Please help me understand data usage

[RossRoss]

Hello,

usually I don't use much data but recently I made some video calls with apps like Signal, Viber, Skype etc. when outside (away from my WiFi) and decided to check my data usage and limits. One of the screenshots shows My Account which is the same as Plans & Add-Ons page and the other screenshot shows my Data Usage history in the last 90 days.

According to the My Account page I have already used 1GB at 3G speed for the period of July 25 - Aug 24.

It also shows an Add-On Usage of 1GB with 38% used and 631.72MB left. I don't understand this Add-On at all, is it something I have ordered in addition to my plan or is it part of it, and what's its cycle? I remember accepting many months ago what I believe was a one time promotion for a free 1GB data in addition to my plan but I thought it's something that lasts a month or so.

Now when I add all data usage shown in my Data Usage history the result is 793.41MB total used for the last 90 days which includes the last cycle period. This amount neither fits in the reported 1GB at 3G speed already used nor in the Add-On usage.

I will greatly appreciate help with making sense of all this.

[darlicious]

@RossRoss 

[dust2dust]

The roll out of that freebie stuff last time was messy. This place seems to have difficulty with many things. I hope the user above is correct in that the company would very retroactively give them to you. You have the text. You properly replied in the proper timeframe. You should be entitled just as the rest of us.

The evidence that you got neither is that you would have seen the calling add-on in your list. Unless by chance you called the US a lot. So you seem to only have what remains of the 2019 1gb.

[RossRoss]

Thank you for your advice it is very helpful, I checked the text from 4911 and I see total of three messages, all with exactly the same text

"hey, it's Public Mobile. To get your in the spirit of the season, we're giving you a free one-time gift of 2GB of data and 500 international long distance minutes. reply YES to instantly apply these add-ons to your account. Redeem your free gifts before Dec.31. More info at publicmobile.ca/holiday. To be excluded from Public Mobile offers and deals, reply STOP. conditions apply."

First message dated as Friday, Dec. 3, second Tuesday, Dec. 14, and third Monday Dec. 20. There is no year on the dates of these messages which on my message app means that they were all sent last year.I have replied only to the third message with YES on Friday Dec. 24 and must have forgotten about using the gift.I don't know if I have received this gift and used that data but I'm sure I haven't called internationally.

[darlicious]

@RossRoss 

Check your text messages for a text from 4911 to see if you got the "more is merrier" text between December 1st and December 15th 2021. If you did not receive a text from 4911 then you should contact customer support and request that they add the 2GB bonus data and the 500 minutes of international long-distance add ons from the "more is merrier" Christmas campaign. Because you could not reply YES to accept them if you never got the text and you are likely subscribed to receive promotional texts if you got the 1GB bonus data add-on from August 2019. And the customer support agents can still add those two promotions to your account they are available to be added the previous "more is merrier" campaigns from December 2020 and December 2019 cannot be added.

[dust2dust]

Do you have notifications from here blocked and unsubscribed on either or both email and text? You should have seen them. Last year was a bit of a mess where you had to reply to a text and then they would put them on. Other years you had to "buy" them.

[RossRoss]

Wow, the last couple of years must have passed really fast for me, I guess I'm using the one from 2019 because I'm sure I haven't done anything to actively get the 2gb. I'll try better next Christmas 🙂

[dust2dust]

There was the earlier 2019 1gb. Christmas 2019 1gb. Christmas 2020 2gb. Christmas 2021 2gb. The first one was just put on the account. The others you had to actively do something to get them.

It looks like you're down to the 2019 1gb left if you did get the others.

[RossRoss]

If I remember correctly the free add-on was around Christmas time last year but I could be wrong. 2GB sounds good but I must have missed it because I don't know how to check for these 🙂

[dust2dust]

Or it was the first freebie in 2019. The OP has had a community account since late 2018. Or maybe it was a compensation for some error along the way. I'm not sure about any known order of next bucket usage.

[hairbag1]

You're right.

I did find this from late 2020....

How to enter this contest:

• Between December 14th and December 31st, 2020, 11:59PM EST, comment below your favourite holiday memory (Limit one post/entry per customer)

• We will select 20 winners at random to receive a one-time 1GB data add-on! 

[Yummy]

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@hairbag1 wrote:

The Data add-on was from a promo..likely the More is Merrier promo from last winter.

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Last year bonus was 2GB. This has to be something else as it says 'promo' not 'bonus'.

[hairbag1]

The Data add-on was from a promo..likely the More is Merrier promo from last winter. That data will get used once you've run outta regular plan data.

If you still have any data add-on remaining when your regular plan renewal occurs...that remaining data will roll over until you do use it up.

[Yummy]

That 1GB could be one time promo until you used it all. You would have to remember what you accepted and promo conditions. If it was one of Christmas promos they do not expire until used up.

As for data usage calculation, you better download Excel usage sheet as on-line could be incorrect.

[softech · Accepted solution]

@RossRoss   Usage History page has a glitch, check my earlier posts for the issue and workaround:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Usage-History-page-Filter-problem/td-p/84...

in short, better just download it in xlsx form and then then use Excel to filter it

and keep in mind, when checking usage, best to use Incognito mode or clear cache first.  you could be reading off cached version of the page from before and not live 

And the usage history, PM only upload it twice a day or so as a sum of the last couple hours.  So, you likely won't see your usage from 2 mins ago if you check that page immediately.

But the dashboard about the Total usage so far (not the detailed usage from usage history page) is live reading