Connect - Data Gobbling Issue?

[dmassey321]

Hi all. In my last posting string, I provided insight to our delivery and some of the quality issues with our new Classic 33FB.

One of the comments was that our Connect system just did not seem to be working well at all. I took our coach into the dealer this AM and one of my punch list items was a cable behind the Pepwave router (similar to coax but about half the diameter) that was not connected to anything.

They indicated that they would take a look. In retrospect on the drive home, I am betting that cable connects the router to the antenna on the roof. If so, it's no wonder the system did not work for us very well at all.

OK - so assuming that assumption is correct... The router, which is basically a cell phone... could it have been responsible for high data usage just because it was constantly searching for a signal? We only utilized the Connect service for 7 days. Mostly a few internet searches here and there and email. Twice, we watched a 45 min YouTube video. On the day we arrived home, we got an email from AT&T telling us that we had already used 86GB of our 100GB of data. Called them and they were zero help...basically said that's what you used so deal with it.

Only other thing I can think of - we installed a Nest camera but have not used it or accessed it's view that much.

[jayseejay]

Hi there. Just a thought, as a Nest camera user. If your Nest camera is turned on, configured with a Nest account, and connected to the Internet, it is likely uploading a video stream to the Nest server, which you would access from time to time to view video history. That continuous uploading process could explain your data issue, particularly if you have the camera set to record in HD.
Best,
Joe

[Joe15601]

Is your WiFi secure from others being able to use it? That seems like a lot. After 50 nights streaming some TV and typical internet usage, plus RV Whisper and Blink Cameras, We are at 327GB. We might stream TV an average of 2 hours per day.

[DKB_SATX]

One 45-minute youtube video is probably around 10 gig, so that probably accounts for 20 gig of your usage between the 2 videos.

Your device has to find signal and connect before it can use any data, so the disconnected antenna is probably not the culprit. Did you have multiple devices (your phones, e.g.) hooked up to the wifi in your Airstream? Depending on configuration, many modern smartphones will prefer to make calls over wifi than over the cell network, so voice calls, emails on your phones, etc. can all use up the bandwidth for your wifi in some situations.

[GetawA-S]

I can’t account for that much usage based on your description - many home connections wind up using 25 to 50 GB per month. Do your cellphones connect to the WiFi? Updates can use a lot of data.
Anything video - yeah! The nest camera probably uses a lot too.
But 86 GB?
You need to track the users, by app or device. Our cellphone settings/Wifi allows this. I wish I could tell you how to do the same on Connect, but I know nothing about it.

[dmassey321]

Originally Posted by Joe15601

Is your WiFi secure from others being able to use it? That seems like a lot. After 50 nights streaming some TV and typical internet usage, plus RV Whisper and Blink Cameras, We are at 327GB. We might stream TV an average of 2 hours per day.

Nobody else should have had access...I changed the password when I set it up and it's a fairly strong password.

[dmassey321]

Originally Posted by jayseejay

Hi there. Just a thought, as a Nest camera user. If your Nest camera is turned on, configured with a Nest account, and connected to the Internet, it is likely uploading a video stream to the Nest server, which you would access from time to time to view video history. That continuous uploading process could explain your data issue, particularly if you have the camera set to record in HD.
Best,
Joe

thanks...good idea and I will check. I am almost certain I have it set to low resolution...something I did when I was first setting it up because it would not work with the Connect wi-fi (likely due to the antenna issue). Given it's at the dealer for a week or two, I will check that when I get it back.

[dmassey321]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

One 45-minute youtube video is probably around 10 gig, so that probably accounts for 20 gig of your usage between the 2 videos.

Your device has to find signal and connect before it can use any data, so the disconnected antenna is probably not the culprit. Did you have multiple devices (your phones, e.g.) hooked up to the wifi in your Airstream? Depending on configuration, many modern smartphones will prefer to make calls over wifi than over the cell network, so voice calls, emails on your phones, etc. can all use up the bandwidth for your wifi in some situations.

We did have two phones connected and occasionally an iPad. That was in addition to my work PC which was almost 100% just doing email. We did have quite a few voice calls...well, I did due to work. Many of those calls were MS Teams with video...maybe that impacted it. I thought those calls would have been cellular vs wifi...if not, my bad.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by dmassey321

We did have two phones connected and occasionally an iPad. That was in addition to my work PC which was almost 100% just doing email. We did have quite a few voice calls...well, I did due to work. Many of those calls were MS Teams with video...maybe that impacted it. I thought those calls would have been cellular vs wifi...if not, my bad.

It depends on how your phone is set up. Mine are both set up to use wifi calling where available, so when I'm out in the Airstream I turn that off so they're not abusing my hotspot's quota. (In fact if both phones have reasonable cell signal I'll turn off wifi altogether in the Airstream, once I remember it, usually when I glance at the hotspot and wonder "why are there 3 devices connected instead of 1?"

2-way video with Teams can consume a fair amount, and I suspect that Teams makes different decisions about video quality when it's on wifi vs cell connection, etc. Though it *IS* a Microsoft product so it may just always use all the bandwidth it can grab. I'm pretty sure that Teams on the phone is ALWAYS going to default to wifi if that's on and connected.

[dmassey321]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

It depends on how your phone is set up. Mine are both set up to use wifi calling where available, so when I'm out in the Airstream I turn that off so they're not abusing my hotspot's quota. (In fact if both phones have reasonable cell signal I'll turn off wifi altogether in the Airstream, once I remember it, usually when I glance at the hotspot and wonder "why are there 3 devices connected instead of 1?"

2-way video with Teams can consume a fair amount, and I suspect that Teams makes different decisions about video quality when it's on wifi vs cell connection, etc. Though it *IS* a Microsoft product so it may just always use all the bandwidth it can grab. I'm pretty sure that Teams on the phone is ALWAYS going to default to wifi if that's on and connected.

Just checked the phone that I did the video calls on and it has wi-fi calling turned off. However, MS Teams is an APP ... guessing it is using wi-fi. I constantly get the warning message though to turn off video due to bandwidth while in the MS Teams product.

[wulfraat]

Originally Posted by GetawA-S;

I can’t account for that much usage based on your description - many home connections wind up using 25 to 50 GB per month. Do your cellphones connect to the WiFi? Updates can use a lot of data.
Anything video - yeah! The nest camera probably uses a lot too.
But 86 GB?
You need to track the users, by app or device. Our cellphone settings/Wifi allows this. I wish I could tell you how to do the same on Connect, but I know nothing about it.

86GB is nothing. Rounding error! Last month I used 1.4 Terabytes of data at home. I use about 100-150GB *per week* when on the road in the airstream. I have an uncapped / non-throttled VZ plan with cat 18 high speed modem LTE.

Everything is always on these days. My apple laptop, for instance, performs real-time replication with the cloud for backup. You edit, copy, move, breathe on a file, a copy is instantly replicated in the cloud. A simple powerpoint doc is 50MB. Edit thought the day... and voila... you've moved gigabytes across the network just editing one presentation. Data is constantly moving back and forth from machines. Anything connected these days is data hungry.

I run my own private LAN in the airstream. My Pepwave SOHO shows me exactly what devices are using what in terms of data and bandwidth. Video (Smart TV) is right there with MacBook as the #1 offender.

If you manage your own network with your own hardware, you can force throttle certain devices to manage their data usage with Netflix, etc... But what fun is that? Just wait for 5G to roll out

[dmassey321]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

86GB is nothing. Rounding error! Last month I used 1.4 Terabytes of data at home. I use about 100-150GB *per week* when on the road in the airstream. I have an uncapped / non-throttled VZ plan with cat 18 high speed modem LTE.

Everything is always on these days. My apple laptop, for instance, performs real-time replication with the cloud for backup. You edit, copy, move, breathe on a file, a copy is instantly replicated in the cloud. A simple powerpoint doc is 50MB. Edit thought the day... and voila... you've moved gigabytes across the network just editing one presentation. Data is constantly moving back and forth from machines. Anything connected these days is data hungry.

I run my own private LAN in the airstream. My Pepwave SOHO shows me exactly what devices are using what in terms of data and bandwidth. Video (Smart TV) is right there with MacBook as the #1 offender.

If you manage your own network with your own hardware, you can force throttle certain devices to manage their data usage with Netflix, etc... But what fun is that? Just wait for 5G to roll out

Holy Smokes! Do I ever wish I could come to Broomfield (nice place by the way) and get your help in setting up the right system! YOU ROCK! In the meantime, I would be happy if someone would just provide a simple, workable, step by step on how they swapped away from AT&T and flipped to another provider's SIM. At this point, I am ready just to go and replicate what I had in my prior Airstream - Weboost cellular amplification with a Solaris hotspot. Worked great.

Thor / Airstream - is anyone listening????????? I think this whole Connect system can be installed now by any dealer for big $$...hope there are very few unwitting buyers!

[overlander63]

When we go camping, and if we both use our "stuff" a lot, we go through 20-30Gb of data over the course of ten days or so. Last time we were at Alumapalooza, we used 18Gb between two phones and two iPads, watching at least one movie a night. Lots of web surfing and YouTube videos, which, by the way, are NEVER 10Gb unless you're watching 4k, which pulls too much data to stream via cellular data anyway. A 90 minute movie on YouTube is usually 400Mb or so. I'd suggest checking your smart TV, and see what apps it has on it, and how much data it uses.

[HappyHapgood]

Sorry for your frustrations. Here are a few thoughts.

1. I use a nest cam in our Airstream. It is ALWAYS sending video the Nest. It has no ability to store locally. It will consume a meaningful amount of bandwidth. I do not use the nest power supply (it’s just uSB). To avoid having the inverter on and simplify power usage, I plug mine directly into a USB port that right at my door. As I walk out the door, I plug it in. When I return, I unplug it. Saves bandwidth.

2. As to your question about changing providers... for us users of the Pepwave that do not have any connectivity to the factory installed Airstream services (you do), it’s a simple as replacing the second SIM card. For you... dunno. But it certainly won’t hurt to swap the second AT&T SIM card with the card of your choice (I also use both Verizon and T Mobile). Worst case is swap it back. Do note that it takes FOREVER for the modem to reboot. Like 20 minutes. Not sure which slot is for your “connected” services, but there are more than a few threads on the topic on this forum. Try it. Report back.

Matt

[ghaynes755]

If your setup has a free cable it is likely a GPS connection. Which isn't used in the Connect setup.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Here at home, we seem to go through about 600 to 900 GB of data a month. On the road, a typical month is in the 80 to 160 GB range. There's nothing fancy going on when we are on the road. No cameras running 24/7, no streaming a bunch of 4K movies. Simply logging in here on the forum and getting all the advertising video fed up to you is surprisingly data intensive .....

Bob

[Kawboy01]

I thought I saw something from Technomadia about the Airstream Connect an with AT&T being discontinued. Don't know if there is an option.

[zapper]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

86GB is nothing. Rounding error! Last month I used 1.4 Terabytes of data at home. I use about 100-150GB *per week* when on the road in the airstream. I have an uncapped / non-throttled VZ plan with cat 18 high speed modem LTE.

Hmmm. Ever get the feeling that you woke up one morning and the world just passed you by? I just upgraded my TV's in my 2017 30' FC to "smart TV's" and connected them to my "MiFi" hot spot and figured that was a jump in technology. Little did I know. I watched one movie and used 15GB and thought that that was a lot. It's like going hunting with a sling shot and needing a 30/30 rifle to do the job.

Between deciding to go with Lithium batteries or not and upgrading my "Wi-Fi" on a 3year old Airstream, is like a mosquito in a nudist colony and not knowing where to strike first.

Back to the drawing board to sort it out.

[Gansett]

I’m not familiar with AS connect, but I used to use a Pepwave router And remote antenna. Worked ok. Manual showed how to change data provider. However, I switched to WiFiRanger SkyPro 3. Rooftop MIMO CELULAR ANTENNA AND WI-FI MIMO ANTENNA AND ROUTER. It all connects to a small WiFi router inside by powered Cat5 cable - dealer installed. It allows use of either ATT or Verizon by changing the SIM card and one setting on the device administrator page. WiFiRanger was just purchased by Weinguard. Not sure how this will affect the excellent customer service. They have a poor customer service reputation ( I have one of their Sat dishes) I use ATT data on my cell phone account. Unlimited data for $20/ month. I have used over 130GB multiple months while traveling. I suspend when not traveling. Is this comparable to AS Connect?

[TikiRoom]

I saw something similar and it hit me we had cell phones connected to the network. usage was in now way consistent with data volume ATT showed. then it hit me. our devices are set to backup to icloud. this could account for the large data usage. I've not started to remember to turn off automatic back up and app updates when traveling.

may not be your issue but a real one when on the limited data plan.