Mobile Device Data Plans Vs “Power Users”

Dannyalcatraz · Jul 14, 2019

Mobile Device Data Plans Vs “Power Users”

I use my mobile devices for many hours a day, but I am usually on Wi-Fi. I am part of a group plan, and I typically use between 1-3GB/mo.

One person on the plan uses more data than everyone else combined.

How does one chew up data like that?

Morrus · Jul 14, 2019

Streaming video. Netflix. Podcasts. Audio/video media, basically. I get through several GB/month, and I'm not as bad as some people I know.

Aeson · Jul 15, 2019

Amateur. It's not hard. I use my phone as a hotspot. I use my tablet to control my Amazon fire stick to watch videos.

Dannyalcatraz · Jul 15, 2019

I get that...but I’m still at something of a loss, here.

We have a pretty good wi-fi system here, and I know he uses it. He has wi-fi at his place of employment. He has wi-fi at his mother’s house.

And he’s still gobbling up 2-4x the GB of the other 4 people on the plan. This month, we’ve used a combined 3 of 16GB; he’s at 12 with another couple of days to go.

Len · Jul 15, 2019

Maybe he's not on wifi as much as you think he is - maybe he's not automatically connecting to one of those networks (because of a changed password or whatever).

Dannyalcatraz · Jul 15, 2019

I know he’s on ours* and the one at his mom’s**, though I don’t know if he’s set for auto-join. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t on his employer’s system.

* he is the one who most recently reset the router.

** he set up his mom’s wi-fi, and she doesn’t have a clue as to how to change that.

trancejeremy · Jul 15, 2019

I finally caved in and got a smartphone this month as a birthday present for myself. So far, just streaming music I've used 5 gigs in 15 days. Once i figure out video streaming (tried Pluto TV but it was confusing), I imagine I'd use a lot more.

Zardnaar · Jul 15, 2019

It's easy, video streaming and even pop up video adds. I use wireless a lot but sometimes forget to use data.

One month my wife and myself used 490 GB. We stream every thing though, plus gaming etc. Downloading a single game off EA access or Xbox gamepads can also be 100GB.

Satellite dish also got knocked back in 2011 or so and have had no reception since then.

And sometimes we forget to turn data on/off.

Last week we each had 50GB on the phones as our internet went down. We used the phones as a hotspot and used them to put Amazon/Netflix through the Xbox.

Using the phones as a router will chew up 10gb in a day or two. Binge watching 6 seasons of Justified adds up.

Dannyalcatraz · Jul 15, 2019

Tonight, we found out part of the problem....a major part.

While he does have his devices all set to auto-join and routinely signed into the 3 wi-fi networks I mentioned, he was having problems with signal stability on ours. So every once in a while, he’d get booted while using Netflix, etc., and the GB drain would begin... As soon as he mentioned this, I knew exactly what he was talking about because I went through the exact same thing a few years ago.

As it turns out, he’s in a part of our building that doesn’t get a good, stable signal from the router. Because of that, we invested in a signal booster. After we did that, my data plan GB use was cut by 90%. But he was signing into the unboosted signal.

Now he’s supposedly signed into the boosted signal, so his GB use should drop significantly next month.