How can my phone be using so much mobile data without leaving a record?

Seraphim99

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Sep 24, 2014
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I've got a 3G Moto G with a 50Mb monthly contract and have restricted every app I could from using background data, and installed a data manager app to keep an eye on things.
Having monitored both the app and the phone's own data usage regularly since taking out the contract, I was happy with the way things were going - I had used less than 3Mb of data up to this past weekend, according to the app.
But on Saturday I got a warning from my service provider that I had less than 10Mb of data left!
There's a free number to call to see what is left on my account for the month, and it showed 9Mb on Saturday. I checked on Sunday, and it showed 8Mb. On Monday, it was down to 7Mb.
I disabled all data access from the data usage section, but a couple of days later it was showing I have 5Mb of data left.
My provider confirmed my phone was using data even after I'd supposedly disabled it. They advised me to remove the Access Point Name from the phone for now, and add it back when my allocation resets at the start of next month.
But all the while, my phone - both the data manager app and the data usage in the settings - is telling me that I have used 0Mb data in the last two days.
What could be leeching my data away without leaving a record of it, and how do I stop it?
 

Stwutter

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Aug 13, 2014
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50mb? TBH, I didn't even realise monthly contracts with that amount of data (tiny) existed.

Do you send any e-mails? A short text-only e-mail will only eat a few kb, but then that increases by what you write, attachments and how many you send.
 

Seraphim99

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Its £5 a month :)
No, I don't send emails... I just want to be able to have Whatsapp run when I'm not on wifi, mainly.
And even if I was sending emails, surely there'd be a record of the app using data? My issue is that my phone is using data access even when I've disabled it, and I've got absolutely no idea what app is causing the drain.
 

Stwutter

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Its £5 a month :)
No, I don't send emails... I just want to be able to have Whatsapp run when I'm not on wifi, mainly.
And even if I was sending emails, surely there'd be a record of the app using data? My issue is that my phone is using data access even when I've disabled it, and I've got absolutely no idea what app is causing the drain.

Download GSam Battery Monitor from Google Play. It will give you a pretty in depth analysis of exactly what your phone is using.
 

Seraphim99

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Thanks for that... But, and I apologise if I'm being thick, I can't see anywhere in that battery app that refers to data usage. Data is currently off, so if I turn it on will an app using a lot of battery be the one that is using a lot of data?
 

belodion

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If in Settings, Mobile Data, your mobile data is switched off, the phone should not be sending or receiving mobile data at all....to the best of my knowledge, and I don't see how I could be wrong in that. It's difficult to know what to suggest. Did you try Powering Off and Restarting the phone after disabling Mobile Data?
It may also be worth performing a Cache Partition wipe, or even, if your personal data is backed up, a Factory Reset.
Are you sure also that the SIM is good? It may be worth removing it to see whether that stops the data usage....theoretically, it certainly should, but then, you shouldn't have to leave the SIM out whenever you want to be sure Mobile Data is disabled.

Here's a couple of links for the wipes:

https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/94946/p/30,6720,8696

https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/97329/p/30,6720,9050


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Seraphim99

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Sep 24, 2014
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Yes, mobile data was switched off, but even so I managed to use a meg of data inside 24 hours. The phone company said that even disabling data in this way was not always enough to stop some background data use, but they had no way of telling me what was using it.
The only advice they could give was to remove the APN from the network settings, and add it back when I want to use data online - I guess this is the equivalent of removing the SIM card? Either way, it seems to have worked since there's no indication of any data being used since I deleted the APN setting.
I will do a test by restoring it and then following the recent suggestions to see if that helps stop the data leak!
 

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