My modem is bad but I can’t get any help from customer service.

[Ehrmanj]

So my system and transmit light on my HT2000 went out a little over a week ago, and I finally got some time to call customer service today. I am 99% positive I knew what would fix the issue (a new modem) but i cooperatively went through all of the nice lady from Texas’s troubleshooting methods for an hour. She finally explained she needed to reach out to another “advanced” tech who basically told her to tell me since it’s raining (I live on the Oregon coast where it rains all the time) they couldn’t do advanced tests and there is nothing they can do to help me. I just got finished with the call and It’s now Friday after 5pm and It’s gonna be more then likely another 4-5 days minimum before I can get Internet.
To take care of any business, I now have to drive 10 miles each way to use internet. Very expensive along with paying what I see as a very high amount for service that doesn’t even work.
Highly irritated with the internet service in general and really want this to be made right.

[maratsade]

The HughesNet staff wil be back on Monday, and I'm sure they'll run diagnostics on your site and sort all of this out for you.  

[GabeU]

@Ehrmanj 

Unfortunately, with it now being Friday evening, it's likely that the earliest you'll hear from a rep here will be Monday.  Damian is often on in the evenings, but he may already be off for the day.  

The reps are on M-F from approximately 9AM to 6PM EST, with Damian often being on in the evenings, as mentioned.  

For troubleshooting purposes, what is the State Code in the System Summary box at the top of this page, and what is showing for the Satellite Receive Signal Strength in the WAN Info box on the lower left of the same page?  You may need to be connected to the HughesNet modem with a LAN cable in order to see this page.

[Ehrmanj]

The women who helped on the phone which was extremely nice and wanted to help, had me run the state test and it would be (12.3.2 a transmit problem has occurred) and the received signal strength is 118.
she was able to multiple times get it the state code to 0.0.0 for a few seconds but would always go back to transmit problems.

[GabeU]

@Ehrmanj 

Something's going on, no doubt, as a signal strength of 118 should have no problem connecting.  

Come Monday, if you normally don't I would leave the modem plugged in so that the reps can attempt to run remote diagnostics on it.  They may not be able to, but they will almost assuredly try.  

If they determine that the problem is with the modem, which sounds like may be the case, they'll send you a replacement.

That's not to lock you into this or anything, of course.  If you want to call them again and go that way it's fine.

[maratsade]

"I would leave the modem plugged in "

It shouldn't be rebooted either.

[GabeU]

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@maratsade wrote:

"I would leave the modem plugged in "

It shouldn't be rebooted either.

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I don't know that with an ongoing problem like this it would really matter.  The modem logs from an intermittent problem would probably help, but with something like this it's likely that what they see would be the same no matter what.

Edit:  Actually, I should say, "if they can even see it."  With it having connection issues it's very possible that they won't even be able to connect to it in the first place.  That would certainly tell them something's amiss with it.

[maratsade]

Rebooting the modem clears the logs, though, doesn't it? 

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@GabeU wrote:

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I don't know that with an ongoing problem like this it would really matter.  The modem logs from an intermittent problem would probably help, but with something like this it's likely that what they see would be the same no matter what.

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[GabeU]

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@maratsade wrote:

Rebooting the modem clears the logs, though, doesn't it? 

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Yes, it does.  

It certainly doesn't hurt to refrain from rebooting it, of course, and there is always a chance that the logs could help, but I've just never seen a rep mention needing the logs or looking at them when remotely checking a modem having connection issues.  I think it's due to them being able to see a connection issue, or even an indication of an intermittent connection issue, in real time.

With what the OP is describing, it's likely that they'll see the problem right away.

[Ehrmanj]

Well It’s 30 mins until noon on Monday, no call back from customer service, or reply on here..
I’m trying to be patient but not having internet is starting to make things complicated

[maratsade]

Your first post was on Friday -- that's around 24 hours (in business days). Sometimes they take a bit longer to respond, which is why they ask for patience. 

ETA: @Liz , @Damian 

[Damian]

@Ehrmanj,

Thank you for posting and welcome to the community. I apologize for the delay in response. Please private message me the phone number associated with your account and I will begin diagnosing the equipment.    

-Damian   

[Damian]

@Ehrmanj,

Thank you for providing me the account information. After running diagnostics, it appears the equipment itself is fully operational, but the communication between your dish and our gateway is being interrupted. The diagnostics are reporting heavy cloud coverage and a very poor line of sight because of this. Our representatives were correct in the fact that the weather is actually causing a severe interruption in signal transmission. While your service may work most of the time during rain, cloud coverage will always vary and will affect things differently. Looking at the weather report, I see very heavy cloud coverage in your area, over the past week. This has been confirmed by your diagnostics as well. I understand this is an inconvenience, however, these are inherent symptoms when using satellite-based technology. As a courtesy, I will be applying a discount to your account once the service has returned. I will send details of this discount through a private message. I appreciate your patience while waiting for this to be resolved and I hope that is the case soon.   

-Damian 

[Ehrmanj]

Update for anyone else who reads this or is wondering:

STILL NO INTERNET. I’ve had multiple stretches of weather where there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and took pictures to prove it and my internet hasn’t even came back on for any amount of time. My modem has been plugged in since the day I first posted on here. What the heck.!?
I’ve had Hughes net once before this and for multiple months of living on the Oregon coast, and have never had an issue like this, especially one that lasts a month. There has got to be more going on then some sort of signal loss.

[maratsade]

Have you checked the weather at your gateway?

@Damian 

[GabeU]

@Ehrmanj 

If your internet hasn't come back on in two weeks, there's definitely more going on than weather, including at your gateway.   

Even though it likely won't help, the possibility that it could makes power cycling the modem worth it to try.  If you're using a computer, first shut that down, as power cycling the modem while the computer is one can sometimes cause connection problems of its own.  Then unplug the modem at either the wall outlet or the power pack.  After waiting at least 30 seconds, plug the modem back in.  Then, after waiting for at least five minutes, which will give the modem the time it needs to be fully back up and ready, turn your computer back on and try to connect, or try to connect using whatever device it is you normally use.

[Ehrmanj]

Can you check the weather at the gateway on the one page you bring up for diagnostic?
@maratsade
@GabeU
Also wanted to thank you two for being quick to respond and try to help people, I don’t know how you guys do it but it’s pretty cool.
My main concern is that I’ve spent over 2 hrs talking on the phone, countless amounts of minutes resetting, unplugging, rechecking connections at every place they could be connected. Along with trying to do my own troubleshooting through research, and like I stated above people that had identical problems, their solution was a new modem.
To me that would of been worth a shot when Damian first responded... I’m pretty sure I saw a thread where he did exactly that in this community forum and the OP was pleased and said everything went back to normal. Again thank you guys!

[GabeU]

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@Ehrmanj wrote:
Can you check the weather at the gateway on the one page you bring up for diagnostic? 

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No, but if you can tell us what it says for your IP Gateway Association State string, we can tell you where your gateway is located.  To see that info, look in the System Status box on this page.  What we specifically need is underlined in the following picture of my own string.  Yours will be different than mine.    

Edit:  Conversely, you can find your gateway using the instructions on this website, which is owned by a Community member.  It takes a little while to load.  You can then take a look at the weather at that location.

[maratsade]

I wish we could help more, but we can only do so much. I hope that following @GabeU 's instructions will help you.  As for the thread you saw, maybe Damian or someone else ran diagnostics and saw the modem wasn't working.   @Damian  ran remote diagnostics on your system and apparently it's working as it should, which may be why he suggested weather. Weather at the ground station can impair the signal, which is why I asked if you'd checked the weather there.  But you've been without internet for so long; I can't imagine things are that bad at the ground station. 

I hope a mod will take another look at your system, just in case something was missed.

Ehrmanj wrote:

Also wanted to thank you two for being quick to respond and try to help people, I don’t know how you guys do it but it’s pretty cool.
My main concern is that I’ve spent over 2 hrs talking on the phone, countless amounts of minutes resetting, unplugging, rechecking connections at every place they could be connected. Along with trying to do my own troubleshooting through research, and like I stated above people that had identical problems, their solution was a new modem.
To me that would of been worth a shot when Damian first responded... I’m pretty sure I saw a thread where he did exactly that in this community forum and the OP was pleased and said everything went back to normal. Again thank you guys!

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[Damian]

@Ehrmanj,

I took another look at your equipment diagnostics, and it appears the weather at your location is starting to clear up, however, the gateway assigned to you seems to still be experiencing issues with cloud coverage and snow. I understand modems have been issued to those who may have had similar symptoms, however, this was specifically done for those with diagnostics showing tangible issues with the modem itself. Your diagnostics do not show any issues with the modem or radio transmitter so replacing this would be unnecessary. Because we are responsible for the ground station, compensation will be applied for the weeks of missed service. I will continue to monitor our gateway for reports on our team's efforts at combating the adverse weather there. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience.  

-Damian 

[Ehrmanj]

So I’ve been crab fishing and haven’t been home hardly at all, not having internet at home I guess has just become normal, but I noticed the motem won’t work at all now. I left it plugged in while I was gone so you could try to test it now it has no lights on, and won’t do anything when I unplug or reset it.
But I’ve also been charged for month after month on top of all this, and it just isn’t right at all.