got it for ₱1,784.00 at Shopee PH from this store.

Congrats on reaching this part! That's it! Let me know if you have any questions on the comments area below. :)

[Solved] Cannot link Paypal to GCash

After a bazillion years of trying to get GCash to respond properly to my concern, I finally got the answer I'm looking for. I don't want to go into the details of how frustrating it is to deal with GCash support kasi ayoko ma-highblood so let's just get into the details of why I wasn't able to link my Paypal account smoothly.

Root causes:
1. My Paypal acount type is business
2. My first name in Paypal is wrong (it included my middle name)

So yeah, before you attempt to link your Paypal account to GCash, make sure to take note of the following prerequisites:

• Your first and last name on Paypal must be identical with your first and last name on GCash
• Your Paypal account must be setup in the Philippines
• Your Paypal account type must be personal (not business acocunt)
• Your GCash account must be KYC-ed (fully verfied)

When I first tried to link my Paypal account, I kept on getting this error:

"We are unable to link your account. Please make sure your credentials are the same in both your PayPal account and GCash wallet"

The error message was followed by two emails. The first was a preapproved payments plan registration notification, and shortly after -- its cancellation.

The message prompted me to check my details both on Paypal and GCash. My email, full name, and even home address are exactly the same down to the very last character. So what gives?

I kept asking GCash support about it. I've gone throught Facebook, Website, and InApp support.

They're all trash.

I told them that I've checked my details and they all match. And if they could just provide me which details don't match, then I'll work on it. But hey, they just can't do any more digging. I was convinced that my details were perfect, but I still don't get what's wrong. They kept on resending the steps and guidelines and it was getting frustrating having to deal with their very incompetent support group. Eventually I took my problem with Paypal, but the answer I got was as dismal. The verification part is made on GCash's end so they're the one's who can answer my question.

Then I found this thread on Reddit discussing the issue. OP found out that his first name in Paypal included his middle name so he requested to have it changed. I figured it must be the same case with me. I just need to validate if my first name really included my middle name.

But heck, there's nothing on my Paypal dashboard that says this is my first name. I have no welcome banner when I log in, and my profile simply states my full name, as in <first> <middle> <last>. I was wondering where I could see a clue of what my actual first name is.

Until one day, GCash responded to one of my many emails with yet another set of steps and guidelines. But this one's longer and more detailed. It included the prerequisite that your Paypal account must be PERSONAL type and not BUSINESS.

I felt pretty hopeful! So okay, I requested to downgrade my account. From business to personal. No biggie, my Merch by Amazon account got terminated anyway so there's no reason for me to run a business account.

When my request got approved, I logged into Paypal and noticed this change:

I don't know why I had to blur that lol

I have a welcome banner now!

Okay so apparently Paypal doesn't greet its business account holders looool.

And also, I got to validate that my first name is indeed wrong! I mean, welcome templates don't usually include your middle name right? It's usually just Welcome <firstname> or Hi <firstname>! 

Great. So that's it. I had my name changed at Paypal, which was quite an ordeal too. I had to request thrice, each with a note that says not to include my middle name with my first name. All of them were executed wrongly. They'd say congrats we've changed your name but nothing has really changed! I'm still being greeted with my middle naaaame aaarggh. That's the time I contacted support through email, not by contact-us form, and thankfully they responded correctly.

Finally I was able to successfully link my Paypal account to GCash, and cash-in my money instantly.

The name change also did not affect my Paypal to Bank transactions, so I'm glad. No more waiting 3 days to withdraw my earnings!

Frustrating! Why you can't link your BDO Debit Mastercard in GCash

Last update: October 2, 2019 (Successfully linked BDO Mastercard to GCash!)

Long story short, BDO blocks GCash transactions because it considers it a high risk app.

According to a BDO customer support agent, Mastercard has added more security layers in its platform restricting several apps, like GCash, from transacting with your bank account in order to minimize fraudulent activities. 

In order to link your BDO account to GCash, you have to call BDO Hotline and request to whitelist your account. In this process, you have to confirm that you have no other means to shop online, or have no other card you can link to GCash. Otherwise, they won't process your request.

BDO clearly doesn't want you to link your account to GCash because of its many potential security threats. But I think they're not allowed to explicitly discourage you because that's denial of service? Hehe

So if you're considering using your BDO card for GCash transactions, look for other options. Or just quit using GCash altogether, their customer service sucks so much it opened a new level of disappointments for me. 

Story time!

The only reason I wanted to link my BDO to GCash is to allow me to transfer my BDO funds to my BPI account without having to go out to withdraw and deposit. It was an exciting thought, to be able to cash in my money from BDO and move it seamlessly to BPI. Real time and without charges. Wow. That's just so ideal for me as I've been doing this whole withdraw then deposit process manually for the past 2 years. 

But when I tried to link my BDO Debit Mastercard in GCash, I always receive this unfortunate message:

"Sorry, your card enrollment cannot be processed. Visit http://bit.ly/DebitCardErrorInfo to know more about failed enrollments."

So what should you do?

1. Forget about asking GCash Care or reaching out to any of their hotlines. 

They were NEVER helpful in my months long attempt of trying to ask WHAT'S WRONG. Even if you've provided ALL the details they need to look into your account, they will always, and without fail, ask for it again. They never review your request. They're just delaying your request until you eventually give up and forget about it. 

I call it rude, lazy, and a fckn customer service disgrace. But then I thought they were probably doing it on purpose to discourage people from actually using BDO because the bank has put so many restrictions on GCash. 

At this point they could have told you to call BDO instead to whitelist your account right? BUT NO. They don't know that detail. Or they're purposefully withdrawing that basic information.

Which leads me to only step that matters,

2. Call BDO Hotline at 02-631-8000 (landline)

Tell them you can't link your BDO account to GCash. They will inform you of the Mastercard security features they've put in place blah blah blah and ask you if there's really no other card you can use. Then they'll get your account number, card number and a few other info for verification.

They'll lodge your request to whitelist your account number and have you wait for 4 hours or a confirmation message coming from BDO. After that, you can try linking your account again...

I got this message from BDO nine hours after the call and immediately tried to relink my card.

Did it work?

NO! It didn't! Much to my dismay, which I'm growing more fond of, my card still won't link, and I'm still getting the same unfortunate message.

So what now?

Nothing. I don't want to deal with it anymore... at least for now. 

If you're experiencing the same problem, I hope calling BDO to whitelist your account works for you. It didn't for me, but I sincerely hope it works for you at least. Please let me know if it does, I want to learn of success stories! Maybe I'll try to look into it another time... when I'm not feeling so hopeless.

Haaaaaay! 

UPDATE (August 2019):

I tried to link my BDO debit Mastercard to GCash again, AND FAILED. I called BDO to confirm why it's still not working even if I've already had my account whitelisted, and the customer rep told me I need to coordinate this with GCash because everything is fine on their end, at least concerning my account.

I emailed GCash support once again, sent all the details they needed, and finally they answered with something more conclusive:

So it's BDO's fault?

So that ends it. No luck getting BDO to work on GCash. Hay.

IMPORTANT UPDATE (October 2, 2019)

Finally! Linked my BDO Debit Mastercad to GCash! Was also able to successfully cash-in from my linked BDO savings account as well, for no extra charge -- the very reason I stick to GCash for my interbank transactions. FI-NA-LLYYYYY!!! 

Thoughts? I think it's ultimately a Mastercard issue. I feel sorry for blaming BDO and GCash for all of this. But hello, they should also know not to keep their customers in the dark about what's happening with their credit companies. With this level of issue, we need technical answers.

It's also worth noting that we had OTP problems recently with our other Mastercards from Security Bank and BPI, which we escalated to customer service. Interestingly, they got resolved at the same time. Then I got the idea of randomly trying to link my BDO (even if I was 100% sure it would lead to more unnecessary frustrations) since it's a Mastercard, and holey moley, for the first time in this gruelling journey, IT FKN LINKED.

So, my advice? It's not you. It's them. So just wait it out.

ALTERNATIVELY - Use PayMaya

Alternatively, if you still can't find yourself to link BDO to GCash, TRY PAYMAYA instead. I've been able to cash-in money from my BDO account to Paymaya, then from Paymaya to my other bank accounts. FOR FREE. 

How?

1. Download PayMaya on your mobile device
2. Register using my invite code so we both get ₱50 credits!
   
   COPY PASTE THIS INVITE CODE: 
   3K6FPH4
3. Click on Add Money >> Using Debit or Credit Card >> Using New Card
4. Enter your BDO Mastercard card details, along with the amount you wish to transfer
5. Cash-in amount will be credited to your PayMaya wallet in real-time
6. Now, if you want to transfer your PayMaya funds to another bank account:
   Click on Bank Transfer
7. Enter bank details >> Continue
8. Funds will be sent real-time using InstaPay

[Review] Converge FiberX Plan 1500

JANUARY 2021 UPDATE - OUR BANDWIDTH INCREASED!

Okay I think I've forgiven Converge ever since the October downtime. They were reliable naman for the most part but when they go down, ang tagal ng downtime so it's very difficult to trust them completely. Better have a backup plan, in our case a GOMO sim. Anyway, they promised to increase everyone's speed last year and I only got to confirm it early January. I don't know if it's their way of making up to us or whatever but here's our current speed tests. From 25Mbps we now average 40-50Mbps, sometimes it'll even burst to 70Mbps.

Yun nga lang I noticed how big the gap is between Download and Upload speeds. Fiber is known for having the same, if not almost the same, up and down speeds so I wonder what they did that made the gap this big. Did they secretly downgrade our lines to DSL during that long downtime, and pretended to offer free upgrade so we wouldn't notice or even care? LOL I'm just speculating here feel free to correct me. Though personally I couldn't care less about fiber or DSL as long as I'm getting fast and stable internet connection for the same price. But still, they'd be lying to us if this isn't real fiber.

OCTOBER 2020 UPDATE - 24HRS++ DOWNTIME!!!

And I thought they're doing okay this quarantine but the unexpected outage on OCTOBER 29 which lasted MORE THAN 24HOURS is terribly unacceptable for an ISP and also deeply traumatizing as a for people working from home. The dropped meetings, wasted leaves, and completely unresponsive support team leave no second chances for this damned company.

WARNING if ever you're considering getting them, DO NOT PROCEED, it's a damn waste of time and money. Considering we live so near their headquarters, it's horrifying how slow they responded to the incident and how long it took them to fix OUR ENTIRE AREA'S CONNECTION. Yup, our entire condo and a big round of Pasig neighborhoods got affected. Now that almost everyone is working from home it's a grave disservice to even get an hour of LOS. Imagine the amount of business lost in an hour, multiply that by 24hours and you get a massive outrage at how horrendously incompetent Converge is becoming day after day.

Your clients don't deserve this, Converge. How do you plan to compensate for the lost hours?

-----

ORIGINAL POST - APRIL 2018

 This review will cover our experience in getting Converge FiberX installed at our place in Mandaluyong. From initial inquiry to installation and finally to some speed tests, I'll be documenting them all here. Gist: it took 2 months and it's worth it.

I've been collecting updates and updating this post every now and then whenever I hear back from Converge. It's a good thing the wait is finally over!

We applied for FiberX 1500 which boasts of real unlimited data (no capping) with up to 25Mbps burst speed, for only ₱1,500 per month. It's their cheapest fiber plan. Additional claims: 30% minimum speed and 80% reliability. So if that's correct we should be getting no less than 6Mbps for this service. I hope so! February 19, 2018 - Initial inquiry
Called their hotline at (02) 667-0848. Waited 3 minutes in queue. Talked to the sales rep for about a minute regarding the requirements and installation fee and if our condo is truly fiber equipped. I gave my email address and she immediately sent the list of requirements and the application form.

If you're inquiring for the first time here's a list of important questions you should ask. It pays to list down all your concerns cos it's a pain to wait in queue again!

1. Is my area fiber equipped?
2. How much is the installation fee?
3. How much is the initial cash out?
4. Is the modem/router included?
5. Is there a lock-in period?
6. Is there a pre-termination fee?
7. How long does it take to get approved?

Thankfully, most of the information you need is already on their website, so there's really not much to ask on the phone unless you can't read didn't do your research. It's also important to have your email address ready and learn to spell it out using the NATO phonetic alphabet (oscar kilo?). As in. Learning to spell in phonetics can save you from frustration especially when giving out information through phone hahaha.

If possible, get the rep's local number so you can skip the queue if you need to call again.

Here's what I got. There's a fixed rate of ₱2,500 per installation regardless of our unit's distance from the fiber box. There's also 1 month security deposit equivalent to your MSF (monthly service fee). All those to be paid in full upon approval of our application, which could take 2-3 days. So basically we have to cash out ₱4,000 before installation.

Since we're renting a condo unit we were required to submit a Certificate of Residency in lieu of Proof of Billing. The CoR can be acquired from the condo admin. In my case, it only took less than 10mins, so no biggie.

February 21, 2018 - Submitted requirements
Here's everything I sent through email:
1. Filled out and signed application form (front and back)
2. 1 valid government ID with 3 specimen signatures (I used my UMID)
3. Scanned copy of our Certificate of Residency
4. First page of our Lease Agreement (un-notarized draft copy 'cos we couldn't find the original lol)
5. Screenshot of our exact location via Google Earth

February 22, 2018 - Application routed
Received email confirmation that my application has been forwarded to concerned departments for port reservation and validation of documents.

February 23, 2018 - No available facility
Received an email from our sales rep that the nearest facility to our area is not available and that they're waiting for an additional facility to be installed.

I called to clarify what it meant and here's what I learned from the agent who got my call. Their fiber box is only limited to 8-12 ports, once it's full and a new application from the same area is received, that's the time they arrange for a new facility to be installed. Sad part is, it could take 3-5 months to get notified of a new facility, and that's a painfully agonizing wait for us. At least I'm assured that they'll really get into installing a new fiber box. And that there's only 8-12 of us sharing a box.

For now I bought Globe at Home Prepaid Wifi huhu.

So yeah, this entry is not yet finished. Unless we give up waiting for them hehe, which is very likely. I mean, I just thought about it. I don't think it's practical to get Fiber when you're just renting. You have a 24-month contract with them and if ever you move out during contract period you have to re-install your fiber connection (+₱2,500) to your new place and make sure the fiber box on your new location isn't full. Haaaaaassle! For now we got Globe at Home Prepaid Wifi. It sucks.

March 26, 2018 - Kept following up
A month after I was informed that there's no available slot, I emailed the sales agent assigned to me if there's any news so far. I could be rushing a bit but I still wanted to take my chances hehe. She didn't reply. I followed up again after 2 weeks. And again, she didn't reply. So I did the next best thing I could think of that doesn't involve calling their hotline, I re-applied online.

April 11, 2018 - Applied again urgh
Funny how I didn't think of just applying online in the first place, their website already has an application form. If you go to their self service site here you can apply for a connection online. I submitted a valid ID, a selfie of me holding it, and a Certificate of Residency (in lieu of Proof of Billing). At this point I just wanted to push my application up, in case they forgot about it.

Looks like they did, because the following day, a sales agent reach out to me to confirm whether our unit is at the left or right wing. I already answered this in my previous application so I'm thinking they didn't backtrack and thought I was a new applicant. Argh. Either way, I wasn't sure which wing we're on. Our building layout doesn't indicate a left/right wing, and when we asked PMO, they confirmed that there's no left/right wing in our tower, and that it doesn't matter which wing we're on because all the wiring will come from one place. I replied to the agent and said that we're probably on the right wing because when I come out of the elevator, I turn to the right LOL.

And then they said to wait 2-3 days to validate my application.

April 15, 2018 - Finally received a payment notification
This is it! We finally have a slot! I received an email containing my account number and instructions for initial payment. I'm worried if being on the left or right wing matters, because what if we're actually on the left wing? Can't we be accommodated anymore? Anyway I don't care.

They gave me an account number and a deadline of 7 days to pay the initial cash-out worth ₱4,000, otherwise our slot may be forfeited, malas naman na I have no 4k to spare at the moment huhu. Hay jusko. So yun lang, we'll see. Really hope we'll get connected asap. Worst case scenario is that we push with Converge but our landlord refuses to extend our lease. Homaygas.

April 17, 2018 - Paid the initial fee
I used my credit card to pay for the connection fee and security deposit worth 4k. In fairness, Converge offers really convenient payment channels. For the initial payment, you have to access their e-billing portal and select your payment method from there. For the monthly recurring fee you can use any of these methods:

April 21, 2018 - Installation day

I thought I'd give it a week to follow up on my payment, but surprisingly, this morning I received a text message from one of their crew asking if it's okay to install today. Like right now. My husband and I had plans for the day but in our excitement to get connected, of course what's a few hours of delay?! And so I rushed to our admin to get a work permit for them. They got here around 10am and finished installing in 2 hours.

I can't believe it!!! They're finally heeere! They attached a small square panel (ano bang tawag don) beside the outlet that connects the telephone line to the router. 

Fortunately, the electrical room is right outside our unit so I guess that helped speed up their communication? The crew who came to our place were very nice as well, and the kuya said if we ever run into any problems we can contact him directly. They capped off the installation by activating our line by calling their office. The entire process took roughly 2 hours.

Aaaaand we're done! WAAAAH!!!

Speed Tests (via Speedtest.net)

Date	Time	Location	Download (Mbps)	Upload (Mbps)	Ping (ms)
04/22/2018	1:00 AM	Mandaluyong	25.37	18.96	3
04/23/2018	3:11 PM	Mandaluyong	24.7	23.8	3
05/14/2018	11:18 PM	Mandaluyong	20.78	23.48	2
05/31/2018	3:47 AM	Mandaluyong	24.00	24.00	2
06/06/2018	2:14 AM	Mandaluyong	19.90	24.20	2
07/11/2018	3:00 PM	Mandaluyong	Unexpected Down Time	Up by 6:00pm	N/A
07/23/2018	4:45 PM	Mandaluyong	23.7	12.8	3
08/03/2018	2:00 AM	Mandaluyong	Network Maintenance	Up by 4:00am	N/A
12/12/2018	4:00 PM	Mandaluyong	24.0	24.0	4
05/03/2019	6:59 AM	Mandaluyong	24.8	24.2	2
10/29/2020	6:59 AM	Mandaluyong	Unexpected Down Time	Up after more than 24hrs	2
11/17/2020	10:00 AM	Mandaluyong	Unexpected Down Time	Up after more than 12hrs	2

We've been exploiting the thing ever since we got connected. It's really freaking fast. We can finally binge on Netflix and get ourselves a Smart TV! Note that we're not gamers okay, so understand that my experience does not speak for the lot. I've heard and read complaints about lagging during playing and I can't vouch for that really 'cos like I said, we're not gamers hehe. At the very least we watch tons of Netflix and Youtube, browse social media, play Clash Royale, download movies via torrent, and occasionally work from home using remote desktop/citrix applications --- with our current online needs Converge is definitely reliable. :)