Internet data usage: Meter not reliable and sad to get a FLEX streaming device, if the allowed Data Usage does not support 4K streaming

2 complaints

#1 - The meter of the Internet Usage is not reliable: (Suggestion to other users, do not trust it if you are above 1100GB)

• Sure, the meter advises that the actual usage may be outdated by up to 24 hours, but my experience is more like 72 hours of delay
• After I got a note that I had hit 75% of the Usage Allowance (first time ever), I kept daily (and sometimes 3 or more records per day) so I could:
• Manage the kids TV and Gaming usage, and
• understand what spiked our consumption (never before over much more than 800GB for a month) 
•  The Data below is the reading of the Usage data first thing in the morning next day (readings mostly happening between 8AM and 12 PM)
•  

Date March 2021	Reading next morning	Daily Usage in GB according to XFinity App
23	975
24	989	14
25	1011	22
26	1033	22
27	1049	16
28	1060	11
29	1078	18
30	1119	41
31	1217	98

• As you can see, once I started tracking and made some changes we manage to keep it under control (so we thought) but see that on March 31st the consumption jumped to 98 GB in one day, I checked it at 11:15PM on 3/31 and the app read 1127GB, in the Morning (April 1st)the App was reporting 1227GB for the Month!
• That Only makes sense if the Meter is off by 3 days, and then it catches up on the last day of the month... Sorry to say that this Smells fishy

 

#2 – Flex Stream device is great, but the allowance of Internet Usage does not allow you to use it!

 

I found that what caused the the Monthly spike of my internet was the usage of the Flex Stream device over a few days. I did not expect that at all.

My kids are on Zoom, then Gaming + Zoom call with friends  most of the day (thanks Cov19), we often have 2 devices Casting Netflix/Hulu for hours a day (thanks again COv19), but that has been the norm since March last year, so what changed?

 

• 2 things changed around the 15^th of Match
  
  • We changed the router and plan for the 1000M
  • We got a FLEX Stream device
• After the 75% Usage warning (see complaint #1) I did some research and found that, what was likely to be the guilty party, was the FREE FLEX Streaming Device, as 4K Streaming consumes ~7GB per hour.

 

My point is, if Xfinity is trying to promote 4K streaming, is doing a bad job. Since I disconnected the FLEX Streaming Device and used the Chromecast Ultra, the consumption has been   between 20GB (if you ignore the mad 98GB of 3/31)  and 30 GB (If you include the mad 98GB of 3/31).

 

My wish is for XFINITY to set the Internet Usage  limit to a more realistic amount. For my family, with ONE 4K Streaming device and our current usage, we would easily hit 2000GB, I would say that a more realistic limit for today's 4K world  is more likely 2500GB.

 

PS: If XFINITY does not move fast on this, it risks having customers jumping to SpaceX internet service, sure speeds are lower, but it may improve and currently there is no cap!

e.g. If the speed is ~400Mbits should be enough for a small family with one 4K Streaming device.

PS#2: I am considering moving to a lower plan to allow me to go over the limit and still pay approximately the same over 12 months. But Xfinity, that is a poor way of doing business