New Gen5 WiFi doesn't work reliably

[mmollinet]

I recently upgraded to the Gen5 system.  I was excited that they now included a WiFi router.  Everything seemed to work just fine when I first set it up.  Both the 2.4 and 5 GHz seemed to work just fine.  I have mostly Apple devices (Laptop, iPad, iPhone, and AppleTV). But then after a few hours the 5 GHz network wouldn't show up (and no, I didn't move out of range).  After fiddling around for probably 8 hours, it seemed that the 4 different networks (2.4, 5.0, 2.4 Guest, and 5.0 Guest) would intermittently work.  I couldn't find the 5.0 GHz network, but could find the 5.0 GHz Guest Network. Then 20 minutes later I could find the 5.0 GHz network, but not the guest network, etc.  I reset the modem (unplugging and plugging back in) about 20 times over several hours. When plugged back in all seemed to show up, but it would only last a few minutes and then one would disapper again.  I have a good strong full signal where I was testing it.  It was absolutely infuriating.  I finally just gave up and turned off all of the built-in WiFi networks and connected my Apple Airport Extreme router again and eveything has worked just fine since.  What is going on with the HughesNet router?  I would appreciate any response, but especially from HughesNet Tech Support person. 

[maratsade]

Not a HN support person (this is a community site, so 99% of people posting here are customers), but I just wanted to say that I have actually fewer problems with Apple products than with Windows products.  Everything always seems to just work with Apple. With Windows, not so much. In any case, I think your issue is likely a problem somewhere in your network. There are very knowledgeable people posting here, and I'm sure someone will come to the rescue and help you troubleshoot.  Hughes people won't be here until Monday. 

[GabeU]

@mmollinet

Though I'm not a tech and do not work for HughesNet, I can tell you that some people have been having issues with the 5Ghz radio in the HT2000W.  HughesNet is aware of the problem and they are working on a solution.  

[Liz]

Hello mmollinet,

Welcome to the community and thank you for posting. As GabeU mentioned, our engineers are aware of this and have an update slated for release soon to address this 5 GHz network behavior. Once I have any updates to share on this release, I'll let you know.

Your patience and understanding are much appreciated.

[Liz · Accepted solution]

Good morning mmollinet,

Our engineers have recently rolled out the update to one gateway for observations before determining whether to deploy to all gateways. We will be checking in with the engineers daily next week for an ETA for the nationwide update release and let you know as soon as we have news to share.

Your patience and understanding are much appreciated.

[dredman]

Hopefully this rolls out soon.  I just switched to Gen5 a few days ago and the problem is very obvious for me because WiFi goes down several times a day.  It is very frustrating.

[GabeU]

@dredman

In lieu of the fix, you could try using the 2.4Ghz radio or use a 3rd party router, if you have one. 

[mmollinet]

The 2.4 GHz radios seemed a bit finicky too, but better than the 5.0 GHz.  But as I mentioned, I finally just gave up and turned all of the built-in WiFi off and used my Apple Airport Extreme which auto-adjusts from 2.4 GHz to 5.0 GHz, depending on where you are in the home and which bandwidth works best for that device in that location.  Seem to be getting great speeds so far juts using my Apple router.

[mweasner]

I am also seeing the 5G Wi-Fi network dropouts frequently with the newly installed Gen5 modem (less than one week old).  Tonight I am also seeing a frequent disappearing act by the modem.  Modem disappears from Ethernet, Usage Meter goes gray, all network connected devices Ethernet and Wi-Fi lose LAN and WAN connectivity for a minute or so.  Then the modem magically reappears, along with connectivity.  Gateway ID 16, Beam ID 87, Outroute ID 6.

[C0RR0SIVE]

@mweasner

You might want to create a new topic for your specific issues.

[mweasner]

Sunday night I powered cycled the modem.  That seemed to have stopped the modem instability.  BUT it did not revive the 5G Wi-Fi.  There is still no 5G broadcasting itself Monday morning.  I have disabled and re-enabled the 5G network but still no 5G network visible.  I am close to asking HughesNet to revert me back to Gen4.  This Gen5 modem is too flakey.

[mweasner]

Just seconds after I posted the above message about the modem being stable it dropped offline from the LAN.  When it returned on its own this time the 5G Wi-Fi network was visible.  BUT as I was typing this message the 5G network disappeared again.  I think "FLAKEY" is definitely the correct marketing word for HughesNet Gen5.  Was it rushed to the market?

[MarkJFine]

There are recognized issues with the 5GHz wifi crashing on the 2000W and I think it is being addressed.

I have had good results with resetting the modem by unplugging the power cord from the power brick, waiting about a minute, then carefully plugging it back in. You don't want to do this fast for several reasons, the most important is the possibility of creating your own power spike in the box.

It takes a while for the router to reboot after the modem reboots and associates, so best to leave it alone for 5 minutes or so while it stabilizes.

If it doesn't come back at that point, go back and reset it as I described above. It may take 2-3 tries before it sticks, but it will stick.

And, coming from Gen4 (and being somewhat critical of it, myself), I'd recommend staying with Gen5. It really is a whole lot better and dealing with some of these early glitches is worth it - my 2p.

[Amanda]

Hi mweasner

I'm really sorry to hear you have been having so much trouble after upgrading. We do have your account on file and I am currently running diagnostics, which takes a bit longer now that the new modem has Wi-Fi and thus more things to check. In the meantime it would really help if you created a new thread for yourself so we can make sure we isolate your specific problem. Please include a list of devices you are trying to connect and which ones have issues staying connected to a specific band. Depending on the results of the tests I am running, I may need to ask you more questions. Your patience and cooperation is much appreciated.

Thank you

Amanda

[mweasner]

Thank you Amanda.  It will take some time before I get a chance to prepare the info you requested.  I really don't like having to do all this troubleshooting.  I am not a beta tester for HughesNet.  If you want to enter into such an agreement with me, let me know.  (I was a beta tester for Cox when they got into the Cable Modem business back in the 1990s.  I have also been a beta tester for Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, and many other companies.)

[mweasner]

Amanda, I prefer to not post a list of my devices here.  Send an email to my email address on the my HughesNet account.  I will then send you a description of the Gen5 full problems and a list of the devices that worked on my Gen4 system.  Mike

[GabeU]

---

@mweasner wrote:

Amanda, I prefer to not post a list of my devices here.  Send an email to my email address on the my HughesNet account.  I will then send you a description of the Gen5 full problems and a list of the devices that worked on my Gen4 system.  Mike

---

No one can hack your devices through Hughesnet, if that's your concern. 

[mweasner]

Wi-Fi 5G dropped out again after being OK for about a day.  Since HughesNet has known about this problem for some time and a fix is being developed, will HughesNet contact every Gen5 customer to let them know when they can start using 5G reliably?  If no such contact is forthcoming, customers will have to assume that Gen5 continues to be too unreliable to be recommended to their friends.

[Gwalk900]

You can send a list of devices to @Amanda via  PM.

[MarkJFine]

@mweasner

Trust me when I say I feel your pain. I've spent a lot of time looking for an expedient way to get the 5GHz radio to work after it crashed because when it works, it's awesome. So I also hope they find out why it's happening and squash it... quickly.

Only when the fix is found, fully tested, and known to work reliably in the system will they start rolling out updates - so it's going to take some time. Typically they will accompany that with an announcement here to notify people, but I have also seen email notices sent for such things in the past.

[GabeU]

Gen5 is not unreliable.  The 5Ghz radio in the HT2000W modem is (at this time).  

Conversely, as has been stated time and time again, for the time being, one can use the 2.4Ghz radio, or their own 3rd party router.  

Gen5 itself is fine.