Q: Unknown data usage early morning

Google Maps on the iPhone has always used a lot of data, going back 3 years, even when there weren't any other apps available. The Maps app downloads maps in real time as you move, complete with zoom details and POI. The map data is substantial.

I don't know which BB you had, but many BBs do not "do" HTML email. No images, no formatting. so even a long message is small in terms of data volume. The iPhone does ONLY HTML, so all of the images and formatting appears (you can turn off remote images in settings, but not rich text or embedded images). so the iPhone's email app can use 10 to 100 times the data volume of text-only Blackberries.

I'm so glad to find this thread, b/c I think this is an AT&T issue and not iphone. I have a palm pixi.

After having the pixi for six days, I got a text from AT&T saying that I had already used 65% of my plan. I went back and looked at all of my history and records, and my entire internet history was about 90 page views. The day after I got the phone, I had added gmail and gchat, but I found it annoying so I removed it from the phone after the third day. I sent/received 30 emails during that time. I have not used google maps. I have wifi at home and at work. I have not downloaded anything - no apps, no ringtones, nothing. According to AT&T's data calculator, (http://www.att.com/standalone/data-calculator/), you should be able to access about 1000 web pages and send/receive 1000 emails a month and still be under the 200mb data plan. What is going on here?

After calling AT&T, same as above, they suggested that someone else was using my phone at night, that I was inadvertently doing it, or that I was downloading a lot of stuff - none of which are the case. They thought that the data charges were a cumulative charge for the day, but I have multiple data charges per day, all at different times, some as small as 8kb and the largest being 53227kb. If it was a cumulative charge, it would be at about the same time every day and there should be only one. After all of this, they decided that it was updates. Really? Every day, that size? The rep got Palm on the phone and they confirmed that the phone would get occasional updates, but not daily, and even then the updates should be about 40kb. To resolve the issue, the rep suggested that I stop using data for a few days. At first I wasn't into this solution - I mean, I'm paying for a data plan so that I can use it, right? But after some thought I did not use data Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. None so far today. So here's what I've been billed for during that time that I DID NOT USE DATA:
07/26 05:37 PM wap.cingular Internet/MEdia Net Sent 2859KB
07/26 06:58 AM wap.cingular Internet/MEdia Net Sent 3307KB
07/25 10:01 PM wap.cingular Internet/MEdia Net Sent 13KB
07/25 02:13 AM wap.cingular Internet/MEdia Net Sent 2683KB
07/24 03:42 PM wap.cingular Internet/MEdia Net Sent 1339KB
07/24 09:38 AM wap.cingular Internet/MEdia Net Sent 2622KB

In comparison, we also got a blackberry at the same time for my husband, and he uses the internet way more that I do. He's barely used any of the data at all. Also, on his bill, you can see each time he checks his email - there is 2-4kb of data usage each time, and about 2000kb when he streams music - so the bulk data charge is NOT an AT&T method of charging data.

AT&T users with other phones have the same issues and AT&T has said to everyone that they have no idea or that it's the user's fault. Ridiculous. In the end, I'm glad I've addressed this quickly, since I'm going to return the pixi for something different. The only reason I got the pixi in the first place was because it was free and I had planned to buy the iphone - now that idea is out the window. AT&T offered no help whatsoever in figuring out this issue.

Lawrence Finch wrote:
Google Maps on the iPhone has always used a lot of data, going back 3 years, even when there weren't any other apps available. The Maps app downloads maps in real time as you move, complete with zoom details and POI. The map data is substantial.

I don't know which BB you had, but many BBs do not "do" HTML email. No images, no formatting. so even a long message is small in terms of data volume. The iPhone does ONLY HTML, so all of the images and formatting appears (you can turn off remote images in settings, but not rich text or embedded images). so the iPhone's email app can use 10 to 100 times the data volume of text-only Blackberries.

I had the curve that had html and graphic capabilities which I used to the fullest extent possible. Often used google maps for traffic and navigation. NEVER had a data use higher than 40MB, and most were in the 12mb to 30mb.

So I've spent the last two days confirming that the late-night data charges are NOT delayed postings of accumulated daily data. By disabling cellular data during the night and keeping it on during the day, the only data charges that appear on my bill are the correct ones: from home to work and back. I'm going to continue this behavior for the rest of the week just to be absolutely sure. Then, I will try leaving data on at night again to see if opting out of iAds and disabling sending diagnostic data to Apple in iTunes has had any affect.

Insane. Then why would Apple and ATT insist over and over that they have no idea what it is or what is going on. In all this time after all the calls about it that we know if you would think they would write some kind of program for themselves so they could monitor even one person to see what the charges could be.

Insane.

Eddie Strauss wrote:
Insane. Then why would Apple and ATT insist over and over that they have no idea what it is or what is going on. In all this time after all the calls about it that we know if you would think they would write some kind of program for themselves so they could monitor even one person to see what the charges could be.

Insane.

why would they do that, so they can loose money? anyone going over, has now to pay for their usage. it's like shooting themselves in the foot.I would not do that.

Ok, I tried an experiment where I reset the phone and then tracked usage. The ATT usage showed a couple of large transfers and now is ahead of my phone 8 MB! My phone shows cellular usage of 6.5MB while ATT shows a usage of over 14MB! So its not the phone.

Calling ATT now.

Edmund Pirali wrote:
Ok, I tried an experiment where I reset the phone and then tracked usage. The ATT usage showed a couple of large transfers and now is ahead of my phone 8 MB! My phone shows cellular usage of 6.5MB while ATT shows a usage of over 14MB! So its not the phone.

Calling ATT now.

which apps did you run? maybe not ALL apps are recording the usage properly, so it might be phone after all...who knows? guess nobody...

kaluzu wrote:

Edmund Pirali wrote:
Ok, I tried an experiment where I reset the phone and then tracked usage. The ATT usage showed a couple of large transfers and now is ahead of my phone 8 MB! My phone shows cellular usage of 6.5MB while ATT shows a usage of over 14MB! So its not the phone.

Calling ATT now.

which apps did you run? maybe not ALL apps are recording the usage properly, so it might be phone after all...who knows? guess nobody...

It doesn't matter what app is running the OS is recording the cellular data transmitted and received. No app can go around the OS for data access.

Its funny I was convinced this was a software issue with Apple, but I guess it is ATT after all.

Edmund Pirali wrote:

kaluzu wrote:

Edmund Pirali wrote:
Ok, I tried an experiment where I reset the phone and then tracked usage. The ATT usage showed a couple of large transfers and now is ahead of my phone 8 MB! My phone shows cellular usage of 6.5MB while ATT shows a usage of over 14MB! So its not the phone.

Calling ATT now.

which apps did you run? maybe not ALL apps are recording the usage properly, so it might be phone after all...who knows? guess nobody...

It doesn't matter what app is running the OS is recording the cellular data transmitted and received. No app can go around the OS for data access.

Its funny I was convinced this was a software issue with Apple, but I guess it is ATT after all.

accessing the data and recording it at the same time in the usage might be two separate things. I would not eliminate this (conspiracy) theory.

kaluzu wrote:

Edmund Pirali wrote:

kaluzu wrote:

Edmund Pirali wrote:
Ok, I tried an experiment where I reset the phone and then tracked usage. The ATT usage showed a couple of large transfers and now is ahead of my phone 8 MB! My phone shows cellular usage of 6.5MB while ATT shows a usage of over 14MB! So its not the phone.

Calling ATT now.

which apps did you run? maybe not ALL apps are recording the usage properly, so it might be phone after all...who knows? guess nobody...

It doesn't matter what app is running the OS is recording the cellular data transmitted and received. No app can go around the OS for data access.

Its funny I was convinced this was a software issue with Apple, but I guess it is ATT after all.

accessing the data and recording it at the same time in the usage might be two separate things. I would not eliminate this (conspiracy) theory.

Ok let me try this again: the OS performs the cellular data usage and TRACKS it. No app can get around this. There MAY be a bug in the reporting of the usage by the phone, but your theory does not make sense. Why would the operating system perform data transfers for apps and NOT calculate the data usage?

To the last poster questioning accuracy of usage... in my case my data usage tracker on the phone shows 28 MB and AT&T is showing over 400 MB!!!!!

<Edited by Host>

I think you made reference to a word that is an anagram of "use"

BulaRae wrote:
To the last poster questioning accuracy of usage... in my case my data usage tracker on the phone shows 28 MB and AT&T is showing over 400 MB!!!!!

<Edited by Host>

Wow I just had a completely surreal experience with ATT. I have logged the usage, talked to one customer service rep who didn't answer my question and just transferred me to Apple support. They transferred me back and both the service rep and supervisor kept saying that the data usage on their system must be correct. I tried explaining that I am happy to provide information about usage, but apparently it is impossible (according to them) for there to be any data usage reporting errors.

The supervisor was very nice, but she seemed out of options about what to do, so she just took me back to the unlimited plan.

Fascinating, my call to Apple about this was MUCH MORE productive. The support rep for Apple registered that I was a tech person and actually explored possibilities and made notes. ATT just said "it can't happen, so its not happening."

Kafkaesque.

This is not a new problem. I came across similar unexplained data usage several years ago with AT&T. Well before the iPhone. It amounted to over $300.00. It was all upload. They cleared the charges but no explanation was evert given and no proof was ever provided.

There are two responsible parties: Apple and AT&T. It may be true that they do not know what the data is "at the support level". But both Apple and AT&T do, or can, know what the data is. AT&T is using or allowing the problem to continue to generate tremendous unearned revenue.

< Edited by Host >