Extreme increase in data usage
Since I have renegotiated my price my internet data usage has spiked to more than 2X my previous usage. I added the additional 500GB of data so I wouldn’t go over and now this month I am on trend to ...
Forum Discussion
I have never used more than 350 gigs in a month, but today I received an email that I am approaching my max. I live alone and have never shared my password with anyone. None of my habits have changed since my usage went from a few gigs per day to more than 30 on most days, even on weekends when I have been away. I checked to see which devices have wifi access and all of them are mine: phone, PC, thermostat, security camera (which hasn't even been on) and Ring doorbell. Customer service told me there's no way to determine how much data each device uses, which is not true. I can check Windows to see that my PC used 9.41 gigs, my phone used 26 gigs. The doorbell uses about 200 megs and the thermostat about 50 megs. I do watch Netflix on my Firestick but never more than 10-12 hours/week. Even at the highest resolution, I should not have upped my data usage this much.
Hi Joandrum, have you scanned each of your devices for malware and spyware? Have any of your internet-connected devices recently downloaded any large software updates? You may want to proactively change your WiFi password. There are multiple ways to track your network usage by device. Check your router's User Guide to see if the router manufacturer offers any built-in tools for managing data. -Becky, Cox Support Forums Moderator
I use your security suite, so I hope it is capturing all the spyware and malware. At any rate, I could see that Netflix on my Firestick used the most at 80 gigs. While I checked several times to see if any unknown devices were sponging off my wifi, I didn't see anything. Then I changed my wifi password on Friday. Now your meter says I only used 1 gig yesterday, which sounds correct. Therefore, I either blocked someone from using my wifi illegally without it being detected by my router software (I don't know how that's possible) or the tech guy who was at my neighbor's house on Friday corrected the hookup. I will continue to monitor the usage to make sure everything is working properly.
- Hi Joandrum, I’m glad to hear that the Data Usage Meter showed a decrease in usage after changing your WiFi password. Please let us know if you notice any further unexpected usage increases. -Becky, Cox Support Forums Moderator
