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Unable to stream video: High usage periods

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indogwetrust
Sophomore

Unable to stream video: High usage periods

Hi Folks,

 

I'm two weeks into my new service and have encountered very slow speeds and been unable to stream during high usage periods. I'd like to know how my evening peeds compair to others because they seem inordinately low, even for high usage periods. We are unable to watch video at any quality. I run my own cloud plex server and can turn the quality down to 512k (.5mbps) and still get stuttering every few seconds. Unwatchable. Data saver on or off. Hulu, Netflix, cloud plex server, its all the same. Speed tests show speeds as low .1 or .2 mbps. In the time I've had the service, trying as hard as I can, I've only managed to use about 3% of my data. I would very much like to have the oposite problem. There are plenty of tricks I could use to get by on 1 or 2 mpbs but not 10% of that. I'm testing eith testmy.net, single device, hard connection to modem/router combo. During the day I see 5-6 mpbs when testing easy. A dream! Is this what I have to live with because of high usage periods??

 

Thanks!

19 REPLIES 19
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Speeds tend to drop with congestion, so high usage times (such as when everyone is home after work and everyone wants to stream at the same time) will drop everyone's speed considerably.  This is just a feature of the satellite service, which is not really ideal for streaming (although it can be done in moderation). 

 

I personally don't have a lot of trouble streaming (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube), though sometimes it can be dicey on weekend evenings. 

 

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

 

@indogwetrust wrote:

Hi Folks,

 

I'm two weeks into my new service and have encountered very slow speeds and been unable to stream during high usage periods. I'd like to know how my evening peeds compair to others because they seem inordinately low, even for high usage periods. We are unable to watch video at any quality. I run my own cloud plex server and can turn the quality down to 512k (.5mbps) and still get stuttering every few seconds. Unwatchable. Data saver on or off. Hulu, Netflix, cloud plex server, its all the same. Speed tests show speeds as low .1 or .2 mbps. In the time I've had the service, trying as hard as I can, I've only managed to use about 3% of my data. I would very much like to have the oposite problem. There are plenty of tricks I could use to get by on 1 or 2 mpbs but not 10% of that. I'm testing eith testmy.net, single device, hard connection to modem/router combo. During the day I see 5-6 mpbs when testing easy. A dream! Is this what I have to live with because of high usage periods??

 

Thanks!


 

 

 

 

 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@indogwetrust wrote:

In the time I've had the service, trying as hard as I can, I've only managed to use about 3% of my data.


During your first twenty days of HughesNet service your service is in what's known as a "relaxed bandwidth" state.  During this time your data is continually replenished by HughesNet.  After these initial twenty days your data will start being counted normally.  The relaxed bandwidth state is mentioned in the Welcome email sent by HughesNet.  

 

That you managed to use 3% of your data before refill with a speed so low is odd, but it might indicate that you're actually using more data, and are getting higher speed, than you realize.  What I mean is, it's possible that one or more of your connected devices are using bandwidth that you aren't aware of.   

 

When testing your speed, especially if testing for troubleshooting purposes, you should use a single device that is connected to the HughesNet modem with a LAN cable, not a WiFi connected device.  Additionally, the WiFi in the HT2000W modem should be disabled.   This will ensure that nothing is sapping any additional bandwidth while the speed testing is being performed.  

 

To disable the WiFi, see 5.c. under "How do I manage my built in WiFi modem?" in this PDF.  Be sure to click "Save Settings" after unchecking "SSID Enable" for each radio individually.  In other words, uncheck "SSID Enable" for the 2.4Ghz radio, then click Save Settings, then do the same for the other three (2.4Ghz Guest, 5Ghz and 5Ghz Guest), one at a time.  The reason for this is if you do two or more at the same time, then click "Save Settings", the settings won't hold, so you have to do each one individually.  Kind of a pain, but it is what it is.  Also, be sure to perform these actions with a LAN cable connected device, not a WiFi connected device.  Then run your speed test(s) with your LAN cable connected device.   

 

As well, when you run the tests, it would be best for you to run them while signed into an account you've created at testmy.net, as it will save the test results in a single location so they can be looked at by a rep or engineer, if they need to do so.  Using testmy.net is also required if you're asked to run tests by the reps.  Also, make sure to use the manual 25MB test size for download tests and the manual 4MB test size for upload tests, if you run any upload tests, that is.  

Its not actually 3%, I just wasn't used to the odd way the meter bounces around when you are looking at it sometimes. It looked briefy like I had used that much, but no, you are correct it is holding steady at 100%. Thank you for explaining that part.

 

I did mention that I am current testing with testmy.net. I also mentioned that I am using a single device, connected via "hard line" as I put it, meaning lan cable. I will post results when my automatic tests are done. 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@indogwetrust wrote: 

I did mention that I am current testing with testmy.net. I also mentioned that I am using a single device, connected via "hard line" as I put it, meaning lan cable. I will post results when my automatic tests are done. 


I should have mentioned that I saw that you had done so, but I mention those aspects to ensure that people know it should be done that way for troubleshooting purposes, even if they've already been doing so.  A miscommunication, on my part.  

OK I finally noticed you spedifically said to do manual 25 MB test, here is my first one. This is typical of what I have been seeing in the evening. I'd like to know if this is considered reasonable.

 

https://testmy.net/db/2qwcVxW_I

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@indogwetrust

 

This link will enable the reps to look at all of your test results in one place....

 

https://testmy.net/quickstats/indogwetrust

 

To answer your question, you should get at least a few more tests in, and preferably at different times of the day, but if that's indicative of what's to come, then no, that's not considered reasonable at all.  It's a terrible speed.  

 

You have the WiFi disabled, correct?  

Thanks for the link. Yes Wifi is disabled, both radios. It certainly is a terrible speed. I'm relieved you agree. 

Hello Andrea,

  I'm glad you found the community, thank you for posting. I am sorry to hear you are receiving slow speeds. I have made some adjustments to the modem in hopes this will help improve your speeds, you should notice a difference in a few hours. If your speeds do not improve, please continue to do random speed tests and I will proceed to the next step of troubleshooting. 

Thanks,

*Felicia*

OK, will conitnue obsessivly testing. Thanks for the interest.

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

You don't have to get obsessive about it. It would be enough to test 3 times a day (morning, mid-afternoon, and evening, for example), and each time run a batch of 3 or so tests, spread out every 3-5 minutes, if you can.  You don't need to post links to specific tests. The main link to your results is plenty and it is more useful than individual links, as the reps and engineers are likely to examine the whole, not individual data points. And if they want to look at individual data points, they will pick the ones they want to look at from your results list. 

 

@indogwetrust wrote:

OK, will conitnue obsessivly testing. Thanks for the interest.


 

Hello,

 

I am still seeing some extremely low test results, especially in the eveing. 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@indogwetrust

 

I'm sure @Hardy will take the next steps needed and reply soon.  She was most likely waiting until you had gotten a few more tests in.

 

Though a few of them look somewhat decent, the majority don't, and some of them are downright dismal.  

 

And, though the download speed is the presently discussed issue, it may also be a good idea to get one or two upload tests in, just to give them an idea of that speed, as sometimes it can help them.  When testing upload speed, make sure to use the manual 4MB test size.  You don't need nearly as many upload tests as download tests.  A couple would most likely suffice.  To be perfectly honest, they may not even need them, but it wouldn't hurt.   

 

I'll post your results URL again, just so it's not missed.  🙂 

 

https://testmy.net/quickstats/indogwetrust

Thanks for checking in. I will get going on some upload tests. 

I'm still seeing the same basic pattern: acceptable or good speeds during the day but  sub 1 mbps starting at around 7 in the evening.  Will I eventually be asked to accept sub 1 mbps speeds every night?
:

Andrea,

To better assist you, can you please post the link of your speed tests results? 

Thanks,

*Felicia*

Andrea,

Please see your private messages for further assistance. 

Thanks,

*Felicia*

Hi Folks, 

It looks like I'm out of luck. My assumption is that my beam is too overloaded. I can't fault the business decision of Hughesnet to require two year contracts with no cancellation period. When you see how slow the connection is during the times you need to use it, there is nobody who would stick with the service. Hughesnet would lose money hand over fist if they let customers go just because the service is unusable. 

 

Elsewhere I've seen folks with my same problem, cannot stream video in the evening time, have been told they need to adapt.  We are asked to adapt to our service only being usable in the middle of the night. Good luck planning every night's entertainment,  every week, every month. There is no adapting to speeds this slow. Caveat emptor is the real answer they should be giving. 

 

Customer support @Hardy have kindly done what they can do for me. The solution of giving a discount for 6 months is very much appreciated, but I wonder if they realize what it implies. They are acknowledging that yes, you've been tricked, no the service is not worth what we are charging, yes you are out of luck about that, no you will not be released from the contract. I'm not trying to be harsh. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong. 

 

 

 

I am happy to work with tech support as much as needed. I will do all the tests required. If we determine that I'm just in an area where a lot of people use the connection at the same time of day, I would like my cancellation fee waived. It was represented to me that I would be able to steam video. If I cannot do that after I come home from work then the service is not much good to me. It is one thing to ask me to adapt to data caps which I am happy to do. That is on me, I would never complain that I used up all my data. This is different. I don't even have a prayer of using all my data. Its impossible. The cancellation fee is way beyond my means, and so is paying for a service I cannot use.  Hulu doesn't allow you to download shows in the middle of the night to watch them later. If we can't get this cleared up then please for the love of decency let me out. I think its unfair that the terms and conditions give you no way out, even if you had no way to know that you would not be watching TV when you get home.