topic Re: Data usage in Mobile Data

Data usage

Carolbill — Tue, 30 May 2023 04:12:11 GMT

My wife has been with EE for less than 5 days and she has already had a warning she has used over 2 GB of date but if we add up the data used per app she has only used half a gig. Cannot get through in 150 so am asking here how to get this correct. Many thanks, William

Re: Data usage

Chris_B — Tue, 30 May 2023 05:14:56 GMT

@Carolbill Have you looked at the actual account to see what’s been used ? Have you tried texting BALANCE to 150 to see what’s been used ? (Obviously this is from her device)

Re: Data usage

Carolbill — Tue, 30 May 2023 07:34:12 GMT

Hi Chris_B, I have tried to ring 150 but cannot get through, I cannot find an Email address for 150 as I would have done that 1st. I can't find a live Chat to sort this out, never had any of these problems with Plus net, could ring them and always speak to someone. Not sure now if I have made the right move, wife and I switched on the same day as Plusnet would be the best move but am unsure now, if we can't solve problems easier. Not sure now how to move forward as wife is now frightened to use her phone.

Re: Data usage

Christopher_G — Tue, 30 May 2023 08:07:02 GMT

Hi @Carolbill

What happens when you phone 150? You should be able to get through to speak to someone if you follow the technical support route.

Chris

Re: Data usage

OurVaughn — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 09:52:57 GMT

Texting Balance makes EE ask about the money paid to them, not te data usage.

Re: Data usage

stephen5000 — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 10:42:36 GMT

Odd that there are now multiple posts about excess data usage in very short space of time, when customers have a legitimate query on, 'where did the data go'?? Isn't it time that EE fessed up that something has gone horribly wrong? Those on a 'unlimited' data plan could care less, but those of us with a very small monthly allowance (5Gb or less) take a note of every Mb used and rarely stray of WiFi!!

Re: Data usage

XRaySpeX — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 11:48:39 GMT

Try texting AL to 150 to see your allowances.

Re: Data usage

stephen5000 — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 12:07:24 GMT

@XRaySpeX wrote:
Try texting AL to 150 to see your allowances.

The allowance isn't the issue - it's the disappearance of the allowance that is the concern 😂

Re: Data usage

XRaySpeX — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 12:11:06 GMT

I mean including the remaining allowances, e.g. "17 GB left of 25 GB data".

Re: Data usage

OurVaughn — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 21:21:59 GMT

Agreed. Does anyone know how to get a full analysis or daily log from EE to show what exactly has used my data? Usually by the second day of the month my allowance is mostly gone, and I'm not aware of using any directly. Am a technophobe.

Am not sure if it is environmentally friendly to have unlimited data and be using terabytes every month. Any views on that? Especially EE.

Re: Data usage

XRaySpeX — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 21:29:50 GMT

@OurVaughn :

EE only knows how much data you are using, not what's been using it. Only your devices will know in their Mobile Data Usage breakdowns.
Even with an Unlimited Data plan there is a FUP of 600 GB pm.

Re: Data usage

OurVaughn — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 21:55:19 GMT

Have just tried texting AL to 150.

The first reply is total data used, plus data left.

If you then ask for a detailed breakdown you get two pages of EE Spam.

Of course you then ask EE to send you no more spam.

Guess what next?

EE sends you the same two pages of Spam!!!

Obviously EE needs to get an AI app on its Reply-To-Queries system to enable simple questions re Data Usage to be answered correctly in a timely manner.

The current Robot Replier seems to have a Wind-You-Up comedy mode.

But it may only use that on a Saturday night when there is sparse entertainment on the telly.

Re: Data usage

stephen5000 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 07:58:55 GMT

@XRaySpeX wrote:
@OurVaughn :
EE only knows how much data you are using, not what's been using it. Only your devices will know in their Mobile Data Usage breakdowns.
Even with an Unlimited Data plan there is a FUP of 600 GB pm.

Sadly, you are incorrect! On speaking to EE they told me that 90% of my data disappearance of 3Gb went on YouTube. Of course they know where data is 'spent'. They know every single number you text, and every single number you phone, it would be nuts to think they don't know where every single Mb they charge you for goes...

I still maintain that 'data' is a con as they offer NO mechanism for a customer to examine where they are spending it. Imagine your supermarket sending you an invoice for £50, but not telling you what you had put in your trolley? It's exactly the same principal. How can you budget, how do you know what you can cut down on, how do you know where your money s going? How do you know when the 'till' has made an error?

Re: Data usage

Chris_B — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:24:55 GMT

@stephen5000 Really you don’t say ! How do you get itemised billing if they don’t know what you’ve called/texted. How do you get a SAR if you make such a request? EE don’t track what you use your data allowance on and report that usage it’s an allowance and how you use that allowance is up to you. Your calls/texts could be to a premium rate number so how do you think you’ll get charged for that if that’s not tracked. There is no premium rate for date usage it’s just an allowance and you can track that allocation of data allowance usage via your account, if you want to track what’s using that allowance look at your device. The list on your account for data usage and what’s using it could be really really long especially if you have unlimited data. Just imagine what itemised billing could look like.

Re: Data usage

stephen5000 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:32:28 GMT

@Chris_B wrote:
@stephen5000 Really you don’t say ! How do you get itemised billing if they don’t know what you’ve called/texted. How do you get a SAR if you make such a request? EE don’t track what you use your data allowance on and report that usage it’s an allowance and how you use that allowance is up to you. Your calls/texts could be to a premium rate number so how do you think you’ll get charged for that if that’s not tracked. There is no premium rate for date usage it’s just an allowance and you can track that allocation of data allowance usage via your account, if you want to track what’s using that allowance look at your device. The list on your account for data usage and what’s using it could be really really long especially if you have unlimited data. Just imagine what itemised billing could look like.

Oh dear, I appear to have rattled your cage which really wasn't my intention. An 'itemised' data report would be something relatively easy to produce. Even if it was just quoted in %age terms, like 18% - 'google', 24% - 'YouTube', 6% - BBC etc etc. How can you actually manage something you have no control over what/where you are spending it?

At least networks no longer charge £2.50 for an itemised bill!

Again, another analogy is recently, everyone has become obsessed wit their electric bill, so the 'smart meter' allows you to control what you're spending on, so you can see that your electric shower, the highest rated item in a normal house uses 9Kw, same as switching on 90 x 100W bulbs. If data was rated in some way, we could see what the allowance went on, rather than suddenly getting a text alert telling us it's all nearly spent!

Re: Data usage

Chris_B — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:44:25 GMT

@stephen5000 not rattling my cage at all I just know what you want would not be possible because it’s just simple not practical. There are so many apps out there that EE would need to have a complete list of every single app available and update list every second because of new app releases so it can be reported back to you, Not not mention your internet usage and I suppose you want a list of websites you’ve been to also.

It’s an allowance and how you use it is your choice. Your device logs what you’re doing with that allowance if you need to see what’s using it.

and you do have control over it. Your device has a cellular data toggle off/on. Your device has an allow apps to run in the background options. Your device has allow apps to only use Wi-Fi, In your EE account you can turn off data usage so you don’t even need to use options with in the device. So you do have control of data usage it’s your taking no responsibility on how you use it or allow it to be used when you have settings that you simply don’t use or haven’t even looked for. Because as usual customers believe it’s all the networks fault when their devices use data.

Re: Data usage

stephen5000 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:43:33 GMT

@Chris_B wrote:
@stephen5000 not rattling my cage at all I just know what you want would not be possible because it’s just simple not practical. There are so many apps out there that EE would need to have a complete list of every single app available and update list every second because of new app releases so it can be reported back to you, Not not mention your internet usage and I suppose you want a list of websites you’ve been to also.
It’s an allowance and how you use it is your choice. Your device logs what you’re doing with that allowance if you need to see what’s using it.

I absolutely would NOT want a list of individual web sites, simply a heading of 'general internet surfing' would be sufficient. The issue arose because I had 3Gb of 'allowance' disappear in a day, more than I would use in 3 or 4 months! I did watch YouTube awaiting a hospital appointment (for about 30 minutes), BUT, I was firmly connected to their free WiFi. I am resigned that obviously there was some tech glitch that ignored the free WiFi and started using my data allowance instead.

But I still maintain that there should be a simple mechanism, even if rather generic, for me to interrogate what my data allowance is being sucked into usage.

Re: Data usage

Chris_B — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:52:29 GMT

@stephen5000 Your device can prefer cellular data to wifi if that Wi-Fi signals is weaker that cellular data. That’s a device setup issue nothing to do with EE if that’s what used your data. Also what quality do you have YouTube pay back at. And are apps running in the background? Are they updating?

Re: Data usage

stephen5000 — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 09:02:07 GMT

Just checked, YouTube is on 480p LOL The hospital WiFi was full '5 bar', so unlikely it preferred a weaker EE signal... I have no apps running in background at all as I have always been very 'tight' on what my phone gets up to, even have GPS turned off!

Forgot to say, I have set 'app updates' to only happen when connected to WiFi...

Re: Data usage

Carl4469 — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 07:55:33 GMT

I had the same issue last year and they denied that I had used less than their system. However they gave me 1gb extra a month for free.

My android data clock is set the same date as the ee billing cycle.

Today we say I've used 10.7 gb however my android says I've used 9.3 gb. Luckily I'll still last the next few days.

It is annoying and a commen problem. I hope someone from EE can see this issue. How can our phone lie? I have had a bad signal at work so maybe it overclocks their end.

Wish I could help more