Internet Usage - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

mrkajz44 · 05-29-2021, 04:06 PM

Starting a thread to try and help myself figure out if our internet usage is reasonable. We used to use around 250 GB per month and it's basically doubled to 500 GB in the last month.

I tried calling Telus to help me understand why the sudden increase, but let's just say they were extremely unhelpful (said it was my PS4 and Switch despite both devices are currently not connected to the wifi).

What is everyone's monthly usage? Does 500 GB seem high? We have two young kids, so there is not a ton of time to be streaming Netflix or Prime video, and I've been working at home since December when the numbers were at 250 GB so I don't think it's that.

Trying to unravel the mystery as we only have 550 GB on our plan and we are suddenly close to going over.

Sent from my VOG-L04 using Tapatalk

photon · 05-29-2021, 04:19 PM

Last 4 months of download: 1100GB, 1300GB, 950GB, 1200GB

Huh that's a lot more than I'd have expected.

You can install something like Glasswire on PCs to see what their usage is. Or you can check your router it may have some traffic monitoring features, and you can at least make sure that you don't have any new unknown devices on your network.

TorqueDog · 05-29-2021, 04:31 PM

Since the year started: 716 GB, 838 GB, 885 GB, 860 GB, 1659 GB
Huge jump in April - May, but lots of game downloads and updates in the last month, so eh.

bc-chris · 05-29-2021, 04:35 PM

according to shaw, we used 215GB last month

for streaming we have disney+ and we have 2 google nest cameras that are always on

topfiverecords · 05-29-2021, 05:56 PM

Unlimited fiber for the win!

Edit: curiously went looking for numbers. Last run of months 483GB, 572GB, 483GB, 716GB, 742GB. All of it browsing CP.

Raekwon · 05-29-2021, 06:38 PM

3142gb, 2361gb, 2756gb

I guess I download a lot.

EldrickOnIce · 05-29-2021, 06:41 PM

Don't download anything but stream everything.
Usually between 400 and 800GB/month. Have gone over a TB twice.

BlAcKNoVa · 05-29-2021, 10:04 PM

A lot. 2000-3000 GB's a month in my household with an unlimited bandwidth plan.

I remember in the mid 2000's when we had DSL through Nucleus and had a 10 GB/month limit. Crazy lol

dino7c · 05-30-2021, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Starting a thread to try and help myself figure out if our internet usage is reasonable. We used to use around 250 GB per month and it's basically doubled to 500 GB in the last month.

I tried calling Telus to help me understand why the sudden increase, but let's just say they were extremely unhelpful (said it was my PS4 and Switch despite both devices are currently not connected to the wifi).

What is everyone's monthly usage? Does 500 GB seem high? We have two young kids, so there is not a ton of time to be streaming Netflix or Prime video, and I've been working at home since December when the numbers were at 250 GB so I don't think it's that.

Trying to unravel the mystery as we only have 550 GB on our plan and we are suddenly close to going over.

Sent from my VOG-L04 using Tapatalk

They still have limited plans for home internet? I probably average about 800GB but a lot of that downloading games so if you aren't doing that IDK. Neighbor stealing your WIFI?

gallione11 · 05-30-2021, 11:34 PM

These numbers seem high to me. I don't have cable anymore, so stream any TV entertainment but haven't downloaded many games lately. My average for the past 6 months is about 275GB

btimbit · 05-31-2021, 01:08 AM

Average about 1000GB a month here

Fuzz · 05-31-2021, 08:55 AM

I'm about 300 a month. 2 of us working from home, maybe watch a couple hours of streaming 1080p a night. No online gaming.

Hanni · 05-31-2021, 09:14 AM

We're pretty steady between 500-600 per month since January, no cable so quite a bit of streaming, work from home, no gaming.

DoubleF · 05-31-2021, 01:33 PM

2 adults at home and we fluctuate between 400-800 GB per month.

I've also noticed that updates are starting to get stupid. Certain apps are like 200-300MB every week or so. 1-2 dozen of these types of apps and it'll add up over time. Certain ecosystems also are getting pretty big in the updates (Windows/iOS/Android) and if one of them needs updating, you could be updating up to half a dozen devices in one go. It won't account for all the jump, but it could quietly add up over time to a surprising number.

If you do the occasional game update (screw you Cyberpunk!) or download a game or two from a store (ie: monthly PSN), then there are certain months that might have an extra 100-300GB spike in usage.

Certain streaming is also getting better in their quality offerings, so that's a bit of a quiet increase there (ie: Good stream quality to HD to ultra HD to 4K streaming etc.). The types of content on social media is also spiking in data usage and depending on your internet speed and buffer, you could be pre-loading tons of stuff you never consume (ie: Facebook/instagram/youtube videos etc.).

mrkajz44 · 06-01-2021, 08:45 AM

So, these numbers are pretty spread out as I expected, but it still seems like we are on the high side given the activity we have. I think this will be another call back to Telus to give us a better idea of what is actually using all this data.

I will admit I suspected a wifi steal going on, but I've been watching what connects to our wifi almost daily and I haven't seen anything suspicious.

Skaloper · 06-01-2021, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Starting a thread to try and help myself figure out if our internet usage is reasonable. We used to use around 250 GB per month and it's basically doubled to 500 GB in the last month.

I tried calling Telus to help me understand why the sudden increase, but let's just say they were extremely unhelpful (said it was my PS4 and Switch despite both devices are currently not connected to the wifi).

What is everyone's monthly usage? Does 500 GB seem high? We have two young kids, so there is not a ton of time to be streaming Netflix or Prime video, and I've been working at home since December when the numbers were at 250 GB so I don't think it's that.

Trying to unravel the mystery as we only have 550 GB on our plan and we are suddenly close to going over.

Sent from my VOG-L04 using Tapatalk

You mention the consoles aren't connected to the wifi but are they possibly connected with an ethernet cord? If you have auto-update turned on for games it can add up quick.

Another thought is maybe you are now streaming 4k instead of 1080p which would see a significant bump in usage. Streaming 1080p for an hour is around 3.1GB while 4k streaming is around 7GB an hour.

Hack&Lube · 06-01-2021, 08:12 PM

I thought most ISPs don't cap usage anymore?

Even my $45 Telus plan is unlimited up/down.

CaptainReboot · 06-02-2021, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I thought most ISPs don't cap usage anymore?

Even my $45 Telus plan is unlimited up/down.

For my Telus Fiber plan, unlimited is a promotion for the first two years of my contract. I'm sure though if I agree to another contract, they'll throw unlimited usage in.

mrkajz44 · 06-02-2021, 04:51 PM

So just an update - I called back again to see if I got someone better and they were saying basically the large increase was all from the cable box. I'm thinking Skaloper might have nailed it here where we are suddenly using 4K content even though we can't use it with our current TV. I'll look into a way to turn down the quality from the streaming (if that's possible?)

dino7c · 06-02-2021, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

So just an update - I called back again to see if I got someone better and they were saying basically the large increase was all from the cable box. I'm thinking Skaloper might have nailed it here where we are suddenly using 4K content even though we can't use it with our current TV. I'll look into a way to turn down the quality from the streaming (if that's possible?)

Just get unlimited...caps for home use is ridiculous these days. Tell them shaw has no caps.