Unexpected High Data Usage on 1 day (HTC Desire)

[justinusT]

Hi all,

I need some advice on a recurring data usage issue i have had with my HTC Desire/Vodafone.

Today I found out that I have been charged for exceeding my 500MB data limit. What is peculiar is that 439MB was used on a single day and my total data used for the 1 month billing period was approximately 625MB.

I do not browse/watch videos/ download excessively on my phone, in fact I am 100% sure this is not the cause of it because I hardly use my phone for mobile internet. Activities that I can think of:

1. Whatsapp Messenger

2. Google Maps

3. TFL train/bus departure services

This issue has happened before, but I assumed it was because my phone would auto-update all the apps presumably not on wifi and thus the high data usage. I checked google play settings, and although it was on 'auto-update on wifi only' i switched it to 'do not auto-update'. This was because I did notice auto-updates occuring despite the wifi only setting.

Could anyone please provide me with a checklist or any suggested steps to curb excessive data usage? Also, could anyone explain the excessive 440MB in 1 day despite my limited usage with limited variation in activity day-to-day.

Many Thanks

Justin

[JoelClarke]

Hey there, Justin.

Data's such a pain to monitor because you don't know how much you're using at once. The following link is an app where you can actually manage your data usage, and see what applications are using more data than others. It's called My Data Manager; give it a try!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobidia.android.mdm&feature=search_result#?t=W251b...

Click the link on your mobile, and open it with the Google PlayStore.

Hope this helps!

[GerardQ]

I've recently experienced similar problem with unexpected and unexplained high data usage.

I've got an HTC One Mini (first release version 2013) running on Android 4.4.4, HTC Sense 6.0.

It's not however a phone issue, nor do I think is it down to Vodafone. I beleve that the Google Play App is the culprit. When I check data usage for this app, it's extremely high compared to any other app's data usage. I'm a very light user of mobile data but yesterday, 250Mb worth of Google Play background data was consumed inside a few minutes and I've no idea why! I've had my phone since August 2013 and all has been good until 3 weeks ago when this issue suddenly appeared. I might add that I've been on Android 4.4.2 for a few months so its not even down to any significant system update, so that doesn't explain the exorbitant usage. I've since enabled Google Play to only allow background data when I'm on Wi-Fi. It's really annoying. I now won't be using any mobile data until the problem is fixed yet I'm paying £29 each month for 1Gb data.

Has anyone at Vodafone encountered this issue of the Google Play app and its excessive use of background data? Yes, I can use the finest data monitor app there is but that of itself doesn't get to the root of the problem. I might add that I've contacted Google about this. It seems several users have been affected at different times by this problem.

GerardQ

[GerardQ]

I said Android 4.4.4 at the start of my post. That should read Android 4.4.2

[Retired-Matt_B]

Hi @GerardQ,

I'm guessing that you currently have Auto-updates turned on. This ensures that apps update automatically whether over 3G or Wi-Fi.

It's also going to include any apps that you've downloaded over 3G. These of course can vary in size and that could be why its increased in one day so quickly.

Thanks,

Matt B

[GerardQ]

Hi Matt,

I did also have auto update apps turned on but have since turned this off. To summarise, I've now done two things:

1. Restrict background data to WiFi only, solely for the Google Play app.
2. Turned off auto update of all apps for any connection type, mobile or WiFi.

This means I can now use mobile data when I want to, without worrying about apps being auto downloaded and using huge amounts of data as regards Google Play. I will now perform bulk updates of apps when I'm at home and connected to my own BT WiFi. I don't even want to risk bulk updates of apps via WiFi outside in case I lose the WiFi connection which can sometimes be slow anyway.

Finally note that, for me, the culprit was the Google Play app's background data. It just started about 3 weeks ago after over a year of satisfactory use. I've raised this issue with Google and Android Central. We shall see what they say...if they indeed get back to me.

Thanks

GerardQ