The iPhone 5 uses Cellular Data over WiFi?

I saw these posts previously, so I've been checking online on my AT&T mobile plan. Previously, I had unlimited data with my old iPhone 3G so I didn't really need to worry about losing data. Even with unlimited data, I seldom used over 200 MB per month. Since we switched to Mobile Data Share and my husband and kids got smart phones, I was curious to see what amount of data we were using. Just like everyone else here, I also noticed that little packets of data labeled "Internet/MEdia Net" are sent from our phones at times when we're home on our Uverse Wi-fi, and we aren't even using our phones (like at 4 a.m.) I spoke with a lady at the AT&T store last week, and she suggested turning off all apps running in the background (double tap the home button; apps running in background will show on a task bar; hold down one of the icons until it gets jittery; then click the red dash in the top corner). This has helped, but I discovered today that my husband's Samsung Galaxy 3 was having similar issues. I did an online chat with an AT&T rep today, and she said that we should turn off cellular data at home to prevent this from happening. She said that the phones will use whichever signal is the strongest...cellular or Wi-fi. She also gave me the Uverse support phone number so I could investigate why my Wi-fi signal is intermittent. Anyway...my case shows it's not just an iPhone problem. For now, turn off your background apps and your cellular data...or even turn off your phone entirely. And check your data usage with your mobile carrier frequently!

Hi @vbtexas. Like you, I never ever came anywhere near 200 MB a month, and now I use that every couple of days. I don't use the phone any different. My wife, when she transitioned to an iPhone 5 / iOS 6.0, sees a minor bump in data usage, but still well below 200 MB per month. Strange.

Just a note of caution: many of us who turned off the cellular data still experienced a large block of data transferred the moment we re-connected the cellular data service. This has happened to me at home and when I was travelling. As @darelldd stated in an earlier post, it's almost as though the phone is storing up something and then transmitting when cellular data is switched on. It's crazy.

One would think the software logic would use WiFi when available, not just if it's the strongest signal. Personally, my 4G/LTE connection downloads video waaaay faster than my WiFi, but I don't want it to!

Thanks for the post and keep us informed on your data usage!

I can gurantee that the "uses strongest signal" bit is bunk. At least in my case! I'm fully aware of the strength and speeds of various WiFi signals that I use regularly. Some are so bad that the phone just comes to a stand-still while it desperately keeps trying to use WiFi when full-on LTE is right there available. I have to manually turn off WiFi just so I can keep using the phone in an acceptable manner. I haven't heard of ANYBODY noticing the phone using cellular during a week WiFi signal. It just doesn't happen. Imagine my shock that Cust Service was giving made-up information....

Per Ewitter's suggestion back on 2/7/13 I did in fact file a formal complaint with the FCC against Apple & AT&T at http://www.fcc.gov/complaints. Today I just received a voicemail from AT&T and the lady said she wanted to discuss my FCC complaint with me. She certainly sounded annoyed and less than enthusiastic on the voicemail, so I'm not that excited about calling her back. I will talk to her but I'm just so so so tired of talking to AT&T and Apple personnel who have no real answers for me and simply tell me the data usage doesn't lie so there must be *something* that I am doing differently. I have not changed the way I use my phone and somehow I'm using over 10x the data I normally did in the past for years and years on my other iphone. It's so frustrating to feel like no one "believes" me. Argh...

We ALL believe you. This is the first time in 20 years that I am considering abandoning Apple. The finger pointing is simply wrong, the stress associated with being a "Data Criminal" overwhelming, and the lack of either company taking responsibility and blaiming the customer suggests the future of metered data is fraught with danger.

Please to make the call, and report back. I think you could generate a flood of similar complaints. The money the companies are pocketing - stealing - from customers who don't have the time or ability to fight these charges must be HUGE.

Many thanks -

Great. Pursue the complaint. That should open up the issue and hopefully get it resolved. It is very interesting that vbtexas posted that her husband's Samsung Galaxy 3 had the same problem. It may not be an Apple IOS problem but actually something more involved that could affect other operating systems if the configuration is not adjusted to avoid it. It might not be an Apple problem.

Please please please call and inform her the call will be recorded for "Quality Purposes." That should keep her from disseminating further lies.

@StevenRnyc: your post a few days ago totally depressed me, but I can't blame you. This is not the same Apple. I know computers are incredibly complex, but what brought me to Apple products was that they made it look easy. They didn't burden the consumer, they took it upon themselves to make the device work beautifully and simply, even though there is a lot going on behind the scenes. Contrast with Microsoft, who continually rubs it in your face: "Installing 14 Updates, please do not shut down your computer" (for 20 minutes); "Oh, you weren't defragmenting on a regular basis? Shame on you!" etc., etc. I had to partition my Mac to install Windows (for work) and the Windows portion ran out of disk space within a year because of all the stupid updates being archived. So now we have iOS 6 sending huge amounts of something somewhere, and first they deny there is a problem, then they blame the carrier, who blames the wireless modem manufacturer, who will no doubt blame sun spots or meteors. Just awful. Now I'm supposed to remember to turn off (and turn back on) my cellular data? That's a Microsoft answer.

I've sent an email to AT&T asking why we get charged with bits of data when we're supposed to be on Wi-fi. As I stated previously, it's happening w/ my husband's Samsung Galaxy 3 too on AT&T. We all shut off cellular data, and my kids & I closed apps. No data leaks happened! Per Barometer's post, I turned cellular data back on this a.m. I haven't seen a large chunk of data transfer, but another 8Kb packet did while I'm on Wi-fi. My husband used an Android feature that lets him set a max on each app's cellular data, so he confidently turned back on his cellular data. So today, he's the one eating up chunks of data (80 Kb so far in a couple of hours while he's at work on Wi-fi). Meanwhile, my kids and my phones aren't leaking data while cellular data is off. I don't think it's an Apple problem, but with the carrier(s) or certain apps. I've sent an email to AT&T asking why I have to turn off cellular data in order not to leak it on Wi-fi when I never had to do it previously. I'll let you know what they say!

AT&T's response:

The iPhone and Smartphone devices receive updates and incoming mail to your email inbox, at all hours of the day. If subscribing to push-services or applications that deliver updates in real-time (social networking apps, news apps, weather alerts), this is why you may see data usage while not using the device..

The unbilled data usage on myWireless AT&T routinely updates systems to reflect recent data activity used on a device. This update helps ensure that our customers are billed in a timely manner for the data they have

used. This can happen in the early morning hours after long periods of in-activity, or at other pre-programmed intervals.

To turn the "fetch new data off", which will prevent the data being pushed to your phone automatically, and make it able to be checked manually to control the flow of data coming to the device, please do the

following:

Go to Settings>Mail, Contacts, Calendars>Fetch New Data, Change Push to ?OFF? and select option Fetch Manually.

The iPhone will suspend Wi-Fi connection when going into sleep mode to save battery life. It will attempt to reconnect to Wi-Fi upon waking up; if no Wi-Fi connection can be established, the device will revert to the

cellular network and data will be charged. There may be a brief delay for the device to reflect that the Wi-Fi network is being used. Visual Voicemail and push notifications from Apples? Push Notification Service

always travel over cellular even if the device has a Wi-Fi connection.

........

So why don't they point this out when you sign up for service with AT&T, so you're at least aware to check into this and don't blow your data plan? (um, answered my own question I think). Also, why wasn't this a problem previously? Maybe more apps are being pushed or fetched these days? Hmmm....

LKSchott--great idea, on the FCC.

VBtexas--Samsung GIII, I was wondering about this. I have been surfing trying to see if it suffers from these same leakage problems. I have not been able to find incidents on this for Samsung, would be interested if anyone else can comment on this.

also VB, leaking 80k is pretty minimal, barely detectable and I think for most here would not be an issue...

Hi

Like Jennie2408 I purchased a new iPhone 5 for my daughter for Christmas. since then she has consistently burnt her complete 500mb allowance by day 3 of the billing cycle. I thought it was her to start with and turned off the data. Next month turned it back on and same thing happened. It downloaded 400mb of data during the 20min she was getting redy for school. She wasnt even using the phone at the time and has been in full WiFi range when she has been at home. When it happened again I this week i rang Vodafone and they have wiped the over usage charge and recredited the 500mb. We have two other iPone 4s in the family but dont have any trouble with these. All are on the current IOS. She upgraded from an HTC Android and never got close to the limit before-no more that 100mb/month.

I have to say that i dont know what to do now. I am extreamly dissapointed with the performance of the iPhone 5. Basically it is unusable on data. I do not beleive that turning off the data when not using it is an acceptable option. Basically the phone does not do what it is supposed to do.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Please help Apple........

Well, as an update to everyone here I have been going back and forth with AT&T's executive office regarding the FCC complaint. I would really encourage EVERYONE here to file an FCC complaint as they must be addressed and maybe it will finally bring some solutions to this problem.

Unfortunately my interactions with the executive office have simply just made my blood pressure go higher and higher. They keep telling me it is "impossible" for it to be AT&T's problem and that it is solely a device issue. Apple's answer to me every time has been "it's not the phone, it's AT&T". Either way I'm feeling swindled since I have not changed the way I use my phone but now have paid for a $600 phone and have a monthly cell phone plan that is essentially unusable (as the only solution I've been able to find so far has been to turn cellular data off). I keep telling them about the thousands of people online who are complaining of this problem and that regardless of who is to blame that the two companies should at least try to work together to solve the problem.

So far with Apple I've gone to the genius bar and also spoken to Apple care. Does anyone know of any other way to "elevate" this issue with Apple? Thanks.

Ok, I MAY have solved this.

General -> About ->Digagnostics and Usage -> Don't Send

I switched from "Automatically Send" to "Don't Send" and my data use has dropped dramatically.

Try it - report your findings.

AT&T suggested this to me when I first complained. For me, it made no difference at all. I am currently monitoring daily usage and noting when I turn on/off cellular data, whether data usage is on when in range of WiFi, etc. I will report back when I have a clearer picture.

Wombatsev - sorry to hear your problem. It matches mine exactly. I think the only answer right now is return the phone and go with something else. Apple and the Carriers have known about this for 5 months and won't even acknowledge it, let alone fix it. So we're in for the long haul. I have an unlimited data plan so I can experiment with settings and not have to argue down my charges every month. I'm trying to isolate the problem and look for a solution, or least some patterns to the excessive usage. My goal is to see what I have to do to stay under 500 MB/month, or 200 MB/month, and see if it's worth it. But I agree with you totally, the darn thing should JUST WORK. The "old" Apple under Steve Jobs would never have let it get this far.

I've had the leakage problem since the git-go... and have had "don't send" set from the same git-go. I hope it works for you. Isn't going to help in all situations, certainly.