Forum Discussion
Hughesnet is a scam
I have been using hughesnet internet for the past 4-5 months now on the fusion plan. I called tech support to ask if the fusion plan was available in my area and they said yes. After setting up the fusion modem and the booster, I have had nothing but problems. Paying 120 dollars a month for "low latency internet" when I am getting 500+ms on average. I called multiple times and it took 4 phone calls to get a technician out here to "replace the radio" because one of the tech support on the phone barely spoke english and didn't take any notes during the phone call which is completely unprofessional. After the technician came, he spent 6 hours to replace the radio, and the fusion modem, turns out the modem that was given to me was an outdated product, and this whole time I was being charged for a service that they did not give me the hardware to support it. They did not tell me, nor the technician that it had to be replaced. After the technician tried to get it set up, he couldn't get the software to properly setup and said it was an issue on hughesnets end. He told me he had been working for hughesnet for years and its one of the worst isps in Michigan. After all of the troubleshooting he couldn't fix the problem, and said it was in the hands on hughesnets engineers to fix on their end, its been a week and it is still not fixed. This whole time we have been charged 120 dollars a month for the fusion plan AND WE ARE NOT GETTING IT. We have been scammed and I know for certain they will not get this fixed. And I have no hopes for calling support because half the people there are mindless and speak broken english, the technician who was here to help said it himself, that the people in tech support dont know what the **bleep** they are talking about. I am tired of this being used by this isp for money and getting horrible support overall. This is the worst experience I have ever had with any internet source provider and they are asking for 400 dollars to cancel. DO NOT BUY HUGHSNET, IT IS A SCAM.
- I think we can all sympathise with your frustrations. However, that still doesn't make the company a scam. It's a business, subject to and operating under business laws. And they have a tech support site (this one) where you can reach out to people who can help you.
- There are things you can do:
- You can call the 800 number and ask if you can downgrade -- keep in mind that this might initiate a new contract. Ask them about this before you agree to downgrade.
- You can work with the reps on this site. They are very helpful and they will try to improve your experience. If they can't, you may have some recourse with regards to the service termination fee. Remember though that this is satellite internet, so it's not like cable or fiber. Keep your expectations realistic.
- If all else fails, you can go into arbitration to resolve your grievance. See section 5 of the subscriber agreement, which explains the arbitration procedure.
- Best of luck to you.
Hello, HughesNet's satellite is in far away from the earth unlike some newer setups like starlink, However the speed is great especially in rural areas where the only other option is slow 3G/4G or dial up. Starlink is way faster and less latency but expensive.
- TriciaSFreshman
Thanks for the positive feedback and suggestions. One thing I will mention, is that my issue is not priority data, I am well aware of data caps and the speeds dropping, that is the nature of most internet source providers. The issue I have is latency, whether priority data affects latency or not, I get bad latency with and without priority data. The speeds of hughesnets internet is good for satellite, and the amount of priority data that hughesnet gives is good. The main issue is just the latency, internet speeds and latency or ping, are two different things. After reading through all the replies I am keeping an open mind to the fact that yes, it is not a scam. However, this service should in no circumstance be advertised to people as "low latency internet" who live in rural areas. So I apologize, and at the moment since the issue will not be fixed, I a starting the termination process on my contract. For anyone who has issues with internet speeds, you are using satellite, and there is priority data, its not a scam once you use up your data and are put on the back burner, just don't buy a service that cant support your needs. I know I just came on here and complained, which was not good on my side so I apologize, but being sold on a service for low latency, and not receiving that, I and everyone dealing with the same will be fed up. I will just accept the fact that the fusion service cannot and will not support low latency in my area and move on. Thanks to everyone for trying.
- EarlzwowFreshman
Well said Tricia.
- EarlzwowFreshman
TriciaS,
We've been HughesNet members since December 2023, didn't sign up for the fusion account but opted for the elite service plan etc.
.
Great speeds when it can or wants to provide it, but let's talk about the 24.1.1 code.
Two weeks into the month 200GB is used up, no more priority data, throttle it down to 3mbps or less.
Right now it's running at 1.1mbps. I can't even Netflix.
Not to mention the DNS troubles, or the 2 defective routers that had to be replaced.
Locked into the 2 year contract.
I ask, have they performed a quality service ?
Is HughesNet a scam ?
?
- EarlzwowFreshman
Is Hughesnet a scam?
Okay, am not saying it is a scam,
it is a question.
My question is if the priority data and data tokens are a hustle/scam?
Not to worry. I believe we know where the data was going. A guest recently moved out a month ago, and we for the first time have priority data at the end of our cycle. Resets tomorrow.
Okay, thanks for all the responses.
- maratsadeDistinguished Professor IV
Your questions are reasonable, and I imagine a lot of people who don't understand how satellite internet works will have similar questions. This is why I hope people who are considering satellite internet will read this site, so they can make a more informed decision. This site is on the open internet, and while non-subscribers can't log in or post, they can read the posts, and that can help them make better decisions.
The priority data and tokens system are neither a hustle nor a scam. Satellite internet is limited in the amount of broadband it provides, because a satellite's output is limited. Terrestrial internet can be expanded by sending a truck somewhere to add more lines, but the satellite has a finite amount of broadband it can provide, and once it's been shot into space, that's it. There are no space trucks that go up there to add more broadband.
Because of this, the broadband has to be shared by all the subscribers. Each subscriber gets a portion, a broadband package of priority data measured in GB. You get the number of priority GB that you pay for, say 100. That has to last you the whole month. If you or someone on your home network uses more than 100, you don't get cut off. You get moved to a lower tier (until the end of the period. Then you're reset to your higher tier). You can still connect, but the speed is not the same as with the top tier. There's an out: you can pay for tokens to restore yourself to a higher tier. I imagine the company reserves some higher tier data for this purpose. Are they increasing profits using this method? Sure. They're a business, not a charity. I personally would rather have the token option available and not the other option, which is you get cut off until the next month.
Wow, it was a guest using your data? I'd be pretty steamed about that. Glad you found out where the data was going, though!
- Kat3New Member
It is a scam especially if your in a problem area where service sucks there's no consistency to data used so one month you can't seem to use all 200 gigs the next you are out of data in the first 2 weeks of the month when you document and know for a fact that you didn't use the amount they claim you did so I wouldn't recommend to anybody ever unless you like to buffering all the time
- GabeUDistinguished Professor IV
It's on YOU as to how quickly you use your data. If it says you used 1GB, you used 1GB, whether you're aware of it or not.
Instead of whining and trying to blame HughesNet for YOUR data use, learn how to conserve data, or better yet, how much each activity of yours is using.
- maratsadeDistinguished Professor IV
It's not a scam, Earlzwow. It's a business that sells data packages, splitting the finite, limited data from the satellite into packages for over a million users. As a business, they operate under the law, and they operate under policies to make sure the finite data is divided fairly. When you use up your allowance, you're not cut off; you're throttled, and when that happens, you have no access to data hogs like streaming.
Two weeks into the month you have used your data allowance. Your household is the one using the data.HN sells you a data package; they don't use the data for you. Streaming consumes enormous amounts of data. The fair access policy is there to provide fair access to all subscribers, as satellite data is a limited amount, not infinite. It's different from terrestrial internet such as cable or fiber. It's up to users to budget their data so it lasts the whole month.
It seems it makes you feel better if you blame the other party, but you're the one using the data, not them. Perhaps your time would be better served contacting your representatives and asking them to bring fast internet into your area. Fast internet companies aren't interested in rural areas or other areas of low population density, so they stay away. Contact them and ask them why they can't be bothered with rural areas.
- Kat3New Member
No he's right it is a scam ,
The data packs sold is not the problem it's how data is measured there is no consistency to the data people use . Also professor of don't know **bleep** . Time in bonus zone from 2am till 8 am is alot of the time skipped over if watching using at these inconvenient hours you still get charged against your plan data so until there no more scamming you can take your internet services and shove it u know where ... professor
- GabeUDistinguished Professor IV
This is a SUPPORT site, not a rant and rave site.
You could ask for SUPPORT, but instead you rant and rave.
- Kat3New Member
Support what joke you mean the people that answer the phone at their home and read what to say from a menu that tells you nothing but at some time trys to convince you that they've solved your problem give me a break those people no less than I do about my problem
- TriciaSFreshman
I am sorry but I am tired of this. I will ask for support then. Is there any way I can go down a tier in the plan so I am not paying for a service I am not receiving, without a fee? Is there a way I can cancel the contract entirely and be done with hughesnet without a fee since the past 4 months I have not been getting what I am paying for?
- maratsadeDistinguished Professor IV
- I think we can all sympathise with your frustrations. However, that still doesn't make the company a scam. It's a business, subject to and operating under business laws. And they have a tech support site (this one) where you can reach out to people who can help you.
- There are things you can do:
- You can call the 800 number and ask if you can downgrade -- keep in mind that this might initiate a new contract. Ask them about this before you agree to downgrade.
- You can work with the reps on this site. They are very helpful and they will try to improve your experience. If they can't, you may have some recourse with regards to the service termination fee. Remember though that this is satellite internet, so it's not like cable or fiber. Keep your expectations realistic.
- If all else fails, you can go into arbitration to resolve your grievance. See section 5 of the subscriber agreement, which explains the arbitration procedure.
- Best of luck to you.
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