Forum Discussion

newtonf's avatar
newtonf
Junior
7 years ago

Help Please – Download Speed < 8 Mbps on Gen5 for WEEKS

Well I’m back again – for a few days my download speeds had recovered to normal (15-30 Mbps), but now I am back to less than 8 Mbps. My "work day" download speeds are now generally less than 8 Mbps a...
download
Gen5
help
Performance
slow
  • newtonf's avatar
    newtonf
    7 years ago

    Hello everyone,

    Since January 26th I have run 15 download speed tests using testmy.net (average = 30.4 Mbps) and 14 using Speedtest by Ookla (average = 15.1 Mbps) and it appears that my download speeds have returned to normal. This is way, way, way up from the 91 testmy.net tests I ran between January 3d and 25, which averaged 8.2 Mbps.

    I do find it interesting that testmy.net tests were twice as fast as Speedtest (based on the average) - note tests were performed in pairs, using the same computer and run within 2 minutes of each other. This result appears to be the inverse of what others have reported when comparing testmy.net and Speedtest. Possibliy the servers chosen are responsible for the difference, as testmy.net seems to be using a site in Dallas and Speedtest is using a site in Los Angeles (approx 100 miles north of me).

     

    Anyway all that being said, I am happy that I things are back to normal, at least for this Hughesnet user. I don't know how the correction was implemented, but I appericate the help from those on this forum and any of then unknown "engineers" that have worked on this issue. I will mark this discussion string Corrected and begin a new string, if the problem returns.

     

    To those still chasing speed issues, I wish you luck and suggest you continue working within this forum to resolve your specific issues.

    ciao for now - Skip

     

GabeU's avatar
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV
7 years ago

newtonf

 

I'll tag the reps so that they will be sure to see your post.  

 

Liz

Amanda

 

With this said, as of recently there is a problem with testmy.net, so please start using another test.  You can use any that you like (speedtest.net is a popular one), but please avoid fast.com, as it not only causes the Video Data Saver to engage, meaning it will never show a speed higher than 2-3Mbps, it uses a LOT of data when running a test with the Video Data Saver off.  

  • newtonf's avatar
    newtonf
    Junior
    7 years ago

    GabeU, thank you for tagging the reps and suggesting speedtest.net. I downloaded the desktop version and will begin tracking speed with it. I did one download so far and compared with testmy.net within 3 minutes, speedtest = 13.37 and testmy = ~25 Mbps. Speeds seem faster this morning, but time will tell.

    thanks again - Skip

    • GabeU's avatar
      GabeU
      Distinguished Professor IV
      7 years ago
      newtonf wrote:

      GabeU, thank you for tagging the reps and suggesting speedtest.net. I downloaded the desktop version and will begin tracking speed with it. I did one download so far and compared with testmy.net within 3 minutes, speedtest = 13.37 and testmy = ~25 Mbps. Speeds seem faster this morning, but time will tell.

      thanks again - Skip

      Actually, coincidentally enough, testmy seems to be working properly over the last couple of days, at least for some (maybe all?) on the ES19 satellite, so your result from them may very well be accurate.  Accuracy is the reason they've had people using testmy for quite some time now.  Hopefully it continues and we'll be able to use testmy on a regular basis again.  

       

      I tried the speedtest desktop app, and though it seemed to give accurate download results, my upload results were really skewed.  Sometimes it was showing that I had upload speeds of 18Mbps or so, which isn't possible.  But, the online version seems to give some people issues, so the desktop app is a decent alternative, at least for download speeds.  Speedtest being a little temperamental is another reason why I hope we can soon start using testmy.net again.  

       

      • newtonf's avatar
        newtonf
        Junior
        7 years ago

        Hello everyone,

        I have not been testing with both Speedtest and testmy.net since GabeU suggested that I try Speedtest on Thursday January 25th. Since that time my download speeds have returned to "normal" and YouTube videos play without stopping. Speedtest is reporting download speeds around 15 Mbps and testmy.net (25 Meg file) run within 2 minutes is reporting ~30 Mbps. This is consistent across around at least 10 comparisons taken between 25 and 28 January, at various times of the day. 

         

        I will recheck on Monday, but for now with respect to my HughesNet connection, everything appears to have recovered.

         

        Interesting aside - On Friday January 26th I received an automated recording from HughesNet telling me that, and this is a not and exact quote but close enough; "We understand that you have been experiencing problems with your service and we are looking into the problem. Others are also experiencing speed issues and we are making global changes that should affect all or our Gen5 customers." Again this is not a direct quotation, mostly because the the message that was left was almost unintelligible. This was not an accent issue, it was a substandard recording. Not meaning to be sarcastic, but HughesNet is a communications company and I think that automated recordings should be clear and concise. Still, I appreciate the call, and the acknowledgement of a system wide problem.