Data Usage - Is it right?

[timmmmeh]

Hey Ya'll

First month coming to a close here.  Prior months (2 years trend) usage with myself, wife & teenage son, saw us using around 3.5-4.5 Gb of data in a month.  We're new here, so this is our first time with PM  - why is our data so low?

Granted, I think we're using 3G vs 4GLTE - but still - we're barely 1.3Gb between the three of us.  Is there a hidden bucket of Data that shows somewhere?

Now - my S7 Edge agrees with my online Self-serve - I'm just concerned that I'm missing something somewhere. 

[MarieWILLIAMS22]

Hi, well this was my first time using this site, being as i always call customer service for everything, however the system is changed up as of the 15th  so the told me to come here to get my problem solved,  i just need my 3gig back please and thank you

[Anonymous]

Hi @MarieWILLIAMS22, Forst and foremost, you should not put any private information on this community forum, as it is public to anyone.

Now, regarding your data issue, Did you log into your self serve portal to see if the data shows up in there?  Is it a 3G or LTE plan that you have.  You can see this in your self serve portal.  If it is a 3G plan, it will be marked on the screen somewhere next to your 3GigaBytes.  If you are on a 3G plan, and you recently have an auto-renewal, that could have caused the problem.  Sometimes, the data used does not get reset when the renewal happens.  Please check these, and get back to us.  Someone might be able to help out further.

Asside from that, you can send a private message to the moderators team (Public Mobile staff).  They would be able to resolve this if there is something at the account level.  However, they are gone for the day and will only be back at 9AM(EST).

Click here to send them a private message.
You can find information regarding the moderators team by following this link.

By the way, what customer support told you to come here? 

[MarieWILLIAMS22]

Hi, my number is 64xxxxxxx. I am having problem with my internet, i lost my 3gigabites and i would like for you to return it to my phone, i being having this problem, and customer service  say i should contact you guys for the return of it. Thank you, return now please thanks 

[timmmmeh]

So. First month is under our belt. 

Yes to those who asked, we were on the Shared plan with Rogers. We reset our phone data to start at the same billing cycle and the counter in the phone was within a couple megabytes. No big deal. Was just surprised at how little data we were actually using, considering I've only ever been with Rogers. 

Thanks for all the insights to our plan and the management tools available .

Cheers to many more months!

Tim

[GreatCanadian]

Hello Tim,

Here are my observations on data usage. I am on a 90 day 12 GB 3G data plan with Public Mobile. I don't use near the data that I used when I was with Telus with LTE data. I streamed a couple of games of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and am not careful with my data usage (I stream music, but the curling was the only video streamed. Streaming video is not a habit of mine as it can eat data!!). When with Telus, I had to watch my data closely. I still use less data than with Telus. At first glance it seems that 3G uses less data than LTE. However, when I travel to the US I usually just purchase a 1 month unlimited high speed data plan from T-Mobile or one of the other carriers. Flat out usage on these carriers seems to use a lot less data than Telus at home. For example, on a 3 week trip last year I uploaded 100's of photos, Skyped roller coaster rides with family back home, video conversations with family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and was not connected to wifi at all. Total usage for 3 weeks was under 4 GB. I honestly believe that data usage by the big three in Canada is a lot less than they are reporting. Just an opinion, but each time I travel to the US I am majorly surprised by how little data I use.

GC

P.S. Yes, the data usage reported by PM is accurate.

[srlawren · Accepted solution]

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wrote:

Thanks @ShawnC13 - but as the Data Usage for PM - does it accrue data after the fact, or if I've looked today, is the balance up to date?

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@timmmmeh welcome to Public Mobile, Tim! [Edit: apparently I can't spell Mobile!] To address your question on timing:  there are essentially two places where you can see data usage in your self-serve account.  When you first sign in and land on the Overview page, there is a section titled My Data and Add-Ons.  In there, that number is basically real-time, showing you in total how much you have consumed out of your plan amount.  

However, if you go to Plans and Add-ons tab, then Usage History sub-tab, you can get a breakdown of your recent usage.  But, the data reported here is only updated every 12-24 hours in one big bucket that covers that time period.  So, you can get a sense for how much you are using daily from there, but it will be lagging basically to previous day's data.  So it's not real-time, unlike the total on the Overview page which essentially is.

[Acekiller]

usually you hear people complain of over use, not underuse!

[closng]

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wrote:

Part of the disparity *could* be the fact you’re on 3G vs LTE and I do believe as with most providers the self serve date tracker is 24-48 hours behind. My guess is something in your family’s data usage has changed (background app usage maybe?) as I don’t truly believe Rogers skews their data usage to scam their customers. 

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I'd have to agree with @mtfolks on this one that it could be a combination of both 3G data and the possibility of app usage pattern (either not using anymore or app that has been updated to be more data efficient). But nonetheless, this is good news right? 🙂

I believe the data usage history on the self-serve portal is up to date and not delayed. However, the "usage history" is delayed.

[mtfolks]

Part of the disparity *could* be the fact you’re on 3G vs LTE and I do believe as with most providers the self serve date tracker is 24-48 hours behind. My guess is something in your family’s data usage has changed (background app usage maybe?) as I don’t truly believe Rogers skews their data usage to scam their customers. 

[will13am]

@timmmmeh, the data tracking is accurate.  I use the data witness app and the numbers are very close to the Public Mobile tracker.  Believe me you are not getting something for nothing.  Enjoy the service and don't worry too much.  BTW, did you happen to have a share plan previously?  The Public Mobile plans don't have sharing.  The data usage is per user.

[timmmmeh]

Thanks @ShawnC13 - but as the Data Usage for PM - does it accrue data after the fact, or if I've looked today, is the balance up to date?

If so - Big Red was screwing me up. Happy to have this new set of usage!

Tim

[ShawnC13]

@timmmmeh, a great data tracking app for Android is Data Witness.  It was designed by a PM customer @IWIK I believe.  You can set it up for 30 day and 90 day plans and for me it has been working great.