If you are a rural internet customer, there’s a good chance you use Viasat. Viasat is the top internet provider for those hard-to-reach locations in the US that have been left behind by traditional internet services. It is a great option for anyone who doesn’t have access to cable or fiber.

That said, Viasat is still satellite internet, which always comes with its own set of unique issues. Whether you can’t connect at all or your connection is slow or unreliable, this article will give you the info you need to get your internet back on track.

As a first step, you can test your internet performance by using an online speed test. This will give you a clearer idea of how your Viasat is performing compared to the speed promised by the plan you chose. If it’s a little below the advertised speed, that’s normal and okay. But if it’s way below or not working at all, keep reading this article so we can help you out.

When You Have No Connection at All

If your internet connection isn’t giving you anything, not even a slowly-loading web page, then start by trying these potential solutions.

Check if There Are Any Outages

If you have no internet whatsoever, it may not be a problem on your end at all. Satellite internet will occasionally experience outages due to severe weather, either at your location or at the ground network.

To check if there is an outage in your area, you can look on the Viasat website or call +1-855-463-9333.

Reset Your Viasat Internet

If there aren’t any outages in your area, the next step is the go-to method of many technology professionals: turn it off, then turn it back on again. This will often reset whatever the problem is and get your internet running again. Here are the steps recommended by Viasat:

1. Turn off your computer.
2. Unplug your modem’s power cord (and your router if they are separate).
3. Unplug any ethernet cables from your modem.
4. Wait a few seconds and plug the ethernet cables back in.
5. Plug your modem’s power cord back in. Wait for all LED lights to be lit and solid. (Plug in your router as well if it is separate)
6. Turn on your computer.

This should reset all the equipment and hopefully undo whatever caused the connection to be lost.

Check Your Satellite Dish

If the reset didn’t work, the problem could be your satellite dish. It’s possible that it has been damaged or that its connection with the satellite has become obstructed. Though rare, severe weather like hail storms or extremely high winds can harm parts of the dish or break its alignment. It’s also possible that tree branches or new construction have popped up between the satellite dish and the satellite, blocking the connection.

If this is the case, it’s best to get Viasat’s help. Fixing a broken or misaligned satellite dish is not an easy task, and getting a professional’s assistance is the best way forward in this situation.

Check Your Other Equipment

Sometimes the problem isn’t with Viasat. It could be a problem with your computer, the app you're using, or the streaming device you’re streaming through. By trying other apps or devices, you can test the source of the problem. If other apps and devices work, then the problem wasn’t in the internet service. But if nothing is working, then it might be time to call Viasat to report the problem. You can reach customer service at +1-855-463-9333.

When Your Connection is Slow or Unreliable

So you’ve got an internet connection, but it’s not everything you hoped for. It’s performance is lacking and it has become a bit spotty. Here are some tips for dealing with this problem.

Check Your Account’s Data Usage

One of the downsides of satellite internet is that they don’t offer as much high-speed data as other internet types. Each plan comes with a set data allowance, and after you pass that data amount, your speeds will be affected.

Though Viasat offers plans with higher data allowances, it’s definitely possible you’ve surpassed your monthly limit and are receiving deprioritized data speeds. This is the most common cause of slow internet service.

To check your account data or to add data to your account, call customer service at +1-855-463-9333.

Check Your Satellite Dish

Sometimes problems with your satellite dish don’t cause you to lose the connection altogether (like mentioned above), but sometimes they just make the connection weaker. If tree branches, wires, or construction are affecting your satellite dish’s view of the sky, it’s time to contact Viasat. They may be able to give you instructions for fixing the problem, or they may have to send a technician to move your satellite dish.

It’s also possible that the cause is the weather. While Viasat uses technology that allows its signal to push through cloud cover, it’s possible that really thick, dark clouds could weaken the signal. If this is the case, you might just have to wait for the sky to clear up.

Move Your Equipment

Wi-Fi relies on sending waves through the air to the devices that want to connect to it. If there is too much obstruction or distance between the router and the devices, the connection will be weakened. Because of this, it’s ideal to place your Wi-Fi router in a central position in your home (not, for example, a distant corner of the basement) so that it’s as close as possible to as many devices as possible.

Another option is to plug your device directly into the router. If your device has an ethernet port, you can plug it into the router with an ethernet cord. This direct connection should be faster and avoid any obstruction potentially faced by Wi-Fi.

Lastly, make sure you don’t have too many devices connected to Wi-Fi at the same time. Your plan’s download speed isn’t per device, but total. However much bandwidth other devices are using is that much less bandwidth available to you. Find any devices lying around that aren’t being used but still connected to the network so that you can free up a little extra speed for yourself.

Check Your Browser

Sometimes the culprit isn’t the internet service at all, but the go-between that displays the internet: your browser. Older browsers don’t handle fast connections as well, so it’s smart to update to a newer one.

It’s also possible that you’ve got too many web pages open at the same time (don’t we all). This could be using too much of your bandwidth and not saving enough for the page that you're using right now. If your tabs are getting close to excessive, you might want to go through and close the ones you don’t need.

You can also go into your browser settings to clear the cache. This will get rid of saved passwords, among other things, but if these were using up too much memory, this could speed up your browser’s performance.

Overview

We’ve covered the most common issues that might be affecting your Viasat internet connection. Other issues, like viruses and malware, can also cause performance issues (among other problems), but they are less likely to be the issue and may take a lot more than a few paragraphs to figure out how to fix.

We’ve discussed issues that range from weather to router placement that can break your internet connection or slow it down. If you are facing an issue not discussed here, or the troubleshooting steps taken have failed to improve the issue, feel free to call Viasat customer service today to get help from a professional.

Here is an overview of the issues and fixes we discussed in this article:

Problem	Possible Causes	Possible Fixes
No Internet Connection	Internet outage Equipment failure Satellite dish damaged or misaligned	Contact Viasat customer service Reset your equipment Try different apps or devices
Slow/Unreliable Internet Connection	Data allowance surpassed Satellite dish damaged or obstructed Dark, cloudy skies Wi-Fi obstruction Browser issues	Add data to your account Contact Viasat customer service Wait for weather to pass Move Wi-Fi to more central location Update your browser

Alternatives to Viasat Internet

If you’re experiencing connection issues with your Viasat internet, hopefully something in this article has been able to help you. But if it’s just not working for you, you might need to consider other options.

There are a number of internet providers that offer a number of internet plans, so you should have plenty of options. If you don’t have many options because you live in a rural area, then sticking with Viasat is probably your best choice. But if that’s not you, it’s worth checking out the many sites that will take your zip code and give you the best internet providers available in your area. You might just find exactly what you need.