Rogue app on cellular iPad?

azure

azure

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azure
So today I received an auto-generated email from AT&T saying I had used over 80% of my data plan allotment for the month. When I reviewed my usage it turned out that I had used 225.1 out of 250 MB.

A week ago my usage was at something like 36 MB. I've only once before gone over 100 MB, and NEVER anywhere close to 250.

I have filed about 8 flight plans over the last week using my cellular connection, but I was under the impression that those only used about 5 MB apiece, including the briefing. So MAYBE I should be up around 90 MB right now. Since I have my computer with me I haven't used the iPad hardly at all for internet access.

The only mistake I made was to leave cellular data on since my last flight on Saturday.

Any chance I have a rogue app or malware trying to "phone home" using whatever connection is open? Does anyone know of a way to track it down? (I've checked my open apps and they were all apps I've used before without showing any tendency to misbehave this way.)
 
doubt a "rogue app" or virus, Apple products are pretty immune from that. I would try to limit major downloads/etc to Wi-Fi. Also sending emails with lots of attachments/photos via 3G/4G will eat up data.

As said, "app updates" and OS updates (I believe OS update requires Wi-Fi) will use alot of data, as will YouTube surfing.
 
CT4ME said:
250MB isn't much and any number of things could easily chew that up. Malware is a possibility, but unlikely. The vetting process at Apple does a pretty good job of eliminating malware. Here are some ideas...
http://www.quepublishing.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1905069&seqNum=3
Program updates and/or new charts can burn up a lot of bandwidth, too.
Click to expand...
The only thing that link mentions that might apply to me is the Push feature in Mail, Contacts, Calendars. I just found that it was on, so I turned it off. I never do downloads or updates over cellular, only flight plan briefings and filings (and receiving expected route clearances). Occasionally I check email on my work account or browse this forum using Atomic Lite, but I've been doing that for years and this has never happened before.

Data Usage Pro looks like it might help me figure out when the usage is occurring. Thanks.

(BTW, you can't track your usage through myAT&T with the 250 MB plan -- I spent over an hour this evening with an offshore AT&T rep on a chat line trying to register my account, only to learn that there is no way to do that, or get the usage breakdown from AT&T with my plan.)
 
B350ATP said:
doubt a "rogue app" or virus, Apple products are pretty immune from that. I would try to limit major downloads/etc to Wi-Fi. Also sending emails with lots of attachments/photos via 3G/4G will eat up data.

As said, "app updates" and OS updates (I believe OS update requires Wi-Fi) will use alot of data, as will YouTube surfing.
Click to expand...
No, never did any of that via cellular.
 
You use Facebook on it? FB is auto playing videos, one cute kitten & laser pointer video will eat that.
 
I deleted my FB account a couple of years ago. IMO FB is malware.

Since I downloaded Data Usage Pro last night something has used up about 60K more of my data. That's too slow to be of any real concern but I wonder what it is. During this time (a) Wi-Fi was also connected (motel) and (b) the iPad was OFF. ???
 
you're not tethering are you?
 
Go to Settings, Cellular Data and scroll to the bottom to Reset Statistics. Then you can see what's still using data.
 
LDJones said:
Go to Settings, Cellular Data and scroll to the bottom to Reset Statistics. Then you can see what's still using data.
Click to expand...
I do that every month when my renewal notification comes. Even without doing that, you can see how fast it gets used up if you watch it carefully. But there's no way (that I know of) to chart usage vs time without a third-party app.

I may have figured out what did it... it may actually have been ForeFlight. I didn't realize that the street map database wasn't downloaded. On Sunday I had it open for a long time, maximum zoom, trying to find my way along the back roads to the Camel's Hump trailhead. Today, exploring the back roads outside Northfield I downloaded a small-scale section of the street map by cell connection and found I had used 5 MB in about 30 seconds. Not sure how good FF's caching is for street maps, but if it did that repeatedly on Sunday, that might have been the culprit.
 
azure said:
I may have figured out what did it... it may actually have been ForeFlight. I didn't realize that the street map database wasn't downloaded. On Sunday I had it open for a long time, maximum zoom, trying to find my way along the back roads to the Camel's Hump trailhead. Today, exploring the back roads outside Northfield I downloaded a small-scale section of the street map by cell connection and found I had used 5 MB in about 30 seconds. Not sure how good FF's caching is for street maps, but if it did that repeatedly on Sunday, that might have been the culprit.
Click to expand...

I see you found a streaming map app. :yes:
 
ElPaso Pilot said:
I see you found a streaming map app. :yes:
Click to expand...
The more I think about it the more I doubt it. :no:

According to the FF documentation, it shouldn't be acting this way. It should have gradually built up the map and cached it. In order to have eaten up that much of my data, it would have to have kept re-downloading the same part of the map over and over again as I drove across the area with the view centered on my position.

Maybe as-needed downloading of maps that aren't saved isn't done very efficiently in FF. Or maybe it was something else entirely.
 
Being grandfathered on an unlimited data plan rocks!

:cornut:

:thumbsup:

30 GB / mo isn't unusual.
 
I've had false reports of excessive data use while roaming. I'm on T-mobile and was roaming on Union wireless. Had to turn off cellular data on that trip. T-mobile never had a problem with it, just Union and only on that trip. The only thing I could figure is that Union had something set up incorrectly and they got if fixed.

Union is a regional carrier and their about a generation to a generation and a half behind the rest of the world...
 
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