Data Usage not Reset at Start of Cycle

[TP666]

My subscription usage, per the App and Web site, is currently sitting at 1.35GB. However, the total of all data usage going back to the start of the cycle is only 587.85MB. I have already put the phone in airplane mode, which released the 100MB - the "1.35GB" is after putting it in airplane mode. This has happened in the past (I think that it was last month or the month before. Last time, I only noticed the issue after the end of the billing cycle, so PM was unable to fix the problem and just merrily ate a bunch of my [legacy, non-expiring] extra data.😡

Finding this has been made much more difficult by the fact that the ability to download my usage from the Web is completely broken. It looks like the Web app is trying to send the data to the server in order to format it as a PDF. However, the server is only willing to accept a maximum of 500 entries and data uploaded is all of the usage entries, not just the filtered entries (e.g. "Data"), so it includes all of the entries for SMS messages.

[TP666]

This is pretty close to the explanation that I eventually got from the PM CSA.

Apparently, the usage figure presented in the App and Web site is the total amount of data that has been used from any "source" (renewing allotment for your billing cycle plus plus any data add-ons you have in your account.) So, in my case, since I have currently used about 1.2 GB of the 6GB of non-renewing, non-expiring add-on data, my data usage figure in the App /Web will never go below 1.2GB and will start there when my billing cycle begins in another couple of days. This is so counter-intuitive!! It also means that you have to take an extra step on the overview page of looking at the high-level "Usage Breakdown" (showing usage of each source of data) in order to find out how much billing-cycle data you have left.

[TP666]

As a bit of an update, I was able to download the last 90 days on the app and then transfer that to Excel on my PC to work on it. If I add up (in the spreadsheet) all of the data used, it comes to only 810.52 MB. This is still about 570MB less than the Overview in the app says that I've used (and that is using info going back to just after Christmas, not the 26 days back to the start of my subscription cycle!)

😲🙄😠

[TP666]

One possibility for the error in Data Witness for PM, which could result in a 5% error is the difference between MB and MiB (i.e. 1,000,000 bytes vs 1,048,576 bytes.) Having a look at the raw data sent down from the PM server for the detailed breakdown, I have been able to see that the rounded figures displayed (e.g. "2.18 MB") refer to MiB. So, the actual figure of "2286592" is displayed as "2.18 MB". It is still completely unknown which sort of "MB" is being used by the Data Witness for PM app.

[will13am · Accepted solution]

@TP666 , this is a very well discussed topic over the years.  Given how data usage is currently presented in the account, it can cause all sorts of confusion.  The add-on data is lumped in with the included data.  When a data add-on is partially consumed, that consumption is lumped into the ongoing usage count for the current plan cycle.  As a result, the data meter may never goes to zero.  Then there is the weird effect where the included data metering shows a slight bit of usage initially after renewal and then zeros later in the day.  All in all, I am reasonably convinced that there are no actual errors with the data metering.  As for the data witness app, I have it on my phone.  Over the years, I have found it to have lost some accuracy.  The app has not been updated for many years.  I think the ongoing OS updates might affecting the app performance.  

[TP666]

I had already installed the "Data Witness for PM" app. It is showing total usage of 558MB (30MB (5% error) less than the detailed usage from the PM web site,) It also indicates that I used only 77% of my data limit during the last cycle, so the excessive usage must date back even further. Finally, it indicates that I have used just 308MB of my 6GB of bonus data, not the 1.21GB that the PM claims that I have used from that extra data. Sigh! Bye bye, 900MB!

[funpig1]

@TP666 

In addition to checking your mobile data usage in your phone settings, you can also go into your phone settings to see how much mobile data each of your apps are using. So many of the modern apps will continue to use data in the background. Google (or Siri) is always listening and reporting your location, etc. 

How much is your plan and what is your total data package? If you are only on 250 mb plan, you may wish to upgrade to a better plan for a few dollars more. Currently I am on a $20 4G 3GB plan and I never touch my 6GB of old Holiday data.

[TP666]

Yes, I have been with PM for about 5 years. I have (or rather, had!) a total of 6GB of bonus data. A little of that had already been legitimately (I think!) used by exceeding my tiny 250MB allotment in the past. The problem is that the detailed usage breakdown shows that I have used about 588MB of data this cycle, whereas the usage summary shows that I have used 1350MB of data - that extra 760MB coming from my legacy, non-expiring data.

Clearly, this is something that I will now have to check at the start of every single cycle - has my data usage been reset back to 0MB? Sigh!

[funpig1]

@TP666 

How long have you been a public mobile customer? Would you happen to still have some old Holiday gift data from years ago? If so, you may have used some, but not all of that Holiday data.  Your monthly usage breakdown will continue to show the previous usage of that Holiday data.

You can also go into your phone settings and compare the mobile data usage independently from the Public Mobile App. Make sure to set the start date the same as your renewal date. The usage may not be exactly the same but should be close.

[TP666]

I have used both Web (on a PC) and App (on a phone). Both indicate the same significant overage. It was 1.45GB on the Web and then, after putting the phone into airplane mode, that was adjusted down to the 1.35GB indicated in my message.

I'm just lucky that I caught this before my cycle was up (the cycle renews in 4 days.)

[TheSterlinger]

So far mine always reset on it own. But intriguing as I've seen others posts similar findings. 

On the web page there is a Refresh button.  Click that and see if it will make any difference. 

[TP666]

Note that I have just now submitted a support ticket. We'll see what happens with that. 🤔