Data usage on iPhone despite turning cellular data off

[ali47]

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced the same issue with using an iPhone and if they managed to resolve this.

I just switched to Public Mobile today and chose the $25 plan with 1 GB and wanted to be more conservative with data usage because of this. Despite turning cellular data off and as many options as possible that could causing usage under "System Services" with my iPhone, the data usage under my PM account shows ~6 MB out of 1024 MB has been used today even though I have cellular data turned off and have been at home the entire day with wifi. I have already made sure to turn off features that could be using up data like the automatic app downloads, wifi assist, iCloud Drive updates... is this all that can be done with regard to trying to save data usage on the iPhone?

[gpixel]

@frankslo are you talking about the 31mb at 1:00am? did you use data at 11pm on the 6th?

[frankslo]

Thank you gpixel4.

This still does not explain to me why such a big usage on July 7, (first day of new cycle) when only regular stuff was open.

[gpixel]

@frankslo since you're in Alberta your data resets at 10:00pm. so the data you're seeing is you using the data passed 10:00.

I.e. if you're renewal date is the July 17th you're plan and data reset on July 16th 10:00pm

[frankslo]

Today for the first time I went to check detailed phone/text/data usage for each day.

I noticed something strange: on the day and time when automatic monthly payment was withdrawn from my credit card (July 7 at 1:02 AM) the report showed usage of 31.937 MB of data. This is strange. In the middle of the night when my data was turned off, just to process automatic payment almost 32 MB of data? Is this going to happen every month? 

On other days data is being used normally, so no complaints! 

[CalgaryBen]

---

@frankslo wrote:
After one month of being a member of PM, I have to state again that for some reason Data on my iPhone are being used much faster then with my previous provider. I turned off all suggested features on my phone, only keep most necessary things on, and even when cellular is turned fully off it still counts data. Something must leak, and I think professional attention is required! 
To do the same things I did before with less than 100 MB data, I now need more than 250 MB.

I would just like to find out if there is some leakage with data, and if it can be fixed.

---

When you audit your cell data usage from all apps (preferably after a reset of stats), is it leaking from a line that shows as "Uninstalled Apps"?  If so, that might be due to a bug in iOS 13 (it's unclear when this surfaced, maybe around 13.4?).  I haven't personally experienced this, but have read about some users seeing the data counter for "Uninstalled Apps" creep up inexplicably.  For example Google "ios 13 cell data leakage", and you'll find this referenced quite a bit.  Only fix at this point is to backup, wipe, and restore.

I've had no issues with cell data usage on my iPhone SE on PM (running iOS 13.5.1), and data use has been about where I'd expect, from the apps I knowingly use accordingly.  In fact the data use counter on the phone is within reasonable range compared to the counter on the PM Self-Serve portal.

One of my phones is an iPhone 4S (limited to iOS 9.3.6), and I've managed to stretch out a 200MB data add-on for over a year, even while leaving cellular data turned on all the time (it's usually on WiFi).  With this phone, I've disabled Cellular Data for all apps except "Find iPhone" (in case I ever lose it and want to recover it), and a couple apps I use for business, and of course "System Services" which can't be disabled (includes iMessage, etc.).

[Nezgar]

Public Mobile always seems to inflate the realtime data usage by about 5MB - so seeing 6MB used of your 1024 only means about 1MB probably used in reality.

If you turn off your phone, or enable airplane mode - the 5MB will magically dissapear if you reload the overview page in selfserve. Then turn off airplane mode, and magically +5MB again. 🤔😁

Try it!

[darlicious]

@frankslo 

            Ok so my original assumption was correct you indeed know what you are doing....normally most new customers notice a drop in data usage after their data speed is throttled down to 3mbps after 48 to 72 hours of activating so it is unusual that you are experiencing the opposite. You have the tools to monitor what is using data in your phone. ( I'm not sure if an iPhone enables you to compare month over month usage?)

             The data counter in your account on the overview page and the data/add ons usage page are very accurate and provide real time updates. The usage page that lists calls, SMS, MMS and web (data) activity only provides data usage updates twice daily. Connecting calls are shown in local time, call forwarded voicemail calls and SMS/MMS texts are shown at eastern time zone.

         Perhaps some other iPhone users can share their thoughts on your data usage such as @AE_Collector  or @CalgaryBen  or possibly @Nezgar (the calling/voicemail guru). To help satisfy your curiosity. It's always good to be aware of your own usage so if unusual activity or crazy glitch occurs your not suddenly left with no data. Being proactive can nip problems in the bud before they become a big issue. Welcome to the public mobile community where sharing is caring....and we can all learn from one another. Please report back with your findings.

Spoiler

You must have hit the spoiler icon by accident (the little triangle with an explanation point in it.

*

Spoiler

It's a mystery to me still....trying to work the dang tool bar!

[gpixel]

@frankslo your post was labeled spoiler because you enabled an option in the message box to do that. are you comparing the usage through your iPhone or are you using the data counter through your self serve? the self serve counter is more accurate

[frankslo]

I’ve had an iPhone for more than 10 years and I believe I know most if not all of its features and tricks...

I never had ‘wifi assist’ on, I never allow apps to be updated in the background, I keep cellular on ‘Low Data Mode’, (now with PM, not before!) etc...  I only keep data on for 2-3 things I really need, like Email (to be able to receive 5-8 short emails daily for my work. Those emails never had any attachments or pictures, so they are only about 100-200 KB each.) The other two apps also use minimal data.

And I am comparing data usage with previous provider keeping all settings the same as before.

I really am not complaining; the whole value is still much better with PM then it was before. I would just like to find out if there is some leakage with data, and if it can be fixed.

And I was surprised that my previous post was labeled as  “Spoiler”. Why was it so?

[darlicious]

@gpixel 

Lol....i had assumed @frankslo had already done that! And was still having an issue.... @frankslo have you turned off all your background data and your wifi assist? Set your data saver and tracker?

[gpixel]

@frankslo show a screenshot of your apps using the data. make sure you set your cycle usage date to the same date as your self serve renewal. 

you can enable low data mode to restrict most apps from using data in the background

[darlicious]

@frankslo 

   Maybe @LurganIeUk  can help shed some light on why your using more data now on your iPhone than before. He's a longtime iPhone user and is conservative with his mobile data use.

[darlicious]

   Maybe @LurganIeUk  can help shed some light on why your using more data now on your iPhone than before. He's a longtime iPhone user and is conservative with his mobile data use.

[frankslo]

Spoiler

After one month of being a member of PM, I have to state again that for some reason Data on my iPhone are being used much faster then with my previous provider. I turned off all suggested features on my phone, only keep most necessary things on, and even when cellular is turned fully off it still counts data. Something must leak, and I think professional attention is required! 
To do the same things I did before with less than 100 MB data, I now need more than 250 MB.

[carlaspapa]

I hardly ever use my data I almost don't need it. Once or twice on the bus to work I've use it to ask a question here but otherwise I just checked the tide charts and use my phone at home on Wi-Fi.

[fdrcamb519]

@ali47 

I can relate, I was with freedom, now with PM, noticed with iPhone the data keeps being used on standby, turned every thing off, as recommended by members but no difference, now I just turn data on when needed.

[geopublic]

@ali47  This has been discussed before. What you see is a data buffer that comes and goes but does not get counted towards your final data's usage tally. Also, there is a tiny data leak with  MMS that also will affect the counter. (Very small kB amount not worth worrying about either.)

[darlicious]

@ali47 

As stated that's the data buffer pm takes and resets throughout your 30 day cycle. (You can reset it using airplane mode.) This will basically happen daily...and reset daily as well. The buffer will be taken when triggered usually by one of two things : an MMS text message ( which requires data but does not count on your usage) or your OS app will trigger it when you briefly leave wifi (weak wifi signal, you step outside, you reboot your modem etc....) This is normal and even if you run out of data your phone will still take this buffer.

[gblackma]

@ali47  put your phone in aeroplane mode and log back into your self service account qnd chexk your data. This should return the buffer mentioned by @Jb456 immediately. Of course, when you take it off of aeroplane mode, turn on data, it will take it back.  Stay safe. 

[gpixel]

@ali47 let us know what happens tomorrow. I was gonna test this out yesterday, but i ended up turning data on. don't go by what your phone data counter says, it's not accurate. go with the self serve account overview counter

[ali47]

@Jb456 

Hmm, I’ll have to wait a few days and see if that’s the case. So far, it seems the usage is still increasing when I check back on System Services and its data usage. 

[ali47]

@Ailicec 

Yep 😕 turned off all the sneaky options on the Cellular Data page. 

[Jb456 · Accepted solution]

There is a data buffer of like 5.82mb when data is turned on. Once your turn data off it takes awhile for it to drop from your self serve account. Are you sure that it's not this that you're seeing?

As for your other question...ensure apps are set to download updates on wifi only... Turn off wifi assist...software updates should be wifi only.

Welcome to Public Mobile 🙂 and if you used a referral code to join the$10 credit will be applied within 72 hours.

[Ailicec]

have you checked out that sneaky box called "wifi assist"?