I usually connect my PC to the internet using my phone's hotspot. I have GlassWire installed on my phone to monitor data usage. Recently, I noticed that after booting my PC and leaving it idle, it consumed about 150 MB of data in just 20 minutes, even with no browser open. Then, shortly after that, data usage spiked to 280 MB over the next 5 to 10 minutes while the PC was still idle. When I left the PC idle for an additional 30 minutes, it only used about 10 MB of data. I checked, and there were no Windows updates occurring. The PC is the only device connected to the hotspot. Also, I installed Bitdefender yesterday and ran a scan. Could that be affecting my data usage? Any insights would be appreciated!
2 Answers
A lot of background processes on Windows can use data without you realizing it. For example, if you have cloud services like OneDrive syncing, that can eat up data. To manage your usage better, head to your network settings and set your connection to metered; it might help a bit, though it's not foolproof. Also, if you're sporting an NVIDIA GPU, you might want to do a custom install for your drivers since they can be data-hungry too. Just the nature of the cloud-based world we live in! Good luck!
Honestly, 150 MB isn't a huge amount, especially after boot-up. Windows and its programs often check for updates frequently. For instance, Windows Defender could update its definitions multiple times a day, along with updates for your apps. Sure, you can set your connection as 'metered' to limit some automatic downloads, but using Windows while on a limited hotspot can be tricky in the long run.
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