New to Bell and usage far greater than previous ISP

[pkirkbride]

I recently switched to bell from Xplorenet, since joining at the beginning of the year my  internet usage ( as per Bell) exceeds my 350GB allowance usually before the billing period ends. I checked my previous 2 years usage with my old ISP and it never reached 200GB, my streaming habits have not changed and my daughter moved out a year ago so it actually dropped well before switching over to Bell.  Has anyone else seen their usage increased significantly since switching to bell?

[JD · Accepted solution]

There can be a few reasons for increased usage.....the basics include things like increased streaming with higher quality videos or more devices using bandwidth which can also include neighbors.

There is an easy way to narrow it down by device so you can evaluate where the consumption is coming from.  If you type 192.168.2.1 in your browser while connected to the internet.....you can access the modem page which includes a usage section......in there you can view usage by device.  It will tell you what % of your overall usage is being consumed by specific devices and if you notice there are some that you dont know about, you can block them from using your internet.

You can also download a 3rd party bandwidth tracker that will do the same to figure out whats eating up your usage.

Question....most plans (is not all) include unlimited download options.....do you have a cap that you are worried about?

[Tonio]

As an old fella (an octogenarian) my tv viewing and web usage is pretty consistent day-to-day. That said, over the last 3 billing cycles I have seen my detailed  "Internet Usage" spike on 1 or sometimes 2 days in the billing cycle. My typical daily usage in GB runs from 0.54 to 1.047 through to 2.054 when a day or so ago I streamed a show via ACORN to my tv. That said, in each of the last 3 cycles there have been a usage day of 16.330GB give or take 1.0GB. I track when I stream anything as it is only occasionally, and then I look at my usage. So far no connection between the short streaming and the usage shown on these occasional heavy use days. Don't use a smart phone but have an iPad for email etc. The good folk at Bell said the couldn't give me an answer or even a hint as to why the spikes occur and I'm hoping that you may have some suggestions. I have Netflix basic for the lowest stream rate and in fact don't use it often. Can't see on ACORN where I can select the lowest stream rate. Any thoughts??

In fact any help would be most appreciated and very welcome.

Tonio

[Sc3]

We have been with Bell for internet for well over 5 years. Very little has changed in regards to devices or the amount of time that the internet is being used. For the majority of those 5+ years we have rarely went over 250G within the cycle. Now, over the last few months anyway, it’s gone past 450G before the end of the cycle. In one instance it went over 350G just within the first 9 days of the cycle. What is going on?