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Breninithaca
Sophomore

Losing data at extreme rate

We have recently started losing data at a rate of 2 gig per DAY. We usually go through our 10 gig in about 20 -25 days and I usually end up buying an extra 5 gig token each month. But the past week or so the data use has been really bad. We rolled over to the new month yesterday and this morning we're already almost 25% down which is crazy. We have multiple devices 2 of which connect via ethernet the rest are wifi. Devices are 2 Win 10 PCs, 2 iphones, an ipad, a kindle fire, an Xbox One (which i try to leave disconnected) and a signal booster. The signal booster just got installed last week and I'm wondering if it is causing the problem. I keep it off when it isn't needed so could it still be draining data? The second Win 10 PC is also new as is the Kindle. But they are also both powered off when not in use and they aren't actually used that much. The modem is an HT2000W. The signal booster doesn't have a model number that I can find. Our wifi comes up as 2G and 5g on our mobile devices but the 5g rarely works.

27 REPLIES 27
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

To get help for data leaks, first follow the instructions here:  https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/Tech-Support/Where-s-my-bytes-Testing-for-data-leaks/m-p/77194#M5...

 

Data leaks usually happen because of something at your end, so the steps listed in the article will help the Hughesnet staff on this site help you diagnose the problem. It is likely the HN staff will not get involved until you have done your part on your end.  Also note that they're on the site usually M-F, 9-5. 

 

Second, you may want to consider installing the free application Glasswire on your computers (I don't believe it's available for other devices). This application can tell you what's using data. Alternatively, and this is more expensive, you could install a router that also keeps track of what everything connected to it is using. 

 

Breninithaca wrote:

We have recently started losing data at a rate of 2 gig per DAY. We usually go through our 10 gig in about 20 -25 days and I usually end up buying an extra 5 gig token each month. But the past week or so the data use has been really bad. We rolled over to the new month yesterday and this morning we're already almost 25% down which is crazy. We have multiple devices 2 of which connect via ethernet the rest are wifi. Devices are 2 Win 10 PCs, 2 iphones, an ipad, a kindle fire, an Xbox One (which i try to leave disconnected) and a signal booster. The signal booster just got installed last week and I'm wondering if it is causing the problem. I keep it off when it isn't needed so could it still be draining data? The second Win 10 PC is also new as is the Kindle. But they are also both powered off when not in use and they aren't actually used that much. The modem is an HT2000W. The signal booster doesn't have a model number that I can find. Our wifi comes up as 2G and 5g on our mobile devices but the 5g rarely works.


 

I already have Glasswire. But I'm not really sure how to read it. Is there some way I can see what devices are connected? And there is something there that is strange, I'm showing the biggest data loss as being to an IP address registered in Ireland.  I'm in NY. Is this because my son has to use a VPN to do his online college classes?

What's the IP in Ireland?

 

VPN will use a lot of data if there are a lot of packet resends. It's also very slow on satellite because of the inherent latency. So if the latency exceeds the school server's tolerance, it may be acking and nacking a lot more than it should have to... another reason why VPN (like streaming) is not advised over satellite.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Is there some way I can see what devices are connected?

 

  1. Go to http://192.168.0.1/#!/usage
  2. Click the grey I that's to the right of the word English
  3. On the left hand side of the screen, click "General"
  4. Click "Connected Device Info"

So after over an hour on the phone with tech support and upgrading Glasswire to the paid version, we have determined that the data loss is coming from the Xbox One. Problem is, we've gone so far as to unplug it's power supply and it's STILL showing as using data. How is that possible and how can I stop it?

 

Also, can someone please tell me which PC browser uses the least amount of data? Every time I open Chrome my data usage spikes.

Guarantee that if the XB1's power was cut off, it's not using any data. Must be something else.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.

My son says the Xbox has an internal battery that will retain a charge for quite a while after it's unplugged, so I guess that would account for that issue. I blocked the Xbox MAC address last night and sure enough the data drain stopped even after it got plugged back in. Went from 100% data to 63% data in 24 hours between Friday and Saturday and last night it only went from 63% to 61% overnight.

However, the Hughesnet tech I talked to said they were going to credit me back the lost data and I'm wondering how long that will take because it hasn't happened? 

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Have you checked your account to see if they have added tokens to it?

 

Breninithaca wrote:


However, the Hughesnet tech I talked to said they were going to credit me back the lost data and I'm wondering how long that will take because it hasn't happened? 


 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@Breninithaca 

 

Under the Usage tab of the HughesNet MyAccount site, make sure to check your Data Tokens Available on the lower right, and if you don't see the data added there, click on Buy Tokens and see if they show in the popup as Prepaid or Free token data.  If the data is showing in one of the two lines (Prepaid or Free) in the popup, and you would like to make the token data available for automatic use if/when you exhaust your Service Plan Data, click on Use to add them to the Data Tokens Available data bank.

 

The token data you see in the Data Tokens Available data bank will be automatically used if/when you exhaust your Service Plan Data. 

 

Data is used in the following manner, with each successive data bank being drawn from after the prior one is exhausted.  FAP stands for Fair Access Policy.  When you reach the FAP stage your service speed is throttled for the remainder of your service month.  

 

8AM - 2AM - Service Plan Data > Token data > FAP

2AM - 8AM - Bonus Zone data > Service Plan Data > Token data > FAP

So the problem is still occurring. Last night we literally powered off or unplugged every single device in the house that connects to the Hughesnet modem. And this morning we are down from 57% data last night (which was already ridiculously low 3 days into the cycle) to only 27% this morning. Either it's the Hughesnet equipment or there's something using our data that we don't know about. And yet when I look at the connected devices list I only show 4 items right now - my PC, my son's PC, my iphone, and my son's ipad. The Xbox, the second iphone, the Kindle, aren't even showing up. Nor is there any sign that anyone else is somehow connecting (which considering our nearest neighbors are half a mile away would be pretty unlikely anyway...). I just don't know how we managed to lose 30% of our data overnight with nothing plugged in. I'm seriously considering starting to unplug the modem itself overnight since according to my Glasswire data the drain seems to consistently be happening between 10 pm and 2 am when no one in our house is even awake.

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Once again, please follow the data leak protocol outlined here:

 

https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/Tech-Support/Where-s-my-bytes-Testing-for-data-leaks/m-p/77194#M5...

 

 

Sorry I did that last night but apparently my print screen button isn't working because I can't find the images. I'll have to do it again tonight using my phone to take the pictures. However I do have a question. The main change in my setup recently has been the addition of the signal booster which I only got last week. Is it possible the drain is coming from the booster communicating with the modem?

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

I think the way you can test that is by removing the booster from the network. 

Yeah, I didn't thinki it was the XBox. Those batteries are like CR2032 3v CMOS backup batteries for the clock and such. They're not meant for uninterrupted powering the device fully.

 

If you're not seeing any connected devices, one of two things are slightly possible:
1. Modem is stuck in an update loop, which really isn't supposed to trigger any usage.

2. Someone from the internet is direct-connnected to your IP and using it as a proxy or peer, which is also unlikely since you're behind a double-nat.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.

"...I only show 4 items right now - my PC, my son's PC, my iphone, and my son's ipad...."

 

  This is just a wild guess, but I had a similar problem about a year ago.   It turned out to be an I-phone,  the person who owned the I-phone assured me that it was no longer connected to my WIFI but I could see that it still was.  I changed my password to one unknown by the I-phone and the problem was gone.  Needless to say I didn't give the new password to the I-phone owner and I've never allowed an I-phone on my WIFI since.

 

  I'm probably one of the few people in the world that does not even own any kind of smart phone, so I asked a guy with a lot of experience with I-phones, and he told me that by default an I-phone updates all of it's installed apps periodically, and this can use gigs of data.   He also said this can be turned off at the I-phone.

 

  I've since reluctantly allowed an I-pad on my network, and didn't have any problems with it.

 

  BTW it's been my experience that Kindles don't show up on the network when turned off.  When turned on they show up as a private network IP address.

I'll have to check the automatic updates on his phone when he gets home from class. He doesn't have a cellular data account, just calling only, so he does use the wifi on it at home. And the ipad has never had cellular service.  I'll need to make sure it's not using wifi to do iOS updates (which can be huge) or app updates. Thanks for the thought.

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@Breninithaca 

 

Unfortunately, the Modem Isolation Test (the data leak test) in the previously provided link is missing one very important step from the instructions.  This is due to the instructions being written before Gen5 was released.  The step is disabling the WiFi in the HT2000W modem.  This step is still not shown in the graphic, but it is in written part of the instructions I will post below.  

 

The idea behind the Modem Isolation Test is to see if the modem itself is somehow using data, and not having the WiFi disabled defeats the purpose of the test, as WiFi devices can still connect.  

 

Again, the graphic doesn't include the part about disabling the WiFi, but the written instructions do.  Also, the instructions for actually disabling the WiFi are at the end. 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please perform the following test outlined in the graphic below. This is known as a modem isolation test, and it will help to determine whether the issue is with HughesNet or your local network..

photo P2hSeDN.jpg

1: Disable the WiFi in the HT2000W modem.
2: Take a screen capture of the HughesNet Usage Meter, along with the clock on your computer screen.
3: Disconnect the LAN cable from the modem, noting the date and time of disconnect.
4: Leave the LAN cable disconnected from the modem for several hours. HughesNet recommends doing this overnight, or during the day while at work. DO NOT unplug the modem from the power. The modem must remain powered.
5: Reconnect the LAN cable to the modem, noting the date and time of reconnect.
6: Take a screen capture of the HughesNet Usage Meter, along with the clock displayed on your computer.
7: Post your screenshots to the community.

Please DO NOT unplug the modem power after running the test. The reps need to be able to reconcile the test results with the modem logs, and disconnecting the power from the modem erases those logs.

Please be aware that, if you downloaded any large files just prior to this test, or if the disconnect was for an extensive time period, some usage may appear to have occurred, but it should be rather negligible.

If you don't know how to disable the WiFi in the HT2000W, please see "How do I manage my built-in WiFi modem?" in this PDF. Please be sure to click "Save Settings" after unchecking "SSID Enable" for each of the four tabs individually (2.4Ghz, then 2.4Ghz Guest, then 5Ghz, then 5Ghz Guest).

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

I hope one of the mods updates that document....

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@maratsade wrote:

I hope one of the mods updates that document....


Me, too. 

 

@Amanda 

@Liz

So last night I powered off the modem and as expected had no data loss. Tonight I will leave it on but turn off all devices and try taking pics again.

I do have what may seem like a weird question. Is it possible a device could be connecting and not showing on my connected devices list? My dad has a pacemaker and it transmits data overnight to his doctor's office so that they can track if he is having cardiac events. It has a little unit that it connects to via wi-fi (isn't tech amazing) that takes the data and transfers it through our home phone line which is running through one of those InnoMedia boxes. Is it possible it could be using the data? I have no idea how much data it uses, it basically transfers a 24 hour EKG to the doctor's office every night around midnight. And if it is using HN, how can I stop it, he needs it to work!