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Newly Upgraded to Gen5 - Speeds Substantially SLOWER than Gen4

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IHC
Freshman

Newly Upgraded to Gen5 - Speeds Substantially SLOWER than Gen4

We recently upgraded our service from Hughes Gen4 (Dishnet) to Gen5. The service was initially impressive, especially compared with what we were used to Gen4. For the first week or so the speeds were great. I ran a few tests as we were usually at about 20mb/s. Video on Amazon Prime streamed in HD with no buffering. We were happy.

 

After about a week the speeds seemed to suffer. I've been on Gen4 so long I've gotten out of the habit of streaming (used to have FiOS at another house). I tried to watch a few shows on Amazon and kept getting errors from Amazon saying my connection was too slow to stream, even with my video option set to "data saver", Amazon's lowest stream rate. I initially assumed that I was just in the evening rush, which we'd gotten used to on our old service. 

 

Then our service got REALLY slow. I ran a few speed tests on the my.Hughesnet.com support panel and was shocked to see I was getting download rates of less than 1mbps. I recycled power on my modem and that seemed to fix things. My first test was around 18mbps. That didn't last. Here's a sampling of consecutive speed tests I had a couple of nights ago:

1: 1.53 mbps

2: 0.58 mbps

3: 1.69 mbps

4: 1.21 mbps

5: 1.91 mbps

6: 1.37 mbps

7: 0.27 mbps

8: 0.18 mbps

9: 2.09 mbps

10: 0.74 mbps

 

I've called the Hughes support line twice and spend well over three hours in total talking with tech support. I'd already done practically everything they asked of me including: turning off all other wi-fi devices, running tests connected with a LAN cable, not wi-fi, running tests in safe-mode, restarting modem, etc. One huge frustration I've had with Hughes support has been the amnesiac quality of the tech support. I was careful to get a case id from each tech support agent to ensure we wouldn't have to start all over at zero with each call. Each agent assured me they were taking detailed notes and would ensure those were available for future calls. They didn't.

 

On the second, 1.5 hour call, I had to go back and literally do every single step in the troubleshooting process I'd already done the day before. I'm not proud, but I lost my temper and was rude to the agent. She offered to have a technician come out a couple of days later (today)...if I paid $125. I refused, and she said she could cut the price in half. I refused again and said I'd cancel the service before I paid. She agreed to send the technician for free. 

 

The technician came today and tooked our system over. He couldn't find anything wrong. He agreed to swap our modem for another. I'd hoped there was some kind of firmware problem with the modem. Our first few tests seem to confirm this diagnosis. The first few tests on the new modem were great - upper 20's mbps. The tech left, I started watching some shows on Amazon. My speeds have cratered again. These are my last four results from testmy.net:

speed test results - 8-25-17.jpg

 

I'm at nearly a complete loss for what is going on. Has anyone else experienced this kind of degraded service? It almost seems as if someone at Hughes has selected our account for especially slow speeds. 

 

One notable thing - our upload speeds are all great, typically between 2.5 and 4 mbps. How can that be when my down speeds are as bad as they are? 

34 REPLIES 34


@IHC wrote:

Donagibbons - I appreciate your frustrations. These inexplicable speed variations have really got me irritated as well. But please do refrain from getting into what seem like personal disputes with these other posters. I'm sure there's a technical solution to this problem. It makes no sense for Hughes to single out particular customers and give them terrible service. 


I do not have personal disputes with these other posters. They are taking it personally.

I am required to work with our students to resolve their issues no matter what type of Internet Service Provider they are using.  It is not just my service with HughesNet that I have to deal with; I have to deal with our students meeting their course work and other Instructors and other staffs who have to meet certain university standards.  The ones that contact me often with the worse authentication problems turn out to be HughesNet Satellite users.  We have encountered that HughesNet and certain Cable ISP have issues with Shibboleth Internet2 Authentication and Authorization method.  Shibboleth Internet2 is a requirement for many universities throughout the US and the World.   We communicated with the community board the schools use to share our experience with using Learning Management Systems.

 

I never said Hughes single out particular customers.  And based on our experience it is not.  It appears to be system wide on HughesNet based on our communication with our clients and fellowships.

 

We would like to know how HughesNet solves your speed issue so we can pass this to our customers as one possible cause identified is timeout related to authentication.

 

 

donagibbons
Freshman

I just recently upgraded from Gen4 to Gen5.   Originally I was not going to put up with the Gen4 poor service after two years.  The major issue I had with Gen4 is I continuously switch to my Verizon wireless if I wanted to watch any Amazon Video, Funimation, or Netflix.  Also, the only way I could run my Critical Security for Windows 10, macOS Sierra, AppleTV, or Linux systems.  The biggest security issue I have with HughesNet is dealing our Canvas system that uses Shibboleth.  I have to use my school VPN dialer or my Verizon wireless to connect to my university learning management system.  The school uses the Federation Services for Shibboleth Authentication.  After communication with other network security administrators at other universities, this seems to be a common issue with HughesNet users.  HughesNet is not security friendly with Shibboleth Authentication Services.

And you are correct, Gen5 is Substantially SLOWER than Gen4 after one month.  I only upgraded because the sales promise that Gen5 would resolve my downloading of security updates for my operating systems and the cost would be below 100 dollars.    So far neither is true.  The first month everything worked flawlessly, primarily to good to be true.  After one month, the cost is more than what was the promise.  

Now, Gen5 is not only slower than Gen4, but Gen5 is also slower than my Verizon Unlimited Data Allowance Plan.  The sales person promised me that Gen5 would be superior to Verizon. Gen5 is also five times the cost of my Verizon Unlimited Data Allowance Plan, where HughesNet maxed out at 50GB Data Allowance Plan.  

Therefore as per C0RR0SIVE suggestion, I only used speed test software approved by HughesNet, even though as a Software Engineer I know better.   Using HughesNet's approved testmy.net and HughesNet's Speed Test listed under my HughesNet Account I performed the 3-5 tests during different parts of the day.  Based on C0RR0SIVE recommendation  HughesNet is a total failure.  HughesNet Satellite Gen5 average download speed is 0.89Mbps where Verizon Wireless is 15.53 Mbps before and after using 50GB data allowance on both systems.    According to HughesNet's speed test, the results declare Verizon is superior to HughesNet Gen5.  According to C0RR0SIVE recommendation of using only HughesNet speed test, the results declare Verizon is superior to HughesNet Gen5.

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@donagibbons wrote:


And you are correct, Gen5 is Substantially SLOWER than Gen4 after one month.  


If that's what you're experiencing, that's unfortunate, and hopefully the cause, whatever it may be, can rectified.  With that said, it's not as if it's by design or deliberate.  Hughesnet isn't lowering customers' speeds after their first month of service.    

GabeU,

 

I never said it was by design or deliberate.  I am just observing that each new Gen Version, it always the same.  The first month is flawless, the second month it terrible.   And HughesNet has no explanation.  So can you explain to me why it happens like clockwork?  Can you explain to me why HughesNet is following a political agenda and not a physical agenda?

@donagibbons

Less tin-foil please?  Seriously, you have hijacked another customers thread, which is honestly, very rude to do.  How would you feel if some random person jumped in front of someone you was communicating with and started spouting non-sense?

Topics do not get deleted here unless they break the rules, they can however, end up in a moderation queue depending on content.

 C0RR0SIVE

 

Only a fool would suggest "Less tin-foil" and only a fool would wear a tin-foil hat.

 

I did not break any rules.  If quoting Instructor level users comments and suggests and HughesNet whitepaper is breaking the rules please include this in your rules.  Last one deleted was when I quoted a HughesNet whitepaper to one of your responses C0RR0SIVE.

 

You have not changed in over 2 years.  You are always accusing everyone of wearing tin-foil.

C0RR0SIVE

If you consider sharing the same experience with another customer hijacking, then what do you define a community board in first place.  Community boards by design are for sharing an experience.  And hopefully, find solutions.  However, all I have seen on this community board is Instructor level persons crucify those who have same experience and opinions and can duplicate the same issues.   So if you consider bashing your customers like using tin-foil comments good for business then you are the best hijacker around and customer support accusing their customers being too stupid to use their system, then you are the best hijacker around.

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@donagibbons wrote:

GabeU,

 

I never said it was by design or deliberate.  I am just observing that each new Gen Version, it always the same.  The first month is flawless, the second month it terrible.   And HughesNet has no explanation.  So can you explain to me why it happens like clockwork?  Can you explain to me why HughesNet is following a political agenda and not a physical agenda?


Assumptions aren't facts.  Does it happen with every customer?  Are YOU every customer.  Do YOU speak for every customer?    

 

Assuming it's happening to everyone and assuming it's deliberate are nothing but blind speculation.  BTW...it doesn't happen to every custsomer.  It never happened to me, but, then again, if it did, I wouldn't have automatically jumped on the "Hughesnet is out to get us" train.  I don't tend to assume the provider is doing something deliberately when something happens to me and a few other people.  

 

The not so veiled shill comment doesn't tend to help your credibility, BTW.  

       

GabeU,

 

I never assume nor make assumptions without facts.  I am not everyone.  You are the one assuming and clumping everyone into groups without facts.  And been doing for years.  I am currenlty using Verizon Wireless right now instead of HughesNet Satellite to communicate with you.   Accusing me of making assumptions and speaking for everyone destroys your credibility.  Falsely accusing me that I assume it happens to everyone destroys your credibility.  However, my college level students who have HughesNet Satellite like me are often contacting me to help troubleshoot since HughesNet never resolves their issue.  The final result is they have to find another carrier to get their school homework done by the due date.

garyyouree
Spectator

Those are terrible results. I am really sorry. It sucks and is getting worse - - these big corps forcing us all to eat **bleep** because of , evidently, no more deregulation. I dont see any way out from under the psychopathic elites. Maybe all move to all these empty small towns with dead mainstreets, work with the locals (who feel the same) and convince they guys with cattle to sell the meat to us, convince the guys growing one big crop to grow a huge variety, trading labor and cash for it. Drill wells or get the old one in your backyard working. And quit buying all the junk being sold you dont need. You really dont have to by anything by electronics new. It is all at yard sales. Boycott the bastards before you dont have a choice.

I digress. Can some one email me and let me know, before I have to figure it out myself, how to make use of all that late night time by selecting the youtube videos I want and download them to my hardrive? garyyouree@gmail .com      please... dont spam me because someone **bleep**ed you. It was not me. The predator psychopathic elites have already divided us domesticated prey so badly we are likely to never use our consciousness for its intention, coming together for the common good, so we can look ahead farther than our own lifetimes and preserve our species so that we might someday travel among the stars.

Our consciousness, of those with the traits we attribute to humanity; empathy, humor, and conscience, has been turned to cognitive dissonance.

Good Luck - and email me please. 

 

I upgraded from gen 4 to 5 in September of this year. The tech told me I was getting much faster speeds at the time of the upgrade (and I did not check the speed test on the hughesnet page before) but I was testing what I saw on screen using YouTube.

I though I was getting more buffering than usual but it was not really enough of a difference to be sure it was slower. BTW, from the Chicago server I am getting 19.34Mpbs download and 2.75 Mpbs upload.

I am not going to bother running a coax for the test. It is wifi I am using and it has its own test.

I am happy about the cost. I am saving around 30.00, or I was, I need to check my statement to see if it has changed....since the problems seem to be happening a month out for everyone posting.

My speed has not changed.

I use windows 7 and dont plan to upgrade until I have to. I use a little social media, watch some online video, netflix and youtube, and use word. I dont like change. I have had every windows system since the first and each interface is just more noodles with your sauce.

The very best windows system i have used (and I had a pallet, carboard, and trucking business with 150 employees and around 15 people in the office using pc's was WINDOWS PRO. It was so good with no bugs, no crashes, very, very, little extra bullsh*t, I wiped operating systems off the new pc's I had to buy and installed the Windows Pro. I still have over ten grand in software that was purchased for that version of windows.

Of course I cannot use it now because ... well you know why. If it were not for the Internet I would be using it though.

 

BTW - on the subject of Internet speed and watching videos. I have an older (cost 5k is how old) huge Samsung TV that is not very smart - which is good in my opinion. So for 40 bucks you can buy a wifi blue ray dvd that will accept your wifi internet signal....so I can watch my videos on the big screen now.

Probably due to the cheapest DVD wifi compatible player i could buy I am having more buffering problems and some lost signal problems ... but for the most part i have worked them out.

 

I do not like the fact that the gen 5 was pushed so hard to me declaring it was several times faster, when, if anything it is a little slower - but in my case so little difference that it is well worth the price.

 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@garyyouree

 

First, this is a HughesNet Support site, not a site for you to rant about deregulation and whatever other nonsense you are ranting about in your first two paragraphs.  Nor is foul language tolerated.  Please follow the Community Guidelines and stick to the topic.    

 

Secondly, this site is public. You posted your email address.  Get ready for the spam.  

 

Lastly.  This is the tech support section.  The section for getting support when you are having a technical issue.  If you are having a technical issue, please create a new topic.  


@garyyouree wrote:
I digress.

Hadn't noticed.


* 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.
lenoraj
New Poster

I agree 100%.  It seems I have followed the same issues as you have exactly.

It ran great the first week and now it is slower than dialup.

If you call for support you are waiting forever and than you get someone you cant understand.

 

I work until 5pm Monday - Friday and I guess those are the only times  you can call to get someone that speaks english.

I am so frustrated right now.  I hate HugesNet!!!

I am ready to move just so I can get better internet.

 

FRUSTRATED!!

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@lenoraj

 

To get some help with your issue, please start a new topic, which you can do here....  https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/forums/postpage/board-id/TechSupport