How to cancel HughesNet or Viasat without a phone call

You can end both contracts in writing: HughesNet’s subscriber agreement allows cancellation “on written notice”, and Viasat accepts written or phone notice but not email or chat, so a dated letter sent with tracking works if you’d rather skip the retention call. Two catches to plan around: ask each company which mailing address it wants for a written cancellation (HughesNet’s agreement prints one only for sales made in person), and Viasat’s agreement still asks you to call within seven days after service ends to arrange the equipment return.

Before any of this, make sure your new internet works on a few busy evenings, and move any HughesNet Voice or Viasat Voice number to a new phone company. Cancelling the internet ends the phone add-on too. Keeping your home phone number

What each contract allows

HughesNet: what to put in a written notice and where to send it

HughesNet’s agreement gives a phone number (“If you wish to terminate your service, contact our Billing Department at 1-866-347-3292”) and also allows cancelling on written notice. A clear notice includes:

• your name exactly as it appears on the account, the service address and the account number from your bill;
• the phone number on the account;
• one plain sentence: you are cancelling HughesNet service, effective a date you choose;
• what you want back: written confirmation with a cancellation number, the amount of any Service Termination Fee, the final bill amount, and return instructions for the leased equipment;
• if you got a notice of a price or terms change in the last 30 days, a line saying you’re cancelling under that clause, because the agreement waives the termination fee in that case;
• your signature and the date.

Where to send it. The only cancellation mailing address printed in the agreement sits in its notice for sales made in person: Hughes Network Systems, LLC, Attention: Hughesnet Cancellation, 11717 Exploration Lane, Germantown, MD 20876-2799. The agreement doesn’t say whether other cancellations should go there. Before you mail anything, ask HughesNet in a channel that leaves a record which address it wants for written cancellations.

A notice you can copy (static text; fill in the brackets):

[Your full name]
[Service address]
HughesNet account number: [number]
Phone on the account: [number]
[Date]

I am cancelling my HughesNet internet service, effective [date].

Please:

1. confirm the cancellation in writing and give me a cancellation or confirmation number;
2. tell me the amount of any Service Termination Fee and of my final bill;
3. send return instructions and a return box for the leased equipment to the address above.

[Signature]

Viasat: written or phone only, and written takes up to 5 business days

Viasat’s customer agreement says you “may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving us written or telephone notice,” and that “Viasat does not accept notices of termination or suspension via e-mail or chat.” Written requests can take up to five business days to process.

Use the same notice as above, with two changes: write “Viasat” for “HughesNet”, and in point 3 ask Viasat to “send return instructions or a prepaid shipping package for the modem and transceiver (and Stream hub, if I have one).” Ask Viasat which mailing address it wants for written cancellations before you send anything.

Two parts of Viasat’s agreement still route you to the phone:

• The price-rise exit. If a change raises your monthly fee by more than 25%, the agreement lets you leave without the termination fee “by calling us within 30 days after the first statement reflecting such changes is issued.” That exit is written as a phone call.
• The equipment return. You “must call Viasat within seven days after the termination” to arrange either return instructions or, at Viasat’s option, a prepaid shipping package. The modem and transceiver must then reach Viasat within 30 days. A short call to arrange a return is a different conversation from a cancel call; you can open it with your cancellation number.

Timing your last bill

Viasat charges the full month you cancel in: its agreement says it “will not provide a pro-rata refund for any pre-paid fees regardless of when your Service is terminated, unless otherwise required by applicable law.” So choose an effective date just before your next billing date, and mail the letter early enough that delivery plus five business days lands before it.

HughesNet’s published terms don’t say how the final month is billed. Ask when you request your fee. While a term runs, the fee drops once a month, so ask which date your next drop takes effect; a cancel date just after it can save $15 ($30 on Lite). The fee calculator shows the range.

Either way, keep the old service until the new one has passed a few evening tests. The switch planner puts the order date, overlap and cancel date on one calendar.

Proof: tracking, copies, the cancellation number

A written cancellation is only as good as your proof that it arrived:

• Send it by a mail service with tracking and delivery confirmation; USPS Certified Mail with a return receipt is one option.
• Keep a signed copy of the letter, the mailing receipt and the tracking record. A phone photo of each, emailed to yourself, gives you a dated backup.
• Ask for written confirmation with a cancellation number. If nothing arrives within two weeks of delivery, follow up in writing and quote the tracking number.
• Watch the next two bank or card statements. If charges continue, your letter, tracking and confirmation are the evidence. Billed after you cancelled covers what to do.

Is there a federal “click to cancel” rule?

Not one you can rely on today. The Federal Trade Commission adopted a “click-to-cancel” rule in 2024 that would have required simple cancellation for many subscriptions, but a federal appeals court set it aside in 2025, before its main requirements took effect. Check the FTC’s own site for the current status. Some states have cancellation laws of their own; your state attorney general’s office can tell you what applies. Until anything changes, the contract terms above are what govern your HughesNet or Viasat account.

Then send the equipment back

• HughesNet: the leased modem and its power supply and the satellite radio go back within 45 days; Fusion customers also return the multipath device, its power supply and the wireless antenna. The dish, mount and cables can stay.
• Viasat: call within seven days to arrange the return, then get the modem and transceiver back within 30 days. Viasat’s own pages disagree about whether the dish and mount must go too, so ask which parts it wants.

Photograph every part with its serial number before it goes in the box, and keep the drop-off receipt. Step-by-step guides: cancel HughesNet, cancel Viasat and returning old internet equipment.

Return the old equipment

Checking method: each price, fee and rule here links to the provider’s or regulator’s own page, dated the day we read it. No internet provider pays for a place on this site; the only income is the Starlink referral explained on our money page. Our fact-checking · How we make money · Corrections