RTT Errors

[David_78933]

Starting this morning I am getting RTT errors semi-continuously that keeps me from accessing the internet via ethernet or wifi.

[Damian]

@David_78933,

Thank you for commenting and I am sorry to hear this. The gateway assigned to your service is experiencing a severe thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and has been for most of the day. Once the weather clears, you should notice an improvement with these errors you're receiving. -Damian 

[David_78933]

Thanks, Damian.  I checked the radar and it was in fact raining in Missoula last Tuesday.  But the RTT problems have continued intermittently since then.  Today Missoula is clear and I am having continuous RTT problems.  Measured latency is 6 seconds.  As one would guess, nothing much is working well with regard to internet access.  So what else can cause RTT to increase like this?

[Damian]

David_78933,

Currently, there are no other issues being reported by your modem/system remotely. This means there are no specific troubleshooting steps we can take as there appears to be no issue. How long have you noticed theses RTT errors and if you could post a screenshot of what you see that would be great. If you have seen this other than that day or before that day, please let me know. That may help us try to narrow down what else could be causing this. As you know, the latency for satellite internet will be inherently higher than terrestrial based internet, relating to how the the tech works. The round trip time is quite long normally. Pinpointing when this started happening may help us rule out the inherent latency causing this. If it did only start that morning, then the system may need to be reset on my side and yours re-associated.  -Damian

[David_78933]

This issue started about 10 days ago, and continues to get worse as time progresses.  I did reboot the modem this past Tuesday, which temporarily got rid of all of the red Xs on the RTT line of the diagnostics page and allowed us good access to the internet for a day or two. But when I rebooted again this afternoon, I saw no real improvement.

There have been no state codes indicated - just RTT errors on the diagnostics page, which apparently doesn't produce a state code but does totally disrupt performance.  I have been using Hughes satellite internet since DirecPC days, and this is an issue I have not seen before.  I also understand latency quite well after that long time as a user.  The current issue is way beyond latency, as indicated by the measured 6-sec ping time in my initial post.  My Eero WiFi router won't stay connected, and the WiFi built into the Hughes router is only marginally better.  Most attempts to open a web page result in time-out failures.  Use of a LAN connection is marginally more successful than WiFi, but not anywhere near normal.

Following are screen shots of relevant pages from this afternoon.  These are consistent with what I have been experiencing for the past 10 days.

[GabeU]

@David_78933 

You should edit the SAN out of each of your pics.

Cc: @Damian 

[GabeU]

@Damian 

These are David_78933's three snapshots from this post, and with the SAN removed for safety. 

[David_78933]

Thanks, Gabe.

[GabeU]

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@David_78933 wrote:

Thanks, Gabe.

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You're quite welcome. 🙂

[GabeU]

@Damian 

Any update for David_78933? I reposted his snapshots after removing the SANs. 

@Liz 

@Remy 

Could it be a loose dish, moving and causing the errors to be there at some times, but not at others? It's just an idea.

[David_78933]

Thanks GabeU. 

I don't believe it is a dish issue, as the signal strength stays in the 110 range continuously.  The dish is mounted on a steel pole, and is attached firmly.  A Hughes tech replaced  the radio less than a year ago, and checked bolt tensions at that time.

[David_78933]

While my download speeds are lower than normal this week (based on TestMyNet), my upload speeds and latency are just really, really bad.  Prior to this period of poor performance, average upload test results have been 1.75-2.0 Mbps, but this week it is consistently in the range of 0.04-0.06 Mbps (97% slower than normal).  Upload tests are averaging 3-8 Mbps, with one test anomaly at a "normal" 25 Mbps. 

Latency measured today has averaged 1800-6300 ms, which has been pretty consistent for the past 10 days since performance went south.  Previously it normally tested at 600-1300 ms.

Yet the system status shows no problems or state codes, other than a solid row of red Xs for RTT.

Browsing via wired LAN works most of the time, albeit at a painfully slow pace - complex web pages take 45-90 seconds to open, or freeze and fail to open.  Opening a simple Google search page takes 30-45 seconds.  Browsing via WiFi is more difficult, as the built-in 2.4 GHz WiFi drops out periodically, and our Eero system is out most of the time.

Rebooting the modem helped to improve things for a while last week, but no longer.

Can I get a service tech to come test the system on-site?

[David_78933]

Day 15 Update:  After 24 hours of red Xs on the RTT line of diagnostics, I rebooted the Hughes modem again first thing this morning and I have experienced slightly better performance in the six hours since then.  Following is test data from TestMyNet.

Latency:  Generally 900 to 1600 ms, with a couple of outliers at 6000 ms.

Upload:  0.08 to 0.19 Mbps  (Still 93% degradation from past normal of 1.75-2.0 Mbps).

Download:  2.5 to 5.5 Mbps, with one outlier at 23.4 Mbps.

RTT problems:  None indicated in HughesNet diagnostics since reboot.

State Codes / Other Problems:  None indicated in the past six hours.

Browsing performance:  Most websites open fairly quickly via LAN connection, but still difficult to get some sites to open via WiFi.

[David_78933]

Day 20 Update:  The system worked through the week, but this afternoon it stopped communicating and the red Xs on the RTT line came back.  I rebooted the modem twice, with no impact either time.  Then I power cycled the modem, again with no impact.  I then power cycled the modem again and it started working again, at least for now, with the red Xs gone.

There have been no state codes indicated whenever the system stops working - only the RTT error Xs.

[David_78933]

Day 21 Update:  Red Xs returned overnight, but stopped showing up this morning.  Performance continues to be very minimal.  I downloaded a 750 Mb file this morning, and it took 5-hours.  In the past it would have taken up to an hour.  Certainly far below past performance and below what I am paying for with a Gen5 plan.

[Damian]

@David_78933 

This is a very strange issue that doesn't have a specific fix or a clear origin. System shows as fully operational even though it clearly isn't. The best I will be able to do is to perform a remote re-association. If that doesn't fix it the case will need to be escalated to our advanced technical support team.  -Damian 

[David_78933]

Thanks, Damian.  Have you in fact re-associated our system?

For the past week our system has continued to operate at an impaired level of performance.  RTT errors have occurred a few times this past week, but have not been as persistent as in the previous several weeks.  The RTT errors went away on their own or after a modem reboot in each case.  There has also been a periodic uplink error noted in the diagnostics.  No state codes have been noted.

Download speeds and latency have generally been normal, but upload speeds have remained slow, with most in the 0.35-0.6 Mbps range.  Pings are generally in the 600-1500 ms range, but with a regular ping in the 2500-6500 ms range during each test.  Internet usage is generally functional, but very slow.  Some pages time out before connecting and loading.

So there is clearly still something not working properly.  I vote for advanced tech support getting involved.

[Damian]

@David_78933 

Yes I processed the re-association on 9/19 and I am sorry to hear this is still happening. You can have this case escalated by calling our support line at 1-866-347-3292. They may run you though some basic troubleshooting that may feel a bit redundant before they escalate. I have made an internal case for you regarding our efforts and your specific issue to assist with your escalation. Please provide them with case number #155208357 when you call.  -Damian