[jebartle]

Anyone get this?????

I THOUGHT my only connection to Xfinity was wifi, is this new policy to hack off streamers.

Have I mentioned how much I hate comcast.

Notification my usage is at 90%, with 2 months free, and then you will PAY for excess usage!!!!!!!

[rexxfan]

It is not a new policy. Comcast has had a monthly data cap for at least a few years now. I believe the current maximum is 1 terabyte. I do a lot of streaming of Amazon Prime video as well as Netflix and have a security camera that streams to the web 24x7 and I've never come close to the limit.

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by jebartle

Anyone get this?????

I THOUGHT my only connection to Xfinity was wifi, is this new policy to hack off streamers.

Have I mentioned how much I hate comcast.

Notification my usage is at 90%, with 2 months free, and then you will PAY for excess usage!!!!!!!

There are many variables to keep you from going over the limit and from my experience they (COMCAST) will not help you one bit. They won't give you the sweat off a grape. But I will.

First thing. Roku or Fire Stick? One starter simple thing to do is go back to the home screen before you turn off any TV you have a Streaming device on otherwise you are using Data around the clock. Do this relentlessly.

Second thing if you can take it set your television sets to 720 instead of 1080. It uses less data.

Third thing learn how to track your usage on the Comcast site.

We have 4 TV'S 2 Desktops 2 Laptops & 2 Cell Phones on Wi-Fi. Monthly usage now about 800 Jiggawatts. We went over the limit the second month we were Streaming.

One other thing someone could be helping themselves to your Wi-Fi. Good Luck. If I could conquer this problem trust me, you can. Good Luck.

[capecoralbill]

Originally Posted by Nucky

Third thing learn how to track your usage on the Comcast site.
.

Problem is, the Comcast tracking info is for a month. unfortunately my billing period begins and ends in the middle of a month. So the "Monthly Data Usage" is totally a guesstimate. Comcast has a virtual monopoly in my Village, yes there is Century Link but their service is not dependable, and the DSL is copper wires up here in the North end of the Villages. We are truly at Comcast's mercy.....and they know it.

[PoolBrews]

All of the major internet providers have a monthly limit - I know CenturyLink is also 1 TB, and I'm pretty sure Spectrum is the same. The monthly limit is tied to your billing cycle - you'll see your usage drop from whatever it is to 0 when your billing date hits.

I have 3 TV's with Roku, 2 computers, 2 phones, and 2 kindles. We stream a lot on Netflix and Amazon and never come close to the limit. 720p will definitely help on the amount of data, but it's more due to way compression works. If you do the math, 720p and 1080i work out to nearly the same amount of data... but compression works far better with 720p, so the actual data moved over the wire is significantly less. 1080p is considerably more... and if you are watching any of the new shows in 4K regularly, then the cap may come into play.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by capecoralbill

Problem is, the Comcast tracking info is for a month. unfortunately my billing period begins and ends in the middle of a month. So the "Monthly Data Usage" is totally a guesstimate. Comcast has a virtual monopoly in my Village, yes there is Century Link but their service is not dependable, and the DSL is copper wires up here in the North end of the Villages. We are truly at Comcast's mercy.....and they know it.

I have to disagree. I am on the North side of TV and have had Century Link since I moved here many years ago and we have no problem with them. Yes, they go down for a short while in a storm, but other than that they have been very reliable for us.

[birdiebill]

All internet providers have a cap for data usage. Most have several different levels so a person can subscribe to the amount they need to cover their usage. It is like anything else, the more a person uses, the more they pay. One size fits all does not work because some people with internet only use very little data, and others who stream or game a lot have to pay more to use more.

[leftyf]

Centurylink told me that they have no limit and do not measure usage. That is why I do not have Comcast.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by capecoralbill

Problem is, the Comcast tracking info is for a month. unfortunately my billing period begins and ends in the middle of a month. So the "Monthly Data Usage" is totally a guesstimate. Comcast has a virtual monopoly in my Village, yes there is Century Link but their service is not dependable, and the DSL is copper wires up here in the North end of the Villages. We are truly at Comcast's mercy.....and they know it.

You can change your Comcast billing period to the first of the month, or any other day.

[biker1]

I asked CenturyLink about data caps about a year ago. They told me they don't have anything that they enforce.

Originally Posted by birdiebill

All internet providers have a cap for data usage. Most have several different levels so a person can subscribe to the amount they need to cover their usage. It is like anything else, the more a person uses, the more they pay. One size fits all does not work because some people with internet only use very little data, and others who stream or game a lot have to pay more to use more.

[PoolBrews]

CenturyLink does have a limit - it's posted on their website "ttps://www.centurylink.com/aboutus/legal/internet-service-disclosure/full-version.html". It's 1TB, but they are not currently charging if you go over. Basically the same as Comcast. The only difference is that Comcast is sending out a warning to prepare you for when they do start to charge. I have had both CenturyLink and Comcast - no issues with either, so I switch back and forth for the best price

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by Nucky

There are many variables to keep you from going over the limit and from my experience they (COMCAST) will not help you one bit. They won't give you the sweat off a grape. But I will.

First thing. Roku or Fire Stick? One starter simple thing to do is go back to the home screen before you turn off any TV you have a Streaming device on otherwise you are using Data around the clock. Do this relentlessly.

Second thing if you can take it set your television sets to 720 instead of 1080. It uses less data.

Third thing learn how to track your usage on the Comcast site.

We have 4 TV'S 2 Desktops 2 Laptops & 2 Cell Phones on Wi-Fi. Monthly usage now about 800 Jiggawatts. We went over the limit the second month we were Streaming.

One other thing someone could be helping themselves to your Wi-Fi. Good Luck. If I could conquer this problem trust me, you can. Good Luck.

I have a Fire Stick. How do I turn it off? Unplug it maybe?

[Sail41]

I had the same problem when I first signed on with comcast. I argued with them that I couldn't be using what they said. They agreed but to no avail. I finally went out and bought a new modem so I could monitor our usage and fought some more. It was on their end not ours. Took a total of a month or so after the free 2 months and it dropped 75% down to under 300gs per month. I do unplug my second tv as the roku still uses data even when the tv is off. I still monitor it because I don't trust them. If you are using a comcast modem they can verify what is running and what you usage is. If your tvs are off and they have a unusual usage, the problem is on their end. Don't give up.

[jebartle]

Originally Posted by New Englander

I have a Fire Stick. How do I turn it off? Unplug it maybe?

Ok, here is where my ignorance is going to be obvious, where do you change setting from 1080 to 760????

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by jebartle

Ok, here is where my ignorance is going to be obvious, where do you change setting from 1080 to 760????

I think you need to change the playback setting for each streaming service. For example, for Netflix, go to Netflix.com, sign in, open "my profile", and select "playback setting" and select the setting you want. When you rent a movie to stream, sometimes you have a choice about the playback resolution.

There are also resolution settings on your TV, cable box, and possibly on your streaming device. But, I don't think changing these settings will affect the Xfinity data calculation. So, if the Internet streaming source is delivering content at 1080p, and you have a lower setting on your cable box, TV, or streaming device, I think you will still be using data at the 1080p data rate because that is the amount of data coming through your modem.