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Ultimate Leak Test

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wyomingfly
Freshman

Ultimate Leak Test

I just performed the ultimate leak test, by accident. I had the dish installed shortly after leaving the country, so the first 1 3/4 months the modem had nothing connected to it.

 

I returned to the US on the 20th with 8 days left in the billing cycle. When I connected the computer for the first time I brought up the System Control Center and 10% of the monthly data had been used during those 3 weeks. So over a full month 2.5 GB's sucked out doing nothing. Just to be clear, during this time no devices connected to the modem.

 

Reading the recent data loss post, the person mentions that modem 'overhead' is not deducted but it appears that it is.

 

How can this get fixed so I am not losing 13% of the monthly allowance for nothing?

21 REPLIES 21
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@wyomingfly 

 

Though your inadvertent experiment would seem to point to an issue, it doesn't really help to point to the cause.  To determine where the data "leak" issue may lie, please perform the modem isolation test as outlined below.  Regarding overhead data, the amount used is normally tiny.  Though very unlikely, if there is a problem with overhead data, such as an excessive amount being used and/or it being deducted from your own data, this test will help to establish such.  

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please perform the following test outlined in the graphic below. This is known as a modem isolation test, and it will help to determine whether the issue is with HughesNet or your local network..

photo P2hSeDN.jpg

1: Disabled the WiFi in the HT2000W modem.
2: Take a screen capture of the HughesNet Usage Meter, along with the clock on your computer screen.
3: Disconnect the LAN cable from the modem, noting the date and time of disconnect.
4: Leave the LAN cable disconnected from the modem for several hours. HughesNet recommends doing this overnight, or during the day while at work. DO NOT unplug the modem from the power. The modem must remain powered.
5: Reconnect the LAN cable to the modem, noting the date and time of reconnect.
6: Take a screen capture of the HughesNet Usage Meter, along with the clock displayed on your computer.
7: Post your screens hots to the community.

Please DO NOT unplug the modem power after running the test. The reps need to be able to reconcile the test results with the modem logs, and disconnecting the power from the modem erases those logs.

Please be aware that, if you downloaded any large files just prior to this test, or if the disconnect was for an extensive time period, some usage may appear to have occurred, but it should be rather negligible.

If you don't know how to disable the WiFi in the HT2000W, please see "How do I manage my built-in WiFi modem?" in this PDF. Please be sure to click "Save Settings" after unchaining "SSID Enable" for each of the four tabs individually (2.4Ghz, then 2.4Ghz Guest, then 5Ghz, then 5Ghz Guest).

That is exactly what was done. There were no connections of any sort for 3 weeks of that month. The 2 GB used up during that 3 weeks (~2.5 over a full month) is purely modem overhead or inaccurate metering.

 

Only thing is missing is #2 and 6 but that can be verified by a look at Hughes account records from the beginning of that use period up through the 20th of February

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@wyomingfly 

 

The tests need to be run as laid out.  Though it may seem that this is, more or less, what occured, the reps/engineers need the test to be performed as instructed and the information given that is requested in those instructions in order to be able to help you.  

So then 12% data mismetering is just dismissed even though its quite easy for Hughes to see that there were no connections during that 3 week period.

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@wyomingfly wrote:

So then 12% data mismetering is just dismissed even though its quite easy for Hughes to see that there were no connections during that 3 week period.


No, it is not dismissed.  If it were, no one would bother taking the time to help you.  As I said, the test will determine whether the issue is on your end or HughesNet's end.  The test is the troubleshooting step that is necessary to move on to solving the issue.  

 

No one is going to twist your arm to do the necessary troubleshooting, which is the modem isolation test.  Either you will or you won't.  However, if you'd like to get the issue resolved I suggest you do.  

Damian
Moderator

Hello Jonathan,

 

Thank you for posting. After reviewing your account,  we found there was usage earlier this month from a device with a MAC address ending in ef:0a:c6. Also, your wifi networks are unsecured, leaving them open to any wifi device that may come within range. I highly suggest password protecting your wifi networks to avoid any other unwanted wireless devices from connecting to your network and using your data allowance.

 

I prematurely sent a replacement modem before digging deeper and learning how your data was used. You'll receive a new modem in a few days, so feel free to return it using the return label in the outer pouch. I'm sorry for any inconvenience that may cause.

 

Our community has recommended GlassWire, which is a 3rd party program that tracks what connects to your network and shows exactly how much data is used. it would be a good idea to check it out so you have another way to track and manage your data. 

 

I hope this clears things up.

 

-Damian

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@wyomingfly 

 

My apologies.  I had mistakenly assumed by your reply to me that your WiFi had been disabled, which is why I was insistent that the test be performed.  Damian has the ability to see that it wasn't.  I defer to him, of course.  

 

Good luck.  

Wifi was unsecured only from the 20th on. Prior to that it was secured. I live in an extremely remote location. Its a 10 mile snowmachine ride in in the winter.

 

The record in question is from the beginning of the use period through the 19th. I set up the modem/wifi afternoon on the 20th

What was the date or dates of the use by that MAC address?

and was it in the 2gb of data range?

Can you tell me the date or dates of the use by that MAC address? Was it earlier than the 20th?

BirdDog
Assistant Professor

Open WiFi is never a good idea, no matter how remote the location might be.


@wyomingfly wrote:

Reading the recent data loss post, the person mentions that modem 'overhead' is not deducted but it appears that it is.

  I believe that it is.  This is because excessive modem overhead is probably caused by hardware or aiming  problems with your system.

 

  This is just a wild guess, but assuming you are talking about a ht2000 modem,  it  takes gigs of data just to initialize.    It may be possible that if you'd looked immediately after the installation, you would have seen that much data gone already.

 

  If my guess is correct, you'll find out next data cycle, when hopefully, the whole problem may just disappear.

 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@gaines_wright wrote:

  This is just a wild guess, but assuming you are talking about a ht2000 modem,  it  takes gigs of data just to initialize.    It may be possible that if you'd looked immediately after the installation, you would have seen that much data gone already.

 

  If my guess is correct, you'll find out next data cycle, when hopefully, the whole problem may just disappear.


Good guess, but the data needed for the modem to initalize after installation, if any, isn't counted against the customer's data.  Also, unless the modem needs a software upgrade at the beginning, of which the data used would not be counted against the customer's, the amount of data used isn't very much.   

I started using it in the 4th week of the 2nd month after install

Jonathan,

 

The data was in the 2GB range and was used on 01/04/19. 

 

-Damian 

Jonathan,

 

I went ahead and provided 3GB free for you since these situations are very rare and I understand this was something you were unaware of. I also took a deeper look at your modem and ran additional diagnostics. Everything came back as fully operational. The community has posted some very helpful suggestions for you and I am confident you will not have this issue again. Let me know if you need assistance with anything else.  

 

-Damian

Jonathan, 

 

We're closing this thread since we never got a reply from you. If you still have concerns, please start a new thread and include a detailed explanation so we can more effectively help you.

 

-Damian


@GabeU wrote:

Good guess, but the data needed for the modem to initalize after installation, if any, isn't counted against the customer's data.  Also, unless the modem needs a software upgrade at the beginning, of which the data used would not be counted against the customer's, the amount of data used isn't very much.   

 

   If I'm remembering correctly, in my case it was gigs, and it was also charged against my data usage.  I'm  fairly sure about this, because that was the very first cycle I had run out of data since the end of daily data limits.

 

  I installed the modem myself.  Maybe that caused the difference.   Especially since I'm one of those guys that considers reading the intructions to be the very last resort.  :>)>


 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@gaines_wright wrote:

I installed the modem myself.  Maybe that caused the difference.    


That may be.  You should have said something to them, as even a modem they send to you to install yourself should not have used your data for initialization or a software update.  I'm sure they would have compensated you with a data token.