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defcon888
New Member

Streaming

My wife and I live in the country.....ISP's are few and far between. So, we decided to go with Hghes....I am starting to regret that decision.

 

We have had the service for less than a month and nothing is working as planned......mainly the streaming. We have 2 streaming devices that we have tried. The first one is a Samsung Blu-Ray player that can stream. With our old ISP we had ZERO issues....maybe a can't find the network issue at times. The 2nd method is an Amazon Fire Stick that I have used successfully when I go on business trips. We thought it was the Blu-Ray issue so we tried to us the Fire Stick and it isn't any better. We start streaming a show for my daughter and it buffers for 2 mins......plays 10 seconds......buffers for 2 mins. plays for 10 seconds. When I say 2 mins, that isn't an exaggeration one bit either...it is 2 mins. 

 

The streaming device sits less than 2 feet from the cable box so it isn't a distant issue. When I try to connect to the cable box it says "connected with issues"......I "forget" the network and try again..... the same thing.

 

If I can't get an answer, I will tell Hughes to come to pick up their equipment, let me out of my contract and go back to our previous provider.

 

Sorry, I am just extremely frustrated because we have a daughter that is special needs and loves her cartoons and it is hard to explain why it is buffering.

 

P.S. Ran all the test and everything is saying "passed" "great connection:

 

 

9 REPLIES 9
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@defcon888

 

Have you tried turning off, or snoozing, the Video Data Saver?  If not, please try that to see if it helps.  You can also try reducing the resolution of the streaming source.  

 

Also, keep in mind that HughesNet is not designed for cord cutting.  Streaming uses data quickly, and when you've exhausted your data allotment you'll be subject to the Fair Access Policy (FAP), during which time your service speed will be reduced. 

 

If by cable box you mean a satellite TV receiver, HughesNet recommends against connecting a satellite TV receiver to their service due to the high amount of data that the receivers can use.  The amount of internet data that a satellite TV receiver can use cannot be controlled.    

BirdDog
Assistant Professor

One other thing that can make a huge difference is the definition of the stream. We have Netflix set to the lowest possible definition and it works fine. It starts off looking bad but then is very watchable after a minute or two. If the streaming service only allows HD it is probably going to buffer at times even in the best case scenario based on traffic load, plus your monthly plan data will be eaten up very quickly. Then you'll be in FAP mode and things will be even worse.

4u
Freshman

We have had similar issues. At 1st, it turned out that the equipment was not installed correctly. That helped a smidgen. Be informed about your ending contract fees. We wanted to end ours, but the fees were very high & thought we could figure things out & hoped for the best. Embarrassingly, it is 10 mths later, & still extremely poor performance.  We've had to go back to our previous internet provider & am trying to get out of our contract.we live in the country, too. It just doesn't work well, here.

good luck!

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Have you done the math? It may be cheaper for you to pay the ETF than to pay the monthly fee for however many months you have left in your contract.  

 

I live in a rural area (as do most people who use satellite internet), and it works very well.  Satellite internet is not ideal for streaming due to latency (although it can still work fairly well depending on several variables), so expecting it to be what it is not is futile. 

 


 We've had to go back to our previous internet provider & am trying to get out of our contract.we live in the country, too. It just doesn't work well, here.

good luck!


 

We understand the math. Our brochure advertised streaming more....we updated some equipment, my husband talked to all the tech support possible, before & after signing. We will cut our losses, but I believe we deserve some type of refund, actually. I don't kid myself, fat chance we will get anything, but I am researching any legal avenues available to us. It simply is not the product promised to us. What evvvsss! 🙂

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

While not impossible, it is highly unlikely you will get any kind of refund, and the only legal avenue allowed by the contract is binding arbitration -- you can see the procedure  here, under 5.2.   

 

You may want to post your issues under myAccount and Billing, where the post would be more visible to the corporate representatives that work on this site. They have more power than the phone reps and they are always quite willing to help. 

 

*I am not a Hughesnet employee or representative. This is a customer-to-customer tech support community, and I am a customer.

Thank you!

Liz
Moderator
Moderator

Good morning defcon888,

 

I see it's your first post here, so welcome to the community! I can understand the frustration trying to stream cartoons for your kid, so let's see what we can do. I've pulled up your account and run diagnostics and I'm seeing an issue with the wireless network coverage.

 

A couple of factors can impact wifi coverage, such as the wifi modem or router in a bad location and wifi signal interference.

 

Where is your HughesNet modem located?

 

Ideally it should be centrally located in the home for optimal coverage, or at least close to where most of your wifi devices usually operate. Try moving the wifi modem if there's a better spot, just be sure the wifi modem has adequate space all around it for proper ventilation. 

 

Signal interference can come from other devices and appliances already in the home, like microwaves, cordless phones, and anything also using the 2.4 GHz frequency.

 

For example, at my aunt's house we'd notice Netflix buffering whenever someone started using the microwave. I noticed their router was only a few feet away from the microwave, so they moved it to a different room, and voila, problem solved.

 

In addition to optimizing your wifi modem location, you can also try Gabe's suggestion. Your Video Data Saver is currently on, so that will automatically adjust your streaming quality to conserve your data allowance. If you're trying to stream in HD while VDS is on, this can lead to buffering. Just disable VDS if you want HD, keep in mind that HD streaming will consume more data.

 

Let us know how it goes!

 

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!

Good morning defcon888,

 

We're closing this thread since we never got a reply from you. Hope the advice above helps! Feel free to start a new thread if you have questions.

 

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!