iphone 2am unauthorized data usage

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@johninsj wrote:

 

This is indeed my last post here (hold your applause until the end) but I just want to point out that just because someone disagrees with you, it does not make them an AT&T/Apple shill or apologist.

 

 

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Agreed, but when a significant percentage of the responses are along the lines of "It's not AT&T's fault you just don't know what you're doing/you're wrong/etc." It gets extremely frustrating and makes that person appear to be at best an apologist, or at worse a shill.

Ok I need to chme in here. I read this when I first got my Iphone 4 and shut my data down manualy and only used WIFI connection at home and local hot spots from time to time. My son has an IPOD touch and we are always loooking for local free hotspots so he can get on line with his device. I watched my usage and would turn my 3G data on only to update my VOICE MAIL and TEXT MESSEGES once and a while. I started to use my Iphone with my I HOME Alarm clock using Pandora to wake up. So after a while of watching to make sure my useage was not out of control and my phone not complaining about internet access while at work with no WIFI I chose to start leaving on my 3G. That month it was not to bad but this last month I started to see a lot of Data usage. This last month I was pushed over the limit and was not happy! the reason I was not happy was that I would request usage update using my Phone to text *3282# Ok this helped to keep an eye on usage. Got my warning at 65% of Data Plan on OCT 1 at 7:01 A.M. Then at OCT 5th @ 9:13 A.M. I checked my usage because I had till the 8th before Bill next Bill Cycle and my text indicated 148.3 of 200. Ok I have some space left to be able to leave my data on. On that same day OCT 5th @ 11:23 I get messege showing I went over 200MB I woke up to this messege and sent text and now it showed 205.7 out of 200. 😞 I then call AT&T and confirmed a couple of things!

Per AT&T CSR Tier 1 and 2

#1 Data usage is not up to date when I send a text to *3282#

#2 My phone will switch over to 3G while in Sleep mode.

#3 Information from 3rd party data usage will not update untill info is gathered by AT&T.

So all in all I will start to shut down my Data when I am in using WIFI so if Apple or AT&T can not gather my info or control my device to gateway out I will not incure usage not intended my myself on the 3G network.

I would suggest someone to come up with an app that we can install on the Iphone or any other Smartphone to gather any Data usage in real time with Timestamp so that we can make sure are not sending any info we do not want to send or we are not getting ripped off! 

Got off another call with ATT and the sad fact is that you are going to have to pay for system updates, all the little checks and pestery data checking that is going to happen all day. Yes there are 'aggregated' charges from various networks that get tallied, but there are other data transfers that the system is going to charge you for that you didn't request.

I also had the overall total size of those late night transfers reduce dramatically when I switched to the 2Gb plan but that was primarily because I was spending all my time switching between 3g/Cell data on and off every time I went into my house, then to the car, then to school, back to the car, or to the cafe.

This is sad and ridiculous. The Customer service staffer actually said that I am paying for data services and in order to provide me with a working phone, the updates are necessary. This is another stupid thing to tell a customer.

ATT is providing me the service and has the responsibility to work with the hardware supplier (Apple) to ensure that the agreement I signed jives with the agreement I was told that I had. When any typical user is offered 200Mb and knows their own habits and agrees to purchase 200Mb, how is it appropriate for ATT to knowingly charge me for system updates, upgrades and other aspects of phone use that other carriers offer for free?

My phone using data without my permission is just wrong. Telling me that I need to pay for my data and ATT's data is insulting. Pointing the finger at Apple and claiming that ATT's hands are tied is also pretty poor customer service.

I'm on the verge of taking the early termination fine and just leaving, but it also requires me to pay the rest of the iPhone's retail cost (which I might not mind IF it was unlocked like the Euro one's)

Also being told to put my phone in airplane mode, turn it off, etc. is infuriating. Why do I have to miss calls in order to avoid getting charged for data I don't want?

ATT should not be charging me to transfer data that Apple initiates. I pay ATT for a working network. I agreed to pay a certain amount for data that I use. There was NOTHING in my agreement notifying me that at random times of the day ATT and or Apple would be downloading things at MY EXPENSE and keeping track of all my private behavior besides.

The "Use of Data" clause is vague enough to cover this stuff, true, but there is another common sense standard that needs to be established.

ATT can technically differentiate what is traffic I request and what is put on me by Apple. Apple knows what data they transfer and why. So a little math will indicate what traffic I actually request. This is the amount I should be charged for.

If it is too hard for ATT to figure out, they should average it and credit me that amount of traffic.

I'm SICK of getting shafted at just under my financial tolerance.

I'm well into an emotional tolerance level however, and the sad truth is that most people will spend the extra few dollars/month for a 2G plan and be 'pleasantly surprised' when these data transfers suddenly decrease precipitously. This is about as sheisty and disturbing as things can be.

I'm telling everyone I know to wait for the Verizon iPhone or better yet, go to Sprint's 'unlimited plan' an a different phone with a better UI.

ATT rep calmly informed me that he would bring it up in their next meeting.

I got a new bill with a 2G data charge on it.

I will not get another discount or credit this month. Or next month. If I go back to the 200Mb plan it will go over again, pretty much guaranteed.

It really sucks to be left without recourse. The iPhone just isn't worth this much money/month. It isn't THAT incredible. I can't expand the memory (a fairly typical thing) or attach a photo to an email I started (Duh, Jobs!).

To fix many things requires downgrading and jailbreaking in a way that I cannot do on this phone anyhow.

AT&T has been no help.  After escalating it one level, my call was dropped.  Ironic.  After calling back, explaining it again and escalating it again I finally received a call back from a supervisor...who was no help.  I was told I would receive a call from her supervisor, never happened.  Anyway, worthless bunch of troubleshooting suggestions and wasted time drove me to get creative.

Here is the solution I came up with this problem.

My wife has an HTC Aria (I know, not an iPhone) and had serious data usage at strange hours when we clearly were not using it.  She has a habit of never deleting her emails, nor creating folders to file them.  As a result, she had 10k+ emails in her inbox.  Since her phone was configured to sync to her Hotmail account, the phone was struggling to transfer the data.  I finally came to this realization, asked her to clean up her inbox, and like magic...no more data usage issues.  Maybe this has already been covered and it may or may not be your problem...but check your email.

Good luck,
David