Sonic Internet Logo
star star star star_border star_border

4.7

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: August 14th, 2024

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, Sonic Internet offers download speeds up to 20 Mbps, no data caps, and a one-year contract.

View Sonic Internet Reviews

As an internet provider, Sonic Internet's mission is simple: to provide the best internet speed and great customer service for the most affordable price. The company strives to accomplish its mission by continually innovating and working to change the face of the broadband service industry.

Top Ranked Companies

thumb_up

The Good

  • Brand New Fiber-Optic Lines
  • No Data Limits

Brand New Fiber-Optic Lines

Sonic Internet's service lines are brand new in every area where the company operates. This means that the lines are using the most current fiber optic technology, which keeps the network constantly running at full speed. Some players in the internet service provider industry will vary in speed depending on the time of day, so users may not be getting the actual speed that they are paying for each month. However, Sonic Internet customers do not have to worry about this issue. Fiber internet service is considered the most reliable connection.

No Data Limits

Some ISP companies set limits on how much data their customers can use each month. Sonic Internet does not impose any data caps on its customers' usage. Each Sonic customer can use as much data as desired each month while still enjoying quick speeds.

thumb_down

The Bad

  • 12-Month Contract
  • Limited Service Area
  • Slow Speeds

12-Month Contract

While several other internet providers do not require any contracts, Sonic Internet requires its customers to sign into a minimum 12-month agreement in order to utilize the company's services. If the customer needs to cancel the internet connection for any reason before the end of the contract, they will be required to pay an early termination fee.

Limited Service Area

Sonic Internet's service area is incredibly limited; the company only operates in a few cities in California. Not only does this restrict the number of consumers who have access to Sonic Internet's services, but it also makes it difficult for existing Sonic customers who move outside of the company's service area because they have to deal with the hassle of switching providers and cancelling their contract.

Slow Speeds

Sonic Internet's top download speed is 20 Mbps, which is incredibly slow in the industry. Many other companies offer more than 20 Mbps as their bottom speed and go as fast as 1 Gbps.

gavel

The Bottom Line

Sonic offers its customers fiber internet and no data limits. However, the company's service area is limited to a few cities in California, the speeds are very slow, and its customers are required to sign into a 12-month contract. We do not recommend working with Sonic Internet at this time.

View Best Internet Service Companies

Was this content helpful?
thumb_up Yes thumb_down No

Star Rating

info

3.1

star star star star_border star_border

44 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

41%

4 grade

0%

3 grade

11%

2 grade

23%

1 grade

25%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

star star star star_border star_border

Quality

star star star star_half star_border

Service

star star star star_half star_border

Trustworthiness

star star star star_border star_border
cancel

Filter by:

arrow_drop_down

Sort by:

arrow_drop_down
info
star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Miguel Loera

I been a sonic customer for 3 to 4 years, never had a problem, well it was at&t but sonic provided the customer service I guess Found out that sonic had fiber so I signed up but it took them like a month to install it, I had an appointment and they moved it so finally after a month or so I got sonic yee, it was installed Saturday, by Monday it wasn’t working, called support and the soonest appointment was Saturday, so no work from home, no security cameras for my house or tv Saturday got fixed, by Tuesday it was down again by that time I was fuming, called tech support, that time I waited 48 minutes but no answer, gave up and dial 1 so they could call me. TYLER from sonic called , I explained the whole situation expecting some sympathy but since the beginning he was condescending and defying not a good combination when he is the customer service and I a very upset customer I asked TYLER, after so many mistakes what sonic was going to do for me. On my experience even at a restaurant when they make a mistake, they give you some thing I was expecting him to say I am sorry, let me see what I can do and if a got a piece of gum, I’ll would have been happy, instead he said sonic is not going to give you any, I was not calling to cancel but TYLER was the cherry on the poop cake, sonic internet is garbage as well as his customer service, sonic is internet and customer service that’s all they are so I couldn’t be with a company like this so I cancel sonic was the good guy and at&t the bad guy but they are the same now and I’ll say that at&t is more reliable than sonic because for 3 to 4 years, I never had a problem What I learned is that sonic is the best if you don’t use there service but when you use there service and some thing goes wrong, forget about the nice people

8 months ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Matthew Gudenius Saint Helena, CA

We've had Sonic for over 10 years now, since we moved into our house... it was cheaper than AT&T, and provided slightly higher speeds (even on AT&T's infrastructure) When we first moved in, we were getting 8 mbps download, 1 mbps upload... that's nothing to write home about, but it's far better than what we get now! While the rest of the world has gotten more and more bandwidth, ours has shrunk to be WORSE than it was 10 years ago! On a good day, we now get less than 3 mbps download and 0.5 mbps upload. This is not enough to stream videos or music, play online games, or basically do anything else that people do on the internet these days. (During covid, my job required me to upload lessons for my students, and a 5 minute video would take 5 HOURS to upload to YouTube.) And this is on a GOOD day. There are frequently times when we get pings of 700-1000 ms, with 1 mbps download and ZERO mbps upload (yes, you read that right... I get timeout errors even just loading my email. In other words... completely unusable.) I got better internet than this in the middle of a rice paddy in Vietnam. Third world countries have better internet than we have, and we live in one of the 100 wealthiest zipcodes in America, 2 hours away from Silicon Valley and the birthplace of the internet. And in the past, Sonic would actually check out the problems and fix them. Now they just say "You should get our new modem/router"... so we do that... and then the problem stays just as bad (or gets worse.) Sonic (and AT&T) should be ashamed of themselves. We have no choice but to switch to Starlink.

1 year ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Noneyabusiness Kailua-Kona, HI

Their customer service is garbage as well as their billing system. I was moving out of California so I was proactive and called ahead of time to ask what I need to do to cancel. They said they don’t prorate and because they bill you in the beginning of the month you can just call and cancel any day after that first day of billing and still have internet for the rest of the month. Lies, they shut down my service literally that day when I called even after you paid the full month of service. I called back it was a huge hassle and mess! They didn’t even know if they could reconnect me that night even though it was their mistake and I had to pay for a whole new month of sonic internet cause they couldn’t reopen my account… they made a new one for me. After many phones, disappointment, and lies that they refunded me money for unused service I am glad to be done with them!!! Good riddance.

2 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

jc of Santa Rosa Santa Rosa, CA

What I like best about this company? NOTHING. I wouldn't take Sonic for free after my experience with their install crew and trying to find an appropriate person to talk to about the issue. I ended up with a billing supervisor 3 weeks after clearly articulating my complaint over the phone and writing out my complaint in an email as instructed about their install crew trespassing thru my deadbolted/locked gate) in to my backyard. The Tech support that responded to my written complaint apologized but assured me the line issue was fixed?? and the Billing Supv who I spoke with said the crew used their best judgment- they thought a utility pole was in my backyard- it is not but they also did not have permission to enter my locked yard. One crew member advised me he knew his rights....Not even smart enough to properly locate a pole- how do we trust their skill set in hooking up service. The Billing Supv clearly doesn't understand customer service. Nope, no Sonic for me! You don't understand your own business.

2 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Mike Tamir Oakland, CA

Sonic internet is just terrible. I went with them thinking that as a younger company they would be better than ATT for providing internet. Not only was this wrong, it seems like they have red tape every time I called. For price things were also terrible. They advertise as costing $39/month for "phone and internet service" for their gigabit plan, but when you get the bill you end up paying $100/month. How does this happen? They force you to rent a modem and a VOIP phone conversion device per month even if you don't use the phone or want to pay only once for the modem device, and then after you sign up they jack up the rate after you have signed no so that it tops off at nearly 100$. I am so frustrated I will be using one of the internet giants (ATT verizon etc) because (remarkably) it might mean better customer support.

3 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Even Sax Alameda, CA

Sonic is basically just AT&T provided through their customer service for more money. You would think that they provide some value add that makes it worth using them instead of AT&T like... customer service, but you would be wrong. Astonishingly, Sonic is able to provide even a lower level of customer service than AT&T, their customer support is poorly trained and intolerably rigid. They force you to pay for and maintain antiquated voip phone equipment and charge you if you do not. They also charge you to rent the equipment. I am truly surprised they are still in business with such a terrible model.

3 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Christine Pinole, CA

For me, Sonic was absolutely horrible and I advise everyone to stay away from this company. Sales and advertising: Not blatant lies, but definitely half-truths. They advertise in big, bold letters $40/month. They cheapest price they could offer me was $70/month. After one year, that went up to $80/month. Product/Service: Absolute fail. I even feel like they're a complete scam. They promised download speeds of up to 75 Mbps. I got less than 1 Mbps. That's completely appalling. Guarantee/Warranty: My modem failed within a couple of months. They replaced it for free, but it was a hassle. And then, my phone service keep going out. I kept having to unplug everything and then plug it all back in again. Customer Service: You'll get a English-speaking human but they're rude and they'll talk over you. Cancellation of Service: Again, scammy practices. They claim that it takes 30 days to process cancellations. So, most people call when they're ready to terminate, right? Well, you'll have to pay for service for an extra 30 days from the date that you call to terminate. So you'll be stuck paying for an extra month of service which you neither need nor want. Shady, shady, shady. There are positive reviews all over the internet for this company. Please, please keep in mind that it's so easy for a company to post fake reviews.

6 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

A Perer Los Angeles, CA

Customer for 3 years as it wasn't quite worth switching but they do everything to take your money. They won't let you return any equipment you don't use like the internet phone device in hopes you'll lose so they can charge you, and they don't prorate bills. They're trying charging me for 30 days of service despite me canceling and using only one day of service because of an overlap of one day. No proration at all. Not good people. Looking to rip you off however they can get away with it.

3 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Marc Yoon San Francisco, CA

Literally the worst wifi I've ever had the misfortune of wasting my money on. I did not think it was physically possible for wifi to be this slow and inconsistent, but Sonic surprisede every day. I would not wish this wifi on my worst enemies.

3 years ago Edited November 18, 2021

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Raul Alvarez

Just don't used, they charge you more at the 2nd month. They charge you for returning equipment. Internet its really slow. No recommended at all.

10 months ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Danielle Kralj Brentwood, CA

Verified address was available for $50/month 75 Mbps and when they installed it was only 7 Mbps. Now AT&T is charging me $99 to re-install AT&T service

2 years ago