Orion Telekom - experiences (2021)

Update (27.09.2021.)

For a while, everything was ok when the interruptions started - they were frequent and lasted for a long time. Namely, the interruptions happened every 10 minutes and lasted for 8 minutes, so I had the Internet for 2 minutes every 10 minutes. I called them countless times and they always switched me to someone else. They didn't want to fix it, so I sent a request to Telekom and stated that it doesn't work fixed for me (because I only have a fixed one with them, and Orion uses that line for the Internet). They came and did not know what to do, they said to buy cables and replace them around the house. They left, we replaced the cables and nothing improved. I call Orion again and so on for another month. The answer was always either "it's not up to us, call you and you" or "we don't know what it is". The problem was not solved until we replaced all the cables and the socket at our own expense, at home, and from the pole.

Update (03.12.2019.)

I received a notification from Orion that from January 1, 2020, the bill will increase by 300 dinars. because I will get 20 new domestic channels. Ok, I read the notice further and come to the list of channels - that garbage is not worth even 10 dinars! PRVA PLUS, PRVA Max, PRVA Files, PRVA Kick, Happy Reality 1, Happy Reality 2, SuperStar TV, RTS Drama, RTS Poletarac, RTS Trezor, RTS Život, RTS Kolo, RTS Muzika, Agro TV, Film Klub, Hayatovci, Balkan Trip, Alternativna TV, K3, Toxic TV, BN Music. What do I need that for ?! What does anyone need that for?

I read further in the hope that somewhere he will write how to unsubscribe, not to pay for that package, when it says in the bottom line if you don't like it, terminate the contract: "This change represents a change in the agreed conditions termination of the contract before the expiration of the period for which it was concluded".

See the full notice here (pdf, opens in new tab).

Let's be clear, the problem is not those 300 dinars, the problem is that they are constantly imposing something that users do not want. So far, I have somehow managed to unsubscribe from all these promotions (which I wrote about below) over the phone - it was not possible otherwise - but now it is no longer possible.

At least they let us terminate the contract without additional costs (if it is true what they wrote) so we can change the operator without a penalty. This is a good opportunity for us.

Update (04.10.2018.)

Again a problem with charging for services WITHOUT my consent. Namely, at the beginning of September, a notification appeared on TV that the promo period for additional TV channels had been activated until the end of that month. Okay, I just closed the notice. As the end of September approached, I went to my account faster and better to turn it off, but nowhere did it say that any package was active. Okay, maybe he'll shut himself off at the end of the month.

No, he didn't turn off but they charged me for that service! The invoice arrived on October 3, 2018. to email and I immediately opened it and saw the additional service "IPTV supplement package - TV SPORT 2018" which costs 151.67 dinars. I went to the account again and again I didn’t find that service to turn it off.

I called the call center and explained the situation, and they told me, quote "..yes, there is no option to disconnect online .." - so how to disconnect ?!

Luckily, the woman I spoke to was correct and immediately said that she would tell the authorities to delete my debt for that package for September - which is what happened. In addition, she said, quote "… I can tell the authorities that it was activated by mistake on your part…" - I have neither activated nor have the option to deactivate!

It should also be noted that when you reduce your bill, you have to pay for it online because a new PDF with a reduced price does not arrive.

Update (24.10.2017.)

Another example from two or three days ago: I noticed that I have activated the service "TV backward + 3 mobile devices". I didn't know how and why it was activated, so I went to the account again and deactivated it faster. I sent an email to customer support asking if it would be charged and how and where I accepted the service. I received the answer today:

We will inform you, this way, that the service you mention is activated via a message on the stb device, you were asked if you want to use that service, and then you or one of the household members selected the option "OK" on the remote control and thereby activating the offer. We will also inform you that you have successfully canceled this service, it will be active until 30.11.2017. Starting from the December invoice, it will no longer appear as an item in the invoice.

In the conversation with the residents, I learned that the message did not appear, that is. no message has appeared in the past. The only thing I noticed was a bug on the device that was in the form of a distorted user interface (like when you remove CSS from a site) and nothing was seen, only half of that depleted interface. I could go up and down remotely and nothing more. I unplugged it and turned it on again and it worked. So, there was no message, the same situation as the previous time for the Cinestar package (update from 07.06.2017.).

So they will charge for the service I DIDN'T want and I DIDN'T activate. They claim that it was activated by pressing the "OK" button on the remote control, which I, together with other unnecessary buttons in my house, blocked. I left only the buttons for channels, sound, and power on the device.

I'm not sure what's going on, why they're sending these promotions, and how we're "activating" them, but this time I want to draw the attention of other users who want to switch to Orion NOT to do so!

Update (07.06.2017.)

Orion Telecom's dirty campaign seems to be continuing. They activated the Cinestar service WITHOUT my permission, which is free until 30.05.2017. years, and after that, if not canceled, it costs 450 RSD. Today is 07.06.2017. and I have NOT received notice since the first of this month that I will have to pay for this service. I went to my account on the Orion site and deactivated the service, but it says that it will be active by the end of this month.

So, I will pay for the package that I did NOT want. The call center told me that the notification on the device existed when it was turned on and that we confirmed with OK, but there was NO notification! These notifications appear only when the device is restarted completely, and when you just put it to sleep mode (by pressing the shutdown button on the remote) and wake up again in the same way, nothing appears. I personally tested it.

This company has broken campaigns and I do NOT recommend it!

Update (23.01.2017.)

In the first version of this article, I mentioned that I have been an Orion user since their founding and that I have not had any (major) problems that would significantly affect my online business. However, over time, I began to lose that trust.

I read all the comments below this article and saw that everyone seems to have problems with Orion except me. Based on these comments, I can conclude that only those who have problems commented, and those who are satisfied probably did not even read the text. Well, I will have to rewrite the article because my opinion about them has changed in a short period - less than a year.

It first happens that they introduce new ones to the servants, but they also include them to the users without their consent. They put a notification on the TV screen when the device system is booted up, but that text on my CRT TV cannot be read because the resolution is desperate and the text is small. I only receive SMS notifications when I need to pay my bill, when my internet is disabled, when I try to log in with the wrong password, or when they spam with promotions.

First, they included some TV promotions in the form of additional channels that I didn't even ask for, and then they raised the price because they introduced those channels to me (why ??). Then they changed the packages, so the price jumped a little, but for me, with the already existing contract, the new price was not valid.

And now they introduced TV back 72 hours, it was a test period, I logged out on the site immediately. Then the test period expired, so they gave me the full option and informed me, that I went to the site faster to shut it down, but the account had already been created. I paid for that service unnecessarily. That's what they told me in the call center - the account was created before you shut down the option. Well, I can't turn it off the second I get notified!

There are no interruptions, which is ok, but the quality of the connection has dropped significantly. It is especially noticeable on TV because their device (Dune HD tv-102) is also bad, and the quality of the connection is much worse. I delete the cache from the device, but again after 2 hours it starts to break and I can barely switch the channel.

I started thinking about other operators, but they all have their advantages and disadvantages. The main thing is the lack of price, but also support and equipment. If you have a suggestion, write it in the comments.

Old text:

As a long-term user of Orion Telecom services, I would like to share my experiences and look back at the ongoing actions.

I have been paying for the Internet with them since they existed, and I have been with Sezampro before, which later, together with several other smaller Internet providers, became Orion. At that time, the speed was 768 Kbps, and they offered a USB modem to use. I really don't remember that there were any problems, I believe there weren't because if there were, I probably wouldn't be their user anymore.

Over time, they increased the speed for the same money, usually at the end of December, and a little less often today. I extended the contract for 2 years each time with some more benefits. More precisely, every time I extend my contract, I take a promotion. So for the same money, I get higher speeds, discounts, better equipment, etc.

As for the interruption and the quality of the connection, I'm not too happy with Ping, but that's why the connection is great. Probably because I'm close to the station and I have a good network in the house. Interruptions are rare, it's up to Telecom, so I understand. This year I had 3-4 short breaks, at most 10 minutes. Past the same little thing.

Equipment and technical support are also up to standard. When I change the package, everything works, there are no interruptions, the speed increases immediately, the equipment arrives on time. I really didn't have any problems with that. Unlike some cable operators where you wait a few days to fix your equipment, so you still don't have a TV or internet during that time, and what about those who don't even have a phone because they took the whole package…

The prices are quite solid. For 1,500 dinars, on a monthly level, the speed is 20 Mbps. The subscription for IPTV is 1,250 dinars and is not obligatory, which is not the case with some cable operators. Yes, the user of the cable internet will answer the price of 1,500 dinars and say that they have 30 Mbps for that money, but it is not true because they have to pay and whether they want to watch TV or not. Because of that, and because of poor service and equipment, I bypass cable.

There was an action in Orion  MAX ADSL where for 1,700 dinars a month you have 20 Mbps internet, a WIFi router with 4 LAN ports, IPTV with 150 (+ several HD) channels, and 2 months for free. I took that package and I can say that I am satisfied. I connected the IPTV without any problems in 10 minutes (+ stretching the cable for 10 minutes), replaced the router, turned it on and everything worked. In 20 minutes I was online again, but with faster internet. This action is no longer in progress, and the others can be found on the Orion site.

For example, IPTV + internet 20 Mbps for 2,170 dinars per month. Each package additionally received 100 SMS messages per month for all networks - with more detail.

And for all users, Orion has provided several channels that you can watch for free on their site - more.

Read more: SBB experiences, MTS experiences.