elkeyfamily,
Regarding one aspect of your post, you had mentioned that you haven't hooked up your DirecTV. That's good. Don't. Of all of your devices, this is the one thing that will end up chewing through your data in no time. Even if not watching anything on demand (streaming) it will still use all kinds of data with updating titles, apps, software, etc. Connecting your DirecTV receiver to Hughesnet is a REALLY bad ideas. If you have done so, I recommend disconnecting/disassociating it. Again, it will use data like crazy, even when it's off, as it's really only in standby and will still use data.
But the test rules out data leaks. If the test rules a data leak out, it must be coming from the device(s). The reps and others can try to help to determine what device is using it and how to lessen that usage, but sometimes that's impossible. If the particular device is discovered, but the cause isn't, it then becomes the responsibility of the consumer, or possibly even the manufacturer, to figure out what it is on that device that is using the data. If the data leak test proves a data leak, that is definitely on Hughesnet to fix.
I know you responded to BirdDog by name, but I thought maybe you were open to me, too, being that you responded directly to my post.
Dish, depending on your location, is a reseller of either Hughesnet or Exede.
An ISP's responsibility ends at the modems LAN port.
A Modem Isolation Test is performed to see if the modem itself is causing data usage beyond "heartbeat" levels.
It isn't reasonable or feasible for Hughes to directly support and troubleshoot every device, program and app since the dawn of computerdom.
The following is a repost of one of my replies but I think it will serve as a guide:
There can be many reasons for losing data. In the end though it can only be either on the Hughes end or on the users end,
You should run a modem isolation test to see if it is on the Hughes end,
Here is the official graphic:
Follow the steps above and post screenshots of the before/after usage meter and the disconnect/connect times.
If you find that no usage occurs with all of your networked equipment disconnected we have to conclude that the usage is caused by something within your network.
While the following is a repost I think the steps apply to your situation as well:
In the event that no data was used during that period we can only conclude that "something" "somewhere" within your network is using data. It then becomes a "whodunit" and there are methods to determine that.
Divide and Conquer is the name of the game ... and it is essential.
A typical "home network" looks like this:
It is much too complicated to determine the "leak"
The Modem has access ... but we already performed an isolation test
The Router "guts" have access
Anything and everything with wireless range .. both authorize AND unauthorized devices COULD have access
Finally all wired computers have access.
During the troubleshooting phase the "network" MUST be reduced to the minimum number of variables.
It needs to have the router removed from the equation so as to look like this:
The number of variables has been brought down to a manageable level.
It now is time to download and install some software to track usage and identify what program and what process is or has been running and using data.
For this we need Glasswire:
https://www.glasswire.com/ help/
An important point here .....
GlassWire will only monitor the single computer upon which it is installed.
Later as the router is reintroduced, GlassWire will have to be installed on every Windows computer that is connected to the router
Another point to be made here is that if Windows IS the root of the issue ... it uploads/downloads sporadically .. it may take time to "catch it in the act".
So as to not "torque" the amount of usage displayed by GlassWire we need to change a couple of settings ... we don't need to count (later on when more devices are connected) "local" traffic.
Here are my suggested settings:
(click on picture for larger image)
Understanding the results:
Each computer, one by one needs to go through this process.
Once all wired computers have been "cleared" we can add the router back in to the mix with one major exception .... we have to disable the "radio" ...
We then want to test the "network" consisting of all "cleared" wired devices and the router "guts" to ensure they work well together as a whole.
Now comes the stickey part the re-introduction of the routers wireless function.
Its tough because I know of no software that will load on the variety of devices that CAN connect ... cell phone, tablet and so forth.
On laptop computers you can od course load GlassWire but that still leaves many potential avenues open.
The "Poor Mans" method requires great discipline. ALL devices other than a single one have to be and remain in a "hard off" state and that is not easy to do.
Run that single device over time and monitor usage carefully while still running Glasswire and the "difference" is ... the amount used by THAT device.
Of the devices ... Apple stuff is probably the worst ... VERY large updates on a random basis and the updates are very prone to "break" during download causing them to restart from the beginning ... massive data loss there.
It is essential that the router be properly set up !
Guest access MUST be disabled in the routers internal GUI
No "open network" :
WPA-PSK [TKIP] encryption at the very minimum m !
Clear all devices one by one with the understanding that the usage may be sporadic.
There are higher end routers that WILL track usage by individual device but these may be out of reach (about $200) for the casual user. That is the only way to be SURE of what is going through a network.
Enabling encryption of the wireless portion of your router will protect against "drive by" connections as well as disabling guest accounts, WPS and all router cloud services such as Remote Access.
Rich,
I don't know why, as I don't own an iPhone, but I have noticed iPhones being mentioned quite often in posts about high data usage. I have no clue as to what in an iPhone could be using so much data, but it does seem to be a recurring theme.
There was a computer a while back that had Windows 7 on it and which I used to update for someone every few weeks (they had dialup). Every time I would update it it would download additional things that I wasn't asking it to do. It took me forever to figure out that the updates were coming through BITS, but I still never figured out just what it was that was updating. Something having to do with Windows itself, but I have no clue as to what. After all of the manual updates were finished, it would continue to update to the tune of 1GB or more, then would finally stop. It was ludicrous. I even did a clean install of Windows 7, reinstalled fresh, updated copies of the additional programs, but even after that, it continued to happen. They now have windows 8.1 on it, and although I still update it for them, the BITS downloads stopped with the new OS. It was very strange, for sure. I didn't know about Glasswire at the time, though I don't know how well it would have pinpointed what it was. It's too bad they don't make something like Glasswire for iPhones.
Rich,
I think it might be that it's becoming more like Windows 10 with other devices and such, in that they want to force you to have to update things without any say so. It's becoming more clear to me as time goes on that a lot of the manufacturers, and even web pages, think that everyone has unlimited bandwidth and/or just don't care that many of us don't. I used to read a lot of articles on CNN, but now that almost all of them include a video that you can't turn off, I've given up with them, save for the headlines. I can try to load the article and then quickly disconnect my LAN cable before the video starts playing, but that gets to be taxing after a few times. And when using my laptop with the router, it's even worse.