Really High Data Usage?

[alison03]

Hello!

So we have 2 Incredibles on a family plan and with this chatter of eventual data caps, I just was curious and took a look at our recent data usage on myverizon to see where we stand.

I average about 5gb a month while my significant other is around 20gb! I am a moderately heavy web user (although I don't really have anyone to compare to, but I check the internet a lot during the day out of sheer boredom at work) and he by all means is not.

Can somebody explain what exactly eats data and how it works? We are mostly just curious and are guessing it's an app. But *what* is doing it? Like does it draw data from the internet or something? Is that app updating or refreshing? The only thing I know about data is like if you refresh a page on the internet, then data is used. I refreshed a website twice and my usage according to 3d watchdog jumped about 1mb. Is that normal? Is it also normal for there to be data usage while your phone is asleep?

Anyway, he doesn't have twitter or facebook, and actually only has 20 apps (half of which I have too). Yet his monthly usage is four times mine. Should he just delete each app one by one and check with 3d watchdog to compare stats?

The apps he has that I don't are:

tv.com (though he says he never watches anything on it)
wave blazer lite
throttlecopter
bbc news
storm (live wallpaper)
fxcamera
sportstap

Is there anything else I should be looking for? Any more info I can share that would be helpful?

Thanks all!

 

[joekuz]

Read your post so figured I hadn't checked my usage since about a month ago....this can't

be right... Last month it was around 400mb...This month it is showing 1.9gb....! I know

that is small beans to your usage but to jump up that much in a month...&..I honestly

can say my usage has been no different than last month....

 

[NilsE]

Sure, refreshing a page a couple of times could in fact give you a jump of 1M of data depending on the size of the page.

And yes, you can incur data usage while the phone is asleep. It is constantly polling for text messages, e-mail updates, weather changes, and anything else you tell it to. Being asleep mostly makes the screen blank to conserve battery but all the background tasks are still running.

One thing I would compare on both of your phones is the synch settings. If you both check e-mail regularly but one is set short and the other is set long then that could attribute to part of the data. If one gets significantly more e-mail than the other or has "download all" of the e-mail set then that could make a big difference. Now combine them and you could have a big difference.

You get the picture. Don't just compare what apps you have installed compare what those apps are set to do on your connection.

 

[Smabbage]

Wow! 20 Gigs!! Streaming audio and streaming video will consume large amounts of data. If he tethers his internet for a computer or gaming console, this too will consume a lot of data. Using my phone to tether the phone's wifi to my Wii so I can view episodes of Bones via Netflix consumes I think somewhere around 150 Megs per one hour of video. Audio consumes less but if you listen to streaming audio all the time it adds up quick. I started using Double Twist for streaming internet radio in my car on my way to work and my data usage spiked a bit. There are several things that could use 20 Gigs but I must say, that kind of usage is quite the accomplishment. Even doing all that I do on mine I'm only bumping 5 Gigs for the month.

 

[BoulderAndroidFan]

A quick question related to this topic. If you switch to wifi, that connection is not recorded as network data usage, right? I learned about the Y5 app on this forum and use it to connect automatically to established wifi hubs. I hope that when data is delivered via wifi the network usage is minimized.

 

[potterdood]

Well since I'm on unlimited data, I try to go all out using it, I have pdanet and the mobile hotspot. I used over 30GB last month and right now I'm at 13GB according to the my verizon app and I still have until the 10th of Oct to rack up usage. Since I've had my phone I've been around 10GB a month.

 

[callmeox]

Well since I'm on unlimited data, I try to go all out using it, I have pdanet and the mobile hotspot. I used over 30GB last month and right now I'm at 13GB according to the my verizon app and I still have until the 10th of Oct to rack up usage. Since I've had my phone I've been around 10GB a month.

Your unlimited data doesn't include tethering. Don't be surprised if you get an eye popping bill one of these months.

To the OP, you have the right idea about removing apps to see which one is being chatty. Even so, an additional 15GB of data a month is REALLY chatty.

 

[alison03]

Sure, refreshing a page a couple of times could in fact give you a jump of 1M of data depending on the size of the page.

And yes, you can incur data usage while the phone is asleep. It is constantly polling for text messages, e-mail updates, weather changes, and anything else you tell it to. Being asleep mostly makes the screen blank to conserve battery but all the background tasks are still running.

One thing I would compare on both of your phones is the synch settings. If you both check e-mail regularly but one is set short and the other is set long then that could attribute to part of the data. If one gets significantly more e-mail than the other or has "download all" of the e-mail set then that could make a big difference. Now combine them and you could have a big difference.

You get the picture. Don't just compare what apps you have installed compare what those apps are set to do on your connection.

Thank you! I will look at email, but I also think I get significantly more email than he does lol. His mail size limit is set to 5kb and is set to download every 15 minutes (mine is set to every 5 minutes and also at 5kb). He only uses Yahoo (technically has Gmail but has yet to receive a message from it) and I have both Gmail and Yahoo.

I appreciate the general info on data usage. I had no idea what was 'standard' and have a much better understanding thanks to your post. I will definitely check apps and then continue looking for other possibilities.

Wow! 20 Gigs!! Streaming audio and streaming video will consume large amounts of data. If he tethers his internet for a computer or gaming console, this too will consume a lot of data. Using my phone to tether the phone's wifi to my Wii so I can view episodes of Bones via Netflix consumes I think somewhere around 150 Megs per one hour of video. Audio consumes less but if you listen to streaming audio all the time it adds up quick. I started using Double Twist for streaming internet radio in my car on my way to work and my data usage spiked a bit. There are several things that could use 20 Gigs but I must say, that kind of usage is quite the accomplishment. Even doing all that I do on mine I'm only bumping 5 Gigs for the month.

I know! It's so nuts! He doesn't stream audio or video...and he doesn't have anything like Pandora or DoubleTwist (though I have BOTH haha). He also doesn't tether and we don't have any game consoles lol! I know it sounds funny that he even has a smartphone, but the past few months he hardly has used it due to school and work and we are just going crazy trying to figure out what in the world is consuming all that data!

Thanks again for all the responses and please keep any other ideas or thoughts coming!!!