Unknown data usage early morning

My husband upgraded his iphone 3GS to the iphone4 in Oct. 2010. It was purchased at a Best Buy. When we were discussing his plan he informed the sales man that he rarely uses the phone, so we don't need that much data. He suggested we save $5.00 and go with the 200MB plan, rather than grandfathering him in to his original plan. We thought that made sense as he has NEVER gone over that. When we are at home we are connected to our WIFI. So it was surprising to start getting emails stating that he had gone over his limit. We thought it must be a glitch in their system. Then he gets a call from AT&T informing him that he has gone over his limit 67X!! Meaning he was at around 14,000MB!!! The bill we would soon be getting in the mail was for $1233.00!!! How is that possible??? It would take him over 5 years to use that much data. He hasn't used that much data in all the years combined!!! They can't even explain how this occurred other than to say he must have been running apps in the background. Only that IS NOT that case!! However, they can't even tell you where the data usgae even came from!!! How about some sort of tracking?? There are only a few things he does with his phone. Makes a few calls, send a few texts, checks email, looks up ESPN, plays Angry Birds!! Once in awhile he'll listen to iHeart Radio for a few hours during the month!! That's IT!! Supposedly they are researching this, but I am really worried that they are going to come back and say we are responsible!! That bill is the amount I would normally pay in like 8 months!! After reading these forums and other searches it's clear I am not alone with this issue. Grrrrrrrr

This is really strange and I wanted to tie a couple of things together. First this is my mom’s phone that is a ATT 3g with 200mb of data already over 89mb as of last night and the bill reset on the 6^th of June. She first received a text message on 06/07 1:05pm and replied on 06/07 1:07pm to stop the solicitation. After that you see the data start blowing up 2 hours later.

06/08 07:26 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 13KB

06/07 05:39 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 6020KB

06/07 05:37 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 19319KB

06/07 05:36 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 8050KB

06/07 05:34 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 10770KB

06/07 05:28 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 39856KB

06/07 05:27 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 5585KB

06/07 05:26 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 4979KB

06/07 05:25 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 5262KB

06/07 05:24 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 6378KB

06/07 05:24 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 1539KB

06/07 05:23 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 977KB

06/07 05:22 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 5465KB

06/07 05:21 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 7286KB

06/07 05:18 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 15348KB

06/07 04:54 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 65715KB

06/07 04:53 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 2706KB

06/07 04:50 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 10381KB

06/07 04:50 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 3464KB

06/07 04:49 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 4368KB

06/07 04:47 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 9061KB

06/07 04:47 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 3143KB

06/07 04:46 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 3658KB

06/07 04:45 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 1587KB

06/07 04:45 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 1791KB

06/07 04:44 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 6655KB

06/07 04:43 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 5739KB

06/07 04:43 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 4129KB

06/07 03:13 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 30151KB

06/07 01:07 PM 480-823-1882 Text/IM Messaging Sent 1Msg

06/07 01:05 PM 480-823-1882 Text/IM Messaging Received 1Msg

06/07 09:57 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 43KB

06/06 11:03 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 9KB

06/06 05:03 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 24KB

06/06 02:37 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 18KB

06/06 01:32 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 8KB

06/06 11:32 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 11KB

06/06 11:29 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 6KB

06/06 09:49 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 9KB

06/05 11:28 PM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 24KB

She called me in the morning at 9am saying the data package was over and she got an alert from ATT. I told her to turn off the phone ASAP and she did. The data stopped at that point until I got the phone in my hands on 06/08 at 7:26pm where I shut off the data from the settings menu but before I did it used 13kb. We have left it off until this morning where I told her turn it back on to proof that she is not using the phone data. ATT said they would change the data plan to the 2gb for this month to cover the usage and credit the difference. I kept asking the rep where the data was comming from but she kept acting like she did not understand what I was asking DUH! It will keep going up if we dont correct the real issue!

Researching this I found an older article that is very interesting:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/28/hackers-iphone-apple-technology-security-hacker s.html

Key points: Using a flaw they've found in the iPhone's handling of text messages, the researchers say they'll demonstrate how to send a series of mostly invisible SMS bursts that can give a hacker complete power over any of the smart phone's functions. That includes dialing the phone, visiting Web sites, turning on the device's camera and microphone and, most importantly, sending more text messages to further propagate a mass-gadget hijacking.

I am waiting for someone to respond at this point from ATT.

jeremyfrommobil - Do you use the "free" app from AT&T to track your data? It's called "MyATT" (or possibly "MyAT&T", can't remember which,) and they've been pushing it in emails. I never had a problem until I downloaded and ran that app. When I called about having gone over my limit (similar to many other stories), I was told that their app always uses their data network, even when the phone is on WiFi. I immediately deleted it. Using DataMan and DataMan Pro, I have no problems once again. I haven't even used a third of my limit and I have 5 days left on my billing cycle. I'm convinced that their app is to blame. Also, I noticed when examining my data usage log online, that the great bulk of data was sent, as in your mom's log. If you think about it, that's absurd. Most data is received in almost any web app, phone or computer. DataMan shows that very clearly.

How many of you with problems have used MyATT? I don't know if it's deliberate or a convenient bug, but I think that app stays on and sends, sends, sends, racking up the data usage.

Here's another thought - why are we having to turn our phones off at night (when charging, phone stays on WiFi,) and watch our data like hawks, when we are paying for this service! I couldn't use data for the last 10 days of my previous billing cycle because of my dispute with ATT. Of course, that meant that I couldn't send a pic SMS, for which I pay a separate $30/month unlimited.

Couple of things I should add. There are no apps from ATT on the phone. My mom has Facebook app but rarely uses. The data that is being "SENT" is more than the 3G network can physically handle. There are several MB of data being sent in sometimes less than a minute thats just not possible!

This is most likely being swept under the rug while the merger talks continue. If they find the networks (Apples or AT&T) have been comprimised they will put a hold on the merger deal.

I just found out on a different message board, that AT&T shows all data as "Sent," so that means nothing. I have to say I'm disappointed that your mom has no AT&T apps. For one thing, it means that I once again have no clue what happened to my phone last month. Of course, there could be more than one cause of the problem.

iPhone Data Pains

QUOTE:

It's not surprising, since there isn't a clear understanding of iPhones' and other smartphones' data consumption. The OS, apps, and then the concerns over privacy and security may also be culprits consuming data unbeknownst to the user. Then, when users think they exit an app, does the app really stop? My apps don't, and according to Kengwei, "Some apps can go on for 10 minutes before the iOS watchdog kills it. It depends on how an app is designed by the developers."

Chalk me up as another victim in the ongoing list of mysterious data usage. I woke up today with 2 text messages from AT&T. First one said I was at 65% usage, then the 2nd one said I was at 100% usage! I checked and according to my AT&T bill, while I was *asleep* my iphone (on WiFi network) sent 154 MB data.

I checked further into my bill and noticed that yesterday afternoon my iphone, while again on full strength WiFi network at my workplace, used 60 MB of data, and then another huge chunk of data went out while I was swimming in the pool.

Needless to say I called AT&T and they credited me my money back, but then they said I needed to be aware of the fact that certain apps will use data at random times. My reply was that I understood that, but I was on WiFi the whole time. I've been an iphone user since gen 1 and have NEVER had anything like this happen. I told the AT&T rep that they need to make a notation to look into this b/c it appears to be either a huge security breach or a major problem on the tech side. My fear is that it's a security issue. For instance, where is all the data going? 154 MB unaccounted for? Even if it was email imap caught in a cycle, it'd never reach that level in just a few hours.

I see there are 89 pages of discussion on this, so forgive me if someone has already solved the mystery. Perhaps you can enlighten me?

I use DataMan and DataMan Pro, which has detail per day for data usage. The phone is supposed to stay on wifi if it is charging, nevertheless, I always see some 3G data usage in the mornings after my phone has been plugged in all night. It's tiny, but real. I've also see sizeable chunks of 3G usage when I know for a fact that my phone was not in use. I compulsively close all apps that may use data the moment I am done using them (on wifi 99% of the time.) I hate having to police my phone like that, but I can't have another occurance of such huge, illegitimate charges. When is Apple going to acknowledge there is a real problem here? I love my iPhone and hate Apple for the way they neglect it and their customers.

I may have mentioned this earlier but I checked the total lifetime data usage on the phone (that has not been cleared) and it was well less than the amount than AT&T said was used in 1 day. Hmmmmm!

The delayed data thing just does not match up here. I did 5 1/2 years in wireless and have seen all of the "I did not use that much" sob stories and I can tell the diffrence!

Okay - I live in NEW ZEALAND.... I can not account for "2am" data packages being sent but came across my first unknown data usage at 5:23pm NZ time.

Yesterday, Sunday, was the first time I noticed a large, unexplained, data blimp - 66MB - while I was cooking dinner - NOT using my iPhone 3G (iOS 4.2.1)......

I have only had data on my phone for the past two months. I have a small limit (100MB) which should be all I need, given my type of usage....

Before upgrading to iOS 4, my phone would happily access wifi when 'sleeping'. Now, it seems its state of rest in in 3G data mode. What gives?? Why is this? Is there not somewhere we can select wifi or 3G mode?

Thanks!

Andrew

The reason for the data transfers you see are not clear, but is is some application that is using data. The other questions you asked are answered hundreds of times in this thread, but I can't blame you for not reading it all.

No iphone has ever kept WiFi on when the phone is asleep. If it did the battery wuld drain in a few hours, as WiFi, unlike 3G, must maintain a continuous data "handshake" when active. 3G can just "listen" for activity; WiFi cannot.

You have no way of knowing when the data transfer actually happened. The timestamp on your bill or online usage report is the time data accumulated over a long time period was reported to the billing system. if you want to know specifically when data transfers occurred you need an app like Dataman, which tracks your usage, when it occurred, and where you were when it occurred.

Eddie,

so what do i need to do to fix this problem, b/c i just got my iphone for my bday june 22 and i got the msg this weekend that i'm over usage already, i went look at the usage log and b/t 12-1a, 97000kb on july 2 , 76000kb a few nites ago, every nite its somthing, so i called at*t and said to turn off my phone at nite or somthing is updateing, well hello!!! i need my phone ON in case of family emergency or somthing, how stupid is that suggestion, and she said something might be downloading and of course b/c of privacy issues they can't tell what apps it might be!

anyways, i read the posts on here and i switched the push notifications and locations /notifications, all the things that were suggested in ya'll posts, i changed them all to manual, is there anything else u can suggest, b/c i can't keep affording to have to pay extra every month!

thanks in advance

shelly

Well, you can turn off cellular data and leave the phone on, but you have to find the app that is using that data. Do you stream audio or video? Those are the most likely heavy data users. Also multiplayer games.

i dont' do stream video or anything , i check my email and facebook and i play word w/friends thats it, i was wondering what the cellular data would do if i turn it off???? sorry i don't know all what these things mean yet, only a month old on iphone usage , lol, was it a good idea to turn off all the things i said i did on my previous message?

thanks

Settings/General/Network - Cellular Data OFF. This will stop data transfers as long as it is off, but if you have an application that is using data when you turn it back on it will catch up. BTW, acebook uses a lot of of data if you have it set to get updates, and multiploayer games also use a lot of data.

If you want to try to track it down buy the app "Dataman" - It will record all data usage, when it occurred and where you were. So you can correlate data usage with what you were doing.