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Unexpected high data usage on the iPhone

I have since November changed from an iPhone 3G to an iPhone 4S and recently noticed a triple increase in data usage (with additional costs incurred). While I used below 250 MB before I'm now using 470+ MB. A Genius at the Bar recommended to switch off Location Services and Cellular Data, but that doesn't really make sense. Is anyone aware what services might consume exorbitant amounts of data (maybe in background processes)?


Is there an app, that monitors data transfers and could give me some clue as to what app or services use most data?


I've asked my operator to tell me if they would be able to let me know which services might have consumed so much data, but due to privacy regulations they are not allowed to access my data usage history.


I have also read somewhere that Siri uses a fair bit of data, but I haven't used that too much either.

iPhone 4S, iOS 5.0.1

Posted on Feb 27, 2012 5:17 PM

Reply
184 replies

Oct 3, 2013 2:46 AM in response to invenio

I have had the same issue since I got new iPhone 5 I have wifi at home and while I'm on wifi it will kick me off . I never had this issue before that and now im constantly getting alert messages about going over my data. My phone is the only apple device in the house that has a data plan all iPods iPads n iPhones are using wifi and never get kicked off, I lose wifi connection constantly.

Oct 3, 2013 2:58 AM in response to invenio

I also reset network many times, had to go out of my way to talk to At&t and apple then make appointment which is so irritating at times then to be told if resetting phone, network and other settings did not work come back to get a replacement phone which was also an inconvenience. I am so irritated thAt I'm unable to enjoy using certain apps or the web with out having to constantly back out go into settings and hit wifi again I thought I would be able to enjoy the phone.

Oct 20, 2013 6:28 AM in response to Letty07

We had the same issue on iPhone 4S from my wife, on the 1st October.

It was not noticed until the 15th, when the monthly 1GB was eaten.

Very surprised, I went in the logs to check, because she is using at most 300MB per months. She never got to the end, since she has an iPhone.

It was from 10:13 to 10:26, with a constant download, for a total of 650-700MB.

She was in office, not using her phone, not streaming, nothing with iCloud.


I asked my provider, Orange. Let see what they find.


Could it be the iOS7, pushed "by force" on 3G ?

I read it was about 700MB. (but I thought it was only happening on wifi.)


If I can't get something from Orange, I'll call Apple to try.

This is the first time it happens, but when you are paying for 1GB, you cannot accept to just use 250MB, then being switched to the low speed for the rest of the month.

Oct 29, 2013 5:38 AM in response to invenio

I bought an iPhone 5 and I installed iOS7.


When I connect my iPhone to my WiFi, it received about 2mb of data per minute.

It does not happens when I'm using Cellular.


So far:


- No Open Apps. Multitasking bar empty.

- Settings > Bluetooth [Off]

- Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data [Off]

- Settings > Cellular > Enable 3G [Off]

- Settings > Notification Center > Include [Empty]

- Settings > General > About > Diagnostic & Usage > Don't Send [Checked]

- Settings > General > Siri [Off]

- Settings > General > Spotlight Search [All Unchecked]

- Settings > General > Background App Refresh [Off]

- Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically [Off]

- Settings > Privacy > Locaion Services [Off]

- Settings > iCloud [I deleted my account]

- Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Accounts [MyAccount: Inactive]

- Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Fetch New Data > Push [Off]

- Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Fetch New Data > Fetch [Manually]

- Settings > iTunes & App Store [I deleted my account]

- Settings > iTunes & App Store > Updates [Off]

- Settings > iTunes & App Store > Use Cellular Data [Off]


I don't know what else I can do...

Oct 29, 2013 6:27 AM in response to Jose.Gnr.Luis

I firmly believe there is an issue with a bumper crop of the actual phones. My 5 functioned beautifully running my humble amount of apps mostly on wifi - until - I upgraded to I06. Then the nightmare began. I went through all the troubleshooting I have see everyone attempting here without success. The upgrade took place in May. In June, July and August I was on the phone every month with AT&T learning to shut down everything I was accustomed to using without penalty to avoid exceeding my typical 32 mb of monthly data. Since the upgrade I was going over 200 by the 3rd week of the cycle. My battery was of course dying. AT&T refunded me for 2 months and even gifted me with a new blue ant Q3 after I merely requested a recommendation for the most compatible bluetooth head set for Siri. In the 3rd month AT&T, by protocol, would no longer refund me for the cost of data spike that none of us could resolve. At that point I phoned Apple. Three hours on the phone with a professional and personable tech support person and we decided to back up the phone, Do a clean install, add in a few apps and observe. No data spikes. It seemed we had done more than just a clean install so I inquired to the steps we'd taken should I decide to repeat on my own. Perhaps it was an oversight but I was only told we'd done the install however I found I was now also upgraded. The data spiking ceased but the battery drain did not. I could not get 12 hours of charge on a phone that wasn't used all day and parked at home on wifi! I ultimately sold it and upgraded to 5S where there has mercifully been quiet to date. There is a problem here and since my former phone ran beautifully I'm inclined to feel there was / is a bug issue. Take you phones to Apple. Document the date, how it was handled and the result. Do the same with your carrier. I hate to see litigation issues but I suspect this situation is headed in that direction. Good luck to all and fingers crossed I've got it behind me with my latest phone.

Feb 18, 2014 8:03 AM in response to invenio

Just to let you know that I turned off the Podcasts application and it solved my problem, in 3 days it took 2.6Gb out of my 4Gb plan, someone need to be fired for this!


Last month I was struggling to understand why I got the "fair usage" warning from my Internet provider, I thought that maybe a windows update was the problem, but at the end was my iphone which drained my internet plan,


shame on you apple

Feb 26, 2015 7:21 AM in response to W@lly

Struck the same problem here. ~40MB used in one day by System Services - Time & Location, considering ~65 MB of total traffic (including my apps) this is huge. For now I found and also disabled the "Share my location with my contacts" option, automatic time zone and also find my phone and for the last 2h the Time&Location category doesn't even appear anymore in the list. I will wait until tomorrow and see how it's evolving and I will try to just reactivate "find my phone" (which I consider usefull) and leave the rest disabled and see if the problem reappears.


I hope this solves the problem ...


Cheers

Dec 30, 2015 2:34 PM in response to aellex

i have solved that unexpected data use-aged problem .brothers ans sisters open your mail box in your iphone > open outbox > if there is any mail present in your oubox which is failed to send just delete that email from outbox .i have same problem even my network provider not solved the issue for me but when i deleted my all outbox mail it works. i hope it will help out for all of you.

Apr 13, 2016 1:27 PM in response to invenio

I see that post was from 2012. In 2016 Verizon claimed I used 1.77 GB of data, all at once, over a 6 hour period, 52% of it on 'video' and 46% of it on "communication and device services". I don't even HAVE the YouTube, Hulu, or Netflix apps on my phone and I NEVER watch YouTube on Safari on my phone. So 'unexpected high data use' may not be an APPLE glitch that Apple is not owning up to, I am convinced it's a VERIZON glitch that Verizon is not owning up to. They kept insisting that my "kids" (I don't have any) might have been using my phone, or that I lent it to someone (I didn't). Verizon at first tried to sell me a MORE EXPENSIVE PLAN WITH MORE DATA which is B.S. because I normally use 0.0001 GB at a time, such as for navigation. After I raised my voice Verizon offered to credit me if I go over my 2GB allowance this month, which is fine for this time but now I feel like I need to watch it like a hawk in case it 'glitches' again. If this has happened to other people, I have to wonder it it is a Verizon ploy to sell more expensive data plans.

Unexpected high data usage on the iPhone

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