Database Users

Data connection

Hi there!
I'm eagerly waiting for SGS to be released in my country (Bulgaria) to take my greedy hands on it. I peronally believe that SGS is most finished Andriod mobile as for now. During waiting, I would like to ask all of happy real users a following question:
[QUESTION] Is it possible to turn all data connection surely off?
I know, there is an option to shut data off, but is it sure? In HD2 even you turned off data connection, the phone decides to turn it on by itself in matter of minutes, whithout asking for permition . Temporarily, I have a very limited data plan, so such an situation can easily get me overcharged.
Your detailed commends will be very much appreciated.
Thank you in advance!

it is possible with 3rd party programs like APN ON/OFF, Data On Demand, etc..

Yes, there is an app called APNDroid on the Market that changes the APN settings when you want to turn off data. This way you can be sure it won't use any data as the APNs don't work.

I use APNdroid, a free app, for turning of data traffic. Up until now, a week, it has not been turned on automatically. It pretty much works the way I expect it too.
However no guarantees. Even APNdroid says that some programs might remain active, but my battery certainly improves with turned of 3G.

Thank you for immediate answers. It prety much seems that APNDroid will do the job. However, next question arrose:
[QUESTION] How can you supervise your data traffic, e.g. how many MB you've already spent?
Great forum, tho.
Best.

I use 3G Watchdog. You can set a monthly data limit which is nice. And it works together with APNdroid by shutting off 3G automatically when you for example reach 99% of that monthly quota. It doesn't do this out of the box. You have to enable the feature in the settings of 3G Watchdog after installing APNdroid.
I suggest that you install 3G Watchdog app first.

Yes, I too use 3G Watchdog.
Very nice App and you get to see both Received & Transmitted data for:-
Quota
Today
Week
Month

Thank you very much for the comprehensive answers of yours!
I have no more questions. Waiting for the release date.
Wish you nice day.

[Q] Data Usage per month

Hi Guys,
I am wondering what kinda data usage you can expect from the DZ per month. I plan to use it for occasional web browsing, weaher updates, email and calendar sync.
I would like to download and use different apps - but concerned do a normal app always need to be connected to the internet for it to run or does it run locally and only connects if it needs to download any data?
Any thoughts will be very helpful.
Thanks.

Audette said:
I would like to download and use different apps - but concerned do a normal app always need to be connected to the internet for it to run or does it run locally and only connects if it needs to download any data?
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Apps will only access the Internet if/when they need to. So for a standalone app, that might be never.
So no, normally apps don't need to be connected to the Internet, unless that's part of their function (e.g. an online banking app that only works via the Internet to access your bank's servers etc).

Maybe I'm a little offtopic: is there any app that will show daily and monthly data usage for each application, but only data from the mobile network (no WiFi/USB)? It would be useful to know how much each app is using. With WM, I had SPB Wireless Monitor for that - so something similar would be perfect.

Audette: it's always better to get a data plan for a smartphone. Mostly much cheaper then pay-as-you-used.
darthmelk: try Check out "3G Watchdog" in the market.

I use 3G Watchdog, but it doesn't show data usage for each application (or I don't know how to display that?). That's the only thing it's missing.

There is one app that showed individual data usage, however this app itself was a massive drain on the phones CPU and battery so I would not advice using it.
In any event I forgot what it was called
I use about 500mb a month mobile data, but I use wifi whenever I can.

Try TrafficInfo or TrafficStats. They do show per application usage (sent/recieved). I just installed them yesterday and the TrafficInfo seems a bit nicer to me.
I am looking for an application that could show which application is currently downloading/uploading real time, something like netlimiter on the PC.

At traffic stats is what I was on about, watch out with these apps, by their very nature they will be a big drain on resources (and therefore battery life).

I had a quick try of Traffic Info. Maybe I was missing something, but this just seems to show Internet usage per application.
The problem is, it doesn't seem to distinguish between Internet usage via my phone carrier connection (which I'm more concerned about) and Internet usage via wireless (which I'm not concerned about).
Can anyone recommend an app which splits the two ? I would have thought that if something access the information at the correct level then it could differentiate.

I am using Network traffic counter (NetCounter) and quite satisfied. It does not track usage per application (and I don't really care...), but fully separate cell & wifi.
So far reached 735 MB on cell and 3 GB on wifi since got the phone on 9th November.

adrungil said:
I am using Network traffic counter (NetCounter) and quite satisfied. It does not track usage per application (and I don't really care...), but fully separate cell & wifi.
So far reached 735 MB on cell and 3 GB on wifi since got the phone on 9th November.
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Click to collapse
Thanks, that sounds like what I'm after, I'll give it a try.

[Q] Constant 3G traffic

Hello,
Its driving me nuts and I can't find the answer anywhere.
I bought an Ideos X5 and I have been trying every ROM i can get my hands on.
In all of em I find the same issue that I cannot resolve.
The phone is downloading and uploading stuff ALL the time. I do mean all the time.
If Data is enabled then the 3G, or H is up there in the staus connecting all the time.
Recently I tried MIUI and it comes with a firewall which I used to block every app i have but with no result. its still there.
I thought it could be because of the GPS being aided but I disabled that too.
Any idea? My data plan is being consumed by god knows what and its happening in every ROM available.

swayjd said:
Hello,
Its driving me nuts and I can't find the answer anywhere.
I bought an Ideos X5 and I have been trying every ROM i can get my hands on.
In all of em I find the same issue that I cannot resolve.
The phone is downloading and uploading stuff ALL the time. I do mean all the time.
If Data is enabled then the 3G, or H is up there in the staus connecting all the time.
Recently I tried MIUI and it comes with a firewall which I used to block every app i have but with no result. its still there.
I thought it could be because of the GPS being aided but I disabled that too.
Any idea? My data plan is being consumed by god knows what and its happening in every ROM available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that the icon is present at the top doesn't mean that it's doing traffic. That is just like the wifi icon, to let you know that you have 3G/HSDPA connection established. If you don't have any applications like sync, email, mms, browsing, games that go online etc, than your data consumption should be something like 100kbytes/day. I've got a 500 mb plan and with emails on and applications downloaded I never go over 70-80mb the whole month... So, I believe that whatever application you've installed on the phone, that is consuming your data plan.
BTW, this is a smartphone, which was designed to stay online...so you may have to look into upgrading the data plan.

Try droidwall at market. It can block selective app connect internet.

katu2006 said:
The fact that the icon is present at the top doesn't mean that it's doing traffic. That is just like the wifi icon, to let you know that you have 3G/HSDPA connection established. If you don't have any applications like sync, email, mms, browsing, games that go online etc, than your data consumption should be something like 100kbytes/day. I've got a 500 mb plan and with emails on and applications downloaded I never go over 70-80mb the whole month... So, I believe that whatever application you've installed on the phone, that is consuming your data plan.
BTW, this is a smartphone, which was designed to stay online...so you may have to look into upgrading the data plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh.... I thought that the fact that it was there it meant that it was connecting.
that clears it up then! i installed 3g whatchdog in the meanwhile though just to be safe!
edit, but wait a second, my friends at work have androids and its not always up there. the symbol I mean.

[Q] Huge internet usage

Hey everyone,
I have a dell venue pro and I live in the UK and am on the O2 network. I am on the £10 tarriff with a £3 bolt on which gives me 100 Mb of internet to use per month, I thought this would be enough for casual Facebook updates and using Bing maps, however when the bolt on was activated I turned my WiFi on because I was at home and watched a 40 minute video off the internet, when I checked my allowance it said I had used 70mb! First of all my WiFi was on so my cellular connection shouldn't have been used anyway so I phone o2 who said sorry we only charge for what you use. So I disabled my WiFi enabled 3g and went on google and Facebook and it cost me 9mb! When I turned off 3g the usage was sensible again, so is there something going on in the background that I should turn off? My email is synced at every half an hour but that's the only background thing going on that I am aware of, all my friends use 3g and there internet usage is nowhere as near as wild as mine is, can anyone please help me?
Cheers,
Syed

techrack said:
Hey everyone,
I have a dell venue pro and I live in the UK and am on the O2 network. I am on the £10 tarriff with a £3 bolt on which gives me 100 Mb of internet to use per month, I thought this would be enough for casual Facebook updates and using Bing maps, however when the bolt on was activated I turned my WiFi on because I was at home and watched a 40 minute video off the internet, when I checked my allowance it said I had used 70mb! First of all my WiFi was on so my cellular connection shouldn't have been used anyway so I phone o2 who said sorry we only charge for what you use. So I disabled my WiFi enabled 3g and went on google and Facebook and it cost me 9mb! When I turned off 3g the usage was sensible again, so is there something going on in the background that I should turn off? My email is synced at every half an hour but that's the only background thing going on that I am aware of, all my friends use 3g and there internet usage is nowhere as near as wild as mine is, can anyone please help me?
Cheers,
Syed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a similar experience a while back. Since my mobile provider offers automatic text messages when I'm about to reach my 3G limit along with full history log of usage, I had a look and noticed my DVP stayed connected for over an hour somehow even though I was not using the phone at that time. E-mail checks were setup like yours. The weird thing is that it didn't happen in the beginning when I used 3G and left it on without using it.
By any chance did you update to the 8107 version of Mango? Because it only happened to me after that, perhaps it's related? I forced the update on my phone...

Ascario said:
I had a similar experience a while back. Since my mobile provider offers automatic text messages when I'm about to reach my 3G limit along with full history log of usage, I had a look and noticed my DVP stayed connected for over an hour somehow even though I was not using the phone at that time. E-mail checks were setup like yours. The weird thing is that it didn't happen in the beginning when I used 3G and left it on without using it.
By any chance did you update to the 8107 version of Mango? Because it only happened to me after that, perhaps it's related? I forced the update on my phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. My phone came pre-loaded with Mango so I've never experienced pre-Mango. The OS version on my phone is 7.10.7720.68. After you forced the update 8107, is the internet usage back down to normal with 3g? Thanks.

Massively increased battery duration

I'm guessing a lot of people on here know this already but I recently discovered how to massively increase my Moto X's battery duration. Namely by switching off Mobile Data, I can then go a full 14 hours only dropping down to around 75% by the end. So now as soon as I get into work or any place where I'm on Wifi I switch off mobile data.
Makes me wonder why having mobile data switched on is expending so much battery power?

If you wanna increase that even further, just turn the whole thing off. The battery will last for weeks.

teh_lorax said:
If you wanna increase that even further, just turn the whole thing off. The battery will last for weeks.
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He actually has a point, there's no point on being sarcastic over a good advice that should be logical by now.

rogeriorp said:
He actually has a point, there's no point on being sarcastic over a good advice that should be logical by now.
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Click to collapse
Yes, turning off (necessary) features saves battery. This is not shocking.

teh_lorax said:
Yes, turning off (necessary) features saves battery. This is not shocking.
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Click to collapse
It is not shocking but somehow people tend to forget the basics. And it is also unnecessary while on wifi, which is the case and the advice he spoke of.
And I'd go even further and set 3G only with wifi, lollipop tends to switch from wifi to LTE by itself very often.

I've heard of people suggesting switching off wifi when your not using it, but never mobile data. So i just thought it might be a suggestion some people might appreciate. Take it or leave it.
Plus wifi is doing the exact same funtion as mobile data when your connected to it, so your not losing any functionality.
If your rooted you can even get Tasker to do the switch automatically.

This actually doesn't work. The data radio goes I to sleep mode when WiFi is on. Its not just doing its own thing while wood is on.

Definitely working on WiFi enhances battery life enormously but didn't try switching off mobile data

Zammo76 said:
I'm guessing a lot of people on here know this already but I recently discovered how to massively increase my Moto X's battery duration. Namely by switching off Mobile Data, I can then go a full 14 hours only dropping down to around 75% by the end. So now as soon as I get into work or any place where I'm on Wifi I switch off mobile data.
Makes me wonder why having mobile data switched on is expending so much battery power?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is this possible? When your wifi radio is connected, the data side is completely disconnected. This is even reported in your 'status'.

I see your point, but all I know is that it definitely is making a large difference for me.
One theory I attributed it with was that with Wifi and Mobile Data switched on the phone is getting a lot more Wake Locks (perhaps doubling up), which in turn could also possibly be preventing the phone going into a Deep Sleep. But as the Wakelock detector app doesn't work any more (unless your rooted), I can't verify this.

Gonna test this out!

The issue with turning off mobile data is that it will cause problems with sending and receiving MMS, you may also have problems with SMS as well.
My HTC Sensation was really good at basically putting the radio to sleep when on Wifi and only waking when needing to send or receive data that will only work over the cell network.

Zammo76 said:
I'm guessing a lot of people on here know this already but I recently discovered how to massively increase my Moto X's battery duration. Namely by switching off Mobile Data, I can then go a full 14 hours only dropping down to around 75% by the end. So now as soon as I get into work or any place where I'm on Wifi I switch off mobile data.
Makes me wonder why having mobile data switched on is expending so much battery power?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't disable mobile data, but I do use tasker to switch to 3G when I'm connected to wifi. The LTE radio uses a lot more battery in poor signal areas (like my apartment) and I have noticed it helps me go from about 3 hours of screen time to 4.5. I think the MMS issues are a good point and I feel like this solution is slightly more elegant because even with mobile data disabled, the phone is still holding an LTE signal. Ymmv, obviously

mrapp said:
I don't disable mobile data, but I do use tasker to switch to 3G when I'm connected to wifi. The LTE radio uses a lot more battery in poor signal areas (like my apartment) and I have noticed it helps me go from about 3 hours of screen time to 4.5. I think the MMS issues are a good point and I feel like this solution is slightly more elegant because even with mobile data disabled, the phone is still holding an LTE signal. Ymmv, obviously
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Hi can you explain whats the settings on tasker to do such a thing? Ive never used it but I have heard good things and just bought the app!

unk3 said:
Hi can you explain whats the settings on tasker to do such a thing? Ive never used it but I have heard good things and just bought the app!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First you'll need root and this plugin (make sure to enable external access in the plugin app)
Basically, create a profile that runs whenever you connect to a network (you can leave it blank for all networks or press the search button to choose just your home network).
The entry task would basically wait 10 seconds and then run the plugin choosing wcdma/gsm (auto) as the network mode. Choose then to add an exit task which simply recalls the plugin and chooses the network mode as LTE, wcdma, gsm. You can even add an extra step to each task at the end which has tasker display a toast that you can have say LTE enabled or 3g mode only

BrokenWall said:
The issue with turning off mobile data is that it will cause problems with sending and receiving MMS, you may also have problems with SMS as well.
My HTC Sensation was really good at basically putting the radio to sleep when on Wifi and only waking when needing to send or receive data that will only work over the cell network.
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Click to collapse
SMS/MMS are sent via voice channels, not data.

floepie said:
SMS/MMS are sent via voice channels, not data.
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Click to collapse
SMS is sent over Voice channels. MMS still requires data.
I double checked and tested this on my Pure Edition on T-Mobile.
Disabled Wifi and Cellular Data
Sent a standard text message, it was received by the other party. Attempted to send a photo message, it was not able to send from my phone as well as the other party did not receive it. Though it did resend when data was enabled.

Tasker can't turn off mobile data since Lollipop update....
Any sugestions?

BrokenWall said:
SMS is sent over Voice channels. MMS still requires data.
I double checked and tested this on my Pure Edition on T-Mobile.
Disabled Wifi and Cellular Data
Sent a standard text message, it was received by the other party. Attempted to send a photo message, it was not able to send from my phone as well as the other party did not receive it. Though it did resend when data was enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one sends MMS messages now (apart from old people), since the advent of Whats app and the like, so its hardly a deal breaker.

Zammo76 said:
No one sends MMS messages now (apart from old people), since the advent of Whats app and the like, so its hardly a deal breaker.
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Troll alert