ZTE MF636 Rocket Stick Reviews

We were having a lot of issues during the summer, but were advised to purchase a Rogers antennae. Works great! Never have any problems connecting anymore, and it is very quick.

The ZTE MF636 Rocket Stick from Rogers is very slow.
The Rogers Connection Manager does not accurately reflect usage and has resulted in erroneous charges.
Rogers also has poor customer service.
My contract will soon be up and I am going elsewhere.
Any suggestions for an ISP in Toronto?

I gave this product one star because at least I can get on the Internet to check email. But I would not recommend this product to anyone.
This "Rocket Stick" is not reliable. I have to reboot the laptop several times to get an Internet connection but then that connection doesn't last more than 20 minutes before I have to reboot again.
When I'm online it sometimes takes more than 120 seconds to completely load a standard sized webpage including static pages with mostly text with only one or two small photographs.
I can't remember the last time I was able to watch a video on YouTube all the way through without the YouTube video stalling. This is a really bad product.
Rogers' tech support is hit and miss - mostly miss. Today I was literally on and off the telephone with Rogers billing and tech support (watch out for erroneous Internet over charges) for more than 6 hours. During one call I was transferred to 5 different people before getting a tech who was able to get me back online. When I speak to reps at Rogers who don't speak English as their first language I ask them to repeat what they said but it seems they repeat what they just said at twice the speed.
But the Rocket Stick is a cool colour - red :/
Just trying to look for something positive to say but there isn't much.
Don't even get me started on the Internet over charges with this product. Hopefully these charges will be reversed.

The Roger's stick sucks big time It is slower than my dial up line and that says it all. Very inconsistance. Rogers does not care to hear about the crappy service. I pay my bill they can't deliver the service. I would not recommend the stick to nobody. Go to Bell or Telus. Rogers is very poor and not worth the money. I am about to cancel my contract as I am the only one keeping the agreemnet. I pay but they don't deliver. Stay away from their producrt. I would give them no star if I could.

This thing SUCKS big time. It is worse than dial up in small towns and villages. Times out consistently and kills laptop battery in an hour. Should have read the reviews first

This device generally works very well. In my case I use Ubuntu Linux and have generally had good results.

Most people try to plug it into the back of their notebook and complain that it's slow - but the signal is not good behind the notebook! Use the included extension cord to move the device up higher. (I clip it to the top of my monitor.) Reception is dramatically better when the device is up a bit - even if you just lay it on top of a coffee cup.

Unfortunately there is a bug in the device firmware that has caused this device to drop connections under Linux (the Windows connection manager simply re-connects but this is a pain under Linux.) Forum posts show that this bug was recently fixed (in 2011) and a firmware update is available from some suppliers - but I can't find it from Fido or Rogers.

Rogers/Fido: Please post the recent firmware update.

Thanks!

I've had mine for two years and I believe what is happening is rogers is dropping this 3G modem connection after very brief periods of inactivity (polling doesn't count) to keep their network from getting overloaded. I'm going to try telus because it's a great idea if it works but unfortunately the rogers offering is no where near ready to be released for public use.

I am using the internet stick right now and it took 28 seconds to download the " write a review " page of this website, plenty of time for me think of how I made a huge mistake buying this product. It is fast during off peak hours ( 2 am to 6 am) but other than that it is brutal - drops connections, extremely slow and very expensive. I have tried the bell internet stick on this computer in this exact same location and it definetly works better. O well, only 12 more months till my contract is up.

very unhappy. can,t even get dail up speed. got the stick so i coud watch my news, takes about 1 1/2 hour,the stick is so slow. would,nt give it one star

I have had so many problems with this device, and the service from Rogers is horrible! Not recommended.

This devices is good when it actually works. I spent more time fighting with it to get it to actually work. It says no signal, or the device would not work at all. People are correct here as it can be very slow at times and will even drop the internet connection. It's not very reliable and it's not something I would recommend to anyone.

I've had this thing since March.It cuts out all the time. Called rogers and get no where as far as support goes.Would not suggest it to my worst enemy

I have recently started using this Rogers Internet stick and have been hugely disappointed. I use it in Collingwood, and when I get a signal, its slow and unreliable. Recently I tried disconnect it, but on my network connections the status shows "Disconnecting" and I cannot do anything else. I have tried uninstalling and re-installing to no avail. Any suggestions on how to actually disconnect so I can try reconnecting it would be helpful.

This thing is junk, drops signals even when its still showing 2 to 3 bars, constantly have to unplug then reinsert its basically a big waste of money and patience don't bother with this product

Bought a ZTE MF-636 USB modem (Rocketstick) to use on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, about 10 miles north of Honey Harbour and 8 miles west of the "Global Tower" on the Hwy. 400 extension north of Port Severn. This is a 'fringe area' according to Rogers' HSPA coverage maps. I have unobstructed line-of-site to this tower, however.

With the 'stick' up high (30+ feet above the water) I can get a 3-bar signal on Rogers' Connection Manager software. Download speeds at the signal strength range from a high of 3 mbps to a low of zero! For several days recently, it was not possible to even connect! After repeated phone calls to tech support, Rogers grudgingly admitted that they might have a transponder problem on that tower, and within 24 hours, ability to connect was restored.

It seems as though Rogers is throttling bandwidth, as frequently (particularly on weekends when more people are here in 'cottage country') the speed drops to zero for minutes at a time, and then gives only short bursts lasting less than 30 seconds.

The 'stick' is a good solution provided you can get at least a 3-bar signal. 1 or 2 bars is usable -- some of the time. If the mode drops back from HSPA to EDGE, forget it -- dialup is faster!! But it is a lot cheaper than satellite internet (Xplorenet) and significantly faster when it is working well.

I'd like to compare the ZTE modem with the newer Sony-Ericcson model. If anyone has comparative experience with it, I'd love to hear about it.

So, in summary; with a good signal the service is OK -- but Rogers does not seem to be able to maintain a consistent level of service, and coverage is spotty at best. Most cottages in my area do not get a usable signal -- I am just lucky in this respect.

Bell and Telus have comparable offerings, but I don't have any directly comparable data on performance and/or reliability.

This usb modem stick is small and friendly but slow access,
Then Win XP PRO Auto update site cancels modem functions so it will not access internet until program removal(uninstall) then re-install and takes forever to connect.
I am not satisfied with speed, very slow only twice speed of 56k dial up dissapointed, with all the hype and portable universal usage, if you live in rural areas speed factor comparred to dialup is not encouraging. with regret Larry

Actually, I live about 13kms souuth and east of Sherwood Park. I think I am in a Rogers 'dead' area though because the signal strength on my modem shows 1 to 2 bars. But mostly just 1 bar. And it keeps disconnecting on me and when I go to reconnect it keeps telling me it can't connect to the server. I have to phisically unplug and then replug into the usb slot before it will show I have a signal.

Very frustrating to say the least. Sometimes it works really well on cloudy days. You know, the ol boucing the signal off the statosphere thingy.

In Sherwood park proper and in Edmonton, it works like a charm. No problems. The Rogers people say I must have an iron deposit or something near my land on the acreage that is preventing me from getting a stronger signal. I don't know about that, There are two cell towers in plain sight of my place and when I drive by them in my car when I have my laptop with me I get up to four bars on the signal strength. So what gives.

And get this; my boss uses a TELUS stick and I borrowwed his stick for a couple of days and guess what?, Works no problemo on my acreage; four to five bars on the signal strenth.

Rogers think I'm just a cranky nuisance of a customer and it's like talking to a wall. After all, who cares about the few hundred rural customers that can't get a good connection out here, we are not the bread and butter of the cash flow for them - the big cities are.

So, what can I do? I give the modem a 1 star out of five. For rural customers, the Rogers stick just doesn't cut it.

Anybody with a negative review on this little gem must have forgotten to turn the PC on.
Try 2 way Satellite for 6 yrs at $ 96.- per month and then compare. Bought one on Saturday, went home, hooked it up and went back to the store for my second one.
Peter H.

I purchased this the other day and hooked it up to my laptop. I finally got a connection after 5 hours of searching fopr a signal. I live in a 5 star rogers mobile area and about 100 meters from a cell tower with clear view. The best this modem can get is 2 stars. Browsing to the rogers home page takes longer than a 2400 baud modem on a regular dial up connection. My laptop has a 56k modem installed and wouldbe faster and cheaper even if i kink it up to my cell phone for connecting to the dialup provider.

I have worked the rogers help desk and am familiar with the service and connection protocols. Iam very dissapointed with the product and the false promises quoted by rogers and plan to return the prduct for a FULL refund with no penalty for the 1 year term contract.

if the star rating could do negative I would rate this a negative 5 stars.