nighthawk excess data usage

[thingamajig]

hi , i have just brought a nighthawk m2 router .  my data usage has quadrupled . i just browse forums ,ebay and news . no downloads of videos,music, u tube.all antivirus , updates ,cloud services are off. i have used 3 GB in 2.5 days which is a bit under my usual average monthly usage . why would this be ? thanks...

[schumaku]

@ArodiD can you assist here? Vaguely remeber that some M2 loop downloading the new firmware wht can lead to hitting data limits.

A moderator will move this to the Mobile Routers, Hotspots & Modems section please, too.

[ArodiD]

Thanks @schumaku for alerting me to this post.  The device checks for a firmware update once a week which is the same across all our devices so I do not think this might be contributing to the excess usage.

Hi @thingamajig ,

Whilst you are not using your M2 do you still have other devices connected such as PC, gaming console or other smart device?  Even though you are not physically using the device it may still be running background programs or apps which could be chewing into your data.  A good test is to either switch the device OFF or place it into standby when it is not in use.

Regards,

Arodi

Community Team

[thingamajig]

all apps  and background services are off as fare as i can control

[ArodiD]

Hi @thingamajig ,

I would suggest contacting your carrier and ask them to perform a billing investigation.  They should be able to tell where the charges are coming from.

Regards,

Arodi

Community Team

[thingamajig]

thanks for replies , i am in contact with carrier and trying to solve this problem . iam not the only one  having this problem "google nighthawk excess data usage " and you will see lots of posts. hopefully it is something simple to rectify

[ArodiD]

Hi @thingamajig ,

Our investigations so far show there is no excess data usage issues specific to Nighthawk devices.  Please keep in mind that these devices are custom solutions for the carrier(Telstra in the case of MR2100-1TLAUS) and goes through thorough carrier testing and certification prior to going on sale.  Carrier testing has also proven there is no excess data issues.  Please keep us posted on the outcome of the billing investigation.

Regards,

Arodi

Community Team

[thingamajig]

i have since found , that when i start pc/modem, first thing in morning , there is a constant flow of data, at a rate of 540kbs to M.home with no apps open ? . i let this go for 15 mins and nothing changed , used 7MB until i block app with firewall and then unblock which halved the flow as the day goes on it seems to get less  , without constantly monitoring it. iuse pc intermittantly and always turn wifi and modem off because of this problem . i have even resorted to turning modem on to wcdma only in settings . how can i stop this traffic  to M.home

[ArodiD]

Hi @thingamajig ,

m.home is the webUI interface which is local.  This would not be eating into your data plan.  Even if you do not have any open apps your PC will have a number of background apps which maybe connecting to the internet to check for updates or login (MS office updates, skype, OneDrive etc).  Who is your ISP and how are you monitoring your data usage?  Is it Telstra and usage is being monitored via the usage meter on screen?  I have since left a device overnight with nothing connected and my data usage has not increased since the test started.  I will run it for one week and report my results.

Regards,

Arodi

Community Team

[thingamajig]

hi aro , i know some apps / system use background data. i have disabled apps auto updates and suspend microsoft updates until near the end of my monthly data allowance . i dont know a lot about PCs , but i downloaded glasswire app and this shows what is using data and amount  of. i have blocked EDGE , and some other apps as far as i can . i use firefox. last night after i closed down browser i checked glasswire and it showed a steady stream of data by M.home.the only way i could stop it, was by turning modem off. will try and uload screen shots or link to imgur if i can .  https://imgur.com/7msqbU8    https://imgur.com/2YbpAMI

https://imgur.com/ALiLRHq    .     thanks for replies. dennis

[ArodiD]

Hi @thingamajig ,

Thanks for the additional info.  m.home is a local connection and is not going outside to the internet.  m.home is basically the URL to access the web user interface of the Nighthawk M2 to access settings and such.  I do not think this is a contributing factor to excess data usage. 

To give you some additional confidence that I do not believe it is the Nighthawk M2 that is using up data when nothing is connected I have been running some checks on 2 different devices on the Telstra network.  Both services have access to Telstra data usage servers so gives you an accurate reading of what is being used on the account.  After 4 days of having no devices connected I have observed that my usage has remained exactly the same.  For example Day 1 the usage was 2.59 GB and on Day 4 it is still 2.59 GB.

Regards,

Arodi

Community Team

[thingamajig]

hi  Aro ,

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@ArodiD wrote:

Hi @thingamajig ,

 m.home is a local connection and is not going outside to the internet.

Community Team" this image https://imgur.com/7msqbU8  shows modem  data external /local usage. " nothing is connected" i dont think i said that i said no apps running .here  https://imgur.com/9mmiHvJ  is another link that shows M.home running in background x2 hosts , no other processes,no apps ,no browsers,no wi fi and this one is after i pulled usb out and plugged it back in to try and stop M.home traffic  .

here  https://imgur.com/Aq6nmWf   is where i turned modem off using stop/start button .at 12;18 .

here https://imgur.com/7uE60AK  is 1 min later M.home still running

and here   https://imgur.com/wC8Wr4V  is todays [5-7] data usage after 2hrs;07 mins after checking my telstra ac [5.4mb]  , log into your forum [4.9mb] and upload images to imgur [3.8mb] =14.1 MB the other 2.5 mb is services etc .And MOST important of all , IS, no M.home, for for the whole time as you can see. The reason WHY , is because i got permission from telstra to try sim in my old modem [sierra 320U ] . I would have used 10 X this much data with the nighthawk doing the same . "I do not think this is a contributing factor to excess data usage."  well i do, and i think i have proved it IS your modem . now i have to convince telstra that modem is faulty in a way.

maybe you could write some new code that will flash M.HOME of the face of the earth so NETGEAR cant steal my data .. i rest my case. [i think]. regards dennis...

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[ArodiD]

Hi Dennis,

I can organize for your device to be replaced so we can take a closer look at your device.  I will PM you with details.

Regards,

Arodi

Community Team

[thingamajig]

hi aro , i tried to re post images, failed,it seems imgur wont let me link to PNG pics. i then tried to delete post ,and failed . i will still try and post images thank you.

[thingamajig]

another try at posting pics , i just altered the extension on them if they work, open them in relation to my earlier post links ie 12345. if not maybe a mod will delete this post , as i cant .maybe pm me an email address so i can send them that way . i think its important that you see them and title.thanks  dennis..

1>https://imgur.com/VymWDTn

2>https://imgur.com/6Wdt7RW

3>https://imgur.com/CL1Eh54

4.>https://imgur.com/6JuzqCf

5>https://imgur.com/2SoypCP

[ArodiD]

Hi Dennis,

If the mobile broadband connection is disconnected you will not have internet access meaning no data would be coming out of your data bucket.  The app seems to combine both local/external usage.  Your local usage is at 58.7 Mb which  is the 2 x m.home connections if you do the calculations.  There is about .3 used up somewhere else locally.  Please refer to my PM regarding replacement device.

Regards,

Arodi

Community Team

[thingamajig]

hi ,aro "If the mobile broadband connection is disconnected you will not have internet access"

 [ i have tried the  quote button , but must be doing something wrong ] . I realise this but what i was trying to explain , is i was shutting down .  All apps off except for glasswire in task bar,

the modem gave the  flat battery message . I turned wi fi off ,ie ,no devices . connected usb lead to charge  , held modem button down for few secs, got the shut down now message ,it done the usual shut down  . then i got  2 displays 1-was modem dissconnected [took pic] . 2- was battery charging [pic] . i then decided to open glasswire app .  M.home x2 still running [took  pic ] . obviously data was still going through usb lead even though modem said dissconnected .definitly no wi fi devices on.

 As for local usage , i dont really understand this , all i know is, up to now i have left pc on inet connected since11;35 am to now [10;12 pm] and my usage is total = 38.4 MB 

external = 37.9 MB  and local usage is  484 KILO Bs . not 58.7 MB . this is with 320U modem btw ..thanks ..dennis...

[n3t]

Has this problem been solved yet?

In order to find out if the router itself creates mobile traffic, the obvious test would be to let it run without connecting any other devices to it, neither over WiFi nor through the Ethernet port.

The router has a display that shows the amount of data that has been transferred. If this number keeps increasing without anything connected to the router, it must be the router.

Or what am I missing?