iPad Internet Usage

[mXb]

Since getting my iPad Mini Retina I have been getting emails from my Internet Provider each month saying that I am nearing my download max.

At first I thought this was due to downloading apps some of which were about 1GB and then downloading updates for them.

I have just got such an email and its only half way through the month and I haven't downloaded that much.

On checking my Internet Hub traffic it seems my iPad is pretty much permanently connected to the Internet, that is it shows connecting and disconnecting every few minutes, even when it's asleep ?

Would it be downloading anything whilst asleep without me requesting it ?

( I have powered it down and it seems to have disconnected from the Internet)

[susan_cassidy]

Some apps may be checking for status, or verification that they are registered. Why would you keep 3G on while you are not using it?

[mXb]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

Some apps may be checking for status, or verification that they are registered. Why would you keep 3G on while you are not using it?

My iPad is the Wifi only model, no 3G.

A LOT of apps use location services to phone home. Go into Settings --> Privacy --> Location Services and turn it off for apps you don't think need it. Most of my apps don't really need it but turn it on by default anyway.

Go into Settings --> Privacy and click on each app listed. This will show you a list of apps that have requested access to that app. This often means that these other apps are mining data and phoning it back home. Turn off access to apps you don't want accessing each of the apps in this list. BTW, you might be appalled at which apps want to access your Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, etc. Best to curb this snooping by other apps!

Also go into Settings --> Privacy --> Advertising and turn on Limit Ad Tracking. Just like Facebook, a lot of the apps are little more than data mining wastes of time.

These three things will help cut back on apps calling home and thus burning up internet allotments. I'm sure there are plenty of other helpful hints if you search for them.

ETA: You might also go into Settings --> iCloud and Settings --> Mail, Contacts, Calendars to tweak settings for how often and how much is synced and pushed to and from your iPad. Setting these controls could reduce internet usage as well.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by mXb

Since getting my iPad Mini Retina I have been getting emails from my Internet Provider each month saying that I am nearing my download max.

Out of curiosity, what's your download maximum? We've got 6 iPads at home and even with iCloud, Dropbox, Netflix, iTunes, etc, I've never received such a notice from my ISP.

[MeSue]

Do you have iCloud backups enabled? Even though this is uploading, it may still count against your overall quota. I guess you'd know if you were using streaming services like Pandora, etc.

Also, photo stream uses Internet even if you are on a local network. And make sure you don't have automatic downloads on for apps, music, etc.

Instead of powering down at night, you can turn on airplane mode from the control center to save some time.

And you might want to check if your ISP has unmetered downloads during certain hours. When I was on satellite, downloads between 2-5 am were not counted toward the quota, so you can maybe schedule some things for those hours if your ISP does this.

[Josieb1]

As you now have a tablet it might be worth looking for an ISP that has either unlimited downloads or a higher limit that you currently have. The very nature of a tablet means you will be on the Internet far more, and the data allowance being referred to as 'downloads' isn't just actual downloads it's also the surfing you do. Just viewing pages is part of your download allowance.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Out of curiosity, what's your download maximum? We've got 6 iPads at home and even with iCloud, Dropbox, Netflix, iTunes, etc, I've never received such a notice from my ISP.

We have multiple devices too and heavily use dropbox etc and we have never encountered a problem. We are with Talktalk.

[mXb]

Originally Posted by jswinden

A LOT of apps use location services to phone home. Go into Settings --> Privacy --> Location Services and turn it off for apps you don't think need it. Most of my apps don't really need it but turn it on by default anyway.

Go into Settings --> Privacy and click on each app listed. This will show you a list of apps that have requested access to that app. This often means that these other apps are mining data and phoning it back home. Turn off access to apps you don't want accessing each of the apps in this list. BTW, you might be appalled at which apps want to access your Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, etc. Best to curb this snooping by other apps!

Also go into Settings --> Privacy --> Advertising and turn on Limit Ad Tracking. Just like Facebook, a lot of the apps are little more than data mining wastes of time.

These three things will help cut back on apps calling home and thus burning up internet allotments. I'm sure there are plenty of other helpful hints if you search for them.

ETA: You might also go into Settings --> iCloud and Settings --> Mail, Contacts, Calendars to tweak settings for how often and how much is synced and pushed to and from your iPad. Setting these controls could reduce internet usage as well.

Thanks for that

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Out of curiosity, what's your download maximum? We've got 6 iPads at home and even with iCloud, Dropbox, Netflix, iTunes, etc, I've never received such a notice from my ISP.

10GB

Originally Posted by MeSue

Do you have iCloud backups enabled? Even though this is uploading, it may still count against your overall quota. I guess you'd know if you were using streaming services like Pandora, etc.

Also, photo stream uses Internet even if you are on a local network. And make sure you don't have automatic downloads on for apps, music, etc.

Instead of powering down at night, you can turn on airplane mode from the control center to save some time.

And you might want to check if your ISP has unmetered downloads during certain hours. When I was on satellite, downloads between 2-5 am were not counted toward the quota, so you can maybe schedule some things for those hours if your ISP does this.

Thanks, I already switched off the automatic downloads.

I will try leaving it powered down and see if that's solves the problem and take it from there.

Thanks for all the replies and information...