Cell Data Question

[isabel]

We have 4G of shared data between me and DH. We sometimes get close to the limit, but have not gone over. This month's cycle ends on 11/17, so still 10 days to go. I got an email from Sprint at 5:52am saying we had used 75% of our data. At 5:58am, I got another email that said we had used 90% of our data. At 5:59am, I got a third email that said we had used all our data and we're now being charged $15/G.

DH is at home (asleep and his phone is on wifi), so this is clearly coming from my phone. The problem is, I have no fucking clue how my phone could have used that much data in 7 minutes. I have checked the cellular data usage under settings, but that is largely unhelpful because those records haven't been cleared in years and it shows the total cumulative usage. 

I did go through and turn off cellular data for all the major data hogs, just in case, but I wasn't even connected to any of the major ones in the background during that time. I was also driving, so I wasn't using my phone. Sprint basically told me all they can see is how much data is used and by which device, so they're no help.

Does anyone know of a way to see exactly what apps were using data during that time? I am so confused. And super irritated. Wtf!?!?

[pandora89]

Not exactly answering your question but my notices usually are delayed so it may be that you went over the data earlier but the notices were just being sent.

[carmenere]

I'm not familiar with the Sprint website, but on Verizon there's a submenu under billing and usage that shows the breakdown for the current billing cycle. It doesn't show data usage for individual apps but it's broken down by phone line and then by email, mobile web, navigation, and other apps.

Also, it never hurts to call and dispute it.

[isabel]

pandora89, Hmmm, yeah, maybe it was just a weird delay and everything came at once. I still think it's so odd. I can't ever remember going over and we still have a ton of time left in this billing cycle. It's so weird.

carmenere, yep, I can see that breakdown. It's definitely my phone. I've used more than double what H has. Which I don't think is too crazy different than normal. The weird part is that I've used so much so quickly. Good call on disputing it. I might call if we end up with a huge overage.

[VillainV]

ATT warnings usually lag by about 10-12 hours, so it’s probably from usage at the end of the day yesterday. Did you update your phone recently? Maybe some settings got reversed (like the one that plays FB videos on WiFi only).

ATT makes it really easy to increase your data plan mid-month if you’re getting close, then you can drop it back next month. That’s usually cheaper than paying overages. Since the notices are delayed, they may let you retroactively increase your data plan. It’s worth asking.

[esdreturns]

Did you turn your wifi off at all? The only times I've gone over is if I turned off my wifi for some reason (or my son did) and then forgot to turn it back on. My son did this last month and blew threw all our data in 5 days. I was not happy.

I think there might be a way to check to see which app it was in your app manager under settings, but that varies by phone.

[carmenere]

Nov 6, 2018 9:20:43 GMT -5 isabel said:

carmenere , yep, I can see that breakdown. It's definitely my phone. I've used more than double what H has. Which I don't think is too crazy different than normal. The weird part is that I've used so much so quickly. Good call on disputing it. I might call if we end up with a huge overage.

If you have time, I would call today rather than waiting for the bill to come. They're already charging you $15 for something that doesn't seem right to you. I think calling now to ask about what appears to be a discrepancy may work in your favor, whereas calling at the end of the cycle might look like you went over your data and just don't want to pay for it. You can always call again when the bill comes.

[puppylove64]

If I have an iPhone you can see what apps are using the most data under settings/cellular. It doesn’t take into account what uses WiFi vs data, but shows what is using the most. I turn off my data for big things like music, Netflix and YouTube, so the kids can only use those on WiFi.

Also I agree that those messages are usually delayed. With Verizon I have it set so when I run out of data, it knocks me down a speed but I get free overage. I’m not sure if your company offers that

[shauni27]

man, that would really piss me off.

[picaflora]

I noticed H and I were burning through data faster this month as well. I just checked FB, and the "data saver" option had been turned off. So it was pulling up larger image files and loading videos automatically (but not auto-playing them, so I didn't notice). I'm guessing the setting got switched off during an app update.

[isabel]

Nov 6, 2018 9:33:48 GMT -5 puppylove64 said:

If I have an iPhone you can see what apps are using the most data under settings/cellular. It doesn’t take into account what uses WiFi vs data, but shows what is using the most. I turn off my data for big things like music, Netflix and YouTube, so the kids can only use those on WiFi.

Also I agree that those messages are usually delayed. With Verizon I have it set so when I run out of data, it knocks me down a speed but I get free overage. I’m not sure if your company offers that

I looked at that, but apparently I haven't cleared the cache for it since 2013 (lol), so the numbers aren't particularly helpful. It shows heavy usage on the apps I use the most, but there's not anything unusual there. 

The only thing I can think of is that I downloaded the Google Photos app this weekend because MIL uses it and was sending me a bunch of videos. I use Prime Photos to back up and have it set so that it will only back up with wifi, but maybe the Google Photos app was set up to back up with cellular and so it's been doing that in the background? That's literally the only change I've made, but I suppose it could easily be the culprit since photos and videos are so data intensive.

[yourmother]

Nov 6, 2018 9:28:29 GMT -5 VillainV said:

ATT warnings usually lag by about 10-12 hours, so it’s probably from usage at the end of the day yesterday. Did you update your phone recently? Maybe some settings got reversed (like the one that plays FB videos on WiFi only).

ATT makes it really easy to increase your data plan mid-month if you’re getting close, then you can drop it back next month. That’s usually cheaper than paying overages. Since the notices are delayed, they may let you retroactively increase your data plan. It’s worth asking.

How do you do this?

[TR]

Nov 6, 2018 10:26:33 GMT -5 isabel said:

Nov 6, 2018 9:33:48 GMT -5 puppylove64 said:

If I have an iPhone you can see what apps are using the most data under settings/cellular. It doesn’t take into account what uses WiFi vs data, but shows what is using the most. I turn off my data for big things like music, Netflix and YouTube, so the kids can only use those on WiFi.

Also I agree that those messages are usually delayed. With Verizon I have it set so when I run out of data, it knocks me down a speed but I get free overage. I’m not sure if your company offers that

I looked at that, but apparently I haven't cleared the cache for it since 2013 (lol), so the numbers aren't particularly helpful. It shows heavy usage on the apps I use the most, but there's not anything unusual there. 

The only thing I can think of is that I downloaded the Google Photos app this weekend because MIL uses it and was sending me a bunch of videos. I use Prime Photos to back up and have it set so that it will only back up with wifi, but maybe the Google Photos app was set up to back up with cellular and so it's been doing that in the background? That's literally the only change I've made, but I suppose it could easily be the culprit since photos and videos are so data intensive.

Yes! If Google Photos has been updating in the background that could DEFINITELY be the culprit. I have mine set to only back up on WiFi. And I think the default is Cellular in the background.

[isabel]

WTF!!!! Now it shows we've used 4.4GB of data. Neither of us have used cellular data since I checked this morning and did the chat (and we were at 3.9GB at that time).

[TR]

Do either of you have other devices connected to your phones? Did the hotspot setting get turned on somehow?

[isabel]

Nov 6, 2018 10:37:12 GMT -5 TR said:

Do either of you have other devices connected to your phones? Did the hotspot setting get turned on somehow?

Not that I know of, but I'll check with H on that. It shows that most of the data is coming from my phone though and I don't even know how to connect it to a hotspot. lol

eta: Oh, never mind. I see the spot for that. The hotspot is off. I just went ahead and turned off all cellular data on my phone.

[isabel]

The Sprint rep is putting a $15 credit on our account, so that's cool. Now I just need to figure out wtf is going on with my phone.

[genk]

I can see if you said IPhone or not, but if it is an iPhone, clear the data usage and check in 30 minutes.

You can turn off cellular access by app under Settings->Cellular

If the phone is stuck in a weird loop, try to fully discharge the battery and restart.

[isabel]

Nov 6, 2018 11:58:34 GMT -5 genk said:

I can see if you said IPhone or not, but if it is an iPhone, clear the data usage and check in 30 minutes.

You can turn off cellular access by app under Settings->Cellular

If the phone is stuck in a weird loop, try to fully discharge the battery and restart.

That's a good idea. I turned off data a little bit ago. I will turn it back on and set a timer to see if anything is being used.

[InBetweenDays]

Can you look at your usage by minute to see what's going on? Not sure about Sprint, but with Verizon if I go online it lists the date and time of all data usage, and you can download it as a spreadsheet. May help for you to look and see when there was an uptick in data.

[shauni27]

Nov 6, 2018 10:59:10 GMT -5 isabel said:

The Sprint rep is putting a $15 credit on our account, so that's cool. Now I just need to figure out wtf is going on with my phone.

That is really frustrating but I am glad they put the credit on your account. Can you bring it to a retailer and have them look at it?

[yaga]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S8. Under settings, I can see what apps are using my data during a specific period of time. It automatically sets the billing cycle to the 1-30 of the month, but you can change that to today to see if you can pin point it more accurately. In my mobile data usage, I can see that I've used almost a gig on Stitcher since 10/19, for example. I changed it to have the billing cycle start on the 5th, so now I can see that I've used 127 MB on stitcher since yesterday. (Settings -> Connections -> Data Usage -> Mobile Data Usage)

I've found Sprint alerts to be pretty accurate in terms of timing - like I was able to notify my H that he was streaming something without having wifi on when he was in another state because our data suddenly shot up like yours did.

[yaga]

This is how I discovered that one time I streamed the first half of an entire NFL game when my wifi was off.

[isabel]

I don't think I can look at it minute-by-minute. Neither of the Sprint people I talked to were able to tell me any more than the total usage on our account. And I can't find any option for more detail on the website.

But I turned off on my cellular data and reset the cache about 45 minutes ago and so far have only used 304KB. So I'm thinking it was that stupid Google Photos app that I didn't bother adjusting when I downloaded it. Fingers crossed that's the issue, so I shouldn't have any other problems going forward. Data usage on the Sprint site also hasn't really changed, so that's a good thing.

All in all, since I got that $15 credit this morning, I may come out ahead for this month. lol

[VillainV]

Nov 6, 2018 10:28:31 GMT -5 yourmother said:

Nov 6, 2018 9:28:29 GMT -5 VillainV said:

ATT warnings usually lag by about 10-12 hours, so it’s probably from usage at the end of the day yesterday. Did you update your phone recently? Maybe some settings got reversed (like the one that plays FB videos on WiFi only).

ATT makes it really easy to increase your data plan mid-month if you’re getting close, then you can drop it back next month. That’s usually cheaper than paying overages. Since the notices are delayed, they may let you retroactively increase your data plan. It’s worth asking.

How do you do this?

Sorry, reading comprehension fail, I thought you were in ATT. Check online or on their App?

[sparty04]

This happened to me with Verizon a few years ago. Their excuse was that even though we were on WiFi, the phone still was using data (?).

[TrickyBob]

Did you ever find anything out about this? I just got data limit emails at weird like 4am hours as well. But I did note that mine says roaming.

Are you at any time accidently roaming?

I have noticed with sprint that it is throwing me into roaming a lot more then usual. Especially in places I 100% know I get service.

[knx9211]

Do you have on WiFi assist? It’ll start to use cell data if you’re somewhere on WiFi but it’s slow. I had to turn that off because I was using all my data at work where the WiFi is slow af

[beachbum22]

This happened to me on both my old Pixel (the first) and my new Galaxy S9. I never had this happen on an Iphone. I'm not sure if that's relevant, but I figured I'd mention it.

When I'm at home, I have mobile data turned off. The only time I turn it on is when I leave the house, or when our internet is down.

Also, make sure your apps are set to update over wifi ONLY. This will help.

Another tip is make sure that most of your apps aren't allowed to use data and/or run in the background. This means they won't update (you won't get notifications) unless you open that app. Otherwise, the apps will always be checking for updates and notifications, and that will eat up your data, and kill your battery faster, too.

Right now, only the apps I use most often can use data in the background, like email, whatsapp, facebook messenger, etc. I want to make sure I receive notifications for those apps in real time. Apps like Instagram, Pinterest, I don't care about getting notifications from those, so their data is off.

Hope you find a solution. I know how annoying it is to have your data used up, even though "you" barely used it.

[isabel]

I do not have WiFi assist on. It’s deliberately turned off. Roaming was not on.

I’m pretty sure it was the google photos app because it’s been fine since I deleted it.