RBI data question

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › RBI data question

Avatarz

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Wannabe Geek

#171537 22-Apr-2015 09:51

I've recently had to change to RBI as my only option for internet or decent internet speed.

What I have noticed though is how much data all of a sudden I am going through and I can't work out why.

Back on the very old days and I was on broadband 50GB plans, I would download and still struggle to get near the data cap.

Right now I'm not doing anything and constantly going through 1-2GB per day.

Have had to stop the kids using youtube and am trying to monitor where its coming from.

Woke up and turned my pc on for 10 mins this morning before work then turned it off, and I checked at work to see my account says I've used 1.7GB of data for the day????

I have made sure to have my phone set to update approval so any large updates I do at work or parents wifi.

Vodafones plan is 30GB per month, and I can't see how to stay under it without not being at home and having anything running.

I did have a wifi booster in the other room but have turned that off just in case but can't see how thats impacted anything.

Any ideas how to try and see where the usage is being used up?

PeterReader

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#1288970 22-Apr-2015 09:51

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

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dylanp

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#1288990 22-Apr-2015 09:58

There can be many causes. :)

The sorts of things people normally don't think of are

email stuck in outbox with attachments (will keep trying to upload, rejected 'cause too big, repeat)
data sync things. dropbox? google drive? icloud? automatic camera upload?
streaming. radio?
gaming. xbox?

If you have a PC you might want to install the free version of netlimiter from http://www.netlimiter.com/ It'll show you what programs on the computer are using how much data.

Avatarz

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1288996 22-Apr-2015 10:04

VodafoneDylan: There can be many causes. :)

The sorts of things people normally don't think of are

email stuck in outbox with attachments (will keep trying to upload, rejected 'cause too big, repeat)
data sync things. dropbox? google drive? icloud? automatic camera upload?
streaming. radio?
gaming. xbox?

If you have a PC you might want to install the free version of netlimiter from http://www.netlimiter.com/ It'll show you what programs on the computer are using how much data.

Awesome, will try that netlimiter.

Have checked on those other items and none of those I do other that drop box but I have that set for photos only and rarely have many that sync.

Hopefully can try and identify cause with that.

Thanks

Sideface

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#1288998 22-Apr-2015 10:05

Avatarz: ... Right now I'm not doing anything and constantly going through 1-2GB per day ...

I would consider that to be light-normal usage.

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Inphinity

2780 posts

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#1288999 22-Apr-2015 10:05

smartphone syncing stuff (it's not just updates that chew data)?

you mentioned youtube - this can be huge, as can other streaming services like netflix

torrents running?

does the usage go up even if the PC is off - i.e. only mobile devices in use?

Jase2985

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#1289001 22-Apr-2015 10:12

streaming from youtube might be setting its self to HD which would explain a rise in data usage from a better connection.

i know in firefox you can get an app that you can specify what quality level youtube will deliver its content.

johnr

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#1289037 22-Apr-2015 10:50

scan PC with malwarebytes (free edition) and make sure PC is clean of spyware / malware / scareware

John

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Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

Avatarz

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1289090 22-Apr-2015 11:26

That youtube might be one thing which is why I had my kids stay off it and noticed a bit of improvement but will search out that setting to limit the settings on it.

Tried malware checks etc so far all clean.

Have also set phones to not update any apps etc.

The big alert to me was this morning and 1.7GB in the space of having my pc on for 10 mins. Will definitely try as advised all the above again.

Thanks

coffeebaron

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#1289379 22-Apr-2015 14:31

Any reason you didn't go with another RBI Wireless provider with larger data cap?

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Avatarz

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1289424 22-Apr-2015 15:08

coffeebaron: Any reason you didn't go with another RBI Wireless provider with larger data cap?

Had one come out and found we were in a black spot so they didn't recommend going ahead as they could hardly get a signal so I thought my options were over.

Vodafone who we were already with, came and tested and got a good signal so we stuck with them thinking 30GB we could manage with.

I think Farmside was the one other that had a bigger plan but was off peak so likely wouldn't have helped.

Any others you could recommend?

Might be happy to pay the disconnection fee if I have to top up data monthly anyway.

We're in Waikato region.

grant_k

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#1289620 22-Apr-2015 17:45

Avatarz: Any others you could recommend?

Might be happy to pay the disconnection fee if I have to top up data monthly anyway.

We're in Waikato region.

Coffeebaron is an installer for these guys and the Waikato is one of the areas he covers: Ultimate Broadband RBI plans

I've been with Ultimate for the past 3 years and can't speak highly enough of the service I've received from Mike and his team. The 60GB 'Power User' plan works well for me, as there's no way I could get by with 30GB these days.

Sidestep

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#1289642 22-Apr-2015 18:14

grant_k:
Avatarz: Any others you could recommend?

Might be happy to pay the disconnection fee if I have to top up data monthly anyway.

We're in Waikato region.

Coffeebaron is an installer for these guys and the Waikato is one of the areas he covers: Ultimate Broadband RBI plans

I've been with Ultimate for the past 3 years and can't speak highly enough of the service I've received from Mike and his team. The 60GB 'Power User' plan works well for me, as there's no way I could get by with 30GB these days.

We're also with Ultimate, on their 100GB plan, with another 100GB free off peak.
Burn through all of that easily (2 kids!) with small overages.

Sideface

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#1289742 22-Apr-2015 20:16

30GB is a ridiculously low data cap for 2015.

This reminds me of very cheap ADSL plans offered years ago with a tiny data allowance (as low as 10GB per month) and very high charges for data overage - non-technical users had no idea just how low these data caps were, and were ripped off.

I don't think that any ISP should be allowed to offer less than 80GB per month in their entry-level internet plans.

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tripper1000

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#1289782 22-Apr-2015 21:32

My sister-in-law had almost the same problem commence suddenly after upgrading her laptop to one with windows 8.

It turns out that it was constantly doing updates, and all those fancy tiles were also up/downloading data. There were so many background apps to shutdown/change the settings on, that in the end I simply cranked up the firewall security to block everything except her browser. This worked well, saving about 2Gb per day.