What to do with the old HughesNet or Viasat dish after you switch

HughesNet doesn’t want the dish, mount or cables back, and Viasat’s agreement lists the modem and transceiver as the items to return, though Viasat’s own FAQ says the dish goes back too. So for HughesNet the dish is yours to leave, take down or recycle, and for Viasat you should ask first. Either way, send the listed parts back on time, because those carry the fees.

The trap is that some of the parts each company wants are outdoors, attached to the dish.

What goes back and what stays

From HughesNet’s Subscriber Agreement and Early Termination terms (July 8, 2025) and Viasat’s Customer Agreement version 9.22 (Oct 8, 2026), read Nov 3, 2026. If you bought your HughesNet equipment rather than leasing it, HughesNet says none of it has to go back.

HughesNet’s wording on the dish is direct: “You are not required to return, and Hughes is not obligated to de-install, the outdoor antenna, outdoor mount, or any cables.” Professional removal is optional, and HughesNet says you pay the de-installation charges if you choose it. Its moving page says the same thing in practice: when customers move, the dish stays at the old address.

Viasat’s transceiver: the part people throw away by mistake

On a Viasat system, the transceiver isn’t an indoor box. Viasat’s FAQ describes the outdoor equipment as “an official Viasat satellite dish, transceiver and bracket assembly”, which is why it’s easy to forget: it sits outside on the dish.

It’s also the most expensive part to lose. For current ViaSat-3 equipment (the Tria 3), Viasat’s fee for an unreturned or damaged transceiver is $350. On older Viasat gear it’s $250, and on older Exede equipment $150.

So before anyone takes a Viasat dish down, scraps it or lets a roofer haul it away:

1. Call Viasat within 7 days of cancelling, as its agreement requires, and ask: “Which parts do I need to send back, and do I need to take down the dish?” Viasat’s own pages disagree on the dish, so the answer you get on the call is what counts. Write down the date, the answer and the rep’s name.
2. Ask how to remove the transceiver, or whether Viasat will. Viasat can de-install the modem and transceiver itself “at our standard rates”.
3. Use what Viasat sends. Viasat either sends return instructions or, at its option, a prepaid shipping package.

The same goes for HughesNet’s satellite radio, which HughesNet charges $200 for if it doesn’t come back. HughesNet says it sends instructions on how to de-install and return the required equipment. Follow them before the dish comes down.

HughesNet Fusion customers have more on the list. Fusion’s return fee is $500 rather than $300 because it adds “the multipath device, power supply and wireless antenna”, worth $200 together. If you aren’t sure where your Fusion antenna is mounted, ask HughesNet on the cancel call, so it goes in the box with everything else.

Renting, selling or sharing the roof

The dish is attached to a building, so a few situations need a conversation before anything comes down:

• You rent your home. The roof and walls belong to the landlord. Tell them before removing a mount or leaving holes, and agree who seals them.
• You’re selling the house. Buyers and inspectors notice abandoned dishes and old bolt holes. Removing the dish and sealing the holes before listing avoids a question later.
• You live in a home with an association. Some homeowner associations have rules about what’s mounted on roofs and walls, and about repairs afterward. Check before you start.

Leave it, take it down, or reuse the spot

Once the required parts are out of the way, you have three choices for the rest.

Leave it. The simplest option for HughesNet customers, and allowed by the agreement. Check the mount from the ground now and then. An old mount that loosens over the years can rock in high wind and work its bolts against the roof.

Take it down. Worth doing if the mount is on the roof, if you’re selling the house, or if it’s in the way of a new installation. The next section covers doing it without causing a leak.

Reuse the spot. Old HughesNet and Viasat dishes point at one patch of southern sky, while Starlink wants as much open sky as it can get. The old spot may or may not work, and reusing the old mount has its own catches. Can Starlink go where your old dish is? explains how to test it.

Taking it down without causing a roof leak

Roof work carries real risks, from falls to leaks that show up months later. If you’re unsure about any of this, ask a roofer.

• Work from the ground or a ladder only if it’s safe. Many roof-mounted dishes are easier and safer for a roofer or handyman to remove.
• Remove the parts that go back first, following the provider’s instructions, and set them aside in a labeled box.
• Unbolt the dish from the mount, then the mount from the house.
• Seal every hole the mount’s bolts leave behind, with a sealant suited to your roof or siding. Bolt holes left open are a common cause of slow leaks.
• Deal with the cable run. Where the cable entered the house, seal the hole or have it sealed. Inside, the cable can stay in the wall if removing it would mean opening the wall.

Take a photo of the area before and after, in case a leak shows up later and you need to show what was done.

Recycling or scrapping the parts

• The dish and mount are mostly metal. Local scrap yards may take them; call first and ask what they accept.
• Electronics you own outright, such as HughesNet equipment you bought or a router of your own, belong at an electronics recycler. Your county or town’s waste office can say where one is.
• Leased parts never go in the recycling. They go back to the provider, or you pay for them.

Photos and receipts

Your proof matters more than the box itself if a part is later marked missing:

1. Photograph each part before it goes in the box, with any serial-number sticker readable.
2. Photograph the packed box, then the sealed box with the label on.
3. Keep the drop-off receipt with its tracking number, and screenshot the “delivered” status.
4. Check your final bill and the one after for an equipment charge.

If a charge appears anyway, returning old internet equipment walks through disputing it, and the cancel guides for HughesNet and Viasat cover the call and the final bill.

Return deadlines by provider

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