"System Services" has eaten almost half my data

[sammy-boy]

200 would be a struggle but doable for me. I average about 500mb a month, could get it down with more judicious use of wifi when about, our broadband comes with access to thousands of hotspots.

30mb for system services sounds quite good, but if you're worried as others have said turn off mobile data when not using it for a while.

 

[hharzer]

It's the cost if today's technology environment. In the same way 56kb, which back in the day was fast, is not adequate today. 200mb is nothing, I blow through that in 10 minutes on my home computer. So far this period I've used 3 gig. I'm only on wifi at home data everywhere else. It doesn't help that carriers charge for data like oil companies for petrol.

Most people would not want apple wasting expensive development time to save a few mb here and there for the tiny fraction of folks who buy a smartphone but yet somehow do not intend to use it for its intended purpose.

Please enlighten me: what is the intended purpose of an iPhone?

At least for me it's:

• Messaging
• Navigation
• Listening to music
• Note taking
• Occasional photos and videos
• Mail
• Catching up with the latest news
• Dictionary
• Centralized read it later
• Twitter client
• Looking up informations ( courses, public transit etc )
• Mobile banking
• Alarm clock
• Ordering something on the go
• Calendar

Those are the thing I do with my phone. And i can barely use my data. And I do that quite extensive. I cannot see how you use your phone. Do you stream music/videos? I use my tablet to watch them or to set up a personal hotspot.

Keep in mind that every used MB is also a used percent of your battery ( it's slightly exaggerated, but you get the point )

What do you do with your smartphone ?

iPhone just isn't for you.

Then please, suggest a phone. No phone does what I need : the things mentioned above my be covered by an android phone, but I need a phone that integrates neatly into my existing environment. ( libraries, car radios, Apple TV etc.)

 

[Newtons Apple]

Did you ever consider that it's not about money?

I don't see why I should be forced to use a bigger data plan simply because Apple isn't able to build software that doesn't consume tons of data.

Why's there no switch? Or something similar ? I used a similar data plan when iOS 6 was around, and back then, data wasn't a problem. The system is single most important part of my data usage now. That's ridiculous.

I don't want to change my habits due to a software update. Just because you're using more data than others and thus didn't notice this increase - be assured, others, like myself, did notice it.

I do not like having things that I do not need, got example services, tools etc. Why should I want something that has absolute no use? And exactly that's why I'd never upgrade my plan. It's not about money, it's about what I need. And I certainly don't need an OS that eats my data.

Smart phone LIVE on this data use and if you want a phone that is frugal with data, get flip phone. Even they will eat data but much less. Not to worry as the EPA will be regulating this soon!

 

[hharzer]

Smart phone LIVE on this data use and if you want a phone that is frugal with data, get flip phone. Even they will eat data but much less. Not to worry as the EPA will be regulating this soon!

Smartphones used to use less data. And iOS doesn't do anything spectacularly new to justify such a drastic increase of data usage.

So basically everyone suggests that there's only to polar opposites of modern phones:
- the one who accepts high data usages as needed and necessary
- and the one who uses flip phones because he's to poor/dated/whatever to use smartphones.

That's just narrow-minded.

@OP

I tried to look a bit into it. Turn off things like sync over 3G ( if not already done ), turn off background app refresh ( unnecessary, IMHO )

I couldn't contain iOS' data hunger for now. It's still the single highest usage I have. Maybe an update improves this, but I believe that this'll only get worse.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Smartphones used to use less data. And iOS doesn't do anything spectacularly new to justify such a drastic increase of data usage.

So basically everyone suggests that there's only to polar opposites of modern phones:
- the one who accepts high data usages as needed and necessary
- and the one who uses flip phones because he's to poor/dated/whatever to use smartphones.

That's just narrow-minded.

@OP

I tried to look a bit into it. Turn off things like sync over 3G ( if not already done ), turn off background app refresh ( unnecessary, IMHO )

I couldn't contain iOS' data hunger for now. It's still the single highest usage I have. Maybe an update improves this, but I believe that this'll only get worse.

LOL! "Narrow minded" is thinking you can have a smart phone and use little data! Like you said, it will get worst. CDompanies like Apple on give the user so much control over the data use, much of the data consumed is not under your control.

 

[hharzer]

LOL! "Narrow minded" is thinking you can have a smart phone and use little data! Like you said, it will get worst. CDompanies like Apple on give the user so much control over the data use, much of the data consumed is not under your control.

It's narrow-minded to think that there's only two categories: people with "enough" data or the ones who shouldn't use a smartphone at all because they don't have/need/want more data.

Every prior iteration of iOS was able to keep data usage to a minimum. With iOS 7, it suddenly escalated. For most people, 300MB of data is still enough to do whatever they want.

I think that's pretty interesting to actually see what other people do with their phone, in particular their data usage. Would you be so kind to post your usage?
I'd like to see a reason to justify large amounts of data that's needed to operate the phone.

I can see that apps exist that need to use data, i.e. video streaming ( Youtube, Netflix), music streaming (Spotify, Pandora, iTunes Radio/Match), image sharing ( Facebook, iCloud Photostreams ). But the necessity of these is highly, hmm, say, subjective

Not all people use their phone like you do, keep that in mind. Not all need data hungry apps or use them at all. That's my point. And these got cut off by Apple. Maybe they hope that prices are going down and get evened out.

 

[barkomatic]

It's narrow-minded to think that there's only two categories: people with "enough" data or the ones who shouldn't use a smartphone at all because they don't have/need/want more data.

Every prior iteration of iOS was able to keep data usage to a minimum. With iOS 7, it suddenly escalated. For most people, 300MB of data is still enough to do whatever they want.

I think that's pretty interesting to actually see what other people do with their phone, in particular their data usage. Would you be so kind to post your usage?
I'd like to see a reason to justify large amounts of data that's needed to operate the phone.

I can see that apps exist that need to use data, i.e. video streaming ( Youtube, Netflix), music streaming (Spotify, Pandora, iTunes Radio/Match), image sharing ( Facebook, iCloud Photostreams ). But the necessity of these is highly, hmm, say, subjective

Not all people use their phone like you do, keep that in mind. Not all need data hungry apps or use them at all. That's my point. And these got cut off by Apple. Maybe they hope that prices are going down and get evened out.

T-mobile now offers low full speed data tiers (500mb) which are throttled after you reach them -- rather then charge overages. You may want to check into it.

I'm on a grandfathered unlimited plan--and I blow through 5-6GB per month now. I like to watch videos at the gym while working out, stream music etc.

 

[zorinlynx]

I don't understand why some people put themselves through so much pain.

Really, how much does it cost to move up to the 1GB data plan? Probably less than the cost of a latté a month.

When I went to Canada last year I had a 120MB data plan. I had to constantly turn off cellular data for fear of using up too much of it and making it last for the entire week I was there. It was a pain in the ass to have to worry so much about data usage (but the alternative was no data, so for the trip I was willing to deal with it)

I was so happy when I arrived home and was able to just leave cellular data on.

Stop with the principled masochism and get a 1GB plan. That really should be the minimum plan offered anyway.

 

[I7guy]

Please enlighten me: what is the intended purpose of an iPhone?

At least for me it's:

• Messaging
• Navigation
• Listening to music
• Note taking
• Occasional photos and videos
• Mail
• Catching up with the latest news
• Dictionary
• Centralized read it later
• Twitter client
• Looking up informations ( courses, public transit etc )
• Mobile banking
• Alarm clock
• Ordering something on the go
• Calendar

Those are the thing I do with my phone. And i can barely use my data. And I do that quite extensive. I cannot see how you use your phone. Do you stream music/videos? I use my tablet to watch them or to set up a personal hotspot.

Keep in mind that every used MB is also a used percent of your battery ( it's slightly exaggerated, but you get the point )

What do you do with your smartphone ?



Then please, suggest a phone. No phone does what I need : the things mentioned above my be covered by an android phone, but I need a phone that integrates neatly into my existing environment. ( libraries, car radios, Apple TV etc.)

Kind sir, do you really need enlightenment?

In addition to your list, I use Sirius for music, cnn and fox for news. A streaming app for local news. Also Netflix, and I'm a big email hound.

I don't do mobile banking, but use a mobile travel app.

 

[Newtons Apple]

It's narrow-minded to think that there's only two categories: people with "enough" data or the ones who shouldn't use a smartphone at all because they don't have/need/want more data.

Every prior iteration of iOS was able to keep data usage to a minimum. With iOS 7, it suddenly escalated. For most people, 300MB of data is still enough to do whatever they want.

I think that's pretty interesting to actually see what other people do with their phone, in particular their data usage. Would you be so kind to post your usage?
I'd like to see a reason to justify large amounts of data that's needed to operate the phone.

I can see that apps exist that need to use data, i.e. video streaming ( Youtube, Netflix), music streaming (Spotify, Pandora, iTunes Radio/Match), image sharing ( Facebook, iCloud Photostreams ). But the necessity of these is highly, hmm, say, subjective

Not all people use their phone like you do, keep that in mind. Not all need data hungry apps or use them at all. That's my point. And these got cut off by Apple. Maybe they hope that prices are going down and get evened out.

Do you swing at windmills often?

I will let the other members here have the fun with your comments.

 

[C DM]

If someone wants to have an iPod Touch and a phone, why not have an iPhone that mainly gets used on WiFi? What's wrong with that? Why does someone need to have a separate phone and an iPod Touch when one device can do both of those things? Nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, something's definitely missing in what those who think there's something wrong with that keep on trying to "prove" (given that there's nothing to prove to begin with).

 

[hharzer]

I don't understand why some people put themselves through so much pain.

Really, how much does it cost to move up to the 1GB data plan? Probably less than the cost of a latté a month.

Because it's no pain, that's why I never needed more than 300MB of data and probably won't anytime soon.

When I went to Canada last year I had a 120MB data plan. I had to constantly turn off cellular data for fear of using up too much of it and making it last for the entire week I was there. It was a pain in the ass to have to worry so much about data usage (but the alternative was no data, so for the trip I was willing to deal with it)

I was so happy when I arrived home and was able to just leave cellular data on.

Stop with the principled masochism and get a 1GB plan. That really should be the minimum plan offered anyway.

So you proverbially burnt through it in 10 seconds flat? great show, btw.

Do you swing at windmills often?

It's kind of a hobby

I just wanted to express some reasons why someone could be upset by the sudden increase of data hunger of iOS. Most people I know, including myself, don't use more than 300MB.

It's no pain, or masochism. I never had to manage to save data - actually, it was the other way around when I used another plan. I had serious problems using more than 300MB

Anyway, as I said, I just wanted to show you that there's other people that don't have any use for more data and thus are concerned about the OS' data usage.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Well then, you spend your life worrying about how much data you have used.

I will spend mine running my business and deep sea fishing on the Lhurs.

 

[sunking101]

Did you ever consider that it's not about money?

I don't see why I should be forced to use a bigger data plan simply because Apple isn't able to build software that doesn't consume tons of data.

Why's there no switch? Or something similar ? I used a similar data plan when iOS 6 was around, and back then, data wasn't a problem. The system is single most important part of my data usage now. That's ridiculous.

I don't want to change my habits due to a software update. Just because you're using more data than others and thus didn't notice this increase - be assured, others, like myself, did notice it.

I do not like having things that I do not need, got example services, tools etc. Why should I want something that has absolute no use? And exactly that's why I'd never upgrade my plan. It's not about money, it's about what I need. And I certainly don't need an OS that eats my data.

My data plan is 4GB and I never go anywhere near the limit, but on principle I agree with you.
To conserve battery, I have cellular data and 3G switched off on my iPhone 5 unless I specifically need to access the internet whilst out and about. So the vast majority of my data usage is via WiFi, and yet my 'system services' still consume cellular data. In my mind this is wrong and the phone should have no need to do this, nor do I give it my authorisation.

 

[Newtons Apple]

My data plan is 4GB and I never go anywhere near the limit, but on principle I agree with you.
To conserve battery, I have cellular data and 3G switched off on my iPhone 5 unless I specifically need to access the internet whilst out and about. So the vast majority of my data usage is via WiFi, and yet my 'system services' still consume cellular data. In my mind this is wrong and the phone should have no need to do this, nor do I give it my authorisation.

There are some services that Apple and they other phone makers do not allow you to control. While I agree you should have this control, it is not an option.

Even if you turn your phone off, when you turn it back on, it will use data to update the things we have no control over.

 

[superduck]

Roaming perspective

Let’s look at this from a roaming perspective
Living in Europe you get to roam many times a year – for instance I travel to the US twice a year where a MB will cost you $20 Right now I’m in France with my family, I need data roaming to be able to receive traffic updates on my navigation software, (and in general because otherwise defeats the purpose of a smart phone)
As of today (3 days into our road trip) I have used 71 MB of roaming data whereas system services accounts for 48.8 MB of that! Time and Location 33.6 alone!! That equals $672 if the trip had been to the US, luckily there is an option the switch 3G off when I go to visit the US just to keep it from going ballistic! But again Apple it defeats the purpose of the iphone
On my android (HTC One) I have used 52.54 MB in the same period where only 8.14 is Google services, to be fair a lot of HTC crap has used approximately 9 MB
But Apple please give us an option to fix this because I’m desperate enough to consider factory reset, but I don’t want to start all over!

Regards the Duck

 

[960design]

200MB for iPhone!

That seems like running a Ferrari with the handbrake on. I would suggest a different phone would probably give you a better experience.

 

[sunking101]

200MB for iPhone!

That seems like running a Ferrari with the handbrake on. I would suggest a different phone would probably give you a better experience.

Or any car with only $5 of fuel in the tank.
Still, on principle, system services shouldn't use mobile data if connected to WiFi. Nothing should use mobile data if a WiFi connection is available.

 

[rockitdog]

200MB for iPhone!

That seems like running a Ferrari with the handbrake on. I would suggest a different phone would probably give you a better experience.

I agree, I can't imagine having a smartphone with that kind of restraints on it. Stressful and a waste, IMO.

 

[jr866gooner]

These stats do they include data transacted over wifi and data? Or just data only? Mine says 304mb! It's only the 9th of July and my limits 512!! Lol

 

[Ray Brady]

200MB is more than sufficient for many users. My wife is on a 300MB plan with AT&T, and rarely uses more than 20 in a month. Her record so far is just over 100MB in a single month. Why? Because most of the time, the phone is at home, where it can ride the WiFi. And when she's out, she rarely needs data services. Really the only time she uses data extensively is when we're traveling.

 

[sunking101]

200MB is more than sufficient for many users. My wife is on a 300MB plan with AT&T, and rarely uses more than 20 in a month. Her record so far is just over 100MB in a single month. Why? Because most of the time, the phone is at home, where it can ride the WiFi. And when she's out, she rarely needs data services. Really the only time she uses data extensively is when we're traveling.

It kinda defeats the purpose of a smartphone tho'. Your wife could use a laptop or a tablet at home, if that's the only time she actually connects her phone to the internet.

 

[Ray Brady]

It kinda defeats the purpose of a smartphone tho'. Your wife could use a laptop or a tablet at home, if that's the only time she actually connects her phone to the internet.

Not at all. The purpose of a smartphone is convenience. My wife likes having the data available on her phone in case she needs it. That's convenient. She does most of her Internet browsing on her laptop at home, because that's how she likes it. She also likes the integration between the devices. She just doesn't consume a whole lot of data. I don't see why that's a problem.

 

[YanniDepp]

I don't see why I should be forced to use a bigger data plan simply because Apple isn't able to build software that doesn't consume tons of data.

30MB hasn't been a "ton" of data since the 1970s. These days, it's nothing. Even on a 56kbps modem, you can download 30MB in just over two hours.

It's very reasonable to expect 30MB of background data usage over a month. Don't like it? Turn off cellular data when you're not using it.

I stream internet radio over 3G and use about 2GB a month. But I live in a country where "unlimited" 3G data is cheap.

 

[sunking101]

30MB hasn't been a "ton" of data since the 1970s. These days, it's nothing. Even on a 56kbps modem, you can download 30MB in just over two hours.

It's very reasonable to expect 30MB of background data usage over a month. Don't like it? Turn off cellular data when you're not using it.

I stream internet radio over 3G and use about 2GB a month. But I live in a country where "unlimited" 3G data is cheap.

This still doesn't excuse a smartphone with built in WiFi compatability using cellular data whilst connected to a WiFi network...
Whether we have an unlimited cellular data plan or not, this just shouldn't be happening. We should have the confidence to expect that WiFi = no cellular data.