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How I repaired my Viasat Home Internet Service
Task: Repair the Viasat dish
Date: August 13, 2022
Time to complete: 2 Hours
Due to this happening a while ago, I do not have all the images of the repair itself
I decided to take it upon myself to fix the satellite dish instead of contacting Viasat customer service to send a technician out because prior to this, I had already done that and the technician only made a temporary fix which only lasted about 2 weeks before the service dropped yet again.
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Before the service went down the first time, the internet speed was fair for my location, I was getting about 25Mbps download and 6-8Mbps upload speeds. Once the service dropped, I was lucky to get anything above 1Mbps for either speed. The technician who arrived was able to get the speeds back up but only for the 2 weeks it worked only recalibrating the dish itself. Once I finished my repair for it, the speeds skyrocketed up to 50-75Mbps download and 20-25Mbps upload
Old speed
New speed
Steps I took to complete the task
The first step I took was using DownDetector.com to determine if the service was affecting just me or if it was a widespread issue, I wouldn't have to do anything.
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It turned out to just be an issue at my location so I did the basic steps first
-restart equipment
-driver repairs
-Search and apply updates
-Deep clean equipment
-Trace cables for any visible damage, there were some marks from what seemed like chewing from animals
-Use the Viasat app to run its system diagnostics, which would tell me the network was fine but my service was not
-Finally, I would go into the modem configuration and tweak some settings
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Unfortunately, none of the above steps solved anything so I decided to take a look at the dish itself and determined that it needed a major cleaning and everything needed to be replaced (besides the dish and radio)
The process
After powering off all the equipment and disconnecting the modem, I gathered all the necessary tools and components and went through the following steps: These will be basic and listed similarly to an instruction manual
I first ran a network speed test to compare when the job was finished
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1.) I powered off and disconnected the Modem from the power and Coax cables
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2.) Disconnected the Coax cable from the Grounding block on both ends and removed the block from the side of the house, marking where the new one will need to be placed
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3.) Removed all cable screws from the siding other than the two closest to the dish to reduce strain until I disconnected the cable from that point
4.) Climbed onto the roof to get to the dish and remove the LNB to access and disconnect the Coax and ground wire completely, I also noted down where everything was adjusted for future reference if needed
5.) Removed the remaining cable screws and set the old Coax to the side for disposal with the grounding block, wire, and screw
6.) Did a thorough cleaning for the dish and LNB with microfiber cloths and an air duster to remove debris and cobwebs
7.) With the dish stripped, I rotated it upwards to where it was originally set and fastened the screws to keep it from moving again
8.) Now it was time to put everything back together with the new parts
9.) I routed the new Coax cable through the satellite arm while stripping the ground wire to the necessary length for mounting
10.) I mounted the ground wire to the satellite dish mount where the old one was and connected the Coax to the LNB
11.) Remounted the LNB to the support arm firmly and gave it a 'wobble' test
12.) Fed the new coax cable down the side of the house and set the mount screws roughly every 3 feet to secure the cable while I descended
13.) Mounted the new Grounding block and firmly connected the grounded coax and the modem coax to their respective ends
14.) Mounted the new modem coax to the house while feeding it to the modem through the pre-made hole
16.) Connected the modem to the new cable and the power cable to power it on
17.) Double-checked the exterior for any missed mounting points and disposed of the older damaged parts while I waited for the modem to boot back online
18.) I checked the Viasat App diagnostics to see that the service was successfully repaired
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That's the process of how I repaired the Viasat internet at my location without a technician, I do not remember if it cost anything for the technician to work on it otherwise I would have added a price comparison
Tools I used
I had purchased everything prior to this job which is why it was completed in a single day.
I used a variety of different tools to complete this job, the blue highlighted ones are what I found locally and the yellow are what I had to get online
-Air duster:
for removing dust and cobwebs
-Rachet Screwdriver:
for dismantling the radio
-Socket Wrench:
also used for dismantling the radio, and removing ground wire
-Microfiber cloth:
Wipe down the dish and radio with no residue or debris left
-Magnet dish:
catch all screws and bolts
Needs to have a ground wire to work properly, I used a 50-foot cable for some breathing room to reduce stress on the connection points
To connect the modem to the other end of the Grounding block
Keep cable and dish protected
Mount grounding cable from Coax
Keeps the cable mounted to the siding of the house ​
More information
If your satellite internet is not working as it should (either not at all or running slow) I will be happy to schedule a visit and diagnose what the issue could be and give you options for getting it back up and running how it should.
Contact me on the support page and lets find a solution