Where is all my mobile data going?

[Sauced Hog]

So, I installed the winegard gateway on our 360+ and we have AT&T mobile data. The only plan available was 15 gigs per month for $25 adding 2 gigs for $10 when we burn through the 15. We're traveling and went through 15+ the first 3 days! Billing cycle started yesterday, so a clean slate. Campsite we stayed for the night has no wifi so I connected the TV and we watched a movie. It burned through 6 gigs! This morning it went through another 200 MB and I didn't have anything connected! I turned it off until I can figure out where the data is going? Will a Roku TV really eat that much? System is password protected so no one is stealing I think? Anyone have knowledge on data usage for the TV or how to minimize? Also, any good unlimited plans out there for the winegard gateway? Thanks
-Mike

 

[Soundsailor]

So, I installed the winegard gateway on our 360+ and we have AT&T mobile data. The only plan available was 15 gigs per month for $25 adding 2 gigs for $10 when we burn through the 15. We're traveling and went through 15+ the first 3 days! Billing cycle started yesterday, so a clean slate. Campsite we stayed for the night has no wifi so I connected the TV and we watched a movie. It burned through 6 gigs! This morning it went through another 200 MB and I didn't have anything connected! I turned it off until I can figure out where the data is going? Will a Roku TV really eat that much? System is password protected so no one is stealing I think? Anyone have knowledge on data usage for the TV or how to minimize? Also, any good unlimited plans out there for the winegard gateway? Thanks
-Mike

Six gigs does seem like a lot for a movie, I'm assuming it was streamed? There are network tools like Wireshark that can help you understand where the traffic on your network is originating from. Besides the TV, what other devices have you connected to the Winegard?

 

[WhittleBurner]

Video and gameplay can eat through data pretty fast also if you have a laptop set to auto update that can add to data use. I don't think anyone offers a true unlimited plan any more.

 

[Second Chance]

Streaming HD video can eat up to 3GB per hour. There's no way I would try streaming with a 15GB plan. This link is to a VZW calculator - but it applies no matter who your carrier is. Playing around with it can be an eye opener.

https://www.verizon.com/freedom/datacalculator.html

Rob

 

[Ynot4me2]

Some device will also check for updates and such in the back which will chew up some data. That could explain the 200mb

 

[alkbch]

Watching TV at 1080p resolution can use about 3GB per hour. If you watch at 4k resolution, it's easily double that. How many connected devices do you have in the RV? Phones, tablets, computers, Alexa, cameras etc... All of these can potentially use data.

 

[Riverbug]

We were also previously on At&t for 20 year with a very limited plan until we bought the RV last year and started traveling. Quickly realized how much data a person can go through. We ended up switching to the T-mobile magenta plan for our phones which we can hotspot to. That was less per month than At&t and they pay for our Netflix account. That gives each of our phones 40gb high speed and then unlimited but throttled (which is still usable but noticeable). And we still burn through it within a couple of weeks. So before we hit the road again, we'll be getting a TravelData plan and router which does provide unlimited unthrottled plans with T-mobile. We've been very happy with the coverage so far. Anyway, just to say that there are higher and cheaper data plans out there if you decide to look.

 

[ajg617]

We upped our Verizon plan (and lowered cost) after they finally gave DW her military discount - that took a year - but we also signed up for the Magenta Max T-Mobile plan with the DW going back to work remote part-time. Will be on the road almost 90 days this season.

But I also learned that data isn't always data. When the carriers say you get unlimited or XGB of data, that is not hotspot use - merely what you do on your phone. So if you want to stream to your phone and your plan has 'unlimited' data, no problem right? But if you want to use your phone as a hotspot and stream to another device, basic plans offer small amounts or none. Hotspot data is an add-on cost for a phone and easy to burn through. So, for example, we bumped our T-Mobile plan from basic Magenta 55+ to Magenta Max 55+. That raised our hotspot data allowance from 5GB to 40GB though both had 'unlimited' data. VZ did the same.

 

[Soundsailor]

We upped our Verizon plan (and lowered cost) after they finally gave DW her military discount - that took a year - but we also signed up for the Magenta Max T-Mobile plan with the DW going back to work remote part-time. Will be on the road almost 90 days this season.

But I also learned that data isn't always data. When the carriers say you get unlimited or XGB of data, that is not hotspot use - merely what you do on your phone. So if you want to stream to your phone and your plan has 'unlimited' data, no problem right? But if you want to use your phone as a hotspot and stream to another device, basic plans offer small amounts or none. Hotspot data is an add-on cost for a phone and easy to burn through. So, for example, we bumped our T-Mobile plan from basic Magenta 55+ to Magenta Max 55+. That raised our hotspot data allowance from 5GB to 40GB though both had 'unlimited' data. VZ did the same.

So if you have unlimited on the phone and want to stream movies, consider a Chromecast or similar device with which one can "cast" the content from their phone to the TV screen.

 

[Sauced Hog]

Six gigs does seem like a lot for a movie, I'm assuming it was streamed? There are network tools like Wireshark that can help you understand where the traffic on your network is originating from. Besides the TV, what other devices have you connected to the Winegard?

Nothing else connected. The TV wasn't even turned on this morning. I know streaming can eat data, but WOW!

 

[Sauced Hog]

Thanks for all the info everyone! Live and learn. Going to have to ration data or pay a premium price. Ugh!

 

[ajg617]

So if you have unlimited on the phone and want to stream movies, consider a Chromecast or similar device with which one can "cast" the content from their phone to the TV screen.

TBH, we haven't done much streaming at all. I have a 5TB HDD hooked to the USB port in the TV. But with the new plans we have free Netflix, Disney, Hulu, and more so not sure how this is going to work out.

 

[Casa_Woody]

Take a look at TownBroadBand.com. Been using the AT&T unlimited plan for about 3 mos. Anywhere from 20 to 50 Mb download speed using Ookla, Fast.com, and SpeedofMe. Averaging 200 to 250 Gig per month. I'm not using the Wineguard router, using a Mofi router. When not on the road, we use it in our home. It's faster than the local internet provider.

 

[Brian_]

If you're using an Amazon Firestick, unplug it after use. I left mine plugged in and it burned through data while not in use. Not exactly sure why, maybe the pictures changing on the home screen?

I tried to start remembering to unplug it and that didn't work. Cost me a bunch of money in data, so I bought an Nvidia Shield and now use that for all streaming. It's expensive, but if I forget to turn the Firestick off again and cap out data, it's basically paid for.

 

[Sauced Hog]

Six gigs does seem like a lot for a movie, I'm assuming it was streamed? There are network tools like Wireshark that can help you understand where the traffic on your network is originating from. Besides the TV, what other devices have you connected to the Winegard?

I made sure nothing else was logged in except for the TV. The only thing I can figure out is ROKU has a "live TV" option that gets broadcast networks from all over. Even if we don't watch them, I think it runs in the background? That and any updates the TV might be doing behind the scenes. I was really excited about having internet anywhere. I didn't know I was going to have to monitor usage I can't control.

 

[hartcentr]

If you have iPhones, go to Settings/Cellular. Scroll all the way down to the bottom and click "Reset Statistics". That will reset all of the usages to zero. Over the course of a week or two, you'll see where it is going.

Do it on both phones. You should be able find out if it is you, your wife, or both of you.

 

[rmcrowe]

I use a little travel router/firewall that i connect to my hotspot and connect the roku/firestick to that. The router has the ability to bandwidth limit by device and i set my tvs to just 750kb/s. This is around 350 megabytes per hour. The shows are all still very watchable at this rate, you can tell the difference if you are looking for it but for us its fine.