Data Usage when everything closed

[Tina_Thud_Bump]

Hi & help please

I've got iPhone 5C on 3G pay monthly package.  I've noticed in last week or so that, even when all apps etc are closed, & I have also switched off the "update in background" option, my phone appears to be using data - you can see from my photo the "wheel" icon next to my alarm.  I've googled but cannot find reason why it is doing this - does anyone know?  Its not just restricted to when I'm on my 3G with Vodafone, it also happens when connected to my wifi at home.  As I'm not on unlimited data with Vodafone, I don't want to use any extra when I'm not physically online / apps etc.  This may have been happening since I got my phone in March, but I've only just recently noticed - certainly didn't happen on my previous phone, iPhone 4.

I did ask Vodafone on Twitter and they gave me a link to turn off my data - I do not want to do that, I just want to fix whatever the issue it causing the data to be used when I'm not using anything on the phone.

Thanks lots in advance.

Tina

[grolschuk]

There are a massive number of things that could be happening.

iPhones now days are expected to be online 24/7 with small trickles of data updating and reporting back constantly.

The only way to stop this is to turn data off.

iMessage will use data to send/recieve.

Do you have iCloud backup turned on?

Do you have email setup?

GPS services will use data to help get a better lock on your location.

Facebook? Twitter?

[jeffkinn]

This is a constant issue with iPhones frankly. iOS does a lot of stuff in the background and pinning the culprit down is difficult. Vodafone certainly won't be able to help in that regard as they don't keep track of what data we are using with what app, for obvious privacy reasons.

Turning off mobile data when you are on Wi Fi is the best and probably only answer. It's a shame that Apple hides this in settings as it is a pain but there is nothing to be done about that. One of the things you need to be careful about with an iPhone is that when the screen turns off and the phone sleeps, so does Wo Fi. There is no option to keep it constantly on as there is with an Android phone. I had this very conversation with my son last night who has an iPhone 5 and is beginning to bump up against his contract usage limit.

You can download a app to track your data and tell you what is being used where - Onavo is one that seems to be popular.