Internet Usage, Plusnet & Sky

clarebear

Hi - I have just switched from Sky broadband to Plusnet and in one week have used nearly 10GB - considering we don't stream TV/music this seems to me excessive. I have checked the ipods are switched off and PCs attached to router wirelessly are only used between 4pm and 10pm so surely this seems incredible. The connection is secure. Could the sky+ box be using up this usage? I am baffled to know what else it could be? For example, on Monday, 1.3gb is showing as being used.

Please help - am signed up for 12 month contract so what originally was a cheaper option is now not!

Many thanks

debitcardmayhem

Questions....
Have you got a new router ?
Have you looked at plus.net my account view my usage...?
It could be sky plus if you are using the anytime download or whatever it is called ?

Answer perhaps talk to Plus Net their help desk is usually very good, (I have just left them , cos TT is now LLU but I will no doubt return)

Elle7

We found the same when we switched the other way...Plusnet recorded very high usage, so we switched to Sky as it was cheaper, and Sky recorded much lower usage even though our actual usage was the same.

I don't think your Sky+ box would be using the data unless you are using the data services, such as playing the games?

You could try monitoring your usage with a 3rd party application to see if the information correlates with Plusnets?

Hammyman

clarebear wrote: »

Could the sky+ box be using up this usage?

Easily.

TBH though, it is quite surprising just how much data you use, especially when you've come from an unlimited package. We have a family of four here, aren't heavy users and I would say 10GB a week is about right.

Windows Update can have a lot to do with it. On a fresh Windows 7 install I'm now applying just short of 1GB of updates.

ChiefGrasscutter

I've checked the plusnet online usage daily record against my own on one occassion (single PC only connected so easy to cross check)....and the plusnet daily record is good. I think you can even see how its divided up into web,email,streaming, download, upload, P2P. It has a 2 hour delay on the update on the usage meter so its not quite 'real time'.
This is the link to it - log in and it will go direct to the usage page
https://portal.plus.net/view_my_broadband_usage/index.php?link=mc_myaccount

If anything I found that Plusnet usage was slightly less than I was recording and possibly they were giving users a minute or so leeway on their midnight to 8:00am free unmetered usage period.(which is also shown in blue on the usage record as "free usage")
This would make sense for them to have their official systems slightly under-recording to avoid complaints.
It's a bit like how car's speedometer are always set to overread so that when I hear locally that the police measured someone over 50mph in a 40 zone I know that in reality they were doing at least the high 50's by their speedo, and the excuse that they were only a few mph over the limit won't wash.

gonzo127

10gb a week is done soo easily, youtube, sky anytime, system updates etc, we have a family of 5 here, and yes we are heavy users as we stream constantly to multiple systems hooked up to tv,s plus anytime direct to the sky box and can easily breach 300gb a month (10gb a day)

for example i downloaded Terra Nova a day or so ago on anytime as i missed it and each episode was 1.5gb, so for both episodes 3gb in about 1 hour (on my connection), hd movies anywhere from 4gb upwards, game downloads (xbox, steam, psn) can easily breach 25gb a game and are rarely under 10gb in my experience

texranger

I am with Plusnet and when i joined over 12 months ago my usage seemed higher than i was with o2.

I had desided as i use several business website i needed a static IP, so i paid their £5 for the static and for some reason my usage dropped slightly with using a static IP.

i also installed bandwidth meter from http://www.thinkbroadband.com/tbbmeter.html as advised by plusnet which once you have this configured gives you the correct amount of usage which if it differs from plusnet, then plusnet wil take what the tbbmeter gives out rather than their own system.

ChiefGrasscutter

I'm rather surprised to be honest that Plusnet would accept a third party's meter values over their own systems records.
Particularly when Plusnet cannot be certain that the user has installed it correctly on EVERY machine that is connected to the internet regardless of type and OS and that it is actually indeed recording the sum total of all internet traffic all the time, all day, every day all month.
I presume tbbmeter has facilities in it to take account of the Plusnet overnight unmetered free time

Hammyman

Plusnet have very good customer service from my experience of the time I was with them so it doesn't come as a surprise that they will take into account such readings from software they say to install which will only be in specific circumstances such as single user.

To the OP...have you secured your wifi?