Usage
Usage Monitoring provides a real-time view of your Internet usage. You can set a monthly quota and reset date and PeakHour will then track your usage, showing how much you have remaining.
The Usage Monitor view shows, at a glance:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Daily rate | The average data used per day this billing cycle, shown top-right (e.g. 142.3 GB / day). |
| Data used | The total data consumed so far in the current billing cycle (e.g. 1.5 TB Used). |
| Quota | Your configured monthly data allowance, shown top-right of the bar (e.g. 2.0 TB Quota). Set this under Quota below. |
| Progress bar | Fills as you consume data, showing usage relative to your quota. The marker indicates where your usage should be to stay on pace for the cycle. |
| Time remaining | How long is left before your usage resets (e.g. 3 days, 1 hour remaining in billing cycle), based on your reset day. |
Usage settings
Section titled “Usage settings”Configure Usage Monitoring under Settings → Usage. PeakHour tracks usage of the monitor designated as your Internet Gateway (set this with the Internet Gateway switch on the Monitors tab).
Enable Usage Monitoring
Section titled “Enable Usage Monitoring”Turns Usage Monitoring on or off. When enabled, PeakHour tracks your data usage against a monthly quota to help you manage your internet plan.
Billing Cycle
Section titled “Billing Cycle”Automatically Reset on Billing Date
When enabled, your usage resets automatically each billing cycle on the chosen Reset Day. When disabled, PeakHour operates in “pre-paid” mode — usage accumulates until you reset it manually, which is useful if you buy your internet in pre-paid chunks.
Reset Day
The day of the month your usage resets (e.g. the 1st). If you’re unsure when your billing cycle starts, check with your ISP.
Count Uploads Toward Usage
Some ISPs don’t count uploaded data toward your quota. Turn this on to include uploads in your usage total; turn it off to count downloads only.
Quota Type
- Anytime — a single quota that applies at all times.
- Peak / Off-Peak — separate quotas for peak and off-peak hours, for ISPs that offer a different allowance during off-peak times. When selected, you can also set the time window during which off-peak rates apply.
Quota amount
The amount of data included in your quota (e.g. 2000 GB). Set it to 0 if you have no limit but still want to track usage. With Peak / Off-Peak selected, you set an amount for each.
Notifications
Section titled “Notifications”Notifications alert you when your data usage reaches a threshold you specify. Click Add Notification… to create one, and add as many as you like — for example, alerts at 50%, 75%, and 100% of your quota.
Each notification has a Threshold and an Action. A threshold can be a percentage of your quota or an absolute amount (in MB or GB); the action taken when it’s reached is a macOS Notification. With a Peak / Off-Peak quota, you can set separate thresholds for each.
Actions
Section titled “Actions”Reset Usage to Zero…
Manually resets your tracked usage to zero. You can also reset usage by right-clicking the Usage Monitor area in the main window.
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