[vandy72]

With all of the recent discussion about data usage and the threat of tiered plans, I decided to look at my AT&T bill in more detail this month. Imagine my surprise when I saw daily data usage anywhere from 1am to 3:30am. The transfer amounts range from 17kb to 4,546kb and are usually at the higher end. These are not just once daily. For example on 11/14 they occurred at 1:13am, 2:13am, and 2:30am.

I am never up at these hours, much less using my iPhone. Does anyone have any clue what could be going on here?

[toomanyphones]

I would guess you have some app using push or fetching mail.

[flyingember]

Maybe visual voicemail updating

[vandy72]

Sorry. I should have noted that mail checking is set to manual and the only notifications that are on are for ball games that end well before midnight.

If visual voicemail is updating, surely that happens more than 2-3 times per night and would update between 3:30am and 7am when I never have any data usage showing up. Besides, I have never gotten up and had a voicemail waiting for me.

[flyingember]

do you have any activesync connections for contacts/calendars?

[vandy72]

@flyingember - no.

I've gone through all my settings and notifications and apps and turned off everything or set it to manual since 12/16. I am still showing data being used every night between 2am and 3am.

[chobbs1]

Then turn your phone off for a few days at night and see what happens.

[vandy72]

@chobbs1 I am sure that will work but it won't help toward an explanation of why there is data usage showing up every early morning when the phone isn't being used.

[iFizzgig]

I believe chobbs1 is trying to have you verify whether or not the data is actually being transmitted to your phone or if something else is reporting usage on your account to AT&T.

[chobbs1]

That is correct. The first step in trouble shooting is identifying and isolating the problem.

[vandy72]

OK. iPhone turned off overnight Saturday and no data transfers show up. Sorry, chobbs1. I wasn't trying to be argumentative. Turning the phone off seemed so obvious but it obviously was basic to the troubleshooting process.

[anon(153966)]

...just curious, is wifi on?

[flyingember]

...just curious, is wifi on?

I wonder if this isn't to keep a regular 3g cellular heartbeat with the tower overnight.

but if so, why would it be on the bill?

[vandy72]

...just curious, is wifi on?

Yes, WiFi is on since I have 3 wireless routers spread through my house and 2 at work, but doesn't WiFi shut off when the phone is asleep?

I wonder if this isn't to keep a regular 3g cellular heartbeat with the tower overnight.

but if so, why would it be on the bill?

3G is turned off since it is not activated here yet. We have the wonderful towers up but not turned on since AT&T's lawyers haven't gotten in the act and cleared up a bandwidth conflict with Verizon!

Really strange. All of the early AM data transfer I was seeing was from looking at my usage online. I got my paper bill today and, even though there was daily early AM data - and often several times daily, little of it shows on my paper bill. In fact, no early AM data usage shows after 12/4. Why would it show up online but not on paper? Not complaining about it not being there, just trying to figure out what in the heck is going on.

[anon(153966)]

That's an odd one. I would suggest conversing with AT&T, and see what they say. Keep us posted; this is interesting...

[chobbs1]

At least it didn't show up on the bill! This is interesting.

[flyingember]

I have a thought. it's well known that data usage doesn't always get billed when it happens.

is this data usage always at the same time every day or is it just always at some point in the middle of the night?

[vandy72]

This is from this month's bill. Next month I will take screenshots of the online details before they disappear so I can compare to the final printed bill.

11/11/2009 2:13AM Data Transfer 166 KB
11/14/2009 1:13AM Data Transfer 185 KB
11/15/2009 2:13AM Data Transfer 273 KB
11/22/2009 2:30AM Data Transfer 247 KB
11/23/2009 2:30AM Data Transfer 154 KB
11/24/2009 2:30AM Data Transfer 520 KB
11/25/2009 2:30AM Data Transfer 4,532 KB
11/26/2009 2:07AM Data Transfer 19 KB
11/29/2009 12:22AM Data Transfer 13 KB
11/30/2009 3:24AM Data Transfer 1 KB

This is not everything but representative. Yes, a lot of it is happening at 2:30am but can be from 12:30 to 3:30....and why does the transfer amount range from 1kb to 4,532kb?

[Earless Puppy]

I read once on here a while back, and hopefully Rene can confirm this, that the iPhone does update certain things while your phone and ONLY when your phone is being charged and in sleep mode. This was a while back but I remember reading about this...

Rene?

[smallsr]

I'm having the same problem. Previous months the messages have been labeled "Data Transfer" and other months as Internet/MEdia Net Messages. Anyone have any answers?

[ghostface147]

Apple updates the phishing database when a phone is charging:

“Safari’s anti-phishing database is downloaded while the user charges their phone in order to protect battery life and ensure there aren’t any additional data fees,” Apple spokesman, Bill Evans, told The Loop. “After updating to iPhone OS 3.1 the user should launch Safari, connect to a Wi-Fi network and charge their iPhone with the screen off. For most users this process should happen automatically when they charge their phone.”

That could be the issue. Here's the full link:

Apple responds to iPhone anti-phishing confusion | The Loop

[toomanyphones]

Is the phone data usage meter the same as your bill? Are you jailbroken and thetering? If you charge by using your computer USB, some program could be checking for updates.

[rgar3388]

OS 4 has an option to turn data off and only use the phone for calls. This could be forshadowing of tiered pricing coming and could solve your problem if it hasn't been solved already.

[RR4406PAK]

I'm having the same problem of 2am iPhone unexplained data transfers. I'll be watching this thread for the answers... hopefully someone will solve the riddle.

[patrickjl]

Also having these issues. I wanted to check my usage since I may upgrade to iPhone4 in November and wanted to see where I fell in data usage. My bill said last month I used 3.3 GB! But ever month before that was around 1GB. I had some HUGE data transfers in the middle of the night, here's an example:

07/11/2010 2:13AM Data Transfer Data 360 KB
07/11/2010 3:45PM Data Transfer Data 61 KB
07/11/2010 5:56PM Data Transfer Data 254 KB
07/12/2010 12:56AM Data Transfer Data 683,041 KB
07/13/2010 1:48AM Data Transfer Data 586,168 KB
07/13/2010 3:08PM Data Transfer Data 7,159 KB
07/14/2010 1:06AM Data Transfer Data 562,532 KB
07/15/2010 6:56AM Data Transfer Data 24,868 KB

What could be the deal?! I have Wi-Fi turned on, shouldn't that alleviate my data transfers most of the time?