Suspicious Internet Usage Spike by Xfinity

I'm having the exact same issue! This is my past usage: Dec '24 29GB, Jan '24 11GB, Feb '24 11GB, March '24 43GB, April '24 416GB, May '24 897GB, and June '24 1222GB. So far for this month they're showing I've already used 363GB. I also get the 'we'll check into it and call you back' speech, but only crickets!

Hey there, BambooDragon, thanks for reaching out through Xfinity Forums regarding your internet data usage. I appreciate all the time you spent working on this issue and I can understand how important it is to ensure your data is correct. Have you been in contact with our Customer Security Assurance Team regarding the issue? They would handle any data disputes on their end as they have more tools to look deeper into the issue. You can file a claim at their website, https://internet-security-site-web.as-g7.cf.comcast.net/help/report-abuse or by calling 1-800-Xfinity (800.934.6489) and asking for the CSA Team.  

I can't claim to be an expert on anything Xfinity but I'll throw a suggestion out there.  You noted that the increase happened when you went to Xfinity equipment.  Can you determine if MOCA is active on your Xfinity gateway?  Do you have a POE (point of entry) filter where the Xfinity line enters you home (or directly connected to the gateway IF you don't need MOCA for Xfinity TV boxes or to extend your home network)?   I think you can get one from Xfinity or from Amazon for about $10-$15.  

I use MOCA to expand my internal network butI  have my own cable modem which is not MOCA capable.  I still installed a POE filter where the line enters the house.   My understanding is that Xfinity has limited (maybe no) security on their MOCA implementation so it would be possible that MOCA data from neighbor without POE filters is going through your gateway and not theirs. Maybe you are supporting their streaming habits?   I would think Xfinity would exempt MOCA communications between cable boxes and I'm guessing they can identify that somehow but that's way above my networking knowledge.

I had the same issue, sudden spike with no explanation and no change in consumption pattern. After 3 hrs of calls with six people at Xfinity nobody could fix the problem. 

The same thing is happening in my household. There has been no change in data consumption all year. Very low usage in the beginning of the year according to the Xfinity app, nothing in April, then all of a sudden it starts to spike in late May leading to a more than 10x data increase registered by Xfinity, but no change in our habits. Similarly strange that another person in Denver has the exact same data profile and problem. We have already paid for data overages as a result, but I think this is linked to the MOCA filter the tech installed June 11.

After doing everything to troubleshoot this, making many calls that were "escalated" but then never hearing back, I switched service providers after having Xfinity for almost 20 years. I even used to work for the company back when it was called TCI.

We took a vacation and I disconnected my modem yet, somehow I used over 500 gigs of data while I wasn't home and my modem was unplugged. The techs I spoke with on the phone all said the data seemed out of the normal range for me and "escalated" the matter. This happened six times and I received zero calls back. 

Yes I checked all my devices, changed my password and everything they tell you to do. Nothing worked and Xfinity provided no assistance. Fortunately there were other service providers in my area and I switched to a great new provider that is unlimited and half the price with good speed. I was paying around $128 a month for internet only, now I pay about half of that. 

What Xfinity appears to be doing is suddenly pushing people to pay for unlimited plans by suddenly and unexplainably showing an increase in data usage. You can find countless examples on the internet with the exact same pattern.

Another pattern I see is in these forums. That pattern is some bot or poor person answering comments by telling to contact them for more help. 

The reality is once they start this data rush on you, there is nothing you can do. Unplugging your modem for two weeks will still get 500 gigs plus. Your data usage will increase a measure each month until you hit a limit. To me this feels sketchy and unethical and after 20 years it pushed me away from Xfinity. However, I wish I would have done it much sooner. It would have save me thousands over the years. Look around for what other options you have, even satellite connections. You may have better choices who won't pull this thing then never return any calls. 

Come back to this post and see if it ages well. I am happy to wager that you will experience the same pattern I did. 

This was exactly the same experience I had.  I never went over the TB limit, not once, until last April/May when I wasn't even home.  No change in equipment or usage in our household.  I would get warnings that we were over the data a week or two into the month.  It's happened each month since.  April, May, June, July, August, and September I was paying $40 bucks more for NOTHING.  Customer service just told me to change my password.  Still an issue.  This is obviously a scam for more money and totally ethically repugnant.  I would drop Xfinity as fast as I can but the options in my area are poorly reviewed and I depend on Zoom for my business.  I hate giving them anything.  I am so disgusted and angry.

I too experienced a sudden increase in data usage and rather than fight the battle of customer care and lies about call backs I just paid the extra$30 per month as I had my own modem and router.  The extra fee got to me and I explored other options.  As a Verizon phone customer they offer an unlimited plan, no cap, no throttling at speeds of about 400Mb/s, for $45/month.  It is 5G technology and I had good signal strength at my home.  I used it on a trial basis, it is a gateway device, modem and router, not unlike Xfinity xB8. It did not come close to having the WiFi coverage of my old router, so used it in bridge mode.  Happy with it, I went to my local xfinity store, to drop my internet service, and retain my X1 video service.  Bottom line is that due to bundling removing my 1.2Gb/s service and retaining the video service reduced my bill very little.  The agent then offered a plan, using their gateway that now came with unlimited data usage.  My greed took over and the numbers were better doing it that way maintaining X1 TV, and the now unlimited data.  

I am lamenting my change somewhat as I am now stuck with the xB8 Gateway, which too has very poor WiFi coverage, and I am now operating it in bridge mode with my old router. So now I am at the whim of xFinity, since they have access to the gateway, as opposed to my older system where I owned the modem, and they had no access to the router.  To make matters worse xFinity still has their "pirate" Wifi channels active even in bridge mode so this is just noise on the network with competing signals. Yes, I know others have "solved" this by putting gateway in faraday cage. 

I will live with it for a while as others in the home enjoy the xFinity X1 video services and are reluctant to change.  If other ISP's in your area are offering a 5G internet service it is worth taking a look at especially if you just use video streaming services. 

I just looked up who holds the baton for bottom rung customer service and it is Comcast still so don't look for them to change, however some other ISP's are not rated much better.