iPhone 5c is using an excessive amount of data even when connected to wi-fi

First, make sure your phone is able to connect to your wifi, it sounds like it isn't.

Next go into your phone settings to cellular data and go thorough the list of apps and turn off apps you do not want to use over mobile data. Facebook, for one use a lot of data.

start checking on your device to see how much data your phone is really using. One of the biggest complaints is the provider will register far more usage than actually happens. Sometimes the cell carrier claims more mobile data than a device used even if mobile data and wifi data were added together.

This is an issue with the 5c and I assume 5s and complaints of massive data usage has been reported since last October. Google iPhone 5c data usage and you will be thousands of complaints on this. We are experiencing the same thing. I had 4 phones on my plan with 6GB. 3 iPhone 4s and 1 iPhone 5. I have the iPhone 5 and I average about 500MB a month and I'm a tech guy with email, apps, etc but do use wifi at home and work. My wife and daughter were averaging about 1.5 GB a month on their 4s's. I upgraded my wife to the 5c and her data tripled. She is now using about 4GB a month and nothing has changed with the way she uses the phone. On wifi at home most of the time. I upgraded my daughter recently to the 5c and the same thing happened. She is now averaging 3.5 GB and I had to upgrade our plan to 8GB. The new phones are definitely using a ton more data even though you are on wifi.

Reports from other boards and messages state that your phone sends mysterious data every 6 hours via cellular regardless if you are on wifi or not. I guess this is also happening to phones on other wireless providers so it is probably an apple issue. I can't believe there hasn't been a solution since Oct of last year. I'm thinking about selling our 5c's and moving my family to android phones just to resolve this or finding a used iphone 5 as I don't have the data issue with my 5.

Hope they find a solution soon.

I am also having the a problem with increase in data usage! I called Verizon and Apple and they both act like they never heard of the problem. Then you google it and people having been complaining to both their sites for several months. I know for a fact that some of my data charges are while I am asleep and my phone is connected to my wi-fi. So how is this happening? Their solution to the problem is to turn off the cellular data and just use wi-fi but then why would I even pay for a smart phone? Why don't Verizon and apple just fix the problem???? The other solution Verizon and Apple instructed me to do was disable my LTE. Again, why have the phone and pay a data bill if you can't even use the phone correctly. I can tell you the charge I already had this morning, I was still asleep and my phone says it is connected to my wi-fi. So, how did this charge come about????

Careful on that switch. My daughter got an iPhone 5 last July and my data plan has gone through the roof. I'm here trying to find out why, only to find out that it appears to be a huge Verizon/iPhone 5 problem. I don't believe hers is a C or an S, at least it doesn't show it on the phone model at the Verizon site. Now my son wants an iPhone and I'm like, heck no! Thinking of moving us all back to Android on a contract free plan.

It's not a 'huge problem'. It's you not being familiar with how to set up controls and restrictions on the device. The options are there for you to use. You being ignorant of those options isn't Apple's fault. But ignorance is curable, with information.

Go to Settings > Cellular > Reset Statistics. Start from here, and use it to monitor what apps are using the cellular data. Disable any apps that use more cellular data than you want, so those apps only use wi-fi. In fact, for your children, simply disable all the apps from using Cellular Data (other than what you approve). Don't allow Netflix or YouTube to use cellular data. Heck, don't even allow Safari to use cellular data. They can still use wi-fi for any data they need, and it doesn't interfere with text messages or phone calls.

Use the Restrictions function (Settings > General > Restrictions) to disable the ability to toggle those apps on/off for cellular data, as well as other features such as installing or deleting apps, making in-app purchases, viewing adult content, etcetera. My son's iPhone is set up so that he only has Messages & Mail that can use cellular data. He cannot install or delete an application. He cannot change or modify the emails accounts on his device including the iCloud Account. His Safari usage is limited to very specific websites. He can't even go to Google to 'look something up'. He can go to pbskids.org, www.nick.com, and a few other age-appropriate websites. How did I do this??? I've used the options, features and tools that Apple has provided.

Apple provides you with options to monitor the cellular data usage, limit the cellular data usage, and as a parent, to restrict the cellular data usage.

Use these options.

Mammahawk is not being ignorant. What good is an iphone if you have to shut everything off. That is why I bought a smart phone in the first place. I went to verizon and I had everything turned off except for find my iphone and also we disabled my 4G per verizon's fix and this still has not helped and while I was in the store there were 2 others in for the same reason!!! Go the verizon support page and you will see 6 pages of complaints on this issue.

Judging by some of the responses, I'd say we have some pretty arrogant apple supporters in the forum that are failing to see past their bias into the real problem. First of all, my daughter is not an irresponsible data hog, she's 19 and has had a cell phone since she was 11. We only made the switch from Android to IPhone a year ago and that's when the problem started. Hindsight says I should have questioned it soonetlr, because she had full WiFiat home and aat school, and when she wasn't in either of those places, she was at work, which didn't allow for cell phone use, yet the data plan still racked up to 6Gb, a 3 GB increase from our previous average. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not an iPhone savvy person, I love my Android. I love it even more seeing how little data I use and how little techno speak I have to muddle through in Google and forums to figure out why her phone is the hog. I Facebook, I twitter, I Instagram, Snapchat and websurf. She pretty much just Instagrams, texts and snapchats. She does like Pandora in the car, but that's about 1 hour day. I know about the family plan, but I'll be damned if I am going to throw even another $5 at Verizon so that I can stop my 19 yrs old from using her phone. The problem is the IPhone/Verizon/service combination. If Pandora is the problem, its easily resolved with a T-Mobile plan.

PABTAB wrote:

Mammahawk is not being ignorant. What good is an iphone if you have to shut everything off. That is why I bought a smart phone in the first place. I went to verizon and I had everything turned off except for find my iphone and also we disabled my 4G per verizon's fix and this still has not helped and while I was in the store there were 2 others in for the same reason!!! Go the verizon support page and you will see 6 pages of complaints on this issue.

Yes, she is. Not knowing how to control which features of an iPhone use cellular data is a case of ignorance. Ignorance simply means 'lack of knowledge'.

The iPhone user has the power to decide what apps are allowed to use cellular data.

If you want every app to be able to use cellular data, then you'll have to pay for the use of that data. If you want to control how much data is used, then the options I described give you that power.

Use the Cellular Data options I described. I'm also a responsible user, but I've set limits on my own device so that I never use cellular data for things like YouTube or NetFlix.

I ALSO gave you advice on how to check to see WHICH apps are using the data in question, so that you can choose whether or not to keep the app on your device.

And finally, you can check for 'data leakage' (a very rare hardware issue) by turning off cellular data completely and seeing if data usage goes up. If that happens, it's a hardware problem, not an iOS problem.

This is a problem with 5C. I stayed home all day the other day and was on wi-fi and still was charging me data. I talked with verizon today and the guy said that maybe there is an issue with the sims card but still won't really admit there is a problem. I have everything on my phone shut off. Went to verizon store and verified it and still charges me data at least 4 times a day. So, it has nothing to do with ignorance. There is a problem with the phone. Look on the support page of verizon it has surpassed 10 pages of complaints of this issue. Along, with Apple support page with complaints.

One more thing, Verizon also had me set up Onavo Count to see what using my data and it shows nothing but I am still being charged data.

There may be a problem with your iPhone. Hardware issues can cause this sort of issue, so that's why you should test the hardware as described.

Make a backup. Restore as new. Reset your cellular statistics. Turn OFF cellular data. Use the device for 24 hours. If your device uses cellular data even when set up this way, then your particular iPhone 5C has a hardware problem. Get it fixed.

Then get your iPhone serviced. It likely has a hardware issue.

There is a problem with alot of 5C. Have you researched Verizons support page and seen that I am not the only one with this same problem. I am trying to get if fixed but verizon doesn't seem to want to help. They just keep saying there is no problem. I have the cellular data off. I know there is probably a hardware problem but I am not the only one having this issue. So there is either a verizon or apple issue. We have reset my phone twice via apple support. None of my apps are turned on to Cellular data. The cellular data has been turned off for a couple of months now. It still shows cellular data being used. I have brought my phone in also. I have had verizon look at and they can see nothing is turned on. Like I said earlier they even had me use the Onavo Count app to see what is using the data it and it comes up empty but verizon is still charging me for data usage. My children have Samsungs and leave their cellular data on all the time and they don't even use 1gb. I would switch phones but I am in a 2 yr. contract.

Then you need to make an appointment at the Genius Bar at Apple to have the hardware checked. With cellular data turned off, you should not be consuming data. If the app and Verizon cannot determine what that is, let Apple take a look at it.