Different data usage numbers in My Account -- which is correct?

[Eriotto]

On the "Usage" page under My Account, I see that I've used 278 MB this billing cycle:



But when I click that and go into the detailed "Data records" page with daily and hourly breakdowns, the total given at the bottom is 256.99. And the numbers given for each day since the billing cycle began add up to about 256.99 (not exactly, but just rounding errors).

So why does the summary page say 278? I've been watching it for a few days and it seems to stay about 20 MB above my actual usage. With a low 400 MB cap, 20 MB is significant.

Also, which number is used to decide if I'm over for the month or not? I hope it's the actual usage and not the inflated one.

[NFtoBC]

I can't access a daily breakdown, possibly because I have unlimited internet, but what total do you get if you round each day's data to the next whole number?

There is also a discussion at the link below about reserves. Although it is about cell phones, possibly a similar action is happening with fibre-based internet as well.

http://forum.telus.com/thread/54351/category/Phones_Mobile_Devices/board/Mobile_Devices/our-data-usa...

I'll lay odds your bill will match the daily numbers you see in the detailed Data Records.

[Eriotto]

I'm talking about my phone, not internet. That explanation you linked to of the "reservation" is pretty much exactly what I'm seeing. Today I've used more data but the difference between the summary total and sum of all the daily breakdowns is still almost exactly 20 MB.

I'll keep an eye on it and post the results at the end of the month. I compared my two previous bills to the "previous cycle" and "two months ago" records on My Account, and the amount I was billed was the same as the total of the daily breakdowns. So it's probably nothing.

Thanks for the reply.

[Eriotto]

Oh, and rounding each day's number up still doesn't bring me anywhere near an extra 20 MB.

[NFtoBC]

Glad the link helped. Sorry about the confusion over the service. I dealt with some internet overage questions recently, and missed the category this was posted in. 

[Eriotto · Accepted solution]

No problem. I appreciate the help.

Update: I turned off cellular data on my phone last night at 6 PM. It is now 6 AM. I just logged in to Telus My Account and the summary total now shows 263 MB! This is the same number that was 278 two days ago in my screenshot and 283 when I checked at 6PM yesterday. So I guess with the phone disconnected, the reservation was released and the extra 20 MB disappeared.

The things you notice when you pay attention...

[NFtoBC]

The things you notice when you pay attention...

Yes, truly amazing.....

Glad to learn your conundrum is resolved.