Bandwidth usage across Windows and Android

[stevenrw]

We've had a few changes here at the homestead. Her 'indoors has bought her first Android Smartphone, I/we have changed from Sky To Virgin TiVo (for TV Only, still with IDnet for BB) and I've bought an android tablet (Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1).
We've also upgraded to FTTC (IDNet Fibre Lite)
Now, I seem to be getting more regular warning emails from IDNet about bandwidth usage and possible 25gb usage overrun.
There's been so many changes that its difficult to pin down where the usage is coming from. When we just had Windows machines plus Sky the only time we'd hit a spike was due to watching a movie or Catchup TV on our Smart tv, so we could easily establish where the usage was coming from.
Now, 'cos I'm still getting to grips with the Android devices I am struggling to establish what is gobbling up bandwidth. Its not at an alarming rate but it is triggering cautions from IDNet.
So...2 questions for you all...
Is there a monitoring program that will track across the two platforms to establish which device/program/app is using the data
What should I switch off on either/both android devices to conserve unnecessary data usage. The phone is switched to 3G, not wireless btw.

[Simon]

If the phone is on 3G, and not connected to your wireless network, then it can't be that that's using your IDNet connection. 

[Steve]

It's almost certainly streaming video that's consuming bandwidth,don't forget that with FTTC once you start watching the stream within a few minutes it's downloaded the whole stream whether you choose to watch it in it's entirety or not. Also the bandwidth usage projection is inaccurate for the initial few days of each month, when the average can easily be skewed one way or the other.


Regarding the phone mine is set to 3G but will preferentially use wireless if it's available. I can of course turn WiFi off.

[stevenrw]

I'd agree with you Steve about the streaming causing the spike, although I didn't realise that the system downloaded the whole thing initially, I thought it just buffered, so thats a learning curve for me, thanks for that.
However, the catchup tv through TiVo comes through the cable, not via the internet, thats one of the prime reasons that led us to switch to Virgin.
Having said that, I now recall that I did play around with their TV Anywhere service which I thought was also via cable and then via my domestic network, but this has proved to be incorrect, it is, effectively, internet tv, so that may well be the culprit.
I'll disconnect the RJ45 between the Tivo box and the router and monitor it carefully.
I'll keep you posted..
Thanks to everybody, as always, who responded.

[Glenn]

You can go into the setting of both Android devices (settings/data usage on a Nexus device, maybe different on a Samsung) and see how much data they are using. They will be updating installed apps, but that shouldn't use much data.

[pctech]

its in exactly the same place on a Samsung phone but I'd be very careful leaving it's Wi-Fi on permanently as apps are usually set to update automatically so it just goes and pulls down the updates.

As has been said, streaming services will use as much bandwidth as is available which is a downside to high speed allowance based connections.