MOBILE HOTSPOT/TETHERING DATA USAGE GONE THROUGH THE ROOF!

[freckles680]

I have been tethering my ipad air 1 to my mobile phone whilst in work for over a year and have never gone over my data allowance. However, yesterday I did and was, of course, cut off.

I rang 3 and tried to find out what may have caused this sudden surge of use. We decided between us it might be icloud working in the background so I switched it off completely. I had also spent some time deleting apps and audio books and anything else I could as I had run out of capacity and was getting warning messages.

I purchased a further 1GB of data. A few hours later that too ran out.

I don't do anything much on my ipad - Facebook, emails, news sites and general browsing. As I am in work it is mostly on standby in my bag until a lull between customers.

I rang 3 again today to try and find out what, if anything, I had done but in spite of trying their best, we couldn't come up with any solutions. But something has definitely changed. Can anyone throw any light on the matter please?

I recently upgraded to Version 8.4.1. Not sure if any other information is needed.

Thanks in advance. Colleen

 

[twerppoet]

Try going to Settings > Cellular and look over the data usage for the apps and System Services (at the bottom, tap to exapnd). This may offer a hint.

You can also trim (turn off) apps that you'd rather not use cellular.

 

[A. GOODWIN]

As you probably know but a suggestion .
Hot spotting slams the data usage . I too encountered a similar incident.
I had my usage depleted before I caught it and although I was about to my end of usage I realized that automatic updating was my err.
If apps are turned on in cellular data and you are not around a wifi ,
any apps turned on in USE CELLULAR DATA FOR will update automatically. Now this may not be the sole reason for your use of data bytes but it does drain it . And if you have many apps and they update automatically it tends to pull some usage down . Good luck on resolving your issue , and best to Ya . Hope this was helpful

 

[freckles680]

After doing some more research it appears that iOS 8 automatically refreshes apps that are running in the background, even if they aren't being actively used. So, with that in mind, I've turned automatic update off and will see how it goes.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Colleen

 

[A. GOODWIN]

After doing some more research it appears that iOS 8 automatically refreshes apps that are running in the background, even if they aren't being actively used. So, with that in mind, I've turned automatic update off and will see how it goes.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Colleen

Anytime , anytime ...... Quite welcome

 

[twerppoet]

To clarify, mostly for myself, because I'm not certain what's being discussed anymore.

Background refreshing of app data is turned on/off (individually or app by app) under Settings > General > Background App Refresh. This is basically data syncing and preloading so that apps present data more quickly when started; instead of spinning wheels for a few seconds whenever they are opened. iOS tries to be smart about this by noticing the apps you most frequently use, and updating those more often.

If you turn off apps under Settings > Cellular data, they will no longer use cellular data, either when opened or in the background. Or so it's supposed to work. Both app-running and background data will still work when on wi-fi, unless it's been disabled in the previous settings.

The Update option under Settings > iTunes and App store updates the apps themselves, whenever there is a new version available. You can turn it off altogether (so you have to manually update apps) or turn off Use Cellular Data so app's only update on Wi-Fi.

 

[A. GOODWIN]

Absolutely twerppoet , either way turning off individually or cellular data as whole does prevent . What I do is only when I need the app will I turn on individually . It's a little more troublesome but a sure way to prevent any data usage. I think we are talking the same . Correct me if I am wrong but example . If I turn maps on I can enter my location and once it is found I can turn maps off and still use the app as its intended without having the individual setting on . Now this works for a while and if you are on a longer trip you have to go back and turn on again but briefly as it updates your new coordinates . But almost always I leave the individual setting on for the most important and those consist of the
SETTINGS , AND PHONE . for these two must be own for cell data to even work .?? Any way you are right . Ummmm hotspotting kills my usage . Also sometimes you can catch a good deal on your plan that's offered time from time where you can get say 1 meg free if you get this package blah blah blah . I hardly ever go over in a month and have even gotten free rollovers when I don't use . It's pretty good deal for me any way .

 

[twerppoet]

Maps caches a fair amount of data when you set up a route, so yes, it should keep on working after you turn data back off. At least for a while. There are other apps, like GPX Drive that can do this explicitly, allowing you to cache data for a route or area so you can use it offline.