I Phone 5 BOGUS DATA OVERAGES

[sunshinegirlie]

Wow. I sincerely thank you for going out of your way, and consuming your own personal time to try to help me to resolve this issue. I read your message and contacted Verizon yet again, today and it's a good thing I did. 2.5 hours of my time (and I believe that all customers time is precious and should not have to be spent trying to fix a problem in excess of 8 hours of personal time used. Which is time taken away from my children and priceless).

This was my experience today: I called to follow up from my call last week, in which the tech increased my GB to 8. I was supposed to have a text message sent to me with the ticket number. It never arrived. I was, at that time, assured that extensive notes were placed on my account. My initial conversation with the customer service rep today, I was told that unfortunately-the tech support person from 10/13 did *not* place detailed notes on my account. So...I had to explain the entire situation to yet another person. She apologized and said that the support staff have only been aware of this issue for about 2 weeks (even though the updates/press releases were issued 3 weeks ago) and that they were not properly trained, initially to handle these calls. She then transferred me to a tech person, but the call was dropped. She called me on another line and left a message (which I am saving) that "Rick" in tech support would be calling me and that he did look up my account, and my cell numbers are on "the list" of numbers with residual issues. (I didn't know until this point that there was a "list".) In any case, I am glad that I am on it. Rick never called. Surprise, surprise. I called back tech support and spoke with Joyce. As we all know-I have 2 primary concerns and 1 secondary which I did not even mention.1. Overage data charges. 2. Fixing the problem. Rather than reading up on my case, or hearing me when I was speaking, she began the conversation telling me that there was a carrier update 3 weeks ago and that it was my responsibility to do the carrier update and that charges would not be getting credited back due to this. First off, I was only aware of the carrier update because I was proactive and googled my problem NOT because Verizon informed me in any way, shape or form. Not through phone call, email, text message or US mail. Secondly, I did the carrier update 3 weeks ago. Once I made her read the notes that were left by past reps on my account, indicating that I did the carrier update 3 weeks ago and it did not solve the problem, only then did she begin to listen and not be defensive, as if it were my fault. (This is the exact reason that I have been dreading any attempt in getting these credits). She told me (as you stated) that the past 2 tech support people that I spoke with were incorrect in increasing my GB's because when the "system credits" take place, it will not recognize any overage and therefore not credit me. This makes absolute sense to be, but at the same time, infuriates me that the last 2 reps that I spoke with (and 2 hours of my life) were for nothing-and according to Verizon "they shouldn't have done that". Great. So here I am, with another text alert today, telling me that we are at 90% of our 8 GB and I have 5 days left in this cycle. When I asked if this was specifically an I Phone 5 problem, or an IOS 6 problem, she told me that Apple would have to answer that for me. She then told me that she could not help me with a solution but she was going to get Apple on the line, which she did. My call was then transferred to Apple and I was told that I need a replacement phone and that he can see that I have already spoken with Apple several times so as a "convenience" he was going to waive the $30 express shipping charge. How nice of him. But-if my problem could be solved by this-I would be very happy. I was then told that in order to get me a replacement phone, I would have to allow Apple to hold the retail cost of the phone ($650.00) against my available balance in my checking account for a few days. There is no way that I am going to let Apple (who I have no faith in at this point) hold $650.00 of my money and render me unable to use my checking account for a few days to solve their problem. I was even more infuriated than I was when I initially called! The 2nd option was for me to go to an Apple store. An Apple tech would physically take a look at the phone and see if he can fix it. If not, he would provide a replacement. I had to make an appointment, which I did, for tonight. It gets better. When I asked if the Apple store that I scheduled my appointment, via him, actually *had* an I Phone 5 in stock to replace it with (I have heard they are hard to come by). I was told that there is no way that he can answer that due to "security reasons". He could not tell me if I Phone 5's were in stock in case I decided to rob the Apple store of their supply of I Phone 5's. So, I asked if there is potential that I am wasting a trip and he said....yes. But, I have to go~because what other option do I have? I specifically asked him if this is related to the I Phone 5 OR the IOS 6 update and (wait for it)....he said "BOTH". Apparently, data is being burned through older models of I Phone as well, but at a slower rate, so it is going unnoticed in many cases. If it is not effecting people's charges, they are likely to not take the time to call and complain. Data is burning through the I Phone 5 on a much larger scale because of the 4G capability. This came from *Apple*. I also have an I Phone 4S that went from .7 GB typical usage to 2 GB's in October, but since it was such a small contribution to the overall data used, I am not even going to try to resolve that until the problems with the I Phone 5 are resolved.

When I got off the phone with Apple, I decided to call Verizon back because the whole issue of my GB's being increased all month (increased a total of 3 times in October to a total of 10 GB's now)....I am again, concerned that my bill will not system credit. I get (so far) the most helpful customer service person that I had that really made me feel like she owned my problem. She acknowledged that the first wave of people's bills are starting to come out and she has seen more times than not-the system credit FAIL. She did tell me that my bill will not be system credited because my data was increased. She tried to lower it back down to 4 GB's (which was always my plan) to prompt the system to credit at the end of my cycle and the system would not allow her to do that because the system saw this as a disservice since I clearly had exceeded that in this cycle. So, instead...she INCREASED me to 10 GB's today. But what she did DIFFERENTLY than what ANY OTHER REP HAD DONE, is that she gave me manual statement credit to my next statement in the amount of $30.00 (the difference between 4 GB and 10 GB). This is a statement credit that I can immediately see and it removed the anxiety that I have been having over fighting with Verizon people getting my credits. This is all that anyone had to do since Day 1, to make me feel better about my bill and provide Verizon/Apple/whoever the time to come up with a fix that works. The next thing that she did was she set up my plan so that on the 1st day of my next cycle, my GB's drop back down to 4 (which is what my plan was to start with) and told me NOT to allow anyone to increase my GB's next month-should this not be resolved. This way, it will give the system credit a chance to work. She also set a follow up call with me in November. She read me the notes that she wrote, she provided me with her name AND her badge number and she acknowledged that the carrier fix DOES NOT WORK for more customers than it actually did work for. Although I still have the problem, this one rep took the time to listen to me and rather than telling me to call back in 5 days when my bill comes out-she was proactive in solving the credit problem so that we could focus on trying to get the actual problem fixed. Which, she admitted there is not a solution at this time but at least I will not have to worry about my bill or continue to make calls concerning my bill. So, I have an appointment at the Apple Store in 1 hour and hopefully this will finally be able to provide the solution that I have been seeking. If not-I will continue to rant (I have earned the right to do that). but I do want to thank you, again for taking the time to provide legitimate input on how I can solve this problem. I will keep you posted.

[sunshinegirlie]

Just returned from the Apple store. Their solution? Turn OFF the 4G (or LTE as it is also called). The phone is constantly "searching" for a stronger and better 4G signal and burning through data (even when you are sleeping). What this has to do with WiFi going against cellular data, I have no idea. How can this solution make sense when the purpose of the I Phone 5 is the 4G capability? No idea, either. For now-I am going to turn off the 4G for a week and see if it helps. If this does in fact, work then I will begin a new fight on how ridiculous it is that I have an I Phone 5 and can't use the 4G feature!

I can't see Verizon crediting customers bills month after month because Apple released a phone that was not ready to be released. The Apple guy said that if turning off the 4G does not help in a week, he will replace the phone in hopes that will help. So...still no solution but I will continue to keep people posted.

[homeistexas]

I have been keeping my lte turned off most of the time which did slow down the data usage but i still don't get how I have used 8 meg of data when im not even using the phone for data all I have done is send some text messages and some phone calls. I have gone thru and turned everything off and it still continues to show data usage. I know 8MB is not that much but I think its a lot when I'm not even using the phone. Also when I look at usage in the phone it shows tether data usage which I really don't understand that since i only have a 2G plan with no hot spot and its not sharing  cause the other phones on my plan are still on the unlimited plan. Think I will take some time tomorrow and call verizon again.

[kaebfly]

You're welcome (to your previous response). Now as far as what happened after you visited Apple...did they offer you a replacement device? I'm really curious as to why the issue honestly does not occur on my iPhone 5. I went back and looked at the detailed data usage over the last few months of my bill (the iPhone 5 is only represented on one billing cycle). No true fluctuations in data usage except on the days that I traveled and used 4G versus wifi. Same with iPhone 4 on my account that was upgraded to iOS 6. The only complaint that the person using that phone has is that they have noticed higher battery drain. But I checked that data usage and it's still pretty much consistent with their normal monthly usage for the past 4 months.

I just noticed that you said on the phone it is showing tethered data usage? Not sure what that would be showing if no tethering was being used. Now the 8 mb....do you have any location services on that occasionally use data even in the background? I believe the weather widget in the status pull down uses location services for example...unless you turn it off. Check in settings and location services to see if any of your apps show one of the locations services used icons, Also check the system services option at the bottom to see if you see any icons in there (2 of mine had a location services icon next to them that had been used within the last 2 hours - setting time zone and Genius for Apps). This may not help any but it might at least explain a little of the data use that occurs when it seems like you aren't using any at all...if you've looked at all of this to check before then sorry for suggesting it again. Just trying to figure out what it could possibly be. I think that I may have been lucky with my settings from my previous iPhone being put on the iPhone 5 when I set it up using it's back up...a lot of the things that are often set to on as a default weren't because I had them off on my old iPhone. Not sure if that made a difference or not though...just know that I've been lucky to not have had the issues.

Anyway....really hope they can get something figured soon for everyone that is having the issue.

[sunshinegirlie]

They did offer a replacement. I agreed to give it a few days to not using the LTE and shutting off locations services and everything else. I want to monitor and see if it helps. If it does not-I am going to take the replacement and cross my fingers. The problem is...what is the point of having the I Phone 5 if you need to shut down everything and not be able to use your device for the features and benefits that are intended when you purchase it? I tried having the LTE turned off today and it's totally bizarre. The phone is MUCH slower connecting and in some cases, does not even connect. It does NOT have the same reception as my 4S. This just can't be the solution and I still don't see what this has to do with wifi being charged against data.

Another point-every Apple rep that I have talked to both on the phone and in person have told me to TURN OFF I Cloud. Again, what is the point? You have this great feature that you can't use. So...basically everything is off except Facebook and Twitter (I have to be able to check up on my son during the day!)...

I honestly think that you got really lucky. At the Apple store-the tech told me that basically the half of the phones went out with a "good chip" and the other half went out with a "bad chip". There is no way of knowing if a replacement is going to be the "good chip" but you have a 50/50 chance, I guess. Better than knowing you got one of the bad ones. This is the suspected reason (even by employees) that there is such a shortage in the I Phone 5 and people are still on waiting lists a month after they have come out. The extra phones that they have are being used as replacements to the first wave of people (myself included) and that makes sense to me. I don't doubt that is true. So...settings/turning off everything/not using the phone as a smart phone/not having LTE-locations services or I Cloud and "maybe" my phone will not burn through data is not acceptable. I really just want my $ in the difference between a 4S and the I Phone 5 and I want another 4S...which I have never had a single problem with. I guess I will take him up on the replacement phone offer in the next few days, when I can find the time to run back up there.

[kaebfly]

Maybe I ( and everyone I know in my area) are just lucky...and I'm grateful for that. 4G LTE is excellent in my area and everywhere I have traveled so far and I haven't had to turn off anything like iCloud or anything else. The only issue I see with them giving you the difference in the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4s is the fact that you're past the 14 day exchange period but you never know...if you still have the issue with the replacement device you might be able to talk them into it. Problem is...it's possible that with the current iPhone 4s it's probably already updated with iOS 6 out of the box unless they give you one that was available before iOS 6. Then you may still be in the same boat since there have been complaints from 4/4s users with iOS 6 (that's assuming that iOS 6 is truly the culprit...but it sounds like you've been told that it's a bad chip). Hopefully everything will work out...

[sunshinegirlie]

Yes-I have been told the bad chip but I have also been told something different by every person that I talk to! I think Apple is the one that is willing to go the extra mile and do the replacements-not Verizon. I actually also have a 4S that does have the IOS 6 and I have had zero issues with it. Like I mentioned, though. Turning off all of the functions of the phone can't be the answer and it does not resolve the wi fi charged against data issues-which is the real problem. 😕

[TB0407]

I just switched from Sprint to Verizon about a month ago & got the iPhone 5.... I'm having the same issues w/ the data usage while being connected to WiFi. I really hope that something gets fixed soon b/c it's making me wish I never switched from Sprint to Verizon!

[aricottilli]

I just had an issue with my data, I starte streaming a podcast. I checked my data prior to starting just to check, it was ~1.2gigs, out of my 4 gig plan. 45 minutes into the pod cast and I had 2 alerts about my data plan, the first was sent at 0023 hours saying I hit 50% of my data cap the second at 0055 hours saying i was at 75%. How the hell did streaming a podcast use 1 gig of data in in 33 minutes??? My wife streamed a tv show the other day andit didnt use 200mb. Any one else have this issue?

[auburn91]

I'm having the exact issue. I got nine text messages within 2 hours. The first said I had used 50 percent of my data, 30 minutes later, I got another saying I had used 75 percent, 25 minutes after that it said I had used 90 percent and finally about an hour later I got a text saying I'd exceeded my limit.

I called customer service who sent me to tech support and I spoke to a person with a strong Indian accent. He told me that they were having problems with everyone's data and credited my account for $20 and bumped me up to 10g from 6 g. Within an hour of the call, my data was at 9.5 from 8.9 even though I turned my cellular off.

I've never downloaded one movie or listened to Pandora. I stay on wifi most all day. He assures me I won't be charged, but I have my doubts.