Extreme extra data usage on 3GS with iOS5 :(

Deleted my iCloud account and my usage went down from 25+Mb/day to <5Mb/day.

I'll reinstall to see if I just had a bad install, or whether iCloud is really faulty.

If it is, then I'll do without until they come up with an update.

Deleting icloud will surely fix the problem. But some of us do want to use icloud and it is possible that we could get to a finer grained solution than simply deleting and signing out of icloud.

For instance I have switched off the cellular option in document and data and am heading for 8mb per day rather than 20mb. Still far too high. So my next step is to turn documents and data off completely and see what difference that makes. I'll report back later.

I suspect Apple will never admit to this as a bug otherwise they will open themselves up to compensation claims for all the excess data that people have been charged for. I predict there will be a bug fix release that fixes that battery power drain problem that just so happens to fix the 3G data problem at the me time (but it won't be mentioned)

I've turned off all the iCloud services but still have it installed. My data usage dropped to it's normal amount. There's no question turning off Docs and Data will save you even more. It was an expensive upgrade and is it coincidental that it comes about at the same time that the unlimited data plans are canceled? Or is it really a bug?

Hello,

As we are affraid to be potentially impacted in the company I worked for, I've called Apple on this topic. However they are not aware of this issue, though I've mentionned their forums talk a lot about this.

Therefore, I strongly recommend that people with this issue call apple care to mention this problem and open a case, provide print screens, etc.

They have mentionned though that the issue with the battery under iOS5 is being addressed and a fix should be released in about 2 weeks. Let's hope it is linked and it will fix both...

Regards.

5.0.1 hasn't made much difference though it is early days.

I put my test results into a thread - search for

Tests for increased 3G data usage

This is a constructive reply to you to let you know that Unfortunately you won't be able to see the results of what data usage over 3G I experienced. I posted it a short while ago but The forum people removed it because they said it was a poll. I should have just posted my results and I don't know, maybe just asked if anyone had a method to reduce the data - which I am still wanting to find out. I suspect it was mainly because they didn't appreciate a satire post I did today since the so called poll stayed present until they took offence to my satire. There seems to be no way to appeal since it is a non-reply email address they use so this post may be the only way I can let them know that I apologise for the satire post and I will keep to serious issues that can't be construed as non constructive rants or complaints. It's a bit harsh to remove the factual data that I had collected for my 3G data usage simply because I asked other users what their data was. There are messages saying to disable Docs or disable Find my iPhone, but none of them are supported with data, whereas I had collected 5 days of data to allow people to see which icloud features were costing more 3G data than others.

Is it due to Exchange ActiveSync?

Since this allows emails to sync over the air, including 3G, is there a phenomena where it is only people using exchange that are experiencing the 3G increase with icloud? That's me and the other 3 people in my company using ios5 and seeing the increased data usage.

Just a suggestion that arose out of another user saying that icloud does not even use 3G data once the Data and Docs 3G option is off.

Mark

My own personal experience is that my data usage spike came immediately after doing the iOS5 upgrade. It took a couple days of turning diffferent things off to finally get my data usage to stop. I left Find my iPhone on, although I dont' know why. I'd already set it up with the iOS4. I turned off ALL other iCloud services. I didn't change my 3G setting at all, it's on. With Cellular data turned off, you will at least be warned if the operation you are trying to perform needs it turned on.

Check your location services and be sure to scroll down to the bottom where they added system services. There you will find that by default, your phone is checking your time zone, your compass settings and a bunch of things that you may not want to be paying for. My usage is back to normal.

Also my phone is the 4, not 4S.

So what was the main thing you turned off to help?

I just spent a day going through everything - all the location and system services, one by one.

Headline is this:

iCloud (with all its switches off) consumes 3G data all the time wifi is unavailable.

It can be around 2k every 10 seconds. Easily reaching 20MB over a typical day with typical time away from WiFi.

The only way to stop 3G data consumption is to delete the icloud account from the phone.

This is with 5.0.1 on an iPhone 3GS 16MB. (Black :)

This took a day to test because I switched off everything else one by one and it had no effect, until I deleted the icloud account. So I removed all the location services, I deleted a load of my subscribed calendars, I removed the Reminders that were linked to my email account. I took off everything I could manage and there was no effect.

I have an experiment that is really easy to reproduce Wherever you are:

Switch off wifi so your phone is only using 3G

Go to Settings, General, Usage, Cellular Usage

Press Reset Statistics to get cellular data sent and received to zero

Go back a screen

Count to ten

Press Cellular Usage again

Look at the stats now and it will have gone up by anywhere from 1 to 20 kBytes

Repeat this by going back a screen, waiting, and returning to the cellular usage screen.

Each time your data usage will go up by that amount.

I tried this out for a long time, switching something else off each time, and usually switching the phone off and on too, to ensure the thing I switched took effect.

I left icloud till the end, though switching off the icoud settings was the first set of tests followed by switching off all the location and system services.

It was only when I deleted the icloud account from the phone that the data consumption stopped. I left it then for minutes and got no further increase. Leaving it longer caused some increase due to checking mail over the air, but nothing like the rate with icloud on.

I then added icloud back to my phone and ran the test again. Data consumption as back up to its high level and only stopped when I deleted the icloud account again.

I'm in no doubt now that having icloud signed in on the phone is what's caused my 3G data usage to rocket ever since I installed iOS5 (and 5.0.1)

If anyone has any further insight into this, or even if you have repeated my test above, with same or different results, then please do let me know.

I have been on the phone with AT&T and the customer service rep's are clueless that there is a problem. We have 4 IPhones 3 where on the 200MB plan and 1 on the 2GB all of which have downloaded the new IOS 5 and since the new update we have all exceeded our plans. AT&T's answer is to upgrage the 200MB plans to the 2GB plan but even the 2GB is going over the data plan this is costing me mega bucks. Apple needs to inform AT&T of this and refund us for the extra expense. Has Apple admitted that this is an issue? We have deleted ICloud but in my eyes this is only a temperary fix.

I just checked today after a week of use on our 4 other phones (2x3GS, 4 and 4S) that don't seem affected at all. Some with icloud switched on. No other clue or common setting that would let me see why my phone is suffering.

Although switching off icloud helped on my phone, it's not the whole story.

Leaving the phone longer and it still racks up 20mb per day or so.

So I've been switching things off and deleting programs bit by bit checking as I go. All to no effect. I'm wondering if the bug is in the subsystem that reports 3G data use! Will check with my service provider and follow up the problem with them too by looking at my data records.

Nothing had any effect. Everything off and I ended up with no apps but the built in ones. It still ***** up 3G data.

I've now had to reset back to factory settings and start again setting it up as a new phone. Now it's just a phone - how odd. Interesting to see how it all got setup without iTunes though.

Now running more tests to check3G data use and will add things back one by one.

iPad still misbehaving in same way - 85mb in a day. Had to switch data off since I can't have this going bad on me while my iPhone is nothing more than a mobile phone.

I didn't swear - it should refer to sucking up 3G data - ***** up data like a sponge

I have been on the phone with AT&T and AppleCare regarding this problem all month and no one seems to have heard about this problem or understands what it could possibly be. I'm an iphone 4 user who only once went over 65% 200MB data usage in a month. I beat that within the first week of my new cycle this past month. My habits have not changed, and I turned off all the location services etc. that might have been running as a result of the ios5 upgrade. When I deleted iCloud from my phone (after stopping document stream, photo stream, etc.) all of my contacts disappeared and I was left with hundreds of unlabeled numbers. I panicked and reinstalled icloud which states on the very icloud settings page that it will not exhange data unless it is "plugged in, locked and connected to wifi." I was worried that the usage could be due to the new imessage which was turning my phone texts blue instead of green even when I was not close to wifi. I'm now over data usage for the month even though I turned off my cellular data 48 hours ago.

I called AT&T for the third time this month and explained that I could not possibly be responsible for such high data usage as I only ever really check my email (without any attachments!!) on my phone. They seemed quick to offer a one-time forgiveness for this month, but I clearly do not want this data overage to continue.

Last I spoke with the AppleCare representative, she guided me to restore the phone to factory settings (which she claims normally fixes bugs like this) at which point I did and backed up from the iCloud, which leaves me reluctant to delete iCloud as it was the thing that put the info back on my phone. I can't report whether or not restoring helped at this point as I'm keeping cellular data off until my next billing cycle.

With so many people having an issue, I'm disappointed that Apple is completely ignorant to the problem.

i've read this whole post carefully. i know i'm NOT your run of the mill iPhone 3GS user since i hardly EVER check my Mail with it, or go online, etc.... basically i use it as a phone alone.

this way, i was ALWAYS able to get 4 days out of a full battery charge - AT LEAST !

now on iOS5.0.1 my battery drains before my eyes as i look at it !! this is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE !

since officially no Apple employees read through these forums , at least in an official capacity.. my suggestion is to drop a line to Apple on their Feedback page, if enough of us do it, then Apple will have no choice than aknowledge THERE IS something weird going on & something that needs addressing REAL FAST

this is getting pathetically BORING to have to charge my phone every few hours, not to mention the fact it WILL shorten battery life since it's using up needlesslyhow many times a battery CAN or WILL take a charge before dying altogether

PLEASE guys, do it HERE : http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

I believe that Apple has copped to the battery usage problem. Luckily it hasn't affected my iPhone 4, but the data usage did. The 5.01 update did not fix the battery usage and they are working on that.

As far as the data usage, I have used nothing above my normal <10kb since I turned off cellular data and those ridiculous system service notifications. I did not uninstall iCloud, I just turned the stuff off. The only month I even came close to using up my data, was Oct when the iOS update was released. I feel like I have control back over my phone, finally!