Apple Watch Using Excessive data in a short time

This morning I got notice from my telphone provider that my data usage was at 90% and I had only 198 mB left. An hour later all that data had been used up. My telephone provider told me it was my Apple watch that had burned through that data. How could this happen? What Aps could do this. I was not actively using anything on the watch other than the exercize rings.

Posted on Mar 2, 2022 8:51 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 3, 2022 4:09 PM

Hello there Celtic_Wave,


If you're using a watch that has cellular capability, you can check what's using the most cellular data on your watch by opening the Apple Watch app on your paired iPhone, then going to My Watch > Cellular. When you do, keep in mind what shows as using the most, and how much it actually used. To confirm the cellular data usage of your iPhone, you can check this within Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data. Just like on your watch, you'll want to check what's using the most, and how much it's using.


If you have a compatible iPhone/iPod touch model, the latest version is iOS 15.3.1, or iPadOS 15.3.1(if you use an iPad). You can verify this within Settings > General > About. Here's a link that'll show how to first back up, then Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.


If you have a compatible watch model, the latest version is watchOS 8.4.2. You can verify this within Settings > General > About. Here's a link that'll show how to Update your Apple Watch.


Please keep us posted on what you find out after checking the above details.


Cheers!

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 3, 2022 4:09 PM in response to Celtic_Wave

Hello there Celtic_Wave,


If you're using a watch that has cellular capability, you can check what's using the most cellular data on your watch by opening the Apple Watch app on your paired iPhone, then going to My Watch > Cellular. When you do, keep in mind what shows as using the most, and how much it actually used. To confirm the cellular data usage of your iPhone, you can check this within Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data. Just like on your watch, you'll want to check what's using the most, and how much it's using.


If you have a compatible iPhone/iPod touch model, the latest version is iOS 15.3.1, or iPadOS 15.3.1(if you use an iPad). You can verify this within Settings > General > About. Here's a link that'll show how to first back up, then Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.


If you have a compatible watch model, the latest version is watchOS 8.4.2. You can verify this within Settings > General > About. Here's a link that'll show how to Update your Apple Watch.


Please keep us posted on what you find out after checking the above details.


Cheers!

Mar 4, 2022 9:46 AM in response to Celtic_Wave

Thanks for following up, Bruno75,


After resetting your data, keep an eye on your usage by app on both the Apple Watch and iPhone. If you notice a specific app is using more data than expected, you can turn off cellular data usage for that app:


View or change cellular data settings on iPhone - Apple Support


Use Apple Watch with a cellular network - Apple Support


Don't hesitate to respond back if you still need help.


Enjoy your weekend!

Mar 4, 2022 9:40 AM in response to bruno75

HI Bruno75,


Thanks for your helpful directions. First of all, my IOS and Watch OS are fully up to date. I did look at both the Watch cellular usage and iPhone cellular usage as per your guidance. Unfortunately, when I was talking in person with my cellular provider rep the other day, he looked at the watch cellular data and made the comment that unlike Android systems, Apple only keeps the usage statistics from the time of the last reset and so he could not tell which Ap burned through all the data in one hour. I did not know it at the time, but he then reset the watch cellular usage count. I could not see any high usage from the watch on the iPhone cellular usage data and the watch usage was low, probably because it was reset. What I will do is reset both counters on the date of my monthly usage billing so that I will be able to see statistics for the month starting next week. If anything unusal happens, I will be able to see it. I now have a bettter understanding of how this all works, but still am puzzled as to which Ap could burn through so much data so quickly. thanks again.

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Apple Watch Using Excessive data in a short time

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