How often do you complain about the Wifi?
 

I seem to be having a really bad run on the wifi. I have a 2-3 hour flight that I take twice a week and having usable wifi is very valuable due to the duration. I also have 45 minute flight twice a week and I don't care if the wifi works or not. I've found myself having to write to 1Kvoice for almost every flight recently because the wifi is unusable. I've been getting various amounts of compensation but at the end of the day I would prefer to have a usable internet for those 2-3 hours.

I am starting to feel like a real moaner writing in after almost every flight but I do appreciate the compensation. Do you complain every-time the wifi fails or just now and again? I am about to start to have to use a form letter myself because I am running out of creative ways to describe the issue.

I never have bought wifi access, as I am happy to be disconnected for several (even tens of) hours.

However, if I did pay for wifi access and it did not work, I would see the appropriate resolution as a refund of the fee paid, and I would request that. (Harder to say how you account for that if you bought a subscription.)

I've only bought wifi once, as far as I can remember. UA refunded the purchase price promptly when I complained that it was unusably slow.

So the short answer to your question would be "every time, so far." :)

I have the yearly domestic subscription & I don't complain nearly as much as I should. Last year I received about $500 in ETC's for all my complaints and about 15,000 in miles. So the "cost" of the subscription plus some was returned to me. I definitely don't want to sound like a whiner due to the excessive complaints, but the subscription is not cheap and I want to work when I am on the plane each week.

My general rule is that the flight needs to be 2+ hours and the wifi needs to be inop for the entire flight. If it comes on for 30 minutes, then it "worked". Even using that strategy, there have been a few times I just didn't mess with sending in a complaint. I know I am leaving ETC's on the table :(

I honestly don't see how UA will ever make money off of me on WIFI if they keep sending me $75-200 ETC's everytime the wifi is down on an entire flight.
120 segments last year, so plenty of opportunities for it not to work.

I agree with you about not wanting to moan but think of it this way, when I fly on Jetblue I don't have a problem with the wifi. When I fly on Delta I don't have a problem with the wifi. Most of the time when I fly on AA I don't have a problem with the wifi. But whenever I fly with United I have a problem 50-75% of the time. To load an email and take a minute when it's just in HTML is unacceptable. If other airlines can get it right so can United, complain otherwise they don't know or think they are doing something wrong. (although I'm sure they are)

I complain about 40% of the time I pay for the wi-fi. The resolution each time was to refund the fee in full. Must be bad since United has a special web page just to request refunds for wifi!
For me, I have a higher expectation than suggested above. For the time after payment til passing 10,000 feet in descent, I expect it to work at least 75% of the time.

I don't fly United that often, but end up complaining and getting a refund for the WiFi over half the time I pay for it. I'm generally "satisfied" enough not to complain when it works for half of the time above 10,000 feet, but for whatever reason United seems mostly incapable of pulling that off. (And I agree with others that I'm generally pretty happy with WiFi service on other airlines.)

I too find the wifi performance to be too hit-or-miss for my tastes, but I still bite quite regularly (usually a business expense). I only occasionally remember to complain. To their credit, I've been proactively refunded my wifi charge on a few occasions without my involvement. I'm not sure if this is an automatic system based on logged performance, or if one or more complaints by other passengers contributes to a blanket refund.

That could be me, I haven't gotten an ETC for over a year. I am so sick of the lousy wi-fi that I now rarely use it. Recent SFO-IAH flight I did actually TRY to use it and it was ridiculously bad and I did indeed get a refund. I see it now as more hassle than it is worth.. Plus my work tends to need robust internet speeds and you not going to get that in the air (at least not yet).

Cant you just disconnect for the 2-3 hours? I find my time in the air quite peaceful without internet.

I also find I request a refund around 40% of the time that I purchase wifi. It has to be pretty bad before I'll do that, so the 40% is a sad comment on the functionality of UA's wifi.

I don't complain about wifi being inoperable. It's never really been a surprise to me.

I have the annual subscription. In looking back at my e-mail I have complained about inop Wi-Fi a dozen times over the past two years. 10 of those 12 times they sent me an e-cert. Of my last 6 flights (so far this year) the Wi-Fi has only worked on one of them. I really gave up on reaching out at some point in Q3 of last year. I just don't even want to go through that process.

Not as often as I should

I have a global subscription. I don't expect connectivity between the Philippines and Japan, Greenland and St. Johns/Maine, Hawaii and Pacific atolls, and other bits of unpopulated vast oceans. I'm also happy if I get connectivity 50% of the time.

In the past year, I have complained twice and received ETCs. But I don't think it's really worth complaining. I want to reserve my complaints for real stuff -- like when I sat on a wet seat! Or there's trash in the front pocket.