We have had HughesNet for several years. Nothing has changed with our computer settings. Everything updates in the middle of the night during free time. Our wifi has a 24 character password! Our neighbors all have DSL. Our allowance is being used up overnight while no one is using it. Went to bed with 32% and have Zero this morning.

Lea,With all the other hoops you are being asked to jump through it would be interesting to check when Windows Update has been checking for updates the next few days. Start, All Programs, Windows update will show you the last time windows checked by time and date. That doesn't mean it made the update at that time since it is on the BITS download system which only downloads when nothing else is going on, pauses if there is, and resumes the next time the pc is on. Defender, which should be off since you have McAfee, and a few other windows programs update the same way.What home page do you use in your browser?A few of the news channels you mentioned checking as well as the Hughes home page have way too many large changing pictures and little videos running on them these days for limited broadband.Even the home page of Microsoft Bing has far too many images. If you leave any of these open in a tab while looking at others or nothing there is a lot of usage. A search engine page that is very plain and mostly text is the way to go. They are getting hard to find as Google Search is adding more junk all the time. What email program do you use? Some of them check for new mail every 15 minutes but some almost instantly whenever they are open. Send yourself an email and see how long it takes to arrive back in your inbox with the program open.McAffee should have a History Log and/or a Performance graph that will show you everytime something tries to come through it. You will be amazed at the activity that goes on in the background.It should tell you each event and when it happened. If you have some of the common malware trying to gain access it may block it but there will be activity ( usage) every few seconds. Actor PID is a typical one. You can look it up on the web and see how much trouble it has been for many folks that are completely unaware it is trying to mess with their computer.We all think nothing has changed in the way we browse and use our computers but the sites we browse have become more and more cluttered every year and the size and frequency of updates to windows and other software we have installed has become ridiculous, at least in my opinion.Ron

I also wanted to mentioned that I can't agree that my data is refilling right. It did last night, but the night before the data gods blessed me with an extra 10%. Not complaining about that, but when the data gods giveth that means they can also taketh away.

Lea are you using Facebook? Their videos play all by themselves and use all sorts of data ... I know that won't make the math make sense but I had an issue with that .... there's a way to stop them from playing automatically now!

Hi Lea,Thank you for updating us so far. You mentioned that you unplugged the LAN cable with 22% of your data allowance left. So overnight your modem was left isolated until you plugged back in the morning and found the same amount, 22%. This tells us that no data was used and eliminates the modem as a source of unidentified data usage.I don't know why your data reset up to 82%, but look on the bright side, you were given more data than expected! As Staci mentioned, Facebook does have autoplaying videos in their timeline feature, which can use more data than you expect. In addition to that, keep in mind there are countless factors that can use your data:- more devices are capable of connecting to the internet: phones, tablets, gaming consoles, SmartTVs, and even refrigerators can connect wirelessly to the internet. Keep track of what devices you leave running on Wi-Fi.- automatic-updates: your computer and any other programs you use will often keep working in the background, even if you're not actively using that program, in order to keep your system/program up-to-date. Anti-virus programs will periodically use your internet connection to check back with their malware database for any updates. You should have an option to turn off auto-updates and/or schedule them for a later time.- multimedia content: Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, news sites, and other websites will contain videos, animated gifs, and sound clips that may start playing as soon as you land on the site. So much content, so easily available almost everywhere on the internet. For starters, try disabling auto-play video on Facebook:https://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/how_to_disable_autoplay_videos_on_facebookor adjusting your Netflix playback quality to SD:https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87To help you monitor your data usage and other performance metrics, we’ve gathered resources for you here, which also includes communityrecommendations: http://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/track_your_usage_performance_speeds_and_view_tips_....The most important tool to download is the Status Meter, available in the Customer Support Center, so download that if you haven’t already:supportcenter.myhughesnet.comAnother community member has also shared a list of things you might not have thought to check that uses data, so we highly suggest checking it out here: https://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/data-usage-sources-common-and-not-so-commonFeel free to let us know if you need additional assistance, we're happy to help.Thanks,Liz

Great that means that your data is refilling right. next let figure out whats causing the data usage, What brand and model router are you using and can you list all of the devices that you have connected to it either by wire or wireless

Usage depleted overnight. All updates set during free time.

Ron4
New Member
11 years ago
Lea,
Have you tried unplugging your modem and your router for about 30 minutes; then plugging in the modem and letting the lights stabilize for about 5 minutes before you plug the router in. Let it stabilize a few minutes before you bring your computer out of sleep.
Charles,
Could you, Gwalk and Sgoshe give us a simple explanation of the cause and effects of data looping?
Ron
Gwalk900
Honorary Alumnus
11 years ago
Short version,
At times the modem will get the command to update its firmware.
Sometimes ... rarely, but it happens, the loading of that firmware will fail, the modem will reboot and go to its "fall back" firmware, and then try to update again, in an endless loop.
That is one scenario ....
It can be proven/disproven by disconnecting the LAN cable from the back of the Hughes modem for a period of time (keep a paper log) and doing "before/after" after screenshots of the most accurate of the usage meters ..... this one:

It can be found here (after logging in):
http://my.hughesnet.com/
Ron4
New Member
11 years ago
Does the firmware update or the failure to update and looping get charged to the customer's data allowance?
Is the modem automatically rebooted each day at 2 AM and 7 AM?
Gwalk900
Honorary Alumnus
11 years ago
Ron,
Firmware updates are usually very small in size, and yes they do get charged against your usage.
No, the modem does NOT get automatically get rebooted every day (or night)
Reboots will occur as the result of an "overheat" *, one of the front LED's will turn RED as an indicator, or as the result of a firmware update, but should not go in an endless cycle, or as the result of a user doing a "on the fly" reset from the modems SCC.
Modems can also reset due to AC power losses AND an improperly seated connector (DIN connector) between the modems "power brick" and the plug on the back of the modem.
That sucker goes in HARD !. You would swear it was seated properly but it isn't.
That plug (modem rear) should NEVER be used to reboot the modem !
This can cause severe damage to the modem. That "plug" and those tiny pins were never intended to be used as a "switch:.
Lea
New Member
11 years ago
The computer had been turned off all day. I restarted it and used it a few minutes before looking at the data meter, ( It was in the 70% range when I turned the computer off this morning) The meter said 39% and started dropping fast until it reached 20% and I just stopped using it. It stayed at 20% until my son used it this evening. He used 5%, leaving 15%. I just sat down at the computer, checked my email and then went straight to hughsnet community and it dropped to 10%.

No I have not unplugged my modem and router for 30 minutes, then plug it back in until it stablizes and then add the router. Are you suggesting this as a one time fix or each time I turn on my computer?
Lea
New Member
11 years ago

This is what my glasswire graph looked like while I was not using the internet. Maybe someone can help me with what it means.
Ron4
New Member
11 years ago
Lea,
Not a one time fix, but not every time you turn on your computer either.. It is amazing what a complete shutdown will do sometimes for electronic equipment..
You might also try cleaning out your cache, cookies, history, etc. on your computer and shutting it down completely as well, once in a while. That won't fix your runaway data consumption but it will make your computer run better. There are arguments for and against defragging hard drives but that will sometimes make them run like new.
It's funny how they used to say you didn't even need to reboot the old XP operating system, but a reboot and/or complete shutdown once in a while did wonders for it.
We have even had luck bringing laptops with black screens back to life by removing the AC power, removing the battery, holding the start button in to completely drain the system of any charge, and simply putting them back together.
The theory doesn't matter. It is what works that counts.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained! It beats waiting and watching your meter nose dive, in my opinion.
Which modem are you using?
Lea
New Member
11 years ago
HN9000
Lea
New Member
11 years ago
This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Data drain continues.

I have had trouble with my data draining. I installed the glasswire program that shows my usage. I had to use a restore token last night again. This morning I had 50%, which should equal 250 MB. My Glasswire program says 116.7 MB incoming and 9.5 outgoing. The total is 126.2 MB. The chart began at 12:00 am and the time now is 5:03 pm. And today when no one was home my data drained. I do not have updates set. I manually update. I had this problem a few weeks and then suddenly everything was fine. It has started again. I had to use a token to post this. The token should have reset me to 50% but it reset to 100%. Nothing makes sense.
Liz
Moderator
11 years ago
Hi Lea,

Please follow these steps to help us investigate further.

Please take care in cropping out your SAN while taking the screenshots.

We look forward to hearing back so we can address your concerns.

Thanks,
Liz