Extremely unhappy!

[Leahjones7]

I recently moved and made a very bad decision by getting Hughes net! I thought since dish was offering it how bad could it be? It only took me a week to learn the answer to that question! Within my first week of service my internet was slow and lagging and I had to turn all of my families phones off of wifi because they wouldnt work. I got over that and thought hey as long as I can use my firestick I'll be okay. Well my firestick is absolutely useless and dish on demand is no more. I've had to call them 9 times in the whole month I've been a customer and 7/9 of the representatives I talked to were hateful and one even hung up on me! When I would find one who tried to help me with discounts then the next one would delete it. Then came valentine's day when they auto paid my bill out of my account even though I didnt authorize autopay. Thats not even the worst part....they charged my card for $40 over what my bill should have been! I am just so done with Hughes net and want out! I have begged for them to please let me out of my contract or give me a reduced early termination fee. My internet is somehow always used up within 2 days of my bill rolling over and token fees are killing me! I just want out and to forget this ever happened

[GabeU]

@Leahjones7 

Regarding the streaming, and just on the off chance that the phone reps didn't suggest this, did you make sure to turn off, or pause, the Video Data Saver if you were streaming in HD?  If streaming in HD, this needs to be done in order to avoid buffering.  

Regarding your data, that it's being exhausted within two days of reset suggests that something is using a ton of it.  One possibility is the Dish receiver.  Satellite TV receivers can use a lot of data, including for things other than On Demand viewing.  Because of this, HughesNet recommends against connecting a satellite TV receiver to the modem.  As well, streaming in and of itself can use a lot of data, especially if it's being done in HD.  To use Netflix's data rates, it's around 3GB per hour in HD, 700MB per hour in SD, and 350MB per hour in SD.  As well, I believe the Firestick automatically updates background images on a regular basis, which people have found to use quite a bit of data.  This should be disabled, though I don't personally know how to do so as I don't have one.  

Additionally, this thread may help with the high data usage.   

I'm sure a rep will reply regarding the billing, plus any other additional information they may have about the data usage.  The reps are on M-F from approximately 8AM to 5PM EST, so they should reply soon.  🙂

[Leahjones7]

Yes sir I've tried all of that and nothing helps. The only reason I have wifi is steaming so if I can't do it what's the point of having it? I understand everything takes it's own data but when it rolls over and I get my 20gbs back it's gone when we havent used it or even been at home. I dont want an internet service that I cant use and that I have to keep everything unplugged to preserve it

[GabeU]

---

@Leahjones7 wrote:
but when it rolls over and I get my 20gbs back it's gone when we havent used it or even been at home.  

---

It's entirely possible that the satellite receiver or the firestick (if it's powered, even when the TV is off) is using it.  The satellite TV receivers can use data even when they're off, as they're not truly off, but in standby.  With DirecTV receivers, they use the data for guide updates, program descriptions, cast lists and similar things.  I also suspect that the instant watch movies that are sometimes available are also downloaded through the net instead of through DirecTV's own dish like they normally would be.  I imagine that Dish receivers are similar.  

I do understand your frustration, especially when streaming was your main motivation for signing up for HughesNet. 

I don't know if Dish has this, and this isn't to negate your frustration, but with DirecTV there's an alternative to using On Demand through the receiver, and that's being able to stream the same programs/movies directly from the DirecTV site.  The drawback is having to stream it onto a different device, such as a laptop, then either casting it or sending it to your TV via HDMI cable, but it cuts out the extra data than the receiver itself uses and ensures that the data used for On Demand is only being used for that purpose and not guide updates and such.  Again, I only mention it as an alternative.  It's what I do on the occasion that I want to stream a show or something that's only available through DirecTV's On Demand viewing.  But, the streaming would still use a lot of data and would reduce your remaining HughesNet data quickly, unfortunately.  

If you signed up for HughesNet by calling them, your sales call may be available for review in order to determine whether the sales rep set appropriate expectations for the service.  If it's found that the sales rep didn't do so you may have recourse regarding the Early Termination Fee when cancelling.

Edit:  maratsade posted his reply while I was typing mine, so I didn't see that he had already mentioned the sales call review.  

[TRH]

GabeU,

Just a quick question.  If streaming with FireStick uses so much data, why are the sales reps telling people (me when I signed up) that Hughesnet works great for streaming and that I will not run out of my data, by streaming with the FIreStick. In my case I couldn't use the fire stick at all because it kept telling me low connectivity and my computer and other equipment would tell me know internet connection available.

Yes, I am reviewing other peoples issues, to see how many are having the same issuses that I have had.  As I do plan on fighting the early disconnect fee. 

I am seeing that several customers have been told one thing just to find out something differently.  It sounds like you are in Tech support and this isn't something you can explain, but just keep seeing the same thing in post after post.

[GabeU]

@TRH 

Just so there's no confusion, I'm only a fellow customer, not a HughesNet employee.  The only members here that actually work for HughesNet will have "Moderator" or something similar next to their name.   Liz, Amanda, Jay, Damian and Hardy are the most prominent HughesNet employees here.  They are the corporate representatives that will reply to help you.  Well, one of them will, anyway.  

With regard to what you were told by the sales person, I can't say why they said what they did.  Fortunately, though, the reps here have the ability to have the sales calls pulled and reviewed to see what the sales person said, and if they said something that isn't true, which it sounds like they may have, there may be recourse regarding the Early Termination Fee when cancelling, but only the rep can make that determination.  

With the Firestick, while some people do seem to be able to use it, others have a difficult time.  A lot of it has to do with system load, as well as the load on one's individual beam at any given time.  Some beams are much more loaded than others, and streaming, which is one of the most data intensive activities, can be negatively affected.  

[maratsade]

Satellite internet is very different from terrestrial internet. Did you do any research on the service before subscribing? 

How long have you been a subscriber? (if only for a short time, your sales call may still be around and the Hughesnet reps on this site can pull it to see whether appropriate expectations were set; this may have a positive impact on the amount you will owe if you cancel). 

The reps and other subscribers on this site can help you learn how to manage the service.  Breaking your contract (without paying the ETF) without trying to learn how to manage your service will likely not be an option. 

Leahjones7 wrote:
I recently moved and made a very bad decision by getting Hughes net! I thought since dish was offering it how bad could it be? It only took me a week to learn the answer to that question! Within my first week of service my internet was slow and lagging and I had to turn all of my families phones off of wifi because they wouldnt work. I got over that and thought hey as long as I can use my firestick I'll be okay. Well my firestick is absolutely useless and dish on demand is no more. I've had to call them 9 times in the whole month I've been a customer and 7/9 of the representatives I talked to were hateful and one even hung up on me! When I would find one who tried to help me with discounts then the next one would delete it. Then came valentine's day when they auto paid my bill out of my account even though I didnt authorize autopay. Thats not even the worst part....they charged my card for $40 over what my bill should have been! I am just so done with Hughes net and want out! I have begged for them to please let me out of my contract or give me a reduced early termination fee. My internet is somehow always used up within 2 days of my bill rolling over and token fees are killing me! I just want out and to forget this ever happened

---

[Leahjones7]

Thank you both for replying and helping me! I recently moved and had cableone for 8 years and then when they didnt service my new area I went with Hughes net because I was told it could be bundled with my dish network. I called them and was asked what I needed the internet for and I told them Netflix streaming and dish on demand. They told me it would do that no problem! After the first week I had it and after the 3rd phone call to them I told them I wanted out and they wouldnt work it out with me. I'm a very easy going person and can work with anybody on anything but this has been too much! At the moment the internet does absolutely nothing for me. We use our cell internet for social media and for my Netflix and we disconnected firesticks so I'm just paying a bill because I'm stuck

[RBeck]

Yeah they lied to me also. Took forever to be upgraded to gen 5 and was to get 50 instead of 20. Nope 20 was all I got. Always have no time on the clock. Never seems to catch up to have any time. I'm just waiting for my contract to end.

[GabeU]

@Leahjones7 

The reps should reply soon.  It won't be until at least Monday, as they aren't on during the weekend, but they should reply and may very well ask for the sales call review before doing so. 

@RBeck 

You may still be able to upgrade to the 50GB plan through the Shop/Upgrade tab at the top of the page.  Upgrading or downgrading plan levels on the same service shouldn't extend your service contract.  Wtih this said, when I just looked it gave me the option to either upgrade to a larger plan at regular price without a contract extension, or upgrading to a larger plan at a discount if agreeing to a 24 month contract extension.  

If by "clock" you mean how long you can do things in high speed, it's an amount of high speed data, not an amount of time.

[JTwalker]

Somehow our 10g plan lasted a whole 26 days the first month & only 3 days the second month. Yea! Go figure. I think it has to do with the HD, SD, 480, 780dpi, blah blah blah. So my solution is going to be unplug the router until we need to stream a movie & my son's daily tech time.

[GabeU]

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@JTwalker wrote:
Somehow our 10g plan lasted a whole 26 days the first month & only 3 days the second month. Yea! Go figure. I think it has to do with the HD, SD, 480, 780dpi, blah blah blah. So my solution is going to be unplug the router until we need to stream a movie & my son's daily tech time.

During your first twenty days of service your data allotment is continually refilled.  HughesNet does this as a courtesy, so that new customers, or those upgrading from legacy plans, can update/upgrade their devices to current without it affecting their normal monthly data allotment, as these activities can use a lot of data.  After these first twenty days your data usage starts being deducted as it normally would.

So, in reality, your data lasted six days in your first month, and three in your second. 

For some data saving tips, please see this thread.    

[JTwalker]

WHAAA!!?!? WHY? I mean seriously. ..WHY? Why on eaerh would they did such a thing?! SERIOUSLY?! You are effing kidding! Did they tell me this? Was I warned of this in some undertone voice I was unaware of in my discussion with the sales guy on the phone? I do not recall being told any such nonsense bologna malarkey! Why would they just give you unlimited your first month other than to make you think all is hunky dory in Wonderland?

have I been had?
am I going to have to get.
mad?

[GabeU]

@JTwalker 

First and foremost, please watch your language.  This is a support community that can be viewed by the public, and there are Community Guidelines and Terms of Service that need to be followed, which you can view in the "About the Community" section.  So, again, please watch the language.

The data resets...  

First, it's not for the first month, but for the first twenty days.  Secondly, it's not done "to make you think it's all hunky dory in Wonderland", as what would be the point?  There is no 30 day trial or 30 day free cancellation period, so there would be no advantage for them in doing so.  The advantage is to YOU, and again, it's done as a courtesy for the reasons stated.

As well, the twenty days of data resets are explained in the Welcome email sent by HughesNet.

[JTwalker]

This is not good news.
Not good news
AT ALL!

[Trapped]

Hello all, this is my first message. I recently had to move outside of town because the place I was living in was not safe. I was a very happy Spectrum customer for years. I miss them a great deal. Service was flawless in every way. They are the complete opposite of Hughes. I never ever had a problem. If you can get service with them, do it. You won't be sorry.

Now I live in an RV park in a small travel trailer. I am a disabled senior citizen and Social Security is my only income. Many internet providers avoid customers who live in trailers, they want to service stick built homes only. Hughes was my only option. I have been lied to and hung up on more than once. Now I realize I am truly trapped.

Three days ago I paid my $74.15 and already the chart says I have used 67% of my data. I wanted to be able to do my family tree, check emails, do some shopping, listen to the radio online and read the news as I don't have a television. I also don't have a car, so I connect with the outside world via the internet. By reading this thread I've learned that last month's data was constantly being refilled. Who knew? And here I thought it was because I was being careful. When I signed up I was told that the plan I was considering would easily handle what I wanted to do because data would be compressed. Really? No.

This company is corrupt. I can't even file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, access has been blocked. It's interesting that when I called to get the corporate address to file the complaint, the Hughes rep wouldn't give it to me. I found it anyway, but it does no good.

To take advantage of people like this is wrong.

Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord. We can look forward to that. It will be spectacular.

[GabeU]

@Trapped 

The initial twenty days of data resets is explained in the Welcome email sent by HughesNet.  

If your data reset three days ago and you've already used 67%, something is using a lot of data, and unless you get that under control it may continue to happen.  This is satellite internet with a soft data cap, not cable internet with no data cap.  If adjustments aren't made to use the service within its means you will continually have data exhaustion issues.

The following two threads may help you...

https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/Tech-Support/Understanding-data-usage-data-loss-and-connection-pa...

https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/Tech-Support/HughesNet-Data-Management-Tips-n-Tricks-How-To-Elimi...

[Trapped]

I don't recall getting a welcome email, I remember a lot of information being given to me verbally and then a handful of papers, that was all.

Why does Hughes have so many repetitive complaints going back over a decade? Over and over, the customers cite the same issues. Why isn't the company listening and making changes? Even Consumer Reports gave you a negative rating when they did a report on internet providers. 

When Amazon begins to offer internet service, I'll gladly sign up. 

[GabeU]

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@Trapped wrote:

I don't recall getting a welcome email, I remember a lot of information being given to me verbally and then a handful of papers, that was all.

Why does Hughes have so many repetitive complaints going back over a decade? Over and over, the customers cite the same issues. Why isn't the company listening and making changes? Even Consumer Reports gave you a negative rating when they did a report on internet providers. 

When Amazon begins to offer internet service, I'll gladly sign up. 

---

HughesNet sells you an internet package that includes a specific amount of high speed data.  They are not responsible for how you, or your devices, use that data, nor how quickly you use it.  If you would like help to figure out why you're using so much data, or to learn how to use less of it, please read the posts in the links provided and/or start a new topic in Tech Support.  

[Trapped]

On the bright side, Hughes is an excellent example of how NOT to treat people. My contract cannot be done soon enough.

Remember, when a customer is happy she will tell her family and friends. When she is unhappy, she will tell everyone she knows.

I called Amazon and made the suggestion that they become an internet provider. Your other unhappy customers should do the same. Loss of revenue will get someone's attention. 

Having a plan makes the current suffering less painful. 

[Trapped]

P.S. Due to high winds my dish needs realignment and I've read that can cause problems such as data loss. I wonder how long it will take for someone to get out here. Will my lost data be restored to me because your equipment is not stable? The data loss isn't due to my browsing habits. I forgive you for assuming it was my fault.