Here are several possibilities why your usage can appear to be higher than earlier than or above your monthly data limit. Quickly identifying the main reason behind an increased usage of data can help you avoid losing money and becoming frustrated. It is now time to explain what are the most widespread forms.
1. Rise in the use of high-definition video due to the advancement of technology. Other content that requires data includes streaming programs such as YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, or Social media videos, particularly for high-definition content. This means that whenever you are watching shows on a series, or spending time on your phone browsing through different videos, you are likely to discover that data usage has spiked. This is especially the case with videos and customer streams where even a few minutes can translate to significant charges by the end of a billing cycle.
2. App updates and downloads of new applications and software. Some apps frequently update in the background or download data to refresh, with no user interaction. Stuff like podcasts, online games, social media applications, and messaging applications constantly fetch data. Neglected settings could also mean that operating system updates, as well as new apps, are downloading without your knowledge, and more so, they are using cellular data instead of Wi-Fi.
3. Unsecured Wi-Fi networks. When you join an open Wi-Fi network, some of the apps you are using in the background can access the internet without permission. You may think a specific activity is running only over Wi-Fi when in fact, some of it is also running on cellular data. However, you should always be very wary of the use of free Wi-Fi especially if it is available on your smartphone.
4. Unoptimized settings and caches. Persistent cookies, unnecessary stored settings temporary files, and large caches can all lead to high data usage. Deleting the caches and ensuring that the most used applications are optimized to use mobile data is good device management.
5. Extra device connections. As an example, if you registered a new device such as a tablet or a smartwatch with AT&T, it means that more devices attached to the same data plan would lead to more usage of data. Data used on one device reduces the overall monthly data quota of the other. Therefore, be cautious of any new devices that turn on cellular service by using your account.
6. Virus and Trojan attacks and non-foreground activities. It must be noted that not a lot of malware, viruses, or other suspicious background processes are known to use up more than the normal amount of data. This is a typical behavior of malware – if you suspect that your device is infected, perform security scans to look for anything that might be consuming too many cellular data transfers.
7. Some of the highlighted issues in the article include; The “phantom” data usage according to the AT&T tracking system. Some customers have noted times when they checked the overall cellular data usage on their AT&T account to find it much higher than the number depicted on their phone. This phantom usage often arises due to how AT&T measures usage in a different way from how the device operating systems measure usage. Do not worry if you find a few matches that are not perfect when it comes to the numbers.
8. Another aspect is a family member or a friend who uses your device. If you occasionally lend your phone to other people to use, the usage of such individuals is factored into the overall data usage. Watching videos or a big application download or excessive use of social media from other’s accounts is extremely unkind to data. If you are lending your phone to someone, you should enable guest profiles or have your phone locked for a certain amount of time.
9. AT&T plan allowance throttling. Almost all the AT&T plans are tiered and have provisions, in the sense that once the monthly high-speed data limit is reached, data usage is then restricted to a lower speed. Such trends may appear when there is a tendency toward the end of a billing cycle to warrant heavier usage. There is no question that an excessive amount of data does not occur, but speeds are slowed in a way that makes simple tasks appear to take much more time.
To be able to resolve a new instance of high and unexplained statistics typically you only need to monitor your statistics more closely and adjust some parameters. However, if high data usage stays high and has no clear reason behind it, call AT&T customer care. They can go further and investigate to find out whether there is something wrong with the account. It also prevents the emergence of habits that may be shocking from time to time depending on your monitoring habits. To monitor data usage on the go, AT&T provides options to track usage daily.
