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nadeeja's avatar
nadeeja
New Contributor II
2 months ago

Huge spike in WiFi Data Usage

Hello, 

I've experienced a unexplained spike in data usage in the last two billing cycles. Cox support was of no help in identifying why. No unusual devices are connected to my network, and I haven't had any dramatic changes that would cause a sudden spike in usage. 

  • April cycle: 599 GB used
  • May cycle: 675 GB used
  • June cycle: 1252 GB used (spike) - 79% was from "Web browsing & apps"
  • July - 10 days in to cycle: 673 GB used (more than 50% in ~10 days). -- So far, 89% is from "Web browsing & apps"

I am unable to get usage info for the April/May and other previous cycles. Has anyone else experienced this? What can I do? And how can I find out what is causing this? In June was the very first time I've gotten this message, followed by July. I am very confused here, and Cox support was of no help. 

DATA CAP

19 Replies

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    • StephanieS's avatar
      StephanieS
      Moderator
      23 days ago

      Nessa  I'd be more than happy to look into this for you.  Please send me an email at cox.help@cox.com and include your full name and address.  Thanks!  

      • Hoguelab's avatar
        Hoguelab
        New Contributor II
        23 days ago

        How about looking into MY suspicious data usage spiked too?  

  • Chefdavid255's avatar
    Chefdavid255
    New Contributor II
    2 months ago

    I promise you. They do not accurately track the data and increase it on purpose. I am WAITING for that lawsuit to come to fruition with them. I am a brand new customer and I am telling you RN. I went to unlimited, because AINT NO WAY did we hit 1280 gigs of data within 20 days. I only surf online, My brother plays games, but works 12+ hours a day.

    I am telling you man. They do it so you pay more for unlimited. COX is KNOWN for scamming their customers.

    • Darkatt's avatar
      Darkatt
      Honored Contributor
      2 months ago

      Actually their data tracking is monitored by a 3rd party and is known to be 99.99% accurate. I have verified it against my router logs, (Netgear RAXE300), and found it to be spot on. 

      I would be careful however what you post, saying a company is known to be scamming customer's is actually something they can sue you for, it's called defamation and is also libel. 

      • Chefdavid255's avatar
        Chefdavid255
        New Contributor II
        2 months ago

        Its not Libel or defamation if its true. I can post more. There's an current Court Action Lawsuit right now as well.

         

        https://www.azag.gov/press-release/attorney-general-mayes-announces-13-million-settlement-cox-communications-disguising

  • Darkatt's avatar
    Darkatt
    Honored Contributor
    2 months ago

    If you have a pano modem you can use the pano app. If you have a higher end router, you can turn on data monitoring in the router settings and it will monitor each device. 

    Info - Device streaming 4k video, can use as much as 8gb an hour.

    Some gaming systems if you reload the downloaded games, can use a WILD amount of data. 

    If you have an android phone and you have one drive installed, verify the settings, it COULD be backing up the entire phone daily and that can use over 100gb daily in some cases. (Another users in these forums, found that exact issue).

    If you have Amazon echo or dot, they can go into a loop listening and translating all conversations, and tv show you are watching and they can use as LOT of data. 

    If you have kids, make sure they didn't give the WiFi password to a neighbor, (also something another forum poster found out). 

    Hope some of this helps. 

    If not let me know, I can help provide more info. 

    • nadeeja's avatar
      nadeeja
      New Contributor II
      2 months ago

      Thanks for the reply. 

      The only thing that is different now that you mention it is, I have Hulu. I noticed it automatically switches to 4k streaming, and I can't switch it to a lower quality. Yesterday Cox app showed I used 120GB of data, which is extremely high. I watched Hulu for around 3 hours, and even at 8gb/hour, that doesn't add up. Other days I use ~50Gb data, and then get spikes to 80-90GB, but a couple months back, that number was closer to ~30GB. 

      I also reset the wifi password to see if that will cause any changes. I just got a notice from Cox again saying I used 75% of my data, and there's 15 days left in the billing cycle. I am honestly not sure what is causing this, because even the 4k streaming, it does not make sense.

      • Darkatt's avatar
        Darkatt
        Honored Contributor
        2 months ago

        Do you use the PANO modem? If so, the Pano App can actually break down which device is using how much data. 

        Hulu: 1.35 GB per hour to stream Hulu's catalogue in HD, 3.6 GB per hour to live stream, and 7.2 GB per hour for 4K content. 

        3 hours should only be 21.7gb of data at 4k, make sure however that you don't just turn off the tv, but that you end the hulu app and exit it properly. 

        Also, do you have security cameras? Blink/Ring? They can use an excessive amount of data if you have the resolution set to maximum, and you are saving the info to the cloud. I have BLINK, and do NOT have a subscription, I have the SYNC module with 256gb thumb drive and it can store an inordinate amount of data, so, no need for subscription eating my wallet, and all my videos are saved till I no longer want them, and delete them. 

        Other things to look for, turn off ONEDRIVE on ALL of your devices! Gaming systems can use a lot of data when playing online games. Games that are totally stored and played locally don't use nearly as much data. 

        If there is any more I can do to assist, let me know. I am a computer engineer with a specialty in analog and digital communications, and worked for Cox for over 16 years, 12 years of that in the Data Tier 2 department, so trust me, I KNOW data, and can definitely help you determine what's using it.