Several months ago Comcast put in a data cap on accounts. 300 MB in my area, with $10 for every 50MB after that, They advertised that this would only affect a small % of customers , mainly those with multiple users and devices in the households. I’m a single guy with a full time job and only use it mornings and after work for a few hours.
They sent out emails petting customers know when they were at 90% of their limit. They had a usage meter that I downloaded that you could check your usage whenever you wanted.
What I noticed over the next few months was that although my internet habits didn’t vary much, my usage , according to them, varied quite a bit.
I called and talked to a tech who told me streaming video was the biggest usage. I have Netflix and HBO GO , but knowing that I curbed my use and watched my meter.
Still there were great dicrepencies that indicated to me that either their data plan was some kind of scam similar to AOL tacking on hours when they charged by the hour, or that Comcast had problems determining individual usage in an apartment complex like mine.
At some point the usage meter was done away with and I discovered today that there is no way for me, the customer to check my data usage other than by calling them.
So last month around the 23rd I get a voice mail courtesy call telling me I’ve used 90% of my data plan. OKay, So I decide to not watch any streaming video for the next week. A few days later I get another message telling me I’m at 100% without watching any videos. The message also tells me about their grace period which I thought had expired months ago. I get my bill and it says from July 23rd to the 31st I used 163 MB of data over my limit which made my bill $40 higher.
I called them today and talked to a tech who could only tell me that they read my data use every day, from my modem and it said I went over 163 MB. But this month, at the end of the month, with roughly the same internet useing habits , I’m only at 61% It just doesn’t make sense. And why did the usage meter just vanish and there’s no way for me to monitor my own usage? Either they are incorrect and won’t admit it, or there’s some other answer.
Does anyone have any knowledge in this feild or experience with Comcast.
Other factors I use w ireless modem and when I first got it I would occasionally see other users in my network so I added password protection and that hasn’t happened since. Is it possible someone is hacking my service wirelessly and using my modem and I can’t see it?
Could there be some bott software on my PC and someone is using it by remote? Sometimes when I’m watching TV a night my monitor powers off, but then a few minutes later, powers back on, as if there is computer activity, when I haven’t touched it.
I’m considering simply unplugging my modem when I go to work or go to bed.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for Comcast to have limits on their plan but it does seem unreasonable for them to take away the usage meter. If you want charge mme for usage then provide some way for me to accuately monitor that uasage so I have confidence as a consumer that you;re not screwing me.
right 300GB I just read an article claiming that an hour of hi def video is about 2GB. Not sure what constitutes Hi Def but I do watch Netflix and HBO GO. I would have to watch 100 hours of streaming video a month just to get to 200.
There’s no way in hell I watched 80 hours of video in the last week of July.
What really pisses me off is that they know it and simply won’t address it honestly. Their response is , “Well that’s what the usage read out is.”
Without specifying a time period, even that’s useless info. I assume it is monthly.
cosmosdan, if you end up exceeding the cap frequently and can’t avoid it, you might check the rate tiers offered. My cable company raises the cap if you raise the data rate, which raises the cost, of course, but it might be cheaper to pay a flat rate than overages.
The problem isn’t me avoiding it. The problem is the inconsistency in what Comcast claims my monthly usuage is when my habits of use remain relatively the same.
As a single guy with a full time job there should be little chance I go over 300GB per month unless I’m watching several hours of streaming video every day. I’m not.
Last month 463GB of use, in August with roughly the same habits I’m less than 200. Something is wrong. The fact that they had a convenient usage meter and just removed it makes me suspicious.
Are you familar with how data usage is measured and if it’s accurate?
Well, it depends on your router but with some it is possible to monitor data usage on your end. If Comcast really is screwing around, this would pinpoint the issue. Who knows if they would accept user data as a refutation of their data though.
However, depending on the router it may involve installing your own firmware and…well, it could be a tricky business.
I just nosed around the internet and someone recommended NetLimiter (freeware). You don’t have to use it for limiting and instead just see what the data usage is. I’m not sure if it’s as accurate as something installed directly on your router though, but it’s worth a shot.
If you have a compatible router, you could use DD-WRT or Tomato to monitor usage. Both are great firmware packages and offer many features outside of data gathering.
Such a large discrepancy between your observed use and the reported use, though, really points to someone glomming onto your connection. Viruses and malware might generate a good deal of traffic, but with relatively small packets and it is unlikely that they would ring up those numbers. Ditto with Comcast “padding” its usage number. If they were including overhead items and whatnot, it would affect you if you had a very low usage plan like some cellphones; but, when you are talking tens and hundreds of gigabytes, there is no way their measurement could be that incorrect.
The only suggestion I would have regarding usage is the obvious one that others have pointed out – it’s quite possible someone is using your wifi.
Other than that, I use Comcast too, and I can see a usage meter on their website. When I sign in at comcast.com, I see two navigation bars at the top of the page: the top one is black with white text (Shop | Support | My Account | etc.), and the one under that is white with blue text (Overview | Billing & Payments | My Services | etc.). Clicking on “My Services” brings up a summary of “My Services & Equipment” with a sidebar showing my modem info and Data Usage meter under “Equipment”. The meter has a link to “View Details” which brings up a usage history chart for the last three months as well as a summary of the usage (including this: “Note:enforcement of the 250GB data consumption threshold is currently suspended”)
I don’t think the meter is real time, but I’m pretty sure it’s updated at least daily.
Or try the simplest trick of all: switch off your router when you’re not using it. It can be a bit of a pain to wait for it to reconnect and sync, but it means no one will be slurping your data no matter how clever a hacker they are. Until you can implement something - even changing your password daily - that might hold down the traffic and send them looking for someone else to parasite from.
And if it works, you know that’s your problem without any complicated data monitoring, etc.
I don’t know about Comcast, but I have ATT DSL, that is all I can get where I live and they don’t even have a usage meter anymore.
I used to have one but it stopped working and I called customer service and they told me, it would be fixed eventually (over six months now). When I called to complained, they pointed out there is nothing that requires them to tell me how much data I’ve used.
When I asked how I’m supposed to know, the CSR said, I should look into software that would measure my limit.
I tell you if there was any other service, I’d dump ATT DSL, but Uverse isn’t in my part of Chicago and Comcast will provide cable but for some reason they said, my building is not able to get Internet at the present.
Report this problem to your state’s attorney general. It won’t help you immediately, but if enough people complain, someone will eventually look in to it.
Is the data usage read from each individual modem? I live in an apartment complex, an older one with a junction box on each building for cable. doesn’t the signal bottleneck at some point?
The data usage read by Comcast will be per modem. If someone split off your cable prior to it reaching your apartment, they could possibly get TV, but they would not be able to get data, as that requires a modem that is registered with Comcast for that account.
The firmware packages listed are for wireless routers, not the cable modem itself. It is not uncommon for people in apartment buildings to use open or weakly encrypted wireless signals from other apartments as the signals are generally quite strong. By tracking utilization by time of day, you would be able to see if others were using your signal (and see if you are mis-estimating your own use).
When I first got my wireless router I didn’t use a password, and saw other computers clearly listed in my network. That hasn’t happened since I installed a password. I doubt the people in my complex are savy enough get by a password and hide their presence, but it’s possible. It’s also somewhat concerned about some bot on my computer that is allowing someone else to use it , but holy smokes, 162 GB in just 4 or 5 days. That is hard to believe. Somoene would have to be using my computer {modem} for hours a day wouldn’t they?
