Database Info

[Q] HTC is acting as big brother?

I upgraded a new HTC phone with Android 2.3. I found that this device is bloated with running processes made by HTC. Even this device has 128 M more internal memory it is all consumed by this bloatware. For example:
- HTC Hub
- HTC Likes
- HTC Message Uploader
- Skinscanner
- HTC Report Agent
- com.htc.demoflopackageinstaller
From the 3 below I'm not sure if they're from HTC:
- CSPeopleSyncService
- My Downloads Provider
- Updater
I begin to feel HTC is acting as big brother on me. I'm not using any HTC service or widget so at least the presence of this bloatware is doubtful.
This feeling has even got stronger after I registered a HTC Sense account, since this was required to download some HTC apps that were previously present by default on my 2.2 device. When I logged in to HTC Sense on the web it said it was synchronizing ALL my contacts and messages among other things. WTH??? I assume there's a single line in the 20-pages EULA stating that HTC was allowed to do this but no-one reads this of course. Why on earth would I want HTC keeping a copy of my contacts and messages when I use Gmail???

HTC is running bloatware
I have a HTC Desire S running Android 2.3.3 and HTC Sense 2.1.
I have 2 services running in the background that were a bit suspect:
HTC Report Agent and
My Downloads Provider,
so I contacted HTC about them.
Here is their response and the subsequent discussion that ensued:
"HTC report agent is a HTC background application so you do not need to worry about it from a security point of view. My Downloads Provider however is not an HTC application."
"I know "HTC Report Agent" is a background process.
My question is, what does it do exactly?
Does it connect to the Internet?
I'm on a daily Internet Plan from Vodafone and I don't want any process opening up a data connection to the Internet and costing me money without my express consent.
Can I safely stop the precess and prevent it from starting again?
You don't know what "My Downloads Provider" is then?
I bought this phone from Expansys.ie and it was unlocked and SIM free.
So it was in a factory state when I received it.
The process was either installed by HTC or is part of the Android OS?
I will contact Google and ask them."
"HTC report agent is an application used to bring notifications on the screen. It does connect to internet for some of the application. My downloads provider will also connect to internet for applicaitons downloads. If you want to monitor mobile internet data then you can download 3g watchdog which is an application to monitor mobile data."
"Why does HTC Report Agent have to connect to the Internet?
Is it some sort of "Big Brother" application?
I get charged €1 per day for using a data connection on Vodafone, no matter how little data is transferred.
I will now be charged every single day, because these apps are connecting for NO good reason.
I stopped "HTC Report Agent" in the Applications manager and it restarted itself again soon after.
Can the process be stopped permanently?"
"HTC report agent is used to send application crash reports to HTC so that HTC can improve and fix porblems that occur with the phone. It does not send any personal data to us. What you can do is try switching off mobile internet on your phone so your phone will not connect to internet and you will not incur any charges."
"I am not happy about this at all.
This is why people Root their phones, so they can have some measure of control and remove unnecessary programs.
Surely HTC should give the option to stop this process.
At least warn users, and give the option to decline uploading of reports.
By the way, to my knowledge none of my apps have crashed and "HTC Report Agent" seems to be transmitting data regularly."
"I am sorry that you are not happy with the HTC report agent working in the background. Unfortunatley HTC phone applications are designed this way. This is to improve the quality of software that we release. If you are seeking to root your phone then we are unable to provide any support for a rooted phone."
I am very disappointed with this situation, if you have a very slow data connection in the country somewhere and are trying to access the Internet these bloody "services" are running in the background transferring data making my incredibly slow connection even slower.
Newer versions of HTC Sense seem to have even more bloatware running.
This once "Quietly Brilliant" company has headed to the dark side I think.

Dude relax.turn off data.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA Premium App

These applications will clog up your bandwidth
Yes I have turned off Data, but I use the phone to surf the Net every now and again.
As soon as Data is turned on, these processes are triggered and begin transferring data.
That would be fine with a very fast connection like using wifi at home, but when the signal is weak using mobile data these things cripple your bandwidth.
Up until now I was using a Nokia E75 running Symbian, the speed difference is noticeable.
I'm not freaking out, I'm just letting you know what I've experienced.

patcheenrocks said:
Yes I have turned off Data, but I use the phone to surf the Net every now and again.
As soon as Data is turned on, these processes are triggered and begin transferring data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there's always Droidwall (separate enable/disable for Wifi and 3G) and LBE Privacy Guard (enable disable data/permissions per app)
PS. the 'Thanks' button is surprisingly close to 'Quote'...

Both Droidwall and LBE Privacy Guard require the phone to be rooted though.
I think it's the only option really though.
Thanks for the suggestion.

[Q] Android updating

I bought a Telstra Smart touch phone, powered by Android. I bought the phone because I wanted to use wi/fi and connect via my modem/router and use the phone when I have turned off my computers and leave the modem on so as to access the wireless. I didn't want to use the phone for the internet outside of the house via the 3G network because I can't afford that. I was told by my ISP that I could use the gigs I pay for by connecting to my router but that was not the case, I was misinformed. I only wanted to do this in case I thought of something after turning off my computers and leave the router on to access wireless. This did happen & I was able to pick up the wireless signal but I only did it once, one web site and 2 emails were sent in 3 weeks because I was worried that I was getting charged. Then I got my bill, $90 for internet charges for the mobile phone. After many questions to Telstra finally spoke to someone who seemed to know that the charges were because Android updates the applications on the phone. I tried turning off the Internet part but then I couldn't even use the calender on the phone unless I put in my gmail account, is there any way I can use the phone without Android updating all the time and causing me to be charged. I put the phone back to factory settings hoping I could just use it for general things, text messages, phone, calendar, reminders etc.
thank you,
Joan.

Turn off background data and uncheck "Automatic update" in the market under your installed apps. Apps such as Gmail, Maps etc. Is set to update automaticly.
And go through the phone settings and uncheck things that includes "data" and "auto".
Oh, you also want to disable auto sync. (it's in settings)
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App

thank you very much for helping me.
Joan

Sorry, I meant to ask ...if I do as you suggest will I be able to use the applications, such as the calendar, take photos etc., just like I can with my Samsung smart phone, but I don't have that enabled to the internet although it can be done but it's not wi/fi, thats why I bought this smart touch one and use it if I wanted to but only through my router wirelessly and it doesn't cost anything. I just want to be be able to send text messages including picture messages sometimes (I know the latter does cost). I could even use it as I first intended as a wi/fi phone at home, not through the 3G network though, through my router. I just don't want to have to pay for Android updates but would like to use the other features if they are available. I put the phone back to factory settings because I didn't think I could afford to use it but it's been bugging me so thought I would try again. I can't do anything with it though unless I enter my gmail account, so should I do that?.
Thank you very much for your time,
Joan.

[Q] Excessive data usage problem

Hi,
I've recently discovered that very large amounts of data are being transferred from my Nexus S which is pushing me over my data limit of 750mb. I downloaded 3G watchdog and monitored traffic for a while and noticed that every hour or so data use goes wild running into the tens of mb over a very short period of time.
I'm currently running MIUI-109020 and have a fairly standard range of apps installed. I've tried killing all of the apps that might possibly transfer data but this makes no difference. So, at the moment I've turned off mobile data before it bankrupts me but obviously I'd like to have it back on again.
Anyone, anywhere have any thoughts or pointers as to what might be going on or how I could solve it?
BTW I'm in the UK on Vodaphone's network.
Cheers
David McNorton

davidmcnorton said:
Hi,
I've recently discovered that very large amounts of data are being transferred from my Nexus S which is pushing me over my data limit of 750mb. I downloaded 3G watchdog and monitored traffic for a while and noticed that every hour or so data use goes wild running into the tens of mb over a very short period of time.
I'm currently running MIUI-109020 and have a fairly standard range of apps installed. I've tried killing all of the apps that might possibly transfer data but this makes no difference. So, at the moment I've turned off mobile data before it bankrupts me but obviously I'd like to have it back on again.
Anyone, anywhere have any thoughts or pointers as to what might be going on or how I could solve it?
BTW I'm in the UK on Vodaphone's network.
Cheers
David McNorton
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That much data? Email, gmail, facebook sync.

Install Droidwall and prevent some apps from the network.
I would also like to see what exactly Android is doing all the time...

MIUI has a built in Monitor app. Use that to see which app is using up your data.
You may also want to opt-out of MIUI stats. I'm not sure of how much data it sends, but it will cut down on some of your data usage.
Droidwall is a great suggestion as well. Prevent some apps from connecting on 3G but allow them on wifi. If you want some apps to connect on 3G, check your sync settings.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!

Thanks for your replies. I've now installed droidwall and that looks like it could help. I've also purchased the pro version of 3G Watchdog (hadn't realised MIUI had a monitor app) and that's showing me what how much data my apps are using.
I phoned Vodaphone and they increased my data plan to 1GB which gives me a little leeway while I try to work this out. So I'll test it again tomorrow and see if I can work out what's going on.
Cheers
David McNorton

Is your Gallery app syncing pictures to Picassa? It's the only thing i can think of that would explain that much data in a short period of time.

Problem solved. Google+ was the culprit. By default the app had Instant Upload of all photo's and video's set to on. That has cost me about £50 since installing the app in late September when it first came out. Thank's Google
Thanks for all your tips. At least now I have a better handle on data monitoring and firewall protection.
Cheers
David McNorton

Wow, never thought Google Plus would use that much, even though it syncs a ton. Good think I have unlimited, may want to look into it yourself.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App

[Q] What is your average daily data usage?

Just converted to winpho, and I love all the integration and fluidity as everyone says. But I feel like it takes up way too much data.
tl;dr. data usage hitting 10+mb daily, <3mb on android. wtf?
I find myself hitting 10mb+ daily, when i was below 3mb on android. WiFi continuously on (it wasn't on android either). I browsed wiki (one page) and used bing once, and found myself at 10mb halfway through the day. The only running app with data usage (that i know off) is 2 gmail account (probably 20 emails total, all text), with 30min interval and metrotalk (google voice client).
Looking at tmobile data spreadsheet, my phone seems to randomly access about 5+mb (up to like 13mb) daily in one section of time, and everything else below 1mb. I stream no music or video.
Not a new toy syndrome either, I used the phone for half a month already and found this trend.
Data Usage spreadsheet from t-mobile. http://bit.ly/JVQk0C
This is frankly, ridiculous. That would be like downloading a giant app a day. what could possibly my phone be doing?
phone: nokia 710
edit: i did the math, wp7 avg. at 15mb/day while android at 4mb/day wtf? (same usage for the most part)

Moved to Q&A for you mate, should get you a few more opinions
I actually found WP7 much easier on my data allowance than Android. Don't forget that your live tiles etc. will use data to refresh, and having your Google voice client open all the time may not be doing you any favours, either. It's entirely possible that the Voice client on Android hibernates one way, and the client you're using on WP7 does it another way

You could always turn off the xbox live synchronisation with your games and the zune account for the music. I believe they will take up some of your data. You should also check any of your applications that might use the internet a lot! By the way, why don't you use push notifications for your google accounts? Those might use your data too!

There are number of services that can use data in the background. A few suggestions of things to check:
Make sure the feedback info is either turned off or set to only send over WiFi.
Un-pin the Me tile, or accept that WP7 will need to ping Facebook to see what your contacts are saying about you (may also apply to the People tile).
Marketplace tile probably uses a little data, checking for updates, but it should be minimal.
Games hub definitely uses som data, if it's synching with the Xbox Live servers (not sure how much).
A small bit of Marketplace configuration data is downloaded nightly, but it should be only a few KB.
Tip: Leave the phone plugged in all night, even if it doesn't need it. WiFi turns off when the screen is locked, unless the phone is plugged in. No, that behavior is not (yet) configurable.

I note this too after NoDo update. At the begining, my phone uses a little of data every day (some Kb, never goes far than a Mb). I use data to sync my hotmail account, gmail account, rss channels, some webpages. After NoDo update, my phones starts to consume a lot of data (more than 10Mb every day with the same uses). Then mango goes out and i think maybe they fix this situation. Today my phone have 8107 and the data usage is over the clouds. I switch on data connection manually and my data usage is more "normal". I know my phone has a lot of new services over the cloud but i can't maintain its appetite of data.

[Q] Sudden massive data use

I recently used Windowbreak, and set up internet sharing on my Samsung Omnia 7, following the instructions here. It all seemed to work fine, but I've now had messages from my network (Orange UK) saying that I've gone way over my monthly data allowance. My allowance is 750MB, and I never usually use more than about 400. This month I went over 750 in the first two days!
Orange won't send me a full breakdown, but they did say that the phone is using huge amounts of data at apparently random times in the middle of the night. Not only was I not using it, but it was connected to my home wifi at the time, so shouldn't have been using any 3G data at all! I have only used internet sharing a couple of times, and it's always turned off when I'm not using it.
I'm on 7.10.7740.16. Can anyone help me? Sorry if this has been posted before, I've searched, but only found people with the opposite problem (i.e. no data at all, instead of too much!)
I'm no expert with this stuff, just following instructionhs really, so I'd be really grateful for any help.
Thanks,
Steve.

Did you change any other settings when you used Windowbreak? Have you installed any apps that use frequently-updating Live Tiles? Do you have the user feedback option enabled? When you say the phone is on WiFi, is it actually plugged in? If not, it will turn off the WiFi when the screen is locked in order to conserve battery.
There have been some spikes of data usage in the past, but they were generally tracked down (having an auto-updating Yahoo mail account was a data hog for a few months, for example Some kind of breakdown would help, but You can always just try turning off as many data-using features (Find My Phone, email sync, Live and Facebook messaging, Live Tiles, etc.) as you can find. Then, re-enable them one or two at a time and try to find the culprit. Some people here in the US get by on 200MB or less of data limit (I have no idea how; I can use several times that in a day) so it should be possible.

Thanks for the reply. No, I don't think I changed anything at the same time as setting up Windowbreak and internet sharing, I just followed the instructions for each one. I haven't got any new apps either that would explain the sudden spike in data.
My phone is always plugged in overnight, so I don't understand why it didn't use wifi instead of 3G for whatever it was doing. It might be that it had always used that much data, but it had previously done it through wifi so I hadn't seen it.
The annoying thing is that Orange won't give me a breakdown of what data I'm using until after the end of the billing month, so I can't get real time information to show me what's working and what isn't. Is there any way to monitor data use, or to see which apps are using what?
Thanks,
Steve.

Sadly, that's not currently possible. You could just turn off the cellular data connection (in Settings) at night, but that's awkward and you'd need to remember to re-enable it.