Solving Satellite Internet Problems Without A Service Call

Find out how to avoid the cost of a service call by solving some satellite internet problems yourself.

Service calls for satellite internet repairs can be expensive. That’s not surprising since all service calls are pricey. Then there’s the frustration of having to schedule an appointment and wait for a technician to arrive. This can take longer than you’d like, especially if you live in a remote area. Here are a few things you can do to try to solve your satellite internet problems before you make that appointment.

Before you protest that you don’t know anything about repairing a satellite system, keep reading. The troubleshooting you will be doing does not require any technical knowledge on your part. Surprising as it may seem, sometimes you can make your own satellite internet repairs and save yourself the cost and inconvenience of a service call.

When satellite internet first came on the scene several years ago, there were some problems. Although, the service today is far more reliable, minor problems can still occur. But you can solve many of them yourself even if you consider yourself technologically challenged.

At the first sign of a problem, always check your System Control Center page. This page will show your system status, including speed.

My own system page has an indicator at the top of the page. It’s green when everything is operational. It turns yellow when there is a temporary problem. When it’s red, there is a problem preventing the system from working properly.

It’s a good idea to bookmark this page so you can readily access it at any time. In fact it’s not a bad idea to have this page open whenever you are using the internet, so you are always aware of status changes as they occur. (If you ever contact your service provider for technical assistance, they will ask you for information from this page to try to solve your problem.)

Possible Problems-

1. Slower speed
This is a problem that may resolve itself, given some time. If not, there are things you can do to solve the problem.
 
• First of all, look out the window. If it’s pouring rain or there is severe weather, your system will often be slower, or may even stop working for a short period of time. When the rain slows down and the weather improves, the system speed will be restored.

• Slower speeds may also occur if the location of your provider’s Network Operations Center (NOC) is experiencing weather issues. Take a look at your system information page for details.

•  If you are unable to access this page, call your support desk. If a technical or weather related problem is affecting the whole network, or only a certain region, they may have a message recorded to inform internet customers.

• Make sure you haven’t gone over limit for downloading data. If you have, this will trigger the Fair Access Policy which means that your speed will be much slower for a specific period of time. If this has occurred, you’ll just have to wait it out.

• Sometimes speed is not related to your internet system at all. Working too long on your computer without shutting it down will slow everything down. Try restarting your computer to see if this helps.

2. You can’t browse any websites
There are several things that could be causing this problem with your home satellite internet.

If you are using a laptop, and are having difficulty with your wireless connection, be sure you haven’t moved outside of signal range. Try moving your modem to a different location. If it’s on the floor, put it in a spot that is more open or higher up. Then move closer to your modem and see if this works.

After periods of inactivity, the system sometimes just doesn’t want to start back up. Go to your system status page and try refreshing it to re-establish the connection.

If that doesn’t do the trick, then unplug both your modem and your router for a minute or two (not less). Plug both back in to restart the system.

If you are still having difficulty re-connecting, then unplug router and modem again, and restart your computer. Once it’s restarted, plug everything back in. In most cases taking these steps will take care of the problem.

3. Snow
Another weather related problem is snow. When snow starts to cover your satellite internet dish, you’ll notice a reduction in speed. It doesn’t take much for this to occur. If it covers the dish completely, service may stop entirely.

There’s an easy fix for this problem, as long as you have access to your satellite dish. Just brush the snow off and service will immediately be restored. Putting a bit of wax on the face of the dish can prevent snow from accumulating in the first place..

4. Signal Interference
Make sure that nothing is causing an interference with the signal to your satellite dish. In winter, this could be snow. Other times of the year, it could be a build-up of leaves, branches, or other debris. Has a bird decided to build a nest there?

If there is any kind of obstruction, you will have to remove it to restore your system. Be careful when you do this. Never stand in front of the dish.

6. Technical Support – If all else fails, contact your satellite internet service provider’s technical support desk. You receive this remote technical support with your satellite internet service.

They will be able to walk you through some basic steps to help solve any problems you can’t resolve on your own. They can also do some things remotely, to improve the signal strength to your satellite dish, as well as to analyze other problems. 

So if you are having satellite internet problems, why not see if you can solve the minor problems and save yourself an unnecessary service call?