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Being charged for data when data is off.

My iPhone uses data even when I turn the data off. The phone uses 0.02 MB a day when I have the data button off. This should not be. Is Apple doing something to correct this, or do I have to set some other switch as well as the data switch?

Posted on Apr 21, 2016 5:41 PM

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26 replies

Apr 22, 2016 11:11 AM in response to burbiz01

burbiz01 wrote:


Consumer Cellular, my carrier, lets me see how much data I am using on a Web page. I have checked at the page and on days I have the cellular data switch off, it shows that I have used 0.02 MB.

I do not know if this is the case for you, but...


SMS (text messages) use the cellular voice network. MMS (picture messages) use the cellular data network. Carriers will "count" the amount of data you send including pictures, but they do not charge you for it or count it against any allotment you may have.


I only point out this specific scenario to show that you may be seeing data transmitted, but it may not translate into data billed.

Apr 22, 2016 2:43 PM in response to ember1205

No, I don’t remember ever sending a MMS (picture message). If I want to send anyone a picture from my iPhone, I download the picture to my computer, then send the picture as an attachment to an email. I tried and failed to send a text message to multiple recipients. I was told that if I send to one person, it uses the cellular voice, but for more than one I need to connect to the internet. I believe that I used Wi-Fi and was able to send a text to more than one person.

I use Google voice for my voice mail. I use the option to send me a text of the message to my iPhone. Am I charged twice for that, once for the message and once for cellular data, even though I have cellular data turned off?

The only time I use the cellular data is for the Maps app. If I turn on cellular data, but turn off using cellular data for Maps, and I try to use Maps, I get a message that I have to turn on the option for Maps under cellular data.

Apr 22, 2016 2:47 PM in response to burbiz01

burbiz01 wrote:


No, I don’t remember ever sending a MMS (picture message). If I want to send anyone a picture from my iPhone, I download the picture to my computer, then send the picture as an attachment to an email. I tried and failed to send a text message to multiple recipients. I was told that if I send to one person, it uses the cellular voice, but for more than one I need to connect to the internet. I believe that I used Wi-Fi and was able to send a text to more than one person.

I use Google voice for my voice mail. I use the option to send me a text of the message to my iPhone. Am I charged twice for that, once for the message and once for cellular data, even though I have cellular data turned off?

The only time I use the cellular data is for the Maps app. If I turn on cellular data, but turn off using cellular data for Maps, and I try to use Maps, I get a message that I have to turn on the option for Maps under cellular data.

Picture messages are one type of MMS - group messages (sending to multiple people at once) are another. If you have cellular data disabled, you can use SMS all you want but MMS will never work.


GV sending you a text about the voicemail message is using SMS - no data consumption there. In fact, GV doesn't support MMS very well (if at all) with most carriers. If someone sends you a MMS message to your GV number (did you know you could do that?), your best bet is to have GV send you that message by EMAIL and not forward it to your phone. For reference, there is NO WAY to -send- an MMS via GV.

Apr 22, 2016 5:21 PM in response to burbiz01

Have you asked the carrier to provide you with details about the data usage? In other words, have you asked them to PROVE that you've used the data? It would be interesting to know what they come back with in terms of exactly what data they saw, and when they saw it.


Something else to be aware of is that what you are seeing may be a "when the data is being reported" as opposed to "when the data is being used". I know that with AT&T, for example, the information pertaining to data usage is stored in the tower that you're connected to when you use the data. It is some time AFTERWARD that the information is collected and made available. So, you could browse the web tonight at 10PM and there might not be a record of that data being used until maybe noon time tomorrow.

Apr 22, 2016 5:44 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:


Visual Voicemail uses cellular data, even if you have a WiFi connection and even if you turn off cellular data. I'm not sure why you are concerned about 20KB of data a day, however. That would be less than 1 MB a month.

I don't know about you, but when I turn something OFF, I expect it to be OFF. Regardless of how much bleed-through data that results in per month, it's unauthorized. How does a program use a data connection that has been disabled? I can understand using cellular data even when on WiFi because your cellular data connection is always present, EVEN WHEN ON WIFI, unless you purposely turn cellular data off.


There's a setting in the new iOS that actually caused some folks to burn more data than they expect, and I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it before.


Settings -> Cellular -> Wi-Fi Assist (it's all the way at the bottom). Turn this OFF.

Apr 22, 2016 6:24 PM in response to burbiz01

burbiz01 wrote:


Thanks for the suggestion about asking the carrier, I did that before. Consumer Cellular is a re-seller of AT&T wireless. I was told that they don’t know when the data is used, they just receive the information from AT&T and post it on their internet site.

It is possible, then, that the data you see listed for any particular day may have actually been used the day before. Would that make sense according to your usage? Like I said... I -know- that this occurs with AT&T towers.

Being charged for data when data is off.

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