Excessive Data Usage

[NatNote9]

Hi everyone, I have a Note 9 and I am on AT&T. My husband and I are on the same plan, but he has an iPhone.

The same month we upgraded our phones (me from a Note 5) he dropped our data usage after reviewing the last 12 months and finding we never went near the threshold. Since the new phones and the data drop, we are getting warning messages from AT&T that we have used up all our data. He dropped us the 5GB plan based on the usage we have had.

My phone is connected to wifi when at home and at work. I connect to most store hotspots if it appears I will use my phone. The new phones are the only changes to our habits. When he dropped the plan he felt we would never bump against the 5GB based on the past 12 months.

My Note 9 is set to reset each billing period. Between Nov 1 and today I have used 280 MB of data. (Wifi data usage is 21GB for 10/15 - 11/12).

280 MB doesn't seem like any data at all. My husband's numbers are not far from mine.

I know this is probably a carrier issue, but is there anything going on in the Note 9 I should be aware of? I've turned background off on many apps. Restricted a few that I barely use to wifi only. Changed the settings on my weather app to only refresh every 60 minutes.

I feel like I am turning my smartphone into a brick.

Thanks in advance for any advice on settings.

 

[bbgpsuser]

Have you logged into your AT&T account and checked the usage for each device there?
That will tell you what device AT&T is seeing using the data.

 

[kevinpleasants]

Hi everyone, I have a Note 9 and I am on AT&T. My husband and I are on the same plan, but he has an iPhone.

The same month we upgraded our phones (me from a Note 5) he dropped our data usage after reviewing the last 12 months and finding we never went near the threshold. Since the new phones and the data drop, we are getting warning messages from AT&T that we have used up all our data. He dropped us the 5GB plan based on the usage we have had.

My phone is connected to wifi when at home and at work. I connect to most store hotspots if it appears I will use my phone. The new phones are the only changes to our habits. When he dropped the plan he felt we would never bump against the 5GB based on the past 12 months.

My Note 9 is set to reset each billing period. Between Nov 1 and today I have used 280 MB of data. (Wifi data usage is 21GB for 10/15 - 11/12).

280 MB doesn't seem like any data at all. My husband's numbers are not far from mine.

I know this is probably a carrier issue, but is there anything going on in the Note 9 I should be aware of? I've turned background off on many apps. Restricted a few that I barely use to wifi only. Changed the settings on my weather app to only refresh every 60 minutes.

I feel like I am turning my smartphone into a brick.

Thanks in advance for any advice on settings.

Since I've had my Note 9 from a Note 8, I'm getting the same notices.

 

[Richard Stewart79]

Could be a recent app someone downloaded that is eating up data. Happened to me. Just look at data usage and see what apps are consuming the most and delete it.

 

[j_hansen]

Is it a notification from the carrier you are getting or is it just fromthe phone?
You can set the phone to warn you so maybe it is just set very low by default and needs changing

 

[Almeuit]

Is it a notification from the carrier you are getting or is it just fromthe phone?
You can set the phone to warn you so maybe it is just set very low by default and needs changing

The carrier.

 

[j_hansen]

The carrier.

Well then you obviously need to speak to them, probably a simple thing since it was just fine before the 2 new phones

 

[Almeuit]

Well then you obviously need to speak to them, probably a simple thing since it was just fine before the 2 new phones

I'm not the OP. Just the message the OP said they're getting is standard messaging / wording for US carriers.

 

[bbgpsuser]

You say that your phone says that it is using 280 MB, similar for your husband's.

I'll repeat my earlier suggestion to log into your AT&T account and check the usage for each device there.
That will tell you what device AT&T thinks is using the data.

Do you also have a tablet or another connected device? One of those Apple watches per chance?

 

[galaxyfive]

OP

If you're on a pooled/shared data plan I'm thinking your husbands iPhone might be the culprit. In the iPhone go / settings / cellular then go way down to the bottom to see if WIFI assist is enabled. If so, disable it.

 

[jenlozier]

I am having the same issue with both my note 9 and my moms galaxy 9. the past few months the data useage has gone up. something is loading ever 3 hours, but I am not able to identify what it is. Is it the New OS>?

 

[mustang7757]

if you go into settings>connection>Data usage can see what's going on there , plus turn data saver on so can limit data while moving away from WiFi . chrome browser also has data saver mode in it's settings

 

[pizza_pablo]

Hi everyone, I have a Note 9 and I am on AT&T. My husband and I are on the same plan, but he has an iPhone.
...
I feel like I am turning my smartphone into a brick.

Hey Nat, never returned to your own thread.
What gives?
Was a solution identified?

Jenlozier could use your help.