StarHub Reviews 

Last month, while traveling in the UAE, I encountered a shocking situation with StarHub’s roaming charges.

Despite pre-purchasing the DataTravel roaming plan, my phone somehow consumed 5.5GB of data in just 2 minutes. That’s around 30 times the bandwidth of streaming a 4K video… is that even possible? I ended up exceeding my plan by 4.5GB.

StarHub sent 96 messages in just 2 minutes alerting me of my rapidly escalating data usage.

The sheer volume of messages in such a short time made them useless—it was impossible for me to act in real-time. By the time I checked my phone, the charges had already escalated to $450. I was at a loss for how this could happen.

All I did during that time was connect my laptop to my phone’s hotspot to write and send an email.

Later, StarHub claimed Google Photos was the culprit, possibly uploading photos and videos. However, my Google Photos is set to upload only on Wi-Fi, and it has always worked as intended in the past.

Whether the issue lies with my phone, Google Photos, or StarHub (or its UAE partner network), the fact remains: a massive amount of data was pulled without my knowledge or consent.

This was a huge shock to me. I’ve been using StarHub’s DataTravel plan for years without any issues, and I had (mistakenly) assumed there were basic protections in place to prevent runaway data roaming bills.

In fact, when I looked into it after the incident, I found that since 2012, IMDA regulations require telcos to provide bill cap services to suspend data roaming once charges hit S$100 to prevent runaway costs. Despite my charges far exceeding S$100, StarHub did not suspend my data services.

When I called StarHub (four times, each time waiting ~20 minutes), the agents confirmed that StarHub does not offer any cut-off / bill cap services. The only way to avoid runaway charges, I was told, is to unsubscribe from all roaming services entirely – not exactly a solution… that’s like being told the only way to avoid speeding is not to drive the car at all.

This raises two critical questions: Is StarHub compliant with IMDA regulations? And are their safeguards sufficient to protect customers from runaway data roaming charges?

The agents also mentioned that StarHub doesn’t offer safeguards like auto-subscribe to the next data package, which would have been far cheaper than pay-per-use charges. Other telcos like Singtel have this feature (I know because my mum subsequently boasted about it during our vacation!). StarHub, however, relies on endless alerts—alerts that are useless if you’re unable to act on them in time.

Two of the agents I spoke to were empathetic and acknowledged how shocking and unreasonable the situation was.

One agent, however, brushed off my concerns, saying the charges weren’t expensive because they were “valid usage.” 🤯 When I pointed out that $450 in 2 minutes is equivalent to over $13,000/hour, he eventually conceded it seemed excessive but not before trying to justify it.

When the bill was issued, I requested a waiver. StarHub initially offered $100 off, which I declined. They then proposed a 50% discount ($225 off), but I countered, offering to pay just $50 of the $450, asking them to take my over-a-decade of customer loyalty into consideration. StarHub rejected my counteroffer and stuck with the $225 waiver. Reluctantly, I had no choice but to accept.

This whole experience has left me feeling disappointed and questioning StarHub’s approach. A temporary cut-off or auto-subscription could have easily prevented this costly and unnecessary nightmare.

As one of Singapore’s major and trusted telcos, it’s shocking to see how far behind StarHub is when it comes to basic consumer protection features.

I hope sharing this helps others avoid similar situations and prompts StarHub to review their policies and provide better safeguards for their customers.

My internet has been down since Sunday. After calling many times, it is still not resolved. After patiently waiting for their technician to come down after 3 days, it is so disappointed to hear it is HQ problem and not the modem issues. They still can't resolve and has to wait till the next day at 3pm for another call. What is this???? What we need is the connection back and not a call to tell you the problem. What type of service and how can Singapore go digital, work from home with such telecom service and infrastructure.

Needed to verify a tourist esim but was given unhelpful answers and issue wasn't resolved. Now I can't use the esim and I'm super pissed off that I spent one hour on a chat, where the customer service chat made me wait 10-20 mins between replies.

I encountered problems while accessing Netflix using the Starhub Broadband service. DK was the customer service officer that I spoke to. He was patient in trying to understand the problem that I was facing and guided me through all the various steps to resolve the technical issue. He ensured that my technical issue was resolved before he ended the conversation. I am appreciative of his help and am impressed with his resourcefulness. Thank you DK for helping me this evening!

Most horrid services ever, slow data and absolutely dogshit customer service. Really hope they go bankrupt or smth. NEVER USING THEM AGAIN.

I visited Singapore for a holiday and needed a tourist eSIM for my teenager. After comparing options, StarHub’s package seemed ideal: their website clearly stated the eSIM was available for customers aged 15+.

When I arrived, I purchased the eSIM through their app, which requires no verification whatsoever—just create an account, tap “shop,” tap “tourist eSIM,” then pay. But when we tried to activate it, identity verification failed. After contacting their support team it was unresolved so I asked for a refund via the app.

StarHub flatly refused. They claimed the eSIM was only for customers aged 18+, directly contradicting what their website stated at the time of purchase. When I pointed this out, they admitted their website was wrong but still refused a refund.

They finally said that they’d raise a review but responded days later saying: “The StarHub website clearly states that only 18 years old and above can sign up for the Tourist SIM/eSIM.”

This was an outright lie. I checked their website again and realised they had discretely updated it after my complaint to now say 18+.

This was deliberate, calculated dishonesty. StarHub knowingly misled me at the point of purchase, failed to deliver the service I paid for, and then tried to gaslight me by retroactively changing their terms to cover up their mistakes.

It’s a disgrace that a billion-dollar telco would stoop this low to dodge responsibility. Fortunately, I had taken screenshots of their original claim that the eSIM was for 15+.

After more digging, I finally found an escalation email buried within Starhub’s support portal by searching for the word “unresolved”. I sent my screenshots to this address and got a response from someone named June less than 24 hours later.

June acknowledged Starhub’s mistake and confirmed that a refund would be processed within 14 days thus closing the matter.

While I’m relieved that this has now been resolved, I’m equally frustrated by how much effort and stress it took to fix an issue that was clearly StarHub’s fault. It’s unacceptable that customers have to dig through hidden channels and endure this level of angst just to hold StarHub accountable for their own errors.

Broadband does not come with digital home line, unlike m1 or Singtel. Might as well go for viewquest, etc.

Absolutely useless customer service. I wish there was a Zero Star option!!! Six months has passed and the simple task of paying by giro has not been completed.
I have called StarHub several times in the last 3 weeks to try to finally resolve, after one hour plus on the phone they can’t fix it.
I called my bank and they confirmed the giro is active. I took a screen shot of my online giro status showing the giro active. I offered to send it to StarHub but they keep asking for a form to be filled out. NO!!!! There is already an active giro. Just get your finance and billing team to correct their error and take the monthly payment… that’s the solution that no one at StarHub can get to. Absolutely ridiculous and shocking customer service.

Starhub, you have again proven your service is consistently atrocious and can definitely traumatize a sane mind. From irresponsible Sales not fixing the appointment date properly to technician no show without notification on appointment time. Escalated to CEO also without response, pls have some respect to your customers and our time.

Have been experiencing internet outages ever since Starhub changed to linksys routers. Called Starhub service line many times, been asked to switch on & off modem & routers , soft resets. Connection came back but will drop off a day later. Keep telling the CSO likely it's a router problem but was told to observe.
Finally tdy called in again after a long outage. Was told again switch on & off all devices. Insisted on a change of router..finally agreed and made an appt for the technician to come by. Afterwards CSO said to do a hard reset & guess wad....Router completely died. We are left with no internet for 2days til technician comes by.
Way to go Starhub!

The worst telco service provider in Singapore. I migrated from Singtel to Starhub's SIM-only plan and it became my worst nightmare. Initially, the line was working but after one day I could not make any calls or use the internet. Support said they will rectify the problem and will revert. But even after 2 days they were not able to solve the issue. I thought the problem could be due to eSIM issue so I paid an extra $38 to get a physical SIM card and that too didn't help and after 5 days I switched to M1 and its working perfectly. And FYI I have asked for a refund from STARHUB and its been two weeks and they have yet to reply.

Appalling customer service. Worked with "Sha" from online customer service for two whole hours because they weren't paying attention to the real problem. And even after two hours, the issue is not solved. They simply transferred me to a new call

On 22 Nov 2024, I was attended by Maheas. He is very knowledgeable and professional. He was very patience, he explained the plan and went through what I had committed clearly. He gave good advice and recommendation. He even told me to look for him at Plaza Singapura if I have any issues. Thank you Maheas for your excellent service!

I bought a travel eSIM from StarHub so that I could have both local minutes and data. The first eSIM worked well. I bought another one as the first one expired. This was the worst mistake ever! After 3 days, it said that my data was zero (out of 100GB). When I reached out to them, they said the line was active but I would have to wait until the next day while they checked what the problem was. The point of having a travel eSIM is to have connection during one’s travels. They would not refund me so that I could purchase another SIM either. Avoid this Telco!

I have never in my life experienced such total incompetence as Starhub demonstrate. It is shocking the level of stupidity, incompetence, arrogance, and total lack of anything remotely resembling common sense or customer focused service. Please, try Singtel (not much better) or any other company before you settle on this bunch of money grabbing jokers. It is disgusting and pathetic how such companies treat people.

Scrape the hotline. Full of empty promises from the operators to fix the problem and call us back. Nothing done to port my circle line phone number until we went down personally to the Starhub Jurong Point branch and it was done so quickly and efficiently. Kudos to the staff there.

What a fraud.
After returning back to SG after 4 months, in the first few days used up about 60GB. Impossible. Can't go to any store, because I'm a Biz client. Supposedly even better service than as regular consumer, but no physical stores, emails take 3-5 working days before receiving less than half an answer or solution. Chatbot is a mess. Calling is a nightmare; menu is of no use as you are connected to people who let you explain your whole problem, say the generic "I'm so sorry you experienced this/feel that way", and then inform you you're at the wrong dept and this continues many times.
Many people and depts answer to your case, but again only half and are badly informed and make you jump hoops without outcome.
I was eligible for change or renewal of my contract, but never came around to to so. Now I wanted to quit Biz because it is a SCAM, now they say “no change of plan or downgrade allowed”; I can only explain this as Starhub greed.
3 subscriptions lost because of this shameful mess they make.
Please keep away from this risky business and consider other options than Starhub Biz or Starhub altogether.
Be informed and take care!

Absolute trash service. Lost my phone a while ago, took them almost a month and at least 3 failed delivery attempts to deliver my replacement SIM card, all the failed attempts ended with "the staff tried to contact me, and knocked on my door" even though no such attempt was made. Now my mobile data connection is not working all of a sudden, good network strength but no way to use my mobile data at all. Contacted customer service again and the best thing they can do is to try to get back to me within 24 hours.

Starhub is getting from bad to worst, the whole customer service chains broken (hubtropper, 1633, tech support, customer care,)

Just re-contracted & problem started. No Internet and cable TV for past 8 days.

CCTV camera to monitor my 89 years old mum all unable to work due to no Internet.

The whole chain of customer services are broken and cannot get their acts together. From the point that the hubtropper came twice for on-site support to change the ONT modem, routers...nothing seems to work. Hubtropper is more keen to leave for his next appointment rather than settling the matter or providing temporary solutions.

Existing Internet & TV that worked end up not working regardless of wired or wireless.

Starhub staff (whole chain) sleeping and unsure what happening. The starhub customer care seems don't know what they are talking. They send the same inexperienced Hubtropper who blames the backend & ever ready to dash for next appointment. He keeps reporting as intermittent issue when we clearly reported from day one of installation its not working.

They wasted more than 8 days of mine trying to run through their SOP troubleshooting, realizing its their own backend problems which is yet to be settled.

Seriously, current Starhub customer services and supports is the WORST I ever encountered and i REGRET re-contracting for this nonsense. They have the cheek to do customer satisfaction survey when nothing is sorted out.