Unknown data usage early morning

Um, no Kensei, that is not why this thread is still going and what the issue is. There are lots of us who have had HUNDREDS of MBs of data "sent" from our phones when we weren't actively using the phone. I happened to be roaming internationally when my phone did this about 10 days ago and my phone showed 27MB data used and AT&T notified me a WEEK later by cutting me off saying I had over 400 MB data used at a rate of $5/MB and they are demanding literally THOUSANDS of dollars. "Not being billed"???????

It is NOT simply aggregate billing or data dumping.

Your post is pointless and antagonistic and should be removed.

BulaRae then answer this. Why isnt there other international data or roaming data users such as you are storming in and making the same claims? Or better yet that a buddy of mines goes occasionally overseas with an ATT international data plan without the same mishaps on his iphone? Didnt ATT already point that you should be paying attention to the usage online and not on the iPhone as we already know it does not report the same?

Not making up any excuses. If you think your being billed you have every right to question your billing. However I dont think the billing is coming from those wee hours of unknown data usages by ATT. More likely the usage with your iphone, push or App settings that constantly access data.

Kensei wrote:
WHY IS THIS THREAD STILL GOING?

As far as I know, this is the biggest issue there is. It affects how much this phone is going to cost me over a year and the difference can be nearly $200, or more if you roaming overseas. You can't use the phone right if you are afraid of going over your data.

I had a blackberry and switched. I expected usage to go up just because the iphone is not hooked up the same way as blackberry. (Mine does use HTML mail and google maps) I used between 12 and 30mb/month with a spike of 40mb going back 6 months.

I used AT&T's online usage estimator and came in way below 200mb.

My first two weeks of the iphone came to over 500mb and it was very, very similar usage. Same email, same google maps. I got billed $30 for that overage and am now paying more for data to stay safe.

Why so much data? Some of it was an email problem, which i fixed, but I still get hit with 3mb,5mb, 19mb and 30mb hits whenever I spend any time away from wifi. I don't have the mysterious data usage at night that others report. At least not often.

THAT is why I am still looking at this thread. This is a lot like the California smart meter fiasco. Denial until the groundswell gets big enough for them to finally figure it out and fix it.

I guess the question might be:

(a) Is there anyone on the 200 MB program that has had these nighttime transfers add up to more than 200 MB?

(b) If there is such a person, were they actually charged money for an additional 200 MB due to the nighttime usage?

The answer to these questions might clear up the whole mess.

Until there is a reliable resolution, I plan to keep my "Unlimited" data plan.

Kensei wrote:
WHY IS THIS THREAD STILL GOING?

Well, since you posted this "bold" question in response to my post, maybe I can work out a response!

We have known for months and there has been press on this issue already. It is evident that ATT runs maintenance and billing updates during these wee hours where most folks arent using their iPhones.

Its already been said that one isnt billed for the data. The only time you should be concern is if your paranoid or think your being billed for the data in which you probably arent.

An interesting perspective that conveniently ignores the posts IN THIS THREAD from users who in fact ARE getting charged for data usage far beyond what they had used previously! You know, those extra fees when you go over your limit? Yeah, those.

Here's more press from Gizmodo themselves also:
http://gizmodo.com/5599621/those-nighttime-iphone-downloads-are-actually-not-dow nloads

Its time to let these types of thread and put up more concerning threads that are actually related to iPhone issues.

That "press from Gizmodo" does nothing more than repeat the party line from AT&T. Period. The "explanation" does little to settle the issue in any way... If, that is, you believe even a small number of the posts in this thread w/regard to overage charges and the warnings that come before them (or in some cases, AFTER).

I think it would be great to have this thread closed, but there are some unresolved questions and people getting charged overage fees who can't understand how this is happening.

Is this thread really taking away from "more concerning threads that are actually related to iPhone issues?" So sorry to inconvenience you... feel free to work on those!

By the way, my most recent data usage (on att.com) shows a 3G usage so far this month shows 130 MB.

The Cellular Network Data on my phone for the month shows that only about 5 MB of that is "Sent" - the rest is "Received".

To me, that indicated that the midnight transfers are downloads - not ATT or Apple sucking information off the phone.

Well, I have had these mysterious data packets early morning and also some at other times. I have not had any mysterious charges over 1.8 mb (yet) but I have had others almost every day.

BTW, I am a new iphone user. I opted out of iads and don't send data to Apple. I haven't downloaded any apps, have only used maps out of wifi a few times and Internet out of wifi a few times.

If this mysterious data was due to apps, I don't have any.

Now, if AT&T is actually pulling and accumulating data at night there should only be 1 data charge a day. Also, even if AT&T pulls data the iphone would know it is sending data. Therefore, it should be shown in the iphone's usage log.

It is ridiculous to state that the iphone usage is incorrect and AT&T is correct. When users know what they used in the past, haven't changed usage patterns, etc. and they are now seeing more mb's showing as used. Something is wrong.

This is like drawing a 5 gallon pail of water every day for 30 days (150 gallons total). You measured each pail. At the end of 30 days you are billed for 500 gallons and told that the company that sold you the water measured it correctly so just pay more.

BTW, when I was looking at getting the iphone I wanted to know which plan to get. I talked to a friend that had unlimited. We looked at his bill (online) and he had mysterious charges early morning every day. I wondered if these would be included in usage since his mysterious charges were over 200 mb a month. He called AT&T while I listened. AT&T told us that these charges were maintenance and would not be part of the new data plan charges. How could AT&T access the iphone, retrieve data and it not show up in the iphone usage log? Maybe it is maintenance and the iphone knows this. In that case, the iphone usage is correct. Now while all of this may be true, someone at AT&T may have been asleep at the switch and didn't flip it so that maintenance data didn't fall into the charge bucket but the maintenance bucket.

Right now, I am not using the iphone to its potential because of what I may have to pay for overages. It defeats the purpose of having the iphone.

AT&T should go back to their unlimited plan for everyone. They could be the premier provider, attract more iphone users and make a better profit on volume. Not causing problems, making bad press, etc.

Oh, and as for the Gizmodo article I bet since they are geeky they were early adopters of the iphone and have unlimited plans. Since it doesn't affect them and they do not actually see that they are being charged for this mysterious data then they just accept AT&T's response.

Rick,

I was referring to the data transfer as shown by the iPhone.

The indication is that the vast majority data is being sent to the iPhone every night - not uploaded from it.

Also, the sum of the sent + received data as listed in the iPhone settings dialog is approximately the same as is shown on the att.com site.

All my data shows "sent" on the bill, but the counter on my phone shows about 25% of it received. I don't use it to receive mail and on the usage details in my account the only thing that shows received is texts.

It is my understanding that "sent" is data sent FROM the phone not TO it, i.e., accessing web pages, diagnostics, GPS signal, etc. Data RECEIVED is incoming data such as email, texts and downloads of any kind.

The experience is that ALL of the data transferred shows up on the ATT site as "SENT" regardless of incoming or outgoing.

And technically, accessing web pages involves an up and a down transaction - up goes the URL (which is small data xfer) and down is the entire web page (bigger).

And, GPS signals do not get sent either - they are nothing but received messages from cell towers and satellites.

chbphoto wrote:
Rick,
Also, the sum of the sent + received data as listed in the iPhone settings dialog is approximately the same as is shown on the att.com site.

Well, mine (and according to other posters in this thread) doesn't. AT&T is higher. That was the whole point. The late night (and other times) mysterious data does not show up on the iphone on the usage log. Now if it did, then it would be less mysterious since the iphone log and AT&T would agree. It still wouldn't account for data exchange when the phone wasn't used but both parties would agree on the amount.

Maybe the iphone shouldn't go to sleep when plugged in? It would then stay on wifi when available. Turning cellular data on and off daily isn't really a good option. One should be able to lay the phone down and forget it for the night. Not have to remember to turn cellular off, turn location services off and then put it too bed. 🙂

Perhaps there needs to be an app that would turn these services on/off either when activated or better yet - at user specified times. When it turns on then it could wake (not unlock) the iphone so wifi would be activated until it fell asleep again.

BTW, does anyone know if we are charged for data when using the AT&T app? I haven't downloaded it yet but thought I might. It would be easier to check usage since the phone can't seem to do it correctly (according to AT&T).

Phew!

It's been a few days since I've posted, but I've been busy gathering data, and spending time with both ATT and Apple.

First however, I find the recent post that questions the reason for this thread really disturbing. My iPhone is "the" place I store much of my personal information, and I certainly do NOT expect data to be transmitted off my iPhone without my knowledge, period. I want to know where it's going and why.

Second, I have spoken with both ATT and Apple tech support on the phone. The call to ATT ended with me being transferred to Apple tech support. The Apple discussion did not provide an answer, and their suggestion was to call ATT. Dogs and tails came to mind. So I visited my local ATT agent in person. He has an iPhone 4 too, and was surprised to find he has exactly the same issue. He's not to happy either. What we've worked out for now it to move me on the 2G data plan at the 200MB price so I don't pop my limit, and continue to investigate the root cause of this issue. I was lucky to work with a person (Chad) who actually helped.

Next step is to perform a factory restore of my iPhone, load NO APPs, and watch overnight to see if the mystery 2AM data transfers continue. This should help with a question that all the tech support folks have asked. Do you think you've loaded an APP that could be causing this?

Finally, since I've been transferred from ATT tech support to Apple, and from Apple to ATT, I sent an e-mail to the "man" himself at Apple to ask for help. We'll see...

My largest concern is what data is leaving my iPhone, and where is it going.

Dan in VT

Thanks, Dan. I have a similar update. I haven't had time to write about my LONG experiences on the phone with AT&T and then in person at the Apple store.

So, to summarize, I have a 3GS with the 4.01. I have unlimited data in the US and left on a trip around the world the end of March. Based on my data usage records I got the 50MB Int'l data roaming plan. I don't use my phone for email unless I need to send one in an unusal situation. I don't have a lot of apps. I bought TomTom navigation for Australia and Western Europe.

I don't have Push on (never have).

I used TomTom for a month throughout Australia and really only used my phone for the occasional web surfing to look up a hotel or restaurant on Trip Advisor.

I had no problem for 3 months staying at my 50mb limit. I did notice my phone showed a very slight difference in usage from the bill (less than 2MB usually).

I used TomTom Western Europe beginning June 9th and drove from Germany to the Netherlands, back to Germany, to Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain and back into France.

My usage on my phone showed me barely over 50MB on my bill cycle end date of July 16th. I reset on July 17th with it saying 51.8MB.

On July 25 (this past Sunday) I received three texts and three emails (on my laptop) from AT&T within a 30 minute period in the morning saying my data had been suspended due to excessive usage.

I attempted to log into my account from my laptop and their "system was down". I called and was told they couldn't help me for the same reasons. I was told the guy would call me back in a few hours and he never did.

I finally got a chance to call back and discovered that my bill that had just posted a few days earlier was for almost $900 because of 128MB data overages at the International roaming rate of $5/MB.

I was also told that my data had been suspended because in the past week I was at over 400MB at $5/MB. I realized I was talking to a robot and asked to speak to a supervisor as the girl was only telling me that I simply had to pay them $3000 and everything would be fine.

I got transfered to a supervisor and pleaded to look at this logically and based on my usage history, there is obviously something very wrong here. Plus, who in their right mind would suddenly use $3000 of data while roaming internationally when it was my 4th month!!

He saw that too, and that it was obvious something was wrong and that they (AT&T) had heard of these unexplained extreme data usages and that he thought it was something wrong with my phone. He said he would remove the charges from my bill that had already posted and document everything so that I just had to call back after the current bill posted and the 400MB of charges would be removed also.

He told me to take my phone to the Genius bar as soon as I got back in the states on Tuesday.

And we both agreed to leave my data off until I got back into the US just to not exacerbate the situation.

I called as soon as I touched ground from Paris in Chicago and the rep treated me like I was lying, making the whole thing up of having spoken to that supervisor, and beligerantly told me that all I had to do was pay $3000 and they would turn my data back on. I kid you not!!

I did not have time to continue the conversation as I had a connecting flight to catch, so I had to wait until the next day.

I called and asked for a supervisor immediately. I was put on hold for 10+ minutes and the girl came back saying that she had spoken to her supervisor and all I had to do was pay $3000 and they'd turn my data back on!! Ok, to say that I was beating my head against a wall is an understatement.

I demanded the supervisor and got her, and unfortunately had to start all over again, as the supervisor I had spoken to on Sunday did not end up documenting anything. It was like it never happened and totally surreal.

After almost 90 minutes with the 2nd supervisor, she was not even remotely as rational, logical or understanding as the first guy had been, and kept telling me it had to by my TomTom, which I had used in 7 countries for 2 months up to the 16th, and my usage was consistent, and small.

It was beyond maddening.

90 minutes later, she filed for some billing verification, as is their SOP, and agreed to look into this all further for me. But she still was remaining steadfast that the usage was legit and that I am responsible.

She's supposed to continue her investigation and get back to me by August 5th, well before my next bill date so we can see if we can work this out.

Meanwhile I went to the Apple Store in Boulder, CO, where I am right now.

The kid hadn't heard of this issue and I mentioned this thread, Gizmodo and MacRumours and how it's all over the internet. He did the diagnostic on my phone and showed no issues. He verified that my usage since I reset on the 17th showed only about 30MB, yet AT&T is saying over 400MB.

He then went and asked a coworker who used to work for AT&T. He came over and had not heard of this either. He was baffled by the obviously massive discrepancy in usage reporting between my phone and AT&T.

He said to wait for the investigation to come back and see what happens and he gave me his personal email and phone and said to contact him and he would then contact his friend/former boss at AT&T in management if they come back still insisting on me paying $3000.

He also said that when he was at AT&T it was really common that they would remove odd data charges that obviously didn't fit usage patterns so he was really surprised by this.

I also have been pondering... some folks have mentioned apps or even websites causing this, and I really have to wonder... how can that possibly be blamed and charged to us, the customer? If Safari is still running in the background downloading stuff after having used it, isn't that a programming issue? Seriously, how can AT&T and Apple possibly put that on the customer?

If that really is what's going on, there has to be something built into the OS or something that will halt usage that is not a direct result of active activity.

Like many have mentioned on this thread already, we shouldn't have to be afraid to use our phones and be needing to remove things or use nuisance behaviors because of stuff like this.

And for me, I paid full price for this phone cuz I needed/wanted the 3GS for my trip around the world and I wasn't due for an upgrade for over a year, so I forked over $500 for the phone back in March when I had only just gotten my original 3G 12 months earlier for $200 with a contract.

So now I have a new contract and then the 4 came out and if I want one of those they want me to pay $700.

Yeah, right.

You mentioned that you used Tom Tom in Europe. Does that use data when active? I was planning on removing my sim card when I go there and wanted to just use wifi at hotspots and GPS with a map app.

How was the european version ot Tom Tom?