11-20-2020 07:22 AM - edited 01-05-2022 04:11 PM
I have had the same data plan for the last year and it was sufficient. This month I have maxed my data out and had to purchase an extra 3 gigs. Each gig depleted within a couple of days and I have made sure to barely use my phone on the internet as all. Can someone look into this? Who can I contact for help?
11-20-2020 12:20 PM
I can understand your frustration with this. I would suggest 2 ideas, first turn off Wi-Fi Assist and turn off background app refresh.
Apple
Go to settings > cellular or settings > mobile data. then scroll down and tap the slider for Wi-Fi assist.
Settings > general > background app refresh.
Android
Settings > google > networking > Wi-Fi assist
Also, if you’re on android and your noticing lots of data usage when you’re not using your phone, it could be a virus. Install this anti virus too:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bitdefender.antivirus
11-20-2020 10:39 AM
There are a few quick and easy ways for you to track how much data you use.
1. Public Mobile My Account
You can easily view your usage in your Public Mobile Self Serve account by clicking on the Plan and Add-Ons tab, then on Add-On Usage. Here, you will find a summary of your data usage for the current billing cycle. You can also conveniently select Usage History for a daily, weekly or monthly summary view.
Don’t have a Public Mobile My Account yet? No worries, you can register here.
2. Data Usage Notifications
Public Mobile will notify you via text message when you're close to using all of the data included in your rate plan. Data notifications indicate how much of your included plan data you have used, so you know when you’re approaching your limit. The default data notifications are set at 75%, 95% and 100% consumption of your data allotments.
Find out more about data notifications on our Community!
3. Data Manager Applications
Did you know? Most smartphones have a pre-installed data manager application which allows you to set cellular data usage notifications and data limit according to your Public Mobile expiry date?
For more information, please click on the link that corresponds with your handsets brand:
BlackBerry > Select your device > Select Settings > Select Connections >Select monitor your wireless data usage
Can’t find a pre-installed data management app in your handset? Don’t worry, visit your mobile application store to find free data management applications:
@IWIK "Data Witness" for Android - complete setup guide can be found here
Managing your data usage
Now that you know how to track your data usage, we want to share some tips and tricks for managing features and applications.
1. Autoplay
Many of the most commonly used applications like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube offer a neat feature called Autoplay. While using this app, the Autoplay feature will preload and play videos automatically in your “news” feed automatically as you progress through it.
While this is great for quickly watching videos, it can also consume a lot of data. (Did you know that watching a video over your mobile data varies from 0.21 Mbps (Megabytes per seconds) to 5.2 Mbps depending on its quality?)
If you’re finding that you’re going through your data really quickly or know that you’ve almost used your entire allotted amount, setting your Autoplay to work using Wi-Fi only or disabling it may be a good option for you. Learn how to below.
Visit the Facebook “Autoplay” help page for more details.
Visit the Instagram “Use Less Data” help page for more details.
Visit the Twitter “How can I stop videos from autoplaying” help page for more details.
YouTube
Visit the YouTube “Turn-Off Autoplay” help page for more details.
2.GPS Navigation
GPS navigation is another feature that in fact, does require high mobile data. As a substitute, you could use Google Maps, which is a free navigation application that offers the ability to navigate offline. You can also purchase other navigation applications that will allow you to navigate without using data and quickly change spending into an investment.
3.Google Map
Visit the Google Map “Download areas and navigate offline” help page for more details.
Other Applications
Other applications like video games, weather, music streaming can consume a lot of data. The good news is that most smartphones will give you the ability to restrict background data for each application that you use on a daily basis. We invite you to visit your handset manufacturer website for more details.
Cheers & Good Luck
11-20-2020 10:33 AM
@Beaner_23 Check your device's Mobile data usage by app to find which app is using up your data.
11-20-2020 09:05 AM
Do you have an Android phone? I recently noticed my device started doing auto updates even though I disabled them and manually install when I'm ready.
If that setting kicked in, it would explain the sudden increase in data usage. If you're on an Android phone, check the Google Play store settings and make sure auto update didn't auto enable!
11-20-2020 08:29 AM
Did you search your historical usage/data information on the phone to see what's using it? Depending on what phone you have, it's generally very easy to see what apps are consuming the most data/wi-fi usage in specific historical periods.
11-20-2020 08:26 AM
@Beaner_23 Does your phone say the data was used? I would look at the counter for background usage.
11-20-2020 08:22 AM
no different data usage. I purchased the extra gig and within 24 hrs 90 percent of it was used. No videos or streaming of any kind
11-20-2020 08:13 AM
Hi @Beaner_23
That sounds like a significant change from what it seems you've needed in the prior year.
Have you recently downloaded an app(s) which may continuously run in the background?
11-20-2020 08:05 AM
@Beaner_23 Are you using data any different than before? 3GB is easy to use if you're watching videos or updating apps.
11-20-2020 07:49 AM
Check your ususage history in your account. Make sure that you turn off auto updates unless on Wi-Fi.
https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/managing-your-data-usage
11-20-2020 07:25 AM
@Beaner_23 you can contact customer support mods here
https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437
make sure to check your inbox(top right corner envelope icon) periodically, for a response
Moderators are available from
- Monday to Friday: 8AM- midnight EST
- Saturday and Sunday: 8AM- 10PM EST