Unusual High Data Usage

[tosmoke]

I have a 6gig plan, and I'm a typical smartphone user....on the top end I use 700mb per month, at the most.  And that's been my average amount (sometimes 650mb) since the iPhone 3G has been out.

Now all of a sudden, bright and early Monday morning (Nov 8), I get the same text message from Rogers saying I'm at 80% of my data usage.  Then an hour later, I get a 100% data usage text message.  I quickly logged on to "My Rogers" web page and check my statistics, I'm currently at 147mb over my 6gig limit.

Then I call Rogers to see what's going on.  I tell the rep (then 7 reps after that), that something is going on between my phone and the Rogers Data Network that I obviously don't have any control over, and they cannot tell me anything other than the data usage, the times it happened, and that my IMEI number matches my account.

This is of little help to me as I didn't do anything unusual between Thursday (when the excessive data usage started - sometimes 2 gigs on one instance) and Monday morning.  I'm a heavy email user, but very few of them have attachments, and the ones that do are perhaps 1mb, 2 at the most.

At that point, I completely turned off my cellular data connection on the phone, and even went as far as to turn the 3G off.  That was Monday morning.  24 hours later, with cellular data turned off, I sign in again to "My Rogers" and notice another 2 gigs of data adding up to my account.  Now I'm 2 gigs over my limit, and have done nothing special or extra-ordinary out of my daily routine.  And I know this because the highest amounts of data usage are either when I'm sleeping (12:47 am - used 83,614kb) or driving home from work (5:08pm - 2,018,000kb).

Now, I've tried to get ahold of someone in Rogers that could help me with this situation, and no one can tell me anything other than my "out of the ordinary" data usage and the times they were recorded, and to wait until my bill comes in and then they "will see" what they can do at that time. 

This is absolutely insane!!!  I've spend 2 hours a day for 2 days trying to get to the bottom of this and cannot get a straight answer from anyone at Rogers, whether they are in Customer Care or iPhone technical support.  I've gone over the apps on my phone to see if there is anything installed that's out of the ordinary....nothing different from the beginning of the month.  I've check to see what's running in the background, nothing but the SMS, email, the MyRogers app, and my iPod.  

I know I'm talking to deaf ears in this forum, and won't get any help or support from Rogers, but hopefully, if more customers that are experiencing what I am going through, and the customer that posted previously, perhaps more will come forward and we can have some sort of group support to show Rogers this is not an isolated issue.

Any Rogers Employees reading this form, you can reach me at bigsmokejoey@gmail.com to provide any assistance.  My account profile (linked with my cellular phone number) has a lot of documentation from my last two days of calling in to support my issue.

PLEASE HELP !!!!!

***edited labels***

[lebunting]

I am also having issue with Data usage and have not had a positive experience dealing with Rogers.  I had this issue on 11/19, when apparently I used 1.8 Gb in one day - I usually average 100-200 Mb per month.  I received the text message notifying that I was over my usage 2 days later.  Too late and too bad - $60 extra on my bill and all support/customer service and management telling me I was at fault and it was all valid data usage.  My obvious pattern of low data usage was of no concern to them and they were unable to provide any tools or assistance in troubleshooting this issue.  I am very disgusted with the rudeness and condescending tone of their 'customer service manager' and the quick cut-off that I have gone as far as I can go up the chain.  I have spent a month trying to troubleshoot this issue - I have googled, worked with Apple and Rogers with no help at all.  I am at the the point that I have to turn off my data usage at home, since while on wi-fi, I am still incurring cellular data usage.  I would like to know how much time 1.8Gb of data should take on the 3g network.  Anyone have any way of calculating this? 

[ChrisK]

I've had the same problem with suspiciously high data usage on Samsung Captivate and Iphone 4. In a matter of two days my data usage surged 400 MBs while I was mostly using Wifi at home. While on 3G/H I was basically using the Facebook app (which is supposedly designated for unlimited usage) and What's App and getting email updates (only 1 or 2 per day). I have a network counter (Android Booster) and it has been accurate.  It showed I've used 23.69 MB since Jan. 1 or 2 on the Samsung Captivate.  I turned off data on both phones yersterday night, but data usage surged from 55% to 68% in less than 24 hours when both phones were at home using Wifi and data was turned off!  I called Rogers technical support today and got cut off the first time, so I called again and I was instructed to keep data off and check usage and see if it still goes up. If it still increases, then I should call customer service again. The other option would be to factory reset both phones to delete all "third party" apps.  I don't think it is the apps because I've had the same apps for a while now.

[torch958]

Hi everyone!  I'm glad I found this forum.   My wife and I are having the identical problem with our data usage bill from Rogers.  We've had our Iphone 4's since Jan. 6.  The first month seemed normal, charges reasonable.  But then, the last bill we received floored us both!!    We have a shared 2 gb data plan and the first month we were not even close to that total.  This past bill we were tagged with a 20+ gb charge for data.  I immediately contacted Rogers with my concerns and the english-challenged customer service rep gave me a case number and would investigate.  When I called again, I was told that these charges were valid and did come from my wife's phone.  I tried to explain to these people that she would have to be streaming videos all day for charges like those.  She plays a facebook game that is on wifi  90% of the time.  Other than that, our data usage would not even come close to the shared 2 gb.  Hoping to get some resolution to this issue as a $400.00 data charge is totally unacceptable.

RickTee

[Meowmix]

If the reps or managers do not do anything to help then you can contact the CRTC & the BBB & also the CCTS & file a complaint how Rogers over charger you for not reason. They will look into it.

Rogers has had some bad problems with this. I have seen a dozen posts about this on their facebook & twitter page as well from others.

[WalterG]

i am starting  reading about high data usage . Following happened to me . I am on a 500 mb data plan and uaually using between 250 to 300 mb a month. Most of the time i am reading news, going in my email account or google questions. Never ever had i streamed or downloaded anything from the net to my iphone. I am checking my usage regulary because i dont wanna go over.

Last time i checked was Sunday April 30th. It was at a260 mb, roughly one week prior to billing date. Everything fine.

Today i go in and check and it is at 1.3 GB. When calling customer service i was told i had used 1 GB on Monday May 1 at 4.45 pm. Too bad i am working at that time and have not used my Iphone. It was on I believe but applications are usually closed.

They could not tell me what had caused the usage of 1 GB on a Monday afternoon when i was on my desk working but i was encouraged to call in once i have received the bill.

This really had shocked my a lot. This must be an issue on part of Rogers but how should i know what it is. I just know it can't be me. When i am using every day on average 10 to 15 mb how can I suddenly use one GB at once.

I just hope they show goodwill and amend the bill. Otherwise I will be gone for good and not using a data plan anymore.

Anyone has experience with such a miracle data usage?

Thanks

[lmf]

I have a similar issue, and I'm glad I'm not the only one. I rarely use even half of my 500 MB plan. Today I get a message that I am at 100% of data, and my billing cycle ends on the 20th! Rogers tells me that something used more than my entire monthly allotment (600 MB) in one shot, Sunday at 6:30pm (during which time I was participating in a photography session and didn't use my phone).

I have not downloaded any new apps, changed the settings on my phone or changed my usage pattern in any way. 

I spoke to 7 people and no one could resolve my issue. How can we prevent this from happening again if we can't diagnose the problem?

I was told to do a factory restore of the phone or take it into a Rogers store. If this is resolved for anyone, please do post up.

😞

[LIC]

I am so glad to hear I am not the only one having a problem with Rogers and their high data usage and their lack of assistance with this matter.  We have an  Optimus 3D.

We (my son & I) received an $1,100 Rogers bill due to high data usage.  We phoned Rogers and of course they blamed my son for using apps.  Supposedly in 1 month we used 12GB of data, as several people have told me this is impossible unless downloading movies 24/7.  I am a single mother and cannot afford this type of bills . Anyway, at that point we turned off the phone, pulled the battery out, and pulled the SIM card out.   This has been out since Saturday at midnight and we have racked up over lots of data at this time.   Rogers has said too bad so sad we cannot reverse the charges it is data used.  And currently the fact the phone is in pieces on my coffee table does not matter to them at all.  

I am so upset and disappointed with the service and lack of respect from Rogers.   What happened to assisting the customer? 

I hope they do realize this is a consistent problem (obviously from all other messages) and do something.  

Please advise if your situation has been fixed and how.

[Gdkitty]

Not discounting that there potential other problems..  or that each person here's one is different.. but here is my story, and it ended up OK in the end.

Like some of the others have said.. got the 80% warning.. then while calling into them got the 100% warning. 
I am only on a 500mb plan..i use under 100mb normaly a month, i am 90% of the time on wifi.

I was like *** is wrong with my phone.  Called in, and got a decent tech.. Said they could see the number going up.
At that point, they said to kill all the apps on the phone (double click on the home button, hold down on one, and hit the minus on all of them).  Within 2-3 mins.. the data flow stoped.

It has never run into this since.

Now, what they said.. is that sometimes an app can get locked into a loop.. say continualy refreshing, so continualy pulling data.. and even switching into an area with wifi.. since whatever its stuck in was on 3g at the time.. it stays going that method.

Again, not saying this is what happened to everyone.. but this would be why they are asking for the restore on the phone.. wipe all 3rd party apps, make sure that your a blank slate and illiminate any apps causing the problem.

[sonyboyj]

Download a data monitor and how did you get the 6 gb plan

[Meowmix]

The 6GB for $30 was a promotion that ended a long time ago. They only bring that Data package out when iPhone's come out or when some high end smartphone comes out. They also bring it out if lets say Bell or Telus does. They offer 6GB for $60 now if you want.

[paulrap99]

hey guys 2 years later from these posts and now this is happening to me.  I've been with Rogers for 2 years and never gone over my data uage until 2 months ago.  1 day into my new cycle I received a text message from Rogers saying I was 80% full.  half hour later got another text message that said I was over.  I work at a software company and am a former developer so now exactly how this stuff works.  I am on wifi at work and at home and rarely surf in my car.  Prior to this happening i would only use around 200MB of data per month.  This is going on for 3 months now and Rogers refuses to reverse my charges.  My last bill was $350 and normally it would be $65.  To cancel my plan would cost me $300 and this is actually cheaper than paying my ball as every month the charges are more and more.  did anybody find a solution to  this?

[User143]

This periodically happen to me as well.  I have developed a series of principles as a result:

1)  Rogers recommed using the My Rogers App to track you usage.  That shoul be your first red flag, consider the course of the advice.  Secondly the app is rarely current.  I dont mean not current to the 4 hour dely it openly admits, but current in terms of days or weeks.  I have had to several battle with Rogers to refund data usage that I used when My Rogers said my data was well under.  3 days later with little to no usuage, the data suddenly caughe up and showed me over.  The texts which are supporsed to warn you, also showed up at %70, %80, and 'you are over' withink minutes of each other.  $%^ing useless app, and company.

2) If you present overages as ones that you didn't no about becase of information you got from them, you will be turned down, period.  Insta-first answer is alway don't give the customer antying.  If you get angry and abusive enough you may win.

3) Call, and contiue calling CSR's until you meet a nice guy who will do it.  They all lie and say that can't do anything.  Don't get mad, just realize they are all liars and persist until you find the one who isn't.

[theaddys]

Same problem, same run around, same complete lack of customer service.  A $500 overage charge, HUGE downloads (my previous monthly totals being used in one day) at all hours even after turning off data.  I'm a VERY light data user, as my previous bills prove, just to check e-mails occasionally, have NEVER downloaded any videos, etc.  Only a few aps on my phone, less than 10.  Rogers has been rude, insulting, and COMPLETELY unhelpful.  Been working on this for about 3 hours a day for last 3 days and my phone sits in front of me in pieces because I'm afraid to turn it on.  Is this Rogers' way of sucking money from us without having to explain what it is that we're paying for?  Where is the accountability here?  WHAT CAN WE DO???

[_teradactyl]

I WAS ADVISED TODAY BY PAY AS YOU GO THAT EVEN PUSH NOTIFICATIONS DEDUCT FROM YOUR DATA USAGES.

I WANT TO FIND A RESOLUTION MYSELF. PLEASE CAN A NICE ROGERS REP HELP ME!! email me at 

i dont even want to begin talking about how futile it is talking to ANYONE WHO WORKS AT ROGERS.

SO IF A NICE HONEST, KNOWS THAT PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED TO WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW, EXISTS, PLEASE EMAIL ME!!!

thanks!!!!

**edited for content**

[_teradactyl]

yes this apparently is correct, the supervisor today told me that i needed to close the apps in the bottom of my iphone or else they will continue to pull data. BS
right???

[Gdkitty]

No. It's the way the phone works. Anything, that would draw from a data source, uses data. This includes notifications, pulling email, etc. it's fairly common sense. And the iphone and just about any other smart phone has worked this way from day one.

If you don't want things to use data, you need to set things up to do so. Shut down apps as the rep said (when you close and app on an iphone or android, it's still running unless killed). Turn off push notifications. Or even turn off your data alltogether when not in use.

[x7smw]

i have a qUESTION AND HOPEFULLY youc an help me.

My data usage is astronomical, although i havent been using my data,

can you explain why this is happening or if the LTE being slow caused it to use more data?

i woke up one morning and my cell data had gone thru 5 extra G of data

[w1se]

5 years from original post.  Same problem here.  Still troubleshooting...will try restore.  got to 100% of 6 gig plan in first 4 days of billing cycle.  have not done anything different usually use 2 gigs/month.   Turned data off on phone and reset usage stats.  have been turning on cellular data periodiclaly through the month.   Usage on phone is drastclally lower than indicated on MyRogers.

Cannot tell if this is a rogers problem or a hardware problem.  Using iphone 5.

[markie-mark619]

bassed off the apps you have on your iphone could be using data in the background or right infront of you with out you knowing it for ex facebook if you have ever had the your news feed and theres a video and it just start to be playing but u didnt click on it its using ur data obviously so at that point you need to go into your setting and turn the background stuff off maybe the way im stating that example may not be 100% correct but i know that it will use ur data and somewhere in ur setting u can turn that feature off  explore ur apps and see whats not really needed that u might be using on your phone data wise delete it and see if it makes a difference hopefully my time and words have help you out

[sallyann55]

ihad the same thing happen to me where i had a huge overage for 1 day and they charged me $10 for being over. When i talked to an agent they couldn't tell me anything except i was over..what the heck..I only had 200mb of data..mostly connected to my home wifi when i'm doing searches..i was so frustrated cuz i couldn't get any reason why i got that spike in usage and they wouldn't take it off my bill..so i just bit the bullet...now mind you in 3 years it only happened once so go figure...hopefully you got your problem sorted out..

[RogersArthur · Accepted solution]

Hi @sallyann55,

Welcome to the Community Forums, your feedback to the Community is greatly appreciated, thanks for sharing. 

I'd also like to add some information you and others might find helpful, below is some tips on how to save or prevent data overages for future reference:

Prevent Data Usage Overage on Apple iPhones

Note: these are just tips to proactively prevent data overage, there are many factors that can contribute to data overage on the iPhone. These settings are general instructions only. This guide was made to provide instructions on as many devices and versions of Apple iOS as possible.

1. Use Wi-Fi where possible.
2. Download media/video files and apps on the computer, then sync to the device through iTunes.
3. Limit the use of Mobile Hotspot (sharing your iPhone cellular data connection with other devices).
4. Turn off Location Services when not in use. This feature is mainly used for GPS/maps, helping to pinpoint your current location.
5. Turn off app notifications.
   • Tap Settings.
   • Select Notifications.
   • Toggle Notification Off.
6. Turn off Push Mail.
   • Tap Settings.
   • Select Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
   • Select Fetch New Data.
   • Toggle Push Off.
7. Manually disable apps from using cellular data. When an app is disabled from cellular data, the app will only be fully functional when connected to Wi-Fi. A prompt will appear stating that cellular data has been disabled for the app.
   • Tap Settings.
   • Select Cellular.
   • Scroll down to the USE CELLULAR DATA FOR section, toggle the apps that you want to disable.
8. Disable Background App Refresh.
   • Tap Settings.
   • Select General.
   • Select Background App Refresh.
   • Toggle the apps you want to disable.

Note: It’s recommended to monitor your data usage regularly. The following are two methods to monitor usage:

• Rogers My Account App: This app can be downloaded and installed from the Apple app store. The My Account app is recommended because the data usage will automatically reset for each billing cycle. Click here for the latest 3.5.5 updated: Jul 31, 2015.
• iPhone Usage Calculator: This is a built-in feature to the Apple iOS software. It is required to manually reset the counter at the end of your billing cycle.
  • Tap Settings.
  • Select Cellular.
  • Scroll down to the bottom, and select System Services.
  • The details of your cellular data usage for the billing cycle will be listed.

Hope this helps,

RogersArthur