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Help please - Sudden change in amount of data being used by my PC

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  • On task manger you had 150mb of network use on Microsoft Edge in 7mins. If you are just browsing that seems excessive and will rack up pretty quickly. I note you are saying most of your browsing is via Chrome? Not sure what Edge is doing to rack up data use if you don't use it?
  • On task manger you had 150mb of network use on Microsoft Edge in 7mins. If you are just browsing that seems excessive and will rack up pretty quickly. I note you are saying most of your browsing is via Chrome? Not sure what Edge is doing to rack up data use if you don't use it?


    I don't normally use Edge but did briefly this week. Quite honestly I didn't know what Edge was until my PC at work was upgraded and I had to use it instead of Chrome. I still prefer Chrome so will continue to use it at home.
  • vff said:

    PS if you're out of contract you can get 20GB for the price of 5GB on 12 and 24 month wifi contracts atm.

    Off the top of my head, it's extra data for a lower monthly cost than the deal you have running currently.

    If you're not out of contract, sorry for rubbing salt into the wounds...

    Who's that with @Callumcafc ?
    Three, funnily enough! :-)
    I did ask if they could give me a better deal with more data - they offered 20GB for £30 per month which I declined. I currently pay £15.98 for the 15GB.
  • edited September 2016
    I pay for my wife's phone and was suddenly getting charged significantly more every month because she was going above the data on the contract. She wasn't doing anything differently, but it turned out Facebook was downloading adverts without her knowledge - I think they get paid for this. You can deselect this and she has, but updates can reset as this is the default so you need to keep checking and making sure the programme doesn't start downloading rubbish you don't need again. I think this is pretty close to theft personally but I can't tell my wife to stop using Facebook! I would imagine a few others do this also.
  • vff said:

    PS if you're out of contract you can get 20GB for the price of 5GB on 12 and 24 month wifi contracts atm.

    Off the top of my head, it's extra data for a lower monthly cost than the deal you have running currently.

    If you're not out of contract, sorry for rubbing salt into the wounds...

    Who's that with @Callumcafc ?
    Three, funnily enough! :-)
    I did ask if they could give me a better deal with more data - they offered 20GB for £30 per month which I declined. I currently pay £15.98 for the 15GB.
    If you are in a position to cancel, sky are offering unlimited broadband for less than you currently pay
  • if you put the mobile wifi devise in a pillow case then beat the shit out of your other half till he confesses to the porn!
  • I pay for my wife's phone and was suddenly getting charged significantly more every month because she was going above the data on the contract. She wasn't doing anything differently, but it turned out Facebook was downloading adverts without her knowledge - I think they get paid for this. You can deselect this and she has, but updates can reset as this is the default so you need to keep checking and making sure the programme doesn't start downloading rubbish you don't need again. I think this is pretty close to theft personally but I can't tell my wife to stop using Facebook! I would imagine a few others do this also.

    Same with Twitter - make sure the video autoplay is turned off otherwise Twitter and Facebook will just suck data
  • I don't think this is your PC.

    The 5.37gb of usage over the past 30 days that Windows is reporting doesn't even cover the 9.1gb of usage since last Saturday; 12 days ago. Now that means that at least 3.73gb of that 9.1gb did not come from your PC: that's a whopping 40.1%, and essentially the size of an entire film on DVD.

    Further to this, (a) you seem to be running anti-virus software (which I presume is updated?), and (b) Windows itself is reporting the 5.37gb. I would relax about your PC, and I wouldn't worry about your facebook usage. (You mention adverts eating data though, perhaps give AdBlock for Chrome a go.)

    Three may say it is your PC, but so far they've demonstrated that they're completely clueless. I urge you to send a complaint about them (a) disabling windows update and encouraging poor security practices, and (b) misinforming you about passwords etc. At the very least a complaint might get you a little surprise on the next bill.

    As for what's actually going wrong, there are two potential options when you discount the PC:

    (a) The WiFi network itself;
    (b) Three is messing up.

    I can't see it being (b), even if Three support haven't been very confidence inspiring. Whilst (a) could only really be explained by having unknown devices connected to your router, given that you've changed the network password (and presumably restarted the router?) you would expect that to stop pretty quickly.

    Perhaps someone more familiar with the Three router could explain if there's a way of seeing what devices are currently connected to the network and/or which devices have previously connected?
  • vff said:

    PS if you're out of contract you can get 20GB for the price of 5GB on 12 and 24 month wifi contracts atm.

    Off the top of my head, it's extra data for a lower monthly cost than the deal you have running currently.

    If you're not out of contract, sorry for rubbing salt into the wounds...

    Who's that with @Callumcafc ?
    Three, funnily enough! :-)
    I did ask if they could give me a better deal with more data - they offered 20GB for £30 per month which I declined. I currently pay £15.98 for the 15GB.
    If you are in a position to cancel, sky are offering unlimited broadband for less than you currently pay
    I would like to be in a position to switch to Sky broadband but there is no landline at this rented property so we're stuck with mobile wi-fi for now.
  • LuckyReds said:

    I don't think this is your PC.

    The 5.37gb of usage over the past 30 days that Windows is reporting doesn't even cover the 9.1gb of usage since last Saturday; 12 days ago. Now that means that at least 3.73gb of that 9.1gb did not come from your PC: that's a whopping 40.1%, and essentially the size of an entire film on DVD.

    Further to this, (a) you seem to be running anti-virus software (which I presume is updated?), and (b) Windows itself is reporting the 5.37gb. I would relax about your PC, and I wouldn't worry about your facebook usage. (You mention adverts eating data though, perhaps give AdBlock for Chrome a go.)

    Three may say it is your PC, but so far they've demonstrated that they're completely clueless. I urge you to send a complaint about them (a) disabling windows update and encouraging poor security practices, and (b) misinforming you about passwords etc. At the very least a complaint might get you a little surprise on the next bill.

    As for what's actually going wrong, there are two potential options when you discount the PC:

    (a) The WiFi network itself;
    (b) Three is messing up.

    I can't see it being (b), even if Three support haven't been very confidence inspiring. Whilst (a) could only really be explained by having unknown devices connected to your router, given that you've changed the network password (and presumably restarted the router?) you would expect that to stop pretty quickly.

    Perhaps someone more familiar with the Three router could explain if there's a way of seeing what devices are currently connected to the network and/or which devices have previously connected?

    Thanks for your help. I'll see what happens over the next few days during which Three said they will monitor usage and get back to me.
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  • I pay for my wife's phone and was suddenly getting charged significantly more every month because she was going above the data on the contract. She wasn't doing anything differently, but it turned out Facebook was downloading adverts without her knowledge - I think they get paid for this. You can deselect this and she has, but updates can reset as this is the default so you need to keep checking and making sure the programme doesn't start downloading rubbish you don't need again. I think this is pretty close to theft personally but I can't tell my wife to stop using Facebook! I would imagine a few others do this also.

    Thanks - will try this
  • This happened to me on my phone. FB was automatically playing videos that any tom dick or harry had posted which I had no interest in seeing. I went to settings which I cant remember now and changed it to only play when I pressed play. Solved the problem. Ill see if I can find but rushing out now.
  • Curb_It said:

    This happened to me on my phone. FB was automatically playing videos that any tom dick or harry had posted which I had no interest in seeing. I went to settings which I cant remember now and changed it to only play when I pressed play. Solved the problem. Ill see if I can find but rushing out now.

    I have stopped videos in Facebook but haven't used the internet much this evening. Will see what data is left in the morning.
  • edited September 2016
    When I first had Plusnet, back in I don't know 2009? I had what at the time was a great deal with a high usage cap that as I didn't stream anything back then I was more than confident I wouldn't reach but after about the second or third month my bill started creeping up for exceeding the allowance. Few quid at first and as I couldn't really remember doing anything much I didn't quibble but then it became every month and the amount was getting more and more. I rang to complain and they provided me with my daily usage amount for the month, I pointed out I was working overseas for half the month and had switched everything off before I left and after a bit of too and fro they discovered that they'd accidentally linked my account with some data-hungry sausage tugger in Leeds.
    They fixed this, apologised profusely, refunded all the usage charges and provided a 50% discount on the service for the next 12-months and then sent me a new faster router too - best customer service ever after a fairly stupid admin cockup.
    You may be having something similar?
  • Thanks to everyone who has made suggestions.

    Data allowance left did not change overnight as it had been doing every day recently. Perhaps this was due to the password change or other changes made after the suggestions on here. I'll continue to monitor closely and discuss with Three when they contact me again.
  • Same complaint over here for iphone users after windows 10 updates. Fix is to go into settings and turn off "wifi assist". You'll find this under "cellular settings."
  • limeygent said:

    Same complaint over here for iphone users after windows 10 updates. Fix is to go into settings and turn off "wifi assist". You'll find this under "cellular settings."

    Not convinced that's correct for UK mobiles
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  • stonemuse said:

    limeygent said:

    Same complaint over here for iphone users after windows 10 updates. Fix is to go into settings and turn off "wifi assist". You'll find this under "cellular settings."

    Not convinced that's correct for UK mobiles
    Might not be, exact same complaint though.
  • You don't have one of those sky mininbox things for downloading films do you. When I had one it absolutely rinsed my data.
  • Nicholas said:

    You don't have one of those sky mininbox things for downloading films do you. When I had one it absolutely rinsed my data.

    No I don't have one of those.
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