Why is my phone using up data?

[seanaujla]

I am a new customer....

I notice that when I am connected to wifi my data is being used?  

Also when I go out it is still being used, even though I am not using it? 

[apreilly]

Spoiler

Turning Off Cellular

There are two things you can do:

1. Turn cellular data off completely Settings, Cellular - Toggle Cellular Data Off
2. Turn cellular data off for selected apps Settings, Cellular - Scroll down and toggle data off for any apps that you don’t want to have access the cellular network.

[gpixel]

@seanaujla 

Disable apps auto update
iTunes & App Stores > Turn Off Use Cellular / Mobile Data

Disable background data
Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh > Turn it Off entirely or by selective Apps

Disable iCloud sync
Go to Settings > Cellular / Mobile Data > Turn Off iCloud Drive

Disable Wifi Assist
Go to Settings > Cellular / Mobile Data > scroll to bottom > Wi-Fi Assist > turn OFF

Disable data on certain apps
Go to Settings > Cellular > Scroll through and disable applications you don't want to used your Cellular Data

keep your video quality at 480p or lower
turn off autoplay videos on your social networking apps and browser
if you really need to save data. use the "data saver" option if your device has it
use "lite mode" on your browser

Estimated data consumption per hour

(YouTube):
360p 315MB
480p 562MB
720p(30fps) 1.27GB+
1080p(30fps) 2.03GB+
4k(30fps) 10.58GB+

[D0pey911]

Go to settings and check your apps each one they could be using your data in the background.

You should turn off background data for each app

[LurganIeUk]

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@seanaujla wrote:

I am using Iphone SE, ok I will turn off my cell data when at home.

However how to make it so my phone is not using data when I am outside?

---

If you have a low amount of data included in your plan. 

1. Turn Data off and only turn it on for occasional checks then back off

2. Select what apps can use data......go to settings, cellular and scroll down and switch off

3. Disable background app refresh using data...allow over wifi only

[benfatto]

@seanaujla  Go to settings .. cellular then scroll down the page to see which apps are using cellular data. Turn off all except those you want to access when away from wifi. 

[mh1983]

Try to turn off WiFi assist to start and see if that improves the situation. From there, you can dig deeper and manage the app data usage as mentioned before.

There's the option to disable data altogether but you probably don't need to go that drastic right out of the gate.

[seanaujla]

I am using Iphone SE, ok I will turn off my cell data when at home.

However how to make it so my phone is not using data when I am outside?

[Triguy]

Check your settings.  When your Wi-Fi signal is weak then your phone is trying to connect using data 

Make sure to turn off updates when not in Wi-Fi.  Also download maps 

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/managing-your-data-usage

[Anonymous]

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@seanaujla wrote:

I am a new customer....

I notice that when I am connected to wifi my data is being used?  

Also when I go out it is still being used, even though I am not using it? 

---

Your iPhone has an ability to fail to cell data when wifi is not available. It sounds like you need to manage your data settings a lot more.

[mh1983]

What phone model do you have? By default, most of them do things like auto update apps which can take up a lot of data. I think Android has a setting related to using data when WiFi connections are weak.

if you can provide the specific phone info, that'd help us help you. You'll likely have to disable some background operations, and even then, the phone will always use a bit of data (for background email sync, for example), unless you have no data on your plan or disable the data connection on the phone altogether.

EDIT: I see from the other thread on iMessage that you are using an iPhone, of course. 🙂 

WiFi Assist could be the culprit. It supplements a poor WiFi connection with data. See here for an explanation and how to disable it: https://alvinalexander.com/apple/iphone-ios-using-cellular-data-home-wifi-network/