Optimum Internet Review

Optimum’s prices are good (for an ISP), there’s no contract, and its download speeds are delivered as advertised. Optimum isn't available everywhere, but if you can get it, we recommend it.
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PlanPriceDownload speedData capDetails
Optimum 300$54.99/mo.300 MbpsUnlimitedView Plans
Optimum 200$44.99/mo.200 MbpsUnlimitedView Plans
Optimum 400$64.99/mo.400 MbpsUnlimitedView Plans
Plan
Optimum 300
Optimum 200
Optimum 400
PriceDownload speedData capDetails
$54.99/mo.300 MbpsUnlimitedView Plans
$44.99/mo.200 MbpsUnlimitedView Plans
$64.99/mo.400 MbpsUnlimitedView Plans
Easton Smith
Easton Smith
Researcher & Writer
See all articles
Jan 08, 2019

Think of the internet like a highway filled with cars. Each car carries information from all around the world right to your personal computer at home—and the road they drive on is your internet service provider (ISP).

If you go with Optimum internet, then you’ll have an interstate highway. There are plenty of lanes to avoid traffic jams, and the higher speed limit lets you cruise without a worry.

This highway may not be the newest or the fanciest, but it will work well for most commuters. Just watch out for the occasional toll road (contract fee) or pothole (customer service).

Optimum internet plans
PlanPriceDownload speedDetails
Optimum 200$44.99/mo.*200 MbpsView Plans
Optimum 300$54.99/mo.*300 MbpsView Plans
Optimum 400$64.99/mo.*400 MbpsView Plans
Data effective 11/19/18. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
* For the first 12 months.

Pros

  • High speeds
  • No data caps
  • Good bundling deals

Cons

  • Poor variety of plans
  • Contracts and fees

Optimum prices and plans

The price is right, even if the variety is a little lacking.

Need to figure out which Optimum plan you want? No problem. Start by figuring out how much speed you need. And from there, just choose one of these three-speed tiers.

Optimum internet plans
PlanPriceDownload speedDetails
Optimum 200$44.99/mo.*200 MbpsView Plans
Optimum 300$54.99/mo.*300 MbpsView Plans
Optimum 400$64.99/mo.*400 MbpsView Plans
Data effective 11/19/18. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
* For the first 12 months.

Optimum’s limited plan offerings may lack the speed ranges that some people are looking for. But the prices for the speeds it does offer are comparable to competitors like Verizon Fios. In some cases, Optimum’s speeds are cheaper.

Another way that Optimum lacks variety is its geographical footprint: it’s just not available everywhere. Be sure to check availability at your address using the tool below.

Find the best internet providers in your area.

If you’re in Optimum’s service area, you can get an even better deal by bundling your internet with an Optimum television package. For the price of Xfinity’s internet-only plan (250 Mbps), you could get roughly the same speed (200 Mbps) plus 220+ TV channels from Optimum. Yeah, it’s a little less speed, but it’s a lot more bang for your buck.

Our Optimum internet plan recommendations

Optimum 200

Who it’s best for: Casual, budget-minded internet users

Why we picked it: While 200 Mbps is the slowest Optimum plan, it’s enough speed for most people.

You could easily have three computers streaming at the same time with 200 Mbps. You could play your PS4 on top of that, and still it wouldn’t lag. At $44.99 a month, that’s a good deal.

Optimum 200 plan
PlanPriceDownload speedData capDetails
Optimum 200$44.99/mo.*200 MbpsUnlimitedView Plans
Data effective 11/19/18. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
* For the first 12 months.

Optimum 400

Who it’s best for: Gamers, large families, and home businesses

Why we picked it: Along with incredible download speeds, the Optimum 400 plan equips you with up to 40 Mbps upload speed.

If you’re playing a complex, online shooter, this upload speed will keep you in the game. And if you’re video-calling with a potential client, it will keep your face looking crystal clear.

Optimum 400 plan
PlanPriceDownload speedData capDetails
Optimum 400$64.99/mo.*400 MbpsUnlimitedView Plans
Data effective 11/19/18. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
* For the first 12 months.

Optimum internet speeds and data

Optimum is fast, but it still can’t beat a fiber network.

Optimum is like the Goldilocks of ISPs—not too fast, not too slow, but just in the middle range, from 200 to 400 Mbps.

And that might be just right for you. But if you compare this to the offerings of providers on our list of the best ISPs, like Xfinity (15–2000 Mbps) or AT&T (100–1000 Mbps), Optimum begins to feel a bit claustrophobic.

Info Box icon
What speeds do I need?
If you’re not sure what Mbps are, or how many you need, check out our handy Mbps guide!

But remember, internet speed is more than just a number.

In its 2016 report, the FCC showed that for some companies, like AT&T and Frontier, the actual speeds fell below 50% of the advertised speeds.¹ Thankfully, Optimum over-delivered in this category, averaging an actual speed that’s 110% of it’s advertised speed!

Another good indicator of an ISP’s true speed is the Netflix Leaderboard, in which Optimum ranks a respectable 5th overall.² While Optimum is not among the absolute fastest ISPs, all signs point to the network’s overall reliability.

Optimum’s real limiting factor is its cable network that, unlike Verizon Fios fiber networks, can’t support symmetrical upload and download speeds. That means that Optimum’s upload speeds will never be, well, optimal.

Optimum data caps

It’s all fun and games (and movies and music) until your ISP comes and caps your data. But with Optimum, you don’t have to worry about that (unless you go way overboard).

In Optimum’s open disclosure statement, the company does state that they maintain “an excessive use policy to address data consumption by Subscribers that is wholly uncharacteristic of a typical user of the Service.”3

But this is different from companies like Xfinity, AT&T, and Centurylink, which have hard caps at 1 TB (and charge you extra if you go over).

Optimum fees, contracts, and equipment

Lions and tigers and hidden fees—oh my!

Optimum’s service contracts

According to the 17th-century political philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, contracts are the very basis of western civilization.4 But if that’s true, why are contracts so annoying?

Optimum’s contracts are no exception: You have to sign up for a year of service to get the advertised pricing. If you want an ISP that doesn’t require long-term contracts (you anarchist you!), then check out Frontier or Xfinity.

Optimum’s service fees

It’s time to update Ben Franklin’s old axiom: “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes service fees.”5 Here’s a breakdown of the service fees you’ll see with Optimum:

  • Installation fees: Every Optimum plan comes with this little disclaimer: “Installation fee applies.” Unfortunately, they don’t say exactly how much.
  • Early termination fees: Optimum’s early termination fees are as ambiguous as its installation fees. But the fine print says that if you cancel early you will be paying “any applicable early cancellation fee.”6

Optimum equipment and fees

Optimum will charge you roughly the equivalent of a Netflix subscription (about $10 a month) to rent one of their modems.

If you want to skip the rental fee, we recommend buying this ARRIS SURFboard modem/Wi-Fi router combo from Amazon.

If you already have your own modem, make sure that it’s compatible.7

Optimum customer service

Optimum is better than most—which isn’t saying much.

When it comes to ISP customer service, we grade on a curve. Otherwise, no one would be passing this class.

For instance, the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s 2018 report gives Optimum internet a score of 64 out of 100.8 That would normally be a “D,” but since the top ISP only scores a 70, we’re going to give Optimum a “B-” instead.

If you need to, you can contact Optimum here:

Recap—is Optimum good?

Optimum will give you fast internet—minus all the bells and whistles.

Optimum is great when it comes to the basics: They’ll get you online. They’ve got decently priced bundles. They’ve got respectable cable internet speeds.

But Optimum never quite makes it past the basics. The network isn’t fiber. It doesn’t have a large variety of plan choices. And you still have to deal with the typical fees and contracts.

This actually makes Optimum a pretty solid choice for your average internet user. If, however, you want exceptional internet for a specific purpose, we’d recommend checking out our lists of the best ISPs for streaming and top gaming ISPs.

Optimum FAQs

Q: Does Optimum throttle content from certain sites?

With recent changes in net neutrality laws, this is a question on many people’s minds. Although Optimum has been mostly mute about the issue, there is no evidence that they are throttling their connection speeds.

Q: If I move, can my Optimum service move with me?

Yes! Here’s a nice primer on what you need to do. But remember that Optimum service “footprint” is mostly confined to the Tri-State area of Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.

Sources

  1. Federal Communications Commission, “Measuring Broadband America”
  2. Netflix, “ISP Leaderboard – November 2018”
  3. Optimum, “Open Internet Disclosure”
  4. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Social Contract Theory”
  5. Wikipedia, “Death and Taxes (idiom)”
  6. Optimum, “Additional Terms of Service for Optimum Online (Residential)”
  7. Optimum, “Optimum-Approved Modems”
  8. American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), “ACSI Telecommunications Report 2018”
Easton Smith
Written by
Easton Smith
Easton has worked as a freelance writer and researcher for several years, reviewing health, lifestyle, and technology products. He has probably read more Terms of Use contracts than any human alive. When he’s not sitting in front of a computer, Easton spends his time camping, climbing, and volunteering with humanitarian aid organizations.
Easton has worked as a freelance writer and researcher for several years, reviewing health, lifestyle, and technology products. He has probably read more Terms of Use contracts than any human alive. When he’s not sitting in front of a computer, Easton spends his time camping, climbing, and volunteering with humanitarian aid organizations.
  • Laszlo Fazekas

    Don’t be fooled with this review. It was probably written by an optimum rep or by a person read the marketing material only. I live in Connecticut where Optimum is the only choice beside the local telephone company (Frontier). Optimum is horrible. For home I’m on a “15Mbps” internet plan. Real download speed varies from 3Mbps to 9Mbps. Upload speed 0.2!!Mbps – 1.0Mbps. According to their tech support their services are all good but my computer has a virus. (Sure, on all my devices included iPhone and iPad.)
    I have a client. They operate a few gas stations so they have Optimum Business class services with fixed IP addresses, troubleshooting promises in less than 4 hours, 50Mbps download, etc. Sounds good, right? Well underground gas tank sensors communicate through fixed IP over the internet. It is a very interesting setup. Underground gas tank reports temperature, fuel level, water level, etc to operators. One day it stopped working. Needless to say it is a very serious issue. Gas stations had to manually check these readings locally on regular basis until issue is fixed. Troubleshooting easily showed that the meter’s communication ports were blocked by ISP. Optimum was phoned and kindly asked to reopen the blocked ports. 1 st Optimum Business rep did not understand the issue. 2nd rep denied the existence of the issue 3rd rep hung up on us. 4th rep escalated the issue to engineering team and promised 3 day turn around. 4 days later issue still persist so we phoned Optimum business again. They found no trace of the “ticket”. We had to go through another few reps and had to escalated the issue again. Long story short after 2+ weeks down, approx 15 hours on the phone with optimum we got lucky and were connected to a knowledgeable Optimum tech. Conversation went like this. So we need you to open these port for us pls or tell us how we can do it our self. Tech: oh it is easy click on this link, put in the port numbers and you are done. With the right support guy it was done in 5 minutes.
    I’m afraid I don’t recommend optimum. It is overpriced, unreliable and full with false promises.

    • TechHog

      It’s area-dependent. I’ve had some issues that needed fixing, but in general my speeds are 10% higher than rated speeds.

    • Chunmun Gerg

      Exactly optimum is very bad customer service is horrible
      Keep increasing price without notice there are lot of other good carrier less expensive and better service

  • Ilana Torres

    worst company ever! awful customer service, worst I have ever experienced. First, they were difficult with scheduling the appointment time to get my wifi installed, then didnt bother to keep me updated with the time at which my technician was supposed to arrive. Lastly, technician didn’t show up at all and no one bothered to call and tell me that he wasn’t coming and didn’t have an appointment time until a WHOLE WEEK later. This is the most absurd thing I have ever experienced. Straight 0/5 stars from me. Going with a different company, do yourself a favor and do the same. Still waiting to recieve an apology from any single person I talked to on the phone.

    • Chunmun Gerg

      Customer service is very bad and nasty horrible increase price without letting you know internet keep breaking tv is not clear phone keep getting dead when call recorded message keep running in and on
      Very pricey

  • CLASYS

    Have Optimum 100. Upload is typically 37, better than the nominal 34. Download speed is typically 116, sometimes occasionally better. Guess what? Many people have crappy routers and network cabling and wifi bottlenecks and are just too crabby to understand they need an upgrade. Don’t use the supplied router. It’s free and I can’t afford free.

    The states speed assumes I use a fast laptop with Cat 6 good quality cableing or I am using an advanced AC-rated router and a good laptop that is also 802.11AC rated. Many stupid users don’t get reported speeds because they have three-year-old stuff and ASSUME it’s good enough. IT IS NOT GOOD ENOCH, NOT EVEN CLOSE!. And you cannot just plug in USB. The overhead is TOO HIGH. The universe of AC-related wireless adapters in laptops is eve now very limited, thus for many it has to be wired connections as a prerequisite for even talking about these speeds. You cannot get throughput with the older 10/100 wiring, you MUST use 10/100/1000 cat 6 end-to-end, and many just don’t have it and expect magic.

    But if you use one of the newer top-of-the-line routers that ac AC rated AND your laptop is also rated that fast, you are OK. For others, you have to get a wireless ethernet bridge that is AC rated and wire that to your laptop’s 10/100/1000 net cable connection.

    Anything less than that and you are the bottleneck, not Optimum. I think they don’t explain any of this very well, so they probably get low marks for that aspect of initial customer service; the installer should be able to steer you to someone who can explain why your equipment is the problem, and a service laptop plugged directly into the cable modem confirms the speed is there, but the bottleneck is your problem past that.

    • belkis hoyos

      If this is the case then they should explain that before they sign you up. I pay $220 for one account and $160 for the other so I expect a working router or to be made a ware before I sign.

  • Pretty_Gifted

    I don’t know who wrote this review but Optimum is the worst. Their internet isn’t all that and the cable is so so, also they really don’t like to work with their customers on certain issues, even if you’ve been a customer for decades… Over them!!!

    • moshe neustadt

      i use optimum basic 10 and it sure is good enough to stream games and watch movies. try it out before you waste money money on more

      • Mike

        Good review. Many people buy speed they don’t need. Basic 10 which probably runs faster is all people need. Anyway, a friends password will get you into their hotspots. When the cable companies install your wifi router it has a second router inside that housing that becomes another one of their hotspots. They don’t make that fact known to the public for the most part and its running on your electric power too.

  • David Silva

    Called customer service: Lady #1 Teresa (very nice) , guarantees 3 separate times that retention will lower my bill to $125 because I have 2 friends that pay the same and i REALLY didn’t my the phone option, haven’t for 3 years but they kept telling me it was best value, says there’s a double play option that i can get into. Retention department #2 forgot to get name, tells me he cant lower my bill or take off the phone because i will actually pay more if i do that. That he cannot offer me or put me in the double play option ( I know he can) . Says businesses are businesses and they will be here long after I leave or cancel
    (well that sounds like they care about mew a lot) The reason my friends bills are probably lower is because they signed up with a different promotion so even though I’ve been with you guys for longer you are going to charge me more because they just incentive them to get in the door. He understood where i was coming from but said he could do nothing for me when I know he can, these are the people you put in your front lines to keep customers. They are just
    telling us we are nothing and it doesn’t matter if we leave, they don’t even try to sound like there thinking of ways to help us.

    Any company I’ve worked for and deal with gives you a further discount for being more long term, not charge you more. Its nuts that instead of just honoring the rate they would rather lose me which i told him I’m canceling at the end of my promotion. Like they said the business will keep doing these deals to get more customers and i get that. But man it doesn’t seem like you guys care about us as customers at all once we are in the door. Very Dissatisfied customer. David Silva – Edison NJ

  • JerseyResident

    Optimum is a horrible provider. I have had multiple problems with my billing and unexplained charges. If you have the opportunity to be serviced by a different provider I highly recommend that option.

  • mike solanchick

    I had optimum installed last week what a mistake. they gave me a 3 hr. window from 1100am to 200pm .needless to say tech. never showed so I called twice to find out the problem but I had to wait till 4:25 before they called me back to tell me tech. would not be coming today. 5 1/2 hrs of my time wasted. I made an appoint. for the next morning and even though I requested to be the first cust. they put me with a 8:00 to11:00 window and did not show up till 12:00 noon wasting another 4 hrs plus 1 1/2hrs install bringing it to a total of 11 hrs of my time wasted waiting for optimum. I notified that I expected some sort of compensation for my wasted time an the least they could do is throw the modem in free for a year. After 2 days and 2 supervisors donna and julio called back and offered me $ 20.00 for my 11hr. wait. I told him that offer was an insult and that he could keep the $20,00. I also notified that in about 3 months I will be leaving since your treatment of customers and customer service is that of a third world country.

  • Miles

    TERRIBLE COMPANY. Terrible service. Steady bill increases with false hidden fees. Every customer rep. I have ever talked to on the phone (once I got ahold of one) was completely condescending and rude. My basic internet package increased steadily every couple months without notice or explanation. I am finally done with with this company. Internet providers are few, but I guess I’d rather go with even Verizon and get knowingly screwed, than get screwed by a sneaky company like this.

  • Delicatly

    Hello. Optimum is working well for me. Just got my install today. They gave me a window from 11- 2pm. The service rep arrived at 12pm. He was courteous and fast. He even took off his shoes when I asked if they had shoe covers like Verizon offered. He went in and out my balcony veranda as well and put his shoes to go outside and off when he came inside. Did this 3 or 4 times (bless him).

    I ordered optimum internet alone and I am pleased with the low price, reliability and fast internet. So far so good. I recommend them. Thank you for the review above because this helped me give optimum a try.

  • Cathy

    Interesting that they say this below when it isn’t true. If you cancel within your billing cycle you have to pay for the entire cycle!@

    Great no-contract internet in a small area

    If you live in the Tri-State area (NY, NJ, CT), there’s a good chance you can get Optimum internet service; everyone else is out of luck. Although Optimum probably has the smallest footprint of any provider we’ve reviewed, its no-contract internet service, better-than-average pricing, and download speeds of up to 300 Mbps make it an ISP we can recommend.

    We’re big fans of no-contract internet, so Optimum gets major points for not getting its customers stuck in one- or two-year contracts. For example, if you were to cancel your internet with AT&T U-verse before the contract is up, you can pay upwards of $180 in an early termination fee (ETF). Yikes! And some internet service providers (ISPs) even charge extra if you want no-contract service—ahem, Comcast ($10 a month extra). If we have to choose between a contract and no-contract provider, we almost always go for the latter.

  • dana

    love optimum services but hate that they dont care for their existing customers. they think they can rule you as they are the only providers in your area. Initial promotion is great, but after 1 year their prices go way high and you not eligible for any new offers as now you are old customer. government should stop such monopoly market.

  • TWM

    “You can add TV (Optimum Value TV) to your internet service (Optimum 60) for a total of $79.95 a month. That way you get TV and internet in one bill, if that’s how you want it.”

    Uh, I have Optimum 60 internet and Value TV. The prices are $54.95 (Optimum 60) and $64.95 (Optimum Value) = $119.90/mo., not $79.95. And that’s before the added $35.10 in fees, surcharges, and taxes. You must be quoting a teaser, limited-time new customer offer.

  • Morris NJ

    Beware- It took us one month (yes you read right) of sitting around on weekends waiting for a service technician to show up. They will push your appointments back, cancel, reschedule all while you sit around waiting like an idiot. We were without wifi for two months total. We weren’t around for several weeks during that period and called when we got back, but since we didn’t call and complain about not having service sooner, they “couldn’t verify that our service had been interrupted”. So, no refund.

    Any time you have an issue, call and complain that second if you can so that they have a record. Not happy with Optimum AT ALL. Will be changing soon to a different provider.

    Located in NJ

  • Jase Yiu

    Absolute worst in the area, service down 3rd time in 2 weeks. Each time is almost half a day. I’m setting up Verizon Fios in the building next week.

  • dimitris

    The only advice I can give you is DO NOT even try optimum. Long story but I had a really really bad experience from service to customer service and their attitude was the worst….. I just went to FIOS

  • Miriam V. Liciaga

    Have been an optimum customer for quite some time, but as of lately, BOTH the company & the service have become an unacceptable scalping enterprise in terms of the money I’m bleeding out while ending up with VERY little to show for it. Had to cancel some commitments to schedule a service appointment for Sunday, December 31 from 2-5 PM. Received several calls reminding me of my appointment with them, but the MOST unsavory call came in a little after 4 PM to advise us the technician would not be making it today due to an insufficient number of technicians available. This means that Optimum has ZERO consideration for their valuable customers who consistently and faithfully pay their bills on time to sustain this unprofessional corporation, but it’s habitually FAILING consumers who are adding funds to its coffers. I will be reporting Optimum for this shabby, unprofessional, and outrageous practice through BBB. NYS Attorney General’s Office, and Consumer Affairs; perhaps Optimum needs a little help from as many unsatisfied consumers as possible so it can finally get its act together and consistently begin to provide quality and timely service to consumers who are carrying the financial load month after month to keep it in business!!!!

  • Bernadette Hilway

    I HAVE ALL TOP OF THE LINE EQUIPMENT. MY INTERNET IS EITHER SLOW, WAITING OR NON EXISTENT. I REBOOT EVERYTHING, AND STILL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. MY HOME PHONE GOES OUT WITH IT. CALL OPTIMUM USING MY CELL AND I AM ON HOLD FOREVER AND END UP HANGING UP. I DUMPED MY SILVER PACKAGE. JUST HAVE BASIC. I MOSTLY WATCH WHAT IS ON MY FIRESTICK. IAM IN THE PROCESS OF PORTING MY PHONE NUMBER TO GOOGLE VOICE. THEN I WILL GO TO FIOS JUST FOR INTERNET.

  • Miriam V. Liciaga

    Have been an optimum customer for quite some time, but as of lately, BOTH the company & the service have become an unacceptable scalping enterprise in terms of the money I’m bleeding out while ending up with VERY little to show for it. Had to cancel some commitments to schedule a service appointment for Sunday, December 31 from 2-5 PM. Received several calls reminding me of my appointment with them, but the MOST unsavory call came in a little after 4 PM to advise us the technician would not be making it today due to an insufficient number of technicians available. This means that Optimum has ZERO consideration for their valuable customers who consistently and faithfully pay their bills on time to sustain this unprofessional corporation, but it’s habitually FAILING consumers who are adding funds to its coffers. I will be reporting Optimum for this shabby, unprofessional, and outrageous practice through BBB. NYS Attorney General’s Office, and Consumer Affairs; perhaps Optimum needs a little help from as many unsatisfied consumers as possible so it can finally get its act together and consistently begin to provide quality and timely service to consumers who are carrying the financial load month after month to keep it in business to perpetuate empty promises!!!!

  • Regina Camilletti

    Are you serious? Optimum is IMPOSSIBLE. The User ID they gave me is not recognized when I try to create an account or Log in (on the off chance that they created one for me after instillation???) I can’t create a new one bcs that screen directs you to a dead end. I have found 2 potential local “service” phone numbers. The first is nothing more than a commercial that I sat on hold to hear!!! No prompts, no help! The other is constantly busy. Another phone # I tried recognizes my account phone number but reject my response that it is correct. Optimum promised us a credit for Netflix which we have not gotten and have no way to ask about.

  • Regina Camilletti

    We are paying for a land-line which we can’t reach Optimum to set up! I can’t live chat with them bcs. they ask for a sign in and I cant establish and account as stated!!! We have had Cox, Comcast, Fios and others/ nevetr this ridiculous black out. Not paying the next bill, will they respond then? Maybe if they have an office I will go there with a big sign that says, ” Optimum sucks! You willing to talk to me now?”

  • john

    The worst company ever! I would rate them less then one star.

    • Chunmun Gerg

      I usually do not change Carrier
      Suddenly Ootimum increase my price I called they fix it I checked it was fix than one channel was not coming I called they fix the channel and change to increased price when I call become very nasty and disrespectful I will not recommend

  • john

    The Worst costumer service!!! Waiting for a technician for three days in a row in vain and only thing they say that they can reschedule the appointment again because they couldn’t make it. I would give them not a single star.

  • Kevin Lim

    Reliable service and good speed, but tacky business.
    They increase the price after the first year and every few months there after. I started with $39.99/mo and they increased charge every year until $75.29/mo for just Internet access. Despite multiple attempts to reduce my bill they refused to give me some discount. However, they still offer $39.99 for new customers, but existing customers pay $70+. I finally cancelled it and switched to Verizon. When I called to cancel, they offer me $39 for the same service. I already got my contract, so I refused, they put me on hold and came back saying they still have to charge me until the end of the month. That’s another $40 extra. They pro-rate for new services, but not for cancel service. That just sneaky. I was thinking of returning after my VZ contract ends, but their business plan is sneaky and focuses on short term money making. If you plan to sign up their service, uses the same tactic to your advantage (use for first year) and switch. Another sneaky tactic is their wireless router you installed at home broadcasts their SSID, in addition of your Wifi SSID. Basically, you are helping power their hot-spot infrastructure. I think it’s a great idea, I just hate the fact that they don’t tell you. You can check this by scanning the Wifi network near your Wifi router, you will see optimumwifi SSID with full signal strength. Power off your router, and check the signal for that SSID again.

  • Robert Luber

    Lousy service, bad tech support, which you need a lot of because the equipment is bad, but the worst part is the unethical business behavior. I cancelled finally because of all the stress, and now they’re chasing after me for a bill allegedly for unreturned equipment, but I returned the modem and router and got a receipt for it. This has been going on for months! Thank God I switched to Verizon Fios (no, I’m not a shill working for Verizon). Much better service and at least you know they won’t try to rob you. Bottom line: Optimum basically bad on all points, hardware, tech support, service, and honesty and reliability. So many complaints online, and with consumer affairs! Why isn’t there a way to make a class-action against these people?

  • NewBrunswickUsedToBeNice

    As of 1/18, the bill states Optimum 60 is $59.95 (this is a temporary price including a $5 promo discount, I have not been told when the price will be raised to $64.95) + $5.95 for the modem. If you buy a modem, even what Optimum recommends (Arris TM822G)… they will state it does not register “for some reason”.

  • Jase Y

    Worst internet service provider in Brooklyn area, disconnect my service and told me they can’t get it back up in 4-6 hours. Company like this is what makes NYC a horrible place to live in.

  • elena

    oh more than happy to join this discussion
    NO INTERNET, PHONE or anything available since this morning 10:15am 1/22/18
    there was no storm, no rain, no snow, no ballistic missile, no nuclear attack no loss of power – except for optimum online being incompetent in their maintenance of services, equipment or anything else – these guys only take the money promise that they do what they are mandated by the FCC and DO NOT DELIVER ANYTHING

    upload and download SILCH NADA ZIP NOTHING!

  • Dennis Herman

    I’ve had Altice since December 21, 2017. It is extremely buggy. Repair has been at my house weekly, about five times so far and I’m expecting them again. Our TVs repeatedly reboot simultaneously in the middle of watching programs. The DVRs repeatedly do not play recorded programs. My WIFI is supposed to be 300 MBPS, but is usually in the mid 30’s and occasionally under 5mbps. Their service people are extremely polite and they try to do their best but Altice One was rolled out too quickly without proper training for their service people and their telephone support. They have been so overwhelmed with service issues that last week, my serviceman did not arrive for my 11:00am -2:00 service window until 7:00 pm. That was incredibly unsatisfactory, especially since I have had so many problems with multiple prior service calls. When the system works as designed which is infrequent, I enjoy it, but Altice One should have never been rolled out until all of its many many many bugs were removed.

  • belkis hoyos

    Worst customer service ever! My router is not working properly together with the representative we restored it to factory settings. I was told to take it to the store and they would replace it. I work so following their evening schedule went there three times to (Elizabeth store which supposedly is opened till 6:30 PM on Thursday) and they where closed before 5:30 PM. Finally I decided to call and have them shit it to me. This was on 1/23 we are now in March 7 and as of yesterday it’s still on back order. This bull because I’m betting that new customers are not being told “sorry we can’t give you a router because it’s on back order”. Horrible customer service and I have two accounts with them but not for long.

  • Mark Woolfson

    I had Optimum Business Class service for at least 10 years. And on the whole my service WAS very good and the support WAS also good – worthy enough to keep me away from going with Verizon FIOS a number of times over the last 3-4 years. I’m in IT for 29 years, so I know my way around a network and a computer to say the least.

    The last 12 mos have been less than satisfactory. Granted, if everything is working, you have great service. So all of the tests and reviews by external agencies present an obscure picture. If you have problems, then you GOT problems.

    First off, Optimum used to have a separate phone# for business customers, which was awesome for the 1-2x yearly I would call with an issue. Then that went away several years ago – which on the whole wasn’t bad – again up until 12 mos. ago.

    Over the last 12 mos. I would have virtual brown-outs of Internet access that disrupts gaming or business access where speed is important. It was happening every 45-90 minutes at times and extremely frustrating. I changed my internal router, my internal switch – again all business type equipment – no change. I called one time to get discounts as a longtime customer (do this once every 2 years), and I received a token amount which was memorable enough to keep the trend alive. So when I finally had it with the brown-outs I called them, and as the representative followed her script – told me that she saw no issues on her end but can send a technician for $60 to troubleshoot. As a business customer? I need to pay for help? Of course the rep said I would be refunded if they found an issue on their end – but why bother. At that point FIOS seemed worthy enough.

    Had I been a retail consumers the $60 could be justified but not as a registered business with NYS.

    Bye-bye Optimum. I return the cable modem at the store and the rep says I have another device – points to the ceiling at a wireless access point and tells me that I have one of those devices for my static IP service. Huh? I told him that service is in the black box I just returned which comes across the wire when the device boots. He doesn’t agree. I told him I never had a white box. Ultimately he gives me a customer service number to call as he can do nothing. I call customer service – and they show a second cable modem on my business account – which was replaced 3-4 years ago with the one I just returned. I suspect their tech got some free service by keeping the modem and knowing people (finger on ‘nose – and flick). The rep removes the orphaned device and confirms no other devices.

    Now interestingly enough, I returned the device on the 6th and the store rep tells me that I have to pay for the full month of March – yeah yeah I got to call customer service because he cannot do anything. I call them and tell them I have zero ability to consume their service and since we are only 6 days into the month I would like an adjustment. Well that’s not their policy. YET, when I transferred my voice service to another provider I got a prorated credit – but they don’t prorate for Internet access? Their excuse, “our systems don’t permit it”. That’s b.s. because I never authorized such billing behavior since my account was established over 10-years ago. I asked the rep to document that I have no intention on paying for a service I am unable and specifically chosen not to consume. We will see where my home service goes at this point. Optimum, hope you are reading this because you are on notice. 😉

  • Kumar

    It used to be good… but now its worst… somehow they have maintained a monopoly in the TriState area… and sign u up with good deal… but then charge you at the back end with hidden fees, forward billing… They will charge you for multi room dvr when you have just one cable box… and when you speak to the CSR and the supervisor… They will doubt you and ask you to prove that you didnt use them… CSR sometimes hangs up the call … when you call again… you gotta explain everything again… Their Internet is decent… My recommendation.. Get their Internet 200 package… and Sign up Direct Now…. You get all major TV and add in HBO for 5$, combine that with NetFlix and Hulu… dont need anything else… Optimum folks are just greedy money hungry rodents…

  • Freddy

    Optimums altice one is so horrible. Dont get it please. Customer service is the worst. The altice one has too many bugs. Had it for 3 weeks and ready to throw it out the window. Voice remote produces a blank screen about 20% of the time. Program restart (Which i love the idea), makes the picture size wrong. It zooms in too much. I have to go into t.v. menu to resize the picture. DVR is not as easy to use. For example, scheduled recordings shows just pictures of the shows. No dates or times or anything. You have to select one of the picture and then read into the description to figure out when it will be recorded. And that brings me to another issue, the size of the print. Lettering is way too small, difficult to read time left on programs or program description. Need to stand up and get close to t.v., and that’s with my glasses on as usual. The fast forward and rewind is not quick to respond. After fast forwarding through commercials, i press play to resume show, but it still goes forward just a bit too much. Then i have to rewind and be forced to watch the end of last commercial. And this is all the time. Fios was so much better, wish i stayed with them, but they jacked my price up almost $60 additional. Service tech never showed from a 2 to 5pm window. At 8:20pm, service tech i had on phone said he’d be there in 20 minutes, AND JUST NEVER SHOWED AND TURNED HIS PHONE OFF! So frustrated with them.

  • Gregory Grassi

    I have the Altice One for a week…My Nest and appliances drop off line throughout the day, my voice control doesn’t work on any of my 3 tv’s(paired the remotes numerous times). had to reboot the main box multiple times. I have moved the box thinking maybe it was the location but nope that didn’t work. I opened a number of ports on the router per Nest and Optimum advise to allow the devices access nope that didn’t work. optimum ran test and no answers they did a reboot from their side still nothing, each time i spoke to a rep they said they are looking into and will call back, not one ever called back.. I told them 3 or 4 days maybe its the equipment and then after calling for 6 days in a row someone said maybe its your box “really” i said that days ago… then the manger(Alex) last night after i am willing to give them another chance told me to cancel the service. not once did i raise my voice or curse and that is his response. what am i supposed to say to that?

  • Jase Y

    Suspended my service without notice, ask me to call a department that is located upstate NY and closed due to snow. This is absolutely the worst ISP you can get in NYC. Especially they can’t afford to have their staffs located in the city that will have less impact from the weather. I recommend all my friends to stay away from this isp.

  • juma arsao

    This is an absolutely remarkable review which makes me, as a long-suffering Optimum customer, question whether or not the author has had to install, troubleshoot, and pay for, Optimum services himself–or if he has merely read through the website.

    There is a reason that cable providers routinely rank lowest on surveys of ‘most admired American businesses’, right down their with the airlines. Their customer care system is a joke of bad CRM and/or incapacity. I requested a callback tonight from their team. When I got the call, the guy I talked to then made me give him my name, my phone number, and my address.

    Hilarious. Remember: THEY called me after I had logged in a request via a phone number that THEY assigned to me, and that THEIR system called me on. What possible ‘security purpose’ could telling them information that they already have possibly satisfy?! Their version of a ‘security question’ was also a joke: “How many cable boxes do you have in your unit?” as if 9/10 times the answer wasn’t going to be ‘2’.

    The call didn’t go well. He said he was an account manager but couldn’t find the correct amount of my bill. He offered me a ‘less expensive’ option than even ‘new customers’ could possibly get. His offer worked out to $180/month give or take a few bucks. I said, well, that’s funny because new customers are getting even faster service for $90/month. Yes, he said, but that’s less fees. I said, “Are you telling me that the fees and taxes associated with that $90/month deal could make the total bill more than $180/month? That’s like 100% taxes and fees.”

    He dug his heels in and said, yeah, that’s “absolutely” what he was sure of. I repeated this at least twice and he maintained that yes, the taxes and fees on a $90/month account could, themselves, be at least $90.

    So I said, ok, well, just for giggles, let’s do a comparison. Can you pull up the exact numbers? Let’s run them as if I’m a new customer. Just punch it up there on the little screen, I said.

    I can’t do that, he said.

    Why not?

    Well, it’s against policy for us to talk about taxes and fees. “Because taxes can change” and he wouldn’t want to give inaccurate information.

    I said, that doesn’t sound right. Let’s put me on hold and talk to someone on your end who can at least ballpark that for us. Someone there knows.

    Again, he said, I can’t do that because those numbers could be wrong.

    No way. I said, “If I come to you as a customer, that system will generate a bill, and that bill is based on a schedule according to municipality, so that information is definitely out there…like in a binder somewhere….[or on the screen you’re looking at right now, but I didn’t say that.]”

    This guy, identified as “Bradley” or operator “i-47”, was pretty thick-necked about all this. I was pretty polite with him–although by this point he didn’t deserve it–even when he talked over me and attempted to “educate” me on how his proposal was the best possible deal for an existing customer.

    I had to give up after more than 25 minutes on the phone. He said that he’d push my complaint up through the escalation chain. We got into it again: ‘Who should I expect a call from?’ I cannot tell you that, he said. That’s personal information. It’s not personal information, I said, your supervisor is your supervisor, tell me who will be calling me. Can’t do that–again, he said, it was ‘personal information’. I made a crack about him being a secret agent (I admit by this time I wasn’t very polite–but I never called him names or used profanity or shouted at him). So if what he says is true–and he said a lot of things that were just mischaracterizations, at best–I should hear from a Secret Mystery Someone by the middle of next week.

  • SantorumsNose

    This reviewer must be on some good hallucinagins.

    Optimum was decent until Altice one bought them out.

    For the same service I was paying $49 per month, I am now paying $69. Forget customer service, it doesn’t exist. During an otage, they didn’t even answer there phones, just a message that they were busy, than abruptly hung up. I only got through after calling the billing department. Of course they are always happy to take money ( I didn’t owe them any).

    Even though they claimed my area was still under an outage, my Internet was up within 5 minutes of me threatening to report them to the state utilities board.

    I reported them anyhow. Altice bought Optimum with debt they can not afford to finance. So they cut employees and are jacking up rates on a state controlled utility. They need to be shut down and sold to a responsible operator.

  • E S

    This is the worst customer service company I’ve ever experienced in my 40 years in the Bronx, NY.

  • Arianna B

    WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE IVE EVER HAD!

  • Robert Pace

    I got the new Altice one system installed last week.
    The worst piece of garbage EVER!
    Numerous restarts, pairing problems, phones don’t work, remotes don’t work, internet spotty, unhelpful Tech support, and 2 service calls, no instruction books or information when installed
    And it’s only 1 week!
    Get anything else out there , not this!

    • Patria

      I have the same problem, you have to pay instalation for service they I don’t get.
      I call before to complain about all the issues the you have and they get me $10 credit
      I got the last bill and is $225.38 , I was paying $135 , so I call today and go over the bill and I ask for credit for a service that is beeing very poorly; the answer was no way.
      Why pay instalation if the service works badly? I spoke whit 4 different agents. And not resolution.

  • season

    Been with Optimum for a long time, over the weekend we lost cable, internet and phone. We called technical support to assist us, but was told that they would need to come out for a service call. The rep only seemed to care about the $80 service charge that we would be getting if it wasn’t “their” problem. They gave us an “emergency appointment” for Monday from 10am to 8pm, we called several times through out the day to confirm the appointment and was told by every rep that someone would be there. At 8pm when no one called we contacted them again, we were told that there was nothing that they could do but reach out to dispatch (via email) to see when the tech would be here and that we would receive a call back within 15 minutes. NOPE no call at all, again we called to see what was going on only to wait on hold for 40 minutes to be told that dispatch decided at 9:02pm that we were going to be reschedule (however we were never notified because its Optimum “policy” to not call customers after 9pm – interesting). After speaking with a night supervisor we were told that they would try to get us in on Tuesday – nothing! No call back, just told that there is nothing that they can do and now we are being pushed back to Thursday. I dont think that we would be so upset if we 1- we didnt work from home, so we need to have phone and internet and 2 – we spend almost 300 per month with them to be told that there is nothing they can do. It appears that since the change they have been complete against customer service. Their reps are told to say “there is nothing more we can do”

    At this point we have contacted Verizon, who is offering a lower package and their customer service was great.

    I think Optimum has one of the worst customer service I have ever come in contact with. I would never recommend them to anyone, and will definitely be telling family and friends of our horrible experience.

  • Ariel Lopez

    Customer service is crap, I have problems with t.v signal and no technician has been able to fix. I have to call daily to try to get someone to fix it. I do not recommend this crap compaña. THE WORST CABLE EVER AM GONNA BACK TO VERIZON

  • Unsatified customer

    This service is the worst. After two techs comeout and a upgrade to 200 mbps @test.com running 26 mbps really a rip off now another tech coming to bring a router. And i must pay for this trash SERVICE because they cant get the setup right. This is not fair to the consumer. And i will be letting the BBB know how ive been ripped OFF. Life sucks with OPTIMUM INTERNET. GOING BACK TO FIOS.

  • wudup6

    They recently hiked their prices with no notice … second modem fee hike in a year. This latest hike was not a trivial amount. I’m sure they’ve run the numbers and are planning on people with autopay and no upper bound on the amount to just not notice.

    This is a company with 0 ethics at the top. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a class action lawsuit against them.

    If you want to keep them – call them and threaten to cancel … they’ll give you a promotional rate.
    If you want to give them the old ╭∩╮( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)╭∩╮, then just cancel and go with a competitor – I’m giving Fios a try.

  • Someone

    So a month ago my bill was around $75 without the optimum 200 plan, however now they added it now without asking us first, is this supposed to happen or is it something that isn’t natural?

  • Maureen

    Do not switch to altice one! I have it and it’s is ther worst ever. It freeze all the time. Internet and wifi is slow. I called optimum multiple time and so far the technicians came to fix it 4 time within less than 5 months and the same issues are still there. In addition I’m paying more just for the equipments than the tv package . For example I’m paying $66.99 for the boxes /equipment and $52 for the tv. It’s not fair at all to pay more for brand new equipments that doesn’t work properly. I can’t even use my computer anymore because the wifi is so slow and freezes . The old Samsung box was excellent compare to altice one . I’m having such a bad experience with the altice one that I don’t think it’s worth it to continue to be an optimum customer. I’ve been a customer for over 10 years so far but it will end soon because of the mediocre performance of the Altice One . They should charge no more than $20 flat fee for all the equipments $10 per box is extreme and a no deal when the service is mediocre . $66.99 for 4 altice box is a rip off!

  • KCCRE-007

    I call optimum cable AKA Altice crack cable. First the service that they claim are high quality is just false advertising, I don’t see any H/Q in my service so why am I paying more every month. It seems they find new loopholes to bill you more money. I only switched from Verizon just to have wifi everywhere they have superior service compared to crack cable. The equipment is older than IO care to mention I pay for 300 mbps and 90% of the time get 80 mbps they fluctuate my speed all the time and customer service is the worse in the world I call and say my service is out they said I don’t see any outages sorry cant help you meanwhile my neighbors were also out clearly they are liars. As soon as I can I am switching to off grid don’t need any service from cable, I already have a h/d antenna and a dvr hooked up and guess what I don’t pay for it and the picture is High Quality unlike crack cable. You people sitting behind that desk eating junk food not to be re educated on what quality means clearly they don’t teach you any manners. If you go to optimum.com and log in then look at contact us they provide un useful numbers to call them back on. They list on their site customer service for long island as 631-393-0636 and if you call all it does is ring no one ever picks up and you claim to be the best and have great service. Think again because your entire service sucks from internet,phone, and cable triple play as you call it is a strikeout OPTIMUM-ALTICE YOU REALLY SUCK. I tried to give you a chance but after a year of bad continued service I am ready to switch back to the professionals at VERIZON they do customer service right maybe you people should take some expert advice from them. I rather pay 9 dollars more and not have wifi everywhere and deal with professionals than the crack cable.

  • Clay Tabaku

    This is the only review I have ever written in my life because I have to express how terrible this company is. Not even trying to be mean, but honestly the worst service I have ever received, customer service is awful, internet connection, awful, everything is just awful. If you plan on contacting someone from optimum, better clear up your day! May take a while!

  • Francois Greer

    This company should be taken to court. They are criminally negligent, and have shamelessly stolen hundreds of dollars from me. I have called them 4 times to cancel my service simply because I am moving, and instead of simply pressing the button, they have sent me around the world and back. They still charge me for a service they are NOT providing, and they do not let me cancel it. Putting someone on hold forever is no way to run a business.

  • Buster

    This whole review site is complete bogus. Optimum stinks on all levels; the latest being their customer service where it next to impossible getting anyone on the phone or using up my entire half-our lunch break waiting for someone to respond to my chat request. Woops! Excuse me. I have to keep telling them that I’m not a robot while I continue to wait for customer service to respond to my chat request.

    One of these days, a better company will come along and not long will any of us be held hostage by optimum.

  • Tony

    they should compensate people for inconveniences..its really a toss up for who is more greedy and despicable between cable and some of these rich corporate crooks who are getting a ton of breaks right now all in the name of stimulating the economy (more like stimulating their own pockets) With the amount of money these people charge for service you should get better customer service. I worked as a customer service rep..i took names..got back to people in time sensitive fashion..made sure people were happy..really cared instead of just telling people oh that’s just how it is..when you compensate people for the their troubles when you mess up you at the very least establish yourself as a likeable business and not one that doesn’t give a hoot about you (just your money)

  • Saurabh Sen

    Beware of Optimum !!!!

    I had a Groupon promo for 6 month free service and $39.99 7th month onwards for 100MBPS internet only service. Optimum chat agent verified Groupon promo code and confirmed I will be charged 7th month onward and charged $69 installation fee for new customer. I started getting full $49.99 + taxes bill from first month .

    Optimum support now says they cannot give me the Groupon promo 6 month free as their representative made a mistake of charging $69 instead of $89 installation fee.

    Cancelling withing 30 days so hopefully may get a full refund.

  • Joe

    Man oh man are these reviews terrible! I’m staying put with FIOS! Thanks..