Forum Discussion

dfbeck's avatar
dfbeck
Junior
6 years ago

Upload Issue again

It made it almost a full three months that I was able to stream videos at any resolution without buffering with only the intermittant issue that would last no more than 48 hours or so. But I knew it ...
Performance
  • dfbeck's avatar
    dfbeck
    6 years ago

    GabeU,

    Ok, finally got Testmy.net figured out except for one issue, combined testing with max data set.

    You see the tabs to the right of 'optional'? Both will set the 'minimum' data size but  won't affect the maximum so it still tests anything it wants and of course, if it tests something reasonable the first time and runs quickly it will rerun with more data the next time so it is very important that I remember to click nfw. I'm following your instructions but unless I test upload and download separately I have no control over the maximum data used.

     

    Hughes Level 4 called today (1/11/19) and when she had me run the upload test it was 33Kbps up and 21.3 down. Unplug the modem, bypass the router, long periods of silence and 'still buffering' for 25 minutes until it finally steamed without buffering but I haven't a clue what she did and I got the idea that she had a quota on either words or characters used, kink of like Twitter. I appreciated what ever she did but as she trying to get off the phone I asked if 2215 ms ping rate wasn't a touch long. She said she didn't know, 'bye'. I've never asked any tech about that before so I don't know if only certain techs are familiar with ping rates. I let it go and won't complain unless it becomes a consistant issue. What  is your average ping rate? I don't know if testmy.net arbitrarily picks Dallas to ping but that's what this is testing. I understand that a high ping rate will affect the loading of a page which is what I'm running into. Slow to connect, handshake, etc. but once loaded it streams with litte buffering now. She must have done something, 1.5 Mbps up - 25Mbps down. Just so it stays. Thanks for the info.

     

    Oh, you're right, I wasn't able to see that your note about being out of data was addressed to someone else. I've yet to figure out this board.

     

GabeU's avatar
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Lorrihager

 

Are you sure you haven't run out of data?  If so, your speed will be throttled to "typically 1-3Mbps", though it can be lower than that, as well, especially during peak usage hours, which are primarily in the evening.  You can see if you are out of data by checking the System Control Center, checking your HughesNet Usage Meter, signing into the HughesNet MyAccount site and clicking on the Usage tab, and by checking with the HughesNet Mobile app.  

 

Streaming is a very data intensive activity and uses a lot of data, especially if the stream is in Hi Def.  Many things can affect streaming ability, such as being out of data and then subject to the Fair Access Policy, the speeds being lower because of a lot of people being online (peak usage period slowdown), a weak WiFi signal, and trying to stream in HD while the Video Data Saver is still on.  If you're trying to stream in HD, or the streaming source is automatically in HD, you should either lower the definition of the stream to standard or low def, or you'll need to turn off, or snooze, the Video Data Saver in order for the stream to not buffer if you're streaming in HD.  Again, though, the previously mentioned things can affect streaming, as well.

 

Again, please keep in mind that streaming is a very data intensive activity.  Going by Netflix's data requirements, streaming in HD uses around 3GB per hour, SD around 700MB per hour, and LD around 300MB per hour.  

 

If you need further help with your streaming issue, please start a new topic in Tech Support, which you can do here.  

dfbeck's avatar
dfbeck
Junior
6 years ago

GabeU,

I wish running out of data was the problem but that's not it. What a coincidence, Hughes called me as I was writing the first sentence. Cameran wanted to know if I was still experiencing issues. He said he would move this to the next level so we'll see what happens.

 

As far as data use, I'm not able to download at resolution greater than 360p if I don't want to watch the spinning arrow every couple of seconds for the first 10/15 minutes which starts looking like an issue with response time. Just now I pinged Dallas with the return rate of 2169 ms. Not good. The average  months ago was approximately 750 ms but lately it's been on the high side of 800 with 1000 not unusual. That shows up as long delays in openning a page sometimes to the point of timing out.

 

I've run out of data just once but I purchased 8 gigs of tokens and ended up using only  7 megs so I've had 7.3 gigs just sitting for a couple of years now.

 

I've been setting the data to be tested at 6 megs for upload but that's the only thing tested. Is there a way to set the max up and download test amounts together? I don't know if I'm not looking in the right place or testing both with max set is not permitted. One other thing I discovered is that if Testmy.net is open and I'm logged in it keeps testing even though a test is not called for. That ate up most of my data last month before I realized it. Anyway I was told that I'd get a call from Hughes in the next couple of days. It would be nice to get the service useable. I don't want to change services.

Thanks for your reply.

  • GabeU's avatar
    GabeU
    Distinguished Professor IV
    6 years ago

    dfbeck

     

    It may be hard to see if on your device, but my reply, including the question about being out of data, was directed at Lorrihager.  She's only posted once so far, so I reverted to the basic, starting questions for her.  

     

    Regarding your question about the speed testing, the only way I know how to set up automatic testing for both upload and download is like the following, in which I've used the Gen4 test sizes, with the download being the 15MB size instead of 12MB due to the aforementioned resizing problem.  

     

    For download and upload testing, it should be set up like this...

    Note that "Combined" is selected, and that the download size is 15MB and upload size is 3MB, and that the "nfw" box is checked.  The "nfw" stands for "no forwarding", which means the test won't upsize to something larger if it doesn't last long enough.  Even with that checked I'd still use the 15MB size for the download, as that size doesn't upsize on its own, so it should be doubly sure not to do so.  And I chose every 5 minutes for 5 times due to that being the most commonly requested testing protocol, with this being run a few times a day, for a total of 15 test of each for the day.  To start the testsing, you would click "Start Automatic Test", then leave that browser page open.  You can continue to use the net on other open browser pages, but just make sure to not X out of, or close, the testing page.  You can minimize it, though, if you wish.  

     

    For upload only testing, it should be set up like this...

    Note that only Upload is ticked (not Combined), and 3MB is chosen for the upload size, with nothing chosen for the download size.  Also note the "nfw" box is checked.  And, again, I chose every 5 minutes for 5 times, so that it only runs a total of five tests each time you have it set up like this and click on "Start Automatic Test".

     

    Now, the browser page MUST remain open in order for the tests to run.  If the testmy.net browser page is closed, the tests won't run.  But, why it continued to run for you after it completed the set number of tests I don't know.  With it set to run five times it should ONLY run five times, then stop.  

     

    I'm going to run a set of upload tests and see what happens.  I'll use what's set in the picture above for the upload only testing, though I'll use the 4MB size due to having Gen5.  I'll leave it open for more than an hour to see if the testing starts again in the next hour.  It shouldn't, as in after I click "Start Automatic Test" it should only run the five tests that it's set to run and no more, but nothing is infallible.  I'll post what happens.  

     

    P.S.  Note that the "Extra Identifier" in the testing setup is something you would set if you run tests using multiple devices on the same account and you use a specific identifier for each device, so you know which is which when looking at the results.  If you click and look through the options you will see what I mean by Identifier.  So, if you do have Identifiers set up you should probably choose the one that you use for the device with which you are testing.  If you don't use identifiers, just leave the Extra Identifier thing alone.  It's not something that's required to use.  It can just make it easier for you if you use a lot of devices and you want to know which results belong to which device tested.  As an example, I use the "Laptop" identifier for my laptop.  This way, when I look through my results, I can see which test results belong to my laptop.  I use Location 5 for my desktop, just to signify Gen5, though I should use Home or Living Room or something.  There's no "Desktop" identifier available, which is kind of stupid if you ask me.  :p 

    • dfbeck's avatar
      dfbeck
      Junior
      6 years ago

      GabeU,

      Ok, finally got Testmy.net figured out except for one issue, combined testing with max data set.

      You see the tabs to the right of 'optional'? Both will set the 'minimum' data size but  won't affect the maximum so it still tests anything it wants and of course, if it tests something reasonable the first time and runs quickly it will rerun with more data the next time so it is very important that I remember to click nfw. I'm following your instructions but unless I test upload and download separately I have no control over the maximum data used.

       

      Hughes Level 4 called today (1/11/19) and when she had me run the upload test it was 33Kbps up and 21.3 down. Unplug the modem, bypass the router, long periods of silence and 'still buffering' for 25 minutes until it finally steamed without buffering but I haven't a clue what she did and I got the idea that she had a quota on either words or characters used, kink of like Twitter. I appreciated what ever she did but as she trying to get off the phone I asked if 2215 ms ping rate wasn't a touch long. She said she didn't know, 'bye'. I've never asked any tech about that before so I don't know if only certain techs are familiar with ping rates. I let it go and won't complain unless it becomes a consistant issue. What  is your average ping rate? I don't know if testmy.net arbitrarily picks Dallas to ping but that's what this is testing. I understand that a high ping rate will affect the loading of a page which is what I'm running into. Slow to connect, handshake, etc. but once loaded it streams with litte buffering now. She must have done something, 1.5 Mbps up - 25Mbps down. Just so it stays. Thanks for the info.

       

      Oh, you're right, I wasn't able to see that your note about being out of data was addressed to someone else. I've yet to figure out this board.

       

      • GabeU's avatar
        GabeU
        Distinguished Professor IV
        6 years ago

        dfbeck

         

        My average ping rate is usually somewhere in the 600s.  Yours example is definitely high.  Is it like that all the time?  

         

        To be honest, I'm a little surprised that a Level 4 rep didn't know what the average ping rate is.  With regular Level 1 reps I'd be shocked if more than one or two knows what ping even means, but with Level 4 I would think they'd know not only what it is, but what HughesNet customers see in general.  

         

        Regarding nfw, or "no forwarding", it's supposed to keep the size at what you set for the minimum, as in it shouldn't upsize to something larger, but I just tried it, setting it to a size lower than what I know I need, and sure enough, it upsized to something larger.  I don't understand why.  

         

        If you aren't already, make sure to use the 15MB size for download and the 3MB size for upload.  The upload shouldn't be a problem with size forwarding.  The 15MB size for download is a size that doesn't forward, so it shouldn't do so, but still check the nfw box, just in case.  The reps and engineers will also be okay with you using the 15MB size instead of the normal 12MB size requested, as they know when you have good speed the 12MB test size will forward to something larger, which can waste data, especially when it forwards to some ridiculous size.  I always used 15MB for the download tests when I had Gen4, as my speeds approached 30Mbps.  Using the 12MB size with speeds like that would have been futile.   Still check that nfw box, though, when you use the 15MB size.  In reality, you shouldn't need to, but I would do it anyway. 

         

        I just tried the combined test with 15MB for download, 3MB for upload, and the nfw box checked, and it worked perfectly, with no upsizing.  I only let it run for one test, though, then closed it, as I'm going to be shutting my computer down soon.  Hopefully it will work for you and stop forwarding to a larger size while using those same parameters.

         

        My ping test to google.com....

         

         

        Edit:  The rep may have reset a few things in your modem, helping your speeds to improve.  I hope it stays that way.  :)