Documents and Sync using up all my cellular data plan

[Ed7789]

The “Documents and Data” system service just used up 22,5GB of my 10GB cellular data plan. Now, I’m stuck with a 256Kbps mobile connection, that’s useless for even browsing Twitter, let alone work.

Does anyone have any clue how to disable that use over mobile networks, or limit it specifically to WiFi networks?

I already have Low Data Mode enabled.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Go to the screen before the one you’ve displayed and disable the toggle next to everything that doesn’t need to have access to your cellular network.

 

[Ed7789]

I think I found the culprit.

There’s a separate toggle for iCloud Drive at the bottom, that obviously doesn’t appear under iCloud Drive settings … and it has 0 bandwidth usage listed, obviously!

Now to suffer through 20 days of unusable Internet service. Guess I’ll have to tell my employer that I can’t work, but to pay me anyways. #ThisBehaviourIsReallyStupid

 

[Ed7789]

So… that wasn’t it. It just delayed the behaviour by about two days.

I reported the behaviour to Apple, and they confirmed it’s a bug.

 

[Just_Me_D]

So… that wasn’t it. It just delayed the behaviour by about two days.

I reported the behaviour to Apple, and they confirmed it’s a bug.

Oh okay. Thanks for the update, sir.

 

[Ed7789]

I’ll do another test next month by switching out my phone’s Smart Battery case with a regular one.

I wonder if it is triggered by having additional power ressources.

 

[doogald]

I’ll do another test next month by switching out my phone’s Smart Battery case with a regular one.

I wonder if it is triggered by having additional power ressources.

That could be it - but the smart part about the Smart Battery Case is that the phone is supposed to know that it is not really being powered. This would be a bug based on past behavior - it always worked before. (I haven't used my case in a while myself.)

 

[Ed7789]

So… even with no Smart Battery Case, I got that excessive usage, so that's not it.

Guess I have to wait for Apple to provide a fix for this system fault.

 

[jgraves1107]

So… even with no Smart Battery Case, I got that excessive usage, so that's not it.

Guess I have to wait for Apple to provide a fix for this system fault.

Well mine has used 96Gb of cellular data over 13hrs!!! Apple is gonna need to get their OS fixed now not later!!! This is beyond normal. I have reset and setup as new and all the bugs are still here.

 

[Trees]

At the page bottom, there is a row for "Last Reset:". Mine shows "Sep 18, 2013 at 19:15". That may be because I have setup new iPhones from the prior one. Don't think that statistic impacts the problem that Ed7789 initially reported above. Rather just an observation to consider when reviewing the Current Period and Current Period Roaming, and Cellular/Personal Hotspot details.

I searched and saw some articles stating that the value for Current Period is the amount used since the last phone reset. I would add the link here but not sure if we are allowed to add links to non-Apple sites. "ios 14 cellular data statistics current period" is the search term used.

 

[Lee_Bo]

Ok, what device is this on, what iOS version, and what’s currently running, since your time has a blue background around it? Is this also a new device setup?

 

[jgraves1107]

Mine is showing data usage from my carrier not my phones statistics. Gonna try the old dfu and see if that fixes anything later.

 

[Ed7789]

Not sure if you're asking me, or someone else.

The behaviour has been present since 13.4 or 13.5. I'm currently running 14.2 Beta and the defect is still there. The app that triggered the background location service is Transit, which uses aGPS to provide transit directions.

I don't have the stats for that July date, but it does have its own entry and its nowhere near the gigabyte barrier.

Unfortunately, I can't reset my mobile phone until the pandemic is over and we can work from offices. This has to do with the fact that I need my phone to connect to my employer's mail and network services. And it requires a phone to reregister the phone if we are outside specific locations.

 

[Wotchered]

Not sure if you're asking me, or someone else.

The behaviour has been present since 13.4 or 13.5. I'm currently running 14.2 Beta and the defect is still there. The app that triggered the background location service is Transit, which uses aGPS to provide transit directions.

I don't have the stats for that July date, but it does have its own entry and its nowhere near the gigabyte barrier.

Unfortunately, I can't reset my mobile phone until the pandemic is over and we can work from offices. This has to do with the fact that I need my phone to connect to my employer's mail and network services. And it requires a phone to reregister the phone if we are outside specific locations.

Make sure your company pays the bills !

 

[Ed7789]

They're not required by law to pay the bill in full. Only the portion that they already pay, as long as I don't incur overages caused by their network (which I don't, since it's an Apple service issue).

If I were to make a change to my plan to be able to tether to my work computer, then that would be billable to my employer per our labour code. But as it stands right now, that's not billable.

 

[mr devo]

I have the same problem and it is very annoying. Even worse, the problem seems to have existed for at least 3 years.

I disabled everything I can for cellular data (e.g. iCloud Drive, Wifi support). I tried suggestions from forms (log out of iCloud, hard reset, login again), but Documents & Sync still consumes data (nearly half of my total cellular data in this period). Currently, my mobile connection is throttled down, so this happens at a low level in absolute terms, but I would like to make sure that this will be better in a few days when I have full bandwidth again.

However, I don't have high hopes. If anyone has a new suggestion, I'm glad to hear from you.

 

[Ed7789]

I found that it is a misbehaving app on my device that caused it. Unfortunately, I had to correlate data usage times (as recorded by my carrier) and what apps were in use at that time.

In my case, it was Transit.app.

 

[mr devo]

My data hog is "System Services > Documents & Sync". I can rule out that it is caused by a misbehaving third part app.

 

[Annie_M]

I understand that this is extremely aggravating! The fact that you've been experiencing this for over 3 years makes it so much worse. Have you considered contacting Apple Support?

 

[mr devo]

Hello Annie, thanks for your reply.

I personally haven't been affected by this until recently (probably May 2021), when I hit my mobile limit quite early in the month without having done (at least as far as I know) bandwidth-intensive activities.

However, during my research on this issue, I have found similar forum posts at the Apple support forum since 2018 and it seems this is a recurring topic.

I have yet refrained from contacting Apple Support, because usually they ask you the standard questions and give give you standard advice.