About Rich1

I went for the Hughesnet Phone a couple of months ago.  Was fed up paying CenturyLink $70 for a few phone calls each month. So far it's about what I expected, some latency but not too bad for my purposes.  As others mention, reliability is not VOIP's strong suit.   There are days when my Hughes modem will continuously "reboot", taking the phone out.   I called service and they suggested turning off everything, waiting a few minutes, and turning modem/router back on.  That usually cures the reboots for a while but you can imagine what that would do if you were on a call or needing to make a call.  For my need of a phone every now and then, it's been working out for the most part.  If a cell tower gets built within 1600 feet of my property (supposedly in the works), then I'm hoping I will get cell service and go that route with cell phones.  The landline costs with all the fees, taxes, etc were just too much for me. ... View more

I have been tracking my data usage with the handy hour to hour graph Gwalk pointed out on an earlier post.   One curious thing I have noticed from several days, although not consecutive days, is that between the hours of 4:00 am and 6:00 am PST, I show a large spike 219-417 MB.   I have my computer off and no Iphone/Ipad on.   In my prior work life, server maintenance was typically on Sundays between the hours of 2:00 am and 5:00 am.   I don't know where the gateway server for HN on the west cost is, if there is one, but is it possible a  maintenance window is involved?  I haven't tracked the data used during that timeframe to any of my devices.  Here is a snapshot of the 219. ... View more

As a sales rep, I would just say "it's best for browsing the web,  I would not subscribe to  streaming services such as Netflix, HBO, or other streaming services because at best you will have limited use of those services.   If you want to stream a movie every now and then, say one movie a weekend or 4 or 5 movies a month on a 10 GB plan, that is probably going to fit the download usage based on just web browsing".   Is that reasonable and clear?  I spend $130/mo for Dish Tv.  But if I could stream, then I could pretty much look at getting rid of the $130/mo I pay for TV.   So when you say   "Being that streaming is in no way a necessity and not at all important, if they want it that bad they can move"It is really kind of  big deal.  I have many friends who have dropped cable TV or satellite TV to stream movies.  So it is a big deal if you are on a limited budget..   That is my point, more services are being delivered via the Internet, whether it is entertainment, shopping, online banking, etc,..  Advertising in the US is understandably geared to this trend. Hughes net or any metered service has a strong current to swim against with frugality. Just goes with the terrioritory and I'm trying not to beatup on Hughesnet.  Hughesnet should just own it be straightforward is all in the sales of the service.   ... View more

"These ads have nothing to do with Hughesnet, and if someone buys Hughesnet because of one of these ads, that's on them for not doing their homework." Obviously HBO/netflix/amazon ads have nothing to do with Hughesnet, but they do have something to do with how the majority  of people understand the term "streaming".  I am not an Hughesnet customer because I want to stream movies, I am customer because I don't have any other option to browse the web.   I think that is probably the case for 99% of the HN customer base.  Maybe I'm wrong on that.   That is why I think the  HN sales force would better served to be clear on this and not use terms "not a lot" or "moderation". .  Your parents had the benefit of your insight and advice on satellite, many others do not. Let's face it, the majority of the Internet US customer base will not be looking at being frugal with Internet usage when everything is going online.  just my 02 cents. ... View more

GabeU, From your post:    "When I recently called to have my parents connected the sales rep explained about the service in regard to streaming and game playing, noting that streaming should be done at lower levels of definition and even then, not a lot, and that any real time games wouldn't work with Hughesnet." To me, that is misleading. Not a lot may mean 30+ hours/month  as Birddog has said, but it is my belief people don't think of "not a lot" that way.   Unfortunately you, Birddog, and others are up against millions of dollars in HBO, Amazon, Netflex advertising  showing people streaming seamlessly every night while eating popcorn and doing high fives. I'm not disagreeing with either of you, I'm just saying parsing the definition of streaming to mean so many hours a month is a difficult way of explaining you are better off not planning your movie entertainment that way.  ... View more

I get it Birddog, but I think most people don't parse it that way.  Even If a sales rep says you can video stream in moderation, that means different things to different people.   In my case, I have a 10GB plan. If a sales rep said I could stream in moderation, I might think maybe an hour or two a day. That's pretty moderate, right? A typical person is not gong to think of a video compression/MB conversion ratio.    In my case, moderation really means I can watch 3 movies in standard definition a month.   Technically, I am streaming movies, but realistically who would think that is what streaming means? See what I mean? I think the sales person should up front say it is not for streaming movies, but if you do, you can maybe watch 3 movies a month. Maybe the sales folks do say that and new customers don't hear it, I don't know. ... View more

I agree with Lab Lover, I don't think it's a scam, just lack of  communication.  The first assumption I make about every HN customer is if cable or DSL was available, they would be using it because of cost/performance.  That is not a knock on HN, it's just a clear choice on bang for the buck. I'm guessing it would be a  weird concept for 95% of the US population connected to the Internet to monitor data download usage. Particularly with TV advertisements bombarding them with  HBO, Netflix, Amazon, etc, etc streaming and wonderful media things to do on the Internet. I think HN sales should position the service as an option much better than dialup but realistically not able to stream movies or play online games.  It's basically a web browsing, light data usage service.  Nothing wrong with that (other than price), but being super clear in that message would help first time shock and ongoing expectations.   ... View more

As a long time customer , I can say my experiences with Hughes customer service and telephone technical support have been positive overall..   Aa a fairly new post to this community board, I was surprised by the comments of other customer's expecting to stream movies and play online games. I was even more surprised that no one on the community board said "are you kidding me?" until a post I saw recently.   I agree with much of what Eric posted, but a majority of the  "customer base" portiion of Eric's equation may be under the expectation they can use HN service in the same way as Cable or DSL.    The community board continues to be a resource to gain knowledge and educate all of us about the HN service.  HN might develop (maybe they have) some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on usage (streaming, gaming, downloads, bonus bytes, etc... I hope Hughes can develop better usage tools so customers can be proactive in managing their monthly allowance.      ... View more

Thank you Gabeu, It wouldn't surprise me if it was the IOS in the phones doing something behind the scenes that are pinging Apple websites for various updates  and check-ins.  I just haven't found an Iphone setting other than the off switch that stops it from wolfing down threw my allowance. At least I think it's the iphone, that is the new variable in my Hughes family of devices.   I have a set number of users allowed via my encryption, there is not an opportunity for drive by use.     ... View more

I wasn't suggesting testing every device since computerdom.   I was asking about iPhones.  I agree Apple updates randomly and without concern about the users bandwidth. Testing compatibility with popular devices  is not a unreasonable expectation is my view.  Particular if the ISP is providing a metered service.   I understand the Hughes support ends at the modem.  Most issues I have seen recently are either bandwidth usage or speed, common with Hughes but probably rare issues with other ISP's like comcast or DSL.  I'm not suggesting Hughes is in that league, but when you state "ISP's" responsibility ends at the modem, you're implicitly including ISP's (comcast and dsl)  that don't have metered service and the issues that go with that.   I don't compare Hughes with Comcast or DSL   I would compare with Dish Satellite.   Know anyone with DISH satellite andd if there are similar issues.      Maybe folks who have Iphones turned on in their home and normal bandwidth usage can screen shot their settings and send those out.    Thanks for the instructions on troubleshooting.  I'm asking visitor to keep their Iphones and Ipad off until I can figure this out.    ... View more

Birddog, I think a "metered" ISP like Hughes has responsibility to investigate customer claims of bandwidth being used in a day when no decernible activity is reported by the customer other than having an iphone turned on in the home?   Hughes relies on customer troubleshooting shared issues and on their own dime.  That's ok to a point but not as complaints mount and frustration grows,  particularly with the premuim price being paid for the service by their customers.  I can understand it if the customer is using oddball browsers or apps and it is unique to a customer.   As you mention, there are a huge number of variables, but there are also a set of internet protocols and standards ISP's have to stick to if they want to grow as a service.   Something seems to be going on compatibility wise with Iphones and Hughes.   Like the elkeyfamily, my bandwidth is gone in a week. When I purchased additional tokens, it disappeared in a day.  I can't afford this at this rate.   The other option I have is going to DISH.  I would expect them to have a similar business model and possibly technical issues being a satellite provider but Dish technical support may have more knowledge on these things.     ... View more

I have a similar issue.  For the years I have had Hughes net I rarely exceeded my usage GB.  Just pretty much used the web. I have a computer for web browsing with maybe streaming a couple hours of video a month. I also have an iPad, but rarely used it.   I had two family members visit and within a day my GB usage for the  month was gone.  They both had Iphones but neither did any video watching or heaviy bandwidth usage. I'll look at glasswire but I think Hughes would be proactive if they tested popular devices such as Iphones and Ipads to see if there is any negative impact on their customers.   Hughes does recommend various routers to use, I would like to see the company go further in useability type issues.   ... View more

I was using the downloadable one (Hughes status meter)  Now that I know the one on customer support is realtime, I will use that more but it really takes a bit of luck to see crazy usage when not doing anything on the internet.   I happened to be 12 hours late narrowing it down to an iphone setting on my daughter's phone (who I allowed via my encrytion setup). I think it is the "wifi assist" setting  on the iPhone somehow used 6,2 GB in 12 hours.    I wouldn't be surprised if I'm barking up the wrong tree though.  I'll see what happens next month and try to catch what is going on.   ... View more

Thanks, i will look for the encryption setting. I was using the #2 option you reference.  It seems to be at least 24 hours behind on my setup.  ... View more