Data usage

[teazle]

I started a 30 day $25/mo plan with 1Gb of data/mo., with autopay. On my first monthly payment day after startup, when I received the message saying my auto payment had gone through, I reset cellular data statistics to zero on my iPhone so I could keep track of data usage against my 1Gb monthly allowance.  A week later my iPhone says I have used 2Mb but my Public Mobile account says I have used 6.85Mb against my 1,024Mb allowance.  Either amount only indicates minimal usage of second month's data allowance to date, but anyone have any ideas as to why the iPhone measures such a smaller amount versus Public Mobile?

[Anonymous]

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@teazle wrote:

Thanks @RobertQc. I read the link you provided and re-checked my account this morning, and voila! My usage had dropped to 1.55 Mb, just like the link said. “Ghost” data.  Interesting. I’ll treat it as a curious idiosyncrasy of Public Mobile service.

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I call it a buffer. When you turn on cell data, the system "takes" that amount. Then you use some data. If you use more than the buffer then it "takes" another buffer chunk. After airplane mode or restarting (and maybe some amount of time like overnight) it clears the buffer and drops your usage down to actual usage.

[teazle]

Thanks @RobertQc. I read the link you provided and re-checked my account this morning, and voila! My usage had dropped to 1.55 Mb, just like the link said. “Ghost” data.  Interesting. I’ll treat it as a curious idiosyncrasy of Public Mobile service.

[iliketotalk]

yes @RobertQc is right it happened with my old samsung also  

[iliketotalk]

@teazle yea I am probably alot like you in that respect I monitor mine all the time lol

[RobertQc]

@teazle 

This is likely "ghost" data. It's not just an iphone. Please read this post.

[teazle]

Interesting. Thanks. I'll monitor it as I go through the month and see if my ongoing experience matches yours.  Maybe just an inherent iPhone thing.

[iliketotalk · Accepted solution]

@teazle hi it happens to me with my iphone  everytime you turn on your data it automaticaly uses approx. 5.3 mb even if I dont use any then after awhile it goes away when I turn data off or if I toggle in and out off airplane mode some people call it ghost data  I assume it is some kind of buffer

[Anonymous]

@teazle  - To be honest, I too see a small amount of residual data showing as having been used after renewal.  Im on a samsung, so it is not an iPhone thing.  Considering the small amount of data involved, haven't done much about it.  Plus, phone's calculation and service provider's calculation might not line up exactly.

[tsparkle21]

In the small print is says, 

“Data usage is rounded up each session to the nearest 10KB.”

so that might be one factor to account for.