Current Period Roaming showing data consumption albeit not abroad

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Level 1

15 points

Current Period Roaming showing data consumption albeit not abroad

Hi there. Under Settings > Mobile Service the iPhone shows mobile data usage statistics broken down by application.

After reset of the statistics my iPhone is, as expected, displaying increasing total mobile data consumption under “Current Period”, however also a few kB to 15 kB under “Current Period Roaming” although I was not abroad since the reset and also not in a border region with a different country. I know that “roaming” means connection to a different network provider than one’s provider, but I could so far not see under “Network Selection” any network provider other than mine.

Does anyone know whether this is a normal behaviour or a known iOS bug or whether I should be concerned that my SIM (actually an eSIM) is hacked/cloned?

Any other idea?

iPhone 15

Posted on Dec 4, 2024 1:39 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 4, 2024 2:13 PM in response to SubAlpino

While there are 3 ginormous carriers in the US (I assume you are in the US) there are a number of smaller regional carriers, so if you wander into their territory that might be counted as Roaming.

If your SIM was cloned your phone would stop working, as there can be only one device with a specific phone number and activation.

Another possibility: A couple of years ago I was on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park (~6,000 ft elevation). The Canadian border was 100 miles away, but I still connected to a Canadian carrier. As there is no cell service in most national parks this was the only carrier my phone could connect to.

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Answer 2

SubAlpino Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 4, 2024 2:47 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

I’m actually not in the US but in a valley in the Alps, surrounded by mountains, so no possible connection to antennas in other countries. There are 3 providers only, here.

Anyway, thanks for your reply

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Answer 3

Dec 4, 2024 2:49 PM in response to SubAlpino

SubAlpino wrote:

I’m actually not in the US but in a valley in the Alps, surrounded by mountains, so no possible connection to antennas in other countries. There are 3 providers only, here.

Anyway, thanks for your reply

The cell signal range from near the top of a mountain can be over 150 km.

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Current Period Roaming showing data consumption albeit not abroad

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