Why is Software Updates on my iPhone using so much data?

Is this option dependent on the cellular carrier? I don’t find this option in cellular settings. I’m having the same issue with software updates using 292mb in about 2 weeks with everything turned off.

Sadly this solution does not work. I have literally everything turned off. Including the cellular data in settings > app store. Ive even turned off App Downloads, App Updates, etc. Still uses up my cellular data to download. It's been an entire gig. Apple needs to fix this. Im losing money for no reason because of a bug.

This is happening on my son’s phone and every month is a battle with him with going over on data. So today I reset my cell usage stats, and in the 20 minutes I was out of the house and not on WI-FI, System Services / Software Update claims to have used 747 MB of cell data on my phone. We have since turned of all automatic updates on the phones, but everything I’ve read on here and macforums says that won’t work… we’re talking GBs of updates every month, per phone, at $12 per GB. I’ve been on iPhone since they first came out, but this is last straw territory and I’m a vindictive SOB with stuff like this. Meaning, it gets fixed or I never buy another Apple product ever again and thats just the first step. There is an action that multiple people who’ve all been wronged financially by the same entity can take.

I have this same issue. Even though I have turned off and/or disabled absolutely every possible option to reduce or prevent data usage, “System Services” and “Software Updates” continue to eat up more cellular data than all other apps combined, resulting in additional data charges every month.

[Edited by Moderator]

I tried network setting reset as recommended by Apple support and for a few days I thought it was solved but it wasn’t. They performed a hardware check but couldn’t find anything. It remains a mystery. Quite an expensive one.

It seems not to be carrier dependent.

Actually, I had this thought as well, turned Apple Maps off and was using Waze instead. Did not solve the problem! Just today, another 2.2GB in an instant. Always ‘Software Update’. All automatic updates and refreshes turned off. Low data and low power mode. A serious iOS bug!!

can i turn off most of built in apps which am not using it?

Thanks Samathustra. I also have my phone set to low data mode but clocked in at over 430 MB for software updates in October.

Nope not carrier-dependent. Does require the latest iOS though.

I agree. I also have everything turned off but this month I have used over 600 mb of data. It has been like this for several months.

Hi. I have the same settings. But cellular data still eats 300-900mb monthly.

I think Apple must change the name what is really being used to stop this confusion!

It’s happening on my iPhone XS without 5G as well.

Didn't work on my phone. Despite 'low data mode' and all updates and background refreshes turned off, even in low power mode, it consumed 1GB within minutes...

I don’t know

It happens with automatic updates switched off! So it’s not the occasional iOS update. It must be something different.