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Rapid data drain during second half of data cycle

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Sweetpea3829
Tutor

Rapid data drain during second half of data cycle

Ok, I posted about this on a similar thread, just a couple of days ago, and that thread has been deleted.  

 

Every data cycle, we start off doing just fine.  Our data depletes by about 2-3 GB during the first half of the cycle.  Then, during the second half of the cycle, the data just DRAINS.  Nothing changes in our usage from the first half of the cycle to the second half.  

 

This has been going on for several months.  

 

To answer some questions I've seen asked of others...

 

1) Wifi is never left on on any of the devices that we own that use it.  (This would be a number of tablets...all of which have their wifi turned off unless I, specifically, turn it on...only mom knows the password).  

 

2) Our phones' wifi is turned off (occasionally they are turned on, within range of our Hughesnet modem, but they are never left on, and we do not update under our own Wifi...that's what the YMCA wifi is for).  

 

3) We are not experiencing data stealing.  Our neighbors are old order Mennonite.  They do not have devices that use wifi.  Plus, we are password protected.  

 

4) My laptop is not automatically updating.  It only updates when I tell it to, and that's only during the 2AM-8AM time frame.

 

5) Our satellite TV is NOT connected to the internet.  I can connect it, but have only connected it during the 2AM to 8AM time frame.  

 

Again, during the first half of the month, I can check FB, email, news stories and watch the occasional short youtube clip and the data depletes at an expected rate.

 

During the second half...just leaving the modem turned on, and with no actual browsing, is a guaranteed half GB loss each day.  Yesterday evening, I had 2.7 GB left.  This morning I had 2.1  

 

I have today and tomorrow left in this data cycle and I'm almost guaranteed to run out of data at some point tomorrow, unless I turn off the router and browse only on my phone's data.  

 

Why is this happening?  And why has this been happening off and on for months?  

319 REPLIES 319

Are they able to tell on their end? Because that would be really helpful. In particular, when I turned off the WiFi on the laptop, and HN still showed 100-150 MB of data being used. I would be interested in what that was, because none of the devices were connected.

And of course, we see no data was used when I unplugged the router completely.

Had to plug back in at 12pm for the neighbor.  Stats.image.png

And literally, just posting the previous comment and googling a phone number for the neighbor...so much data being used.  

 

image.png

Hi,

 

I just pulled up your account to check, I see you're using the HT1100, so we wouldn't be able to see what devices are connected to your network.

 

 

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

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GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

I was hoping that there was possibly a way, as I don't know much about networking and what can and can't be seen, but from reading various Community posts over time I didn't think they'd be able to see what's connected via a 3rd party router and the HT1100.  It's unfortunate.  😞  

So there's really not going to be a solution for this, unless I buy another router? 😕

I left the WiFi on and data used is now 3879 MB, up from 3843. But we haven't done anything. (I'm on my phone right now).

@Liz, you can't tell me why the rate of data loss increases later in the cycle?

Because I've documented for several months that the data usage is consistent and moderate in threw beginning and then erratic and excessive during the latter part of the cycle. Nobody can explain why?

Current stats as of this morning.  GW for all data on 314/18GW for all data on 314/18GW so far on 3/15/18GW so far on 3/15/18HN as of 7:40AM on  on 3/15/18HN as of 7:40AM on on 3/15/18

Ok.  I started this thread at the end of November, and I have been documenting data usage since.  We're going on four months now.  @GabeU and several other HN users have been quite helpful in trying to troubleshoot with me, but we have not been able to identify anything specific.  

 

And yet, there is clearly a problem.  

 

@Liz, I have heard nothing of any value from HN.  You guys are the moderators of this forum.  This particular section is for Tech Support.  WHERE IS THE TECH SUPPORT?  My patience with this is starting to run thin.  Honestly, I do not have tons of time to be sitting here documenting usage every month, while I still hear nothing from HN.  I have four homeschooled kids at home who rely on this internet for a number of various purposes and as it currently works, we are being snowed every single month.  

 

I started out yesterday morning, month to date, with 3790MB used in Regular Data.  And 2431 MB used in overnight data.  This morning, I have 4230MB used in regular data and 2546 MB used in overnight data.  That's a total of 555MB of data used, by my laptop, since yesterday morning at 11AM.  

 

Glasswire shows 349.9MB used during that same time period.  No, none of our external devices were on.  None of them have been used  and they're all stacked right next to me where I'm sitting.  My kids have wanted to use their tablets, but I have been telling them no, precisely because I want to keep the data used strictly to the laptop.  

 

Obviously, there's a gap in usage.  206 MB is not huge, but it's big enough!  Moreover, when we look at the data from early in every single data cycle, we see that GW always shows MORE data being used than what HN shows.  @GabeU was kind enough to explain that this is due to the Gen4 data compression.  

 

I would appreciate answers, again from HN ( @Liz )  as to why this is not consistent across my data cycle.  Why am I able to be online for hours in the beginning of the cycle and lose little data, but towards the middle/end of the cycle, I can't even be on for five minutes without the usage tanking?  

 

Every single month, our usage graph looks like this: image.png

BirdDog
Assistant Professor

Sweatpea3829, to really prove data drain on HughesNet side, not yours, you must turn off your modem/router and do the test as explained in the early replies to this thread. Just turning off your laptop and monitoring Glasswire which is only installed on your laptop does not show if data is being consumed by other devices in your house like the kids tablets. 

 

The mods have no way of verifying anything where use might be going either since you have the HT1100 modem and it doesn't show the devices connected to it.

 

Only thing I would suggest at this point is to go back to square one. Take a snapshot of data use before going to bed, turn off the modem, get up and turn the modem back on and immediately get a snapshot of use. CORROSIVE explained the procedure back in November.

 

Just disconnecting your laptop from the WiFi doesn't mean data isn't being used elswhere if your modem and router are still turned on.

 

PS: Be sure to take the snapshot after 10 minutes of no Internet use just to be sure the meters have caught up before turning off the modem.

I've done that test, several times. It shows no data is being used when the router is unplugged.

But that's more is a side issue anyways. The main reason I came here is because the rate data depletes is not consistent from the beginning of the month to the end.

If a Web page uses 5MB of data in the beginning, it's using 10MB in the end. And that's happening for ALL of the Web pages.

Look back a couple of pages. I had my kids on a math game website. In the beginning of the month, it used very little data. The last time they played, which is about when the slide had begun, the same website used much more data.

I'm going to try and get them on it again today and see what it looks like.

Good morning Sweetpea,

 

We don't monitor your home network to the point where we can tell what and how much data is being used, that's why we suggest Glasswire or other data monitoring apps for your home network. Sorry for the delay in responding to your latest question, I just wanted to get confirmation from engineering that there isn't anything on our side that would be causing this pattern of faster data depletion that you're noticing.

 

 

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

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So pretty much there's no help from HN on this? No answer on why the data use is inconsistent? Nothing can be done?

You do see the inconsistencies here, right? Every month, that usage chart shows the same thing...stay usage and then a sharp slide.

If there is abnormal usage coming from the HughesNet, we certainly can look into that for you and escalate to engineering if necessary. As the other community members have mentioned, the modem isolation test needs to be performed to determine if there is usage coming from us, the steps are found here.

 

You're already doing well in trying to investigate the cause with the community, additional tips are in that link above. Since there seems to always be a lot of activity going on your home network, I would suggest adding just one device to the network then observing the usage behavior to see if that usage pattern happens on that device. Then I'd try connecting just one different device to the network and observing its usage to see if the pattern persists there as well. Whichever device demonstrates the pattern you've noticed should be examined more in detail. I understand this troubleshooting method would be an inconvenience, as people need to use the internet regularly, but it's just easier to narrow down your focus by eliminating multiple factors.

 

 

 

 

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

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@Liz, I have done the router test several times, each time showing that there is not any data used when the router is unplugged.  Which implies that something in this house is using data.  But what?  I've explained several times that the devices in this house that can use data are locked down and the only people who can turn the wifi on are myself and my husband (and at that, my husband can't turn on the wifi for most of those devices).  There is a wireless printer, and a Google Chromecast dongle.  Both are connected to the laptop and I would imagine would show up in GW, yes?  The Chromecast, again, is not even connected (though it is plugged into the TV).  

 

I have not been online since this morning at 8AM.  Not on the laptop.  And none of the devices are on for Wifi.  And yet, HN is showing around 200MB of data was used today since 8AM.  GW shows 91MB for the entire day thus far.  Quite a bit of which is Windows processes, which makes sense.  Some of which is Chrome from this morning when I first posted.  Where is the rest of the data going?  

 

And still, why is the rate of depletion faster during this part of the cycle?  I'm more than happy to check in with each device, one at a time.  It will take some time (when I have time to sit down and not be disrupted by kids), but sure, I can do that.  But I feel pretty confident in stating that the problem is occurring across devices, just based on what I've witnessed in the past (almost) year that this has been happening.  That it's a HN problem.  I don't know why.  I don't understand the tech aspect of it.  But my gut is this is something wrong within HN.  

 

Our data is limited enough.  We don't need that problem compounded by erratic data depletion.  

 

image.pngimage.png

Hi Sweetpea3829,

 

I've sent you some complimentary tokens to help with your investigation into this unusual pattern, so you may have received an e-mailed order confirmation for the free tokens. If I have proof to present to engineering that data is depleting faster on all your devices, I'd be glad to escalate for you, otherwise engineering may not acknowledge this without solid evidence.

 

Your cooperation, patience, and understanding are much appreciated.

 

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

I don't know if this will help your situation or not. You can get a Cheap router at a thrift store for around $4.00  and flash it with DD-WRT (just make sure it is compatible, DD-WRT has a router data base on their website) you can do all kinds of things with it . It has a wireless scanner so you can see who's connected to your network and how much data they're using.


@Lizwrote:

Hi Sweetpea3829,

 

I've sent you some complimentary tokens to help with your investigation into this unusual pattern, so you may have received an e-mailed order confirmation for the free tokens. If I have proof to present to engineering that data is depleting faster on all your devices, I'd be glad to escalate for you, otherwise engineering may not acknowledge this without solid evidence.

 

Your cooperation, patience, and understanding are much appreciated.

 


Thank-you Liz.  I am going to try and start tackling this later today, but it will depend on how the day goes with the kids.  We have a Co-op every other Friday, lol.  I do hope to get them on Prodigy again today, which I had documented that specific webpage a couple of times earlier this data cycle.  


@alfrescowrote:

I don't know if this will help your situation or not. You can get a Cheap router at a thrift store for around $4.00  and flash it with DD-WRT (just make sure it is compatible, DD-WRT has a router data base on their website) you can do all kinds of things with it . It has a wireless scanner so you can see who's connected to your network and how much data they're using.


Thank-you for this suggestion!  I have no idea what any of it means, lol.  My tech savviness ends at the word "router".  😉 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@Sweetpea3829

 

As you're beginning to see, the bottom line is you may be able to see that there is more data being used during the second half of the cycle, but there's no way to see what's using it, and no way to know why more is being used.  Without a router that can either monitor your data usage as a whole, or monitor each device's data usage, you're not going to know what's really going on.  And, really, at this point, that HughesNet is somehow "charging" more data for doing the same things during the second half of the cycle is still an assumption, and an assumption that's not based on actual evidence, but rather what appears to be evidence, but may not be.  I'm not saying that this isn't what's happening, but you've got to be able to show it somehow, and just the fact that there is an increase in data usage during that second half in and of itself doesn't show that.  It's still entirely possible that the increase is due to a legitimate reason, but without being able to see the data used by everything even that's not possible to prove or disprove.  😞   

 

 


@GabeUwrote:

@Sweetpea3829

 

As you're beginning to see, the bottom line is you may be able to see that there is more data being used during the second half of the cycle, but there's no way to see what's using it, and no way to know why more is being used.  Without a router that can either monitor your data usage as a whole, or monitor each device's data usage, you're not going to know what's really going on.  And, really, at this point, that HughesNet is somehow "charging" more data for doing the same things during the second half of the cycle is still an assumption, and an assumption that's not based on actual evidence, but rather what appears to be evidence, but may not be.  I'm not saying that this isn't what's happening, but you've got to be able to show it somehow, and just the fact that there is an increase in data usage during that second half in and of itself doesn't show that.  It's still entirely possible that the increase is due to a legitimate reason, but without being able to see the data used by everything even that's not possible to prove or disprove.  😞   

 

 


Yeah, I get it.  It's frustrating though, because I know what I'm seeing, lol.  I need time to sit down with each device and document the baseline usage for each one on a given website, and monitor how that usage changes with nothing else changing that might cause that increase.  Kind of like what I'm trying to do with Prodigy.  Which I haven't had the kids on in some time because we're full swing into baseball season (pun intended, haha!) and are still finishing up swim season.  In other words, it's a bit crazy 'round these parts.  

 

@Liz Is there a particular website you can suggest that might give a clear indication in the increase in data?  I can maybe stream a radio website for a half hour on each device...that should show pretty consistent data, I would think.  The problem with using Prodigy is that the kids would have to play it using each device and that's not possible due to time restraints.  

 

I'm going to list all of the devices here:

 

1. Dell Inspiron laptop

2. Galaxy Tab A (White)

3. Galaxy Tab b (Black)

4. Ancient Kindle Fire (mine, but I haven't connected this to the network in a couple of months and don't plan to)

5. Purple Kindle (Daughter's)

6. Red Kindle (Son's)

7. Blue Kindle (Son's)

8. Green Kindle (Son's)

9. Samsung Grand Prime (my phone)

10. Hubby's phone (but scratch this one because his is not connected to our network, never has been, and he doesn't know how to connect it).  

 

Just to reclarify...all of these devices are in my own personal care.  Nobody has access to the passwords for the Wifi on the kids' kindles, except for myself.  My husband and I are the only ones that can even turn on the Galaxy Tabs as they are password protected.  All devices are kept in our great room and the internet is never turned on for them outside of my supervision.  I'm very strict with this.  

 

Current stats, btw Never mind, lol.  The data thing is not currently working.  

 

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Does the Kindle still constantly download stuff from Amazon?  I had to turn off the wifi on mine because the thing inhaled data, what with the constant updating from Amazon.