Unknown data usage early morning

The data usage times are not in real-time. I know this for a fact. It might look like large amounts of data are being used at a certain point in time when, in fact, these totals are aggregated at the discretion of the carrier. They could be from the last 3 hours or the last 24 hours and represent a lump of data that was used over a period of time.

Well, here's a good sign- I was camping last week, away from cell phone coverage, and had my phone in airplane mode the entire time. I did not get any data usage during that time.

On the other hand, DataMan says I've used 10meg for the month, but ATT says I've used 17meg. Small potatoes, and I'm not even close to my limit, but I'm still concerned it doesn't match.

I have been following this discussion for some months now as I also HAD this issue where my phone was totally randomly using data when it should not have been. After trialling MANY different possible 'solutions' (none of which solved my issue) - I made one single change which I believe has the key to the root cause. I no longer use Apple Mail - I have switched to the GMAIL App and my data dissolving issue has disappeared. Now I had noticed that often with Apple Mail that it would 'hang' while completing it's processing (sometimes I had to reboot to get it to stop). I believe that this 'hanging' was affecting the data usage and ticking over at the same time. I am totally comfortable with the GMAIL App solution (as I run in Google Apps) so would recommend that those of you having an issue - try this and see if it makes a difference. The app is free and you have nothing to loose!

Update: AT&T Refund For Mystery Data Charges

Our son has an iPhone 4s, and we ran into the same "mystery" data charges early this year. In addition to the large hits that always occur around midnight (allegedly due to "rollups" in the AT&T billing system) we were charged for data use while our son was in the hospital for a few weeks -- with the iPhone turned off and no battery power. These charges were obviously bogus, not due to the usual explanations offered by AT&T Customer Service. After 5 calls and escalation to a supervisor, they refunded all of the overage.

Based on all of the good info in this forum, I found that keeping the iPhone on the charger all night PLUS turning on "airplane mode" eliminated the big midnight 'rollups'. This was good news, but begs the question: Why did the rollups vanish -- if they were really 'rolling up' data from the previous day? The same 'rollup' should have appeared again later, but did not. There appears to be a problem with AT&T's billing system.

I also found that some iPhone apps appear to gobble data -- unbeknownst to the user. For example, (1) TextFree constantly pushes ads including images. Even if you pay the 'no ads' fee, the TextFree rep told me that this simply 'hides' the ads. The images are still downloaded and related data charges continue. (2) Turn off auto-backup to iCloud, as others have noted. (3) If your iPhone is turned off and a 'social media' app is not accessed for a a few weeks, you may be hit by a significant data charge when you reconnect -- and updates from all of your 'friends' are automatically downloaded.

There still appeared to be a problem with phantom data charges, however. So.. when our son went to Peru this summer and then to camp -- without his iPhone -- I installed Dataman Pro and logged all of the data transactions on AT&T's website vs Dataman. Surprise! Despite powering down the iPhone, data charges still appeared on AT&T when our son was away, that were not recorded by Dataman. The midnight 'rollups' were gone, but new data transactions appeared. The volume was reduced compared to earlier this year -- but we were still charged for 'overage' that did not make sense.

I called AT&T again and heard the familiar list of explanations. The Customer Service rep quickly backed down, however, when I walked through the dates and evidence. Similar to the problem early this year, he offered a refund.

I also upgraded to the 3Gb data plan (only $15 more per month) because some of the people on this site said the 'mystery' data charges went away with the upgrade. (Interesting -- pay more and the problems go away...) Again, I will be watching the Dataman Pro and AT&T logs, and will let you know what I find.

Bottom line, here are four recommendations: (1) Connect your iPhone to the charger at night AND switch to "airplane" mode. See if the 'midnight rollups' disappear. (2) Remove apps that automatically push/pull data. (3) Log all of your data transactions in Dataman Pro and export your usage reports from AT&T's website, so you can check the details -- which will definitely help if you need to demand a refund from AT&T, and (4) Don't give up if you call AT&T Customer Service and receive the usual litany of explanations. Patiently but firmly describe the issues you found, and point to specific data transactions that are suspicious. Ask to speak to a supervisor if you do not receive an appropriate refund.

I hope this long post is helpful. I will let you know what I find with the new 3Gb data plan.

Mark Hays

Mark, very nice post. Very inciteful. This has been such a headache for me and thousands of AT&T users. There have been many good posts on this thread. There has been only ONE COMMON DENOMINATOR...those experiencing these problems are all AT&T users. Have we heard from any Verizon or Sprint users on this topic? I have been scanning the Internet on this and have not come across one from a different carrier. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Maybe we all have a particular Application in common?? Does everyone here have he facebook ap installed? How about the att app? Maybe it's cause by a native app that's only on AT&T iPhones? Maybe we all have the same virus on our phones?

The puzzling thing in my situation is that my wife has the same iPhone 4s on the same operating system and her data usage is about 1/4 of what mine is... Per AT&T. AND she still has iCloud installed and on and is still having her email pushed to her iPhone.

I spoke with apple today and she recommended that I backup and then restore as new. After that, I will have to see if my data consumption is still through the roof. I then can slowly reinstall my apps. Seems like a lot of work for me.

I came across the same problem and there is one thing I found that gave me some hope of resolution. I haven't confirmed that it solved anything yet but I thought I would share it anyway in case you wanted to check your settings and try it out.

Go to Settings > iCloud > Documents & Data and switch the "Use Cellular" option to OFF.

This could explain many things. Since these "Documents & Data" are app dependent the amount of data transferred is going to vary by user and their particular set of installed apps. Apple now allows app developers to have their apps back up data in iCloud which is turned on by default. You can turn this off per app in iCloud settings under "Manage Storage", I think.

At the very minimum, users with limited data plans should turn this "Use Cellular" feature off because as noted before, during the night, while you sleep, WiFi is automatically switched off and I'm assuming these apps still keep trying to send "Documents & Data" to iCloud, so it ends up using your Cellular Data.

I recently turned this "feature" off and will be monitoring my sleep-surfing midnight data usage to see if it helped.

I realize this thread is now up to 125 pages, but does anyone new here read any of what has gone before?

1) This problem is not AT&T specific, and has even occurred in other countries.

2) This problem has been around since long before iCloud services.

3) The phone stays on wifi when plugged into a power source. Most of us charge our phones overnight.

Since my initial overage, which may have been a rogue app, the MyATT app, I have only had phantom data use once, and that was a 10MB hit at the same time I sent a text. No rhyme or reason to that one. I deleted MyATT, installed DataMan Pro, shut off cellular when home, and only turn it on when needed. There is clearly a bug in the works somewhere, and I suspect it is an Apple problem. Good luck getting them to fess up. I'ts a relief to use my wifi only iPad!

I would try turning iMessage off if you have an SMS plan. If you're not sending sensitive stuff there's no reason to have a text message charged against your data.

And yeah, reading 125 pages can be pretty daunting and would require a longer attention span than most of us have.

Oh and a lot of people don't charge their phone every night.

You are absolutely right. You must turn off cellular data. It's the only guaranteed method to avoid overcharges. It was AT&T that told me to do that (after a $200 overage one month). Since being careful to turn off cellular data when I have wifi, I've had no phantom data.

rlasten - neglected to say that I don't use iMessage. Never have, never will. I have unlimited text/sms. The text I sent wasn't sms anyway, and there is no way to know if there was any relationship with the data usage. It was a really freaky thing that DataMan Pro alerted me to. Maybe DMP took its time reporting, and it was usage from earlier in the day. I was away on vacation, so that's a possibility, though I didn't recall doing so at the time.

I understand that there is an ongoing and upcoming data crisis on the way. There is no way these data Packages will keep up with the technology's increased demands. I downloaded data man for .99 and hopefully this will help me gauge my data usage. It's frustrating... We actually need to turn off data on my phone when I don't actually use he Internet or apps while on data network. I use up my data package just by turning it on. So basically, I am using my data just for iMessage and occasional Siri. I no longer use my data for a accessing safari, Facebook, maps, espn, or weather. So remind me again why I am paying for cellular data? What's the point??? I would be happy just receiving sports scores and emails. But right now I'm not even getting that. I'm not sure what I'm getting for my $30 /mo Data package. I turn data on and leave it alone, I go over 300 mb in a months span. I AM WASTING MY MONEY! for nothing.

Once my bill cycle renews I plan on restoring my phone as new, turning on 3 g, and then seeing if I have a Data issue still.

I can't believe this has not been addressed by apple or att.

Lawrence - Oops! I meant it wasn't mms anyway, and I've got unlimited text/mms.

Scotwlcx - Don't use iMessage! Do you not have wifi at home? Siri isn't an issue for me as I have an iPhone 4. I know from 2+ yrs experience, that I can use Safari, Facebook, Mail to my heart's content and only hit around 130MB. And that's when I'm camping for 2 weeks with no wifi. Normally, I take advantage of wifi at home and where ever else it's offered, and use data as needed. The thing I've found that uses the most the fastest is Maps, but even then, I close the app when done, and I'm fine.

To Sk8Dreams:

I appreciate your post, but a few clarifications:

> This is an AT&T issue: iPhone users with Verizon cell service in the USA apparently do not have this problem. As noted throughout this forum (and in my posts) AT&T also refunded 'phantom' data charges when we complained and offered proof -- the best proof that AT&T recognizes the cause of the data usage issue. (There may be similar reasons for mysterious data charges in other countries, with other cell carriers.)

> WiFi vs cell at night: As noted in a number of posts in this forum, an iPhone will revert to the cell connection if the charger is not plugged in. If your electrical power connection is interrupted, e.g. by a thunderstorm, this can also be an issue. The best option: plug your iPhone into the charger overnight AND set it to "airplane" mode, to disable cell connections.

Your recommendation re the MyATT app is interesting. This may be another phantom data consumer, similar to TextFree and iCloud.

Mark Hays

MHays - I would have to spend some time looking, but I was convinced that AT&T was to blame, until I saw evidence otherwise. It's possible that Verizon users don't have the issue because their phones are CDMA, whereas AT&T (and most systems in other countries) are GSM. I hadn't thought about that before. It may be a clue - if any of the powers that be are actually interested.

I don't ever use Airplane mode unless I'm on a plane. Why disable wifi? I just turn off cellular data.

MHays wrote:

To Sk8Dreams:

I appreciate your post, but a few clarifications:

> This is an AT&T issue: iPhone users with Verizon cell service in the USA apparently do not have this problem. As noted throughout this forum (and in my posts) AT&T also refunded 'phantom' data charges when we complained and offered proof -- the best proof that AT&T recognizes the cause of the data usage issue. (There may be similar reasons for mysterious data charges in other countries, with other cell carriers.)

Not true. Verizon users report data usage problems also, just not specifically "early morning". The early morning is due to the way AT&T's billing system works; data gets accumulated and posted at one time.

The really important test is to determine if your data usage as recorded on your phone matches the data usage on your bill or when you log in to AT&T's web site. If they match you are really using the data. If the AT&T is much higher then there is an AT&T issue, and those are the cases where AT&T will sometimes refund.