Forum Discussion

branbonm's avatar
branbonm
New Poster
7 years ago

misleading info given by sales call and now need to pay early termination fee, HELP!

When I first called and asked questions about the service It was explained to me that if i were to meet or exceed my data the speeds would be reduced but streaming would still be possible.. well afte...
Early Termination Fee
branbonm's avatar
branbonm
New Poster

thank you GabeU! This was very informative. I will open a account with testmy.net and start recording the speeds. I did record the speeds i was getting from Speedtest. But if it’s required from test my.net i will do that. I just upped our data so our speed is back to normal for now. 

GabeU's avatar
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV
7 years ago

branbonm

 

While speedtest is okay for general knowledge, it's not accepted for troubleshooting due to the way in which it tests.  Testmy.net is requested because a specific size is used for each test, keeping the testing parameters identical with each test performed, and because of the way it handles the higher latency.  It also gives more information with each test result.   

 

On a side note, speedtest uses a LOT of data per test, so I avoid it especially because of that.  Maybe not that much when out of data and your speed is throttled, but when you're not throttled it can use 70MB or more per test.  I just ran one test and it used 81MB.  

  • debbie.jean.bro's avatar
    debbie.jean.bro
    Advanced Tutor
    7 years ago
    Hi @branbomn,

    I highly suspect your issue was being in FAP (Fair Access Policy, meaning when they slow you way down because you have run out of data).

    I think this for two reasons. First, you mentioned the first month went fine and just a few days into month two you were running super slow and couldn't stream. Well, you get unlimited data the first month, so that makes a lot of sense.

    Second, you mentioned you upped your data and therefore your speeds were back up to normal. That tells me you had run out of data and were being throttled, as it is called. Once you purchased more data, your speeds were returned to normal.

    It is true what maratsade, GabeU, and your sales rep told you, in a technical sense. When you are in FAP, it is mainly just good for text browsing--you can read the news, check your email, etc. But it's not much good beyond that because it's just so darn slow.

    If you want to stream something short on Youtube, you can probably do it in low resolution, if you pause it at the beginning and let it load (give it LOTS of time to load!). But if you want to stream a movie, forget about it, unless you have the patience of Job! You'll be buffering every 15 seconds and it will take you 4 hours to watch a 90 minute movie (in my experience ).

    OPTIONS:
    • Buy more data
    • Stream movies during bonus time (I think it's 2:00-7:00 AM most locations)
    • Set your device to download movies during bonus time and then watch them whenever
    • ALWAYS watch video in the lowest resolution available! There are other threads on here that explain how to do that.
    • Search the history here and learn all the hacks for using less data. Just watching in low res vs. high res can increase your streaming time by a factor of three or more!
    • Do Netflix the old-fashioned way, via disc by mail.

    With Hughesnet, you cannot watch unlimited movies because you have limited data. However, you CAN stretch the data you have immensely by learning some simple tips and tricks!

    I hope this helps.

    Sincerely,
    Debbie
    • maratsade's avatar
      maratsade
      Distinguished Professor IV
      7 years ago

      "When you are in FAP, it is mainly just good for text browsing--you can read the news, check your email, etc. But it's not much good beyond that because it's just so darn slow."

       

      Actually, people who have been in FAP have reported that they can still stream, as long as it's in low def.