How can I be using 1TB of home internet data??

[McLovin]

Just got a notice that I’ve used 975TB so far this month on my home internet.

Does anyone else use that much?

I ran different scenarios on their usage calculator. It said if I was using 10 hours per day of TV streaming, plus 10 hours per day of general internet browsing, plus 10 hours of social media, PLUS 10 hours of music streaming, that would be 1 TB per month.

For all of that, every day!

It’s just me and my wife, and she works outside the house full time 45-50 hours a week.

Zero gaming, no downloading of files or movies, no cameras using internet. Just streaming TV and music and general website browsing.

This has never happened before, but we did cut the cable and go to streaming TV early this month. Could streaming TV use that much data?? Anyone else use that much at home?

[Sooner or later]

One question.

Do you have blisters on your palm?

[legion]

Your unsecured smart television, refrigerator, and dishwasher are part of a bot army?

[dad911]

Do you stop the streaming devices when you turn off TV? I always go to the main menus.

Neighbors all on your wifi?

[RKDinOKC]

Got wifi and someone riding piggy back?

Next door neighbor turns his cable modem off when not specifically using it.

No idea what I use, am not capped.

[stomachmonkey]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardriving

[flipper35]

Some of the smart TVs are always sending data.

Do you have a Windows 10 machine? Do you have hte updates managed for capped services?

The ISP can probably send a graph of data usage.

[porsche4life]

Log into the admin portal on your router, see if it tells you traffic.

Or do old school, start unplugging **** one by one and see if usage goes down

[fastfredracing]

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by McLovin

Just streaming TV and music and general website browsing.

Possible I suppose, if you are streaming HD music and 4k/HDR movies several hours per day. Still, that is a LOT of data.

I'd make sure you are using WPA2 encryption for your WiFi, and change your password key (making sure it's strong/random). If you want to take it further, you can dig into your router's set-up and restrict access to only the devices you use, and/or disable it completely during certain hours of the day, etc. I'd probably disable WPS and any "remote" admin accessibility for the router as well. Also, make sure its firmware is up to date.

[Brando]

It is possible by just streaming (HD) you can be using that much. I think I read that on average 1 45-minute episode of a show can be almost 1GB in size on Netflix.

You could also have "smart" devices connected to the internet, doing their thing. Also, mobile phones (iOS especially) can consume a metric shyt-ton of data once on WiFi.

It might be time to put your "smart" devices on a segmented network with no internet access and see what gives. Also update your WiFi password and see if any neighbors complain. If you have guest access turn that off.

Oh, and one last thing I found out. Providers like COX, Comcast, and Xfiniti have integrated to their Wireless AP/Router combos an open guest network. It's designed for other subscribers to have WiFi access wherever they go. If you are using a router/modem combo from your ISP, toss it and buy a separate Modem and separate Router.

[VincentVega]

whats your cpu load look like? netstat -an , whats open? who's connected?

Or maybe just a toaster looking for a firmware update

[Gogar]

Like Brando said,

for example if you have Xfinity internet and bought or are renting a "xfinity" modem/router from them,

Your router is actually making a public hotspot called "xfinitywifi" in addition to the home network you set up, and strangers or the kid next door can use it. Maybe someone next door to you is accessing that open network and watching TV all day.

Here's how to turn it off for xfinity:

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/disable-xfinity-wifi-home-hotspot

[wildthing]

Xfinity public WiFi doesn’t count towards your usage. Still, I’d turn it off.

XFi actually shows you what devices are connected and how much they are using. Check it out.

Goes without saying, set your WiFi to wpa2 with a strong password.

[HardDrive]

Has to be a mistake. That is a massive amount of transfer.

[Bill Douglas]

The TV uses quite a bit, but not THAT much.

I'd change the password.

[HardDrive]

With a healthy margin for error, let's say that a 2 hour HD movie is 5 GB.

Did you download 195,000 HD movies last month? I'm guessing no.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

With a healthy margin for error, let's say that a 2 hour HD movie is 5 GB.

Did you download 195,000 HD movies last month? I'm guessing no.

He only needs to download 195. We're not talking petabytes here! :nerdheadshake:

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

With a healthy margin for error, let's say that a 2 hour HD movie is 5 GB.

Yeah, something going on there...

Even though the same 2 hour movie in 4k/HDR can easily be 3x that (+/- 15GB), you'd still have to stream over 4 hours of 4k content every single day to reach a 1TB cap.

[McLovin]

I left all TVs off today, with the exception of my wife watching an hour or so. Tomorrow I’ll be able to see how many GBs were used today.

I googled it and a lot of people seem to have this problem when they moved to streaming. I’m using Roku, for example, and apparently if you turn the TV off while watching a program, it can continue to stream even after the TV is off. Supposed to go back to the home page, then turn the TV off.

Also, I have had the TV on a lot. I’d sometimes leave it on upstairs and go downstairs, and it would run for a few hours. Still, I don’t think I’ve come close to TVs streaming 10 hours per day, every day.

I’m using my own router, not the cable company’s. It has a tough password. Plus, it’s in the center of my house. For a neighbor to get a signal, they’d have to be sittting outside my house. It wouldn’t reach into their house.

Will be curious to see what my useage was today.