Something is amiss with data usage bills for AT&T customers who have an iPhone 3GS. A thread on MacRumors.com is reporting that bizarre data charges are being sent out in the early hours or the middle of the night when it's not being used - via the 3G network even when home WiFi is switched on.
The first forums poster, hgraphics, put up a picture of the data detail. It had been sending out large packets, one as big as 6mb, for no apparent reason. Other users then weighed in - it had happened to them too. Poster "openkimono" called AT&T for an explanation but didn't get one, instead the only suggestion from was to reset the network usage settings in the phone to confirm the amount of usage lines up with the bill, then to try a reset or full restore of the phone.
(Image credit to hgraphics at MacRumors forums)
Dagomike posted this data log, where again odd amounts of data were being sent out, including packets as large as 11mb when not in use:
06/01 02:34 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 3215KB
06/02 02:18 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 3450KB
06/03 02:01 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 10088KB
06/04 02:29 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 604KB
06/05 02:15 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 251KB
06/06 02:55 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 393KB
06/07 02:46 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 11180KB
Another user found his bill was 200mb over AT&T's cap without him having used his phone at all. However, one member of the forums added up all of the bizarre sent data and found that he wasn't charged for them on his bill: "I added up a few days of these (from 2 out of 4 pages of billing) and stopped when it exceed the total usage being shown on the account for the month. That is, my usage so far this month is showing as 67 MB. But I added-up more than 67MB of these daily transfers going through less than half the listings."
Poster closer1000 replies saying that the early hour data usage is "definitely included" in the billing total.
It seems AT&T may not be the only network with the issue. A UK user, Mac_Martyn, says that while out of the country, with data roaming turned off, he briefly turned it on to update a Facebook status then turned it straight off again. Checking the usage, it said he had used 21MB of data - expensive on roaming abroad.
O2 then sent a text saying there was over £50 of data usage to pay, debunking other's posts that suggest it may just be data aggregating. O2 refunded the account.
What's the story? We saw this on GDGT.com and the full forum conversation on MacRumors can be viewed here.
That's better than me calling him "His Royal Jobness".
its just me goober! downloading naked pics of your wife!
You have no idea how many "chewing outs" this had caused!!!!!
They told me that I should take my phone into a Apple Store and have them run a series of tests to determine why it is happening.
unhappy September 18, 2010 at 11:07 am
Hey all, I stumbled across this forum after getting messages from ATT in three successive days telling me I had chewed through 200Mb and they were charging me $15 each. Well, I was pretty surprised to say the least because I don’t use data in a big way and I certainly don’t do a lot of 3G activity as I am at home or school all day and evening and thus constantly surrounded by WiFi.
So, naturally I called customer service, who let me know about the odd data patterns happening at 2am and often amounting to 30 MEG or more. This is happening daily.
Customer service offered me a $15 credit and sugested I go to the 2Gb data plan that was now discounted due to the $15 credit to a ‘mere’ $10 more. This month.
I wasn’t very satisfied but considering that at that time I thought it might have been a rogue app I said ok and went on my way. As I kept reading this forum (and many others) I grew more upset and curious. By the time I got home, I received yet another notice that I had run out of data. FOUR in the same day all due to ATT misunderstanding their own information about the plan I was on and how much data I had used.
I called Customer service, they put me on to Tech Support and there I was in conversation for 3 HOURS and TWENTY MINUTES during this conversation they suggested that I should put my phone in airplane mode every night, then got Apple Tech on the conference call.
We both waited ten minutes on hold there and finally got an Apple tech who had not heard of this problem before, but suggested that doing a restore might help. I politely asked to speak to someone who had heard of this problem before and he got really pissy with me. Finallt he transferred us to David, his supervisor who said he was familiar with this probem and here is whae we discovered….
(This is straight from a person who ATT tech support called and called himself a supervisor for Apple tech support)
Every iPhone 4 sends data to ATT every night at 2am. We are not supposed to be charged for this, but somehow that data bit is getting missed that flags this traffic as ATT initiated data.
The phone is using the 3G network by default because this is information going straight to ATT’s databank.
—————– /:
Well…. somehow through a billing snafu we discover that your phone is waking up at 2am and sending ATT information about everything that happened during the day on your new miracle phone.
I wonder if the size of this data dump is commensurate with the amount of data you used on WiFi… ? Is ATT collecting a copy of everything that you do? Do they share that with Apple? (I can’t see how they WOULDN’T have some such agreement)
The thing that really creeps me out is the possibility that your privacy is protected when you get IP traffic through a server but NOT protected once that data is ON the iPhone. Even if you opt-out of the stats transmittal on the phone, there is nothing preventing ATT from collecting everything you do.
The first part of my conversation with ATT tech support, she kept saying that the phone was “synchronizing”.
I can’t see why in the world ATT would need to have my personal phone use and have the actual data copied that I used.
IF this is an ‘aggregate’ notification of the traffic I used on 3G throughout the day then all that would be required is a simple data bit telling ATT how much data I used off their network. BUT ATT DOESN”T NEED MY PHONE TO KNOW WHAT I DID BECAUSE THEY OWN THE NETWORK MY DATA WENT ON.
Added to the many people here who post big downloads on days when they have not used the phone, we get a disturbing picture of the real truth here.
I’m quite sure ATT is not allowed to copy, intercept or trap your IP activity when is passes through their servers, without a Warrant.
I’m also quite sure Apple clearly tells you they will collect data about your usage whether you like it or not.
What I have not read anywhere, or agreed to, is ATT clandestinely collecting that data in the middle of the night and providing it to Apple or using it themselves.
I am the paying customer being challenged by a monopoly in a way that I cannot protect my own security and privacy.
I’m posting this everywhere I can.
Vodafone say they can't see these items on their nilling system but I can on their own website plus, I'm being charged for some of them!
Does anyone have the answer to this Issue??? Our's happens every 45 mins to a hr each night and we did the upgrade with no success of any changes
They said that when the phone is idle, it actuallt logs off of the WIFI, basically opening up the 3G usage...
I spoke with an Apple Rep that know what he was doing ~ This is how to correct the issue:
Select: Settings (then) Mail/Contracts/Calendar (scroll
down until you see MANUAL or NEVER...
Problem Fixed....
Yeppie...............