HughesNet Satellite → [HN9000] Hughes Download Allowance Status Meter

Because I normally only use a small fraction of my daily download allowance, I generally don't pay much attention to my Download Allowance Status Meter. However, after one of my computers got infected with some malware about a month or so ago and that malware was consuming enormous amounts of bandwidth by connecting to the internet on its own, I started monitoring the meter more regularly. What I've noticed since I got that computer cleaned up is that Hughes record of my usage, both on the Download Status Meter and in my Hughes usage logs, is not close to being accurate. And (surprise!) Hughes is recording much less usage than what I've actually used. This was a surprise to me because I occasionally read posts from people who are upset because they say that Hughes is recording more bandwidth usage than they think they are actually using.

Today was a good test. I did the major Windows updates on 3 computers. The total bandwidth for the updates on those 3 computers was 165 MB. I then did a few other software updates that totaled about 35 MB. But, according to Hughes, my total usage was about 80 MB and not the 200 MB that I actually used. As I've been more closely monitoring usage for the last few days, the difference between my actual usage and what Hughes' records say that I've used has been consistent. Day after day, Hughes records show only a fraction of what I've actually used.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has seen the same thing. I'm not sure if the recording is just inaccurate or whether, contrary to what I've believed up until now, there is still some sort of refill during the day for 9000 systems.

Mine has been the opposite. I got up one morning at 4:30 and decided to download some updates during the free time but my monitor said I only had 65MB left in my bucket. The computer had been off since 8:00 the previous night. It gradually filled during the day but never did get back up to my 200MB bucket.

We had our new HN9000 system installed today and now my Status Meter says I have a 250MB allowance but I'm not counting on it. Things have been a little quirky all day but the installer said it would be that way for 24 hours. We'll see.

Ok I guess I am not totally nuts, just mostly.
According to MS my updates totaled 49.4 MB. Hughes only showed 19 MB downloaded. That also included a update to Java. Weird. I have never seen this before and I watch it pretty close. I am at a loss to even attempt to explain it.

I have not been able to check the download for accuracy today but for sure it is giving some amount of free download after each reset. Today it was three hours after reset time before it showed any download. During that time I downloaded over 30 MB. So for sure it is giving free time before it starts counting. My experience is that it has always done this.

Shegens if you have not read this you might want to.

»[HN9000] New 9000 Fap Meter explained

That is correct. On the elite plan it allows 675 MB but only shows Usage for 625 MB. I have been tracking this for some time with a script that reads all 4 buckets individually. There is some types of usage that will not give you the extra 50 MB's such as peer to peer. What is different about the MS update download is that it did not show the full download on any bucket. Only showed 19 MB out of the 49.4 that Microsoft said it was. Who know maybe a glitch in the system.

That is pretty much what I've seen. In the last couple of weeks, I've tried to test it several times by doing and keeping track of downloads that I know the size of, such as software updates or doing several download speed tests in a row. When I check the status meter, it will show only a fraction of the total download. At first, I figured that there must be a delay and that it would eventually catch up, but it doesn't.

Mind you, I'm not complaining because it is nice to know that I do have access to more than the stated amount of bandwidth, but I'd like to know how it works. I'm not sure if there is a fixed amount of "extra" bandwidth per day or whether it is some percentage of my total advertised bandwidth or something else.

I also notice that, for me, it doesn't just give me the extra bandwidth at the beginning of the 24 hour cycle. The same thing happens throughout the cycle.

A couple of weeks ago, I did a reinstall of the operating system on one of my older computers. During the same 24 hour FAP cycle, I downloaded XP Service Pack 3, tons of other Windows updates, several software files, a number of software updates, new anti-virus software and updates, new spyware software and updates, etc. Because I knew that I was doing a lot of downloading, I kept complete track of the number of MB that I was downloading so that, if I got close to my daily allowance, I could quit until the next cycle began. During that one cycle, I downloaded over 425 MB, but the status meter showed less than 200 MB of usage. So, I don't think it is as simple as just not counting some amount of the first usage.

I can only speak to what I have observed on my system and this is the ONLY time I have had a download not show up in the fap buckets correctly. Will have to keep a close look at it for a while. One can only hope that they are making some changes on their end to benefit the consumer.

Thanks tobicat. I'm actually using the fapmonitor, not the status monitor. The fapmonitor has an option for the HN9000 modem. I like it because it gives me the actual number of MB's that I have left.

A couple of other thoughts.

I was concerned that, if the meter seemed to be giving extra bandwidth by not subtracting everything I was using, was there a chance that, if it had not subtracted, say, 100 MB that it should have, would it throw me into FAP when it got down to showing 100 MB? So, one day last week I ran the meter all the way down to 1 MB and then shut down the computers, and, no, it did not send me into FAP. Thus, it is actually giving me the use of the extra bandwidth.

I'm not sure if what I'm seeing is a bug or if there is any chance that it is actually working the way that Hughes' programming was intended to work. If, as some of us suspect from anecdotal evidence, Hughes profiles users and throttles those who regularly use most of their bandwidth, I wonder if there is any chance that the same profiling doesn't identify customers who regularly use only a small fraction of their bandwidth and gives them a bit of a bandwidth cushion for the occasional times when they might need extra bandwidth. While I have little confidence that this is the case, what I am sure of is that, for whatever reason, the meter is giving me extra bandwidth, and it is consistent from one day to the next.

I believe I have solved (with the help of another kind gentleman) the difference in the update downloads yesterday. He suggested, and I agree, that the MB's shown were for uncompressed files and the download was actually compressed files and therefore the difference in file size. That would certainly explain it.

They may be the case sometimes, but I don't think it is the completely picture.

During my current 24 hour FAP cycle, I haven't done much downloading. I have spent a lot of time browsing, including visiting some photo presentation sites. I've probably looked at 100-200 photos. The web-sized versions of those photos should have averaged about 200 kilobits per picture. Last night, just to make sure that I had some measurable bandwidth usage, I did 3 speed tests at testmy.net. The speed tests were 3 MB each, and there is no way that the speed test usage would have been compressed. I then did 3 speed tests at the Hughes site. Those should have used 6 1/2 MB each.

To make sure that the compressed files theory wasn't the reason, I sent myself an email with a 10 MB photo attachment.

Thus, I would have expected to see at least 50-60 MB of usage, but here is my status meter data with a few hours left in my 24 hour cycle before the next reset.

Plan Allowance (MB) 625
Allowance Remaining (MB) 624
Allowance Remaining (%) 100
Time Until Allowance Refill 4:42:34

I can't explain the reason, but I have no question that all of my usage is not being accounted for.

One more too
Try downloading a file that you know the size of with FTP and see how that compares to your status meter. Or if you would rather, use P2P of some sort.

a couple days ago i woke up to find that my daily allowance only had 38mb left, even though when i went to bed i had 223mb remaning. I checked the usage page and it said i had used 247mb between 7 and 8 am even though i had all my computers and everything connected to my network shut off. i don't think that it's a coincidence that other people are having problems with their usage so i think that something is definitely going on somewhere at hughes

I watched it today and today I also got the microsoft updates.

My usage page says I used 74M the meter says I used 37MB.

I was told from the start that the usage page counted some data (supposedly overhead) that the meter did not count. I have been seeing about 30MB of free usage before the meter starts to count. So it appears the meter is on our side at least mine is.

When I did my Windows updates before yesterday's daily reset, my usage log on the Hughes site showed that I had used 220 MB during that 24 hour cycle, but my Download Status Meter showed usage of only about 120 MB. I tried to check what the usage log shows for today, but, most often, when I try to check the usage log, I get a message saying that either I entered the wrong STName/Site ID or there is no usage data available. About one out of every ten times that I try to check the log, I'm successful in accessing it. I'm not sure why that is the case.

Okay, I just did a download of a small amount of music via FTP. The total file size was 12 MB. That was about an hour ago, and my status meter level has not gone down at all. Even with an http transfer, such as doing speed tests, if the data was compressed, the meter should still be showing some movement. Since my daily reset a few hours ago, I did the FTP transfer and also did three speed tests of 3 MB each just to see if I could get the meter to move. In addition, I've done some normal browsing. Again, even with compressed data, I'd have expected some movement, but this is what my meter is showing right now.

Plan Allowance (MB) 625
Allowance Remaining (MB) 625
Allowance Remaining (%) 100
Time Until Allowance Refill 20:21:15

So, whether it is intentional or whether it is because of a glitch in the system, I'm confident that I'm getting "extra bandwidth". And, throughout a 24 hour period, when I do download something big enough to make the meter move, it is still only moving at a fraction of the amount that it seems it should be moving.

I did not mean to imply the compression was the answer to all of it. It was involved in the updates that I downloaded yesterday from Microsoft.
As for the other "extra bandwidth" On my elite plan it shows 625 MB, But in reality it allows 675 MB. Right now it is showing I have 491 MB remaining which is a usage of 134 MB. In reality I have downloaded 184 MB, the 134 MB + the extra 50 MB. That makes it 491 + 184 = 675 total allowed. This information is all being pulled from the info.bin from the modem. It has worked this way for as long as I have been monitoring it.
Yours may work differently. In the end I guess it really does not make any difference as long as one can use the system like they want to and not get fapped..

Here is a screenshot of the buckets.

Like you, I have no idea of whether everyone's system is programmed to work the same way or whether there could be variations depending on the gateway/cell, service plan, etc. From the best I can tell, though, my "extra" bandwidth exceeds 50 MB per day.

Are you seeing, with yours, that the 50 MB is distributed throughout the day, or is it the case that the meter doesn't move until after you have used your first 50 MB?

I do find it curious, though, that, while some of us are seeing the extra bandwidth, there are others who are claiming that their remaining bandwidth is diminishing faster than it should be. For them, I don't eliminate the possibility that either a neighbor or someone else is tapping into their connection or that they are losing bandwidth as the result of malware that has invaded their computers.

How are you getting to that data?

Thanks

The extra bandwidth is determined by the type of usage. Different types of usage is assigned to different buckets. It can all be used up first or it can dribble out during the day. What usage goes to which bucket I have not figured out.

It is a bash script that pulls the info out of info.bin which is where the fap meter gets its information.

Do you have a Linux pc?

yup i downloaded over 100MB worth of Microsoft updates and my usage page only says i used 45MB. I say enjoy it while it lasts

No, I don't. Windows 7 on two computers and XP on another.

I was just interested in seeing if 675 was my magic number, too, or whether it was something different.

I thought I had replied to this earlier, but let me try again.

»www.systemcontrolcenter. ··· info.bin

Save the file and then open it with Wordpad. The buckets are shown in bits so you have to convert it. (/1024/1024)

One more too
Did that link work for you? I am curious to know if your buckets are the same size as mine.
Thanks

The link just led me to a "page not found" message.

Hmmm Does www.systemcontrolcenter.com take you to the 9000 control center? Maybe try to cut and paste it into your browser.