Unknown data usage early morning

Same problem here, AT&T has been totally useless in providing an explanation of the late night data use charges. This is really FRAUD and we're all just bending over a little deeper. We are all being charged for delivering maintenance and record keeping data to AT&T, which we did not agree to - IN ANY DATA PLAN..

Per Apple, iCloud will only synch when connected via wifi, not 3g. All those pics would be a 3G data nightmare!

Guys, it's worth rereading Lawrence Finch's post on the previous page. This may not be a usage issue at all - it looks like AT&T's data report is just reporting your usage for the day in one lump in the middle of the night.

-- -- -- -- --

Lawrence Finch wrote:

It's not just covered ground, it is covered, and covered, and covered, and covered, and covered...

a) WiFi is off whenever the screen is off to preserve battery. So it is not on WiFi when you think it is. Unless you leave it plugged in overnight; if it is plugged in WiFi remains on.

b) It isn't uploading stuff at night. The nightly numbers you see are a summary of data transfers during the previous 24 hours. Cell sites report summarized data to the billing system when you transfer to a new cell, but the last cell that you are in reports usage from that cell at a specified time. That is the number you see, the last connection being closed out.

c) It isn't all uploads; it is data transfers in both directions even though it is labeled as "sent".

You still may have an issue of where the data comes from. iOS 5 added several features that use data, so you should expect the usage to be greater with iOS 5 than it was with iOS 4 or earlier. You have already identified iCloud as a data user. There are also a number of new services and apps that use data supported by the phone. Go to Settings/Notifications to see all of them. ALSO go to Settings/Location Services, scroll to the bottom, and tap System Services. All of these use data. Some are innocuous, such as Compass Calibration and Cell Network Search, but Diagnostics and Usage sends data to Apple periodically, Location-based iAds does, Traffic can send a lot of data, and Setting Time Zone is unnnecessary if you have time sync set to Auto.

Sorry but data usage is NOT reported in 1-10 MB increments, which I have personally logged in these nightly transmissions. And again, iCloud functionality is only over WiFi, not 3G.

Does anyone know the outcome of the Class Action case referenced a few pages earlier? From 1.2011?

MRYFLYGUY wrote:

Sorry but data usage is NOT reported in 1-10 MB increments, which I have personally logged in these nightly transmissions. And again, iCloud functionality is only over WiFi, not 3G.

That is not correct. iCloud BACKUP is only over WiFi, but iCloud email, contacts, calendar, Reminders and iWork sync are occur in real time over whatever connection is available, be it WiFi or 3G.

If this is data usage that was not reported during the day or data that is being reported from other networks then why does the phone not show the usage. All of this talk about iOS versions, iCloud, and Apps just do not add up. The phones do not report the usage and the network is not physically capable of transferring this much data in one day or less in most cases. The other thing is why does this erroneous data just magically stop when it is reported to the carrier who is more than willing to credit the overage in my case.

Lets keep it simple... It is not carrier related, not iOS version related, and the apps are different on everyone's phone. The closest thing I have seen reported on here that could cause the issue is gmail with imap accounts.

'I keep my iPhone plugged in all night (and it's still plugged in during the morning), so any activity should still be going through the Wi-Fi network.'

How many times does this have to be said? Wi-fi is switched off in standby to preserve battery.

WiFi is switched off when running on the battery, but it stays on if the phone is plugged in. I've done tests to confirm this using network monitoring software. The post you responded to said it was plugged in all night and during the morning. So WiFi should have been on.

"All of this talk about iOS versions, iCloud, and Apps just do not add up. "

You must understand that the issues represent a "MOVING TARGET." Each iOS does matter as does the version of hardware because there have been CHANGES and issues weaving in and out of each cycle.

So the info is relevant.

You make assumptions that it's not carrier, iOS or app related and you are incorrect.

1. iOS related, yes.

2. Carrier related, yes.

3. App related, yes.

4. User related, yes.

I suggest you read the thread.

I just tested iCloud using Dataman while connected via wifi. Photo stream and calendar both log 3G usage along with wifi data. Contacts does not generate any 3G usage at all. I suspect Notes, Bookmarks, Reminders and others log plenty of 3G data usage. Now I'm after those 3-10 KB nightly, unsolicited uploads. The 200MB data plan for iPhone is a joke if you're using iCloud.

Perhaps on iPhone 3GS, 4G or 4GS it works like that.

But if you go that route on the iPhone 3G, clicking that little red circle with the minus sign in any of the apps, it shuts down those apps permanently, as in it deletes them! 😮

Hopefully no one with the 3G iPhone went the route you prescribed to "shut down their apps".

I read all of the other discussion thread, (newer but similar in response to crazy data use) but only read a couple of the 107 pages of posts on this thread. I just spent over an hour with AT&T tech support and, needless to say since I am posting here, that they couldn't help me. I received an email this morning followed by a text message that I am in the top 5% of data users this month (apparently you don't get an award) and if I do the same next billing period they will slow down my data speeds. (I have an unlimited plan) I went to their website and it all happened in one day:

1/20 9:57pm 1513311 kb

1/20 4:44pm 258857 kb

1/20 6:57am 216485 kb

They explained about the time stamps and the data sweep and that the usage did not actually happen at that time BUT could not explain ANY possibilities that could use that much. Even if it was 2gb over the whole day it was at least 1.5 GB between 4:44pm and 9:57pm. I did not use my phone for anything except a few non-iMessage text messages. No video streaming, no music streaming, no interactive games, not even checking websites as I was in a poker tourney from 6:30pm to 12:30 am and the phone was literally in my pocket.

I DO have location services running for a few standard things. I did not backup anything to iCloud manually, nothing. I just downloaded DataMan Pro so if it happens again hopefully I can pinpoint the culprit but their suggestion of turning off all notification services (and that was from the 3rd person I talked to, tech manager apparently) AFTER resetting the phone and reinstalling All the apps does nothing to troubleshoot the actual problem.

Anybody else have this EXTREME data flow in a short (5 hour) with no apparent apps, and any causes I may have missed?

YES, you are not alone in experiencing EXTREME data flow (and the charges to go with it)! My experience was on a high-speed train in France---6 Gb in 3 hours. Obviously, the phone was sending and receiving, but because it was continuously going in and out of service areas (cell towers), we were never able to actually download any email or web pages. I also had the map function going at the same time and that probably contributed. The net result was that there was no data service (even the map function wasn't working), but the phone was certainly sending and receiving data. I wrote a letter to AT&T (the tech support people on the phone don't have the authority to do anything) and explained the situation and asked them to correct this on the bill. They did. The address given to me by the AT&T phone support (Greeley, CO) was incorrect. The correct address to send complaints to is in your service agreement. The one that worked for me was:

AT&T Bill Dispute
1025 Lenox Park
Atlanta, GA 30319

Good luck!

E-Slice, my usage was very similar from 12 midnight to almost exactly 5am in the morning (I know the time is insignificant) with 696 entries of data (totalling 694mb).

I really could not get a straight answer from either the carrier (TestraClear via Vodafone) or Apple. I was resigning myself to pay the additional NZ$360.00 (I usually use NZ$20.00 per month) when TestraClear phoned out of the blue and offered to waive the entire usage bill! This is great, however if it happens again they are not prepared to do this again. It all seems a bit suspicious so it would be good to see how many others have the same experience.

This is what I am now doing:

Have loaded Dataman Pro (this will keep track of times and amount of data used)

Reverted all aps back to factory settings (yes deleted even paid apps!)

Turn off mobile data when not using to check emails (Settings, Network, Mobile Data)

Will put on flight mode at night (when I remember!)

Since you mentioned going in and out of service. I am a teacher and the school I work at has had intermittent service for the past couple weeks. My phone jumps back and forth betwee 3G and edge and I have had big problems getting data at all. I did a speed test the same Friday I had huge usage and the ping time was 2397 ms, 0 Mbps upload and .05 Mbps download. I asked my students who have iPhones and AT&T and the majority of them had also been noticing issues in data connection and call reception. Many of my text messages have not gone through (red !) and my calles in and out get cutoff. We have never had those issues before.

With that said, on the phone they could not clearly explain why so much data was used in a spot where I couldn't really get any data to begin with or why there would be high data use when it looks for a data signal.

Anybody else have high data use when there is a limited data signal or going back and forth between 3G and edge?

This is totally crazy - my dad has sent literally 3 test messages all month - and his 3G data usage is 180MB - and I have unlimited messaging on the plan. This is about the third month that he has come very close or gone over the 200MB plan allotment without ever sending a text or checking email when not at home or using the GPS function.