Significant differential between displayed data usage between Onavo and Verizon

Hello All,

I have the iPhone 6. Last month I downloaded the Onavo app so I could manage my data usage since I went over for December. I have 6GB and like to stream music, which eats alot of data. I should never reach 6GB but managed to go to 8GB last month! My question is why is there a 25% difference between my onavo readings and the amount of data Verizon claims I've used. I got a 75% notification today which means Verizon shows I've used 4.5 GB of data. My Onavo app shows that I haven't even reached 3GB of usage yet. 1.5GB is a very significant amount of data. Can anyone explain to me why there is such a large discrepancy? What is the point of using this app if it is not properly recording my data usage. I have the VPN connected at all times and have had the app active all month. Is Verizon actually claiming I'm using more than I am or is this app not accurately recording my data usage?

Accepted answers

Tidbits

Those data monitoring apps all have disclaimers. They may not match up with carrier meters. One thing I have learned and you can test this out especially on Android. Download 4 apps that monitor data usage and compare them to the built in one. They all generally will have different usage and at times you can see a 20-50% difference in data numbers.

There's a thread on T-Mobile forums about this as well because people believed T-Mobile meters are off to ensure people get throttled to "force" users to pay for more data. A lot of the users have done this test and find out that the carrier version may be more accurate than any data meter because of all these discrepancies.

All comments

Verizon_Support

I understand your data usage concerns Malinooshk! We accurately monitor your data usage and send alerts to prevent overage usage and fees. Third party applications' data readings may be different from ours, however, we can only rely on our data readings. Please visit this link http://vz.to/1u8YMDq for estimations of data usage.

AntonioC_VZW Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/VZWSupport

Snn5

Onavo is owned by Facebook so I'm sure there are other data usages pertaining to the app itself which continue to add up in regards to data collection for advertising, location data, feedback sent automatically to let FB know what app, the time of day, where you use it and where you are going. It might not personally identify you, but it is data used nonetheless. The phone will tend to show more use than Verizon will usually. This is because text and mms are data, but not counted towards your allotment. The phone will see that use and usually be higher.

Tidbits

Snn5

I use My Data Manager for Android. It is consistently 10-15mb ahead of Verizon after both refresh. My phone is all over the place though. MDM also allows me to set my daily limit to 33mb and cut data off after that, also to cut off at 500mb and 950mb. It also lets me know where I used what app and how much data that app used on mobile, wifi, and roaming. Without it I would hardly ever turn my data on, which apparently I havent all month because more than a week into the billing cycle I have use 0 data. But, again I only have 1gb a month.

Tidbits

Just be careful using them. Seen a lot of people get burned by them. I have seen at times where Facebook doesn't register for example. Seen some people pay $100+ because of it.