Slow internet at night

[pentangle]

I have HughesNet service because it is the only option currently available where we live, speeds have always been erratic. I've seen as high as 26 MBPS and as low as 365 KBPS. We have the "up to" 15 MBPS plan with 50 Gigs of anytime and 50 "bonus", at $90 per month. For comparison, I had ATT service, wired, got a consistent 25-30 MBPS speeds, had 600 Gigs of data for under $60 per month, with a landline thrown in. My Netflix viewing is one buffering delay after another, Amazon prime is virtually unwatchable due to buffering and badly pixelated displays, with both telling me I am probably not connected to the internet. For now I'm living with it, but if anyone ever wires up my neighborhood, I will gladly pay whatever penalty there is and end this frustration. Doing the testing connected directly to the modem is ridiculous, just about everybody uses a router, this seems to be a way for Hughes to blame the poor performance on something other than their system.

[Gwalk900]

The reason they want baseline tests connected direct to the modem is to get a clear picture of yoursystem performance. There are several modem settings such as QoS that will affect speeds.

[richknox]

I can appreciate what you are saying but there are several falsities associated with the premise that the router can be the problem. First, if the router was indeed the problem there would not be a variation in speed from 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM. You would see the same degradation which I do not. I have good speed in the morning and nothing at night. Second, I ran the tests both ways and had a difference in speed, both upload and download, of a minor amount. This tells me, and any sane person, that there is not a problem between the modem and the device. Third, I know I haven't, and I bet most satellite users have not, made any changes to the modem settings and use the straight out of the box settings which will work with anything. Fourth, if it was an out of the box setting there would have been degradation from the minute I began using HughesNet which was not the case. My problems began around Nov. 1, 2016 a full year after I began my service. Something happened with the HughesNet feed at night at that time. Before this date I had no problem streaming TV on an iPad. After that date it is impossible to do.
So now do you want to dispute my statements and the results of many other people that are exactly the same? Something has happened that changed the system around Nov. 1 and it is throttling the download speeds to a lot of people. I was a big proponent of HughesNet before but I do feel like I am getting ripped off. I opened my own case in mid- November and nothing is happening on it. It is pathetic to see that the company is so non-responsive especially when the customer is held capitive by living in a rural area and paying exorbitant rates for 50 GB of data unless you want to stay up all hours of the night for an additional 50 GB. I am not asking for 22 speed but 5 would be nice since that would be a huge upgrade from the 0.30 I get most nights.

[GabeU]

richknox,

The router CAN cause problem, but everyone's problems may be different.  Rather than letting the customer decide whether the router has anything to do with the problem, the router needs to be taken out of the equation for the testing.  The same testing across the board.  Short of sending a tech to everyone's home that is having a problem to determine what is involved in that problem, which would be a ridiculous and costly endeavor, there needs to be a universal, simple method of testing that applies to everyone, regardless of what one has or one thinks is causing the problem.  It's as simple as that. 

[richknox]

And that testing was done and the results were virtually the same - so what is the answer now? How would you explain a 22 download at 6:00 AM and a 0.30 download at 7:30 PM using the same devices, same setup, same satellite, same everything. That is why I continually say that it is not a physical equipment problem. Something else has started happening, I guess the signals from the satellite can't penetrate the dark! You are just spouting the company lingo and it is just something to make people think HughesNet is doing something when they are not. It is getting pathetic and I am getting tired of it. Fix the dang data stream and give me what I ampaying for!

[GabeU]

I'm not arguing with your situation, only the statement about the router not possibly being part of the problem.  The problem is that you are piggybacking on a conversation of a problem that has nothing to do with yours, so your interjecting YOUR situation into theirs can only add to the OP's, and anyone else that is reading this thread's, confusion.  Because of this, someone might take your statement about the router as a blanket statement.  You were replying to an answer about the routers, yet interjecting YOUR experience into it, as if the answer was given to a post by you, which is wasn't. 

Your problem is singular to you.  The fact is, routers need to be taken out of the equation when it's requested of people to do some speed testing.  it's as simple as that. 

[Gwalk900]

As a point of clarification for others that may read this, QoS is a "traffic shaping" function that is available in several different forms and known by different names depending on router brand.

It can be used to "prioritize" certain activities. It is very possible for a given activity (a speed test?) to be given a lower bandwidth priority at certain times or under certain conditions  ... a scheduled task starts up, a higher priority background process is triggered or a second device is turned on and joins the network and thereby shares in the available bandwidth.

Reducing the number of variables to the absolute minimum during initial troubleshooting is simply a very good practice.

QoS is not the only router function that can have an affect on performance. Cloud based router "services" can also slow performance if the requested data is not in the routers internal database, then the router is forced to access an external server ... that takes time.

There are many more reasons.

First rule of thumb when troubleshooting ... simplify the network, reduce the number of variables.

[montellopnds]

Wow, I generated a lot of additional conversations. I agree with everything richknox has stated. I also agree with the basics of troubleshoot a problem, however I have tested in several different configurations over 50 times each...I am not exaggerating! The only way I got any support above the first level was to call the CEO. I received a call that same day. So after having another technician out to the house and he replace everything in my system including the modem, and I bought a new router I have the same speed issues even with an upgrade to the next level higher plan. I wish I could speak to someone at hughesnet that would be honest with me about expectations. Hughesnet personnel should be interacting with us on these performance issues, I would be a strong champion of the service if it lived up to the expectation I had. Like ricjknox stated, I would be happy with 5Mps and night rather than less than 1

[GabeU]

Steve,

Just out of curiosity, why did you purchase a new router?  Was there an indication that there was something wrong with the old one? 

[Chris11]

Hi Steve,

Did you receive the new modem replacement? I might of missed in the messages. No improvement at all?

- Chris