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Data plan finished, speeds are way below 1 mbps that is advertised, 90 kbps, and tech no help

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icyman61
Freshman

Data plan finished, speeds are way below 1 mbps that is advertised, 90 kbps, and tech no help

When I signed up for Hughesnet i was told that after I ran out of my data PLAN, I could still work at 1 to 3 MBPS.

 

Yet over the last 2 months, It has been cut to .15 to .18 yes that's right around 150 kbps TO 90 KBPS, WAY below what I was told. Sometimes it gives even less around 90 kbps which is not functional.I was told tonight Hughsnet makes no guarantees and my service can be below 1 MBPS, so its not a problem.

 

When I contacted tech support tonight, I was on hold for more than 2.3 hours, speaking with Ricardo first, then Mary then their supervisor Racheal Garcia. None of them offered any help at all and refused to have the call referred to an engineer to test the iissue of look at the bandwith limiter that was reducing my speeds to .15 to .18 instead of the 1 MBPS I was told I would get.

 

First, with Ricardo he said because someone had given me tokens, they could not test the slower speeds. He kept telling me even if they tested it wasn't a problem because HughesNet did not promise 1 to 3 MBPS. I asked why not if they can give me speeds at 25 MBPS or higher then they could give me what they said they would at 1 to 3 MBPS. He said it was not guaranteed and kept referring me to the fair usage webpage. I asked to speak to his supervisor, he told me he was a supervisor. Then after insisting for more than 30 minutes, he put me on with MARY!

 

Now with Mary, she kept referring me to the fair usage page and said she couldn't look at or test my service because I had 1.2 Gigs of tokens someone had put on my account. She for more than 1 hour referred me to the fair usage page ignoring the fact I had no service at all after my data was used and Hughes was cutting me off completely. After getting nowhere and she constantly said her supervisor, instead of her employees I started thinking she wasnt a supervisor at all but an employee acting like a supervisor who kept referring me to the website without listening at all. I used the remaining 1 gig on downloading linux, and ask her to test it. She said "Im sorry I can't test it, were are having an error" you're going to have to call tomorrow. I asked for her supervisor ms Racheal Garcia.\

 

Ms Garcia said she was told by her employees they had notified me of the fair use page and that Hughs did not guarantee 1 mbps. I told her I wasn't even getting that, but sometimes no connection at all. She said she wasn't going to escalate the call because there was no reason to, I was out of data.. I told her that was no reason to not test it, I had a problem and it needed to be looked at by an engineer, they data limiting software, was cutting my network to nothing, no connection or EXTREMELY slow but nowhere near the 1 mbps. She said it didn't matter I needed to manage my internet usage better. I asked to have it escalated again she refused and said my account was not eligible to have it escalated as I was out of data. and she could not test it. She hung up on me.

 

So after 2.5 hours talking to them and chatting on other occasions for a total of 10.7 hours, they say they aren't even going to look at the speeds that occur after my data usage goes over 20 gigs because they don't guarantee anything? Isn't that false advertising? Breach of contract? Where is the customer service, it looks like Hughs net has no interest in giving me what they promised 1 to 3 mbps after my data plan runs out, they want me to buy more tokens?

 

I plan on writing Corporate Headquarters tomorrow and calling them once i find the number, I don't think they would agree with the Filipino subcontractors I spoke with tonight. But we will see, have any of you had the same issue?

 

 

 

 

11 REPLIES 11
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@icyman61 

 

While they phone reps are absolutely correct in that speed is not guaranteed, the reps here may still try to help you, as that speed is very low.  However, in order to do that they'll need some speed test results from testmy.net, and from tests run using a specific protocol.  The instructions are here.  

 

A couple of important points with the tests...

 

1.  Make sure to be signed into your testmy.net account while running the tests.

2.  Make sure to be using a single device that's connected to the HughesNet modem with a LAN cable AND make sure to disable the HughesNet modem's WiFi while running the tests.  

3.  Make sure to use the correct manual test sizes, which are 25MB for download and 3MB for upload (if you run upload tests).  And yes, with that low of a speed the download tests will take a while.  

 

 

Edit:  To address one thing, HughesNet doens't promise any speed, whether that be the plan speed or throttled speed when one runs out of data.  This is stipulated on all advertisements.  As well, that speeds are not guaranteed is part of the disclosure that is read by the sales rep during the sales call.  

 

Still, again, because your FAP speeds are quite low the reps will likely take a look at what may be going on.

They refused to test it or offer any help. I told them I was a Cisco certified professional. and I understood that I wasn't going to get superfast speeds but what was happening was some kind of error.

 

The bandwidth limitation was set too low for my account and couldn't be normal. It wasn't even 1 tenth of 1 MBPS at 90kbps and was not acceptable, they referred me to the fair usage page.I told them it couldn't be set like that intentionally and had to be an error, could they get an engineer or higher-level support to actually look at it. They flat out REFUSED!

 

I had disabled wifi, disconnected all devices from the network, used a thumb drive with fresh live Linux distros to test. I also used 2 different windows machines connected straight into the modem by ethernet. Nothing works once my internet data plan is used, it comes to a screeching halt, not 1 MBPS or 3 MBPS. I ran a test from that page, speedof.me, google, and a few others, same speed results, .15 .18 .09 and latency of 7818, 11147, 6148 but they said that wasn't a problem, and Rachael Garcia said she had the final say and they weren't going to test it or help me. Her word was final!

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@icyman61 

 

That's unfortunate, but if you'd like the reps here to take a look to see if anything can be done they'll need the testmy.net test results as specified.

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

It's pretty simple really. There is a setting somewhere in the Hughes network which makes sure we get our allocated bandwidth during our plan, just like on the networks I administer. That means logically there is a setting somewhere in the Hughs Network to drop our bandwidth as well when it is exceeded. It only happens when my data plan is exceeded.

 

I will run the test again, and send you the results tomorrow. I am going to sleep tonight. I'm using another ISP right now, so my work is getting done. 

 

But the customer service in this instance was out the window. I will contact corporate, tomorrow by fax, email, and phone calls and will notify every person I find on the Secretary of State webpage on the articles of incorporation tomorrow, to contact, CEO, Board, whoever will listen. What was said to me tonight shouldn't be said to any customer? Should it?

"Your account isn't eligible for escalation your out of data", your data plan is exceeded! That means there actually is a hard limit and you will be cut off, if they won't even have a tech check it for errors?

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@icyman61 

 

Yes, your speed is automatically reduced when you run out of data, and that throttled speed cannot be guaranteed for a number of reasons.  Your mistake is that you're assuming that they're actively throttling you to that low of a speed and they can stop doing so.  They can't, because they aren't.  There's no "throttle to 150Kbps or under" switch or setting.  You're being throttled if you're out of data, but not actively to that low of a speed.  Congestion, gateway/beam saturation, automatic system load leveling and various other things can contribute to slower speeds, including during throttling when out of data.  

 

If you're here to get help, please do what was instructed to get it.  If you're just here to argue, even when someone is trying to help you, then don't waste your time, because I'm not going to waste anymore of mine for that purpose.  

 

Good day to you.

I intend to do as you said however, I was miffed because I was told all along my speeds would be around 1 to 3 MBPS after my data plan ran out, before I purchased the service.

https://www.hughesnet.com/about/hughesnet-gen5

It clearly says I will experience "If you exceed your monthly plan data, you will experience reduced speeds, typically1-3 Mbps, until the next billing cycle."

 

Now when I tell someone in "tech Support call center" I am getting.09 connections speeds, they referred me to the agreement and said they weren't going to even investigate the issue.

 

If I had known there was no guarantee I would get 1 mbps or even close to it, I would have looked for other solutions. Hughes should tell people you aren't going to be able to do anything once your data plan is used up. Just be honest.

 

Im not trying argue, just stating facts. I plan on doing as you said but look at comments here, everyone is justifying the agreement, look at the guy below? It's crazy.

 

Anyway I am going to do the test today after work. I am not trying to argue, im just asking for what I was told and read I would get all over Hughes nets websites.

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@icyman61 wrote:

I intend to do as you said however, I was miffed because I was told all along my speeds would be around 1 to 3 MBPS after my data plan ran out, before I purchased the service. 


If you were told this during your sales call and it's been no longer than about three months since that call, you can request a sales call review in order to determine whether appropriate expectations were set by the sales representative.  Depending on what's found in that call review, you may have recourse.  You can request a sales call review by starting a new topic in the MyAccount and Billing section and asking for such.  Be sure to describe the reason for the request.  

 

 

As for getting help, I would concentrate on the testing.  Stating or arguing the rest is a waste of your time, as the "speeds are not guaranteed" caveat makes the argument moot.  If you can demonstrate with the speed test results that your FAP speeds are inordinately low, the reps may be able to help you in some way.

Im not arguing its fact, and its not just sales calls, its all over the Hughesnet website. the weblink i showed stated the same thing I said, and it's all over the site in the same language.

 

Maybe Hughes net shouldn't have these false statements on their website..

 

https://www.hughesnet.com/about/hughesnet-gen5

Bottom of the page,

 

It clearly says I will experience "If you exceed your monthly plan data, you will experience reduced speeds, typically1-3 Mbps, until the next billing cycle."

 

When I finish with the security issue I am working on, I will contact, after i have tested my Hughes net connection.

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@icyman61 wrote:

Maybe Hughes net shouldn't have these false statements on their website..

 

https://www.hughesnet.com/about/hughesnet-gen5

Bottom of the page,

 

It clearly says I will experience "If you exceed your monthly plan data, you will experience reduced speeds, typically1-3 Mbps, until the next billing cycle." 


Yes, it does state that, and it's not a false statement.  Typical FAP speeds are 1-3Mbps.  Typical doesn't mean always and for everyone.   Many people get those speeds.  Some don't.  

oh and thanks I will ask them to review the sales call, but they also referred me to the website to read about it, so its a multi-faceted issue.

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

 Isn't that false advertising? Breach of contract?

 

No. The subscriber agreement stipulates that "Stated speeds and uninterrupted use of service are not guaranteed. Actual speeds will likely be lower than the maximum speeds during peak hours. In addition, when connected to the Service using Wi-Fi, the user’s experience will vary based on the proximity to the Wi-Fi source and the strength of the signal, and its usage is subject to the Fair Access Policy."  https://legal.hughesnet.com/SubAgree-03-16-17.cfm

 

The fair access policy states that " If a user uses more data than is provided in the monthly plan, he or she will experience reduced data speeds, until their next billing period. Reduced speeds may be as low as or lower than 1 Mbps and may cause Web sites to load more slowly or affect the performance of certain activities such as video streaming or large downloads/uploads."  https://legal.hughesnet.com/FairAccessPolicyGen5.cfm

 

Where is the customer service, it looks like Hughs net has no interest in giving me what they promised 1 to 3 mbps after my data plan runs out

 

They did not promise 1-3 Mbps.  Read the legal materials.