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Hughesnet Voice - Dropped Calls

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DonS
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Hughesnet Voice - Dropped Calls

On June 20, 2019 I upgraded from Hughesnet Gen 4 to Gen 5 with Hughesnet Voice. Problems with dropped calls began immediately. The disconnects are random, occurring anywhere from a few seconds into the call to approximately thirty minutes into the call. The only consistency is that it occurs on every call, every day. I have numerous calls to Hughes tech support about this problem. Some times the call is dropped four or five times before it will stay connected long enough to actually talk to tech support.

At the request of tech support, the following has been tried to correct this problem:

1. Replaced corded phone with a wireless phone – DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

2. Eliminated all in-house wiring - DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

3. Changed to a different electrical circuit and a different battery backup system - DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

4. Replaced all telephone cords and the data cable from the modem to the ATA – DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. 5. Replaced the ATA – DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

6. Hughes dispatched a technician to replace the modem. This technician did not even know what an ATA was. – DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

7. Hughes dispatched another technician to replace the LNB transceiver. The technician replaced my 2 watt transmitter with a 1 watt transmitter. This may not make a difference to those who lease their equipment, but I purchased my equipment. I WANT MY 2 WATT TRANSMITTER BACK! The technician was unaware of the difference between the two transmitters. – DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

8. Replaced the cable from the LNB to the modem – DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

9. It is now August 10, 2019 and I am awaiting a call from a technician to schedule a service call. Tech support wants to replace the ATA again. Apparently engineering can’t remotely access the ATA. According to tech support, engineering wants to get the information out of the ATA before it is disconnected. I don’t know if that is possible, especially if the technician does not even what an ATA is. I suspect he will just replace the ATA and leave, not fixing the problem. They will not send the ATA directly to me as they did the first time it was replaced, so I will be billed for the service call. NOT GOOD, SINCE THE SYSTEM HAS NOT WORKED SINCE IT WAS INSTALLED.

Big River Telephone has also been involved in diagnosing this problem. They determined that the original ATA would randomly not respond to their system. Obviously, replacing the ATA did not fix the problem, since it is now being replaced again.

I should point out that Hughes Engineering was finally involved prior to the transceiver being replaced and according to what I was told by tech support, they were seeing the SQF dropping from above 100 to 30, then recovering immediately. THAT WOULD CAUSE THE DROPPED CALLS PROBLEM. I doubt that problem has been fixed, since calls are still dropping, and apparently Hughes does not allow customers to talk to engineering directly: this problem is well beyond the capabilities of the average Hughes tech support person (no offense intended).

I should also point out that the Billing Department has credited my account for the first month due to this issue. I am not sure they will continue to do that. I have been told that I will be billed for the service calls, although I don’t think that is fair since the system has not worked since the install date.

I have the following Case Numbers, all concerning this problem: #122205110, #122496030, #122203879, #122516213, #122612023, #122639550, #122714428, and one unknown case number for the upcoming service call.

This problem needs to be escalated to whatever level of engineering has the capability to fix it. It also needs to be escalated to management to make sure something is done to resolve the issue.

16 REPLIES 16
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@DonS 

 

I'm sure a rep will reply.  They're on M-F from approximately 9AM to 5PM EST.  They usually reply within a day, though, with it being the weekend, it won't be until at least Monday.

Liz
Moderator
Moderator

Hi Don,

 

I see it's your first post here, so welcome to the community! Our engineers have been working to address dropped calls on the HughesNet Voice service. This should be addressed in a new modem code rolling out this month. 

 

 

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

Liz,


Spent this past weekend with help from my son, an electrician, checking out the complete Hughesnet installation, from the dish to the modem. What we found is best described as shoddy workmanship.

At the dish, was section of RG59 (NOT RG6) coax cable with a ground wire, commonly called a Siamese cable. The coax was connected to the LNB/transceiver and the ground wire was connected to the dish. The other end of the ground wire ran to a ground block on the mast of my Directv dish (you read that correctly). That ground block was loosely taped to the mast, not making a good connection. The output of the ground block was connected to a dual shield RG6 cable that was installled when my house was built in 2004. The original Hughesnet installer and every technician that has been here since was made aware of this, yet did not want to take time to replace the cable with quad shielded RG6. It took us about 15 minutes to pull new quad shielded RG6 cable into the existing conduit. According to information from Hughesnet, quad shielded RG6 cable from the dish to the grounding block is sufficient grouding for the dish.

At the entry point into the building, the original installer made a big deal about having to install a ground block and a ground wire. He did in fact install that, but did not attach the ground wire to a known electrical ground. This was proven by a simple ohm meter test. Again, according to information from Hughesnet and the National Electrical Code, a ground point at the dish and and at the building entry point is acceptable, but they must be bonded together. Clearly, they were not.

So after all this was corrected, I was still experiencing call drops.

On Monday, 8/12/2019, I spent several hours on the phone with Hughesnet tech support, requiring numerous call backs due to the dropped calls. The first agent I talked to, called back after the first two drops, but did not call back after that, and left me hanging with additional questions. That does not make for good customer satisfaction. The second agent, I wish I had his name, continued to call back after every disconnect. He performed a number of tests, and had engineering look at the problem. They found that ping time would intermittently rise to a level that could cause the call drops. Refer to my previous post where the SQF was dropping from above 100 to 30. It is obvious that these are related to the problem.

When these tests were performed, my LAN was disconnected from the Hughesnet modem, so that the only thing connected was the ATA.

Now tech support and engineering want to replace the ATA once again, but wont send it to me directly, they insist that a technician come out to replace it. This does not give me a good feeling, since I had to show the last technician what an ATA was, and what it is supposed to do.

Also, in my previous post I mentioned that one of the technicians had replaced my 2 watt transmitter with a 1 watt transmitter. He apparently did not there was a difference. I was told by tech support that the 1 watt transmitters are being phased out in favor of the 2 watt transmitters and that the technician would bring a 2 watt transmitter with him. I am waiting on a call from the technician to shedule the service call and I will verify that he has the 2 watt transmitter. Otherwise, it will be a wasted service call and wasted time. Both the transmitter and the ATA are very simple for anyone to install, no "technician" required.

 

Sometime yesterday, Hughesnet move me from outroute 4 to outroute 2 on beam 82, Don't know exactly when they did this.  Hopefully it is an effort to correct the problem.

The repair technician called to schedule the appointment to replace the ATA and the transmitter.  I asked him to confirm the part number of the transmitter he had, it was only a one watt transmitter.  I told him it would be  a wasted service call and a waste of time if he did not have the correct transmitter.  He tried to convince me that all transmitters were the same.  If that were the case, why did my original transmitter have part number 1504730-1002 (2 watt) and the previous technician replaced it with part number 1505328-0014 (1 watt).  Those two parts look alike, but are not the same.  Apparently Hughesnet technicians do not know the difference, nor do they know the difference between a residential system and a business system.

 

Here it is 24 hours later, and no call back from Hughesnet nor the repair technician.  I suspect he cancelled the service call, which was not my intent.  I just want the equipment that was originally installed and I want it to work correctly.

 

 

 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@dspicer  

 

First, save for items approved for subscriber self installation, any HughesNet related installation or repairs needs to be done by a qualified HughesNet technician, not the homeowner.

 

Secondly, if you would like help with your issue, please start a new topic in this same section (Tech Support) in order to keep it separate from the OP's.

I am the OP.  My intent is to document the problems, process and events that have occurred since my installation.  Since Hughesnet tech support requested the technician replace the transmitter, replacing a 2 watt transmitter with a 1 watt transmitter, during this process, it is relevant to the discussion.  All I want from Hughesnet is the ability to make and receive phone calls, without being disconnected, and a 2 watt transmitter.  I don't think that is too much to expect.

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@dspicer wrote:

I am the OP.   


If, in the future, you use a different sign on in one thread, it would be a good idea to indicate that you are the same person in order to allay any confusion.

Continuing to have problems with dropped calls, so the move to outroute 2 did nothing to correct the problem. 

Amanda
Moderator

Hi dspicer,

 

I am not sure if you had seen Liz's post from last week, but if not, I just wanted to let you know this is a known issue and a modem update is due out this month to address dropped calls.

 

Thank you,

Amanda

Amanda,

Thanks, I had not seen Liz's message about the modem update rolling out this month. Hopefully, that will fix the problem.

Will there be an announcement on this forum, or elsewhere, when the update is rolled out? If not, how can I tell if my modem has been updated?

Hi dspicer,

 

Generally what will happen is when the update is pushed and confirmed, we'll reach out to any customers we are working with and see if there is any improvement. Once engineering has given an update, we'll let you know. 

 

Thanks,

Amanda

Amanda,

Any updates regarding the software "fix" for dropped calls?

Good morning dspicer,

 

The software rollout is already in progress, it's expected to be completed by 9/12.  Your patience and understanding are much appreciated.

 

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

Looking forward to Voice update information. We are now hooked to voice with our 40 yr phone number. I have had some complaints from my wife but they are random. Sometimes everything seems to work good....sometimes skippy......

It helps us in the waiting line to get updates on any progress.

Thanks

Good morning folks,

 

Engineering has confirmed that the nationwide rollout of the latest modem code was completed. Please monitor the performance of your HughesNet Voice service and let us know how it goes.

 

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

Good morning, 

 

It's been a while since we had any activity in here, so we will close this thread. If you still have concerns, please start a new thread and include a detailed explanation so we can better assist you.

 

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!