Solarus Review

Not the BEST prices (can be pricey for comparable services between competitors), but great local service and local business!!

This is by far the worst company to have internet or cable tv service through. I had charter for 8 years with maybe a couple times having problems and they would give me a customer inconvenience credit on my account every time there was a problem. I switched over to solarus only because it was cheaper than charter. I have had solarus for only 2 weeks and i have had 2 problems already. First when they hooked my service up they gave me a faulty box so my internet and tv was always cutting in and out. They came next day and switched the box out. 2 days later the tvs in my bedrooms stopped working. They tell me that the remotes are bad and to drive in and get new remotes. I called them on 05/30/14 to see if i could get a inconvenience credit for all the problems and they tell me we dont give those because we have 24 hours to fix any problems. But they want me to waste my gas to go get new remotes because their equipment is garbage. This is the worst customer service experience i have ever had and i used to manage a gas station for 3 years and now and manager of a mobile home park. I told the lady on the phone that i would be canceling my service and she said well you will have to pay the early termination fee. I will not pay them another dime. I will switch back to charter and pay a little more for better service and better customer service. If anyone has a share in this solarus i would pull out. You are paying for crap service and they dont care about the customer but only the money. SOLARUS IS BAD NEWS. PROBLEM AFTER PROBLEM. MONEY COMES FIRST NOT THE CUSTOMERS IN THEIR EYES. I am contacting the ceo of this company to express my concerns and I sure hope they change the way they think about running a business

This is just their phone service center. Technical help must be phoned in (use 611 from a Solarus land line.) Very friendly and helpful, though.

Horrible customer service. And the services are way expensive. I went through solarus for 2.5 yrs and never pd 1 bill late. We decided we needed a cheaper package bc 250 plus a month was our bill and we been wanting to buy a house so we decided to look at our Bill's and try and cut them in half. Well long story short they dont offer no cheap packages except 40 channels for about 100 a month. Or the most expensive package and that's it. I was told if you dont like our services we offer then there are other companys. Well that's what I did. So good bye solarus and hello charter.

Reliable provider for Rural areas outside the city.

Terrible service! The actual Internet service is very slow, and it took 3-5 days AFTER our installation date just to get it "working". Customer service has been worse than terrible - we have had to leave multiple voicemails, which do not get returned for >24 hours. No one is willing to solve our problem or cancel our service. DO NOT use this company!

AVOID!!!!!!! THEY DO NOT HONOR THIER OWN PRICING FROM THE REPS AND THIER SERVICE IS NO WHERE NEAR WHAT THEY CLAIM!!!!

This is the only choice for internet in Central Wisconsin in my opinion. Nothing comes close to the speed of Solarus fiber optic. The customer service is outstanding. They show up almost always the same day within hours of calling with a problem. And the technician's on the phone and that come to your home seem very well versed in there craft.

Terrible. ,-*****
I've been with Solarus for 2 1/2 months, I am also disabled, so cable and internet is pretty essential when it comes to entertaining the kids, and my daily activities. in February of this year, 2018 I ended up having to be admitted to the hospital here in the Wood County area, for approximately 3 weeks due to kidney stones. After returning home, I found that my service had been disconnected. I called in to Solaris to set up, and start a payment arrangement for the apparent $600 that I owed? I made the arrangement to pay $300 on March 2nd, and then $300 again the following month, which would be April, until I was caught up from my hospital stay. This arrangement was made on or around February 18, 2018. On March 2, 2018 I made a payment of $300 for my services to be reconnected, however today March 14, 2018, twelve days later, my services were disconnected again!! This is literally twelve days after I made the "arrangement" and paid $300!!! The kids can't watch their cartoons after school, and it's ridiculous all because I didn't pay $600 in one month for cable internet? simply deplorable. The owner should be ashamed, if he or she is aware of these practices, or be made aware of this. I will be reporting this to the better business bureau, this is classless at best. I have three friends moving to the Rapids area all who will be needing Cable internet services in the next couple months, I know who not to tell them to contact. This is current/present March 14, 2018 if there was a way to put negative stars, I more than definitely would. I've never had cable service and internet charges for one month, and in order to not be disconnected total over $600....

I have worked with Solarus for many years....customer service is great, products are always top notch and they very easy to reach!

Worst internet ever and when a tech shows up or calls they treat you like a idiot. I can t wait to move to get rid of this over priced company.

Hello Solarus,

I had a past due payment in the amount of 63.23 that was due on Thursday, September 28th 2017. If I did not make they payment by this date, you would shut my internet off. So today, after I got done with a long days work, I withdrew the payment of 63.23 from my account and physically went into your office around 3:15 to make that payment. I was then informed that I have a reconnect fee of $26 dollars and change. (Which is more than the electric company charges for reconnecting.) I then argued my case to the lady at the desk stating that I had payed the money on the day that Solarus had specified and that though I was an hour late from the apparent 2pm cutoff time, I saw no reason to charge a whopping $26. I also realize that the cost of disconnecting and reconnecting my internet is nowhere near $26 as the internet is shut off remotely. Not to mention that I had to fight tooth and nail to reduce a whopping $375 termination fee down to a much more reasonable $228 ($228 being the ACTUAL cost of goods and services discounted in the promotional 2 year agreement I signed) In this message to you, I am not asking for an apology, I am not asking for my money back. I would simply like to state that in just a short couple of weeks your staff and business practices have reduced my opinion of this company from excellent to extremely poor. The simple act of moving out of your service area has costed me a whopping $228 and paying a late payment in good faith has costed me an extra 26 dollars on top of that. My assesment thus far is that this company's business practice are extremely predatory. During one call with a manager reharding these issues, I was told that your company model is to treat all customers the same. Well my response to her still stands:

You cannot justify these heinous financial injustices by stating that your policy is to treat ALL customers the same. Instead perhaps what you should reflect on is how and why your policies nefatively affect hard-working honest customers. Your first and smartest option is to as best you can, relinquish the need to use such action in order to preserve your company name. Word of mouth is as powerful a tool as your advertising schemes and predatory financial practices.

That is all,

Justin Mathews

Not only did they hook up my internet but also connected my wireless printer to it; also helped with the connection between the Internet and my laptop and ipad. Took all the worry out of this process. I print from my ipad so it was a tremendous relief to have it done before they left. Never got this service from any other cable/Internet service I have ever used.

Service is spectacular and connections are blazing! Thanks Solarus :)
A year later and still going strong without a hitch. I'm still not understanding the reviews below that are so negative. I've had Solarus in the area for about, 4 years altogether. (I had moved out of the area and then back into it.) Each time the quality of service and people have been wonderful.

As a resident of Wisconsin Rapids for over 20 years, we have used Satellite, Charter, and Solarus for our media needs. Due to the recent "Media Shower" roll out, the quality of their cable TV has improved extensively. It is finally on par with other offerings. If you can deal with the occasional nuisance like a fuzzy channel or a shoddily constructed remote control, you can do much worse than Solarus TV.

Internet is an entirely different story. The price is extremely high for what you're getting. They offer a maximum of 30 mbps and that's only if you shell out the extra cash every month for the extra 20 mbps. Only 10 mbps comes standard which is less than half of what can be considered "high-speed" according to the FCC. Their highest speed is half of Charter's lowest speed. With the prevalence of internet use in our household, everyday internet use becomes more of a headache than a convenience. It feels all the more dubious that they list 10 mbps as a high speed option on their website which is in direct contradiction to the FCC standard of two years ago.

The TV is decent, but the internet never ceases to disappoint.

Wifi is very inconsistent and we are paying a $100 a month and upgraded the plan. The wifi tends to be more in the kbps than it is in the mbps. Wayyy out of date internet speed for overprice payments.

Fastest internet, best customer service, most knowledgeable tech support.

Had speed issues about once a month. Tried to switch but Spectrum install went so poorly, that I had to go back to Solarus. Thanks for the help getting connected again Dawn and Jessica. Will call if we have speed issues or outages in the future.

Very nice folks, a little more helpful/customer service but typical cable company. Got my questions answered though.

Wish there prices weren't so high .I would want more then I have

My experience has been fine, our internet has not cut out since we got the service in September. I have the service in Manawa, my package is 50down 12up. I do not care if you bought out Manawa Telephone Company and you have to make money back from your investment. That should be made over the long run because paying $125 in total for the package is ridiculous. I do not even understanding the pricing structure. 3mbps down and 768kbps for $50 that does not include fees or tax either. You need to lower the prices way down because it s ridiculous. I can get the same package from my old town in MN with a population of 144 people for $60 a month. I have other things I need to pay for.

Edit: one year after having the service.
It was fine for the first couple months and as time progressed the service became worse and worse. They always said to restart the modem. I should not have to do that every time there service was slow. When paying nearly $130/month just for 50/12 internet I would expect the best service without and issue well some days it wouldn t work and others it deadly slow. It s time for the people of manawa to get together and petition them for having a monopoly on the ground for data cables. It s ridiculous.

Their MediaShower fiber service is excellent. They're not perfect and have their own quirks, but they're very rare and get fixed on their own. When stuff is working, it's flawless. Extremely high quality internet.

I have had an overall great experience with their customer service. Sometimes it does take a bit to get past their first line technicians, but my few experiences were never bad.

I miss you so much Solarus.... I recently moved to Marshfield, and was extremely devastated to hear that the only internet provider was the dreaded Spectrum. If I had known that I think I might have stayed in Rapids. Please open up services in Marshfield soon! You would at least have one customer. I seriously miss you guys, idk how you do it but I literally never had an issue with your services, I did on the other hand deal with spectrum for 3 months in Wisconsin Rapids and literally had an outage every week, ridiculous. I love you Solarus. Please, please, please come to Marshfield.

Good local company. Have dealt with them before, they are a great company. I was able to switch Internet to them and save a bunch of money from Charter.

We recently had some trouble with our internet service provided by Solarus. I contacted the service department, shared my concerns. The very next morning the service technician arrived. He was very polite, professional, and knowledgeable in his craft. It was a pleasant experience to interact with this gentleman during his repairs. I agree with another review I read...if there was an option for 6 stars; I would have utilized them all! Our tv/internet hasn't skipped a beat since the maintenance. Thank you Mr. Paul Konkol!!

Coming from Spectrum with bad internet and ever rising prices, Solarus was a dream. We have not had any issues with the internet or service. It might be a bit more than Spectrum but it is worth it!

If could do no stars I would, I am new to area and was told they were bad and tried anyways, terrible customer service extremely over priced billed me almost 800 bucks in less than 90 days of service and shut off even after payment and arrangements. big mistake, I will be going to direct tv

I see all the negative reviews below and I can not understand it. I have had the Solarus Media Shower service since my wife and I built a house in the Grand Rapids and moved in during the spring of 2014. I was extremely impressed with the professionalism and knowledge during the install. I have a network engineering background and their staff definitely knew their stuff.

I have now been using the Telephone, Internet, and TV service for over 6 months and have not had any issues. If I had an option to rate them at 6 stars I would.

the worst service I have ever received from other cable companies - all they provide are ways for them to make money. Send bills without enough time to pay them, which results in a late fee. Staff are rude, and lack the training needed to provide good service. I will never call them for provide service , and I warn those who are looking to them for service - there are other companies within the Nekoosa and Rome areas.

Solarus is a wonderful internet supplier. I really miss having them since they no longer service my area. The techs were always polite and helpful in solving any issues. What I liked best was you did not need to be on the phone 5 minutes just to speak to a real person....and then at times get cut off and have to start over. You talk to a Solarus tech swiftly without that hassle. Hopefully the fiber optic lines they are putting in will someday be in my area. I'd have them back in a heartbeat. You get what you pay for.

Solarus and their employees are great to work with. I've had various equipment failures over the years and each and every time they've been prompt in getting the right people in the right places to make the fix. A little pricey, however the promptness and overall experience with the Internet and cable makes up for it.

While preparing to move to a rural location, my family's expectations for Internet weren't very high. But Solarus has blown us away! We have an incredibly speedy and reliable connection for only a little more per month compared to other big-name providers in a huge city. They've made rural living so much more comfortable than what we'd anticipated.

And, every interaction I've had, from scheduling an install, to getting technical support, has been a far superior experience to any other ISP I've ever had. Everyone knows what they're talking about and won't give you the run-around on issues -- Instead, they'll solve them ASAP without ever feeling like you're the one training the technician.

Up from one star because the internet quit having its weekly outage. Still an awful company. If you have a choice, get Charter or literally anything else.

I had a gentlemen by the name of Kevin come out to my house to fix our internet problem, he went above and beyond replacing the equipment and re-doing the wiring and moving the the rotor box, Thank you Kevin !!!!

The Internet and phone hardly ever work and I spent more time rebooting the modem then it was worth. For $110. a month it was so not worth it. I pay for 30 - 31 days of service and my e for 10 days worth. Although the customer service and tech people where great until I decided to disconnect then they got very rude and expect me to pay to have the box sent back to them.

Hands down the best customer service out there! Its so nice to be able to call literally any time and immediately talk to a person that's right here in town. Sales, support, all of them go above and beyond. I love Solarus!

Internet keeps disconnecting and never connects again until I go to my wifi options and retype in the password and get connected. It will stay connected for maybe 1 hour and then it'll disconnect again. Solarus is the worse internet company and let me add they are overpriced a little. Dont go through them if you're looking for a new internet provider which I will be doing!!! The person that came to set it up was rude and did his job and just left right away. I had questions but he just left.

I love this company. They always work with you on any issue you may have. Great customer service!

The worst internet company ever. I can't watch a movie on Hulu without restarting my router 15 times and then you call customer service and the tech is very rude and doesn't help at all. Thought charter was bad but apparently it's just society today people don't get what the pay for.

The internet is very slow, but the price is very high. For the price I pay for the internet, it should be much faster. Wisconsin should NOT allow internet monopolies.

Throughout the years I have had experiences with quite a few cable/internet providers after many moves (AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, etc). And it has not been the most enjoyable experiences. With those other companies I was put on hold for over a hour just to cancel, appointments for service technicians who didn't show, rented equipment that didn't work, having contracts where the company would constantly rise the price, etc.

But now I have a local company that is amazing. Solarus is a prime example of what a cable/ISP should be. No contracts, no random price increases, no long holds on the phone, fast internet and service technicians that actually care. Recently two technicians came over to our house. Paul and Brandon didn't hesitate to help with my issue and they worked fast. I have not seen service more amazing than I have with those two employees. I hope all employees at Solarus are as amazing as those two. Keep on being amazing Solarus.

Solarus, is not a good business company. Their internet service is not even close to what they advertise. We've gone through routers, they lag a lot, they cannot handle more than 2 devices, and they make you sign a 2 year contract. I would recommend that you look somewhere else. Trust me, we are done.