Gen5 modem webcam compatibility, modem dropouts

At the request of Amanda, I have created this thread to assist HughesNet in troubleshooting the Gen5 modem issues I have been experiencing since immediately after I upgraded from Gen4 to Gen5.

Network Devices list (HughesNet Gen4 + Wi-Fi router)

Ethernet (all Cat 6 wiring):
Four computers
Network backup system
Printer
VGA webcam
10/100/1000 8 port Ethernet switch

Wi-Fi:
Two smartphones (5G, when available)
Two tablets (5G, when available)
One computer (2.4G)
Four VGA webcams (2.4G)
Four other 2.4G devices

When the first Gen5 modem was installed during upgrade from Gen4 all of the Wi-Fi devices were still turned ON, but only one computer was connected to the modem via Ethernet. The non-HughesNet Wi-Fi router was not being used. The Gen5 modem Wi-Fi network 2.4G and 5G network names were changed to be the same names as previously in use. Shortly after the installer left the Gen5 modem dropped offline (no web browser access via Ethernet and the HughesNet Usage Meter was greyed out). During a phone call to HughesNet Technical Support after the installer left, all Wi-Fi devices were powered OFF as part of the eventual troubleshooting. Modem stayed stable. But when the first webcam (Wi-Fi 2.4G) was powered ON, the modem dropped offline again. The modem had to power cycled in order to get it to come back online. The Technical Support representative stated the modem was bad and that its router address should NOT have been 192.168.42.1. She ordered a replacement Gen5 modem shipped to me. (this router IP address issue turned out to be an incorrect assessment by Tech Support)

When I set up the replacement modem, all of the Wi-Fi devices were OFF and only one computer was connected via Ethernet. New modem worked. But as before, when the first webcam was powered ON, the modem dropped offline again. The modem had to be power cycled in order to get it to come back online. I decided that only the webcams were consistently killing the modem as soon as they were connected to the modem. None of the other devices killed the modem within minutes of being powered ON.

Current Network Devices list (HughesNet Gen5)

Ethernet (Cat 6 wiring):
Four computers
Network backup system
Printer
10/100/1000 8 port Ethernet switch

Wi-Fi:
Two smartphones (5G, when working)
Two tablets (5G, when working)
Four 2.4G devices

About every couple of days, but sometimes every few hours, the modem drops offline for some reason even with no webcams in use. Normally, the modem returns to operation on its own within minutes, but sometimes it takes hours to return itself to normal operation. NOTE: I am not talking about satellite connectivity. The modem drops off the LAN and is not visible via a web browser or the Usage Meter via an Ethernet connection. When the modem router drops offline it also kills connectivity between devices on the LAN. This means that inprocess backups to the networked backup disk are interrupted, resulting in potentially corrupted backups. Obviously, not a good thing.

The modem dropping offline problem does not seem to be related to the frequent Wi-Fi 5G network disappearing act. The Wi-Fi 5G network can be stable for a day or two, and then disappear for minutes or hours before returning on its own (although the current 5G outage has gone on for a entire day. Power cycling the modem may or may not restore 5G functionality immediately. Wi-Fi 2.4G is stable when the modem is operational, but of course is dead when the modem goes offline on its own. The 5G outage affects devices in the same room as the modem and even when within 1 foot of the modem. (I understand this 5G radio failure is a known problem at HughesNet.)

Thursday morning (20 July) I plan to test disabling UPnP on the modem to see if that resolves the webcam issue. I don't know whether it will solve the webcam issue and/or the modem dropping offline on its own. I will report back here with the test results.

If disabling UPnP does NOT solve the webcam issue then I will have a decision to make very quickly: do I spend the money to replace 5 webcams with models that may or may not work with the Gen5 modem, or do I request to be reverted back to Gen4?

Stay tuned...