Data usage

[SarahSm_2045557]

Hi, I am new with smarty and opted for 4G of data. I was previously with 3 and barely reached 4G ever in 5+ years. Just once I think when I was on holiday it was close but I have never went over.

First week with Smarty I ran out of data in less than 1 week. I don’t watch or download films/music from my phone especially when out and about. Mostly email/messages/WhatsApp/maps but nothing excessive at all and no change since moving from 3. Any ideas in what’s happening? Any guidance? 

[MSF]

@SarahSm_2045557 . First thing to do is to check on your account usage history. it will show how much data you used each day and that may give a clue.

If your phone did an app or operating system upgrade, that might account for a lot of data.

[SarahSm_2045557]

Thanks for the tip. I have looked in the history and yes it does show that in 2 days I used nearly half my data. The thing is my behaviours haven’t changed so previously I was with 3 and had the same amount of data per month. I tracked it to see my useage and it was never really near using it all. Just once I think when I was in holiday. So this seems extreme to have used it all in a week. It just doesn’t add up!!!!

[MSF]

@SarahSm_2045557 It may also be possible to look on the device to see where data has been used in a given period. (Works on iPhone)

[JJP2]

In addition to what @MSF has said, there could be several reasons for the increase in data usage.

Have you purchased a new 5G phone, when previously you had a 3G or 4G device. The increased speeds of 5G can potentially lead to higher data usage.

Operating system updates, and Apple or Google maps app updates can use a lot of data.

Your previous data usage of the last five years isnt a good indicator of current data usage, as the capabilities and speeds of phones have increased greatly in the last five years, as have the capabilities and data consumption of apps.

The good news is that with Smarty, you can buy a range of inexpensive one off data add ons, costing less than £1 per GB of data, which never expire, enabling you to use all of the extra data you purchase.

Also, regarding ongoing monthly plans, I think 4GB is £6 a month, £7 gets you 8GB, £8 gets you 12GB.

4GB a month isnt a lot of data these days, certainly with the speeds and capabilities of current phones and apps.

[HannahT_2133817]

I recently switched to smarty, in the months before switching I was using under 5gb per month, I chose an 8gb plan and I've run put after 2 weeks, I've done booking different to normal, I'm still using the same phone so I've not switched to 5g or anything like that. I've done no big updates.

I've looked at my usage and it is spread throughout the days of the month so its not gone at specific times.

I just can't work on what's going on??

[SarahSm_2045557]

Ok so data rest on Thursday. By end of Saturday I’d used 3.8G - how is this even possible!!!! Sounds like I was watching a movie or listening to music for an hour right! I have switched off data on apps like Facebook and insta which I know can be drain on the feed. I did take lots of photos with either camera and sent about 10 snaps (only I photo thou rest were messages) so even if I upped to 8G - I’d still only get 4 days - what the hell is going on??

[JJP2]

Its easily possible to use a lot of data each day.

This is an extract of my data usage this week, on my Asus Zenfone 9, which is a 5G phone. (Your iPhone X is a 4G phone)

What are your most frequently used apps ? I wonder if any of them are consuming a lot of background data, which could possibly go hand in hand with high battery usage. Are you noticing that ?

[SarahSm_2045557]

I have an iPhone X btw

[MSF]

@SarahSm_2045557  Take a look at Settings>Mobile Data and then scroll down. It will tell you the amount used in Current Period (i.e. since you last zeroed it), Current Period Roaming (same, but only when roaming on other networks) and then a breakdown of how much used by each app.

As an example, I did a Speediest check and it raced through 2.1Gb in as many minutes!!

At the bottom of that page you can 'Reset statistics' - probably worth doing so that you can keep an eye on what happens in the next few days.

[HannahT_2133817]

This has happened to me, do we have an answer to why this is happening?

[JJP2]

Will be entirely dependent on your usage pattern - Are you streaming Netflix, Spotify, YouTube and other similar services ? It’s easy to consume a lot of data when streaming films, TV and music.

Other data heavy apps are Apple Maps, Google Maps and Waze. Also WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram, if you use them for voice and video calls. 

[MSF]

@HannahT_2133817  So, did you follow my suggestions to see what apps were eating data?