I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice

   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #1  

EddieWalker

Epic Contributor
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
25,141
Location
Tyler, Texas
Tractor
Several, all used and abused.
When I moved out to my land, I did some online searches and decided to go with DirecWay Sattelite for my interenet connection.

That was about 4 years ago, and since then, I've had five seperate technicians out here to fix my system, I've had everything replaced from the cables to the dish and modem replaced at least once, and some parts replaced several times. When it works, it's OK at best. Uploads are always slow, but downloads on a good day are pretty fast. If it rains, the signal is likely to be lost depending on how heavy the rain is. We've lost the signal due to the frost on the dish on cold mornings and have even lost it on cloudy days.

Most of the time, it's just annoying and frustrating. Last year, after HughesNet took over DirecWay, they came out with a new modem. The HN7000S, which we received. Since then, it seems like the problems are even worse. It's more likely to lose it's signal on the lightest of rains and cloudy days.

In April, it got so bad that I had to have a technician out here again. Cost for that was $125. He was here three times becuase the problem was my dish wasn't working anymore. The two he carried with him didn't work either. So after a week of being offline, he came out and got it working again with a full 90 day warrenty.

It's almost 120 days since then, and it's not working again. Or I should say, this morning, it's 80 degrees outside, clear skies and I haven't had a signal for the last two hours. I have one now, but it's not something I can rely on. The customer support said that my dish and modem are not reading each other and that I need a technician out here again for another $125.

To say I'm unhappy wouldn't begin to cover it.

I'm paying $60 a month for lousy service and have hundreds of dollars into this worthless equipment and service calls. The technolody isn't getting better, it's actually been worse over the last year.

I have a phone line and might just go back to dial up. I hate the idea of it, but I hate throwing away money on something that doesn't work even more.

There are several threads on cell phone internet connections that I'm curious about. Who has this, where did you get it, and would you recomend them? I'll change cell providers for my phone if that helps to.

Please help!!!!!!!!

Eddie
 
   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #2  
I have a local 'wireless' internet provider... they have a network of antennas around the area and I have an antenna on the side of my house. What shows up in your phone book under 'internet service' or whatever? Maybe there is something similar in your area.
 
   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #3  
   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #4  
I have HughesNet hooked up to a wireless router for the laptop and wired to my desktop. Only in severe thunderstorms or when to much snow gets on the dish do we loose service. That's only for a few minutes, after I clean off the dish it comes right back on. I can take the laptop anywhere on my 2 acres and it's just as good as sitting on the kitchen table. Never had any major problems.
 
   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #5  
I had a similar experience with WildBlue (another sat based system). Not so much problems with the weather, just extremely spotty service. Re-boots of the router, long waits on the phone etc... I finally gave up after the contract expired and ditched the service (if you could call it that).


Since then, my Sprint card has been a dream come true! I get great download speeds, even on a fringe area. I also have my home security cameras accessable via the web, and it works great. Highly recomended if you are in the "zone"

Best of luck, I feel your pain!!
 
   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #6  
Many of the cellular-based vendors will let you try the card for some amount of time (30 days +/-). I'd give that a shot. Many folks have had similar experience with satellite - but in some locations, they're the "only game in town"
Mike
 
   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #7  
Eddie,

I had intermittent problems with Hughes until I upgraded to the 7000. Since then, it's been pretty good. I suspect your problem is with the local tech. We're serviced out of Houston and I got the details on the company. When the service tech couldn't solve the problems, I called the company directly and got the owner/manager. Once they got it fixed (with a tech who knew what he was doing) it's been OK ever since and I sure didn't pay for every call. I expect that the company servicing you covers a lot of East Texas, but you can get the name/phone number from the tech. Unless you are serviced by a little local company, they'll have other service techs.

I've got 3 computers on my network. I'm too lazy to pull fiber over to the barn and I don't like wireless for that distance, so we use a laptop with an ATT wireless card over there. It's painfully slow compared to Hughesnet.

My vet has a wireless broadband service that she is happy with. We looked into it for the barn but couldn't get a good signal. A friend was using one in Wills Point for a while and was happy with it. It's probably too far from Tyler, but there's probably something simular. There aren't too many other options out here in the boondocks.
 
   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #8  
I feel your pain Eddie. I have it and it is the only option available to me at the moment. I have not had near the amount of trouble you have, but I really just despise the whole system. The only part I really like is having the wireless router. Customer service on the phone is usually a joke at best.(If you can understand what they are saying. Outsourcing to the cheapest provider in no telling where stinks.) At one time we had DSL to our office and dial up to our house. True DSL will spoil you to anything else. When we built our new house we would have to had a different phone company than the on we had previously. New lines(which would have been DSL capable) would have to have been installed at a cost to me of 10 grand.:eek: So I don't have a land phone line at all.

BTW: Wild Blue is just another marketer for Hughes. They to my understanding Husghes is the only provider of sat. internet.:(
 
   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #9  
Eddie,
Is broadband available in your area. We have ours through Verizon. Paying far less than $60.00/month and have had no trouble. Good quality, high speed internet.

The people who lived here before us had DirecWay. Dish is still hooked up outside. When I checked prices at the Hughes web site it sure looked like more than $60.00/month. Let me know if you need another dish, you can have ours.:) :)

Mark
 
   / I've had it with HughesNet!!! Need Advice #10  
Check to see if EVDO is available in your area. I have point to point wireless but may switch to EVDO next year. It works off the cell phone network and gives decent speed (3Mb) It has the plus of being portable when I travel.
 
 
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