Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Help understanding smartphone data usage

Ah, that definitely is a no-no then. I'm watching lots of Youtube videos and reading forums; there's quite a learning curve on these gadgets.

Thanks, Chris.

Wow, you guys make me feel like some kind of freak.

Here's an outlying data point for you. I have an HTC Incredible and I have used over 2 GB in a month, and almost always use more than 1GB/mo.

I do use Pandora very often, so that's probably a good chunk of my usage, but I think you'll use more than you expect unless you're always around WiFi. There are so many apps available that once you start playing around with it, you may end up using it more than you'd expect.

If you start out with a low usage plan, keep an eye on it closely; it gets expensive if you go over and have to pay per MB!

I just checked to be sure I wasn't mistaken. I have used 2127319 KB in the last 30 days

Freak.

Wow. I've sent/received only 222MB/740MB via the cell data network since February 2 of this year. I use my phone for data mostly at work and home where I have wi-fi, though.

Since I've gotten my HTC Incredible (Android) in May, I've used well over 1GB each month. I watch a YouTube clip here or there, but maybe average 1 a week, I get my personal email on it and not my business stuff. I do use some news/weather apps, and a few other "web enabled" apps, and it seems to just pile up and I would say that I am far from a "die hard" phone user.

Hey guys, I just had a rather frustrating conversation with a Bell representative regarding the data usage reflected on my bill. Basically, last month's bill denoted that I used 211 MB of data, out of my 500 MB data cap.

Here's what I don't understand-

I was in bed all of last month, my phone is literally right in front of me, and I did absolutely no Internet surfing whatsoever. But, on my bill, it shows that I have at least two or three charges for every single day of the month which adds up to 211 MB.

Firstly, I have data turned off, and my phone uses my wireless Internet connection. That said, it's my understanding that if I'm using my Internet connection, I should not be using up data from my phone's service provider (Bell), but instead I'm using the data from my Internet provider. Isn't this correct?

The Bell representative told me that even if I'm using my home's wireless Internet, I still use up my data from Bell because the data is going through my phone. Literally, that's what he said. This absolutely ticked me off because it doesn't make any sense whatsoever to me. It's not the way I understand how things work, and I feel like he's way out in left field. I also told him that some of the charges have time stamps of the early morning, but this doesn't make sense because my phone is turned off at 10-11 PM every night. Then he proceeded to tell me that all of that data charges are in Greenwich Mean Time (although he said "German Mean Time, or whenever it is in Britain"), so the times on my bill are actually 4-5 hours different from our time. This also doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever.

And regarding the 211 MB of data usage. How the heck can I rack that much up when all I'm receiving is e-mail notifications?

You guys should see my bill, it's absolutely absurd. If it would help make sense of what's going on, I'll happily post a picture of the charges.

I'm really, really frustrated. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much,
Cam

Edit-I just looked over my bill again, and the charges that are in the early morning, are on a Sunday, so I could have gone out that Saturday night (assuming that the bill isn't in GMT, but rather EST).

Can't help you with the data issue but I feel very sorry for you that you have to deal with Bell Canada customer service. Good luck with all that Wheelz. Do let us know your progress with this issue.

That CR rep doesn't know what they are talking about. If you are using Wifi for data, that SHOULD NOT count as data usage on the Bell network. They shouldn't be charging you for data usage done by your phone, only for data usage on THEIR network. The only exception to this rule is when you use microcell's like ATT's, which uses your broadband network to connect your phone to ATT's network. This is used when you can't get cell coverage in your own home. In ATT's case, your usage minutes are subtracted even though you are using your own broadband, which means you are paying multiple times for the same service. However, I don't think this is your situation.

One thing you should do is monitor the data usage on your phone directly. Most smartphones have some type data usage meter. My iPhone does. Then you can compare the reported uses against your bill. If there's a discrepancy, then you have a valid complaint.

Some other things to consider:

1) When you say that data is turned off, are you sure? For example, on an iphone, you can shut off 3G coverage but EDGE is still active. In that case, you're still using data albeit on a slower connection.

2) Do you know if your phone 'thinks' it's roaming? If so, then you are also getting charged for being outside of your coverage area. On an iPhone, you have an option to shut off data roaming to avoid this. Most smartphones should have this option.

3) Are you sure you are on Wifi? One way to check is to disable your wifi network (or disconnect your broadband modem) and then try to browse on your phone. If it still browses, then that means you are actually using the data network.

4) What apps do you have on your phone? It may be possible that you have background applications that are actually using the data network. Push applications tend to do this.

Cam, are you sure one of your caregivers isn't downloading porn?