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Best settings to reduce "incidental" data usage

I just switched over from vzw. I'm not used to having limited data access. What suggestions do you have for reducing unintentional data use? I've limited syncing of most accounts to once a day. I use wifi at home and do heavy downloads there. But in 8 days I've already used almost 500 mb.
Has anyone had success as a new customer getting into unlimited data plan?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Not heard of any success as a new customer, but if you were an old customer and switch to the limited data plan, I know if you threaten to leave they will give you back the unlimited. I remember someone posting a trick to get the unlimited data on the captivate forum a while back, but for the life of me cannot find that post. It had something to do that was kinda a shady round about way of getting it, and I'm sure att has plugged that hole by now.

Thanks big. Any ideas on limiting data. On my dx, you could set to only sync over wifi. Never needed it them, now I could use that setting.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

bigdessert said:
I remember someone posting a trick to get the unlimited data on the captivate forum a while back, but for the life of me cannot find that post. It had something to do that was kinda a shady round about way of getting it, and I'm sure att has plugged that hole by now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, they quite literally can't plug the hole. Get an original iPhone(non-3g) and activate it through iTunes. The only plan it has available is unlimited. Then, you should be able to switch go the unlimited 4g plan.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Social networking stuff in sense consumes tons of bandwidth. Root and remove it. You can also use the power control widget to turn off mobile data when you are on the go and turn it on when you want to use it.
The only sure fire way to get unlimited back is to do the Iphone 2g trick. It works better on a new line / sim when its is the first and only device that has been on that line.

I have an original iPhone 2g...can I do that trick to get unlimited back on my Inspire?
sent from my Inspire™ 4G via XDA App

I don't have a 2g iphone. Guys I'm stuck. I am rooted and removed a lot of bloat. I just set social network stuff to sync every 8 hours. Can't really turn mobile data off because I use gtalk and gmail at work. The facebook and twitter stuff will probably save some data. I think I'm going to have to assume il be using 2 gigs plus one.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Read the entire thread. If you skim or fail to do so and it doesn't work it is your own fault. This worked for me for the inspire. My posts are on the last two pages or three depending on how many posts per page.
http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...30-unlimited-data-for-your-iPhone-4-Read-this!!!

BB2DX said:
I use wifi at home and do heavy downloads there. But in 8 days I've already used almost 500 mb.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume you have 2gb plan. that is more then enough, I use about 1.5gb monthly. I have push emails on gmail and hotmail, twitter updates every 30 minutes and surf web about 3 hours a day. but I don't do any streaming video or radio. try to download apps with wifi if possible.

Aridon said:
Read the entire thread. If you skim or fail to do so and it doesn't work it is your own fault. This worked for me for the inspire. My posts are on the last two pages or three depending on how many posts per page.
http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...30-unlimited-data-for-your-iPhone-4-Read-this!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link. It looks like someone has done this successfully as recent as 2/19. Now I know what I'm going to do if ATT decides they don't want to give me my unlimited back.

Does social network stuff really eat up data?

Go into Accounts and Sync under settings and uncheck News, Weather and Stocks.

Aridon said:
Read the entire thread. If you skim or fail to do so and it doesn't work it is your own fault. This worked for me for the inspire. My posts are on the last two pages or three depending on how many posts per page.
Did you have to use a new SIM card it is it possible to use the one you already have?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

220MB of data used in less than 1 day. WHAT?

I just checked my t-mobile account and noticed I used 220mb of data since yesterday afternoon. How in the world is this possible if I was on wifi 90% of the time?
This sucks because I lose 4g speeds after 2GB of data.

are you sure that's only since yesterday & not from the start of your billing cycle?

I'm a brand new tmobile customer. Signed up yesterday.

Might be the T-Mobile app thing. There was somebody else complaining of high data usage and traced it back to this app.
Sent from my HTC Sensation using XDA Premium App

brian85 said:
I'm a brand new tmobile customer. Signed up yesterday.
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Click to collapse
it's probably not accurate then

redbullcat said:
Might be the T-Mobile app thing. There was somebody else complaining of high data usage and traced it back to this app.
Sent from my HTC Sensation using XDA Premium App
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Click to collapse
hmm. source link please? i'd really like to read in to this. that app is always shown as running on my phone, even after killing it.

xnifex said:
hmm. source link please? i'd really like to read in to this. that app is always shown as running on my phone, even after killing it.
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Click to collapse
I'll see if I can find the thread for you

Couldn't find the specific post/thread I was quoting, but I did find this, on Android Police:
Update: Don’t install this app until it gets an update – it will turn your GPS on every 10 seconds to update your location info, and won’t stop unless you Force Stop it from the Manage Applications screen. It was at 68% on my phone’s battery usage menu after 6 hours of doing little with my phone aside from checking e-mail sporadically. Yuck.
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If it's using GPS to update your location every 10 seconds, that needs data. So I suspect, if you have this app installed, this could be your problem.
Get a data usage app that tells you what app is using how much data. If it shows that it is indeed this new T-Mobile app, there's your problem
From this post: http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...more-for-me-though-were-not-sure-why-exactly/
EDIT: Not the thread I was talking about (and still trying to find!) but I have found this, which may or may not be of use: Click

redbullcat said:
I'll see if I can find the thread for you
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thanks (will even press the button when link is provided)

xnifex said:
thanks (will even press the button when link is provided)
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Click to collapse
Look above. I'm still searching for the specific thread, if/when I find it

Hmm I don't have that app installed. There are other Tmobile apps though that seem to always be running & match the Uptime of my phone.

Get Traffic Counter from the Market and trace the data.

redbullcat said:
Get Traffic Counter from the Market and trace the data.
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Click to collapse
Just downloaded it. I'm not concerned with data (tho still want to read that post), I'm more concerned with why a lot of apps that I don't even use seem to always be on.

I think it's because they're stock apps and the default is always on. Once we have root, we should be able to get rid of them, and once we can flash ROMs, we can install stock HTC software, or Android Revolution HD
Just another reason to have s-off and root

Ok, after downloading traffic counter, it looks like it IS my fault for the excessive data usage.
It's showing the speed test app as using 130mb of data (since last reboot, which was yesterday). I admit I went a little crazy on the speedtest app yesterday and today (I've never had 4g speeds before switching to tmobile), but why does it use SO much data? I did quite a few tests, but still.

I tried that traffic counter app. XDA is killing my data 27mb. I spend to much time at this place.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

As I'm on an unlimited data plan, I don't really care about data usage. I can go up to something like 5gb and my network (giffgaff, easily the best network in the UK) doesn't really care! The only thing I can't do is tether, but I can create a wifi hotspot for when I need to get on the internet on a bigger screen
If you're in the UK, I strongly implore you to take a look at giffgaff. Link in my sig

brian85 said:
Ok, after downloading traffic counter, it looks like it IS my fault for the excessive data usage.
It's showing the speed test app as using 130mb of data (since last reboot, which was yesterday). I admit I went a little crazy on the speedtest app yesterday and today (I've never had 4g speeds before switching to tmobile), but why does it use SO much data? I did quite a few tests, but still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you have a fast connection it needs to send/receiver bigger files to get an accurate account of what your speed it. if it only used like a 512KB file then it'd show your speed as 1028238234978234978MBps.
redbullcat said:
The only thing I can't do is tether, but I can create a wifi hotspot for when I need to get on the internet on a bigger screen
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Click to collapse
FYI that's still tethering, just wirelessly
redbullcat said:
I think it's because they're stock apps and the default is always on. Once we have root, we should be able to get rid of them, and once we can flash ROMs, we can install stock HTC software, or Android Revolution HD
Just another reason to have s-off and root
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious then why some of the other apps show that they're running that aren't stock?

Makes sense. Time to stop using that app lol

brian85 said:
Makes sense. Time to stop using that app lol
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Click to collapse
just did 2 tests to test the theory. 30MB down/8MB up

[Q] Opinions on JuiceDefender?

Has anyone used JuiceDefender? I've been testing the free beta and I'm not sure its doing much (set to default balanced). The Widget just says n/a but I thought it should say how much power its saving?

Yeah i've been using it pretty much since day one with my thunderbolt. It definitely increases battery throughout the day. It give me a figure of how much battery i saved when i shut it off and its usually from 1.8x to 2.05

Using since day one with my phone aswell.. This is one of those Apps I believe should come standard on android smartphones. Not only does it save you juice, but the options for settings within the app are pretty useful aswell.. Deft worth the couple bucks..
Sent @ 04:20

I assume you guys aren't using the free version then? Looks like its not having much affect with me, presumably because the free one doesn't control wifi.

got a problem with juice defender ... i use it to stop mobile data and turn it on just when device is turned on
so when someone calls me and leaves a visual voicemail i get the sms message but the audiofile is missing ...
so the phone cant download the voicemail when data is turned off...
is there a way to fix this ??

Do you mean a mms message? If so, as far as I know, mms won't work with "just" wifi. Im pretty sure the data has to be on. As far as a fix, to be honest I haven't looked around..
Sent @ 04:20

mmhh strange .. now it works ... i think it was a temporarily problem with voice mail

rendez2k said:
I assume you guys aren't using the free version then? Looks like its not having much affect with me, presumably because the free one doesn't control wifi.
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Click to collapse
Free version didn't help me any either.

ATT Data on the One X

So I have had the One X since the day after it was released. I have Unlimited ATT Data and today, what 18 or so days after I bought it I hit 2 GB of data. The reason is I am using Google Music to stream, I use it everyday for about an hour on my jog. Sure I do a little surfing and searching, but really so far nothing else.
So I'd say about 3 gb of data a month will be my usage because of the low amount of storage I have to use Google Music.

Mazel tov!

That's not a lot. I was using more than 200mb every day but I had to switch to WiFi since I'm on the 2gb plan.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA

I hit 4 GB after two weeks. Tethering plus my email app went haywire and started burning up data for some reason.

Cool Story Hansel.

I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you can have Play(Google) Music cache music locally so you don't have to burn up data (and battery life) streaming it. Might not be a big deal in this particular situation, but just FYI.

I think it is odd that pandora uses less data then google music does.

mesasone said:
I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you can have Play(Google) Music cache music locally so you don't have to burn up data (and battery life) streaming it. Might not be a big deal in this particular situation, but just FYI.
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Click to collapse
Yeah that won't eat up 16gb of storage quickly or anything
Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2

I do have Google Music set to cache, but that is only for buffering. I think what you mean is to download music and play the songs offline. I have around 800 songs thats about 4 gb of data. I added all the songs and the end result was I only had 2.9 gb of total storage left on the phone.
This is almost a deal breaker for me, I've had the One X for a few weeks and in fact I had the International version before which of course has 32 gb of storage, which IMO is just the right amount. The ATT version is to low and no expandable sd cards make it worse.
I have pre ordered a Galaxy S 3 and will mess with them both to see which one works best for me. I also have my iPhone 4S to fall back on, but the screen size makes it almost not doable anymore.

Netflix is the bane of my data plan. I'm sure AT&T hates me by now.

I noticed the same thing. I dont pull down nearly as much data streaming 128k streams from tunein as I do from google music (not set to high quality).
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

bothfly said:
So I have had the One X since the day after it was released. I have Unlimited ATT Data and today, what 18 or so days after I bought it I hit 2 GB of data. The reason is I am using Google Music to stream, I use it everyday for about an hour on my jog. Sure I do a little surfing and searching, but really so far nothing else.
So I'd say about 3 gb of data a month will be my usage because of the low amount of storage I have to use Google Music.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T unlimited data plan users have up to 5gb in a month before their data speed would be reduced. At 3gb per month, you should be fine.
I have used 3.1 gb in 22 days.

does anyone know the transfer bitrate of the music from google music, both on the high quality and lower quality streams? i stream almost exclusively over wi-fi at my office, so i haven't really followed my GM data usage too closely.

How do people survive with such little data..?
Next Bill Cycle: 06/06/2012
Data (MB): 6658.7 of Unlimited (Deactivated)
Data (MB): 35956.7 of Unlimited
The deactivated one was from May first until the 8th when I picked up a One X. Used a whole gig just getting it setup that night.
---------- Post added at 03:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:33 PM ----------
fitchpuckman said:
does anyone know the transfer bitrate of the music from google music, both on the high quality and lower quality streams? i stream almost exclusively over wi-fi at my office, so i haven't really followed my GM data usage too closely.
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Click to collapse
Google's support documents state upto 320kbps. So that'd be high quality, normal would probably be 192kpbs.

powerhoghp said:
How do people survive with such little data..?
Next Bill Cycle: 06/06/2012
Data (MB): 6658.7 of Unlimited (Deactivated)
Data (MB): 35956.7 of Unlimited
The deactivated one was from May first until the 8th when I picked up a One X. Used a whole gig just getting it setup that night.
---------- Post added at 03:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:33 PM ----------
Google's support documents state upto 320kbps. So that'd be high quality, normal would probably be 192kpbs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I thought I had seen 320kbps at some point, but i missed it on a quick search. I half expected a www.lmgtfy.com response to my question. Normal quality was really what i was wondering...sounded like at least 192kbps, since 128 probably would push out such his data rates. Speaking of which, how the hell are you going through so much data?! that's impressive, i must say.

I hit 3 GB within the first week, and 4GB a week later. Mostly tethering and app experimentation (one went haywire and burned through a ton of data).
I got throttled a few days after that, but AT&T seems to have lifted the throttling today. Not sure why but not complaining.

AT&T throttles back speeds of those who still have unlimited plans...I upgraded data w the vivid but wonder how much they reduce speeds by..I stream music through Rhapsody at 192 kbps and my data hits at least 3 gb per month..usually 4 but it's only another ten bucks...just hate that there is no true unlimited plan left..well I guess sprint does but their coverage is horrible..
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

Does anyone have an issue where their One x eats data by an insane amount in a short period?When I first got my One X I went thru 1GB of data in like 2 days. I tethered for like an hour and the rest was just basic usage from my X itself. I've done a master reset since then and loaded a few my apps and usage seemed to have slowed but it still seems to use data more than normal. I noticed "Android OS" was using a lot of data. A lot of it was when I watched YouTube clips. Has anyone had this issue?
Edit: So I turned off wifi for a moment to browse on just the mobile network. The few pages I clicked on and scrolled thru for the past 5 or 6 minutes resulted in 4mb of data used with just the browser. Does that seem normal to anyone?

toomuchgame441 said:
Does anyone have an issue where their One x eats data by an insane amount in a short period?When I first got my One X I went thru 1GB of data in like 2 days. I tethered for like an hour and the rest was just basic usage from my X itself. I've done a master reset since then and loaded a few my apps and usage seemed to have slowed but it still seems to use data more than normal. I noticed "Android OS" was using a lot of data. A lot of it was when I watched YouTube clips. Has anyone had this issue?
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Click to collapse
Do you have auto-sync and auto-backup turned on? Settings>Privacy>Backup and Settings>Accounts
---------- Post added at 11:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:27 PM ----------
austin4913 said:
AT&T throttles back speeds of those who still have unlimited plans...I upgraded data w the vivid but wonder how much they reduce speeds by..I stream music through Rhapsody at 192 kbps and my data hits at least 3 gb per month..usually 4 but it's only another ten bucks...just hate that there is no true unlimited plan left..well I guess sprint does but their coverage is horrible..
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
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Click to collapse
You "upgraded" to tiered data? That's far from an upgrade.. The unlt'd plans you get atleast 5GB(for lte owners) unthrottled, usually more, with a few hours/days unthrottled after. Even throttled you can do 500kbps.

powerhoghp said:
Do you have auto-sync and auto-backup turned on? Settings>Privacy>Backup and Settings>Accounts
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Click to collapse
I do have auto sync turned on. But I turned off auto backup (just now, I have tried turning off auto backup beforei wiped but it didn't change anything ). The weird thing is its not like usage happens out of no where its when I actually access data apps like the browser or FB. I can literally see my data usage go up from the last time I checked it a few minutes ago on the usage meter.

[Q] Excessive data usage on Verion

hey guys. i seem to have a problem with my verizon data usage on my ultra. it seems like in the last couple months, i have been using data faster than i normally do. i have a 2 gig data plan, and i keep track of my usage closely because thats all i have to work with and i dont want to get any overage fees. i usually use data for basic browsing, social media, and some streaming music. this weekend, i was streaming some radio. i used almost 1 gig of data in one hour of streaming. before, i was able to stream over 4 hours of radio and never came close to using 1 gig. i would usually use less than .5 gigs while streaming. i have now used up all of my data in about 1.5 weeks where it would normally take me all 4 weeks. it seems like they are charging me for more data than i am actually using. i have done some research and it seems like im not the only one with the problem. i think they are doing it to either get money from overage fees or to free up their network to keep the speeds up. i have a feeling its a combination of both. is anyone else on here having a similar problem?

I am still unlimited, so I never worry about that.
Have you taken any app updates or installed new apps that would possibly use data? Maybe system updates? I believe the system updates for this phone are around 850-900 MB

Going into Settings > Data Usage; what is eating your data there?

i have not installed any new apps that would be using my data. all of my apps just updated, but they were over wifi. i have it set to only update over wifi. i have had no system updates because ive been on 4.4.4 for a few months. it shows tunein radio used .94gb, youtube at 274mb, facebook with 144mb. i was using tune in radio for about an hour and used close to 1gb. i have never used that much in such a short time period. i am seriously considering switching carriers because my contract is up and i dont want two more years of this crap.

husker97 said:
i have not installed any new apps that would be using my data. all of my apps just updated, but they were over wifi. i have it set to only update over wifi. i have had no system updates because ive been on 4.4.4 for a few months. it shows tunein radio used .94gb, youtube at 274mb, facebook with 144mb. i was using tune in radio for about an hour and used close to 1gb. i have never used that much in such a short time period. i am seriously considering switching carriers because my contract is up and i dont want two more years of this crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May just be tune in genuinely using that much. Go pick up a tmobile prepaid sim and pop it in your phone. Try them out.

Topsnake said:
May just be tune in genuinely using that much. Go pick up a tmobile prepaid sim and pop it in your phone. Try them out.
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Click to collapse
I can use a t-mobile card in a verizon phone?
Also I went to the verizon store to see what they would say. They said being in a lte/xlte area will eat data faster. To met that just doesn't sound right. I've used date in lte areas and have never used that much data at once. I still think there is something else going on here.

husker97 said:
I can use a t-mobile card in a verizon phone?
Also I went to the verizon store to see what they would say. They said being in a lte/xlte area will eat data faster. To met that just doesn't sound right. I've used date in lte areas and have never used that much data at once. I still think there is something else going on here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rule #1) Verizon reps have way less knowledge than you. They are nearly brain dead when it comes to actually providing support for their phones.
Yes you can pop in a nano T-Mobile sim prepaid or postpaid, set the phone to global, and off you go.

Well that would be all good if I had tmo service. The only reason I have verizon is that they r the only one with service in my area

husker97 said:
Well that would be all good if I had tmo service. The only reason I have verizon is that they r the only one with service in my area
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Click to collapse
Check the tune in settings, maybe an app update defaulted the app to high quality streaming, when before you were on mid/low quality

asuhoops8628 said:
Check the tune in settings, maybe an app update defaulted the app to high quality streaming, when before you were on mid/low quality
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Click to collapse
I already checked for that and I did not see an option for stream quality.

ok, i did some more digging. i found that the stream in was using had a bitrate of 64kbps. over and hour this translates to .003gb or 26mb. its says in my data usage that tunein radio used .94gb which at a 64kbps rate would be over 300 hours of radio. something is definitely not right but i don't know what.

husker97 said:
I already checked for that and I did not see an option for stream quality.
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Click to collapse
Dunno then, sorry man out of ideas
---------- Post added at 11:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:10 AM ----------
husker97 said:
ok, i did some more digging. i found that the stream in was using had a bitrate of 64kbps. over and hour this translates to .003gb or 26mb. its says in my data usage that tunein radio used .94gb which at a 64kbps rate would be over 300 hours of radio. something is definitely not right but i don't know what.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
last idea... is your billing cycle window set appropriately in the data use section of the phone? If you check on myverizon web portal does it also reflect the same data numbers?

asuhoops8628 said:
Dunno then, sorry man out of ideas
---------- Post added at 11:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:10 AM ----------
last idea... is your billing cycle window set appropriately in the data use section of the phone? If you check on myverizon web portal does it also reflect the same data numbers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya, the billing cycle window is set right. I don't know who to blame here, verizon or tunein radio? Maybe it's just a fluke this month and maybe would be better next month.

husker97 said:
Ya, the billing cycle window is set right. I don't know who to blame here, verizon or tunein radio? Maybe it's just a fluke this month and maybe would be better next month.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but i take it you are relying strictly on what the phone is telling you... Did you verify the phone was counting right by checking on the My Account section on vzw website? If the VZW site reflects the same thing as your phone, I would at least then be able to say with some certain confidence tunein could be the culprit.
If you get a different reading from VWZ's site, then there most likely was some kind of bug/glitch in the data use app on the phone.

My verizon account says the same thing. I still don't think it's the radio app. It's either something with verizon or possibly the phone might be eating more data than it needs, but I don't think it's the app. I will know if it's the phone or not when I upgrade to a note 4 in a couple weeks.

Are you sure you exited out of your radio app? I know I have left a stream playing before when I thought I closed it.