Unusually high data usage megathread

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@darkangelic wrote:

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That's because xFi only sees the devices connected to your Xfinity Gateway. The X1 cable boxes use a different internet portal and don't appear under xFi, but any internet use they have will still count against the cap. 

 

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Mine show in the list with the others and show a usage graph.  Maybe it depends on which device is acting as the MoCA hub.  It is enabled in my router and the devices show up there too,

**UPDATE 12/04/2019**

As of today, we are asking that any customer who is experiencing unusually high data usage please contact our Customer Security  Assurance Team directly. They will be able to identify any unusual discrepancies. 

• Contact: 1-888-565-4329
• Business Hours: 6:00am - 2:00am EST, 7 days a week

**Note** There are many factors that can go into contributing to data usage including X1/Smart TV apps such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney +, Hulu, etc.. Additionally, many of these apps are "auto-adjusting" their picture quality to the highest level your device can support, which can contribute to higher than normal data usage. 

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/netflix-x1-app-video-resolution

https://www.primevideo.com/help/ref=atv_hp_nd_srchr?nodeId=G202095490

https://support.disney.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115003175163-Can-I-adjust-the-video-picture-quality-

https://help.hulu.com/s/article/video-quality?language=en_US

**ORIGINAL MESSAGE 10/09/2019**

Apologies all for the issue and the experience that many have described above. Thanks for posting many details here, that was very helpful in having our teams research this issue.

While updating our data usage meter to a new system, a software error occurred resulting in a small number of our customers being billed incorrectly.

We're very sorry for inconveniencing our customers and here's what we're doing to address it: We fixed the technical issue, we're proactively crediting the accounts affected, and we're giving those customers an additional $50 credit to make it right.

Impacted customers have been identified.  We are working to identify customers that may have purchased xFi or unlimited data as a direct result of this error.  

Thank you! I'm glad we finally have an actual answer instead of the random nonsense that flatlander guy has been spewing about botnets causing this problem.

September usage was much much higher than normal,  1 Movie streamed on Amazon Prime video thru X1 box that i know of

and October so far this month about 140gbs--on 9th day,  a little Youtube streaming,  a few PC not too huge updates,  and such

No sign of Credit though here if entilted to it, not sure as i cut out streaming and so did my son towards end of September to prevent going over, or using a Courtesy month, as wanna save those for future PC clean installs or large PC update month in the future

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@RSucher wrote:

Thank you! I'm glad we finally have an actual answer instead of the random nonsense that flatlander guy has been spewing about botnets causing this problem.

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Is your actual internet usage reported on Xfinity correct, or you just don't have any means of keeping track? 

Seems they are quite happy billing you when it isn't, and they have zero track record for accuracy.  I'm glad they "fixed" their billing issue.  I'll continue to monitor that it is "fixed".

I'm an i

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@ComcastTeds wrote:

Apologies all for the issue and the experience that many have described above. Thanks for posting many details here, that was very helpful in having our teams research this issue.

 

While updating our data usage meter to a new system, a software error occurred resulting in a small number of our customers being billed incorrectly.

We're very sorry for inconveniencing our customers and here's what we're doing to address it: We fixed the technical issue, we're proactively crediting the accounts affected, and we're giving those customers an additional $50 credit to make it right.

Impacted customers have been identified.  We are working to identify customers that may have purchased xFi or unlimited data as a direct result of this error.  

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I'm an impacted customer, how do I confirm credit is applied to my account?

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@johnn2 wrote:

I'm an impacted customer, how do I confirm credit is applied to my account?

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Check your bill at your account Billing page (requires XFINITY account login)  or the Xfinity My Account App. 

Something is still not right with this counter:

4:52 Pm showed that I had used 246 GBs of data.   Since then we have watched a 1 hour Showtime show through the X1 box, kid has played Madden online for around 3 hours, and I played 1-1.5 hours of World of Tanks.  It is 9:53 and our meter now reads 273 GBs.   That's 27 GBs in 5 hours and we were gone for over an hour when we went out to eat.   According to the website.  

• Stream between 600 and 700 hours of HD video
• Play online games for more than 12,000 hours

Does this seem right to anyone?

Maybe this https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/comcast-incorrectly-charged-2000-customers-for-exceeding-data-cap/ has something to do with it?  

Anyway, I'd just like to say I'm very happy with the service I've gotten over the past year or two.  The bandwidth is superior to any other ISP in the area and I always (up to now) get what I pay for.  Hopefully, this is just a glitch and Comcast will get it fixed quickly and reset my 2 grace months.

My network has it's own data usage meter and I've only used 354Gb of data in the past 30 days.  Your meter says I've used 426Gb in the past 10 days.  The numbers are not just off a little bit...they are outrageous.  I became suspicious because you claim I've gone over 1Tb of data both of the last 2 months and my network shows that I've NEVER gone over 500Gb in any 30 day period.  

Just checked my bill, have $65 credit and all data usage for Sept. is gone.

Still showes 1 courtesy month used, guess I'll have to call to get it restored.

I'll wait untill this power outage we have here in California is over, internet and power have been out since Wed. 11pm.

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@cbell2112 wrote:

OMG, they wiped my September usage which was under the threshold but not my MTD usage for October which includes one day that they claim I used 120 Gigs of data which was literally impossible since no one was here for most of the day. 

 

I was also told by Comcast Customer Care in the US that no data would apply when using the Showtime app on my X1 box to stream Showtime shows since I have a subscription but was then told the opposite by the Comcast Security team in the Phillipines.   Which is it?  I don't show any data coming from the X1 boxes. 

 

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The X1 boxes have a different internet portal and won't show up in your device list under Xfinity xFi, which only tracks devices connected to your gateway. 

I'm not sure what you mean by "Showtime App" in your X1 box, as I would normally use the X1's On Demand function if I were using it, but here's a pointer - if the app in your X1 box shows "Internet", it will use data. If not, then it won't. 

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@darkangelic wrote:

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@cbell2112 wrote:

OMG, they wiped my September usage which was under the threshold but not my MTD usage for October which includes one day that they claim I used 120 Gigs of data which was literally impossible since no one was here for most of the day. 

 

I was also told by Comcast Customer Care in the US that no data would apply when using the Showtime app on my X1 box to stream Showtime shows since I have a subscription but was then told the opposite by the Comcast Security team in the Phillipines.   Which is it?  I don't show any data coming from the X1 boxes. 

 

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The X1 boxes have a different internet portal and won't show up in your device list under Xfinity xFi, which only tracks devices connected to your gateway. 

I'm not sure what you mean by "Showtime App" in your X1 box, as I would normally use the X1's On Demand function if I were using it, but here's a pointer - if the app in your X1 box shows "Internet", it will use data. If not, then it won't. 

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I guess it is not an app.  I just assumed it was since there is not an On Demand button on the remote but now I see what you are talking about.  I just say "Ray Donovan" into the remote and it comes up.  It does not say "On Demand" but if I hit the Xfinity button on the remote and go to On Demand then it does say "On Demand/Ray Donovan".    I will do it the other way tonight and see if there is a difference in billing.

If streaming isn't counting towards my data use then it is all the more disturbing since I was charged for 27 GBs of data for essentially 4 hours of gaming.   Everything I have read makes it seem it should be far less than that.