Why is it that you are getting charged Data usage even while you are hooked to the WiFi AND have the mobile data turned off on your device?

[CookieCutter1122]

I recently noticed that I am getting charged data even though I am connected to my Wifi at home, my tablet has NEVER left my house, has ALWAYS been hooked to my wifi, I had asked a representative about it, he said make sure you just turn of the mobile data on the device, so, I did that, on my phone when I was home, because I am hooked to the wifi and the droid tablet, I turned the mobile data off on that AND turned the tablet OFF for a whole week, and they are STILL CHARGING ME ON MY DATA PLAN!!!  This is not right!  Bet a lot people never notice this and this is how they are making money off of us, by adding data usage on there that really isn't being used!!  I'm sure I am not the only one this is happening too???!!

[Eadur]

1. It can depend upon your device. I have not used any data usage since 26 October, with my Droid MAXX. But my wife does like you do with her iPhone 5c 8GB. She try to stay connected to the WiFi at home and at work. But she still have data usage being used.

2. I know you have a difference type of phone from my wife, so this does not apply to you directly. However, in dealing with her data usage, I learned that by design the iPhone do turn off WiFi when they go dormant, so if a download is in progress or information is being back-up wirelessly and the phone goes dormant, the phone will switch to use cellular data, if this setting is left on. Later onward, I learned that if we keep her iPhone connected to a power source, then it will not go dormant and stay connected to the WiFi.

3. My point being that difference devices behave differently. Sure we had a lot of people telling us to adjust this setting or disable that. Yet these were just band-aide solutions at best.

4. Now with your other issue. You need to understand about Verizon's cell towers. By design, they collect and store certain data usage for a six-hour period. Afterwards, the cell towers release the stored data usage to the Verizon servers. This is why or how some data usage get recorded on your data usage log, at odd ball hours of the day or night. Meaning that the date/time stamp on your data usage log is not the exact date/time of the data being used. I have push Verizon about this issue, and this will be a possibility reply/answer.

[BizyMom]

I would like to see a VERISON reply to this!

I activated a new tablet - Ellipsis 7 - yesterday (12/21). It's NEVER left home. We set it up with DATA OFF and did everything using our home Wi-Fi. We are showing now 1.5 GB of data usage from this device!

HOW?

WHY?

I tried contacting LIVE CHAT and kept getting bumped off - never got to 'chat' with anyone.

I tried calling *611 going thru all the prompts to get to a person.... and after the 'voice' tells me my call is being routed to an actual person the call suddenly ends. Twice that's happened.

I've been a very happy customer for 3 years now - but adding these tablets may take us down and send us to another provider! Running into more problems this month than all previous months combined and never had so much trouble getting support from Verizon as I have had lately!

[BizyMom]

Just updating what I wrote above - data usage for this device is now at 1.8GB

How in the world does it use half a gib when it is turned OFF - powered off!???

[Concerned_individual]

I believe it's your data being backed-up collected by the cloud. This is done with out your consent. It's the new America.

[tikibar1]

Concerned.individual wrote:

I believe it's your data being backed-up collected by the cloud. This is done with out your consent. It's the new America.

Use of VzW's Cloud is optional and the app can be disabled/turned off if not used.

[Concerned_individual]

You will be backed up on the cloud whether you authorized it or not. This is a fact. Customers are charged for data usage so the government can know your business.

[BizyMom]

OK, another update: FINALLY got a person on the phone at Verizon - ended up with a level 2 tech.

As we were talking - with mobile data OFF and WiFi ON - and no known usage of Netflix (app was off too) we saw data usage go up 0.15GB as we talked!

Diagnostics somehow were done from Verizon AFTER we had powered off the device! And the tech was still reading data usage from this device - while it was powered off!

So - we've now removed the SIM card. Verizon is sending us a replacement - another brand new Ellipsis 7 tablet and a label to use to return THIS ONE! She's very interested in running the diagnostics on it when it gets there because what we saw happening simply just should not be possible.

(I did share with her the "sci-fi possibility" that while this particular tablet was "missing" due to FedEx "mis-delivery" for 24 hours someone did something to 'clone' it or something in some way - which she felt was unlikely but didn't argue that the technology is advanced enough to maybe do that now.)

Anyway - to the original poster...

Perhaps you should see if Verizon will consider replacing your device too. Hope you get your problem resolved!

[CookieCutter1122]

I will have to call them and see if they will do that for me also, because it is still charging me data when I have the mobile data off AND the tablet OFF!! And, the tablet NEVER leaves the house which it is always hooked to the wifi, thank you BizyMom for all your reply's, will call them after christmas, to see if I can get something done about these data charges

[annamae69]

I'm having the same problem.  I got a $300.00 bill and I called Verizon and she said I have to turn WiFi on, duh I no that and did that.  All she said was he can set up a post dated check for the bill.  They didn't give me a answer, wouldn't credit my bill and made do a post dated check or they will shut service off.