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S-Ray's avatar
S-Ray
New Contributor

2 months later has anything changed? Because I'm having a similar issue. The only help I got was them suggesting a password change. And after the initial complaint there was maybe 3 days of minimal usage to make it look like it was fixed before it kicked back up to at least 20gbs a day. I've almost hit 70gbs in a day more than a few times with absolutely no change in routine. 

These last few days (of my data cycle) I may as well of had the router off. When the data hit 85% I used nothing but my dvd player and consistently switched back and forth from my mobile data to avoid heavy usage; but even then I had apparently used almost 20gbs a day by my father streaming tv from an underground 3rd party app for maybe 4-5hrs (that we've had for months before this mess started, so it can't be that.) I even unplugged anything that could of been streaming wifi just in case.

I don't have cable, so I use the amazon firestick, like I have been for 12+ months I've used Cox, and this started maybe 4 months ago. Of course, right after my "promotion" ended (that I had no knowledge of) and they had already jacked up my bill by almost $30 without warning.

But before this I rarely ever hit the 85% mark; and my last 2 bills got a very sudden last-minute spike in data usage within the last 24hrs of my bill being due. Just enough to go over. And of course, not without a notice that it had until maybe, at least, 10 hours after the cycle actually ended.

joandrum's avatar
joandrum
New Contributor II
6 years ago

I was pretty much back to my low usage after changing my router password, but I wasn't sure if that was the solution or if the repairman coming to the house two doors down on the same day was the reason for the fix. Two weeks later it started again. I was looking at my router app late at night but didn't see any unfamiliar devices. Then I white listed all my devices, which means only the ones with MAC addresses that are approved can access my router, and my data use declined immediately. Now I'm certain somebody used an app to crack my wifi password, which I have read is pretty common. Some tips for you:

  • Turn off WPS on your router. 
  • Make sure you're using WPA2 security on your router. 
  • Whitelist your devices if your router allows it. 
  • If you find an unknown device attached to your wifi, blacklist it. 

I was very disappointed with Cox's response to my call to report wifi theft because it's a crime. They don't care to find the culprit. They just want to get off the call and meet their quota. They tried to sell me their modem because I bought my own. They said it will help me keep track of my data use, which I can already do. Then they gave me instructions for resetting my router to factory settings, which doesn't accomplish anything. Oh and they raised my rate in the mean time.