Unusually high data usage megathread

Well heck, our internet usage "jumped" November 2019, (doubled overnight) and I was sure our antique router had been bot-hacked south of the DOCSIS modem....but no.  After upgrading my router to modern and monitoring all internal usage after the modem for 7 days, I find that Xfinity puts my "usage" at 10X what actually passed through my router, as documented by my router reports......So a little research followed and this thread is not an uncommon one.  Must be the modem is hacked?  Also performed external port checks on this cable modem and it's as secure as they get.  What does that leave?  There could be an error in the billing system, and in fact no other explanation makes sense. 

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@coles1 wrote:
Jessie helpfully locked the thread pertaining to this for being "off topic" after merging all relevant threads into the irrelevant terabyte thread.

I thought we should still have a place to discuss this ongoing problem. I took 20 pages of documentation into a store today and was told all they could do was charge me 70 dollars to send out a tech. Out of desperation I conceded.

Any thoughts? Anyone had any resolution yet? Some folks on Twitter seem to have made slight headway and had their accounts credited but aren't sure how to help since they seem to think they just got lucky.

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As one who had experienced an unprecedented surge in data usage in early October, and subsequently "normalized" mid-month after posting here on the forum (and receiving a $50 credit by Comcast), the most frequently-cited complaint here is a massive surge in data usage radically departing from a customer's historical  data-count pattern.  I can appreciate many of the comments by CC employees and others regarding causes apart from Comcast, such as "cloud synching", constantly running updating, etc., on i-Devices,  and anything else particular to the customer's own connected devices.  But, with few exceptions, these data surges occurred spontaneously, with no obvious change to customer's viewing or streaming habits.  Moreover, many affected customers can actually monitor data usage through their router options (as we did), and clearly demonstrate a huge disparity between daily data counts logged by CC v. the respective routers numbers.  It now seems inescapable that the Company must be more proactive in righting wrongs, and not place the onus on customers first, but concede that bugs and gremlins continue to plague their data-counting SW, and declare it a top priority to sort out this ongoing issue.

After our experiences in October, we now check our account religiously every few days to monitor data usage assigned v. household viewing/streaming online hours actually logged.  Thankfully, no deviations noted, but remain vigilant.

Have been dealing with overages for data since June 2019. I don't do anything with my computer except occ. emails and some google inquiries (never any videos etc) I have had Comcast for 15yrs and have always had the limited 5gb of data and never went over more than a dollar or two in 15yrs.  When I called customer service in July with $200 in overages she gave me the new Xfinity one with new remotes,boxes utube,netflix etc plus extra data all at a lower price than I had been paying. She forwarded the complaint to the secutity dept also. Fast forward to today (12/8/19) and I have spent 10hrs of my time trying to solve the issues. My service was disconected last week and the only number the phone would let me talk to was an auto pay and had to pay double what I owed just to get my phone working again. I'm a senior with no cell phone so very dangerous position to put a person living alone in.  I have talked to many depts and even high level people and their supervisors during my 10 hr phone quest and no one can help me including the person I just talked to today from the # listed on this forum. The 3 people before her actually hung up on me. I think they get frustrated and hang up as they don't know what to  tell me.  My friends told me a call a TV investigative team as they sometimes are about the only ones that can help people after they've done all they can do. Guess that might be my next step as I don't want this to wreck the upcoming holidays wondering if I I will have a phone etc in an emergency.  

Am I the only one who suddenly see a massive increase in data usage? I have consistenly used under a TB for the last year and startin November I can use over 100GB in one day!

I'm suspecting it's Disney+ and there needs to be a resolution on this. 1TB is completely unusable in the world of 4k and offering 500Mbps internet!! 

I just realized there is a huge discrepcy on what comcast is reporting vs my router. In the last 24 hours my router indicated I used 7.61 GB, comcast indicates around 150GB.

This has started since Nov, I first suspected Disney+ but it doesn't look like it. In fact, my nest cam uses more bandwidth. 

I call comcast support and it's the usual script. "We can't troubleshoot your issue because you are not using our modem".

Can someone please help me? 

@ComcastTeds 

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@Marcusatx wrote:
The most data I’ve ever used in a single month was close to 700 gigs and for some reason I’m over the terabyte by 40 gigs the first five days in December. It’s absolutely impossible. Nothing has changed at the house.

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Apologies for the issues and the experience that you described above.

In the interest of the customer experience, I have applied a credit to your account while our team researches your account further.

The credit will appear on your next printed statement and you can view the credit online via My Account.

For all - the link below has some general information on how to avoid overage charges and tips to conserve data usage:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/data-usage-avoid-overage-charges

In reviewing your account, I can see data usage from June through November averaged about 582 gb/month. The December usage spike appears to be around two days - December 2nd (550 gb) and December 3rd (450 gb) - if that helps you to track that down.  Please see earlier disclaimer around data usage metering delayed by 24 hours (it's not a "real time" data meter). 

I've asked a colleague to review your account and contact you directly. Thanks for your patience.

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@Rturner22131 wrote:
The Data estimator app shows I should be around 623gb not 1017.
Noone can yet explain how from midnight Dec 1 to 7am Dec 1st I used 47 gb of data while sleeping and everything was disconnected. Noone can explain how for November I used 1017 gb yet was in the hospital first part of the month.
Despite the one response I received, my cat is Not smart enough to log into devices to connect to the internet.
Comcast obviously is aware of these issues we are all experiencing yet prefers to copy and paste answers and treat each one of us as total idiots.
I must agree, it is time for the BBB, State Attorney General, FCC and class action lawsuits.
In my area, Comcast is a monopoly and is the only provider of high speed internet available as their competitors are not allowed to service people on my side of the street.
They would be better off doing away with data caps as obviously the equipment is faulty.
There are too many having the exact same issue and getting zero results.
Comcast was better 20+ yrs ago when they were Road Runner.

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According to our team, we did have someone reach out to you directly and recently on this.  The data on your account is indeed accurate and we informed you to re-secure the wifi if you believe that the device is being used by people other than yourself and to use the XFi app as well as the My Account section to see what devices are using what data. 

Our team has confirmed that there is more than one streaming device that is currently connected.

To clarify - Road Runner was a product from Time Warner and licensed to other cable operators, which may have been an earlier cable provider in your area. Comcast itself  was affiliated with the "at Home" internet service (1996-2002) and not (as far as I know) with Road Runner.     

Providing some additional information, background and tips below from our team that does the data overage reviews.

Customer owned devices
- One example are devices like Ubiquiti uNiFi, which our team most commonly sees as an issue with data usage. The device has an internal metering system along with a periodic speed test built into it. The speed test can accrue massive amounts of data usage without reporting to its own internal metering system because it’s part of its system functions, not a device using data even though it is using data. We report its usage because we monitor for all data traffic going to and from the modem/network, not per device connected to their network.

- The number and kinds of devices connected to your network matters. Suggestion is to log into your router to see and verify all the devices connected to your network" (very applicable with customer owned devices).

Metering System:
- Comcast does not have direct access into the metering system to the extent to be able to artificially input or output data usage results or information. Our metering system is regularly audited as well where information on it can be gathered from https://www.netforecast.com/.
It includes everything from the yearly audits to how the metering system works on a technical level. This is done third party outside of Comcast.

Comcast data metering accuracy reports at the link below:
https://www.netforecast.com/comcast-internet-usage-accuracy-reports/

- The metering system is delayed by up to 24 hours. "I watched my meter and it went up by 100GB in the last 3 hours and I just booted up my computer for 15 minutes!" is not accurate - the metering timeframe is not 1:1 - its delayed because it needs to validate data and remove any data that we do not count towards the metering system. This includes things like firmware updates we push out and any other possible data we may push to the network for normal operations.

- Greatest opportunity with Windows 10 devices. Windows 10 has a built in data usage meter for its own data tracking per application/software used on the device for 30 days(Settings -> Network & Internet -> Data Usage tab).

- Similarly could be done for other devices, ex: “Go into Netflix settings and make sure that it pauses after not watching it for a while”, etc.

Overall:
There is no trend or consistency indicating an issue in metering, but rather these have all been unique issues per network requiring the subscriber to troubleshoot/review their network.

The common trend topic is “there is no way I can use this much data”. While the number amount of data a customer can see on the meter is more than what they know to be using, doesn’t mean it isn’t being used.

Common data users:
- Streaming devices left on even when TVs are turned off – continuously streaming and/or misconfigured settings on streaming devices
- Data backups (including cloud backups)
- Large file downloads for entertainment (video games, updates, locally downloaded movies/videos from online services, etc.) or business purposes (files of information/data for business needs, Data backups downloaded from or uploaded to, etc.)

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@Shelley71 wrote:

I had so many problems with xfinity's modem. I had 4 technichians come to my home and gave me answers like "Your neighbor might be making toast" "Xfinity does not guarantee WIFI" "My home was built solid" "The railing in my home might be causing the WIFI to lose connection" "Theres too much noise on the line. So I'll install a amplifier" "The amplifier should have never been used it made matters worse" "I'm at the end of the line and Internet will be slower" I could go on and on with all the excuses I've been given. After doing research on my own I decided to buy my own Modem (Xfinity approved) and Purchase WIFI boosters for my home. I have had no issues watching Netflix or using the WIFI since purchasing my own modem. However I canceled my Cable TV and My home phone and I recieve an alert that I've almost reached my 1024TB. I had no idea what that meant. I've had Xfinity for the past 12yrs and I've never had this message before. I was informed that I am using a lot more Data than in the previous months. WHY? Xfinity could not answer that. We have 2 people that live in my home. We do not do any gaming of any kind. We watch You Tube TV and Netflix and occasionally stream music. Nothing different than what we've done over the past years. I disconnected everything, changed WIFI passwords, Disabled everything that was connected to WIFI and still my Data was going up. The only thing I did different was I canceled cable and home phone. And I purchased my own modem. Xfinity is giving me the run around and telling me its not there problem and I need to call Motorella. The maker of the Modem that I purchased. But everything looks fine on their end. So why all the sudden am I having Data issues? I noticed today that an Xfinity worker was outside my home today. Why? IDK? I'm super frustrated!! I have spent countless hours on the phone with Customer care and I get no where. 

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Apologies for the issues and the experience that you described above.  

In the interest of the customer experience, I have applied a credit to your account while our team researches your account further.

The credit will appear on your next printed statement and you can view the credit online via My Account.

Thanks for your patience.

For all - the link below has some general information on how to avoid overage charges and tips to conserve data usage:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/data-usage-avoid-overage-charges

In reviewing your account, I can see data usage growing steadily each month from July through November. The October number was close to 700 gb and November shows 1100 gb so a variance of 400 gb month over month. 

I've asked a collegue to review your account and contact you directly. Thanks for your patience.    

Over the past 2 months my data usage has doubled with no changing in my habits or new equipment. Xfinity has no answer except to tell me maybe I need to rent their router.

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@asusDev wrote:

"The December data usage reports from Comcast are not accurate and off as much as 30% - 60%; even taking into account a 24-hour delay in usage reporting. As of 12/6 Comcast's Data Usage Report shows that I've used 128GB of data, my router report states 80GB of data - 60% difference. Again, these large data discrepencies did not exist in October and November. There hasn't been any firmware or hardware change on my end since July."

 

Monthly Usage As of December 7th: Asus Router: 118GB, Comcast 260GB. 

In 24 hours, according to Comcast, I have used 130GB of data, versus 38GB reported by my router.

 

Can someone at Comcast help me with this issue?

 @ComcastCares @ComcastDNS @ComcastVijaya

 

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Apologies for the issues and the experience that you described above.

In the interest of the customer experience, I have applied a credit to your account while our team researches your account further.

The credit will appear on your next printed statement and you can view the credit online via My Account.

Thanks for your patience.

For all - the link below has some general information on how to avoid overage charges and tips to conserve data usage:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/data-usage-avoid-overage-charges

In reviewing your account, I can see high data usage (about 130 gb) on or about December 6th.  As mentioned earlier, our data meter data is delayed by about 24 hours.  

I've asked a collegue to review your account and contact you directly. Thanks for your patience.

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@Debbiejr wrote:
My data usage soared from 385GB to over the 1024 GB limit in October and close to that in November. I work and my viewing habits did not change. I went in and picked up Xfinity box to pin down culprits. It only during my viewing habit times. Something is very wrong.

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Apologies for the issues and the experience that you described above.

In the interest of the customer experience, I have applied a credit to your account while our team researches your account further.

The credit will appear on your next printed statement and you can view the credit online via My Account.

For all - the link below has some general information on how to avoid overage charges and tips to conserve data usage:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/data-usage-avoid-overage-charges

I've asked a colleague to review your account and contact you directly. Thanks for your patience.

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@sam91765 wrote:
same here. somehow I blew through 500gb in one day on Nov 7. I called Comcast and got connected to the security team and got nothing resolved. In fact I left the call feeling like it was my fault for not monitoring my data usage daily or for using my own modem rather than Comcast’s. I ended up going over and using up a courtesy overage.
Then it happened again on Dec 5. This time I somehow blew through the 1TB in one day. I disconnected my modem @ 919gb but still manage to blow through another 163gb and reach the 1082gb mark. Haven’t had internet in my house since. I got connected with a more competent person on the security team today and he opened a case number for me. He suspects it’s my modem sending inaccurate data usage? To me it seems like the Comcast metering issue hasn’t been resolved yet with all the people here continuing to see the same issue.

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Apologies for the issues and the experience that you described above. The earlier Fall 2019 data issue has been resolved. Those customers were identified, contacted and credited. While not an ideal situation, this was not a large amount of customers. 

In the interest of the customer experience, I have applied a credit to your account while our team researches your account further.

The credit will appear on your next printed statement and you can view the credit online via My Account.

For all - the link below has some general information on how to avoid overage charges and tips to conserve data usage:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/data-usage-avoid-overage-charges

In reviewing your account, I can see data usage from June through November averaged about 786 gb/month. As you mentioned, the December usage spike appears to be around December 5th (over 900 gb) if that helps you to track that down. Please see earlier disclaimer around data usage metering delayed by 24 hours (it's not a "real time" data meter).

I've asked a colleague to review your account and contact you directly. Thanks for your patience.

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@mark6785 wrote:

Thanks for the credit but my real worry is the overage. As of 1pm today I'm at 216 GB and will have to find a solution before the 20th of Dec. or I'll be charged BIGGLY. I have been tracking my data usage and it seems to be about 60 GB a day (24 hour period). 1024 divided by 60 =17.0666666 days. 11 days left before I start to rack up extra charges and it's Christmas time.

  I called Netgear and talked to a tech ( 90 day support with purchase). While on the phone, reset the modem/router and new password and opened up a case with them and checked to see how many devises, 1 laptop 3 tvs. No outside interferance according to the tech and on monitoring the modem/router through their app..

        Will now check prices for Verizon (as they are my current phone data provider ) to see a finale price for service to run 1 laptop and 3 tvs from them.

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For December, outside of 12/1 and 12/7,  your usage has been fairly  consistent and is pretty close to your October (1077 gb) and November (1295 gb) activity .

Providing some additional information, background and tips below from our team that does the data overage reviews.

Customer owned devices
- One example are devices like Ubiquiti uNiFi, which our team most commonly sees as an issue with data usage. The device has an internal metering system along with a periodic speed test built into it. The speed test can accrue massive amounts of data usage without reporting to its own internal metering system because it’s part of its system functions, not a device using data even though it is using data. We report its usage because we monitor for all data traffic going to and from the modem/network, not per device connected to their network.

- The number and kinds of devices connected to your network matters. Suggestion is to log into your router to see and verify all the devices connected to your network" (very applicable with customer owned devices).

Metering System:
- Comcast does not have direct access into the metering system to the extent to be able to artificially input or output data usage results or information. Our metering system is regularly audited as well where information on it can be gathered from https://www.netforecast.com/.
It includes everything from the yearly audits to how the metering system works on a technical level. This is done third party outside of Comcast.

Comcast data metering accuracy reports at the link below:
https://www.netforecast.com/comcast-internet-usage-accuracy-reports/

- The metering system is delayed by up to 24 hours. "I watched my meter and it went up by 100GB in the last 3 hours and I just booted up my computer for 15 minutes!" is not accurate - the metering timeframe is not 1:1 - its delayed because it needs to validate data and remove any data that we do not count towards the metering system. This includes things like firmware updates we push out and any other possible data we may push to the network for normal operations.

- Greatest opportunity with Windows 10 devices. Windows 10 has a built in data usage meter for its own data tracking per application/software used on the device for 30 days(Settings -> Network & Internet -> Data Usage tab).

- Similarly could be done for other devices, ex: “Go into Netflix settings and make sure that it pauses after not watching it for a while”, etc.

Overall:
There is no trend or consistency indicating an issue in metering, but rather these have all been unique issues per network requiring the subscriber to troubleshoot/review their network.

The common trend topic is “there is no way I can use this much data”. While the number amount of data a customer can see on the meter is more than what they know to be using, doesn’t mean it isn’t being used.

Common data users:
- Streaming devices left on even when TVs are turned off – continuously streaming and/or misconfigured settings on streaming devices
- Data backups (including cloud backups)
- Large file downloads for entertainment (video games, updates, locally downloaded movies/videos from online services, etc.) or business purposes (files of information/data for business needs, Data backups downloaded from or uploaded to, etc.)

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@bq42 wrote:

Seeing this thread brings me a little comfort to know that I'm not the only one having this issue. 

 

My problems started back in August, after changing my plan and modem in July.  My reported usage jumped significantly starting in August, where I went over the cap for the first time since it was implemented.  Since then every month has been pushing the cap, which doesn't match the historical trend of reported data usage.  Historically for me a "big" month would be 600GB.

 

I was one of those customers affected by the billing software chage.  I received the credit and had the "data cannot be displayed" issue for September usage.  Even after the the billing software change was rolled back, I am still seeing excessively high usage reported by Comcast.  I finally got tired of it and started collecting Netflow data off my router. My data collection numbers aren't even close to what Comcast is reporting for usage.  There is clearly something still wrong with the data usage system.  Comcast reports that I have used 158GB of data for the month of December.  My Netflow data says that I have used 102.935GB of data.  Comcast is reporting 54% more data usage than what I have measured at my router.

 

It's nice to see that there have been a few Comcast employees posting in this thread, Comcast really doesn't care about customers, as evidenced by their last known NPS score of -3.  But in all those posts I haven't see any mention of actually fixing anything, just lots of bill credits for the inconvenience.

 

Can someone from Comcast please contact me and help me resolve the issue?

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Apologies for the issues and the experiences that you described above.

In the interest of the customer experience, I have applied a credit to your account while our team researches your account further.

The credit will appear on your next printed statement and you can view the credit online via My Account.

Thanks for your patience.

For all - the link below has some general information on how to avoid overage charges and tips to conserve data usage:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/data-usage-avoid-overage-charges

I've asked a collegue to review your account and contact you directly. Thanks for your patience.

Outside of the earlier Fall 2019 issue, there is no trend or consistency indicating an issue in metering, but rather these have all been unique issues per network requiring the subscriber to troubleshoot/review their network.  That is based on each of the individual issues posted in this thread that I responded to and had our data team review and contact the customer with their findings.    

The common trend topic is “there is no way I can use this much data”. While the number amount of data a customer can see on the meter is more than what they know to be using, doesn’t mean it isn’t being used.