The following information has been provided to educate Americable customers on potential causes of high data usage and to assist in finding what device(s) may be causing higher than normal usage. It should be noted that data usage is tracked from the 17th to the 17th of each month, then resets. We don’t have a system that can highlight a specific device in terms of how much data and what data is being consumed by that device. The current data tracking system only logs the daily amount of data usage on a per customer basis. However, data usage information for specific devices may be accessible with further research. Numerous devices come with data usage tracking.
In terms of what may cause high usage, some possibilities are listed below:
- PC Gaming or Gaming consoles (Xbox, Playstation, etc.) connected and in sleep or standby mode. Gaming content as well as updates can still be downloaded if the device is not turned off completely.
- Excessive downloading/uploading of content and any processes/programs running in the background on PC/Mac or other active devices in the home. To see running processes on PC (ctrl + alt + delete). For Mac (Go to Finder – Applications – Utilities – Activity Monitor)
- Excessive streaming can also contribute. Streaming HD video content can use 3-5gb of data an hour and streaming 4K video content can use 5-7gb of data an hour depending on the streaming platform. See below link.
How Much Data Does Streaming Use in 2021? – Audio and Video (kommandotech.com)
Some ways to troubleshoot high usage would be completely shutting down or turning off devices that are not being used. Also, the personal wireless router or Americable modem/wi-fi modem may be disconnected when not in use, to determine if there is a change in daily usage. If there is any uncertainty of what devices are connected to the network, by logging into the personal wireless router or Americable wi-fi modem, a list of connected devices can be determined for wireless and wired connections. The network (wireless) password can be changed for devices connected via wi-fi and then each device can be reconnected to the network. This may help determine which device(s) is consuming data.
Below is a list of ways to look at data consumption per device. Please keep in mind that not all devices are listed and as stated earlier, may require additional research. There may be third-party apps that can be used for home network monitoring for specific devices such as phones, tablets, gaming consoles (if not already available on the device itself), etc.
Windows 10 Monitoring – Monitor your data usage in Windows 10 – CNET
Monitoring Tool for Android and PC – 10 ways to check your data usage (glasswire.com)
Tracking data through a router or third-party bandwidth usage App – What’s Using My Bandwidth? 5 Tips to Monitor Home Network Usage (makeuseof.com)
Mac Book Pro – View network activity in Activity Monitor on Mac – Apple Support