Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

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Leesbro63
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Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by Leesbro63 »

A question for my TECHIE friends: I've been using GOOGLE MAPS as my GPS of choice for about a year. All of the sudden, I am getting huge DATA bills from AT&T for my iPhone. I THINK it's related to the Google Maps. Why did I NOT have data problems before with Google Maps but do now? Any ideas or suggestions is appreciated.
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retiredjg
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by retiredjg »

If your plan is about a year old (not exactly what you said, but could be....) did you have some kind of nice intro price that lasted a year?

Maybe some update to the phone turned on or off something that keeps data running (unnecessarily) in the background when you are not specifically using that app?
Sidney
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by Sidney »

There are mapping apps that store the maps offline and don't require data.
I always wanted to be a procrastinator.
wesef
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by wesef »

Go to Settings --> Cellular on the phone. Scroll to bottom and hit reset statistics. Check back later to see what's using data. Google maps does use a lot. I think it is particularly data hungry if you have traffic enabled and use turn by turn. To me, it's worth it.

Any streaming app will also use a lot, even if it's "just" audio.
mlipps
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by mlipps »

Do you use Facebook? They recently made a change where videos automatically play, even on cellular, which uses tons of data. Here's an article:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... a-headache
JoeJohnson
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by JoeJohnson »

I use Google Maps navigation all the time on my Android. It does not use much data.

I assume your phone can tell you which apps are using data and how much they are using. If not, there has to be an app that can keep track of that for you.
Acesalad
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by Acesalad »

Google maps does not store maps on the phone, so each time you use it, it needs to download the maps and traffic info, which uses your data. You can see how much data it is using by going to Settings->Cellular, then scroll down and you will see all of your apps listed and how much data each app uses. The only thing is this is cumulative since you got this iPhone, so if you want to have an idea of current usage, scroll all the way to the bottom and hit Reset Statistics and from then on you can monitor your usage.

I use Navigon U.S. East which gives me just the east coast and allows you to download only the states you use, so it doesn't use your data for maps. I t may use a little if you allow data feedback or use their Traffic Live which is a paid add on.
Millennial
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by Millennial »

I use Google Maps a lot and it does not appear to use much data. If you're worried about this, you can open Google Maps when you're on wifi, type "OK Maps" into the search box and hit enter - it'll cache the maps shown on the screen and will not need to use any cellular data for that area in the future. This also works great if you're planning a trip to a foreign country where you want to avoid data usage.
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dumbbunny
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by dumbbunny »

Make sure to close Google Maps when you have arrived at your destination.
Double-click the Home button on the bottom of your iPhone and you will see all the apps that are running.
Flick each app upwards to close until you only have the Home screen in the window.
Then tap on it and you are "all closed up."
“It’s the curse of old men to realize that in the end we control nothing." "Homeland" episode, "Gerontion"
strafe
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by strafe »

Google Maps uses minimal data transfer. The drain is probably from something else.

What is your data limit? How much are you using? Are you using video chat (e.g. Skype or FaceTime) over cellular?

It would de difficult to exceed any of the typical carrier limits without video or significant audio use.
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dumbbunny
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by dumbbunny »

Millennial wrote:I use Google Maps a lot and it does not appear to use much data. If you're worried about this, you can open Google Maps when you're on wifi, type "OK Maps" into the search box and hit enter - it'll cache the maps shown on the screen and will not need to use any cellular data for that area in the future. This also works great if you're planning a trip to a foreign country where you want to avoid data usage.
Thanks for the tip
“It’s the curse of old men to realize that in the end we control nothing." "Homeland" episode, "Gerontion"
Topic Author
Leesbro63
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by Leesbro63 »

mlipps wrote:Do you use Facebook? They recently made a change where videos automatically play, even on cellular, which uses tons of data. Here's an article:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... a-headache
You are da man! Thank you so much! It appears that Facebook is my issue, not Google Maps after all! Thank you again!
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retiredjg
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by retiredjg »

Facebook is evil. :twisted:
ab80
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by ab80 »

Just use TomTom or something similar and download the entire country's maps to your device using wifi, and you'll never need to use any data. Probably costs $40 or so.
mlipps
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by mlipps »

Leesbro63 wrote:
mlipps wrote:Do you use Facebook? They recently made a change where videos automatically play, even on cellular, which uses tons of data. Here's an article:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... a-headache
You are da man! Thank you so much! It appears that Facebook is my issue, not Google Maps after all! Thank you again!
I'm a woman, but happy to help! :)
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heartwood
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by heartwood »

My mileage seems to differ. To me "a lot" depends on how large a data plan you have. When I had a dumb phone my wife had an iphone with a 300 MB data plan. Driving from NJ to Massachusetts would burn data mostly on google maps during a 4 hour trip. We learned to turn the maps off once on the route we knew otherwise we'd burn through most of our plan over a several day trip especially if we used the browser for anything.

I now have a smartphone too and we share a 1 GB. My phone is android based. If I'm out and not on wifi I found that many apps including google maps have background usage. I can see each app usage in Settings; data usage. If I tap the specific app it shows me the usage in this plan period. It also beaks it out as foreground and background usage; I can restrict background usage if I set the switch.

What I see is that maps, weather, search, and many programs you would not expect (flashlight? solitare?) use data in the background even with the apps off. I believe its mostly location information being transmitted.
Cash
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Re: Big iPhone Data Bills/Google Maps

Post by Cash »

Leesbro63 wrote:
mlipps wrote:Do you use Facebook? They recently made a change where videos automatically play, even on cellular, which uses tons of data. Here's an article:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... a-headache
You are da man! Thank you so much! It appears that Facebook is my issue, not Google Maps after all! Thank you again!
Facebook is almost always the issue with my any data problems I have. It's a major resource/data hog.
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