Hughesnet Community

Truly disappointed in HughesNet

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
MountainMan
Spectator

Truly disappointed in HughesNet

I'm a new customer to HughesNet.

Recently I moved to a location where satellite internet is my only option.

I ordered the Gen5 package, it was installed 2 days ago with a HT2000W modem.

A sales rep told me my internet speed would be around 25 Mbps.

However that never happened, my internet speed has consisently been between 0.8 mbps and 2.5 mbs.

Which is beyond ridiciulous especially considering that I'm paying $114 a month for the Gen5 plan.

 

I have tried to talk to the customer service (Tech Support deppartment) on numerous occasions about this (I even have a case number).

I have been pleading with them to send a technician over to try and figure out what's wrong, but they refuse to "escalete" my case.

After doing some reading on this forum, I went and looked on my account and discovered that my modem is pointed at the EchoStar-17 satellite.

Based on what I read on here, isn't a Gen5 modem supposed to be pointed at the EchoStar-19 satellite?

I have also come across a map someone posted on here, showing where Jupiter II satellite is "blacked out". It appears I live in one of these "blacked out" locations.

Which is just astaggering to me. If I can't get Gen5 at my location, why was it then sold to me?

Why didn't either the sales rep or the guy who installed my equipment inform me that I can't qualify for Gen5 deal? I mean like I wrote above, the guy installed a Gen 5 HT2000W modem. No one at any point told me that Gen5 can't work at my location (if that's indeed what's causing the slow internet speed for me)

 

The Tech Support has been of no help what so ever.

They have asked me to perform speed tests, which I did. I performed 3 different tests through the MyHughesNet site and I performed additional tests through MyTest.Net.

What's even worse, the phone I have at the moment isn't reliable at my house (I'm getting a landline installed on Tuesday), so the line keeps breaking up.

I then have to drive to another location where I do have a good cellphone service in order to talk to HughesNet customer service and tell them again about the results of the speed tests I performed.

But the Tech Support reps, as if they are robots, won't listen to anything I tell them, and just continue to ask me to perform more speed tests.

Which obviously I can't do right that second because I'm not at home.

The only response I get from them is that I need to perform more speed tests while I'm on the phone right that second or I will have to pay out of pocket if I want the technician to come out to my property.

 

Anyway, I want this problem resolved. I'm not going to pay $114 a month for the laughable internet speed of around 0.8 mbps - 2.5 mbps.

I just want someone from HughesNet to please take my problem seriously and send a technician out here to try and resolve this issue.

 

 

 

 

23 REPLIES 23
C0RR0SIVE
Associate Professor

Gen5 refers to nothing more than a type of service plan, not which satellite you are pointed at...  If you are in one of the blacked out areas (which is ES17 only), there is not much that can be done AFAIK...

Sending a technician out will do zero good as they can't do anything about the capacity of the gateway or satellite you are on.

Well then the sales representitive shouldn't have done the ol' "bait and switch". They shouldn't have lied to me.

Someone should have been honest and explained to me that my internet speed is going to be horrible due to the area I'm in.

I was led to believe that I was going to get fast internet speed.

No one told me anything about "blacked out" areas.

This is such dishonest way of doing things. And I'm not sure how this is legal, considering HughesNet knew where I live before I signed up obviously.

 

I would rather have no internet at all than have someone lie to me and charge me $114 a month for internet that is constantly between 0.8 to 2.5 mbps.

As far as legality goes they (Hughesnet) are pretty much covered due to fine print and the service contract.

 

  • Service plans are advertised as Upto
  • Gen5 = Service Plan Type (Gen4 plans on average costed much more for less data)
  • Gen5 =/= Satellite Name
  • Echostar17 (the blacked out area) is capable of 25Mbps+, but as stated above, speeds are advertised as upto.

 

How exactly did the sales agent lie to you?  If they lied, and this is evident in the sales call and matches what you state, you may be able to cancel service with out having to pay the ETF.

I am assuming you are in Northern CA or southern OR.  That beam never really filled up. It shouldn't be that conjested.   You should be getting better speeds then posted..  Run some speed tests as suggested and let them try and fix your service.. Like stated. Gen5 is just the plans. Sending out a tech won't help until they now what the issue is..

@gokartergo24

OP is most likely in the larger area closer to chicago not covered by ES19...
Jupiter II Service MapJupiter II Service Map

@MountainMan
Sales reps don't have to disclose what satellite you will be installed on, they do not know.  As far as the whole speedtest thing, it's standard practice and part of the first phase of troubleshooting, we typically ask the same thing unless we (other community members) know a consumer is on ES17 in a potentially congested beam.  Sorry, but how is the sales rep lieing, exactly?  As stated, Gen5 does NOT refer to the satellite!!!  It refers to a service plan level!  Just because you live in an area that ES19 doesn't cover, doesn't mean the rep lied to you.

If you feel I am wasting your time, then you can go ahead and share your testmy.net results with us here, if you don't have testmy.net results, follow the guide below, I am sure @Amanda or @Liz will gladly take them, send you a PM with more information, and forward your results to engineering.

______
Please keep in mind that Hughesnet will only accept testmy.net and the official Hughesnet speed test results. Tests from other sites like speedtest.net are not accepted due to the compression technologies and latency that satellite deploys.

Most important points to remember during this test:
-do the tests while directly connected to the HughesNet modem with a LAN cable (NO third party Router or Wireless devices can be used)
-use the 12MB size download test file ONLY

-If testing upload instead of download, you must use a 4MB size upload test file
-space each test at least 5 minutes apart
-post your results URL here, it may look something like http://testmy.net/quickstats/C0RR0SIVE


For a more in depth guide on running the tests, please visit: http://customer.kb.hughesnet.com/Pages/7001.aspx

The Reps are on M-F from approximately 8AM to 5PM Eastern. They will be the ones to address your speed issues, but they will need these tests to do so.

 

No I don't live in either So-Cal or southern OR. Those are not the only "blacked out" areas on that map anyway.

Besides I don't know if that's actually what's causing my internet to be this slow. I'm only basing that on what I read on this forum.

 

Another thought just ocurred to me, if what Corrosive wrote here is true, then why is HughesNet Tech support wasting my time by constantly asking for more speed tests to be performed? Why are they leading me to believe that there is a solution to my problem if I pay an additional fee for the technician?

 

He is not making HughesNet look good that's for sure.

I'm sure he has his own reasons for why he is defending them, but if anything he further shows just how dishonest they are.

 

How did the sales rep lie he asks? Well number 1: the sales rep said that with Gen5 I will be getting fast internet.

Did I expect my internet to be at 25 mbps all the time? No I would have been happy with even 10-15 mbps for most of the day and I talked to him about that specifically. So he knew that the internet speed was important to me.

And number 2: the sales rep never informed me that I'm living in a blacked out area and what that means.

I should have been given that information before they signed me up. That would have been the honest thing to do.

 

I have no problem with peforming speed tests. I already have performed a good number of them and informed the Tech Support of the results. I have a problem with not getting anywhere, even after I performed all the tests they asked for.

Anyway, I'll wait untill an employee from HughesNet contacts me. That's the reason for starting this topic.

I have called them, sent them an e-mail and they have yet to have someone contact me who can help me figure out what's going on.

No reason to go back and forth with a person like Corrosive though who is not helping the matters at all and further wasting my time.

 

 

 

 

I'm thinking this is as good as it gets with this technology.  The fastest I've seen where I'm at is around 4 -5 Mbps (normally 1.0 - 3.0).  I'm sure that optimally (using Hughesnet's "speedtest" of course...) they've reached 25 Mbps, however, I'm convinced that this is the exception and doesn't reflect their national average.  If you have 4G LTE access, then you're probably better off going with a wireless hotspot.  Cellular will usually beat out satellite every time if it's speed you're needing. 

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

I have Verizon and the speed is laughable.  Hughesnet dances circles around them. 

 


@dk_mccarty wrote:

 If you have 4G LTE access, then you're probably better off going with a wireless hotspot.  Cellular will usually beat out satellite every time if it's speed you're needing. 


 

Good for you.  My experience has been completely the opposite.

Quote from "Corrosive" -

 

"Gen5 refers to nothing more than a type of service plan, not which satellite you are pointed at...  If you are in one of the blacked out areas (which is ES17 only), there is not much that can be done AFAIK..."

 

So CNET got this all wrong?  Hmm...  Where could they have gotten this info?

 

https://www.cnet.com/news/satellite-internet-finally-brings-true-broadband-speed/

 

 

"HughesNet Gen5 will tap into Hughes' newly launched EchoStar XIX satellite, which the company describes as the "world's highest capacity broadband satellite," along with the EchoStar XVII satellite currently in orbit. HughesNet Gen5 is powered by Hughes' Jupiter System, the "world's most widely deployed satellite networking platform," the company said."

 

Sure sounds more to me than just a different "plan"....

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@dk_mccarty wrote:

Quote from "Corrosive" -

 

"Gen5 refers to nothing more than a type of service plan, not which satellite you are pointed at...  If you are in one of the blacked out areas (which is ES17 only), there is not much that can be done AFAIK..."

 

So CNET got this all wrong?  Hmm...  Where could they have gotten this info?

 

https://www.cnet.com/news/satellite-internet-finally-brings-true-broadband-speed/

 

 

"HughesNet Gen5 will tap into Hughes' newly launched EchoStar XIX satellite, which the company describes as the "world's highest capacity broadband satellite," along with the EchoStar XVII satellite currently in orbit. HughesNet Gen5 is powered by Hughes' Jupiter System, the "world's most widely deployed satellite networking platform," the company said."

 

Sure sounds more to me than just a different "plan"....


No, CNET got it exactly right.  Gen5 is the service, and it utilizes both the ES19 and ES17, just as the article says, and just as Corrosive said.  Jupiter is the platform that both Gen4 and Gen5 use.   

C0RR0SIVE
Associate Professor

and to clarify it even more. Echostar 17, ES17 is called Jupiter 1.  Echostar 19, ES19 is called Jupiter 2.

ok,..  yet none of you seem to be able to understand that to the "non Hughesnet groupie" this article and Hughesnet marketing is misleading as to the reality of actual download speeds (e.g., "true broadband").  At any rate, I've never had speeds anywhere close to 25 Mbps.  Most of the posts here and customer reviews echo the disappointment at the advertised "up to" speed and what they will typically have in reality.  Thank you, and I'm done here....

C0RR0SIVE
Associate Professor

I don't see how it's misleading...

"HughesNet Gen5 will tap into Hughes' newly launched EchoStar XIX satellite, which the company describes as the "world's highest capacity broadband satellite," along with the EchoStar XVII satellite currently in orbit."

That aside, if the "average" was as you claimed, then I am pretty sure there would be far more complaints.

Idea...find hughsnet on Facebook, rant to them there. I had response within the hour to pm them with account number. They said they assigned a case manager to my case and call me in one business day. See how this goes. We don't have time to set at home to run tests day and night 

Bonnied50
C0RR0SIVE
Associate Professor

Hi Bonnie

 

Just an FYI, I was able to locate your account and see that there could be a line of sight issue. I see that you have not called our support line since May, but this is something they would have been able to easily diagnose if you called us or created a post for us to look at your account here in the community. Since you have a case open with the daytime rep Miles in Facebook (I am the night time rep), he will get this set up. 

 

~Amanda

Amanda
Moderator

Hello MountainMan,

 

Welcome to our community and thank you for your post. We're sorry to hear you are having so much trouble with your service and would like to help. To get a better understanding of what needs to be done to resolve your speed issue, the first thing we would need is a set of speed tests as provided by C0RR0SIVE above. We appreciate your patience and cooperation.

 

Thank you,

Amanda

mikelm31
Freshman

GEN 5 is Terrible and they will say anything to get a sale. Then 620.00 to uninstall . Enjoy its the worst Business I have ever delt with.