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melburstein

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 3, 2012
153
19
My wife and I have always used less than our 1GB shared data allowance with Verizon Wireless. But this month We used 50% of our allowance in just a few days; and 75% after 11 days. The only difference I can think of is that we both started using our Apple watches--but not for downloading music or other large files. I don't know what caused the spike in usage. Does anyone have any ideas? Can this even be related to our Watches? Or should I look elsewhere?
 
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We have previously, and are still, using iPhones. But this month cellular data usage has been extremely high for no apparent reason/

Ok but you're confusing us when you say
The only difference I can think of is that we both started using our Apple Phones

That sentence implies that the iPhones are new to the mix. If you've had iPhones for a while and your watch for a bit, their existence wouldn't just suddenly increase your data usage. Clearly, something has changed. You say you haven't downloaded any music or large files. Have you downloaded any new apps? Particularly, ones that could be potentially be data hogs?
 
Ok but you're confusing us when you say
Have you downloaded any new apps? Particularly, ones that could be potentially be data hogs?

Nothing that I can think of. For sure, there was nothing new downloaded between the 50% an 75% warnings.
 
Go to settings > cellular and will give you an idea. Theres a option to reset the counter so you can keep a closer eye on what is using data unexpectedly.

VZW can also tell you the time of day the data was used the most.
 
I think you meant to say watches when you said phones in original post. But I am not sure that would be the reason as my data use has gone down, since I am using the phone less.
 
I work for Verizon. As someone mentioned, check under Settings/Cellular and it will show how much data each app has used. Also check your MyVerizon account and it will give you a breakdown of your data usage. (Not as detailed as settings on your phone, but a good starting point)
 
Go to settings > cellular and will give you an idea. Theres a option to reset the counter so you can keep a closer eye on what is using data unexpectedly.

VZW can also tell you the time of day the data was used the most.
I'll do that. Thanks.
I work for Verizon. As someone mentioned, check under Settings/Cellular and it will show how much data each app has used. Also check your MyVerizon account and it will give you a breakdown of your data usage. (Not as detailed as settings on your phone, but a good starting point)
 
I think I just found the problem that caused data consumption to go wild; and it has nothing to do with the Apple Watch as I had originally thought. A while back, I attempted to download Microsoft Word for the iPhone. It never finished loading. I tried to delete it and just could not. So I just left it and moved on.

Now, I think what had been happening is that IOS kept trying to load whenever I had a Wi-Fi or Cellular connection. It never completed the download, but it kept trying. This was not noticeable when I had a Wi-Fi connection; but with a Cellular connection it just chewed up my data allowance and still could not complete the download. At least that's my theory on what happened.

Apple Support had me:

1. Backup my iPhone to my MacBook Pro using iTunes.
2. Reset my iPhone using the iTunes option to erase all settings--everything.
3. Restore my iPhone from the iTunes backup. This step took time. But in the end it was all good. Even Microsoft Word loaded.
4. Finally, I had to setup TouchID and Apple Pay again.
 
You might turn off cellular data for downloads in settings/iTunes then you won't repeat this.
 
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