I've been without service for a month.

[GabeU]

Herb,

This isn't anything to do with your problem, but I would dump that DirecTV connection.  Connecting DirecTV to Hughesnet is highly advised against.  It can use a lot of data, even when the DirecTV receiver is "off", as it's not really off, but in standby.  The amount of data it can use varies.  If you have a Smart TV that has it's own apps I would use that instead.  DirecTV and Hughesnet do not play well together. 

[herbdhall]

I don't use any of the internet features of DirecTV. I hooked it up because my DirecTV receiver stopped allowing me to order pay per view movies over the phone line. Their customer service refused to troubleshoot the problem unless I installed a dedicated phone line for the DirecTV receiver. Connecting it to the internet allowed it to order over the internet and solved my problem. I monitor my bandwidth through my router and the DirecTV receivers do not use any data. I disabled wat i could and we have learned what we can and can't use.

I find it rather ironic that DirecTV and HughesNet don't work well together. They are the number 1 rated providers in their market, and they both serve the same customer base. Seems like a missed marketing opportunity to me. I have both services because satellite is my only option. I be a large portion of both companies customers are in the same boat. Seems like a win win for these companies to find a way to work together...

I did however, order some movies while my internet was down, so maybe whatever was wrong that it couldn't order through the phone line has been corrected. I will try disconnecting them and see what happens.  

[herbdhall]

So I didn't end up testing anything this past weekend. I was on the computer playing games most of the weekend and didn't use the internet a great deal, but I never saw the status meter loose connection with the modem all weekend. When I used the browser the pages were sometimes pretty slow to load at first, but I didn't have any DNS/server unresponsive timeout messages. Right now it's working pretty much just like it should.

I have my router setup for Google's DNS servers right now. I used them in the past without any improvement, so I hesitate to proclaim this is what fixed my timeout issues. If it is, then that really doesn't speak well for the HughesNet IT staff. I didn't Traceroute it but I'd guess I added 3-5 hops into each lookup. Latency grows with each hop, unless Hughes has serious internal network infrastructure problems. I'm more inclined to think I had a good weekend and my service quality will degrade again soon. I can live with it if it works more often than it doesn't, I don't have very high expectations, I have been using HughesNet for a long time. 

As for the modem issues, I am at a loss. Nothing I have done should have effected that. The only possible explanation I can come up with is that being new out of the box the modem needed some software updates. Maybe over the first few days the modem was trying to update it's software and that caused it to be unresponsive and reboot. I can't really say if this theory is possible, I know the modem's OS is a Linux variant and by and large they update without rebooting/lockup issues (usually just restart a service and your done), but I have no idea if any updates to the software were made.

I'm just happy it appears to be stable for now. Unless it starts acting up again, I am content to live with it as it is.

I appreciate the assistance, and if my problems return I will post here again. I would like to say that I'm very happy with the support from this forum. If the rest of customer support was as good as this, I would be a much happier customer. 

[GabeU]

Herb,

They don't work well together strictly due to the amount of data used.  A DirecTV receiver can easily wipe out someone's monthly data in no time at all.  It can use the internet to update its guide and descriptions and who knows what else, and it can add up in a short amount of time.  There's also no way to adjust the streaming definition with their on demand service (if someone uses it), which can mean 3GB per hour.  That's a lot for a capped service.  This is why it's recommended against and my comment about them not playing well together.  It's nothing technical or anything, just the data usage.     

[maratsade]

When I first got HN, it was called DirecWay, and I got it and DirecTV together. Later DirecWay became HughesNet (and improved a lot). 

[GabeU]

When I first signed up it was still DirecWay (got the DW6000), and I got DirecTV at the same time, though I got them separately and they weren't connected in any way.  This was in late 2004.  But, I still get a $2 off discount on my Verizon home phone because of signing up with DirecTV, as when I signed up with Verizon they were the ones who directed me to getting DirecTV, which I wanted, anyway.  I don't think they do that anymore, but I still get the $2 discount.  $2 off an $80 bill.  Woohoo!!!  LOL.   

[maratsade]

Mine are not connected either. No way. I like my TVs dumb. $2 dollars off! I'm jealous.

[Chris11]

Hi Herb,

Glad to hear everything is working to a satisfactory standard. We are always here if you need help

- Chris