DSL Extreme Logo
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3.2

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: March 21st, 2024

Founded in 1999, DSL Extreme is an internet service provider that has accumulated thousands of customers in California. The company offers a wide range of options to best meet each customer's needs. Services include traditional internet, high-speed internet, and phone. DSL Extreme offers many packages, requires a one year contract, and no data caps.

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The Good

  • No Charge for Routers and Modems
  • Free Professional Installations
  • Affordable Service Prices

No Charge for Routers and Modems

There are certain pieces of equipment that a customer must have in order to obtain internet service from any provider such as a modem and/or router. Many companies capitalize on this need by charging customers for these components, whether it be in the form of an outright purchase or a monthly rental fee. DSL Extreme does not require its customers to pay for routers or modems. Instead, the company offers these pieces of equipment for free as part of a package. This helps to keep DSL Extreme's prices low and affordable.

Free Professional Installations

DSL Extreme offers free professional installations to its customers. This means that a trained service technician will come set up all the equipment, and ensure that everything is running properly. This is somewhat uncommon in the industry; many companies either do not offer professional installations or charge an installation fee, which may be upwards of $200.

Affordable Service Prices

Both types of internet service offered by DSL Extreme (DSL and fiber-optic) are priced very reasonably in order to fit in with many budgets. DSL packages are priced as follows:

  • Value — $17.95 per month
  • Plus — $22.95 per month
  • Pro — $27.95 per month
  • Elite — $32.95 per month
  • Max — $37.95 per month
  • Max Plus — $42.95 per month
  • Max Turbo — $52.95 per month
  • Power — $62.95 per month
  • Power Plus — $92.95 per month

Few providers offer any internet services for less than $20 per month, so the fact that DSL Extreme has a package available under that price is pretty impressive.

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The Bad

  • Slow Download and Upload Speeds
  • Expensive Top Tier

Slow Download and Upload Speeds

DSL Extreme offers its customers two different types of networks to choose from: DSL and fiber-optic. DSL is becoming a somewhat outdated technology in the internet service industry, so download and upload speeds available through this type of network are sometimes not optimal. However, DSL Extreme's download speeds seem to be slower than industry average. Download and upload speeds for each plan are as follows:

  • Value — 768 Kbps (download), 384 Kbps (upload)
  • Plus — 1.5 Mbps, 384 Kbps
  • Pro — 3 Mbps, 512 Kbps
  • Elite — 6 Mbps, 768 Kbps
  • Max — 12 Mbps, 1 Mbps
  • Max Plus — 18 Mbps, 1.5 Mbps
  • Max Turbo — 24 Mbps, 3 Mbps
  • Power — 45 Mbps, 6 Mbps
  • Power Plus — 75 Mbps, 8 Mbps

Expensive Top Tier

DSL Extreme's price range is expansive starting at $17.95 per month and ending at $92.95 per month. The prices are exceptionally high, especially for such slow speeds. Many other companies in the industry offer up to 1 Gbps speeds and cost significantly less.

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The Bottom Line

DSL Extreme does its best to make internet services affordable for its customers by offering no-cost routers and modems, free professional installations, and low monthly prices. However, the company's download speeds are slower than those of many other companies in the industry. Their top tier packages are also very expensive. For customers more concerned with price than download speed, DSL Extreme is a good option. However, customers who place a high priority on download speeds may want to consider other providers.

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Star Rating

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1.7

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21 Reviews

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10%

4 grade

10%

3 grade

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2 grade

0%

1 grade

81%

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aussiejewels El Cajon, CA

If I could give a zero rating I would! I am an idiot and stayed with this subpar company for 20 years, only because I thought I was receiving the best deal. It is NOT a good deal if there are consistent , extremely frustrating, service problems! The worst incident was them sending out an At & T guy because I not getting the highest speed that I could get in my area, and had been paying for (4 instead of 12!) My friend, who is an IT, tested it himself. The AT&T guy they sent out claimed that my speed was within the, "range', allowed and said that here was nothing to fix! (which I highly doubted!) He then assured me I would NOT get charged. However I DID end up getting charged $150 for his visit , from DSL Extreme! Allegedly, the AT&T guy came out here when there was NO problem...(I highly disagreed!) Supposedly, If there WAS a, "real," problem to fix I would not have been charged. To conclude this review, I think this company is shady AF!

1 year ago

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Patty Los Angeles, CA

THIS IS A TERRIBLE COMPANY. THEY PROVIDE SHODDY SERVICE AND AWFUL TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND THEY WILL STEAL YOUR MONEY! I PAID THEM BY CHECK EVERY MONTH AND THEY WOULD RANDOMLY SHUT OFF MY SERVICE ON THE ADVICE OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVE, I GAVE THEM A $100 CREDIT TO AVOID HAVING THEM SHUT OFF THE SERVICE. THEY SHUT IT OFF ANYWAY (BECAUSE THEY CAN) EVEN WHEN FULLY PAID (THEY WERE ALWAYS FULLY PAID BY CHECK) THEY DRAINED MY CREDIT CARD. (If you give these people a credit card, make sure it is a prepaid credit card because DSL Extreme will steal your money) Bad internet service Bad tech support Horrible accounting department DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY They have changed their name to Telecom Solutions L.L.S DO NOT BE FOOLED THIS IS THE SAME TERRIBLE COMPANY They deserve a minus five rating

1 year ago

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James Torrance, CA

This outfit deserves a -5. If you can't deliver, don't operated as a company. Avoid it like the plague.  Service is horrible, equipment is substandard and over priced.  The gateway has been replaced once, and 2nd one just died within 8 months, after months of flaky performance. So dslextreme does monitor this. Where is the tech?  I called yesterday to report a dead gateway, but nothing was done until I call again this morning. The scheduled service window is 2pm-4pm.  It is now 3:30pm. The tech is nowhere insight.  I don't want to repeat the wait again another day. Especially I had to take time off work., Which is costing me $$$. It's almost 4pm, still no sight of the tech. Repeated calls to dsl extreme seem futile. Most of of the time on hold. They just don't know when the tech will come, or even if tech will show up today. Who's going paying for my lost productivity. Might have wasted 2 hours and 3 hours without pay.Where is the promised tech who is suppose to come between 2pm-4pm. It's now 3:55pm. Its 4pm.  The latest is they haven't assign a tech, yet. It's pending. They broke a promise .  Breach of contract!You should not promise something if you can't delivered. And only tells me you can't delivered after i took time off work. What a joke! Looks like I wasted 3  hours off work No concept of time, it's after 5pm now, with a 2pm-4pm service window.  It's like I have unlimited time to waste on calling tech support, on hold for ?Most if the time, only to hear call back in another hour to check status. Which mostly likely mean I have to waste another day waiting for a tech that does show up. Where is the tech you promised that will come between 2pm-4pm.  I only took time off work, after asking appointment confirmed. They should not be in business

4 years ago

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Erica Lancaster, TX

I am so disgusted with this company! I have been a LOYAL customer with them for the last 4 years. I was in the process of selling my property to move and was not using the service so I was being charged. I finally moved and now to find out that DSL EXTREME DOESN’T PROVIDE SERVICE TO MY AREA! So not only was a charged over a month for service I did not use but this morning they charged my account $250 and are going to charge me another $99 for the equipment! So I will be losing $350 from a company I was with and loyal to for 4 years! They are a horrible company and have no loyalty or compassion to there customers! They really need to revise their cancellation policy especially for those who have tried to transfer services and they aren’t able to provide it! I am just disgusted and will not ever recommend DSL EXTREME to anyone ever!

5 years ago

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Kyle Zimmerly Canal Fulton, OH

DSL Extreme is the worst company I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. I have an 18 Mbps connection (their highest home speed) and my devices constantly drop off the connection and buffer every 3 to 5 minutes. I have been on the phone with customer tier 2 support every day this week and have had two tech's come to diagnose and replace equipment. After modem was replaced along with all new connections outside of my home my connection continues to act the same way. I've ran more speed tests than I can count at this point and I've had to connect my laptop to my modem countless times to run diagnostics checks for this ridiculous company. They treat you like you are their employee to order around. The service tech's don't even have a device to connect directly to the modem so they had to use MY PERSONAL LAPTOP to run diagnostics on the network. They tell me that everything is fine and that I simply have too many devices on the network. I had 9 devices connected to the network at the time but a total of 14 devices were shown as having been connected to the network, so they claim I'm over their threshold of devices for good speeds. Even when my Wi-Fi is shut off through the modem and my laptop is connected Ethernet to the modem i get 15 Mbps max, their excuse for this is that the speed test itself takes 20% of the bandwidth to run the test which is complete B.S. when I had a local cable provider with a 50 Mbps connection I could test the network connected directly to my router and pull 51 mbps. The service tech that was out the 2nd time wrote a recommendation that my contract be canceled and fees should be waived because the service isn't performing as it should. When I called in to follow up on this ticket and cancel my contract they refused to allow me to cancel and said more diagnostics needed to be ran before they could waive the cancellation fee and I was transferred back to customer support. When transferred to customer support the individual told me that he would have to check the tickets on the account and put me on hold for 18 mins and 45 seconds, then told me that the data he had showed that there is nothing wrong with their service and that I must have a device in my home that is "hogging all the bandwith". I explained to the tech that I had taken all devices off the network except for two cell phones and my smart t.v. and the problem still occurred, he responded by saying that they would no longer be sending any technicians out to diagnose the issue and that the problem was mine to deal with. After all this I tried to lower my speed so that I could run out my contract with them for a lower price and pay for a connection from my local cable provider. I was told that I could lower my speed for a 50.00 fee and that doing so would extend my contract for 1 year! DSL Extreme knows that they offer a terrible service and has made sure that any loop holes are covered to ensure you are stuck with them. The only way out is to pay a 250.00 cancellation fee. DON'T EVER GET SERVICE THROUGH DSL EXTREME YOU WILL REGRET IT. WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH!!!

6 years ago

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Dennis Killian Salisbury, MD

My DSL Extreme experience has been Extremely bad. I would give them zero stars. Where do I begin. After signing up for service, they tell you it will be 10 business days or so for service to be activated. The date comes and go, no service....but the bill comes. I'm on the phone with them just about every day on why I don't have service, disputing the bill b/c I have no service etc. After hours, yes hours, of phone calls, service finally gets activated...they messed something up on their end, go figure. It is comical. They had kept blaming the wiring in my house that worked perfectly fine with another DSL service. And about the dispute for the Bill (because I had no service) they charged me additional "penalty" fees for being late and for service re-activation. This company is terrible. They are dishonest, incompetent and I do not trust them at all. The ONLY reason I continue to use their service is because of the 1 yr commitment and ETF...but I have been thinking of paying the ETF just to get away from these jokers. I emplore you to research other companies and not utilize DSL Extreme. You do not want to be in the same situation as me.

7 years ago

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Justine Deane Ormond Beach, FL

Beware! They don’t tell you about the contract! I was charged 188.00 for early cancellation! Their speed was too slow . So I switched providers. I needed faster speed to work remotely. When I called to explain why I switched they said there was nothing they co old do . When I asked for a supervisor they said they would open a ticket but I am still waiting for a response

1 year ago

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MMOak Oakland, CA

DSL Extreme is a small but scrappy company, but BEWARE. They try to deliver a good price but the quality of their service, especially customer service is severely lacking and you can tell that the company is run on the most minimal resources. Most recently, my email got hacked and DSL Extreme's tech support has not been able to make it stop. It is impacting the communications of my small business, but they say there's nothing they can do to help. As someone who has been a customer since around 2008 that's extremely disappointing.

3 years ago

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Julie Cunningham Houston, TX

First of all they can't find my information in the system. I have had the same number for over 10 years. I cancelled and they didn't and they charged me. I always had trouble streaming movies and even tried to transfer my service but they couldn't get a higher streaming them 6 mbps. That isn't what I was paying for so they charge you a $250 cancellation fee. I would never use them. They use At&t so I would just go directly through them instead.

4 years ago

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Victoria Michigan City, IN

Rude customer service, can’t answer question unless it’s in there script. They repeat the same unhelpful things over and over. When you ask for a supervisor there are not any or they straight up refuse. Once you finally get a supervisor they are just as unhelpful ( yes you Jessica) and when you ask for her supervisor best believe she will refuse. They are unhelpful and will steal your money from your account even after you cancel. If they let you cancel... took 3 months

6 years ago

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Larry Dualwarn Mesquite, TX

No humans work here anymore. Nothing but automated emails that just reschedule local telephone technicians. Since Verizon and AT&T have left the copper and fiber world and Verizon started selling off to Frontier Communications and AT&T fully will do the same by 2020 there's really not much luck for these third party companies. Seeing as how there's nobody that answers the phone and their own online portal doesn't even accept payments where multiple of my cards work for other online services, I think it is safe to say DSLExtreme is no longer in service either as of late 2016.

7 years ago

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Bobby Malick Shamokin, PA

Lowest scumbags in the industry! I lost my job due to Covid and they refused to help me, said I had to pay the early termination fee. Worldwide Pandemic and they worry about money more than people. Biggest low lifes in the business!

3 years ago

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Kay Fort Worth, TX

HORRIBLE SERVICES RUN DO NOT USE . your services will always go out they don't care but will charge your account and not give you good services the head ppl just steal your money an don't care pass this review along to all that you know DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

5 years ago

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Janel Austin, TX

DSL Extreme is a terrible service. This company should get a negative star rating. They don't even deserve one star. The customer service is terrible. I wouldn't recommend anyone to get this service.

5 years ago

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LESLEY ECHOLS-BLAKELY

Cannot get anyone for customer service after hrs and weekend. Placed on hold for technical support for an eternity- hung up and called back x3 and no one ever answered. Eventually got fed up and stopped calling.

6 years ago

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LYDIANN HARMON

POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, NEVER DOES WHAT THEY SAY THEY WILL DO WAITING GAME AND CAN NEVER GET ANY HELP WOULD NOT RECCOMEND TO ANYONE. WILL BE LOOKING FOR A NEW PROVIDER.

5 years ago

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De Br Edmond, OK

Do NOT I REPEAT, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. WASTE OF TIME N MONEY

3 years ago