Mobile Data usage while on wifi
dtj122389
Enthusiast - Level 2

Hello. I have talked to Verizon executive customer service about this and they told me something that disturbs me. I have home wifi with my cable provider and my phone still uses mobile data even when I am connected to WiFi. I was told that I have to manually cut off the mobile data to keep my mobile data from being used while I am on wifi. Now, my problem is why do I have to do it? My phone, if it is as smart as it is said to be, should automatically know when I am on wifi and just use the WiFi period.  That is why they are called SMARTPHONES. This really aggrevates me. Also, why am I being told that my phone uses more data on a 1X signal than a 4G LTE signal? That does not even sound right. The executive customer service representative said that I am connected longer due to the slow speed and that uses more data. None of that even sounds rights. Why should my phone use more data on a slower signal? One more thing, the Verizon wireless website coverage maps show that I am in a LTE coverage​ area. If that is the case, then why am I getting a roaming or 1X signal? I haven't been complaining about it much until now because i have to go up the road about a mile when I leave home just to make a call. I do have wifi calling when I am home, so that part is a non-issue. My problem is having to go up the road about a mile and turn on airplane mode and turn it back off to get a sufficient signal to make a call. Most of the time, I am roaming. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. Please, do not pull the wool over my eyes. I know when I am being taken advantage of.

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Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
mama23dogs
Legend

Sorry it took me so long to reply.  When ever you are getting odd readings from the carrier side, check the actual phone or phones.  The phone is an independant meter of its data use.  If your child's phone says it uses 6, or 12 gigs of data, then it did.  Verizon should have a very close account, but may be 3 hours to days behind the phone.  Date is NOT reported back to Verizon or posted on your account in real time.  Data posted in the early morning was probably from the previous day. 

   Consider a faulty phone, app or user error.  Factory resetting is not a bad idea.  We had one iPhone that had to be factory reset regularly because it was not connecting to our home wifi.  Don't know if the wifi antenna was faulty, but all other phone connected fine.  Run away app... my sister noticed a significant drop in phone usage time and increase in data use.  She looked at what was going on in settings and her weather app had gone nuts.  Deleting the app solved the problem.

User error.  Hate to say it, teens don't understand how to monitor and manage data.  Settings should show how much is being used and by what.  Set a monthly reminder to reset data statistics on an iPhone to match your bill cycle.  iPhones also have switches in cellular settings to limit a phone to wifi only for some applications. 

If you're happy with your existing plan, and don't want to change to unlimited, you have to take action on the phone, or kid to curb usage. 

To be clear, no carrier can make a phone show it used more data than it did.  Many people blame their carrier and insist switching solved it when what they did was change phones and that was the solution. 

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Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
mama23dogs
Legend

dtj122389 wrote:

Hello. I have talked to Verizon executive customer service about this and they told me something that disturbs me. I have home wifi with my cable provider and my phone still uses mobile data even when I am connected to WiFi.

- What makes you think this is the case ??    I was told that I have to manually cut off the mobile data to keep my mobile data from being used while I am on wifi.  

- Not unless your phone is faulty and it is not switching between wifi and cellular. 

Now, my problem is why do I have to do it? My phone, if it is as smart as it is said to be, should automatically know when I am on wifi and just use the WiFi period. That is why they are called SMARTPHONES. This really aggrevates me. Also, why am I being told that my phone uses more data on a 1X signal than a 4G LTE signal?

- Who the heck told you that?  Not even possible to use data at 2G speed compared with 1,000 times after LTE.  That does not even sound right. The executive customer service representative said that I am connected longer due to the slow speed and that uses more data.  

- Ha, ha.  It doesn't matter how long it takes to transfer a megabyte of data, it's still only a megabyte.  (I will refrain from comment on his intelligence).   A pound of feathers weighs as much as a pound of rocks.    None of that even sounds rights. Why should my phone use more data on a slower signal? One more thing, the Verizon wireless website coverage maps show that I am in a LTE coverage area. If that is the case, then why am I getting a roaming or 1X signal?

- If your cell signal is that poor, your phone will default to the best signal, your wifi.   I haven't been complaining about it much until now because i have to go up the road about a mile when I leave home just to make a call. I do have wifi calling when I am home, so that part is a non-issue. My problem is having to go up the road about a mile and turn on airplane mode and turn it back off to get a sufficient signal to make a call. Most of the time, I am roaming. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. Please, do not pull the wool over my eyes. I know when I am being taken advantage of.

I'm going to guess you are looking at your data REPORTING on your online account.  I wrote reporting in all caps as data does not report in real time.  Data is collected by towers all day and reports back when your phone disconnects.  This is often when your phone is home on wifi or off for the night. 

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Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
mama23dogs
Legend

Just an additional.  You wrote :  "...My problem is having to go up the road about a mile and turn on airplane mode and turn it back off to get a sufficient signal to make a call. Most of the time, I am roaming. "

This does make me think your phone is not able to switch between wifi calling and cellular.  Either because you're in a roaming area, or the phone is defective.  Android has a smart switch which auto changes phones between connections.   Sometimes it fails, is turned off, or has been fouled up by an update.

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Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
dtj122389
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks. So, what you are basically telling me that even when I am using my home wifi and I have a good wifi internet connection, my phone is still using mobile data. If that is so, then it is not right. Also, what I was saying about my roaming signal is that I barely even get that at home when I use the mobile network when I am outside. 99% of the time, my phone shows that I am roaming even when the coverage maps show I am in a LTE coverage area. I understand that the maps are just an approximation of coverage but the nearest dead zone is five to six miles away. I know that dead zone very well. No one and no carrier has any signal in that area. So why is Verizon saying that I am in a marginal coverage area when the maps clearly state that I have at least a moderate LATE signal. These are really the only problems I have. Being that the other carriers in my area have no signal around my house until I go about two to three miles down the road, Verizon is really the only viable option. Anyways, thanks for your reply. It does help me to.know why all this is going on. I was originally thinking that the data I was using over wifi was being counted as mobile data. Evidently, that is not totally the case.

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Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
mama23dogs
Legend

dtj122389 wrote:

Thanks. So, what you are basically telling me that even when I am using my home wifi and I have a good wifi internet connection, my phone is still using mobile data.

Nope.  I'm saying that data used during the day isn't reported right away.  It can take up to 72 hours, especially when roaming.  If you have almost no cellular at home, it's EXTREMEMLY unlikely your phone will use any cellular. 

If that is so, then it is not right. Also, what I was saying about my roaming signal is that I barely even get that at home when I use the mobile network when I am outside. 99% of the time, my phone shows that I am roaming even when the coverage maps show I am in a LTE coverage area. I understand that the maps are just an approximation of coverage but the nearest dead zone is five to six miles away. I know that dead zone very well. No one and no carrier has any signal in that area. So why is Verizon saying that I am in a marginal coverage area when the maps clearly state that I have at least a moderate LATE signal. These are really the only problems I have. Being that the other carriers in my area have no signal around my house until I go about two to three miles down the road, Verizon is really the only viable option. Anyways, thanks for your reply. It does help me to.know why all this is going on. I was originally thinking that the data I was using over wifi was being counted as mobile data. Evidently, that is not totally the case.

The analogy I use is checking accounts.  You write several checks to pay people.  Some go to the bank and cash your check and the money comes of your balance right away.  Most deposit the check in their account and it clears over night out of your account.  If you mail a check it might be a week before it clears (that would be the roaming). 

If you are often roaming during the day, it might take 3 days to clear.  So you see crazy data used on the weekend when your home, but it is only, finally being reported from Tuesday Wednesday during the week. 

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Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
dtj122389
Enthusiast - Level 2

I just totally read your response. I am sorry for not reading it thoroughly. Answering your first question, I used the My Verizon app at first and something didn't sit well with me. So, I looked at the data usage on the phone. I saw a difference in data usage between the two. The app was showing a major data spike on March 19, and the data usage part in the settings menu was not showing a spike. Also, my data roaming settings were set to not allow data usage at the time of the spike.

Answering your second question, that is exactly what I thought. The CSR told me that because I think she was reading from a corporately approved script. I believe that more than likely she thought I was a southern redneck hillbilly that does not know much. Well, she is wrong. I took Automotive Technology in school and some of the same methods I was taught in school I used for this and arrived at the conclusions I have.

Answering your third question, the EXECUTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE told me that. I know that I can still use data on a 2G connection but it is slower than a snail, which tells me even more that she was reading from a corporately approved script.

Answering your fourth question, I know that one megabyte is only one megabyte at any speed. At slower speeds, it would take me longer to use one megabyte and get me to not use as much data, because I am a little impatient. I don't like having to wait an hour for something that I have already paid for. By the way, the EXECUTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE is a she and is an American.

Answering your fifth question, I realized that all of this started occuring after the android nougat update on my Droid Turbo 2. That may be the key in figuring out how to solve the issues. All I can say for sure is that any major corporations, Verizon included, are out to get money that they are not deserving of. I don't know if you agree with me, but Hey, everyone has their own opinion. BTW, I am a prepaid customer, if that has any bearing on this situation. I bet if I was a government official and said I would start an investigation on this, they would straighten up their act.

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Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
mama23dogs
Legend

Thanks for the feedback.

Do I think Verizon cares much?   No.  They just don't.

Do I believe any carrier falsifies data totals to rip off customers?  Nope.  Not worth the FCC hammer drop and fines as they would get caught.

Do I think they [Removed] up, which might cause a discrepancy?  Very rarely, but sure.

With a couple hundred million customer, the notion they pick on a handful to deliberately jack up and over charge for data is tin foil hat thinking.  Especially with unlimited plan offerings.  Since you aren't billed for overage and they keep bumping plan sizes up, it just doesn't make any sense.  What do they gain?

Significant delays in data reporting due to roaming is likely.  Roaming totals are out of Verizon's hands, and reported by another carriers towers.

Could they be inaccurate?   Don't know.  What does the phone show?

Delay in reporting occurs on other carriers, including mine - ATT.   When tracking data use on my phones and tablet, the ATT totals are always within a few MBs. 

Have you investigated the postpaid coverage in your area?  It may cost more, but you might actually be covered rather than roaming on partner networks.  Just a thought.

inappropriate content removed as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service 

Message edited by Verizon Moderator

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Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
Teako10
Enthusiast - Level 1

I had a terrible experience with Verizon recently. Last month they showed my wife's phone suddenly was 3 GB over normal usage. Nothing changed, but her mobile data skyrocketed and we were charged 2 GB over our limit. I was on a business trip and over 1/2 of those I spoke with said they too had a spike in data usage.

New month hits and 6 days into the month, I get a note we have used 6GB of data. I call Verizon and their answer was simple, my daughter is using more data on social media and that's the cause and we should consider going to unlimited data.  After we spend hours on the phone and chatting with tech support I get the same answer. We look at data usage since 10/25/16 and it shows 19 GB of data, equal to what we were charged per month. Surprisingly the 6GB of data for the past 6 days don't add into the equation. I advised I think they are opening themselves up to a class action lawsuit with this kind of actions. My daughter talks to the rep and said they tried at least 8-10 times to get her to switch to unlimited data. It's preposterous. She was on wifi the entire time, and the data usage for the one day we discussed was 1.6GB at 6:39 am, when she was sleeping! They kept saying there were apps using her data, yet no app had near the amount of data usage. There is a scam going on and millions of customers are switching to unlimited data to stop this.  I had to escalate my call and they wanted my daughter to back up her phone and erase everything and start over. Something is quite wrong here!

Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Customer experience is something we take very seriously, Teako10. It’s important to know how your phone uses data so that we can help identify where the usage in question is coming from. We simply provide your devices the data they request. Certainly unlimited data is a great way to not have to worry about your usage, but it’s not the right plan for everyone.

There can be a number of things happening that have caused this spike in usage. The first is your daughter may believe she’s connected to Wi-Fi when she is not. Also, if she is connected to Wi-Fi and the cellular data signal is stronger the phone may be defaulting back to cellular data.

What make/model device does your daughter use? Was there any recent changes to the device?

JosephE_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

If my response answered your question please click the 'Correct Answer' button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

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Re: Mobile Data usage while on wifi
mama23dogs
Legend

Sorry it took me so long to reply.  When ever you are getting odd readings from the carrier side, check the actual phone or phones.  The phone is an independant meter of its data use.  If your child's phone says it uses 6, or 12 gigs of data, then it did.  Verizon should have a very close account, but may be 3 hours to days behind the phone.  Date is NOT reported back to Verizon or posted on your account in real time.  Data posted in the early morning was probably from the previous day. 

   Consider a faulty phone, app or user error.  Factory resetting is not a bad idea.  We had one iPhone that had to be factory reset regularly because it was not connecting to our home wifi.  Don't know if the wifi antenna was faulty, but all other phone connected fine.  Run away app... my sister noticed a significant drop in phone usage time and increase in data use.  She looked at what was going on in settings and her weather app had gone nuts.  Deleting the app solved the problem.

User error.  Hate to say it, teens don't understand how to monitor and manage data.  Settings should show how much is being used and by what.  Set a monthly reminder to reset data statistics on an iPhone to match your bill cycle.  iPhones also have switches in cellular settings to limit a phone to wifi only for some applications. 

If you're happy with your existing plan, and don't want to change to unlimited, you have to take action on the phone, or kid to curb usage. 

To be clear, no carrier can make a phone show it used more data than it did.  Many people blame their carrier and insist switching solved it when what they did was change phones and that was the solution. 

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