Usage depleted overnight. All updates set during free time.

[Lea]

We have had HughesNet for several years. Nothing has changed with our computer settings. Everything updates in the middle of the night during free time. Our wifi has a 24 character password! Our neighbors all have DSL. Our allowance is being used up overnight while no one is using it. Went to bed with 32% and have Zero this morning.

[CharlesMcCool]

WOW thats a lot of drain

[Ron4]

Lea,

Have you tried unplugging your modem and your router for about 30 minutes; then plugging in the modem and letting the lights stabilize for about 5 minutes before you plug the router in. Let it stabilize a few minutes before you bring your computer out of sleep.

Charles,

Could you, Gwalk and Sgoshe give us a simple explanation of the cause and effects of data looping?

Ron

[Gwalk900]

Short version,

At times the modem will get the command to update its firmware.

Sometimes ... rarely, but it happens, the loading of that firmware will fail, the modem will reboot and go to its "fall back" firmware, and then try to update again, in an endless loop.

That is one scenario ....

It can be proven/disproven by disconnecting the LAN cable from the back of the Hughes modem for a period of time (keep a paper log) and doing "before/after" after screenshots of the most accurate of the usage meters ..... this one:

It can be found here (after logging in):

http://my.hughesnet.com/

[Ron4]

Does the firmware update or the failure to update and looping get charged to the customer's data allowance?

Is the modem automatically rebooted each day at 2 AM and 7 AM?

[Gwalk900]

Ron,

Firmware updates are usually very small in size, and yes they do get charged against your usage.

No, the modem does NOT get automatically get rebooted every day (or night)

Reboots will occur as the result of an "overheat" *, one of the front LED's will turn RED as an indicator, or as the result of a firmware update, but should not go in an endless cycle, or as the result of a user doing a "on the fly" reset from the modems SCC.

Modems can also reset due to AC power losses AND an improperly seated connector (DIN connector) between the modems "power brick" and the plug on the back of the modem.

That sucker goes in HARD !. You would swear it was seated properly but it isn't.

That  plug (modem rear) should NEVER be used to reboot the modem !

This can cause severe damage to the modem. That "plug" and those tiny pins were never intended to be used as a "switch:.

[Lea]

The computer had been turned off all day.  I restarted it and used it a few minutes before looking at the data meter, ( It was in the 70% range when I turned the computer off this morning)  The meter said 39% and started dropping fast until it reached 20% and I just stopped using it.  It stayed at 20% until my son used it this evening.  He used 5%, leaving 15%.  I just sat down at the computer, checked my email and  then went straight to hughsnet community and it dropped to 10%. 

No I have not unplugged my modem and router for 30 minutes, then plug it back in until it stablizes and then add the router.  Are you suggesting this as a one time fix or each time I turn on my computer?

[Lea]

This is what my glasswire graph looked like while I was not using the internet.  Maybe someone can help me with what it means.  

[Ron4]

Lea,

Not a one time fix, but not every time you turn on your computer either.. It is amazing what a complete shutdown will do sometimes for electronic equipment..

You might also try cleaning out your cache, cookies, history, etc. on your computer and shutting it down completely as well, once in a while. That won't fix your runaway data consumption but it will make your computer run better. There are arguments for and against defragging hard drives but that will sometimes make them run like new.

It's funny how they used to say you didn't even need to reboot the old XP operating system, but a reboot and/or complete shutdown once in a while did wonders for it.

We have even had luck bringing laptops with black screens back to life by removing the AC power, removing the battery, holding the start button in to completely drain the system of any charge, and simply putting them back together.

The theory doesn't matter. It is what works that counts.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained! It beats waiting and watching your meter nose dive, in my opinion.

Which modem are you using?

[Lea]

HN9000

[Lea]

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Data drain continues.

I have had trouble with my data draining.  I installed the glasswire program that shows my usage.  I had to use a restore token last night again.  This morning I had 50%, which should equal 250 MB.  My Glasswire program says 116.7 MB incoming and 9.5 outgoing.  The total is 126.2 MB.  The chart began at 12:00 am and the time now is 5:03 pm. And today when no one was home my data drained.  I do not have updates set. I manually update. I had this problem a few weeks and then suddenly everything was fine.  It has started again. I had to use a token to post this.  The token should have reset me to 50% but it reset to 100%.  Nothing makes sense.

[Liz]

Hi Lea,

Please follow these steps to help us investigate further.



Please take care in cropping out your SAN while taking the screenshots.

We look forward to hearing back so we can address your concerns.

Thanks,
Liz

[Lea]

How do I take a screen shot?  The status meter above does not look like mine.

[Ron4]

Charles McCool explained to you 4 weeks ago in this thread that the old "Use Meters" leaked data and that you should install the latest one.

Did you do that?

You can take a screen shot by holding down Ctrl-Alt-Print Screen. This puts the image in the clipboard. Then you must open it in a photo editor and crop the image down to the size of the meter. Then save it as a .jpg and send it.

Much simpler to go to Accessories in the start menu and use the "Snippet tool" which is self explained.

Ron

[Liz]

Good morning Lea,

Here's a guide to help you take screenshots: http://www.take-a-screenshot.org/

Also, as Ron suggested, you should download and install the latest status meter from here: supportcenter.myhughesnet.com

Let us know if you have additional questions, we look forward to hearing back from you.

Thanks,
Liz

[Lea]

I disconnected this morning at 7:14 and reconnected at 1:14  this afternoon.  There was no change. I'm having trouble uploadinging my screenshot.  I'll figure it out and try again later, so that you can see my meter.

[Lea]

[Carla Spradling]

Lea, I have to tell you that I've been having the same problems for a couple of weeks. Finally got fed up with it today and called in for help. After I explained my problem, the person I talk to proceeded to tell me about a new plan with new equipment and only a 1 year commitment before they even tried to help me troubleshoot the problem. I asked why would I want to start a new plan, get new equipment and of course, sign a new service contract, when I didn't even know what was going on with my current equipment. There may be nothing significant wrong. I was then told that old satellites are being turned off all the time and this will prevent my service from being interrupted. When I said no and I want to find out whats going on with my current set up I was given a lesson on how the internet works and how data is exchanged and that it may even be my coffee pot using the data! I'm following along with the troubleshooting, like a good girl, but I've got a feeling that most of this is happening so Hughesnet can sell me new equipment and make me sign a new contract. Thats about how it happened 3 years ago and that contract was up exactly a year ago. I've been reading this thread and have found several things to try, Thanks for your help everyone, but I'm very doubtful that anything with change including them trying to sell me more "stuff". We have 2 devices and a router. Thats it. The router is Linksys brand. We have a laptop which is wireless and a desktop computer that is not. I've turned off all of the updates. Here's something I can't figure out...when checking my data usage, the chart shows usage during all 60 minutes between 12-1pm this afternoon. Our data ran out at 12:25. ( it actually dropped from 46% left at 11:55am to 0% at 12:25pm - a half hour of typing 1 email!) That's when I logged off and called Hughes. How could I have data usage for 35 more minutes if I wasn't even on?
I'm as frustrated as you are!

[Liz]

Great, thanks for the screenshot, Lea! Just to confirm, at 7:14 am today, before you disconnected the modem, you only used 37 MB. Then when you reconnected the modem and checked the Status Meter again, it still said 37 MB used as shown above in your screenshot?

Now we can try connecting JUST your computer to the HughesNet modem. Do not connect your router, as we do not want additional devices on your network using data. With your computer connected directly to the modem, please take note of the time when you connected the computer and take a new screenshot of your Status Meter. Use your computer as you normally would and keep track of what you do (Streaming video? Facebook? Checking email? Offline work?). To help us better evaluate your usage, it would be best to have at least an hour of usage logged. We'll update your data token allowance to perform this troubleshooting without needing to stop short. After you're done using the computer, please take another screenshot of your Status Meter so we can see how much data was used during that single computer session.

We really appreciate you working with us to help us address your concerns, thank you. Looking forward to hearing back from you.

-Liz

[Liz]

Hi Carla,

I see it's your first post here, so welcome to the community! We're glad to see you found the information in this thread useful. If you would like us to assist with your data usage concerns, please create a new post and include a case number or your modem's serial number so we can locate your account.

Thanks,
Liz

[CharlesMcCool]

Carla you should probably check and make sure you router has the latest firmware in it because there is a issue with Linksys routers and data drain, this may not be the problem but its best to update just to be sure

[Carla Spradling]

Thanks Charles, I will do that as soon as I finish the "5 hours of unplugged router" test. Then, if I still have problems, I will start a new thread and continue from there. Thanks for the help. It's greatly appreciated!