Q: Unknown data usage early morning

Hi backpacker57

I say I use tethering, but my use for it goes as far as I switch it on, use it briefly, I switch it off. It's never left on.

And no, when I supposedly used this 100mb of Internet yesterday morning, I went onto Facebook briefly for around 3-4 mins, closed the app, went to sleep on the train and didn't use my phone for anything for over an hour. Then find loads of 3356.45kb usages every 2 minutes for that entire time.

I may have left Facebook running in the background by accident, cannot say, but that doesn't account for 100mb of usage in that time. I'd have to be doing a lot on Facebook at anytime to use that amount in and hour and half.

I've had a clear out today of used apps, turned off pushing my emails to my phone to manual and I'm going to switch 3G back on tomorrow and monitor. If its still happening Im going into Apple shop.

If you don't have it, download "Speedtest" from the App Store.  That allows you to measure upload and download speeds on whatever Internet service you are on.  I get the impression that the train you take daily has Wifi so run it during your next trip, only takes a minute or so.  That will give you a figure to work with as far as download speeds go and you can calculate how much data you would have downloaded during your trip.  Might prove interesting when you hit the Apple Store.

Hi jes

No, my train doesn't have wifi, so that's why it's odd it's happening then.

I am having the same issues with data usage spiraling out of control for no reason and ATT acts clueless but I have not seen any reason or answers. I do not know how to stop this as I the 2oam not doing anything different. Why is Apple not addressing this and why cannot Apple not be contacted?

I wonder if it has anything to do with the Carrier IQ rootkit that has just been exposed.  Google it and you'll see a lot about it, as this piece of spyware has been installed on almost every smartphone, and it phones home constantly.  Apple claims they have pared down what it does on the iPhone, and you can turn it off in iOS5.  Here's just one link: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/so-theres-a-rootkit-hidden-in-millions-of-cel lphones/16708

Well I dont have ISO5 or cloud or whatever just a plain 3g no updates upgrades, sounds like a lot of people

are having this same issue, well now I am on a mission because I am ******.

This is only 1 of numerous possible sources of the root cause not the sole issue.

Regarding the RootKit embedded in iOS:

"Note that this feature is only present on handsets running iOS 5.0 or later (so the iPhone 4S and upgraded iPhone 4 and 3GS handsets."

Interesting stuff. I was bitten by this on the first day of my iPhone4 ownership back in March 2011. (I previously had the iPhone 3G with no such problems). I put my issues down to my ignorance in that I had foolishly connected to my work email server via Webmail, then left the app running in the background ! I'm an IT professional of some 35 years' standing, so like to think am nobody's fool, but I don't recall anywhere reading that you should have to manually close any apps "just in case they bankrupt you" !!

My iPhone4 ran (and still runs) IOS4. I never received an email from my provider (Tesco here in the UK, who in turn use O2's service) but was alerted merely by the fact that I felt the 'phone getting warm in my pocket. A quick glance at the remaining battery also horrified me, as I had around 50% left. I distinctly remember thinking "I thought this iPhone4 was supposed to have better battery life". As I was in the middle of a business meeting, I couldn't spend time playing with my new toy.

In the space of around 6-8 hours I had managed to consume almost the whole of my 1Gb monthly allowance - on the first day !!!!

My provider wiped off some of the apparent excess usage, was uninterested in any of my defence, and I was still left to pay the residue - around £250. I am watching this discussion thread with interest, so I can go back to them for a refund at some point.

The only foolproof way I have found to prevent the issue recurring with any certainty is to switch off 3G, mobile data, location services, push email etc etc etc ....... but then the iPhone4 simply becomes an expensive 'phone !

Wouldn't you have thought that Apple (or whoever) would have noticed a pattern emerging? I don't necessarily blame Apple, Tesco, O2 or any of the providers in the loop, because the chances are it's simply down to poor application development, where the app isn't recognising that the connection has dropped. Add into that the complexities of different worldwide providers' billing systems, and it fair boggles the mind.

I do know categorically that if ever I buy an iPad2, it will NOT have 3G solely for this reason !!!!

I wish everyone who's been bitten by this bug the very best of luck - astonishing that this topic has now reached 100 pages !

Best to all.

There's definitely something going on. As you said, 101 pages must mean something!!

My carrier say they'll only charge GBP5.00 for every 500mb I use over which isn't bad, but being as though I've "used" 1.45gb in 6 days, I might end up using quite a lot if don't find the root of the problem.

It still gets me why it's only just started happening now. I've had my phone 18 months and IOS5 since the day it was released, yet only a few days ago it started.

Would love to see an Apple respond regarding this. Surely the 1,492 replies warrants it?

interesting fred Robot, that you first experienced this in March 2011 when you first got your iphone.  I got my iphone i4 n July 2010 and had no problems of this kind until late February, then March 2011, same time frame as your experience.

BackPacker57 - Carrier IQ is on every version of iOS in all the iPhones.  The feature that is only available in iOS5 is the ability to disable it. 

We know Carrier IQ is a program that sends data and does it on the sly.  If it has a bug that causes it to loop and send data indefinitely on unpredictable occasions, that could cause the problem so many of us have experienced.  I would like to hear from some iOS5 users who have the problem and have disabled sending diagnostic and usage data.

Interesting. It states here http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/story/2011-12-02/carrier-iq-controversy/5158 9550/1  that "Apple says it stopped supporting Carrier IQ with the iOS5 upgrade to its own software"

What I did to detect the very small packets that were being sent/received was to disable all things 3G and Mobile Data-related, then monitor the traffic using my broadband router.

This is what alerted me to iphone-wu.apple.com , the service used by the Location Services when the iPhone is in "E.T." mode ("Phone home").

As I don't have IOS5 (and won't until this issue is sorted), I can't carry out the experiment, but could someone do as above, i.e. disable ALL 3G, Mobile Data, push data, location services etc. then monitor the usage via a router and see whether anything being used could equate to Carrier IQ. I have no idea what "diagnostic data and usage" info is (not being on IOS5), but suggest that it would also be phoning home?

This one will run and run methinks ! (A bit like the iPhone data usage then !)

I'm on ios5 and it's disabled on my handset...and it's happening to me all of a sudden

Thank you, thank you, thank you for correcting me---- I totally missed that.

After yesterdays news on Carrier IQ --- with daughter, iPod Touch and my iPhone in hand, off to the mall we went. (Not somewhere I've been too in 2 maybe 3 years)

Anyway --- to the store she freequents with Mom, sure enough free WiFi is present throughout the entire mall and you are correct, AT&T store is in the mall.

Still, I have questions regarding "tethering" and "WiFi" maybe Lawrence has an idea --- I'll post to him.