Mobile Data OFF but using mobile data?

[m_haitham]

I have Mobile data set to OFF and the Data enabled box (under Mobile network settings) deselected but my 'phone is still using data!!! Does anyone understand what is happening? The usage statistics suggest Maps, Google Services and Android OS are the worst culprits. I'm on PAYG and do not want to pay for data, I'm happy to just use WiFi.

I recently purchased the Lenovo phab 2 pro. And since day one I noticed this problem, I had the same exact problem, data was turned off and I was always charged for using data and eventually loosing my balance, I got mad I thought that's a software problem and I wanted to return my phone back. And thank God I found out a solution to this problem by making my phone to use 3g network and avoiding 4g network. I don't know why does 4g network on this phone secretly uses my data??!! I had a 4g network phone before that and never had this issue.
Any way the problem is solved Alhamdolilah

 

[Tatoline]

Oh same exact problem here! I'm newbie on Android, I was using iOS and I recently buy Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. But although I turned off mobile data, my phone is using mobile data just little kilobytes. But these little kilobytes are important if your Internet package was over. Is the problem about new Android version or our phones?

 

[Daniel_13]

Exactly same problem here. I have a Lenovo A5000 / Android 5.0.2 and a Lebara PAYG.
Mobile data are turned off and my MBs are consumed in small amounts from time to time. I monitor that using Lebara app.
I hadn't noticed that until my plan could not auto-renew because my balance got from 10 pounds to ZERO!
I have tried to apply some tipes I found (e.g. "Restrict Background Data", turn off apps, select 3G connection only) but for now ... no use.
Any update on this issue guys?

 

[huzaifa amirka]

I was just checking some tutorial and I face the same issues. Well I resolved it using this method

https://xtremetricks.net/fix-mobile-data-still-working-even-after-turning-off-data/

 

[Gary watson2]

I have Mobile data set to OFF and the Data enabled box (under Mobile network settings) deselected but my 'phone is still using data!!! Does anyone understand what is happening? The usage statistics suggest Maps, Google Services and Android OS are the worst culprits. I'm on PAYG and do not want to pay for data, I'm happy to just use WiFi.

After spending hours searching through forums I could not find an answer. But I worked out a workaround. This is on Android 7.
1. Turn off mobile data.
2. Set the mobile data limit to 0.0mb per month.

You then get a prompt 'mobile data reached' data paused.

This seems to completely stop data usage.

You do keep getting the prompt asking if you wish to resume data. But just keep saying No.

Your welcome!!

 

[BrandonSMcLeod]

After spending hours searching through forums I could not find an answer. But I worked out a workaround. This is on Android 7.
1. Turn off mobile data.
2. Set the mobile data limit to 0.0mb per month.

You then get a prompt 'mobile data reached' data paused.

This seems to completely stop data usage.

You do keep getting the prompt asking if you wish to resume data. But just keep saying No.

Your welcome!!

That is a frustrating but helpful solution. I've had my mobile data off for weeks and my provider is showing abotu 1.5gb of usage in that time. I get $10 off if I stay under 2gb so it's really annoying to have it using data when I have mobile data turned off.

 

[orfc]

I have Mobile data set to OFF and the Data enabled box (under Mobile network settings) deselected but my 'phone is still using data!!! Does anyone understand what is happening? The usage statistics suggest Maps, Google Services and Android OS are the worst culprits. I'm on PAYG and do not want to pay for data, I'm happy to just use WiFi.

Resurrecting an old thread here but this is the top hit I got when having the same problem and googling, and now I think I have an answer (works for me)...

Turn off Location Services. Not just GPS Only, but off.

This is what was causing my phone to trickle use mobile data even with mobile data 'switched off'. Switching it to GPS only didn't seem to help, off altogether did.

Android v7.1.1

 

[JoelMac]

The same thing is happening for me. Android 10 on Pixel 3a. Mobile data is being consumed while mobile data is turned off. Sometimes mobile data is used while connected to wifi. switching on airplane mode will stop it, but that's not a good solution. Doesn't happen all the time, haven't figured out what might be causing it.

This seems to have been a problem for a small number of people for a long time. I'd like to see it fixed as it's not just an annoyance, this actually costs people money.

I share my phone with my wife so we use multiple users on the phone. I've notice some other bugs related to having multiple users on the phone, so I'm wondering if that has something to do with it. When I long press the mobile data button in the top pull down menu while in a non admin user, the Settings app crashes. That may play a role, but there have been times, after a fresh restart, that mobile data was used while off.

 

[fede01_8]

I have an Android 10 ROM and have this issue. I wonder if it's something in the custom ROM or is a problem common in Android 10.

 

[jayjoshi88]

The same thing is happening for me. Android 10 on Pixel 3a. Mobile data is being consumed while mobile data is turned off. Sometimes mobile data is used while connected to wifi. switching on airplane mode will stop it, but that's not a good solution. Doesn't happen all the time, haven't figured out what might be causing it.

This seems to have been a problem for a small number of people for a long time. I'd like to see it fixed as it's not just an annoyance, this actually costs people money.

I share my phone with my wife so we use multiple users on the phone. I've notice some other bugs related to having multiple users on the phone, so I'm wondering if that has something to do with it. When I long press the mobile data button in the top pull down menu while in a non admin user, the Settings app crashes. That may play a role, but there have been times, after a fresh restart, that mobile data was used while off.

I am facing the same issue with Android 11.
Not sure how to handle it.
Please share if you are able to get any solution to this.
Thanks,
Jay

 

[JoelMac]

I think I've finally found out what was causing this to happen on my Pixel 3a and 4a. It appears to be caused by the "MMS messages - Send and receive when mobile data is off" setting. When enabled sending or receiving an MMS message (like one with a photo) will trigger the mobile data to turn on, if it was off, so that the message can be sent/received. This is a good feature, I like that, but it doesn't turn off again, at least not right away, maybe it does eventually. There's also no indication that the mobile data has been turned on, the Mobile data toggle in the settings still shows disabled. Turning it on and off again does not turn it off. Also, mobile data is turned on for everything. I expected this setting to only turn data on for the amount of time it takes for the transfer to complete and then turn right back off again. My carrier doesn't charge for data usage that is for MMS message, so that would work for me. I think when data is turned on in this way it should also filter the data so that only data for the MMS message is allowed through, all other apps should be blocked.

I've been trying to figure this out for years. Dozens of emails with Pixel support got me nowhere. They suggested doing multiple factory resets without restoring from backups and safe mode, but I'm able to reproduce the issue after all that while in safe mode. I finally found this which describes my issue exactly: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/92304612/send-recieve-mms-without-data-bug?hl=en&dark=1

This is a bug that needs to be fixed, but at least I know what is going on now and can work around it. It's pretty annoying to have to turn data on and off manually whenever I want to sent/receive an MMS though.

 

[JoelMac]

This appears to have been fixed in Android 12!

 

[JulesVerne23]

This appears to have been fixed in Android 12!

This is not true. I have an S21, Mobile data switched off, and every day I am receiving charges due to 'data usage'. I only ever use Wifi. Mobile Data usage (not Wifi) show 0B, yet I am seeing something different from my provider (sometimes just 138 Bytes in one day, sometimes 6 KB).

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Who's your carrier, and what kind of data plan do you have? Are you on a plan that doesn't come with any data at all, and they charge you for even using a tiny amount?

You may want to contact your carrier and show them your phone's zero data usage screen.

 

[JulesVerne23]

Hi! Thanks for the welcome. My 'plan' is in a pay-as-you-go contract (a.k.a. pre-paid), where I only pay a flat day rate if I ever activate/use internet. I do not pay regular monthly fees.
In any case, I have showed this to a representative of my carrier, and explained the situation. They agree that it is a rather bizarre situation. They have now first decided to block my data access completely --as a test-- for a few days. So far, there has not been any more data usage so I am afraid they will assume it is my phone's fault. Additionally, I checked the APN (Access Point Name) settings, and they are setup as required (it is also the default setting read from the SIM card).
My phone always reports 0 mobile data usage (I never use it), and no apps have ever used mobile data (option to see their usage is actually greyed out because the data does not exist). Is the operating system doing something behind the scenes without reporting it (i.e. a data leak)? I have read about a few similar cases. How can this possibly happen? Is it a bug?
I suppose most people don't see this because they have data included in their monthly plans.

 

[B. Diddy]

I can't be sure about this, but I think the system might still use small amounts of mobile data on its own for various system housekeeping reasons, even if you turn mobile data off. The carrier should understand that this is a system issue, not your fault.

There have been other threads similar to yours;

https://forums.androidcentral.com/a...s-uses-mobile-data-even-if-they-disabled.html
https://forums.androidcentral.com/l...ndroid-os-uses-data-when-phones-data-off.html
https://forums.androidcentral.com/g...-but-data-still-transmitted-how-possible.html
https://forums.androidcentral.com/a...-mobile-data-even-mobile-data-turned-off.html

So you could present all this data to the carrier as well to show them that this is not just you.