5 Of The Least Reliable Home Internet Providers, According To Consumer Reports

Home internet has quickly become one of the most important and essential services you can have at home. It allows people to run home businesses, lets employees work remotely, helps children do schoolwork and research, keeps families connected, allows for paying bills and managing money, and so much more.

As with any sort of monthly service you pay for, not every internet provider is created equal. Some are better than others, and although you might be getting a great deal on service, it doesn’t mean you are getting the best speed, service, or stability. While there are ways to speed up your router and connection, if your provider isn’t great, there isn’t much that you can really do.

If you are looking for an internet provider, it might be hard to find out which ones should be avoided if possible. Thankfully, Consumer Reports is here to help and has highlighted several internet service providers that customers should stay away from based on ratings from their 2025 survey. The publication ranked 54 internet companies and collated over 73,000 responses from its member base. The following are some ISPs that should be avoided if you are looking for home internet.

With the rise of Starlink and the upcoming Project Kuiper from Amazon, the world of satellite internet is expanding and improving at a rapid rate. Where once satellite internet was wildly expensive, slow, and inconsistent, things are quickly changing. That’s why it might be surprising that Viasat, a satellite internet provider, ranks as one of the worst home internet providers by Consumer Reports.

Online reviews seem to back up its low placement as customers often cite issues with frequent service outages, slower-than-advertised speeds, and being locked into a contract with high termination fees. The Consumer Affairs website is littered with over a thousand 1-star reviews highlighting numerous issues. A common complaint among those who canceled their service states that Viasat requires the customer to uninstall and remove the dish mounted on their roof by the company for return.

The Viasat Reddit thread is also full of customers complaining and telling others to stay as far away from the company. Customers state that after 5pm their service slows to a crawl and that they had to fight with customer service simply to get a return box. There are even those who claim that they sent the equipment back, only for Viasat to tell them they never received the return.

Satellite service seems to get a bad rap in Consumer Reports rankings, with Hughesnet also being highlighted as one of the worst. Customer reviews on sites such as SiteJabber show a plethora of problems with the service. Users have cited issues with getting their bills on time, as well as being billed for usage after their service was canceled and all equipment was disconnected.

Reddit is also awash with complaints, notably from one user who stated that they canceled their service and returned all equipment, only to be charged $500 after Hughesnet stated the equipment was never returned. When they disputed the charge, the company found the lost equipment and partially refunded the customer $300.

Unfortunately, this does not seem to be an isolated incident as there are several threads of former customers telling others to check their credit card statements after cancellation and return of equipment to make sure they weren’t charged. One reply even stated that UPS warned them about return issues with Hughesnet and to be sure to keep their receipt. Customers also seem to be taking notice as the company lost over 200,000 subscribers in 2023 alone as Starlink expanded its offerings.

Brightspeed was formed in 2021 and serves mostly the Southeast and Midwest areas of the US. Despite being new, a lot of unhappy customers have taken to the internet to voice their frustration with the company. Users noted sales staff bothering them at home about signing up for service when they are already subscribed to Brightspeed. In one complaint, a customer claimed that a Brightspeed sales representative went as far as to lie about existing laws in order to get them to sign up for service.

Issues with Brightspeed seem to revolve around the company’s poor customer service and shady sales tactics. One user noted that a Brightspeed representative came to their home and assured them fiber optic service was available on their street. The customer proceeded to sign up, set up their automatic bill pay, and scheduled an appointment for installation. 

On the day of the installation the customer called to check the status only to be told that service was not available in their area, even though it was offered on the Brightspeed website. While Consumer Reports members ranked Brightspeed low, there are a number of positive reviews on sites such as TrustPilot. Many say that the actual technicians who do the installation are knowledgeable and professional.

Consumer Reports and its members are no stranger to Optimum, being featured in a list of the worst phone carriers by the organization. It seems that the internet side of their operation is no different in terms of low ratings. With over 1,700 reviews and a 1-star rating on TrustPilot, current and former customers say Optimum internet should be avoided.

Users have noted that their sales agents will do anything to get a sale, even going as far as to lie to the customer and pull a bait and switch with fraudulent offers. Other former customers noted that they called multiple times to disconnect service, only to continue to be charged. Other users noted their frustration with constant rate increases, claiming they have seen random add-ons to their bill every few months. 

And the numbers don’t seem to lie, as Optimum has faced an increase of subscriber losses with records citing a loss of 114,000 paid internet subscribers in 2023 alone. Optimum continues to slowly bleed subscribers every quarter since then, but CEO Dennis Mathew stated on a recent earnings call that the company refuses to chase customers with discounted pricing and promotions.

Alaska is a beautiful place, but it’s not an easy place to live thanks in part to its location. A great many things that most of us take for granted can often be considered luxuries in Alaska. Internet access is no different, and unlike the contiguous United States, there aren’t a lot of options for consumers. GCI is the most prominent service in the state that offers cable, fiber, and fixed wireless service to locals.

Reddit threads are filled with reviews stating how poor GCI service is. Customers claim that outages are common, and when service is available it’s slower than advertised. Others noted that GCI wasn’t always terrible, but ever since the company was sold to an out-of-state entity, things began to get worse at a rapid rate.

One local even stated that when searching for a home in Alaska, the one deal breaker they had was if the home would be serviced by GCI. Others yet say that getting exploited by GCI is a rite of passage for those living in the state. Yelp reviews highlight a host of issues, mostly with the fact that GCI service is inconsistent even at best of times for the hundreds of customers who are paying each and every month.

The internet service providers highlighted in this list are those featured by Consumer Reports in a 2025 survey they conducted with members. With responses from 73,000 Consumer Reports members, the ISPs featured here have been ranked by the organization as the worst-rated among the 54 companies included in their survey. 

We have also supplemented their research and findings by investigating user complaints on various popular review sites including TrustPilot, SiteJabber, Yelp, and more. We have also included multiple real-world accounts of service issues and complaints by customers on multiple internet discussion boards including Reddit.