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Unusual Data Usage on my cell phone

dgalligan
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Hello,

 

I've been a Fido customer for over 10 years. I have a 6GB plan, which I have not gone over until last month. I got a message saying I'd gone over my limit.

The strange part about it is that I use the same apps each day - Google Maps, Email, Text, etc. No games or heavy data usage. No video watching etc. 

I had one day had a 4GB usage, and another day that had 2GB. Yet the rest of the week that I used the phone, my usage averaged between 35 and 80MB with the same apps. For the high usage days, I was at work and use the phone only for Google Maps and Gmail. 

I called Fido and talked to a very helpful woman, but there's no info about when I used this data and I'm concerned about the sudden and unusal spike in data use. It's never happened to me before and strikes me as strange.

Is there any remedy to figuring this out?

Thanks.

14 REPLIES 14

FidoSaira
Moderator
Moderator

Hey @dgalligan,

 

Welcome to the Fido Community!

 

I definitely understand how important it is for you to stay on top on your data usage and avoid any surprises on your bill. We wouldn't want you to be in any such situation either. Smiley

 

What you described does sound odd, but at the same time, your usage is detected through the Fido SIM card in your device. Do you close the applications running in the background?

 

We won't have any information on which applications were used on our end due to privacy reasons, however, we can only see how much of data was used on different days of your billing cycle. This information would also appear on your invoice once published. 

 

Can you also provide the following information:

 

  • Which device are you using? 
  • Do you monitor your usage through the Fido application? If so, which version of the application do you have?

I'd also suggest you read this on how to minimize your usage. This might help you too.

 

Let me know.



MaxVince
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I've had the exact same things happen in the past few weeks. I was on a 2GB contract for many years and seldom went over. The most I ever used was 3GB in one month. In June, I changed my plan where I now get 8GB a month. In the past 17 days of this billing cycle I have used almost 6 of them. My usage and phone settings have remained the same for quite a while. I find it very curious that I get a plan with more data and it disappears faster than EVER before. I called Fido and hot no help on what might be causing this. 

Hey @MaxVince

 

Welcome to the community Smiley

 

To better assist you, can you let us know what device brand and model you're currently using?

 

Also, have you had the chance to go in your settings under data usage to view which apps are consuming most of your data? How are you monitoring your data usage as well? Is it through the Fido mobile app?

 

Let us know!



MaxVince
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I use an iPhone 7. I keep track of my data with the Fido App.

Thanks for the clarification @MaxVince

 

Have you verified in your settings which app is using the most data?



nick67
I'm qualified level 3
I'm qualified level 3

Within iOS, I recommend going to Settings > Cellular > scroll to the very bottom and tap Reset Statistics. Then you can track cellular data usage on an app by app basis. This should help you narrow down which apps are using data and how much. Hope this helps you resolve your unexpected spike in data usage Smiley

MaxVince
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

I've done all of this. Typically the social networking apps (Instagram, Facebook) use up the most data. What I'm saying is that I'm not using it any more than in the past. Yet my data just seems to be disappearing at a much faster rate since I've had a contract with 8GB. 

N-line
I'm a contributor level 1
I'm a contributor level 1

It started happening to me too just recently, my cycle was re freshed today with 35gb of data which is my plan. I watched one video on YouTube and logged into the app and it has dropped to 17gb remaining of 35gb. Never happened before it's just sad really. 

N-line
I'm a contributor level 1
I'm a contributor level 1

And mind you I was using my free hour sessions and it still wiped out my data. Pretty much leaving Fido soon for life. Can't be having my money robbed like that there's no way I got a full tank of gas to fill 

Hey @N-line

 

That definitely is strange! We understand how upsetting a situation like this can be.

 

Did the free session start?

You can check that in the app under ''5 Extra Hours of Data History''. 

You would have received a text message when the session ended as well.

 

The usage is always validated by your Fido sim.

 

You can contact us by these channels and we'd be happy to review it with you. 



spacecowboy1
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

Max Vince

This has happened to me as well. In July I traveled to the US and had huge data spikes that where completely out of the norm ( I'm on a 5gb plan using a Iphone 8 fully updated iOS, also have never gone over my data ever...) I called to inquire how I might have gone over, they suggested that it was something on the phone, like data assist or updating to the cloud automatically. Neither of these were turned on.  They were helpful and removed the data top up fee, I had to purchase.

  So we go down to the states again in August, I turned my phone to airplane mode. Made sure data roaming,data assist and cellular data were all turned off. Majority of my apps are wi-fi only, so.... My data spiked 1.1gb in 35 minutes?!? I know how quickly it happened, because that's how long it takes to drive to the border from my home. I would have been connected to my wi-fi while at home. And I made sure everything was off BEFORE we crossed the border. Now, I'm not sure if this is due to leaving the country but it happened twice to me. It also happened to my husband who uses Android and is with another carrier.  When we re-entered Canada I did take it off airplane mode, and  there was  a text from fido, asking if I wanted another top-up as my data was at 90% usage. My data was at 2.1gb when I turned it onto airplane mode according to the fido app. How does ones data spike 1.4 gb in 35 minutes when all "assists" remained off, while I was driving a car ?!? I can't figure it out but while doing some background research, I thought I would call Apple support and they said no update, app or program would use that much data in such a short period. Even with data assist on and 10 apps running.  these Fido mods aren't very helpful as it appears they just post scripted responses...): Fido rep(s) have been no help and I'm waiting (since Thursday and 2 follow/up calls (Friday and yesterday)) for a "supervisor" to call me back. 

 

As of note I've been on this contract for 1.5 years, so no changes there.  Anyone have any input on why this happens?

 

Hey @MaxVince

 

I can assure you that changing your plan does not affect data consumption in any way. With that said, I would suggest verifying your last invoice to have a better understanding of why you consumed more data.

 

I can also invite you to visit our community post on how to minimize your data consumption. You can view it here!

 

 



dgalligan
I'm a participant level 2
I'm a participant level 2

Hello!

 

I'm careful about my data - none of my apps have background app refresh on unless I'm using them and I don't leave anything running. I don't use Wifi Assist. 


Thanks for the speedy answer. I'm using an iPhone 6S. I looked through the link on minimizing data and my phone settings match all the things described.


I've just installed the Fido app so I'll track it now. I've never needed it before since this is the first time I've gone over my data in my many years at Fido. Seems strange that I've never gone over and suddenly, I used 6GB of data in only two days, then 2GB for the rest of the month. 


Diana

Don't forget that you can actually check how much data every one of your apps are using under your device's data settings.

 

While, on iOS devices, this data does not reset with your billing cycle (it has to be manually reset), this info will still give you a better idea as to what happened and where your data was used. 

 

Is this something you've checked?