Slow internet speed. HughesNet is not delivering what they are promising!

[jball1125]

We started with HughesNet on about October 25th.  We had ok internet the first week or so but since than we have had nothing but problems.  We have called multiple times and have had technicians out but nothing has fixed this problem.  We have ran multiple test speeds with almost all of the tests falling below what is an acceptable speed.  We have been promised that the problem will be fixed.  We have been told that managers will follow up but no manager has followed up.  It finally took me filling out a survey and giving a highly dissatisfied ranking for someone to call me back to talk about this issue.  

To give a little details to our problems.  We can not run netflix, we can not use on demand with Directv and our internet speed is extremely slow.  When I have talked to customer service reps their answer is to run speed tests and than tell me that sometimes speeds are slow.  They will have me run speed tests until we get one that is at the minimal acceptance and forget about all of the other tests that did not pass.  I finally got to talk to someone in level 4 tech support on February 9th, and he did some modifications to my modem and it seemed to fix the issue for one evening.  I do not feel that I should continually have to call tech support just to get my internet to run for a few hours.  He said he would give me $30 off my bill for the next 6 months for my troubles.  Just cancel my contract it will cost you less in the long run.  

We also seem to have a data leak but I don't understand how that is possible when we can't even use the internet.  I had a technician out and he was sitting with me and we went through 3 gigs of data in about 2 minutes.  My understanding is that a 2hr HD movie is about 2 gigs so how did I use more than that in 2 minutes.  The tech than called HughesNet and had a tech add 2 more gigs of data and he went through that data in about 5 minutes.  He than tried telling me it was either because it was cold out or because we had someone gaming.  We do not have a gaming system set up and being cold is not an excuse.  

After filling out a highly dissatisfied on your survey someone finally called me back on February 10th and asked me what I would like to do.  I told him I wanted out of my contract without paying a cancellation fee or to have this fixed.  I was talking to him on my way home from work.  When my husband and I came home our internet seemed to be working so we were happy.  That did not last for long. This morning it is not working again.  We want out of our contract without paying a cancellation fee.  The gentleman that I was on the phone with last night said you guys would be able to help me with this situation. 

I feel that we are upholding our end of the contract and paying every month but you guys are not.  We feel that you do not really want to fix this issue but you won't let us out of the contract.  If this is not resolved in a timely manner I feel I will be forced to make a complaint to the Better Business Burea, The FCC and to the local news stations.  

[GabeU]

My understanding is that a 2hr HD movie is about 2 gigs so how did I use more than that in 2 minutes. 

Actually, it can use up to 3GB per hour, so about 6GB for a two hour film.  And, with regard to DirecTV on demand, it's usually advised against connecting a DirecTV receiver to Hughesnet, as there is no way to control what data the receiver will use, even when not watching anything on demand.  It's possible that it could burn through your entire monthly allotment of data without you ever watching an on demand film or TV show.  

As for your speed issues, it's normally requested that you run some speed tests at testmy.net to give the reps/engineers something to go on.  I understand that you've already run some speed tests, but they must be current, and done in a certain way.  The following is a copy/paste of the instructions, but it is the protocol that you will need to follow... 


To help you with speed issues, the reps are going to need some speed tests performed at testmy.net.  

http://testmy.net/

With a single device connected directly to the modem with a LAN cable (NO ROUTER), perform a batch of three to five tests, and a run batch of tests a few times a day, preferably in the morning, afternoon and evening, if you are able.  More instructions in the link below...

 http://customer.kb.hughesnet.com/Pages/7001.aspx

Most important points:
-do the tests while directly connected to the HughesNet modem
-use the 12MB size download test file
-space each test at least 5 minutes apart
-post your results URL here, it may look something like http://testmy.net/quickstats/[yourusername]
  

Edit:  The Official Reps are on M-F from approximately 8AM to 5PM.  
 

[GabeU]

In addition, if your system used 2GB of data very quickly, something used it.  You need to find out what that is.  It may very well be that DirecTV receiver chewing through it.

Also, if you are out of data, your system is throttled to about 150Kbps, which would be MUCH too slow for any streaming.  Are you out of data? You can check by going to the SCC and see if both boxes at the top of the page green?  Go here... http://192.168.0.1/
 
If you have a Windows based computer, Glasswire can help to determine what is using data on that computer.  It's free.  It's here... https://www.glasswire.com/.  It only monitors the data of the computer it's installed on.  It can also tell you if something else is using the data by process of elimination.  
 
Edit:  Changed link to SCC.  
 

[Liz]

Good morning jball1125,

Welcome and thanks for posting. I'm glad to see GabeU has already jumped in to help. As he already mentioned, let's get from testmy.net speed test results so we can evaluate your current system performance. If you aren't getting the speeds appropriate for your Prime Plus plan, I'm more than happy to escalate your case up to our engineers here at corporate.

I've already run remote diagnostics on your site to determine if there was anything wrong with the HughesNet equipment and their connection to the satellite, and so far so good. So that we may get a better idea of what you're experiencing, please connect your computer directly to the modem and run some speed tests for us to evaluate.

To get started, please follow the steps here to set up a testmy.net account and run speed tests so that we get a proper evaluation of your system performance:
http://customer.kb.hughesnet.com/Pages/7001.aspx

Most important points:
-do the tests while directly connected to the HughesNet modem
-use the 12MB test file
-space each test at least 5 minutes apart
-post your results URL here, it may look something like http://testmy.net/quickstats/[yourusername]

I sent you a free token so that you're no longer subject to the Fair Access Policy and can be able to run the speed tests. 

Your cooperation, patience, and understanding are much appreciated.

Thanks,
Liz

[jball1125]

Liz I understand you want me to run test. That is all that HughesNet ever asks me to do but do not follow up with anything. This is not a solution. I want to speak to someone that can actually solve this issue in a timely manner.

[lpribble]

Guess what?  Speed test until the cows come home.  It doesn't resolve inconsistent, slow, frustrating service provided by Hughesnet.  Even this site takes forever to load. You would think the website would be optimized for Hugesnet?  We don't want to become service techs!  As described she has had someone at the house, if they couldn't figure out the large leakage, the slow speeds, why would they ask their customers to continue to troubleshoot? I can go from Hughesnet to a Verizon MiFi puck and the speed is dramatically better EVERY TIME.  I use the MiFi to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime because otherwise I would be out of data immediately. I can't wait until my contract ends!

[maratsade]

They normally escalate things to their engineers. The engineers ask to see specific tests from testmy.  No tests they can check (via a URL to your testmy account)? No help.  Get help faster by providing the info the official reps request.

[maratsade]

It doesn't resolve inconsistent, slow, frustrating service provided by Hughesnet.

Yes, it does. It may take time, but troubleshooting usually does. If the tech couldn't figure out the problem, maybe it's  not with the Hughesnet installation. 

[Gwalk900]

"Liz I understand you want me to run test."

Yes she does, and for good reason.

Here is the Community the Hughes employees are at the corporate level. They have greater knowledge, more experience, and greater latitude with dealing with customer issues.

"That is all that HughesNet ever asks me to do but do not follow up with anything"

At this level of support your issue is first: Document baseline system performance in a controlled set of conditions that generate data points that can be used by Engineering to determine the root cause of the problem.

You are getting an opportunity here in the Community to "short-cut" the support system and get a high level remote diagnosis performed while at the same time getting an immediate escalation to Engineering if that data warrants.

"This is not a solution"

Yes it is. Engineers deal in data, not maybe's, not guess work, not supposition. ....

Data. With out data it's just another opinion.

 " I want to speak to someone that can actually solve this"

Do you actually expect to speak directly to an Engineer and have him/her spend an hour attempting to explain to a novice user why you need to connect directly to the modem so as to eliminate any router misconfigurations, QoS bandwidth shaping and a host of other related issues?

Troubleshooting is a matter of Conquer & Divide.

It starts "locally" (read as equipment on your end, both yours and Hughes's) and progresses outward.

The tests performed as specified are essential data points needed to determine the root cause and to then effect corrections.

[Liz]

Good morning jball1125,

maratsade and Gwalk are correct. I have no problem escalating your case to our engineers here at corporate who may make the necessary network adjustments to address your concern. However, they require of me basic information, which I have requested of you. I want to help you, but I can't do anything without proper speed tests to report to the engineers.

Your cooperation, patience, and understanding are much appreciated.

Thanks,
Liz