How did I rack up a huge data overage on my Android phone?

Factual Questions
1

OK, so I got a new smartphone in January, a Samsung Acclaim, through US Cellular. First smartphone, so I’m still learning the ins and outs. I’m not a heavy user, but I like being able to check e-mail away from home, go online to look up stuff, etc. without having to hunt down wi-fi. I pretty much only use the phone when I’m out and about, which is maybe one or two days a week, and even then maybe an hour total TOPS on a “heavy use” day.

My first regular bill after the initial one with the setup charges was about what I expected, $76 and change. Okey-dokey.

Went online to get the amount for this month and it was something like $294!! Whoa, whoa, whoa!!

I seldom make calls, so that’s not it. I have a 5GB monthly data limit, and I can’t imagine ever coming close. Last time I checked my usage at home – where I’m online pretty much all day, every day, uploading/downloading files, surfing, watching the occasional YouTube video, etc., no streaming movies/music/radio – I was at 4.4 GB. So I cannot imagine how I topped 5GB on my frigging PHONE.

I hunt around the Web site and can’t find current usage. So I call the 800 number and talk to a nice rep. He agreed that based on my described usage, there must be a glitch, and he submitted a ticket. They’ll investigate and someone will call me back.

Meanwhile I’m trying to think how this could have legitimately happened. I asked him whether there are apps that suck data even when I’m not using the phone, like GPS or something. He said no, that when I “close” an app and go back to the home screen, data flow stops.

But an online friend said that GPS can suck data if it’s constantly “pinging” or whatever, and she knew someone whose phone was constantly checking e-mail and racked up overages that way.

I do have some GPS-using apps, and for now I’ve disabled (I hope) the GPS, intending to enable it when I need it (say, for my track-your-run app, or Find a Starbucks :smiley: ), but that seems like a kludge. Kind of defeats the purpose of having the thing, if it can’t recognize when you don’t need it.

Occasionally the e-mail app will appear to be stuck, trying to get a connection, and I’ve always just closed it, thinking (as the guy said) that that would “kill” the connection. But maybe not. I just poked around in the app and I don’t see a way to tell it to stop trying to connect.

Any thoughts from the more phone-savvy Dopers?

2

I don’t think it’s GPS. I’m pretty sure your phone receives GPS signals over a dedicated antenna, not via the Internet. That is, GPS signals are broadcast over the air (like radio) and can be similarly picked up by anyone with a receiver free of charge. Your phone contains one of those receivers which operates independently of it’s cellular data link.

So, I think you can re-enable your GPS. Other than that, I have no idea. I would guess that it’s a genuine error on your providers’ part.

3

My wife’s iPhone has a GPS program. It’s just Google Maps and it triangulates location based on local cellphone towers. Downloading a lot of maps could be causing your high data usage.

4

Two things come to mind

First that your phone will grab the strongest signal, so that when you think your on wifi, its actually grabbing the cell signal.

The second is that the Data meters are not one hundred percent reliable and in real time, so when you were at 4.4, it may have been closer to 5 than you thought. You might see if your carrier can send you a text message when you cross the magic line or just about.

Declan

5

My android has a setting under the network settings for allowing background data use by apps. If not disabled my weather app updates itself, my mail is checked, news headlines downloaded, games updated etc. I disallow that and do those things manually by hitting their icons instead of having them routinely go to get info.

ETA: Oh, are you sure about the calls? My partner has the identical phone to mine and wasn’t hanging up properly, not a big deal on my voicemail with a time limit which is how I discovered the problem too late, disastrous when she called someone who also didn’t hang up. 3 hour calls are not cheap.

6

On mine, that’s Settings, then Accounts and Sync. All sorts of things can be set to sync automatically in the background.

7

Never mind.

8

Using more than 5 gigabytes is very hard if you don’t use something like streaming radio, or are constantly watching videos on youtube. If your phone is using that much data that is most likely a misbehaving application.

You can monitor your traffic with apps on Android, e.g. 3G Watchdog, it won’t tell you which application is causing the traffic, but you should be able to see your general usage.

9

I think the OP meant that the 4.4 GB is what they were using on their home PC. Since they know how much hey are online with their home PC< and know they go nowhere near that amount with the phone, then there is no way the phone is over.

I agree it must be some kind of glitch, or you were ‘roaming.’ A lot of cell companies will let you roam voice for free on other cell company’s networks, but if you use data, they’ll charge you out the ass.

10

I am not a cellphone engineer but I would challenge this statement. You are either on WiFi or you’re not. If the WiFi signal is strong enough to make a connection, the phone should not prefer a stronger cell signal for an Internet connection. I would be pissed if the above were true; any supporting cites?

11

I’m confused by this. I’ve never used wi-fi with this phone (that I know of). Kind of defeats the purpose of having my own secure connection. And still, how am I using multiple gigs of data, regardless of how I’m connecting?

Good call. I checked that and it was enabled. Not anymore.

I thought about calls, but I’m pretty careful about hanging up because I’m not used to that goofy slider thingy yet. Also, the rep said it was definitely data and not voice overages. (There was one day when I supposedly used a gig. I checked my records and I was home working that day. Why would I be fiddling with my phone for a gig’s worth? The fact that it sounds so sporadic tells me that it’s not something like my e-mail being checked every 5 minutes or something.)

I forgot to mention that the rep recommended this, and I did install it. I see that my phone used a few hundred KB overnight, but still that wouldn’t add up to multiple GB over a month. I’ll see what happens now that I’ve killed background data use.

Yes, the 4.4GB was at home, on my desktop machine.

I just double-checked, and I’m on Primary Plus, which is supposed to be national voice and data. So I shouldn’t be roaming ever, right?

12

For roaming there is an option on Android, check under Settings -> Wireless and Network -> Mobile Networks -> Data roaming. The names are approximate translations, I don’t have an english Android installed. Make sure that option is disabled.

13

Scarlett, I don’t know about the Android, but on the iPhone, wifi usage does not count against your data usage limit. You might want to consider enabling wifi for that reason.

14

I believe that’s true for Android also, but again, (1) I’m paying for a secure connection, why not use it? And (2) this doesn’t explain how my data usage went (or is going through) the roof.

15
  1. Why do you keep calling it a secure connection? There’s nothing inherent to 3G that makes it more secure than Wi-Fi, in fact, you’re more secure with WPA2 encryption on WiFi than broadcasting 3G miles away to the tower.

The other point is that most home connections are quicker than 3G–both in bandwidth and latency.

  1. This is indeed a mystery. I think we need to know more about your habits with the device. What sort of apps are you using and how often?
16

For your described usage, there is no way you’ve hit 5GB.

The only time I ever topped 1GB on my iPhone was when I was in NYC using GPS a lot with 3G.

Even streaming Pandora (which I do a lot at work) and generally using the phone on 3G quite a bit, I generally stay around 0.5GB of data usage per month.

There must be a misbehaving app.

17

Why don’t you use a secure WiFi connection?

Also, since it’s a new phone, did you download a heap of apps when you got it, via your 3G rather than using WiFi like most people would? That would do it.

18

I don’t think it’s GPS or background data. I have both enabled on my Android phone, as well as auto-sync on two e-mail accounts. It’s showing 150 MB usage over the past week, and I think much of that is e-mail attachments that I read on the phone.

Have you ever tethered your laptop to the phone (i.e. use the phone to connect your laptop to the internet - also called “Portable Wi-Fi hotspot”) If so, are you sure you turned off the feature afterwards?

19

3G connections need special radios to intercept and typically have at least rudimentary encryption (cracked in the past, but at least it’s there) so they’re less accessible than wide-open WiFi. Compared to a properly-configured WPA2 setup, no, they’re probably not any more secure, but most home hotspots are not properly-configured WPA2 setups.

20

…so don’t use those hotspots.

With my Android phone (and I’m confident that the iPhone works the same way) I have to manually connect to any new WIFI hotspot the first time, and the phone signals ahead of time whether or not any particular hotspot is protected.

Presumably the OP’s home network is secure, as he/she worries about that sort of thing.