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What applications use cellular data even when you're on wi-fi

My daughters iPhone 4S seems to be burning through data. It shows as using cellular data even when she is at home and on wifi. I can't seem to isolate what application is doing that. Anybody knows?


Thanks.

MacBook Air

Posted on Jan 13, 2013 1:15 PM

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Posted on Jan 13, 2013 1:27 PM

Unless her phone is connected to a power source, it will disconnect from WiFi, when entering sleep mode, & use cellular data, if a data connection is required.

12 replies

Mar 19, 2013 3:20 AM in response to wjosten

Not true.


If the iphone has access to WiFi, it will use that when data is required. If it is sleep mode, and data is needed, it will use WiFi if available.


If I am downloading an iOS update over WiFi, and my phone goes to sleep, it does not switch over to cellular data. It continues on the WiFi network.


I think what Valerie2100 is experiencing is the same situation that Verizon users did. Even though it is connected to a WiFi network (or says it is) it is still using cellular data.


I too am burning through data to the tunes of 6 GB in 4 days. Something is up and Apples boards are flooded with this same problem, regardless of carrier. I'm on AT&T.

Mar 19, 2013 4:25 AM in response to wjosten

So your saying:


I get home after work and decide to listen to Pandora while I make dinner. I plug in headphones, open the app and choose my station, making sure my iPhone says I'm connected to my WiFi network.


I start streamiong Pandora and drop my phone into my pocket.


By your logic, when the phone goes to sleep in my pocket, it will drop my WiFi connection and connect to LTE and continue streaming Pandora over LTE.


BUT, when I take it out of my pocket, and wake it, it reconnects to WiFi. Until it falls asleep again in my pocket and reconnects to LTE.


Yes?


I couldn't be the same problem that Verizon users were experiencing (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5526)? Sure sounds like it to me.


PS Yes, I burning thrugh data, but I'm connected to a power source.

Mar 19, 2013 4:35 AM in response to J. Christopher Edwards

By your logic, when the phone goes to sleep in my pocket, it will drop my WiFi connection and connect to LTE and continue streaming Pandora over LTE.


Wrong because your iPhone is not asleep while streaming music via wi-fi. You can have the screen set to turn off and you can manually turn the screen off whille streaming music with Pandora via wi-fi, but the iPhone is being actively used and is not asleep. The screen being off alone does not mean the iPhone is asleep.


It should be worded the iPhone will disconnect from wi-fi when asleep and not being actively used when not connected to a power source, which is very much true.

Mar 19, 2013 4:41 AM in response to Allan Sampson

Yes Allen, that I totally am on board with.


That is not, however, what wjosten said.


Of course none of this solves the excessive data use hundreds of people (if not more) are experienceing.


I'm sticking to my first theory. It's a similar bug to the Verizon issue I mentioned before.


It is the only explanation that explains it.

Mar 19, 2013 4:57 AM in response to wjosten

No. Being connected to a power source and having the WiFi antenna being actively used are two completely different things.


I can have my phone connected to my charger just...charging. Nothing else. No WiFi. Nothing.


Allan's point is that the WiFi radio has to be DOING SOMETHING. Streaming music. Downloading a video. Software updates, etc. This is what keeps it from turning off WiFi. Not whether It is connected to a power source.


See the difference?

What applications use cellular data even when you're on wi-fi

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