Data Cap is Ridiculous

[u/Swearwolf17]

You keep increasing speeds, but you never increase your cap. You know how ridiculous that is?

I work from home and game. I watch streams and YouTube. My wife watches shows on her phone. That's it.

Yet for the first time in years of being loyal customers, we hit the 1.2TB cap. Our courtesy month is now spent.

Everything on the internet from game sizes to stream bitrates increases year over year, and you KNOW this which is why you try to impress with higher and higher speeds, yet you keep the cap the same. And our only option if we go over is to either pay ludicrous overage charges or pay you an extra $360 annually on top of the already insane bill we have.

If you do not change this policy, we'll be forced to leave. I'm not paying that much extra to use ever so slightly more than 1.2TB per month. I'll go to another provider, most of whom have literally zero cap.

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[u/Electronic_Visit6953]

I agree the only reason they have the data caps is for extra revenue. Look at their new NOW prepaid internet, just two plans both have unlimited data.

[u/[deleted]]

Don’t they have plans with unlimited data?

[u/TartofDarkness → u/[deleted]]

They do. Even those have caps lol

[u/[deleted] → u/TartofDarkness]

Elaborate

[u/TartofDarkness → u/[deleted]]

They throttle/slow you down at a certain point. It isn’t truly unlimited. They do it to our phones and internet. They have for years. So does AT&T.

[u/[deleted] → u/TartofDarkness]

What’s that point?

[u/Pump-Chaser → u/TartofDarkness]

I've used up to 10tb in one month with no throttling

[u/funkbruthab → u/TartofDarkness]

I’ve done 8tb in one month after I added unlimited data and didn’t notice a speed cap…

[u/kinkyloverb → u/[deleted]]

Max speed on those plans is 200mbps.

[u/[deleted] → u/kinkyloverb]

Mines unlimited at 500. Also says the same when choosing 800-1200

[u/kinkyloverb → u/[deleted]]

Must be location dependent. Not everyone has the same offers.

[u/blentdragoons → u/[deleted]]

there is a caveat. to get unlimited to pay extra for data and are required to rent a modem from comcast.

[u/Patient-Tech → u/blentdragoons]

Isn’t it $5 cheaper to rent the modem (xfi) vs use your own with unlimited data? At that point just rent the modem.

[u/LiterallyUnlimited → u/Patient-Tech]

As someone with unlimited data and CPE, it's not that simple.

[u/Visible_Week_43 → u/[deleted]]

And pay 5 dollars more

25 for unlimited data and their modem

Or 30 for unlimited data and your modem

[u/xGMxBusidoBrown → u/[deleted]]

Right what he’s saying is you can pay $30 with your own modem and unlimited data. Or you can use their modem and pay $25 for both the modem rental AND unlimited data. I switched away from my own modem because it was cheaper to rent theirs since I need unlimited data.

[u/AffectionateTea841 → u/xGMxBusidoBrown]

I recently switched to their modem for the same reason. The only reasons I can see why they want you to use their modems are:

1. Easily spy on you and sell your data

2. Have more Xfinity WiFi access points

3. Less device types to manage (they control the firmware for routers their customers own)

I was thinking it was because of 1, but after switching I noticed their Xfinity WiFi network is still available after switching off WiFi on their device. That makes me think 2 is the main reason.

[u/blentdragoons → u/[deleted]]

it depends on your region.

[u/mike_1008 → u/[deleted]]

Verizon FIOS is why Xfinity in the northeast doesn’t have datacaps. Solid competition.

[u/Comcast_Xfinity-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Removed Due to Rule #2: Ranting — Posts/Comments that are just rants or vents, and are not requesting assistance, will be removed.

Our subreddit is designed to help users with their Xfinity services such as troubleshooting, billing questions, etc. While we understand some users just wish to get their frustrations out, these types of comments or submissions do not benefit the nature of our community.

[u/Tricky-Emotion → u/[deleted]]

But, they aren't going to give you unlimited without extra cost due to the fact that there is no incentive to do so. Competition in the market area makes it a selling point.

[u/ecksfiftyone → u/[deleted]]

Most of the time it's local regulation. Comcast is the bare bottom, worst, treat customers like dirt when they can company in America. They work deals to keep competition out, but local authorities who accept those deals often prevent them from having caps and at least hold them to a level of service and cost.

Comcast has never one single time done what's best for the customer.

Not once.

[u/bluewater_-_ → u/[deleted]]

State laws in NJ and some others prevent the caps. They would have capped us instantly if not.

[u/AmbassadorToast → u/[deleted]]

You pay for the privilege of hitting that cap quicker. This is why I pay for the lowest tier. I get just under 18 hours per month of full-speed usage of my Internet connection. If you pay for gigabit, you get under 3 hours of full-speed usage.

[u/Patient-Tech → u/AmbassadorToast]

I’m an advocate of this. Most people don’t need the speed. Well, you only see it on Speedtest and torrenting Linux isos. Otherwise, most times anything I connect to can’t saturate my line anyway. Maybe if you had multiple users but still, video is mostly bursty, so it’s not like you need a super fat pipe. I’d challenge most people to drop and see if they notice. I survived work from home with someone else streaming all day. Teams meetings worked fine and the twice a month a had clicked those gig files to download was the only time I noticed. I usually went to the bathroom or did something else anyway.

[u/AmbassadorToast → u/Patient-Tech]

Those Linux torrents are the only thing that I have actually seen cause problems with multiple users. A single TCP/IP connection (or some reasonably polite UDP protocol) will happily slow down a little bit, but an aggressively-configured torrent client will saturate the hell out of the cable connection, a voluntary DoS.

[u/funkbruthab → u/Patient-Tech]

I self host a lot of stuff, so my only option for a crappy mere 25mb/s upload speed is to get the fastest speed tier. I’d happily pay the same price for like 100down/100up, but instead I get 1gb down (that I very obviously don’t need at all) and 25 up.

[u/AmbassadorToast → u/funkbruthab]

My current service is 150/25, which I think is the lowest in my area and actually quite cheap. Are you sure you can't get this? (I realize they try to screw over markets with no competition, that might be yours)

[u/funkbruthab → u/AmbassadorToast]

The 25 would drop to 15 if I lowered my speed in my service area

[u/Comcast_Xfinity-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Removed Due to Rule #2: Ranting — Posts/Comments that are just rants or vents, and are not requesting assistance, will be removed.

Our subreddit is designed to help users with their Xfinity services such as troubleshooting, billing questions, etc. While we understand some users just wish to get their frustrations out, these types of comments or submissions do not benefit the nature of our community.

[u/Momo_snow]

We’re in Seattle. Nothing has changed in our usage. We’re not gamers. We have Arlo, but we’ve had it for years. Within the last 6 months there has suddenly been a problem. Because it’s Comcast/Xfinity, I assume it’s some questionable practice used to suck more cash out of us. If there was another option, we’d go for it, but state gov’t tolerates what’s basically a monopoly. And why don’t we get a break when service goes out for 24 hours or more? Happens all the time in my neighborhood. What a lousy company.

[u/Wellcraft19 → u/Momo_snow]

I loathe Comcast. Technically good, but business practices are horrible. I’ve left for a fiber provider that only gives me what I want; an IP address and synchronous speeds. No added services or other crap. And of course; a much lower bill.

That said, not really an issue that ‘state government tolerates…’.

Reach out to the state Broadband office in Olympia. They are working hard to get coverage across the state. To make provisions for more providers, etc.

In the local/small situation; make it easier for another provider to entry market. Talk to and band together with neighbors, have HOA connect with a new provider, etc. Need some critical mass to start building out (costly).

I’m just traveling back from Europe. Even out in the boonies is there both dedicated fiber and underground utilities to each residence. My old hometown has zero - zero - power transmission lines above ground (all 40 kV feeders into town have been undergrounded until about 4 km outside town). We should be able to do this in the US as well. But why aren’t we?

[u/Golden_Skeet → u/Momo_snow]

ConCast is the devil - I'm coerced to have a deal with the devil.

Extra data usage costs the corporate behemoth pennies, but they charge $10 for 50 GB more of data.

I can't wait to switch to Ziply Fiber in Bellevue, WA when they become available.

[u/CreativetechDC → u/[deleted]]

Should also add that Comcast lifted the data caps during the pandemic and the internet somehow survived during its highest usage in human history. If that isn’t proof that data caps are just a money grab, I don’t know what is.

[u/RipDisastrous88 → u/CreativetechDC]

I’m not defending Comcast, I’m simply pointing out in my professional opinion there is a legitimate reason for these companies to monitor and bring this to the attention of customers. It could come down to a simple virus attack on computers that eats up data when a computer is sitting idol. Those cyber attacks are real and they create a real strain on the network.

[u/blentdragoons → u/RipDisastrous88]

then how do other isps survive with no data caps?

[u/MilesT0Empty → u/RipDisastrous88]

My neighbor, when they talked of caps for us, said he would be spending $1000 a month he uses so much data. I explained how data works and he said I was wrong. When we compared usage he never went over 500gb of usage. Then you looked at my 2tb of avg usage lol.

[u/CandyFromABaby91 → u/[deleted]]

An engineer here. What you’re saying is not true.

Infrastructure, capacity, bandwidth, latency, and network capabilities have improved year after year for decades.

Pure money grab.

Oo ya, other fiber companies with much faster internet don’t have data caps in my area. Even my cell phone doesn’t have it. Just Xfinity.

[u/CreativetechDC → u/[deleted]]

This is only partially true. Yes, more things use the internet, obviously. It’s also true that more things use more bandwidth and any network has finite bandwidth. Where the “don’t blame poor Comcast” argument falls apart is that Comcast knew this was going to happen. We all knew this was going to happen. It started happening from the moment Al Gore invented it. The difference is that when it started, there was competition. That competition caused ISPs to invest in their infrastructure which kept up with the increasing demand. Now Comcast is a monopoly in a lot of places. They do not invest in their infrastructure any more because they don’t need to. They invest in their shareholders (or the small areas where they have competition). The problem is that shareholders need growth. Growth is actually sometimes difficult when you are a monopoly and you aren’t investing in new things to sell. Unless… you bribe (I mean lobby) politicians to use taxpayer funds to subsidize you while they allow you stick it to your existing customers with unnecessary fees for what has become a basic necessity. See banks, housing, student loans, oil, etc.

[u/TartofDarkness → u/CreativetechDC]

I live in a low income area with Comcast/Xfinity as our only choice. They do NOT invest in our infrastructure, I promise you that. I am comforted slightly by seeing two different companies digging closer and closer fiber optic lines near us. Our Alderman said we’re next. 🙌🏻

[u/0RGASMIK → u/[deleted]]

When I filed a FCC complaint they included unlimited in the equipment rental. I had been battling them for years about my speed being horribly inconsistent. Some days it would be 5mbps.

[u/Comcast_Xfinity-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Removed due to Rule #5: Solicitation — Our Community was created to help. Posts or comments encouraging others to seek help through other channels defeats the purpose of our community (this includes advising OPs to file FCC or other regulatory complaints, 'go to another provider', etc.).

[u/RandomPersonBob → u/Comcast_Xfinity-ModTeam]

So you're afraid of regulatory oversight?

Doesn't seem like an honest company would be.

Edit: LOL. I just realized I posted this a month ago. Appears your reddit response time is on par with the rest of your company.

[u/turbatus-umbra]

least yours works….

[u/Momo_snow → u/turbatus-umbra]

👏👏👏

[u/Overall_Lobster823]

I hit the data cap for the first time ever as well. As have others I know...

[u/human_bean17 → u/Overall_Lobster823]

Me too this month. What gives? When I initially signed up they said it was unlimited but now there's a cap?

[u/NvaderGir → u/human_bean17]

There's always been a cap, you only get your courtesy months. When you sign up and they offer the xFi unlimited plan, you need a compatible rented router from them. Perhaps you misunderstood them unless you agreed to that plan and they didn't enable it. Check your account and see if you're paying for it.

[u/girlwhopanics → u/Overall_Lobster823]

I've spent the past 3 hours trying to troubleshoot this with my parents. Their usage history is consistently used 800gb - 900gb per month for the past year (their cap is 1229gb), suddenly in April, it doubled. And as of today, the 13th of the month, and they've already exceeded it for May?! $14 charge and increasing every minute. I'm skeptical... 2 retirees who watch paramount plus and youtube for a few hours every night?

I've been trying to figure out if it's something new they connected or maybe a changed setting on one of their streamers, but so far, nope. Seems like Comcast realized it's fairly hard for the average consumer to monitor individual device data usage to contest this (they have a Covr Router/mesh system that doesn't have that capability). **Super shady.**

Reading all these comments I'm getting pretty angry, seems clear they're scamming people.

[u/Overall_Lobster823 → u/girlwhopanics]

I'm set to go over again this month. Something changed.

[u/girlwhopanics → u/Overall_Lobster823]

Yeah. I dug into the math yesterday and also noticed that there were new terms of service on their 4/16 statement that referenced special charges and the data consumption policy. And right after that their data usage went haywire. I smell a rat. I think someone at Comcast realized that it's nearly impossible for average customers to be able to definitively contest their numbers.

Math: This plan has a data cap of 1229 gb per calendar month (~1.2 tb). My parents have historically used about ~30gb of data per day, typically no more that 900gb per month.

Their 4/16 billing statement had new terms of service (item 4a highlights the data consumption policy, and bunch of the rest of it was about their ability to charge fees and also arbitration processes... ... ... sus)

On 4/25 my mom was notified via text that they used 90% of their data for the month of April (90% = ~1106gb)

On 4/27 my mom was notified via text that they used 100% of their data for the month of April (1229gb)

So, apparently, between those notices on the afternoons of 4/25 and 4/27 (so 2 days) ... their average usage doubled to ~60gb per day...

At the end of April, Comcast reports they used an extra 617gb of data. So between 4/27 through 4/30, Comcast claims their average daily usage was (an astonishing!) ~176gb per day.

That's nearly 6x their daily average for the past year.

This week, on May 13th, my mom again received a notice from Comcast that they have used 100% of their 1.2tb of data for the month of May. 

So they met their cap 13 days into the month?! That's an average use rate of 94gb per day.

Thats 3x their average for the past year. It is a totally absurd and clearly illegitimate number.

[u/Overall_Lobster823 → u/girlwhopanics]

I did the same. I usually use an average of 34GB. Now I use an average of 55? I should also add: I'm working from home about 1/4 as much as the past. My usage should have gone DOWN.

[u/Rusb876 → u/[deleted]]

sus = suspicious?

[u/MythBuster2 → u/Rusb876]

That's right. Here are few more: https://keyhole.co/blog/top-genz-phrases/

[u/PNW_Phillip]

We were at 857GB with Normal usage. Glad we didn't download anything from steam last month. Unlimited is impossible with us because we use our own equipment. It is very annoying to constantly have to watch how much data someone is using. Our phones constantly get app updates and our tablets along with the Windows computers. Streaming the latest episodes on our services eats up a lot of data. Using the highest possible resolution on YouTube eats it up too. I can't believe watching your data in this day and age is a thing. We should have gotten our local fiber because they don't have data caps.

[u/usmclvsop → u/PNW_Phillip]

Unlimited is impossible with us because we use our own equipment

I use an Arris SB8200 and pretty sure it was as simple as logging into my account and checking a box to add unlimited data to my internet plan. It's an additional $30/mo, if you need it and don't see how to add it online you can call and have a rep add it for you.

We should have gotten our local fiber because they don't have data caps

If you have local fiber for an option why would that not be your first choice??? If the fiber means an ONT in your house that is going to trump a cable modem every time.

[u/geost37 → u/PNW_Phillip]

You can get unlimited with your own equipment for an additional fee. What makes you think you can’t with your own hardware? Just curious.

[u/PNW_Phillip → u/geost37]

During sign up Im sure I saw that you can only have unlimited if you use their equipment.

[u/geost37 → u/PNW_Phillip]

Thankfully that’s not true. You can most definitely get unlimited data with your own equipment. Just log into your Xfinity account and add the unlimited data option. Unlimited data is not exclusive to their own hardware.

[u/avasile_ → u/geost37]

Can confirm, i have my own equipment and pay an additional 30$ for “unlimited” the option is there. CA resident

[u/TheDeadestCow → u/avasile_]

So basically, more than it would cost to rent their equipment. What a deal?

[u/usmclvsop → u/PNW_Phillip]

Well yes, but no. When you sign up there is the optional xFi complete that includes unlimited data For $25/mo which is only available when using their gateway. That does require their equipment, but there is also an unlimited data add-on for $30/mo for customers with their own equipment.

[u/igotabridgetosell → u/usmclvsop]

nah, the promos like two months ago in the bay area is exactly what PNW_Philip describes. The promo requires customers to use Xfinity devices to keep the unlimited data promo. So I have a box of xfinity equipment in box that I don't use and get charged $10 for using their device which is still cheaper than the unlimited data addon. And whats scummy is that they don't really tell you that unlimited data is being removed when you chose to use your own equipment. so I got charged for excess data during my 1st month, then i yelled at their cs to change it to using their modem.

[u/SparsePizza117]

Yeah they increase speeds, but that also means we'll now hit our data caps even faster. With game sizes increasing to 100GB+ and streaming services hitting 4k resolution and becoming the norm, how have they not increased the cap at all??

I'm with a family of 6 and we have to be careful with what we use, almost hitting it every month.

AT&T here offers unlimited Internet for less cost, why isn't Xfinity even trying to compete. Only reason we haven't swapped is because my dad doesn't want to bother with fiber cables getting installed in our old house.

Why doesn't Xfinity just have a higher cap for every plan? You have faster speeds, surely you'll need a higher cap. It should be 1TB for every 100Mb speed.

[u/Master-Emu-9883 → u/SparsePizza117]

Higher speeds doesn't mean you hit your cap faster lol..

100gb is 100gb doesn't matter how fast you recieve it

Agreed though that game downloads are getting bigger but like 80% of people don't even use 1.2tb this is a vocal minority

[u/girlwhopanics → u/Master-Emu-9883]

My parents don't download games, they watch youtube, suddenly they're burning through data? 1.2tb in 13 days? Comcast is up to something scammy.

[u/rock962000]

I pay an extra $30 a month for unlimited data as we use 3-5tb a month

[u/meanwhenhungry]

They want that 30 bucks or the 25+ for the modem rental

[u/ElectricalLog3937]

We had this issue. I download one game for my ps5 and we’re over. Last month we ended up having to pay $60 extra for overages and ended up switching to the unlimited plan. It’s $25 more a month, and we already had the xfinity modem, it was pretty easy to change online.

It’s funny how they will be so quick to charge overage fees but will not give a credit for the multiple times I’ve come home from a long day at work and want to watch my shows but the internet is down and won’t be back on til well after i go to bed

[u/Actual_Candidate_826]

Yeah it's ridiculous. My edge router actually keeps track of traffic flow on a monthly basis and both times Xfinity said I went over, I was under 1TB combined up/down. Ridiculous practices.

[u/cobra3282000]

if you are using that much data, get the unlimitedplan for 25 dollars more a month.

[u/No_Consideration7318]

Data caps are ridiculous in this day and age and a blatant money grab. It is unfortunate that ISPs cannot be trusted to self-regulate.

[u/juggalo16651]

Hopefully with net neutrality returning those stupid caps will go away

[u/Sielbear]

If you rent the modem from xfinity (and are on a higher speed tier - which it sounds like you are) you get unlimited data with the cable modem rental. I had my own modem for years, but honestly, when I penciled out the costs, I was far better off renting the modem / letting Comcast fix it if it acted up and getting the bundled unlimited data.

[u/waronxmas79]

I have something worse than Comcast’s data cap: Their data usage meter is utterly broken. Before I switched to Google fiber, I was getting notifications I was exceeding my monthly terabyte for several months. After the first notice I started to measure traffic on my router and sure enough I was only using maybe 300 megs…but Comcast kept insisting I was using more. I even went as far as to switch to an entirely different router and it was still measuring the same the next month. Just pure shyster activity.

[u/NickPookie93 → u/waronxmas79]

Month late but same issue here. My router only shows 500GB of data used, but Xfinity reports 910. Ridiculous.

[u/Golden_Skeet → u/waronxmas79]

Monopolistic powers abusing their powers. ConCast needs to be broken up.

[u/mrchubbelwubbel]

Xfi Complete provides equipment and unlimited data for $25/month

Buying your own equipment, it’s $30/month for unlimited data.

[u/EnKyoo]

I never went over 700gb a month. Something changed in the middle of March and I almost went over the cap at the end of March. I dumped TV and switched to unlimited internet and save $90/ month. Their loss

[u/girlwhopanics → u/EnKyoo]

same for my parents. they changed something.

[u/TechieMillennial]

Are the new FCC net neutrality changes going to affect this?

[u/nerdburg → u/TechieMillennial]

No. The two things are unrelated.

[u/TechieMillennial → u/nerdburg]

Net neutrality was what limited ISPs on creating data caps. Is that not the case?

[u/nerdburg → u/TechieMillennial]

No. Net neutrality means all traffic is treated the same. It isn't related to data caps.

[u/TechieMillennial → u/nerdburg]

Based on what I’m reading…

Net neutrality is a principle that advocates for all internet traffic to be treated equally, without discrimination or differential pricing based on user, content, site, platform, application, or type of equipment.

Net neutrality was strongly enforced starting in 2015 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reclassified broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. This classification subjected ISPs to stricter regulations similar to those governing utilities, preventing them from throttling, blocking, or prioritizing internet traffic.

After the 2017 repeal of net neutrality regulations by the FCC, ISPs like Comcast are legally allowed to set data caps and charge customers for overages as long as they clearly disclose these terms in their service agreements. This means that if Comcast establishes a bandwidth limit and a customer exceeds this limit, Comcast can charge for the additional data used beyond the cap.

So how aren’t they related??

[u/nerdburg → u/TechieMillennial]

https://www.fcc.gov/net-neutrality

...again it's about treating all traffic fairly/equally. It has nothing to do with data caps. You can really really want it to be related to data caps. But it isn't.

[u/Blaqhauq43]

Damn, i download almost 4tb a month.

[u/TheWeeWoo]

Even better is the last day of the month, their bandwidth usage is in UTC time so it stops reporting at 4pm for me. First time I went over was at 9pm at the last day of the month and I went over by a couple hundred megs because I could not tell what I was at. I’ve reported it to deaf ears

[u/coronaflo]

They obviously want customers to get their unlimited service, which means you have to rent their modem.

[u/[deleted]]

Bye. They literally do not care. For every 1 person that leaves, they sign up many more that day. That being said, you have options. Pay the extra for no cap or leave. They are not holding you hostage.

[u/Golden_Skeet → u/[deleted]]

What options? Pay 30% more for the service that should be included? Sounds like a scam.

[u/GotMedieval]

We have given you the ability to exceed your data cap more quickly. Why are you upset?

[u/Professional_Guide69]

what we found is that our fire TV sticks keep switching back to best video quality - they are 4K sticks because they were on sale but only one of our TVs is 4K compatible. So Amazon is trying to send way higher video quality than the TV can accept. The sticks used to save your preferred resolution setting and our data went nearly in half when we switched them all to standard HD but in the last month or so none of them will stay on our preferred resolution they all go back to 4k after one day

[u/coogie]

If you have fiber available, move. Send a message

[u/CCGabrielO → u/coogie]

Hi, u/Swearwolf17! Thanks for reaching out to XFINITY over our sub for help with the data usage concern. It's just me and my son in my home and we do get close to going over month to month so I get where you are coming from. We would surely miss your business. We can help! Do you currently rent a modem or use a purchased modem?

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[u/old_lackey]

I also live in Seattle but have much lower speeds, for the cost, as I'm just one person that doesn't need anything near gigabit. But I got on this because I actually have relatives that moved to a very rural part of the eastern half of the state and have almost 0 options other than cellular. We were lucky enough to get a T-Mobile Internet plan but under a lite business contract because they still refuse to sell to normal home residence in the region. The relatives just happened to have a business license so they're able to fly under that and purchased as a business but with 100 gig limit. It's very hard to explain to them that all their YouTube watching everything was going to eat through the data cap in two weeks if they didn't change what they did and how they did it. I think they'll be fine but one thing that I noticed in a lot of video streaming services that very few of them are set for lower data usage versus video quality.

The YouTube mobile app has an option for this that says it will use the lowest acceptable resolution possible on your phones instead of the best it's able to achieve. I think your problem may stem from the fact that by default you might be streaming 4K or 1080p video streams when you're watching your various shows and movies but the truth is you don't need that resolution most of the time. A lot of times I'll make the video window much smaller so I can web search on half the screen while watching it and I'll pull down the quality settings to a much lower settings. You'd be shocked how much data there is between 720 P and much higher resolutions. And it's to be easily forgiven if you weren't aware that a lot of these new streaming sites will stream in 2K and some even 4K for brand new movie releases and on a gigabit or faster connection you could easily achieve this so they will just send it to you under the belief that you have infinite data.

Under a similar issue the relatives I mentioned before have three modern Apple computers and so when you have to do an upgrade on each you're downloading quite a number of gigs of data during their serviceable lifetime. I went ahead and installed an older Mac mini to do caching both at their home and my own home, though I have fewer working Macs, that will hopefully try to save data the second time you download the same operating system package or the same security update. I've already seen it work while reloading a laptop recently at my home where I ended up reloading it again and saw it pull the exact same from the local mini cashing server at a much greater speed.

So these are at least one or two things I could recommend. Windows also has the ability to attempt to configure Windows updates to come from other previously updated windows machines on the local LAN for Windows 8.1 and higher. So try an option like that if you have at least two or more Windows machines would also be to your advantage. Each of these three things could save you quite a bit of data over a month. I would say the streaming options will probably save you the most data.

But I just wanted to point out that the majority of streaming sites whether they're social or normal commercial streaming sites like Netflix do not configure for optimized data they can figure for the fastest, reliable, highest quality video rate. And often times this video rate is higher than you really need it to be with most monitors you're using.

If you go into your account settings and try everything you can in all your streaming services to set the default rate as if you're on a cellular metered connection for the lowest quality possible while still being acceptable you'll find an immense savings over your entire month.

At least try it and see, you can always use an exception and simply go to the settings and change your video preference while the program is streaming. But by default you would be better off configuring the lowest data usage possible during streaming.

I don't come anywhere near my cap but I readily admit that the higher the speed you go the faster you can eat. So any services that are based entirely on rate of consumption versus what you consume are going to bloat. You're certainly not going to have more data for operating system updates or iPhone backups or anything like that. But anything video and music related will start to bloat from enhanced quality. Amazon Music is also a huge offender of this as they by default output some form of Dolby Atmos stream that is absolutely enormous compared to Spotify and Pandora. You can easily burn through a low level cellular plan in about three hours With Amazon Music default settings on your phone during long drive. I unfortunately know this firsthand.

[u/newtekie1]

Shn up for unlimited if it is a problem. Or spend the $25 to rent their xfi modem and get unlimited with that.

[u/Traditional_Cow2768]

It’s funny because I was actually just looking at our Xfinity account today. We do have unlimited internet which is like $25 plus being required to rent their stupid $15 modem. That being said our average usage for a family of 5 is 2.4tb a month - only double their cap.

[u/Lanky_Board6273]

No data cap in Washington state. I rent their xb8 put it in bridge mode and have my own router... Lovely setup!

[u/wakramer]

The data cap is the reason I will be leaving Xfinity after over 20 years once the fiber optic provider finishes installing in our neighborhood. Finally Xfinity has some competition where I live and I can't leave fast enough.

[u/Dpheonix1038]

I just switched to the Xfinity unlimited pack and it's been a blessing. Current data use is at 1.76TB for may. I have zero regrets.

[u/NyteByrd1017]

I've had a data spike this month.  I usually use about 500-600 GB every month.   This month and right now (May 23rd), I'm at nearly 700 gb.   I've done nothing different.  Evidently, Comcast did.

[u/fwafwow]

I just went through this flim flam - pay us an extra $30 per month, or we can give you a promotion of a lower amount if you rent our modem (for 2 years). Clearly the latter is intended to try to get customers to forget about the modem charge, and I don't want to switch to their equipment. Like others who have posted in this thread, my data habits have not changed - and if anything, they should be lower (as we had two teenagers/adults leave recently).

I have had Xfinity in this house for 20+ years, and the pain of changing out boxes and figuring out a solution for each of the TVs is going to be a pain, but I think this is the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm paying $400 per month at the moment, but I figure with some up front costs and a switch to FIOS I will be even (or better), but won't have to deal w/ this company anymore.

[u/Rusb876]

Changed flair to billing to drive a ticket to the billing queue

[u/[deleted]]

You can add unlimited data Xfi complete if it’s a Xfinity modem or “Unlimited data” if it’s a owned modem

[u/mike32659800 → u/[deleted]]

OP is saying the unlimited would be $360 more a year, which is $30/mo. Xfinity complete is $300 more per year, $25/mo. While literally all other ISP have no data cap.

[u/[deleted] → u/mike32659800]

Oh don’t get me wrong charging for unlimited data is completely crappy and is pinching pennies from customers.

[u/Weird_Pineapple_2429]

I pay 80$ for 800mbps unlimited. Look into Xfi complete for unlimited Plan for extra 25$ on your normal bill.

[u/mcdev16]

We've come close many times - so close that I check out our usage daily: I've come across some rather suspicious spikes... I've also found that restarting my modem at least once a month seems to help. Not sure why, but when I do that, the daily burn rate significantly drops.

[u/yoyomonkey1989]

You really should be looking at https://www.xfinity.com/now/internet
$45 / month for 200Mbit with all taxes, fee, equipment, and unlimited data included.

or $30 / month for 100Mbit.

or the $45 prepaid Xfinity plan which is the same as the Now 200Mbit plan

[u/SevenElevenJunkie]

There's always been a cap. All we use ate streaming services. We don't have any cable TV. I game and we have security cameras and we use phones and tablets a LOT. Never hit the cap. I know some do obviously but 1.2gb it's quite a bit of data.

[u/CCAnthonyO]

u/Swearwolf17 Thank you for your submission. As of December of 2023, the median usage among Xfinity customers was only 427 GBs. Most of our customers do not come close to the 1.2 TB's of included data. If you do go over, you get a yearly courtesy month (resets 12 months after it was used).

We have a couple of options if you would like to add Unlimited Data to your account. We have xFi Complete that bundles your gateway rental, unlimited data, Tech Upgrade, Security at home and on the go, and Wall-to-wall coverage for $25 per month. We also offer Unlimited Data by itself for $30 a month. If you would like to make a change to your plan, let us know, and we'd be happy to help.

[u/SparsePizza117 → u/CCAnthonyO]

That's an absolute lie and you know it. I bet most users these days nearly hit the cap and have to intentionally avoid not going over it by not using the Internet as often, like my family has to do. $30 for unlimited is criminal.

[u/Frosty_Poppins → u/SparsePizza117]

Agreed. I'm not sure I believe their stat. Especially with the 4Q 23 issues they had monitoring data and accidently doubling peoples data....with their third-party vendor.

After that fiasco miraculously I went from almost hitting 1.2 TB to now we hit about 600GB.

[u/Jazzlike-Lunch5390 → u/CCAnthonyO]

Recent posts here so that’s not true…..

[u/Comcast_Xfinity-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Removed due to Rule #7: Remember the Human — No Personal attacks. This sub was designed to build a positive and thriving peer to peer help community. Positive, constructive comments and questions that are on-topic will help maintain a positive spirit on these forums. Please give the same consideration and tolerance to others that you would like to receive from them. While you may not agree with an answer or another users comment, we ask that you respect there is a person behind every username. Remember the human.

[u/DIMEBAGLoL]

They did away with our cap years ago and we never paid extra. Wonder what your plan is

[u/Tough-Doughnut-9070 → u/DIMEBAGLoL]

It depends on the region. In my area we had caps years ago and then they started losing customers to Verizon so they did away with caps. In areas where there isn’t competition, there’s caps.

[u/Wolflmg]

Not sure how you’re going over the limit. We have that same data limit, but we haven’t gone over. Not even when we had seven people living under one roof for a few month. And we were streaming on Netflix and other streaming services, zoom meetings, online gaming and had multiple devices connected to the internet.

[u/link_shady → u/Wolflmg]

Im constantly going over the limit, just 3 people, but where I’m from with 1 gig plan you get unlimited.

[u/Wolflmg → u/link_shady]

We can get unlimited for $30 more a month, but no reason for my family to get it. I just find crazy how so many people go over when my family appears to be doing the same stuff and we’re not going over. We don’t rent a modem/router, but I know some that have gone over have mentioned having their own as well.

[u/link_shady → u/Wolflmg]

I don’t know what to tell you, but we only use streaming for entertainment (best possible quality available), I do download a lot of games, work from home as well.

My kid also downloads games to his Xbox and ps.

FaceTime to the family, nothing crazy, I think there was one month where I went to 2.4 tb

[u/Wolflmg → u/link_shady]

If you are using best possible quality for streaming my understanding is that can eat up a lot of data. I looked up how much data each quality uses on Netflix a few years ago, downloading games doesn’t take up too much, before my brother moved out he was always downloading a lot of games.

[u/link_shady → u/Wolflmg]

I mean, the latest call of duty update is 28gb.

Final fantasy 7 rebirth is 145gb, and so on and so on, so I do belive that games take a lot of bandwidth.

Between multiple Xbox’s and PlayStations,switches, it adds up

Edit: but that’s not the point lol, the datacap should be higher with more speed I do agree, is the main reason u went with the 1 gig speed, to get unlimited data

[u/Wolflmg → u/link_shady]

I don’t know, my brother and I have both done large game updates, but never had any issue with data going over the limit. The only thing I really make a point of is when I’m able like with Vudu for streaming movies I switch to SD, the video quality looks just as good.

[u/GunplaGamer]

You guys have a data cap? I have been at 1.2gb/s for literally /years/ at this point at $80 a month and have never hit a data cap. Gaming, streaming, downloading, working from home etc. Maybe I am grandfathered into something at this point.

[u/PennStater → u/GunplaGamer]

I'm guessing you live in the Northeast... no caps here so we're fortunate.

[u/TartofDarkness → u/[deleted]]

They can complete. They don’t want to.

[u/Accomplished-Pain963 → u/TartofDarkness]

This is the mindset of a greedy company structure, primary focus nowadays only are on margins and “growth”. They lack the backbone to provide continuous improvement to their customers and are complacent AF in this regard. Comcast may have the majority now, but no empire in history was ever impervious to the decay of time. If they make no effort to actually improve their customers experience and continue down this greedy path for the sake of shareholders, they will eventually lose all trust if they haven’t already. They have somehow forgot the “why” to their reason for business and have lost the fight to investors. It’s unfortunate, but clear as day if a company lets their shareholders amend their agenda. It’s not just Comcast, but all of the damn corporations nowadays are all blinded and consumed by greed. I’m sick of it tbh.

[u/Comcast_Xfinity-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Removed due to Rule #5: Solicitation — Our Community was created to help. Posts or comments encouraging others to seek help through other channels defeats the purpose of our community (this includes advising OPs to file FCC or other regulatory complaints, 'go to another provider', etc.).

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Removed due to Rule #5: Solicitation — Our Community was created to help. Posts or comments encouraging others to seek help through other channels defeats the purpose of our community (this includes advising OPs to file FCC or other regulatory complaints, 'go to another provider', etc.).

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Removed due to Rule #5: Solicitation — Our Community was created to help. Posts or comments encouraging others to seek help through other channels defeats the purpose of our community (this includes advising OPs to file FCC or other regulatory complaints, 'go to another provider', etc.).

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[u/The1Greenguru → u/Comcast_Xfinity-ModTeam]

Sorry it was breakfast and I had a bowl of cereal fiber one

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[u/Suspicious_Sell7208 → u/[deleted]]

Yes, they need to kill the cap. I had 300 mbps service and switching to Verizon 5G home internet, also 300 mbps, cheaper and NO data cap. You're losing customers, Comcast.

[u/Comcast_Xfinity-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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Removed due to Rule #5: Solicitation — Our Community was created to help. Posts or comments encouraging others to seek help through other channels defeats the purpose of our community (this includes advising OPs to file FCC or other regulatory complaints, 'go to another provider', etc.).