Android OS background data increase since 4.4.4 update. Please help

[Fourcandles]

Hi,
Hello to you all from the UK - my first post!
Re Moto G (stock)
As the title says, since the update to 4.4.4 Android OS is eating through my data use. It has jumped from around 5% of total data use to over 25% and I can't seem to stop it. Background data cannot be restricted for this 'app' nor can I find out what it is doing to eat up the data. I have restricted all my other apps and have no auto back ups or syncs on.
Without me even using the phone for data it still gets through 300kb of data. When I use a browser or check email it rises more sharply.
As I have BT broadband I have access to their WiFi hotspots so have not signed up to a big data package: currently 250mb a month. Hence this problem is infuriating.
I can definitely track this back to the 4.4.4 update too. I had not really noticed Android OS before that; now it's a great annoyance.
I would be most grateful for any help you can provide.
Kind regards,
David

 

[warn joe]

Hi,
Hello to you all from the UK - my first post!
Re Moto G (stock)
As the title says, since the update to 4.4.4 Android OS is eating through my data use. It has jumped from around 5% of total data use to over 25% and I can't seem to stop it. Background data cannot be restricted for this 'app' nor can I find out what it is doing to eat up the data. I have restricted all my other apps and have no auto back ups or syncs on.
Without me even using the phone for data it still gets through 300kb of data. When I use a browser or check email it rises more sharply.
As I have BT broadband I have access to their WiFi hotspots so have not signed up to a big data package: currently 250mb a month. Hence this problem is infuriating.
I can definitely track this back to the 4.4.4 update too. I had not really noticed Android OS before that; now it's a great annoyance.
I would be most grateful for any help you can provide.
Kind regards,
David

Well, i guess this increase over the data is because of the update, I would say as you are not updated to the KitKat 4.4.4 version which includes several fix and the I guess the Google Play Services application may be modifying and updating all the application so that it can work fluently across the Android ecosystem. I am sure you have heard the 4.4.3 is having some of the major problems with the battery and .... I would say your device might be fixing those issue .... ! Do one thing try going to the settings>data manager and have a look actually which application is consuming most of the data if I am correct and most of the data is consumed by the Google Play Service application then I would say connect your device with the wifi network and leave it there for sometime until the google play service update all the application once all the apps gets updated the higher consumption of the data will automatically start to decrease down the graph.

 

[Fourcandles]

Hi
Thanks for taking the trouble to help. Just to clear up one or two points: I am updated to KitKat 4.4.4, this update (about 12 days agao) seems to have triggered the problem.
The phone is connected to wifi from getting home in the evening to going to work again in the morning so all app updates are done via wifi (and is so set in the playstore settings to only update over wifi).
When I access settings>data manager the app that is eating all the data is actually "Android OS", nothing else is out of the ordinary. Out of 70mb of total data used, 19mb is Android OS background. That data figure is since 22nd July; I have tried not to use data much since discovering the issue and have tried to keep to wifi.
Hope that makes things a bit clearer.
Thanks again

 

[neu smurph]

Double check Settings / Backup & Reset to see if the Back up my data checkbox is ticked. This is a major source of Android OS data usage, particularly if you are in the habit of trying new wallpapers when on mobile data (it'll backup the full image on each wallpaper change).

I do have this checked, but I also think it's gone up a bit since the upgrade. I wonder if 4.4.4 is backing up more stuff than before?

 

[Fourcandles]

Thanks for your reply, neu smurph. My Back Up Data box is definitely unchecked though.
Two further developments:
I added Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware app yesterday which cannot find any malware on the device.
I also added an app called OS Monitor which did show two network connections to Google Play Services. Data was switched on, wifi off at the time. All my apps were restricted from using background data. When I subsequently checked Data Usage there was no listing for 'Google Play Services' and Google Play Store showed no increase (0 background in fact, as background is switched off) however Android OS did show another increase. I don't know enough about Android to deduce anything useful from this but someone here might.....hopefully

 

[papayama]

I have the same problem.....is really frstrating, i tried anything i found in differents forums but still OS SERVICE use a lot data......more you use phone and more data he drain.......PLease need an answer about it!!!

 

[Sizzers]

When you say you have no syncs on, do you mean that you have un-checked "Auto-sync data"? And do you use live wallpapers?

Sent from my XT1032 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Fourcandles]

When you say you have no syncs on, do you mean that you have un-checked "Auto-sync data"? And do you use live wallpapers?

Sent from my XT1032 using AC Forums mobile app

Hi,
Yes, Auto-sync is un-checked other than when at home using wi-fi. I do not use any live wallpapers, just a stock one that came with the phone. I have restricted all background data at times and still seen Android OS data increase.
Papayama: sorry to hear you are in a similar position but thanks for posting about it. Hopefully the more exposure this gets the sooner it can be addressed.

 

[Seraphim99]

(NOTE: I've now submitted this to the Question and Answer section)
Hi,
Sorry to barge in, but rather than start a separate thread for the same issue, I thought I'd share my experience and see if anyone can shed any light on what's going on.
I've got a 3G Moto G which is running V4.4.4 of the Android OS.
At the start of this month I took out a contract with limited data, in an effort to cut down on costs.
The full amount of data for one month should be 50Mb, but was reduced to 41 because I took out the contract a few days into the month.
I restricted every app I could from using background data, and installed the 'My 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! Somehow I'd used about 28Mb of data without noticing it?
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, so I called my provider and asked them to look into it. At the same time, I disabled all data access.
I contacted my provider today, Wednesday, and was told that my phone had last accessed data last night - AFTER I had disabled data access completely. Today it's showing I have 5Mb of data left.
They couldn't tell me which apps were using the data, but said the only advice they could give was for 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 telling me about it??

 

[Tocantwo]

My observations are very similar in the case of my Nexus 7 LTE tablet. Data is being used even when data is turned off in Settings. All this since an update to 4.4.4

My solution to stop usage is turn on airplane mode, then turn Wifi back On. I know this isn't a solution for phone users, but what it seems to prove is that 4.4.4. accesses data when data is supposed to be turned off. Incidentally the data used is 0.15 each access which occurs at 30 minute intervals.

 

[Basant Vaid]

i called up Motorola care with the same problem and this is the solution they offered. I have completed the process and now have to wait and see if it has worked hopefully it has.
Customer issue is using Moto g2 and the android Os is consuming lot data usage.
Informed to customer check in safe mode and follow the clear partition steps to fix the issue.if still have same back up and reset the device.
Response Via Email (Prashanth) 13/11/2014 11.47 AM
Customer Reference number: 141113-024814
Dear Basant,
Thank you for contacting Motorola.

This will remove any temporary files that may be causing the problem, but will not delete your files or settings.

1. With the phone powered off, press the VOL DOWN KEY for 2-3 seconds then POWER key then release.

2. The device will display different BOOT OPTIONS

3. Use the VOL DOWN Key to SCROLL to Recovery and VOL UP Key to select

Tip: If the device reboots, you may have waited to long to make a selection, you will need to begin the process again.

4. The device will display the Motorola logo and then the Android in distress ( logo with Exclamation mark)

5. Press and hold the VOL UP key for 10-15 seconds. While still holding the VOL UP key tap and release the POWER key

Tip: You can try this step, holding the phone in landscape. If you are stuck on step 6, try a force reboot by pressing the Power key and Vol Down key, and start the process again.

6. The device will display additional menu options (Text will appear in BLUE)

7. Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll to wipe cache partition and the POWER Key to select this option

8. The device will then perform the partition wipe

9. The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence.

For any further assistance or information please do not hesitate to contact us, quoting your Customer Reference number. We are reachable on 18001022344 to discuss the matter further with one of our experienced customer service agents. Please contact us anytime between the hours of 9:00am to 9:00pm Monday to sunday.

 

[Manuela Molina]

i called up Motorola care with the same problem and this is the solution they offered. I have completed the process and now have to wait and see if it has worked hopefully it has.
Customer issue is using Moto g2 and the android Os is consuming lot data usage.
Informed to customer check in safe mode and follow the clear partition steps to fix the issue.if still have same back up and reset the device.
Response Via Email (Prashanth) 13/11/2014 11.47 AM
Customer Reference number: 141113-024814
Dear Basant,
Thank you for contacting Motorola.

This will remove any temporary files that may be causing the problem, but will not delete your files or settings.

1. With the phone powered off, press the VOL DOWN KEY for 2-3 seconds then POWER key then release.

2. The device will display different BOOT OPTIONS

3. Use the VOL DOWN Key to SCROLL to Recovery and VOL UP Key to select

Tip: If the device reboots, you may have waited to long to make a selection, you will need to begin the process again.

4. The device will display the Motorola logo and then the Android in distress ( logo with Exclamation mark)

5. Press and hold the VOL UP key for 10-15 seconds. While still holding the VOL UP key tap and release the POWER key

Tip: You can try this step, holding the phone in landscape. If you are stuck on step 6, try a force reboot by pressing the Power key and Vol Down key, and start the process again.

6. The device will display additional menu options (Text will appear in BLUE)

7. Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll to wipe cache partition and the POWER Key to select this option

8. The device will then perform the partition wipe

9. The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence.

For any further assistance or information please do not hesitate to contact us, quoting your Customer Reference number. We are reachable on 18001022344 to discuss the matter further with one of our experienced customer service agents. Please contact us anytime between the hours of 9:00am to 9:00pm Monday to sunday.

Did it work for you? Thanks for sharing the info!