PeoplePC automatically disconnects
When I embarked on my recent short trip, I decided to get PeoplePC in order to access the internet when I didn’t have access to a cyber cafe or a computer lab. PeoplePC was and still is advertising cheaper dialup rates with no contracts. Signing up through their website was easy, taking less than 4 minutes. While PeoplePC tells everyone to download their software in order to use the service, I simply created a normal connection in windows and dialed right into PeoplePC using the username and password I had chosen. This way, I could avoid using their software and actually have a faster connection on some levels. However, every time I was surfing the internet using PeoplePC, the connection dropped automatically every 3 to 4 hours without any warning.
I timed how long it took PeoplePC to disconnect me on random days, and noticed that it ranged from 3 to 4 hours for any local number I dialed into. It’s inconvenient to be disconnected like that, so I thought PeoplePC was disconnecting me because I wasn’t using their software. I downloaded their software to see if I was being disconnected simply because of that reason. Their software was simply a dialer that dialed into PeoplePC and showed the PeoplePC member homepage after a connection was established. The software kept running in the taskbar while allowing users to access the internet. However, even when I had connected using their software, a very happy “disconnect warning” box popped up on the screen after about 3 hours, advising me that the internet connection would be dropped in 10 minutes, and I could reconnect again immediately if I wished. The box also told me that this was the limitation of their basic plan, and that I could get their advanced plan to avoid this forever.
Somehow, PeoplePC didn’t appear to be offering the “unlimited access” that it claimed to. I used to have AOL and other dialup ISP’s long time ago and they didn’t disconnect users even after being connected for 12 hours or so. Searching through the PeoplePC help pages, I found the following section which talks about being disconnected automatically:
From the PeoplePC Help siteIf you are losing your connection after one to four hours, what you are encountering is the service limitations we have that are based on standardized home computer usage. PeoplePC’s ISP service is designed for private, home use. We do not support business use because we are not configured to provide 24-hour continuous modem service. Typically PeoplePC users will connect to the Internet for about one hour. If your are staying online for as long as three or four hours, you are utilizing our service more heavily than 95% of our customers. Unlimited Internet service means that you have the option to connect to our service at any time. It does not mean that you will be able to stay connected for an unlimited period. Even DSL, cable-modem, and T-1 Internet connections experience service interruptions at unpredictable times. It is the very nature of the electro-communication medium that the connection is not a permanent, static connection.
The reference to broadband connections having service interruptions didn’t make sense, as those interruptions are accidental and rare, whereas PeoplePC had a different connection technology [dialup] and was disconnecting on purpose simply because majority of the users were online for no more than an hour. Also, it is not the very nature of electro-communication medium that the connection be temporary after every hour, contrary to what PeoplePC is trying to imply in the last sentence of the above quote. The point of the entire paragraph itself is nullified because when you use the PeoplePC software to connect to the internet, the pop-up box that tells the user about the connection being dropped in 10 minutes also tells the user that if they purchase a higher PeoplePC plan, they will not be subject to such an annoyance. Sorry, I meant “limitation.”
For many people, staying online means accessing different email accounts and services. Using a dialup as a connection, that sometimes takes more than an an hour. PeoplePC does not mention the fact about disconnection during the sign-up process, nor does it mention it in their terms of service or the contract agreement you agree to abide by. Thus, for many people, if not most, PeoplePC is not cheap unless you get their premium plan, and you won’t know about it unless you get disconnected all of a sudden. Or unless you read about it here just now or somewhere else online.
Thus, with or without the PeoplePC software, you’ll get disconnected from the internet after a while if you get their basic plan, even though PeoplePC claims they offer “unlimited access.” And even though PeoplePC states on their site that this disconnection is because of “the very nature of electro-communication medium“, their own PeoplePC software implies otherwise by telling users to pay more for a higher price in order to get a connection that will not be dropped after a while.
What do you think about this? Have you ever experienced something similar?
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( December 5th, 2006 at 1:47 am )
i dont know about america. but in malaysia our cellphone communication company offers wireles connection. this mean, you can connect directly to the internet from your cellphone or you can open up a wireless connection so that you can online through your laptop. i use that kind of service because its relatively cheap. i pay approximately US$40 for unlimited access. yes, its unlimited but also depends on the traffic of the premise you’re in. which means, if more people using the same service as you have, the connection tend to be slower. but slowly i wont be needing this service anymore because everywhere is offering free wireless connectivity. you should try check out whether your cellphone company offers such thing
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Twitter: @makuahine :
( December 5th, 2006 at 10:18 am )
I am blown away where they say, “If your are staying online for as long as…”
your are?
your are?
Don’t they even have spellcheck or grammar check?! LMAO
But as to the issue at hand – yeah, that’s ridiculous. This kind of thing needs to be made clear at sign-up… false advertising… hmmm…
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( December 6th, 2006 at 11:37 am )
Jerine — > Interesting. Over here, we have wireless connections but they cost a lot more, specially on the go [meaning temporary connections]. Also, unfortunately, I didn’t have a laptop, so I couldn’t use such a connection so freely. $40 sounds good, though, specially if it can be used in most places.
They’re offering free wireless connectivitiy? That’s awesome! Is it an initiative by the government?
Valerie — > Haha! Nice catch! Yes, “your are” right; they didn’t do a spell check.
Yes, it sounds very weird, and like false-advertising. I hope I get no issues with them when I call to disconnect and cancel their service.
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( December 7th, 2006 at 4:50 am )
No its not government stuff. It’s from your cellphone. You just have to connect to the line via your cellphone then enable the bluetooth connection.. and then connect my laptop to the cellphone bluetooth… then TADA! i can connect to the internet!
But most places offer free wireless too. Like shopping mall, hospital, airport, schools, etc. and if its government building, definitely there is wireless connection. Oh ya, over here, all the Starbucks and McDonald’s offer free wireless connection.
I think you gotta write a letter to the president. It sounds like US is lacking behind. Which is very surprising.
P/S: I still don’t see Pengutaro. When is Pengutaro coming back?
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( December 7th, 2006 at 1:43 pm )
Wow, you’re lucky. Here, these things are happening, albeit slowly. Starbucks here offers free net connection, but not McDonald’s.
We need more connectivity for sure!
Pengutaro is coming.
Very soon! I can bring him back anytime but he will look ugly on that blue header. =\ Hopefully within a week or so Pengutaro will be back. 
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( January 10th, 2007 at 8:37 am )
I hate the peoplepc every 4 hour disconnect. I will never recomend that dialup service. EV1 never ever disconnected, so the peoplepc are just liers.
I’m contacting the AG as their add and signup are deceptive.
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( January 11th, 2007 at 7:33 pm )
I have never used EV1 dial-up service, so thank you for sharing that.
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( January 17th, 2007 at 6:40 pm )
i try to dowload software but after about an hour i get disconected this is a serverice that people should cobsider before signing up
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( January 18th, 2007 at 5:11 pm )
Thanks for sharing that, Don. Also, you can try a download manager like FlashGot, DownloadThemAll or an off-browser download manager from Fileforum or somewhere similar. That way, you can continue downloading from where you left off in case of any disconnections.
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( February 2nd, 2007 at 8:10 pm )
Well… I’ve had this NetZero internet access with the little “HighSpeed 3G” thing (dosen’t really do anything, just costs extra) for about a year, and I am dissappointed in them. First off, they always disconnect you every 2 to 3 hours no matter what you do to keep your connection alive. Second, HOW MANY ADS ARE THEY GOING TO STICK IN THERE?! Everywhere I go that is NetZero related, I get websites plasstered with ads like there is no tomorow. You even get ads when you connect and disconnect. I can understand the proper usage of ads, and that the regular plan for NetZero is $10/month, but when you stick that many in one website… Oh well, I hope to dump it soon and get something better.
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( February 4th, 2007 at 11:18 am )
Unhappy camper [nice choice of a nickname, btw], thanks for sharing the information for NetZero. Many ads are intrusive, and seeing ads in something when you are paying at the same time can be very annoying.
Does NetZero have its own browsing software that displays ads constantly?
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( February 15th, 2007 at 9:33 am )
As far as People P C goes, just try and unsubscribe or cancel their free-time service. It’s almost impossible to get away from these bastards. They cling to your PC hoping you’ll go past the free trial date so they can get extra money out of you. Trying to get them to cancel is like trying to wipe snot off a brass doorknob with a oily papertowel. They just don’t or “won’t” understand the meaning of “I don’t want this service any longer.” There are rooms full of them setting there in the Phillipines with only one purpose,” SELL………SELL……….SELL…..I think we ought to NUKE THE F****RS.
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( February 16th, 2007 at 7:07 am )
Steve, interesting point about PeoplePC not canceling accounts right away. By “Phillipines”, did you mean that PeoplePC has support setup there?
You can try the way I canceled my PeoplePC membership:
http://thereasoner.com/blog/how-to-cancel-your-peoplepc-membership/
Also, here is a post by someone who went through an interesting experience while trying to cancel an aol account:
http://insignificantthoughts.com/2006/06/13/cancelling-aol/
I hope that helps. Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it.
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( March 11th, 2007 at 6:39 pm )
The message from PeoplePC now says it requires you to disconnect and sign in again after several hours of continuous use “for your security.”
What a load of shit.
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( March 13th, 2007 at 11:50 am )
Pedro, thanks for stopping by and for the message.
That is one of the messages they seem to be showing, though I do not really know why. “For your security“; their logic is that if your computer stays connected to the internet for more than 2 or 3 hours, you are at a security risk. A simple firewall pushes that logic away, since millions of dsl/cable users who are on broadband internet stay connected to the internet 24 hours a day without any issues.
I hope you can find a way to stay connected for longer hours, if my method above does not help! Please keep us updated if you can. Thanks again! Hope to see you around more.
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( March 15th, 2007 at 6:23 pm )
Hello everyone! I have been using Peoplepc with the direct dial-in method for about 3 years now (after switching over from AOHELL after incurring $150 bucks in overdraft charges because they kept drafting my checking acount AFTER I had canceled my service grrrrrr), and didn’t so much mind the 4 hour disconnect. I just planned around it. LOL But lately I have been staying connected up to 9 hours (after which I disconnect myself) for the past few weeks. Is Peoplepc actually doing what they have been advertiseing all this time giving their customers unlimited access? I would call and ask, but them they might start disconnecting me again. LOL
One day soon I am gonna connect and let it stay for as long as it will just to test it, I don’t know why it’s doing it, but I’m gonna enjoy it while it lasts!
This is a great forum BTW, Kudos to you Bes!
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( March 16th, 2007 at 4:35 pm )
ffj, thank you for taking the time to write the comment. I really appreciate it!
If you were using PeoplePC for 3 years and did not mind them so much, I am guessing the time you were online was a good enough to pay them money for. That is good to know, by the way. Staying connected upto 9 hours is an achievement! Please try to see what settings you have to maintain such long hours of connection. lol about calling and asking, and them disconnecting you because of it.
Yes please, if you can, try to stay connected for as long as you can and enjoy at the same time. See how long you can stay connected.
I am glad you shared this with us. Thanks again ffj, and kudos and thanks to you too, more than me, for taking the time to come here.
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( April 8th, 2007 at 9:56 am )
Thank you for submitting this information. They’re such false advertisers. I hate peoplePC. My computer is a little on the slow side so I switched from AOL to PeoplePC. Frankly, I shoulda stayed with AOL.
Thanks again.
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( April 8th, 2007 at 12:11 pm )
Dunno a nickname [lol], thanks for the comment and for stopping by. I really appreciate it.
Have you tried anything to try to stop the PeoplePC dialer or PeoplePC itself from disconnecting?
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( April 8th, 2007 at 12:17 pm )
No, I haven’t. Didn’t think there was anything I could do about it. Is there?
Thanks again.
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( April 8th, 2007 at 12:23 pm )
Hi again.
There is something I found out before that you can try; it may or may not work, but there is no harm in trying and the other method actually helps as you get to uninstall their dialup software and have less things to worry about which are installed on your computer.
Try this: an alternate to using PeoplePC dialer. For some some access numbers, it allows you to stay connected for longer periods of time than is possible with their software.
The idea is simple: to not use their software and connect using Windows or Mac network connection/dialup utility. I explained the process in a bit detail in that link.
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( May 19th, 2007 at 6:09 pm )
I’ve read a handfull of your comments, but didn’t see any real solutions, except paying more for a real internet provider ..so people pc see ya
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( May 19th, 2007 at 11:04 pm )
celticfrost, thank you for your comment. Yes, so far, one of the only solutions that works for some members, though not all, is by avoiding the PeoplePC dialer software and creating your own connection to the ISP. That link should give you some practical advice as to trying something that may allow you to stay connected for longer amount of time, without being disconnected.
Are you on a contract with PeoplePC where you prepaid for a year or something similar? If you do switch to another dialup ISP, maybe you can see if there is any information in the contract on whether or not that other ISP disconnected users after a few hours of connection. May be PeoplePC is not the only ISP that is disconnecting users automatically after a certain time frame.
Thanks again celticfrost; I really appreciate your comment on this.
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( November 3rd, 2007 at 6:38 am )
Here’s a fix that seems to work for people who get disconnected because of peoplepc’s stupid service….
write down your dial up number and all the information in your Outlook or Outlook Express. This would be the POP and SMTP servers which are generally “pop.peoplepc.com” and “smtpauth.peoplepc.com”. Then check your outgoing server port number which should be 587. Uninstall their software, completely. Now make a new connection. Now, (and this is the important part) make sure that in your username you enter it in the following format:
isp6#username@peoplepc.com
then just enter your password as normal. If there’s any problem then just change the number after “isp” to something like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on but 6 should work.
Make sure your dialup number is correct and your pop and smtp and port number and make sure that the box (under “tools” “accounts” “properties” “servers”
that says “my server requires authentication” is checked and then click on “settings” and check the the box that says to use the same settings. Click your way out of it all by using the OK, Close and so on.
For the final step, download an auto redialer like CiDial (I use this one) and every time the Indian gook bastards disconnect you, it will redial automatically until you’re reconnected. I run peer to peer software for days on end and this works infallibly everytime they disconnect me (which is every 3 hrs 50 min) and I haven’t lost a download since. Of course, once they have DSL available up here in the boonies I’ll get that, but until then I finally have a reliable dialup service. Hope this helps someone.
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( November 4th, 2007 at 1:42 pm )
Hi Stu, thanks for explaining those steps. I think reconnecting repeatedly is a good solution since you are paying for it. However, I wonder if PeoplePC has any provision/terms against reconnecting repeatedly or too quickly, the latter also having the possibility of implying that they disconnect you quickly in the first place. CiDial may be a good tool for the solution you mention, though I don’t remember using it personally so far.
“Indian gook” may be a strong bad word generalizing all Indians, no? I agree the company is moronic when it comes to solving issues or giving straight answers. And on top of that, their customer support cannot help you most of the time if you are having problems in the middle of the night.
What area are you in, if I may ask?
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( December 5th, 2007 at 2:35 pm )
Ok…I have read all ya’lls comments about PeoplePc..and quite frankly I feel somewhat better knowing there are others out there going through the hell as I am..I have had this so called “service” since early nov. and it has been nothing but a nightmare..to the point where the “tech’s” and customer service just give me the SOS.. not to mention they are so hard to understand! whats a hoot is the fact that each time I call I get a different corrective action!…to the point I had to call Dell because my computer crashed! Seems their so called “anti-virus” let some bad ass virus in my main file that took me to my desktop! I had to do a repair which took me 3 days to correct!…they never, ever take blame as to what is going on with my computer…they finally sent me the “disk” but I doubt I will ever load it..and some person on here is sooooooo right…the many times I had to uninstall-reinstall (5 times! ) it is still not working right…dumb ass me also got their Norton which is not working correctly and their so called “accelerator” I cannot tell if it is faster to be honest. The thing that pissed me off the most is all the “promises” they give me…dicconection problems still are going on..especially when I am trying to download a file..even their stupid file to boot!…it will show loading..for about a hour or 2..then I guess just to tease me..right when it is almost finshed..bam! I am disconnected and in most cases have to start alllllllllllllllllll over…grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Whew…thanks for letting me vent ya’ll..if any of you have any ideas…please..let me know..please?
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( February 18th, 2008 at 10:43 am )
emme, thanks for the comment, and thanks also for waiting. I apologize for the delay in the response. Any update on this since then?
It is indeed interesting that calling multiple times results in different diagnosis of the same problem. While that is good, meaning different humans think differently, the customer support people usually come up with assumed diagnosis by reading a sheet or paper or from a booklet a set of answers that the company prescribes for each customer.
I think the standard antivirus that comes with a Dell machine is Norton AntiVirus, right?
I think the accelerator caches [saves copies] of a lot of things like images, the same type of thing that is built into most of the browsers today. The accelerator may also load a lot of websites in the background when you are technically not waiting for any page to load anymore, resulting in the accelerator program by PeoplePC to quickly show you a page, if that was the page you wanted and if that was the same page that the accelerator was quietly saving in its memory database.
You should try some of the steps listed here by me and many other commentors:
Reasons and steps to avoid your ISP dialer Software
That should help you try a few things to come up with ways to either surf the internet without the accelerator and similar programs or to stay connected a bit longer. Please let me know how it goes Emme. Good luck, and I hope your issues are solved quickly/immediately.
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( October 25th, 2008 at 2:11 am )
That should help you try a few things to come up with ways to either surf the internet without the accelerator and similar programs or to stay connected a bit longer.
Thanks for sharing the information for NetZero. Many ads are intrusive, and seeing ads in something when you are paying at the same time can be very annoying.
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( January 17th, 2009 at 9:30 am )
I got tricked by peoplepc too.
It’s not really unlimited if it cuts you off all the time. I’ve tried all the solutions posted in here. I still get disconnected after about 3 hours. I did find a program that’s better than any download manager at resume interrupted downloads though. Here it is http://downloaddoctor.webs.com/ That’s a must have for anyone using dial-up. After my three month promotion period is up with Peoplepc, I’m dropping it. I would drop it now but it’s a little cheaper than most of the others and my money doesn’t exist right now. lol
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Bes
(1234 comments) Reply:
January 17th, 2009 at 9:50 am
@mike, thanks for sharing Mike! Good luck with your new ISP search – I hope you find a good service. Please keep us updated along the way, and thanks for sharing that url too.
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( February 16th, 2009 at 6:40 pm )
PeoplePC STINKS! They are violating subscriber’s privacy! My friend who has peoplePC’s emails are all forwarding to a msn.com account! They contain private information! Who else has email’s going to the wrong address?!! Have contacted PeoplePC’s tech department who thought I had a billing question! I don’t even have PeoplePC – just getting ALL of my friend’s emails. Any ideas how to report this to the government? Or should I just generate a lawsuit as a violation of privacy?
PeoplePC did NOT address the problem so I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND THEM to anyone thinking of signing with them!!
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Bes
(1234 comments) Reply:
February 16th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
@Sue, thanks for commenting! Wow, that is scary if I understand it clearly: your friend has a PeoplePC email account and all of emails in that email account are being forwarded to your msn.com email because you are probably in their email address book? Does your friend know about this?
I found this site with more reports of things happening at PeoplePC: Rip Off Reports – reports about PeoplePC
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( May 13th, 2009 at 7:37 pm )
In the past few days until now May 13th, 2009, I am being disconnected by Peoplepc evry 30 minutes. What a cheap ISP ! My recommendation is that people should avoid Peoplepc and use different ISP. This peoplepc ISP really sucks. Be advised.
Tom.
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ty847
(1 comments) Reply:
May 18th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
This happened to me too, it shuts off at 30 mins and 6 secs everytime now . Im getting sick and tired of this BS from People pc. And if anyone knows what the problem could be plz help!!!
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( October 23rd, 2009 at 8:38 am )
I also have the same problems with PeoplePC.
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