5 ms·

Why is my unused Vizio TV sending gigabytes of traffic every day?

44 points by kirkouimet 6y ago

aaron695 6y ago
What about a boring, you are looking at the data usage for the wrong device? What's the logging graphic from? The uploads to downloads look like P2P. Not sure why it'd be asymmetrical though if you aren't managing it and what would it be storing on at that GB? Is there a hard disk in the TV?
aleister_777 6y ago
Interesting question and I agree. Also, what are you "unusing" it for exactly that requires it to have power?
- kirkouimet 6y ago
  Just have it powered on for my Apple TV, I never use any of the features of the TV, but I did connect it to the WiFi when I first set it up.
  - chadlavi 6y ago
    so you do use it to watch your AppleTV?
mbushey 6y ago
I don't understand what would possess anyone to hand over their wifi creds to a TV. Sounds like you should change your wifi pass.
mdorazio 6y ago
Well it's not just you [1]. I don't have any data to support it, but I'm personally guessing either it's a ridiculously massive update, some overzealous ACR, or they may have setup some kind of p2p streaming system for who knows what reason. If you don't want to turn off wi-fi to the TV entirely, maybe try disabling ACR [2] to see if that does anything. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/VizioTV/comments/96gtti/vizio_tv_using_data_overnight/ https://www.reddit.com/r/VizioTV/comments/96gtti/vizio_tv_us... [2] https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-smart-tv-snooping-features/ https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-smar...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
gentleman11 6y ago
I would be upset if my tv sent a single byte of information out. I use an old lcd and if it ever dies, I just don’t even know what we’ll do. Can you even buy TVs anymore that don’t spy on you?
- curtis3389 6y ago
  Yes. Sceptre is a good brand for dumb TVs.
  - gentleman11 6y ago
    Noted
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  You could just not configure the network on a smart TV if you can’t find a dumb one.
  - GoToRO 6y ago
    2 years ago with a Samsung tv: no network, no terms and conditions signed, no terms signed, the tv would always forget to use the same input it was using before restart (degraded functionality). I never tried to remove the network after I signed the terms, maybe it woul have still worked.
    - zamadatix 6y ago
      I only connect my Samsung TVs for firmware updates, seems to work fine pulling the plug after.
  - salawat 6y ago
    Actually, I recall articles which mention certain brands would look for nearby unsecured networks. All of that goes out the window if vendors start provisioning SIMs and use the cellular network. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't have some code for looking for undersecured networks capable of being exploited to derive credentials, though at least then you'd have grounds to sue under CFAA.
nosmokewhereiam 6y ago
Any .pcap data? Maybe we could see the domains being called?
gorkish 6y ago
You are using a Ubiquiti device that gathers ip accounting information from a slew of various devices on the network then tries to cram it all together into an overall view. It seems widely accepted that their statistics aren't that reliable. My system reported day that my sleeping macbook sent out 7TB of data. /Narrator: It did not./ Are you totally positive and 100% sure that this is even Internet traffic? Unifi will report all LAN traffic too. Some of those first gen smart TVs will spew untold amounts of multicast and broadcast in an effort to discover DLNA servers and other media devices. Anything other than speculative theories?

44 points by kirkouimet 6y ago

What about a boring, you are looking at the data usage for the wrong device? What's the logging graphic from? The uploads to downloads look like P2P. Not sure why it'd be asymmetrical though if you aren't managing it and what would it be storing on at that GB? Is there a hard disk in the TV?

aleister_777 6y ago

Interesting question and I agree. Also, what are you "unusing" it for exactly that requires it to have power?

kirkouimet 6y ago
Just have it powered on for my Apple TV, I never use any of the features of the TV, but I did connect it to the WiFi when I first set it up.
- chadlavi 6y ago
  so you do use it to watch your AppleTV?

mbushey 6y ago

I don't understand what would possess anyone to hand over their wifi creds to a TV. Sounds like you should change your wifi pass.

mdorazio 6y ago

Well it's not just you [1]. I don't have any data to support it, but I'm personally guessing either it's a ridiculously massive update, some overzealous ACR, or they may have setup some kind of p2p streaming system for who knows what reason. If you don't want to turn off wi-fi to the TV entirely, maybe try disabling ACR [2] to see if that does anything. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/VizioTV/comments/96gtti/vizio_tv_using_data_overnight/ https://www.reddit.com/r/VizioTV/comments/96gtti/vizio_tv_us... [2] https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-smart-tv-snooping-features/ https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-smar...

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

gentleman11 6y ago

I would be upset if my tv sent a single byte of information out. I use an old lcd and if it ever dies, I just don’t even know what we’ll do. Can you even buy TVs anymore that don’t spy on you?

curtis3389 6y ago
Yes. Sceptre is a good brand for dumb TVs.
- gentleman11 6y ago
  Noted
ashtonkem 6y ago
You could just not configure the network on a smart TV if you can’t find a dumb one.
- GoToRO 6y ago
  2 years ago with a Samsung tv: no network, no terms and conditions signed, no terms signed, the tv would always forget to use the same input it was using before restart (degraded functionality). I never tried to remove the network after I signed the terms, maybe it woul have still worked.
  - zamadatix 6y ago
    I only connect my Samsung TVs for firmware updates, seems to work fine pulling the plug after.
- salawat 6y ago
  Actually, I recall articles which mention certain brands would look for nearby unsecured networks. All of that goes out the window if vendors start provisioning SIMs and use the cellular network. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't have some code for looking for undersecured networks capable of being exploited to derive credentials, though at least then you'd have grounds to sue under CFAA.

nosmokewhereiam 6y ago

Any .pcap data? Maybe we could see the domains being called?

gorkish 6y ago

You are using a Ubiquiti device that gathers ip accounting information from a slew of various devices on the network then tries to cram it all together into an overall view. It seems widely accepted that their statistics aren't that reliable. My system reported day that my sleeping macbook sent out 7TB of data. /Narrator: It did not./ Are you totally positive and 100% sure that this is even Internet traffic? Unifi will report all LAN traffic too. Some of those first gen smart TVs will spew untold amounts of multicast and broadcast in an effort to discover DLNA servers and other media devices. Anything other than speculative theories?