Help HTC Desire constant data use

[Consumer]

Hi people, new HTC Desire user here. I've downloaded 2 different apps, 3g watchdog & netcounter which both show the amount of 3g data usage for the phone. Just yesterday, I managed to apparently use nearly 20mb of 3g data, although I was barely on the web. I must've checked my facebook a couple of times, read a few emails, and that was it. I've also installed a task manager app which closes all running apps, which I always use before locking the screen and putting the phone in my pocket. So as far as I know, there shouldn't be any apps running or using any data at all. It may be that push email may be using a bit, but surely not 20mb in one day?? It's also only one email account and the full html version of the email is never shown. I'm with Vodafone, and their supposedly "Unlimited" internet is capped at 500mb, which means at the rate that my phone is apparently going now, I would have maxed that out in a month hardly using the internet at all! I doubt that the data counter apps are wrong as they are both showing the same usage. They've both had really good reviews by other users as well. However, I find it extremely hard to believe that I used 20mb in one day when I only looked at possibly 3 web pages. The counters actually show that I used over 1mb after 30 mins, even when I wasn't running any apps.

Please let me know your views on this, whether there's something that I need to tweak on the phone, whether you think that both the 3g data apps are wrong, whether there are apps using data that aren't identified by the task manager, anything really! It'll be such a shame if I'm restricted with using the phone to its full potential by its excessive need for data usage. Thanks!

 

[nx1977]

Download spareparts and look under network usage what is using it.

 

[SurfXombie]

I use the following standard HTC Desire widets. This lets me control when it uses the data connection.
1. Power Control
2. Mobile Network (found in the Settings widget pull down)
3. Sync All

Power Control lets me turn on/off wifi and auto sync

Mobile Natwork turns on/off the mobile data connection which enables/stops you
3G/GPRS data connection (this can also be done from the power switch menu - hold it down to see this menu)

Sync All lets me manually kick the sync off (alternatively just toggle the auto sync button on the Power control widget)

 

[Eugene's Mac]

Not perhaps Latitude, Maps or google earth? Those are the only items I am aware of that can use that amount of data without u actually surfing the net or downloading apps.

 

[lekky]

if you set up your contacts and things like that the day the usage was high that could explain it?

 

[lambada]

Download spareparts and look under network usage what is using it.

I've just downloaded spareparts but I can't find the network usage monitor. Is there more than one version of it? I too have a 3G leak.

 

[galfwender]

Spare Parts > Battery History > Network Usage

Shows which apps have used the most.

 

[lambada]

OK found it. The apps using the network are: '0', 'Android System', 'Dialer' and '1002'. Not very meaningful! Any idea which one of these may be the culprit? What do the red and blue bars signify?

 

[galfwender]

I think blue is download, red is upload.

Did you try changing the time period?

 

[lambada]

i chose 'total since boot' because i've just rebooted and know that it has downloaded data (used watchdog to monitor it). the funny thing is that I haven't used the dialer at all since reboot!

 

[tekknouserid]

I am also having this problem...any ideas?

 

[like2eatpie]

I had been having the same problem so i turned off (in location under settings) use wireless networks and it sseems to have solved the problem, I think that Google maps is constantly downloading data over 3G whether you are in the programme or not.

 

[MisterMoleyMole]

Same here .... worried about this. I used to have a Blackberry with all these options on all the time. It worked better to with regards to notifications etc .. and that only had a 250mb mthly limit. With this desire i am on course for blowing my 500mb limit out the water. Surely something not right here!

 

[TH1882FC]

I wouldnt worry about the 500mb cap, vodafone say you will be charged the standard rate if you go over, there isnt a standard rate so that is

 

[adam1985]

Sounds like a silly question but have you changed your refresh period of things like email, facebook, twitter etc as I noticed that they are by default set to refresh quite regularly. I changed mine to a much longer time period and some like facebook to manual.

 

[furious duck]

OK found it. The apps using the network are: '0', 'Android System', 'Dialer' and '1002'. Not very meaningful! Any idea which one of these may be the culprit? What do the red and blue bars signify?

The bigger the bar the bigger the network use. So which of yours is bigger? Do you have facebook contacts continually syncing?

 

[whittall1]

Go to : menu, settings, location and uncheck use wireless networks.
I was hitting around 40 mb a day but now with this turned off i'm averaging around 12mb not ideal but better.

 

[SurfXombie]

You can check the same and other stats directly on the desire. Just enter *#*#4636#*#* into the phone/dialler. This brings up some menus to check the phone information and Battery History has several option to look at.

 

[adam1985]

Go to : menu, settings, location and uncheck use wireless networks.
I was hitting around 40 mb a day but now with this turned off i'm averaging around 12mb not ideal but better.

This seems odd as I have it checked and if i dont use my phone much then it does not use any data. Yesterday for example I only used 100kb.

 

[steve12345]

I had the same problem and discovered it was the e-mail downloading huge amounts of data (Used the Spare Parts App someone else suggested) even tho I don’t get that many emails (1 or 2 a day!). In the end I turned the standard email app off (So it never auto synced) and downloaded another email app to use instead (I got K9 Mail). Since then it has been much better with the data usage.

At one point 3g Watchdog said I was on for 2000mb by the end of the month.. Now with my 500meg limit, and oranges 99p/MB after that I would have had a nice

 

[adam1985]

I had the same problem and discovered it was the e-mail downloading huge amounts of data (Used the Spare Parts App someone else suggested) even tho I don

 

[DesireMe]

2.43MB in 2 days. FB update hourly, no twitter or email clients running. Have maps/navigation etc. Have everything except bluetooth permanently on.

 

[supercalle]

Wow, this thread made me worry as I'm getting my htc Desire this week, I have to pay 3$ for each MB of data usage xD I'm gonna get broke pretty soon I guess...
Is it possible to use 0MB of data?

 

[Morat]

It is if you switch everything off, but you're really wasting your time getting a Desire if you don't have a good data allowance. This phone is about apps and data, without them you may as well just get a 1990's phone in a fancy case.

 

[lambada]

The bigger the bar the bigger the network use. So which of yours is bigger? Do you have facebook contacts continually syncing?

Im sure all my applications (including facebook,email,weather) are set to 'manually update' and 'use wireless networks' is turned off.

During the past 15mins my phone has sent (and received) approx 350bytes of data each way. In the network usage screen, 'Dialer' is 50% blue 50% red, '0' is 25% blue 75% grey, 'Android System' is 1% blue, 5% red and 94% grey, 'Google' is 100% grey. I accessed the network usage screen via the dialer.

What on earth is '0'?!

Edit: I've just realised that 'Dialer', 'Android System' and '0' appear under network usage even if 3G and Wi-Fi are off. I suspect that 'Network' refers to the telephony network too not just data.