Vodafone broadband usage tripled without any reason suddenly!

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mtinwala

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Topic # 195256 12-Apr-2016 13:38

Hi forum members,

I have Vodafone broadband connection through my landline. Data cap is 80gb per month.

From 3rd April, my data usage suddenly jumped and it is almost five times of daily normal use in last 7 days. What I observed is 4-5 GB gets gobbled up even before we wake up in morning!! I am totally baffled what is eating up my data even when all my devices are shut down. I got email from Vodafone that you will be charged $2 for every GB used above 80 GB cap. This is only 12th April and still 18 days to go for entire month. My normal daily usage in past two years has been 2 to 2.5 GB only.

I have registered a complaint with Vodafone after much struggle with their customer care. First time I filed a complaint in last week, the lady at other end asked many questions, suggested me to change WiFi password and told me that complaint has been registered and you will get investigation report in 72 hours. Till today I got no report. I called today and the person told me that no complaint was registered in last week and there are no notes in your account. I was really frustrated with this kind of service!! Anyways, he filed a complaint and assured reversal of extra charges.

I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this kind of jump in data usage with Vodafone connection. I am interested to know how I can track data usage on hourly basis. How can I know what devices and applications are using how much data? Are there any applications that can do so?

Regards,

Murtaza

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Reply # 1530777 12-Apr-2016 13:42

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im guessing something is downloading updates or uploading files over night. Could do an isolation test and see if the behaviour continues

chances are its something on your own network

timmmay

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Reply # 1530780 12-Apr-2016 13:43

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Typical Vodafone service, though as you've seen they usually sort it out eventually.

Sometimes it can be outside of your control - data hitting your IP address that you didn't request.

Plenty of threads on tracking data usage, it's not always super easy. Someone will no doubt come along and do the search for you soon.

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hio77

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Reply # 1530782 12-Apr-2016 13:46

Based on my stats, its actually under-reading Although router side is including counting the slight overhead of the PPPoE session.

http://openresolverproject.org/ I would check your ip isnt an open dns resolver.

Look into things like cloud sync applications on your network, torrenting applications seeding and such. The tech is correct, in suggesting to check if there are any rouge devices on your network its worth a look.

The Vodafone usage meter updates reasonably quickly, Based off your normal daily usage you have stated i would suggest moving to unlimited regardless as 80GB is pushing it.

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SATTV

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Reply # 1530785 12-Apr-2016 13:54

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Have you ever had a spare Vodafone modem that you have sold on trade Me or given to someone.

Your details are pre programmed in the back end at vodafone.

If these details have not been removed, if it get connected to a vodafone DSL connection ( even after it has been factory reset ) it will get your login details irrespective of what is put in the modem.

I have seen this several times before.

If you have done this you need to get hold of Vodafone and get them to remove the other devices from your account.

John

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Jaxar

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Reply # 1530787 12-Apr-2016 13:56

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I used to deal with consumer complaints at VF. I can assure you lots of people have experienced what you are describing and it was almost always something on the customers end. The exceptions to this is when there was a data counting issue. The silver lining to a data counting issue where the problem is at VF's end is it affects multiple users at the same time generally making it pretty obvious when its an ISP issue. On occasion VF have even know about the issue before customers realize.

Do you run any data tracking software on your connected devices? I personally have found that sort of thing to be very handy in identifying surprise spikes in my usage in past before I had unlimited.

It used to be a lot easier to manage data back in the day when it was one maybe two computers but add in smartphones and tablets to the mix and it becomes way harder especially in a flatting situation. I know you've said you had all your devices off but it might be worth logging to the modem and checking to see what devices are connected to it before shutting off your last device.

I'm not aware of any data counting issue at VF at the moment but I'm a bit out of the loop in that area at the moment.

Is switching to unlimited an option for a month? Its a $20 increase so it would probably be worth it if you expect to use another 10GB.

Please note: I have a professional bias towards Vodafone.

ubergeeknz

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Vocus

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Reply # 1530869 12-Apr-2016 15:11

Can I suggest the following: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=49&topicid=139555

darylblake

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Reply # 1530871 12-Apr-2016 15:15

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Check it before you go to bed.

Then unplug the modem from the phone line. Or Ethernet from the ONT when you go to bed.

Check usage in the morning after plugging it back in.

In 98% of cases it will probably something on your LAN.

The next job is finding out what it is and dealing with it.

Dairyxox

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Reply # 1530875 12-Apr-2016 15:28

Please asnwer these questions, don't dismiss them entirely;

-Has someone at your residence been away on holiday recently? Taking a lot of photos?

-Do you have any Apple devices using an iCloud sync?

ubergeeknz

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Reply # 1530876 12-Apr-2016 15:30

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All of these things are covered in the post here : http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=49&topicid=139555 which many of you contributed to :)

mtinwala

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Reply # 1530880 12-Apr-2016 15:39

Clarifications for some of the replies.

--No old Vodafone modem sold on TradeMe in past.

--No heavy streaming, iClous sync, Google Drive sync etc. No torrent downloading. Checked data usage by smartphones. It is less than 1 GB.

--Windows updates in past have never resulted in big downloads. Does Windows download updates of 10+ GB everyday? That is unbelievable.

--@hio77, I am not sure why you mentioned "it is under-reading". I am not sure what usage data you have posted. I am not posting from my home computer.

hio77

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Reply # 1530883 12-Apr-2016 15:45

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mtinwala:

Clarifications for some of the replies.

--No old Vodafone modem sold on TradeMe in past.

--No heavy streaming, iClous sync, Google Drive sync etc. No torrent downloading. Checked data usage by smartphones. It is less than 1 GB.

--Windows updates in past have never resulted in big downloads. Does Windows download updates of 10+ GB everyday? That is unbelievable.

--@hio77, I am not sure why you mentioned "it is under-reading". I am not sure what usage data you have posted. I am not posting from my home computer.

Okay, what i was showing is my vodafone usage meter is reading 226GB at the time of the at screenshot, while my connection itself has done 250GB over my Vodafone DSL connection.

That means the vodafone meter is actually reading 24GB Lower than my actual usage.

In my screenshot at the top i had Vnstat, a package that runs on my router and monitors all usage across every port. Below it is the standard Vodafone usage meter.

Torrents downloading was not the question, but torrents Seeding. People often forget they are Two way transfers.

Windows updates in windows 10 does have a P2P seeding feature, If you have windows 10 it might pay to double check that setting is switched to Lan only.