Bad
26 reviews
shells.comHonesty, pricing, process and quality scores appear once 5 customers have rated them.
Transform any device into a powerful, secure virtual desktopWhether you want to code or create on your tablet or do your work on your TV, with Shells you can unlock the full performance and experience of a desktop computer on any device.Launch any virtual desktop in less than five minutes!
shells.com (shells.com) has 26 customer reviews on Rated Honest, with an average rating of 1.5 out of 5.
26 approved reviews, newest moderated first
Tom
Posted
I sent three emails to their support email address and I've not received any reply. I opened a thread on Reddit and still no reply. I'm currently waiting for a reply using the contact form but I'm not holding my breath.
Mark
Posted
I agree with another reviewer, who complained about very deceptive and unfair billing. Shells.com point to their Ts & Cs whenever you ask for a refund, but it isn't clear (probably deliberately) how to stop the auto-renewal and it occurs without warning. In addition the support link from my account page gives an ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH, so contacting support using their link doesn't work. In the end, I emailed an address that I found on their website, but got no reply. My advice would be to avoid this service.
Bill D.
Posted
Their system hasn't worked for days now. DAYS. No, it isn't partially working. No, it isn't glitchy. No, it isn't working AT ALL. NOT AT ALL!!!!!! Their "support" page on their website doesn't work (it won't allow you to submit a message). Their phone number directs you to their support email and doesn't direct you to a human. And I am a paying customer.
Response from shells.com· Apr 1, 2024
Hi Bill, I suspect the issue is being caused by using Ubuntu on a Shells Basic plan (which is our entry level plan). which is below the minimum technical requirements. Customers are advised not to utilise Ubuntu on a Shells Lite or Basic package during installation and when launching the Shell. As the Shell is below the minimum technical specifications, it will result in a sub optimal experience, typically resulting in a long installation time, slow response time when inputting text or mouse movement, and/or slow loading. Whilst Ubuntu will work on Shells Lite and Basic, it will result in a poor experience. You can confirm this is the cause by opening the Resource Manager and monitoring your CPU usage which will be around 100% which means your actions are being delayed. We advise customers who purchase Shells Basic to either use Linux (specifically Linux MX) or to upgrade to Shells Plus or Pro to utilise Ubuntu. Additionally, we migrated our Support page from Zendesk to an inhouse solution for privacy and security purpose and as such, the Support pages are now located at https://www.shells.com/l/en-US/tutorial. This is why you get an error when you visit the old Support page. I hope this helps. Regards Jayson Q. Chief Executive Officer Shells.com
S G.
Posted
After some months of flawless use, I ran into an issue where my shell VM was unable to connect to the internet, which also meant that I was unable to use Remote Desktop to get to the dedicated IP for my VM. Good news: I did get response through the support/email channel - first attempt by Shells tech support to reset my network stack did not work, but subsequent attempt did. (I'm not sure why one worked and one didn't). So I am grateful. Bad news: That first attempt didn't work, and then it was another 15 hours or so until the second attempt was made, so I was offline for what seemed like a kind of long time. But glad to be back online now. Ongoing hope for improvement (and reason for 4 instead of 5 stars) - the support mechanism and channel for communication seems fragile and unreliable. I have other support issues (not nearly as important) that seem to languish, and the support queue is opaque from my end -- I can't see a list of open tickets and how they are assigned within the Shells organization -- all I get are emails - and some of the support entry points from Shells seem to work and some don't, and the support website itself seems to be down..... and I hear from Shells that they have responded to some support tickets (by email) where I haven't seen the response, and I have checked my spam folder, and nothing is there.... so when something goes really wrong, I always have a bit of a concern that I might not be able to get attention, and I can't know what is up. I haven't found a system status page..... so that entire support infrastructure could really use the improvement to get this service from 4 to 5 stars in my (very grateful) estimation!
Alex H.
Posted
As others have stated, this company has a very shady refund policy that it's not being stated in... The service itself isn't a great thing, it was working for a few months, then suddenly my shell (virtual computer) started to run very, extremely slow... It's nearly impossible to make use of it... I got the 1 year plan; not what I intended, but they charged me the full year anyway and didn't wanted to refund me... (Shady all over). Thing is, after several emails and requests for a "Support ID" over and over, I simply got tired... I've lost over 4 months of the service I paid for and their support it's just garbage... Not even they can do something about my shell and they keep asking for an absurd support ID they should have direct access to in order to streamline the support process...
Response from shells.com· Dec 24, 2023
Hi Alex, Our Terms of Service clearly state that the service is a subscription. You can find the relevant part at: "You acknowledge that Shells reserves the right to create a subscription service through one or more third-party merchants. With each account, you may have only one active subscription at a time. Payments will be charged on the day you sign up for the Platforms and will cover use of the Platforms for the duration of one (1) month or one (1) year plan, depending on the service level plan (a summary of which can be found at https://www.shells.com/l/en-US/pricing. A subscription plan is an automatic payment recurring based on the service plan selected. " We try our best to ensure that all parts are clear and concise and available to customers at all times. For transparency, the Terms of Service were last updated on April 27 2021 and are available at https://www.shells.com/l/en-US/page/terms Additionally, we made the cancellation process as easy as possible, either through the admin console (console.shells.com) with 3 clicks or by emailing support ([email protected]) and requesting it, where it will be actioned on your behalf. We ask for a Support ID as members of Shells cannot connect to your Shell for testing without it. The Support ID is a short life, randomly generated code which allows us to connect to your Shell for a short period of time. We deliberately built this feature for privacy and security of our customers. Whilst I appreciate your point of view, no one should ever have access to your PC without your knowledge and permission and this is what the Support ID is for. At the time we tried to test your Shell, you had reinstalled your operating system and it was on the installation process, which meant we could not perform any testing. We have asked you repeatedly for the Support ID as we are unable to do any testing as your Shell was either in the installation process or at the User Login screen. We've worked with you at each and every step of the process, however we have not been able to complete any testing to identify the cause of any slowness and when we've connected to your Shell, we have found it responsive and performing as expected. The testing is required in order to see if any software or your local network is the cause of your issue. Any issues identified will be explained as well as resolution steps. We'd still like to resolve your issue and as such, your support ticket remains open ready for your response. I hope this makes sense. Regards Jayson Q. Shells CEO
Dont
Posted
I could not get the remote desktop to load on any device. Support did not respond for days so I requested a refund as per their TOS and it was not provided. Now I am being billed each month for a service that does not work. Very shady company. Beware and avoid.
Response from shells.com· Jul 6, 2023
Hi, Can you please open a ticket and mark it FAO Jayson. We would like to investigate this as our support time average is less than 92 minutes, so your ticket remaining unanswered for days is unusual. Additionally, refunds are given unless it falls outside the refund policy. The only time we do not grant refunds if requested is if the request is after the 7 day refund policy, if a refund was granted within the last 3 months (to stop abuse of the refund policy) or if the account was terminated in response to breaches in the Terms of Service. If you're being billed every month, this would mean that you have an active monthly subscription, which can be easily cancelled from the control panel (console.shells.com) or by contacting Support. Again, if you open a ticket and mark it for my attention, I will personally investigate. Regards Jayson Chief Executive Officer Shells.com
NB
Posted
I've use many remote desktop environments in my time and none has come close to the quality of using shells. I used shells while in a country known for their restrictive internet (I don't want to name them as I'm afraid they have web-crawlers looking for technologies which have been successful, to then target for being shut down). It did a fantastic job and performed extremely well! I would have even been impressed with this performance if I were using shells in my home country. I have used other remote desktop's as part of my work, and they were in *much* more favorable circumstances than when I'm using shells now, and yet they performed orders of magnitude **worse**!! Shells is a very impressive technical achievement, it is no less than the *best* remote desktop I have used, period.
Rubén
Posted
The service is OK, I suppose, but the renewal and refund policy are very shady. They do not disclose that it is a renewal system, then when you want to cancel even before the next period starts they do not refund.
Response from shells.com· Jul 6, 2023
Hi Ruben, Our Terms of Service clearly state that the service is a subscription. You can find the relevant part at: "You acknowledge that Shells reserves the right to create a subscription service through one or more third-party merchants. With each account, you may have only one active subscription at a time. Payments will be charged on the day you sign up for the Platforms and will cover use of the Platforms for the duration of one (1) month or one (1) year plan, depending on the service level plan (a summary of which can be found at https://www.shells.com/l/en-US/pricing. A subscription plan is an automatic payment recurring based on the service plan selected. " We try our best to ensure that all parts are clear and concise and available to customers at all times. For transparency, the Terms of Service were last updated on April 27 2021 and are available at https://www.shells.com/l/en-US/page/terms Additionally, we made the cancellation process as easy as possible, either through the admin console (console.shells.com) with 3 clicks or by emailing support ([email protected]) and requesting it, where it will be actioned on your behalf. That said, I appreciate your feedback.. Regards Jayson Chief Executive Officer Shells.com
