About rbirds

The data usage graph has been there since Comcast has been threatening data limits (several years now but I don't know precisely how long).  I note that AT&T user boards have the same sorts of complaints about Apple devices eating up data at unexpectedly high rates.    The data usage analysis tools provided by Comcast are useless for anything other than tracking usage over fairly long periods of time (48 hours or so). You can't isolate usage to a particular day or over a fixed set of hours.   xFi does provide more useful analytical tools but there is a monthly charge.  More expensive but you do get unlimited data along with a new gateway that offers much faster download speeds, a stronger signal and more control over what devices are using the network. ... View more

I've gone through everything: no smart tv, nothing running on Apple TV, no evidence of hacking into my router, turned off location services for most iPhone apps, no extra devices attached to the router, no change in daily use of devices using the router.     Tools available in Xfinity are inadequate to provide a diagnosis of the issue. Moving over to xFi and their more robust diagnostics to see if a solution to the issue can be found there.    xFi is an additional almost $11/month but the unlimited data feature at least removes the threat of extra data charges.   Thanks for the exchange. ... View more

Thanks for your reply.  Sorry about thread length.  All borne of frustration over not finding a solution to the data issue.   My reaction to the problem of Xfinity's supplied tools is based on your comments. In your 1/17 2:48 PM post you advised, " don't use Comcast's  'generic' numbers for streaming".  As for the meter numbers, you inform us that " the Comcast meter is not real-time" in your 1/17 1:46 PM post.   I interpret those two cautions as a meter that provides no useful information to diagnose an issue - noted to me by an Xfinity tech as well in one of my calls to Xfinity - and a usage guide that may understimate some data usage by orders of magnitude.  If both of your judgments are accurate, Xfinity provides tools that are not useful or reliable and may even be characterized, if the commenter is in a bad mood, as misleading.   I appreciate your desire to help and the time you spend in the forums providing help. My previous post simply pointed out that despite the desire they have not moved me or the other posters on this thread closer to a resolution. I don't mean to be impolite, only direct in describing my experience. It's not that I am ignoring your suggestions, only saying that your suggestions posted in this thread do not resolve or help resolve our mutual predicament.  ... View more

Thanks for the response and the  link to the thread. However, the thread just repeats what is available elsewhere and refers to data sources already identified as either unreliable or unhelpful. The thread also includes a sales pitch for the unlimited data plan, which seems to be a solution benefitng Xfinity more than the customer. ... View more

I appreciate the response but these are all just wild guesses. Additionally, they have at their core an assumption that customers are unaware of what our devices are doing. Another assumption that the age of the data provided is unknown and the guide Xfinity provides for data usage is unreliable.   Whatever else the responses indicate, they indicate that the guidance and data information provided by Xfinity is unreliable and is of no use when diagnosing the source of data consumption. Yet the fault for the issue, politely hinted, is with the customer and not with the unreliable and unusuable information provided to the customer by Xfinity. ... View more

No, no "errant software" running in the background, no viruses.  I've had several conversations with Level 1, 2 and 3 support people, all with no resolution.  I've moved to xFi which relieves the problem of exceeding data limits but does not solve the problem of excessive data usage.    Last night, for instance, while I was asleep, my Macbook was in sleep mode, my iPhone was not in use and with no background updates occurring, I consumed 44 GB of data.  Using the Comcast data usage estimator, that usage represents more than 24 hours of streaming music, almost 48 hours of gaming, an hour of Netflix HD. How does that happen *overnight*?   I do have an iPhone XS Max which has had some complaints of too much data usage but I shut background updating and location services to virtually every app off. Yet still Xfinity records enormous uses of data.  I am at a complete loss on how this is happening. Luckily, an Xfinity hardware upgrade has at least taken the financial penalty (aside from the extra $10/month for xFi service) off the table.   ... View more