http://tidbits.com/ The tales of unwanted cell data usage in iOS 6 grow ever more numerous and ever more alarming. Even though we can’t put our finger on a single cause, the problem is plainly all too real, and, for some users, all too costly. en-us Copyright 2012 TidBITS Publishing Inc. Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT editors@tidbits.com (TidBITS Editors) editors@tidbits.com (TidBITS Editors) http://tidbits.com/images/tb_logo_152x55.png http://tidbits.com/ 55 152 TidBITS badge http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_18383 Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:28:16 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_18383
AT&T happily refunded her the money when she asked, but then forwarded her to a tech support guy who cluelessly blamed it on weather apps, news apps, and automatic updates. It's clearly a bug in iOS 6, and whatever Apple has done to solve it for some people, it keeps coming back to haunt others.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_17227 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:21:42 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_17227
This is likely unrelated to any changes in iOS 6.0.2, but this guy found significantly battery drain and data usage with an Exchange account, so anyone experiencing problems and using an Exchange account should look into that.

http://snnyc.com/2012/12/iphone-data-leak/]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16827 Sun, 09 Dec 2012 22:53:14 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16827 I too am happy that AT&T reversed the charges, but I am concerned with the same issues in the future, especially after getting the warnings. Luckily, I have been grandfathered in with an unlimited data plan that has carried forward since my first iPad, and was attached to my iPad 3. It was a hassle due to the new microSIM, but I went to an AT&T and had them swap SIMs since my iPad mini is now my primary device (still holding on to the iPad3 though, along with my Apple Wireless keyboard.
I had considered moving the unlimited plan over to the shared plan since I rarely got through much more than 2 or 3 GB/month (the charge is a wash), but after this escapade I'll be holding on to my unlimited data plan as long as I can.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16822 Sun, 09 Dec 2012 12:33:26 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16822 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16806 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 08:36:03 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16806 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16804 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 08:03:33 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16804 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16796 Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:42:57 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16796 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16517 Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:59:17 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16517 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16513 Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:23:04 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16513
Your story is a perfect example. I don't know how much your 500 MB pre-paid SIM cost, but is it a better experience that you got your apps updated right at that moment, or that you paid so many euros (and potentially had to fuss with getting another SIM) because Apple allowed a process that started on Wi-Fi to continue on cellular without permission? Seems to me that any user experience design decision that costs the user money without warning is the one that should be cut.

I have gone into app-level detail with the old version of DataMan Pro, and I can say with assurance that the Podcasts app will use megabytes (and up to tens of megabytes, but not hundreds) of data when it shouldn't. I haven't experienced the truly egregious data usages, though, so I haven't yet been able to identify the smoking gun for the larger usages.
]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16512 Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:14:59 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16512
A reader just sent us a usage chart from a friend of his who in the last year has used between 200 MB and 500 MB per month. In the last month (November on his chart), he used 2.9 GB. This particular guy doesn't care because he's retained his legacy unlimited data plan, but it seems fairly clear that something has changed in iOS 6.

And the reader who sent us that chart from his friend was doing so because he used 200 MB of data 7 days into his month with no change in habits.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16508 Tue, 13 Nov 2012 05:27:36 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16508
It's my understanding that the hundreds of MB and GB usage that some people saw was a specific bug which Apple has fixed, related to switching / sharing between wifi and 4G. And that's not what Matt's talking about above.

The article above, and many of the comments, talk about tens of megabytes and less, and present an awful lot of speculation with very little actual data or even information about what features in iOS do. I don't think it's really helpful.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16509 Tue, 13 Nov 2012 05:25:22 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16509
I've been in Europe this month working with a 500MB limit prepaid SIM (most months in the US I easily burn 2-4GB). I've been surprised if I limit my use of mapping and social networking I can keep to 10-30MB/day. But then I hit "update all" apps while in my office and 15 min later walked to lunch losing the wifi and spent 100+MB all at once. Whoops!]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16460 Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:33:36 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16460 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16459 Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:17:35 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16459
200 MB per month was just fine under iOS 5 for me and many others. Many people do not use significant data outside of Wi-Fi range and don't see the need to double their monthly data bills for no change in behavior.

]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16458 Tue, 06 Nov 2012 09:53:35 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16458
I have dozens upon dozens of Apps, many of which need the same type of "constant" connectivity as described above for Skype. In addition to system-level things from Apple: if one of my friends wants to know where I am, FindFriends is gonna access data, cell triangulation, and GPS all without me knowing about it.

Frankly, 200MB/mo isn't enough for a good modern experience, unless you never leave your house. And if you do go out you should use the "cellular data" switch in settings. Worrying about apps using tens of K is silly.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16443 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:13:21 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16443
After turning all notifications off and all cellular data options off, I was still getting leakages that said I was using close to 1MB in a single day, without even touching the phone. I presume there must be some data transfer in order to establish connections with cell towers. Riding on subways that establish and lose connections at every stop was what I put it down to, but that is just a guess.

If Apple is using cellular to boost poor wi-fi or switching to cellular when out of wi-fi range, even with cellular options turned off, well that is the stuff of lawsuits.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16437 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 02:12:24 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16437 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16435 Sat, 03 Nov 2012 08:31:32 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16435
On a related note, those who have not done so: Apple released iOS6.0.1 last Thursday (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1606 ), which include these bug fixes:

• Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances

• Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16428 Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:01:55 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16428
I have attempted to use this tool several times on my iPhone 4s while traveling internationally on a limited roaming plan. After resetting the data to zero the amount of data usage measured does increase. So far, so good. However, I have sometimes checked and seen the numbers DECREASE from their previous values, often by tens of megabytes. Later on they will be up again. Then down. It makes no sense whatsoever.

I started to wonder if I was just imagining this or losing my mind so I started taking screenshots of that page every few hours. I now have a chronological series of screenshots that show that I'm right. Data values are all over the place and often as not go down and not up!]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16417 Fri, 02 Nov 2012 11:16:55 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16417 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16405 Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:14:26 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16405 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16404 Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:14:04 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16404
* Limit the amount of cellular data per day/week/month, and automatically turn it off when the limit is exceeded.
* Only allow cellular data for the frontmost application (disable eg email push on the road, unless you check manually; also disables background syncs).

(Advice I got from the Apple engineer: tap home button twice to see the open applications. Press and hold to force quit.)]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16393 Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:05:44 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16393 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16403 Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:28:11 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16403 Apple really needs to re-think all the "gee whiz" features impact on their customers' data budgets! Long overdue!]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16402 Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:09:50 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16402
My provider contacted Apple, who replied "there is no known problem".
I also phoned Apple. Their advice was to turn of "Wifi and cellular". Surprising, since that feature was removed from beta. It's not in the final release of iOS 6. After telling him that, he suggested to turn off "Cellular data" altogether. The person I talked to agreed that was not an ideal solution (to say the least), but I don't have the illusion that his opinion has any say upstream at Apple.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16400 Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:59:42 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16400 And interestingly, for the last week, logging into the AT&T site to check my data usage I get a message saying they cannot give me details of my data usage.
I wonder if AT&T and apple are trying to work out what is happening. (I do know however, by asking for my data usage over the phone (rather than the website), that the consumption almost completely stopped after I deleted apple's podcast app.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16399 Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:56:07 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16399
There's no question in my mind that apples podcasting app is using cellular data without permission, even when wi-fi is available. Not sure why its doing this as my subscribed podcasts should only be updating once a week anyway (I only subscribe to a couple). But it seems the app either downloads the same podcasts every night, or does something that requires pulling a lot of data via the cellular network every night. Even when wi-fi is available and I've explicitly asked it NOT to use cellular data.

Deleting the app solved the problem for me completely.
(FYI -- I do not have iTunes match turned on, on my phone - so happily, that wasn't a contributing factor.)]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16397 Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:03:39 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16397 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16396 Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:02:06 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16396 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13354?rss#comments_16395 Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:51:58 EDT http://tidbits.com/article/13354#comments_16395 Settings > iCloud >Documents & Data > Use Cellular Data]]>