I have all sorts of auto-sync, auto-update etc. features switched OFF. My mail, contacts, and calendar only sync when I tap on sync, I've disabled auto-updating in every app on my phone, I've unchecked "auto system update", "background data" is switched off, etcetera. To cut a long story short: every available setting that disables automatic use of data has been applied.
But when I booted my Defy and left it sitting idle for a while it still downloaded almost a megabyte of data, even though I didn't touch my phone at all.
So I made a backup with Titanium and MyBackup Root, reset my phone to factory state, went into the settings again to disable all user-configurable ways of automatic data use, and rebooted.
And then my phone auto-downloaded 0.7 MB for reasons unknown.
I don't care about a bit of data when I'm in my home network where I have an unlimited data plan, but if I would have been roaming abroad this unsollicited data could have cost me 10 euros or more. International data roaming is horribly expensive.
I could use the sledgehammer approach and disable data completely to avoid unwanted data roaming charges, but this would also disable data traffic that I'm willing to pay for (like manually checking my mail). So I need something more sophisticated than a sledgehammer.
Tools available:
1) DroidWall
2) Titanium (with the "freeze" option)
3) AdFree
Question: which apps and services should I block/freeze to ensure that my phone only uses data when I tell it to, and to make sure that it never ever downloads a single byte of data behind my back?
If DroidWall, Titanium, and AdFree are not enough, which other apps give me full control over which apps and services can use data?
Give juicedefender a try
Sent from my MB611 using XDA Premium App
ApnDroid, but kills all data by rewriting APNs. I use it all the time. You can still use wifi, text and call and, if you choose, use MMS. Otherwise...?
I'm curious as to what is taking your data. When I disable the data connections, I don't use a single byte of data. Even with data enabled but background data disabled, I don't use any data.
I know you asked for an app to kill the data...but I think it's best if you can find the culprit...sounds like either your deactivation of the data isn't working, or you have some nasty app that could be overriding the setting and still downloading data (I'm thinking the first)...
For starters, which rom are you using?
Juice Defender and ApnDroid are both sledgehammers that switch data 100% on or 100% off.
I'm looking an app that let's me control data per individual app and service, so that when I fire up my email program it can download my mail without letting other apps/services hitch a ride on the open data connection.
@darule_2011:
I don't believe something nasty is eating up my data, because my phone is hungry for data even after a factory reset without any 3rd party apps installed.
I'm using firmware version 2.1-update1, which came with the phone straight out of the box. I doubt Motorola would have pre-installed malware, unless we count Motoblur as malware.
On my old Nokia, each and every app could only go online after asking me for permission first. No permission, then no data. Not even a single byte. And it was up to me to choose between "ask me once" or "ask me every time."
Is there an app that forces Android to do the same?
rogier666 said:
Juice Defender and ApnDroid are both sledgehammers that switch data 100% on or 100% off.
I'm looking an app that let's me control data per individual app and service, so that when I fire up my email program it can download my mail without letting other apps/services hitch a ride on the open data connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understood. Can't see how that can work. If your data is on, everything that wants it is going to jump on it.
darule_2011 said:
sounds like either your deactivation of the data isn't working, or you have some nasty app that could be overriding the setting and still downloading data (I'm thinking the first)...
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Click to collapse
Is there an app that logs which app connects when and to what? The data meter in Android's built-in data manager is completely useless, and DroidStats counts the amount of data used but doesn't tell which app was using it.
Droidwall has a log function for blocked apps.
Sent from my MB525
I told DroidWall to block internet access for "MotoBlur Services" (I don't even have a MotoBlur account), and now the amount of unsollicited traffic is down to about 40 kb in the 30 minutes since rebooting my phone.
So it looks like I found the stowaway. Motorola tries to keep my phone hungry for data even though I never signed up for MotoBlur.
DroidWall's log told me it blocked some unsollicited packets from GO Launcher EX, so at least my firewall is doing its job. (Why would a launcher need to go online if you don't enable anything internet-related in its settings?)
Unfortunately DroidWall only logs what it blocks. It doesn't log traffic that it allows, so I can only guess about those 40 kb. Maybe even an unused data connection needs to talk a bit to stay alive?
You may also use AutoStarts to disable applications running automatically on background when specific events happen.
DroidStats has the possibility to watch for which app consumes data. Not only total amount. It is integrated in the donation-addon
There's an app to tell which programs and services been using data and how much, and it's on your phone already. It's way more informative than the disfunctional data meter in the data manager menu.
Dial *#*#4636#*#* (the 4636 part spells "info" on the dialpad) to launch an app called "Testing." Then hit "battery history->network usage->total since boot." It doesn't count the bytes of data that are pingponged back and forth to keep an idle connection alive, but it monitors everything else.
You can make a shortcut to "Testing" with Any Cut.
First offender: MotoBlur. Even without a MotoBlur account and every possible autosync option disabled the MotoBlur Service eats data. I blocked it with DroidWall so now it doesn't phone home anymore.
Second offender: GO Launcher EX. I also blocked it with DroidWall, because a launcher doesn't have to talk to the world outside my phone.
Third offender: An all-in-one package that's shared by GMail Storage, Google Apps, Google Search, Google Settings Provider, Google Talk Service, Google Talk Storage, and com.google.android.syncadapters.contacts. Doesn't matter if you tell your settings menus not to call Google behind your back, 'cos Big Brother doesn't listen unless you ram the message home.
Fourth offender: WinAmp. Play an mp3 from your local SD card and WinAmp still tries to go online to do things, even with scrobbling etc disabled. It probably sends out usage statistics without asking for permission first.
Fifth offender: NQmobile Anti-virus. Even if you disable all automatic connections in the settings the program phones home anyway. Most of the traffic is outgoing, so apparently it's collecting hundreds of kilobytes worth of usage statistics, even if you're not installing new apps or doing manual scans. A day of launching offline apps can easily make NQ burn a full megabyte of data where it shouldn't have been using any.
Sixth, seventh, etc. offenders: apps that go online for the sole purpose of downloading ads. All DroidWalled, of course. I'm not gonna pay international data charges to see the junk from AdMob.
I've firewalled MotoBlur, GO Launcher EX and the Google package away from the web and everything on my phone still works. Even Google Search can live without the all-in-one service, because it sends the search queries to the web browser. I guess it only needs to go online for web suggestions, which I don't use anyway. The Google Talk app is dead, but I never use it because fring and Nimbuzz are much better and they only go online after I tell them to do so. But just leave it to Google to make GoogleTalk dependent on a piece of code that phones home even when you're not using GoogleTalk.
But DroidWall is not a convenient way to tame NQmobile (NetQin), because then I'd have to manually unblock it everytime I want to update the virus database. Is there another antivirus app that only goes online when I tell it to instead of calling home on its own?
ABC_Universal said:
You may also use AutoStarts to disable applications running automatically on background when specific events happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They'll probably just restart and in the end you will slow down your phone and drain your battery as you go through the kill-restart cycle.
scrannel said:
They'll probably just restart and in the end you will slow down your phone and drain your battery as you go through the kill-restart cycle.
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Click to collapse
Freezing 'em with Titanium makes more sense.
But those are all workarounds, not solutions. As Android matures we should get an option to control the data behaviour of each and every app in full detail. If other operating systems can do it, why shouldn't Android be able to do the same?
If you think about it, it's totally ridiculous that you need to root your phone and jump through hoops to make sure that your phone bill doesn't explode when you set foot across the border. Didn't the inventors of Android ever hear of international data roaming rates?
Thanks for the useful info. I use Go Launcher too. I wondered how they moneterised their apps - probably collecting/selling usage stats.
Is roaming data being used even without the option checked?
When the G1 came out those of us who travel soon found out that certain apps would over-ride the option to prevent data roaming, thus programs like apndroid.
rogier666 said:
If other operating systems can do it, why shouldn't Android be able to do the same?
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Click to collapse
Because that's not how it's designed to operate.
Pu simply, you've picked the wrong OS for your needs.
That's hardly Google's fault.
rogier666 said:
Is there another antivirus app that only goes online when I tell it to instead of calling home on its own?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Lookout - that's what I use and it only updates when you allow it too (at least mine does).
What do you think about flashing a blurless rom? There is a barebones rom in the dev section (haven't tried that one yet), this will allow you to add back in apps that only you want...this might do the trick. I'm using Pays rom and loving it.
Thanx darule_. Lookout indeed doesn't phone home behind my back, even with automatic scanning enabled and a couple of new apps scanned.
Over two hours since last boot and not a single app has squeezed a byte through my open data connection without my permission. Looks like I've got Android tamed and fit to travel.
All I can say is, all the contemporary smartphone OS use background data stupendously.
Shut down data roaming if you don't want a hefty bill.
I have a big problems with my new ARC. I hope, somebody of you guys can help me.
I have a limited data traffic per month (250 MB). On this reason, I have monitored my traffic with WatchDog 3G. I was really surprise, as I saw, that I have between 3-5 MB data traffic per day without any synchronisation of Facebook, Push Mail etc. So I was wondering which App / Service is responsible for that.
I can see on my WatchDog monitor, that two applications are always "on line" and down- or upload data. Please see at my attached screenshots. The capture was done after the phone was rebooted and used for 10 minutes. The two applications / services are called "Diagnostics Tool ..." and "Tastenfeld" (keypanel, keypad). If I have activated the data connection during the whole day without a wifi, the data traffic of both apps is between 3 - 5MB.
I have tried to avoid this by deactivating Google Backup Option and SE usage infos., but no change.
Can anyone help me with my problem? Thanks.
I faced similar problem. I've 100mb 3G plan and have done normal surfing over it but both my data upload and download has been 50mb each.
I don't understand how data uploaded could be as high as data downloaded. I've not uploaded any picture or video. I use data services for few minutes and then disable data traffic to save on battery.
Will try data monitor tools to understand the cause but it seems a weird issue.
I have experienced today a consistent crash when i try to access the data usage option in the settings menu. I have been using that and i have 'exceeded' my set limit by 5.5 mb which was ok since the warnings worked fine and so on. I had disable my data connection and i have reenabled it today but oddly, i cannot access the data usage app anymore e.g. to change my settings/levels. I reported it to google, but i was wondering whether anyone has experienced sumth similar or know of a solution that does not require reset.. e.g clearing cache? Anyway, happy new year !
I've got a fairly limited data plan, so I try to keep an eye on data usage.
The built-in 'Data Usage' meter is very useful, but it also show some inconsistencies. For example (see the attached image) yesterday it claimed that I used about 10Mb of data, but also no apps used data during this period.
The total data appears roughly consistent with what my operator says (Sunrise, Switzerland), but I'd like to know what application was responsible, so that I could disable it.
I'd love to run Wireshark, or something similar to see what's going on here, but I guess that's impossible on a non-rooted device.
Is this a known problem? Is there anything I can do to limit this behaviour?
Device details: Stock Galaxy Nexus, running 4.0.1.
I tried switching 'Mobile Data' off altogether, and that appears to stop the data flow.
As soon as I turn it back on, however, I'm up to about 1Mb/hour 'background' seepage, that doesn't show up as any specific app.
What is the normal background data rate for things like Google services?
I tried to 'reverse tether' the device so that I'd be able to sniff the data coming through my Linux computer, but apparently the device needs to be rooted for that to work. (Something to play with over the weekend...)
Bump
Does anyone have any ideas?
Try Network Counter from mapeapps in the Market. It provides a per app breakdown...
danger-rat said:
Try Network Counter from mapeapps in the Market. It provides a per app breakdown...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll try that!
i have a 500mb data plan and last month the network said i hit the limit whilst the phone said I'd only used 430mb. using 3g warchdog to monitor this month......
Ever since upgrading to Lollipop (5.0.1), my G3 has been consuming vast quantities of mobile data (much more than it does on Wi-Fi) , at a rate that is threatening even my 1GB monthly cap. I have never had this issue with this phone before upgrading, nor with any other phone I have owned, and I can't find any resources about it online. It appears to use small amounts of data (a few KB) continuously throughout the day, not in large chunks, so it is not Google trying and failing to download a software update like come CM users have seen.
I uninstalled every app that I did not have before the Lollipop upgrade, as well as any potentially troublesome apps, to no avail. Then I tried booting into safe mode, removing all my synced accounts except the main Google one, turning off sync for that account, turning off data backup, clearing the caches of all my apps, and not opening any non-stock apps for a day. Even with all that, it still ran through a few megs in just an afternoon. Turning everything back on and setting accounts back up did not increase or decrease the data consumption. Restricting its background data does stop it from using mobile data, but it also seriously cripples my device (Play store stops working, sync stops working, calendar etc. stop working...)
I attached screenshots that show its data usage. It decreased considerably around June 9th because I finally got Wi-Fi in my room. But even still, it continues to eat my data for no apparent reason. I REALLY want to avoid a factory reset (and I doubt it would help anyway, since it was factory reset for the upgrade, and running everything completely stock doesn't help).
Can anyone give me some ideas here?
Info about the phone:
Model: LG-D851 (T-Mobile)
Android version: 5.0.1 (stock, rooted)
Kernel version: 3.4.0
Software version: D85120b
Network: olleh (South Korea, the same SIM card I used with the phone before the upgrade)
Google Play Services version: 7.5.71 (1955121-430)
Google Services Framework/Google Account Manager versions: 5.0.1-1602158
Hey, try limiting background data. There should be a tick above the usage graph.
Also many people have problems after upgrading to lollipop, including me, you should try factory reset. I had like half of my apps broken and frequent crashes after upgrading.
Martin
SareMa96 said:
Hey, try limiting background data. There should be a tick above the usage graph.
Also many people have problems after upgrading to lollipop, including me, you should try factory reset. I had like half of my apps broken and frequent crashes after upgrading.
Martin
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Click to collapse
Hi Martin, thanks for the reply. I'm trying to avoid restricting background data because I often have to go long stretches without Wi-Fi, and a lot of my apps stop working properly if background data is restricted. And I don't want to factory reset because it takes me days to set my phone back up to how it was.