Gen5: Is it really better?

[Robert Hoffman]

 Happy Thanksgiving to all.

We have had HughesNet for over 12 years now and overall have been very happy ....  while waiting for cable to come down our road, lol.  We currently have Gen4 10GB plan and in the past year or so have been running out of data the last 10 days of every month.  No problems, SmartBrowsing takes over and we are happy with that.  I just wish we didn't have to watch what we are doing online so closely. 

Anyway, Spectrum was supposed to come down our road 6 months ago.  Now they are saying 2 years from now, which to me means maybe never.  So, the question is, do we stay with Gen4 and upgrade our data?  We have never had any problems with Gen4 since it was installed. Or, do we go with Gen5 and get stuck with another 2 year contract, which if Spectrum does come down the road we would be stuck paying for the rest of the contract?

I have heard reading these boards that some people love Gen5 and some have problems. We have checked with Verizon and while some here have been able to get a wifi booster from them, our location prevents that option. 

What would you do?  

[maratsade]

  I've been a customer for over 12 years, and I  upgraded to Gen 5 when it was first offered.  My 2-year contract will expire in April next year, or thereabouts.  The two years go very fast. 

I had no problems with Gen 4 either, and I find that Gen 5 is a bit more finicky. I don't know why this is; could be the technology itself is more finicky, or could be there's more demand.   I'm still very happy with it overall.

Ultimately the choice is yours -- if you upgrade, you won't be able to go back to Gen 4, and you will be under contract for 2 years.   There's no real guarantee you won't have any problems whatsoever; that can't really be predicted. You'd have more data, probably (I think there's no 10GB plan with Gen 5 -- the smallest plan may be 15GB), but you would still need to watch your usage.   

*I am not a Hughesnet employee or representative. This is a customer-to-customer tech support community, and I am a customer.

[GabeU]

@Robert Hoffman

In my case, with the deal I got and the speed increase that I saw, the upgrade was worth it, even with using more data.  And what I mean by "using more data" is that, in my case, Gen5 doesn't have the great data compression that Gen4 did. 

I primarily use a LAN cable connected desktop, and when I had Gen4 my data usage in comparison to Glasswire was always in my favor.  What I mean is, when Glasswire would say I used 8GB, HughesNet tallied 5GB, or when Glasswire would say I used 10GB, HughesNet would say 6.5GB.  Now, with Gen5, it's practically even.  Again, I suspect this is because Gen4's compression technology worked very well, whereas Gen5's compression technology, at least for me, seems to be nonexistent.  When I upgraded to Gen5 I noticed that, in the very first month, I used a LOT more data than I did with Gen4, and I wasn't doing anything any different.  And, though conventional wisdom would suggest that the higher data usage would be because of higher speed and websites that constantly use data because of embedded video and such, this isn't the case.  Gen5 just uses more data than Gen4.  Again, though, I only speak for me.  Maybe the compression just doesn't work properly on my beam or gateway.  I have no idea.  I can say, though, that HughesNet has never "charged" me for for more data than I've actually used.  And when I say "charged" I just mean tallied.  

Ultimately, I am happy that I upgraded, as I do enjoy the higher speed.  Even with the increased data usage tally in comparison to Gen4, I still do fine, as I have a larger plan, but still pay about the same for it.  I also find that Microsoft's Update servers aren't anywhere near as picky when it comes to Gen5.  With Gen4, even when I had ample speed, Microsoft Updates would often take FOREVER.  And when I say forever I mean nearly 27 hours for a 600MB update, even though I had speeds in the 20Mbps range.  It should have taken no more than five minutes to download, and a few more minutes to install, but it took nearly 27 hours to download.  But, when upgrading you always take the chance that what you're upgrading to won't be as good as you'd hoped, and, as maratsade mentioned, you can't go back to Gen4 once you've upgraded to Gen5.  But, hopefully that wouldn't happen.  

If you have someone near you that has Gen5, maybe you could ask them how it works for them.  

In the end, here's my advice.  If Gen4 works well for you and you're happy with it, and you have a larger plan that you can upgrade to, I would do that instead of upgrading to Gen5.  After all, you know that Gen4 works well for you, but you don't know for sure what a Gen5 plan would be like where you are.  If someone near you has Gen5 and you find out that it works very well for them, then an upgrade may very well be worth it.  It's the "what you know vs what you don't know" thing.  

Good luck.  🙂  

[gaines_wright]

  Stick with gen4!  I wish I could go back to gen4!

  Gen5 consistently over charges you for data usage.

[GabeU]

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@gaines_wright wrote:

  Stick with gen4!  I wish I could go back to gen4!

  Gen5 consistently over charges you for data usage.

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Gen5 allegedly over charges you for data usage.  Still haven't seen any convincing evidence of this.  

[maratsade]

n/a

[gaines_wright]

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@Gen5 consistently over charges you for data usage.

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Gen5 allegedly over charges you for data usage.  Still haven't seen any convincing evidence of this.  

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  Well, I posted two months of spreadsheet  data that convinces me. 

  The amount of data reported by iftop through my ethernet port is consistantly less that what Hughes data usage reports.

  I've been waiting for some one here to point out the error in my procedure.

[GabeU]

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@gaines_wright wrote: 

I've been waiting for some one here to point out the error in my procedure.

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The error in your procedure is that what you posted is first, difficult to decipher, and secondly, just numbers.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they aren't legitimate numbers, but proof requires things like screenshots of directly comparable data, with something like a clock/calendar in the shot(s) to show legitimacy. 

As an example, were I to be having a problem with data, in my setup, which is primarily a desktop computer connected with a LAN cable, I can show directly comparable screenshots of the before and after HughesNet data, and before and after Glasswire data.  Or, to be even more precise, screenshots of before and after HughesNet data, like from the MyAccount site, which breaks the data down further than the Status Meter, and instead of Glasswire screenshots as the comparison, I'd use screenshots of the data tally from my 3rd party router, as that would actually be the more accurate thing to compare to the HughesNet data, as I can run everything through my 3rd party router and everything would be tallied by it.  And with each screenshot would be the calendar and clock from the bottom right corner of my desktop.  And the reps would be able to verify that everything was going through my router from the modem logs.   

Again, I'm not saying what you posted is not legitimate, but the burden of proof is on the user, and there has to be verifiable proof.  Listed numbers is not verifiable proof.  

[Robert Hoffman]

OP here. We have decided to stick with Gen 4 and just upgrade to the next higher plan under Gen4.  I also checked into Gen5 and it isn't even available in my location!  So much for that decision, should have checked into that first.  Thanks for all of your replies!

[GabeU]

@Robert Hoffman

Good choice.  🙂 

It may be that the Gen5 beam in your area is saturated, so they've shut down any new sign ups or upgrades.  That's actually a good sign, as it shows that they are actively trying to keep to the satellite, and beams, from going over capacity.  And if it is saturated, it may also be a blessing in disguise that you can't get Gen5 service, as a saturated beam can often result in slower speeds, especially in the evenings. 

[gaines_wright]

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@GabeU wrote:

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@gaines_wright wrote: 

I've been waiting for some one here to point out the error in my procedure.

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The error in your procedure is that what you posted is first, difficult to decipher, and secondly, just numbers.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they aren't legitimate numbers, but proof requires things like screenshots of directly comparable data, with something like a clock/calendar in the shot(s) to show legitimacy. 

  I may do that later.  I doubt it though.  BTW I can think of at least a couple of  ways to fake a screen shot.  :>)>

  I'm amazed that no one has pointed out the biggest problem as I see it, IE:  Who do you believe,  Linux iftop or Hughes?

 

[BirdDog]

I haven't had a problem with my Gen4 service for quite some time. No reason to switch as I got in on the Ultra 50/50 plan way back when it was offered for a short time.

[GabeU]

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@BirdDog wrote:

I haven't had a problem with my Gen4 service for quite some time. No reason to switch as I got in on the Ultra 50/50 plan way back when it was offered for a short time. 

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I wish I would have done more research when the Gen4/ES17 service came out, as I might have had the Ultra Plan available here.  By the time I seriously looked, the 50/50 plan was available, if I remember correctly, but not for the Ultra Plan price.  If I had the Ultra Plan when Gen5 came out it's doubtful that I would have upgraded, as other than the often slow Microsoft Updates my Gen4 was fantastic.  My 15GB plan Gen4 speeds were similar to yours, and my folks' 10GB plan Gen4 speeds still are.  

It's too bad they didn't offer something like the Ultra Plan with Gen5, though I understand why they didn't.    

[BirdDog]

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@GabeU wrote:  

It's too bad they didn't offer something like the Ultra Plan with Gen5, though I understand why they didn't.    

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Yea, was such a good deal at the time, still is, that probably would have caused lots of loading problems if everyone started jumping to it.

[maratsade]

Which one is the Ultra plan?

[GabeU]

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@maratsade wrote:

Which one is the Ultra plan?

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The Gen4 50/50 plan for $99.99.  

[BirdDog]

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@GabeU wrote:

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@maratsade wrote:

Which one is the Ultra plan?

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The Gen4 50/50 plan for $99.99.  

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Actually it is $89.99 so I pay around $101 after lease and taxes. Again, no reason for me to change at present.

[GabeU]

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@BirdDog wrote:

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@GabeU wrote:

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@maratsade wrote:

Which one is the Ultra plan?

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The Gen4 50/50 plan for $99.99.  

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Actually it is $89.99 so I pay around $101 after lease and taxes. Again, no reason for me to change at present.

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Ah.  My bad.  I thought I had seen it for $99.99.  Interesting.  Well, $89.99 is even better, and ever more unfair!  😛  

[maratsade]

Absolutely. I wouldn't change either in that case.   The 50/50 with Gen 5 is a bit more expensive than that.

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@BirdDog wrote:

Actually it is $89.99 so I pay around $101 after lease and taxes. Again, no reason for me to change at present.

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