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Help Very High Data Consumption by "Android OS + others" on XT910

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prakhargr8

Lurker
Hi, I have a non-rooted RAZR XT910 (OTA Updated just a few days back to 65.1.40.XT910.AsiaRetail.en.03).

I absolutely love this phone and am eagerly waiting for some functional ICS goodness but I have been facing some issues with high consumption of data.

I have Onavo installed to monitor data usage (Installed it a little too late, relying on my service provider's text notifications).

The two most data hungry applications in the "App Watch" section are "Android OS + others" & the official Facebook application.

Three days in to my billing cycle, "Android OS + others" had already hit 51.7 MB and Facebook is up to 19.4 MB.

Seventeen days in, Facebook is up to a 100MB even though I barely ever open the application now. Android OS + Others is around 200 Megs too. 300MB of my monthly 500MB data allowed is gone, just like that.

I haven't opened the Facebook application even once in the last few weeks, so whatever data it has pulled is background data. My OTA updates are allowed only over WiFi. And I have also disabled the "Back up my data" option, under [Privacy > Settings] but that doesn't seem to have helped much, if at all. Neither did the OTA update. Also, there are two "Facebook" entries in [Settings > Accounts] but only one is added.

Before Onavo reset the data usage meter for the new billing cycle, "Android OS + others" had used about 150 MB of data in a week and Facebook about 40 MB.

Can anyone help me out here? I need to reduce this phantom data usage. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
prakhargr8 said:
Hi, I have a non-rooted RAZR XT910 (OTA Updated just a few days back to 65.1.40.XT910.AsiaRetail.en.03).

I absolutely love this phone and am eagerly waiting for some functional ICS goodness but I have been facing some issues with high consumption of data.

I have Onavo installed to monitor data usage (Installed it a little too late, relying on my service provider's text notifications).

The two most data hungry applications in the "App Watch" section are "Android OS + others" & the official Facebook application.

Three days in to my billing cycle, "Android OS + others" had already hit 51.7 MB and Facebook is up to 19.4 MB.

Seventeen days in, Facebook is up to a 100MB even though I barely ever open the application now. Android OS + Others is around 200 Megs too. 300MB of my monthly 500MB data allowed is gone, just like that.

I haven't opened the Facebook application even once in the last few weeks, so whatever data it has pulled is background data. My OTA updates are allowed only over WiFi. And I have also disabled the "Back up my data" option, under [Privacy > Settings] but that doesn't seem to have helped much, if at all. Neither did the OTA update. Also, there are two "Facebook" entries in [Settings > Accounts] but only one is added.

Before Onavo reset the data usage meter for the new billing cycle, "Android OS + others" had used about 150 MB of data in a week and Facebook about 40 MB.

Can anyone help me out here? I need to reduce this phantom data usage. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

HAve u tried this ?
Settings > Data manager > data saver ?
Unless otherwise you connect to wifi, it disables all heavy load data usage...but if you have a wide circle of friends in your facebook account, then all their images uploaded onto the net..will come to ur gallery and that consumes a looooot of space....and yes that happend to me too...the minute i set up all the accounts for the first time..it gulped off 200 megs, just like that
 
Hey. Thanks for your suggestion, but I have already enabled Data Saver. Should have mentioned that in my original post.

And I understand that photographs and contact information gets pulled from facebook taking a large initial chunk of data, but should that not be the case only with the initial set-up? Because I've had the phone for a few months now and it still pulls a lot of data with facebook. And "Android OS + others" is still a mystery to me.

This is causing me grief. :(

I hope someone can help me with this situation.
 
prakhargr8 said:
Hey. Thanks for your suggestion, but I have already enabled Data Saver. Should have mentioned that in my original post.

And I understand that photographs and contact information gets pulled from facebook taking a large initial chunk of data, but should that not be the case only with the initial set-up? Because I've had the phone for a few months now and it still pulls a lot of data with facebook. And "Android OS + others" is still a mystery to me.

This is causing me grief. :(

I hope someone can help me with this situation.
Click to expand...
Ok dont get me wrong, what do you exactly mean by android os + others ? you have an app like that, or your data usage analyser shows such a category ?
 
narayanan9190 said:
Ok dont get me wrong, what do you exactly mean by android os + others ? you have an app like that, or your data usage analyser shows such a category ?
Click to expand...

Hi, I have the same problem with my new Samsung Galaxy S2.

I installed Onavo application to monitor the data usage.

Data used per individual application can be illustrated.

The list of applications include things like "Email", "Opera Mobile", "Facebook" and so on with all the installed applications whcih are known to me.

However, one of the most using data is the one listed as "Android OS + others".

Does this refer to the Android operating system which is looking for updates? I disabled automatic research for updates and this should thus not be the case...but I continously see this "application" downloading data (avarage 5 Mb per day but I already had a strange download of ~150 Mb which I cannot link to any application as this occoured before I installed Onavo).

In Onavo almost all the applications can be forced to go only thru WiFI, except for this "Android OS + others".

Any hint about how we can prevent this will be very helpful!

Thanks,

Mattia
 
sulma11 said:
Hi, I have the same problem with my new Samsung Galaxy S2.

I installed Onavo application to monitor the data usage.

Data used per individual application can be illustrated.

The list of applications include things like "Email", "Opera Mobile", "Facebook" and so on with all the installed applications whcih are known to me.

However, one of the most using data is the one listed as "Android OS + others".

Does this refer to the Android operating system which is looking for updates? I disabled automatic research for updates and this should thus not be the case...but I continously see this "application" downloading data (avarage 5 Mb per day but I already had a strange download of ~150 Mb which I cannot link to any application as this occoured before I installed Onavo).

In Onavo almost all the applications can be forced to go only thru WiFI, except for this "Android OS + others".

Any hint about how we can prevent this will be very helpful!

Thanks,

Mattia
Click to expand...
This is strange ! but i just checked mine and I see some strange downloading too...lets hope the guides will have some answer for this..iam terribly sorry that iam not much of help to you here
:(
 
Maybe try setting up a smart action that disables cell data when connected via WiFi.

Also, does your carrier have it's own app? Mine does and you can see the actual data usage. Or just log on to their website and check your account. For whatever reason I'm not entirely convinced those 3rd party apps are accurate. The built in data manager (in settings) for example, is practically useless for monitoring.
 
Thanks for the replies, guys and Concat for the suggestion, but setting a Smart Action that disables cell data when connected via WiFi doesn't seem to be the solution.

Our problem is concerning the cellular data usage(known and unknown) and just disabling it when we have access to WiFi won't reduce that particular usage. And since my phone is factory unlocked, it didn't come with any carrier applications. And the data usage measurement Onavo reports is in sync with the data usage notification texts my carrier sends (A little difference here or there, but otherwise roughly the same.)

So Onavo seems to be doing it's job well enough.

And I agree a 100% about the built-in data manager. It's a piece of rubbish. I hope someone can help us with this soon. :(
 
prakhargr8 said:
Hey. Thanks for your suggestion, but I have already enabled Data Saver. Should have mentioned that in my original post.

And I understand that photographs and contact information gets pulled from facebook taking a large initial chunk of data, but should that not be the case only with the initial set-up? Because I've had the phone for a few months now and it still pulls a lot of data with facebook. And "Android OS + others" is still a mystery to me.

This is causing me grief. :(

I hope someone can help me with this situation.
Click to expand...

Make sure background data is turned off under Data manager and keep sync turned off. Phone will work fine when you want to check email, Facebook etc.
 
bulldog69 said:
Make sure background data is turned off under Data manager and keep sync turned off. Phone will work fine when you want to check email, Facebook etc.
Click to expand...

Hey Bulldog69!

Turning off Background Data is not an option. I use WhatsApp and a few other apps which require it. So disabling BG data will cause them not to function properly. And apart from saving data, I am also VERY curious to know what's going on behind the scenes here. I really hope we can get an insight into this problem here.

EDIT: I went and looked again at a few threads I had looked at. I'm just linking them here in case someone is interested.

http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...smokes-high-data-usage-android-os-solved.html

http://androidforums.com/htc-desire-s/434768-high-data-usage-desire-s.html

http://androidforums.com/desire-support-troubleshooting/110111-high-data-usage.html

A member in the thread on the second link suggests we don't use Task Killers and gives a valid sounding reason for it. (Explained more here: http://androidforums.com/2873521-post6.html)

I do use Advanced Task Killer Pro and have it set to kill apps at intervals. Are others doing the same?

@Bulldog69, out of curiosity, I disabled BG data to see how much difference it makes. But even when it was off, the usage stayed high. :/
 
prakhargr8 said:
Hey Bulldog69!

Turning off Background Data is not an option. I use WhatsApp and a few other apps which require it. So disabling BG data will cause them not to function properly. And apart from saving data, I am also VERY curious to know what's going on behind the scenes here. I really hope we can get an insight into this problem here.

EDIT: I went and looked again at a few threads I had looked at. I'm just linking them here in case someone is interested.

http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...smokes-high-data-usage-android-os-solved.html

http://androidforums.com/htc-desire-s/434768-high-data-usage-desire-s.html

http://androidforums.com/desire-support-troubleshooting/110111-high-data-usage.html

A member in the thread on the second link suggests we don't use Task Killers and gives a valid sounding reason for it. (Explained more here: http://androidforums.com/2873521-post6.html)

I do use Advanced Task Killer Pro and have it set to kill apps at intervals. Are others doing the same?

@Bulldog69, out of curiosity, I disabled BG data to see how much difference it makes. But even when it was off, the usage stayed high. :/
Click to expand...

Thanks to all of you for your answers, but the problem is still there.

I have disabled backgorund data since I bougth my phone.

This avoid havind emails, facebook notifications, updateds info and so on continously coming up on your phone.

App like WhattApp continues to work even with BG disabled, no problem at all.

However, even with BG disabled, auto notifications disabled, and all that things listed in multiple posts, I still have "android OS + others" using almost the majority of my data.

Since I installed Onavo 5 days ago, Androis Os is the second most consuming "App". If it continues with this consumption, at the end of the month I will have around 15% of my monthly data plan used by it.

This is not too "critical", my intention is just to know what the hell this is!!!

Thanks,

Mattia
 
If I disable BG data, my WhatsApp notifications get delayed sometimes. So I need to keep that on. Also, My data limit of 500 MB just got crossed. "Android OS + Others" 243MB and Facebook 134MB. So I'm really in need of help here.
 
prakhargr8 said:
If I disable BG data, my WhatsApp notifications get delayed sometimes. So I need to keep that on. Also, My data limit of 500 MB just got crossed. "Android OS + Others" 243MB and Facebook 134MB. So I'm really in need of help here.
Click to expand...


My phone has the same Android OS & Others section. My numbers ate around yours. Sounds to me like 500 MB is too low a number to leave background data enabled. I'm with Verizon, and I have the 4 gig cap and it still seems like a good idea for me to leave background data disabled.
 
Download droidwall, its a firewall and free in the market. You can add the apps you want to access your data connection to the data whitelist , then put all others on the wifi whitelist. Ive been using the logging feature to track down data/battery hungry apps
 
rigbyrobot said:
Download droidwall, its a firewall and free in the market. You can add the apps you want to access your data connection to the data whitelist , then put all others on the wifi whitelist. Ive been using the logging feature to track down data/battery hungry apps
Click to expand...

Can you add "Androis OS+others" to such list?

Because (as previously said), with Onavo this "aap" cannot be forced to go thru Wifi only.

Thanks,

Mattia
 
I've had the same curiosity questions as well since I have gone to the Razr. I have noticed the significant increase in data usage and I have wondered if it is just 4G itself (for some strange reason). I moved from the Samsung Fascinate to the Razr and have the same basic Apps but noticed a doubling of my data usage.

As I was reading through all of the posts I also realized that I spend 18-20 hours of my day on WiFi, and while I am at work I have smart actions enabled to disable all cellular data when it connects to my work WiFi (this was a bad battery drain until I did that). And since I am not a heavy Facebook user (actually a Facebook loser since I rarely check it) I do make sure that it is not a running app so that should stop all data syncing?!?!

I can't wait to hear a good and logical answer to this.
 
this sounde exactly like the experience i'm having with my Sony Xperia s - masses of data being eaten up in a short space of time - Onavo telling me that FB and Android OS+ others is responsible - 500 mb in 10 days. FB averaging 17mb per day! with spikes of up to 30 mb.

rubbish

I have deleted off any FB association from the phone, and sync contacts via a fb app from sony, then only access FB via Opera mini. this has helped, but without rooting the phone can't remove FB.

The OS I think is because of timescape polling for updates, and the contacts looking for fb updates etc.

This wouldn't be an issue if operators explained that you'll need 1gb pm just to have it sat in your pocket, or light use.
i'm on orange uk, they are not helpful with this, and haven't had any complaints so far! (they claim) but with a 500gb limit i'm stuffed!

seriously contemplating going back to my xperia mini, as it only used 300MB pm, while on FB all day!

question:- what's the best app killer that will allow whats app to be ignored?
 
I am having the same issue, with "Android OS + Others" using up data.
I do not have a data plan, and so end up paying "per use" for all this. I do have a messaging plan, however, and I noticed that every time I send/receive MMS messages, Onavo reports data usage (about 0.5MB of data used under the "Android OS + Others" category if I send an MMS to myself).

I am using a rooted Sony Xperia Ray phone, with AT&T. I contacted their customer service, since I keep getting charged for data every month, even though I only ever connect through wifi and have BG data disabled and no apps syncing or auto-updating. AT&T customer service claimed that they can differentiate in their system when I am using data for MMS (and supposedly this doesn't count as data on my bill), and when I am using data for other applications. So that's why I got Onavo, to see what these "other" applications were. So far, all I have is "Android OS + Others," which I can see using up data in real-time as I send/receive MMS.
 
I had Onavo and it was telling me the same thing. But according to Verizon I wasn't even using half of what Onavo said I was using, so I just uninstalled it and I haven't worried about it since. I've noticed that other data monitor apps will say I'm using far more data than Verizon is saying, so I don't know if it's a Razr problem or each app just doesn't work properly.
 
prakhargr8 said:
Hey. I have tried disabling Background Data. Doesn't make any difference.

And DroidWall requires root. My phone isn't rooted.
Click to expand...


--
Have you managed to resolve this dilemma?

I have the exact symptoms together with the low mileage on apps like Facebook / Twitter etc. But ONAVO reports " Android + others" has the data hog

My service provider concurs with heavy data usage. I have analysed my phone apps to the nth degree but it is the background ghost usage that is the problem

I disable BG data as well as "Enable Data usage over mobile network" go to sleep and then find 50mb used over night ???

Device - Motorola Razr XT910
Android version: 2.3.5
Build - 6.5.1

Help the data abuse!
 
My thoughts are the Android OS data usage comes from app updates, location/map information, weather, time, etc. All that is driven by the OS, so it may fall under the "other" category.

I would first go into Maps, Latitude and Places and disable all the tracking options, and pick WiFi updates where available. Then go into settings and turn off all the location based options (There are 3: Google, Standalone, VZW).

Second, I would absolutely get rid of/disable the stock Facebook app. I know this is a separate category, but you can get plenty of other apps that satisfy your FB addiction and you can control the update intervals (APW is my choice) and hence the data usage here.

Good luck!
 
prakhargr8 said:
Hi, I have a non-rooted RAZR XT910 (OTA Updated just a few days back to 65.1.40.XT910.AsiaRetail.en.03).

I absolutely love this phone and am eagerly waiting for some functional ICS goodness but I have been facing some issues with high consumption of data.

I have Onavo installed to monitor data usage (Installed it a little too late, relying on my service provider's text notifications).

The two most data hungry applications in the "App Watch" section are "Android OS + others" & the official Facebook application.

Three days in to my billing cycle, "Android OS + others" had already hit 51.7 MB and Facebook is up to 19.4 MB.

Seventeen days in, Facebook is up to a 100MB even though I barely ever open the application now. Android OS + Others is around 200 Megs too. 300MB of my monthly 500MB data allowed is gone, just like that.

I haven't opened the Facebook application even once in the last few weeks, so whatever data it has pulled is background data. My OTA updates are allowed only over WiFi. And I have also disabled the "Back up my data" option, under [Privacy > Settings] but that doesn't seem to have helped much, if at all. Neither did the OTA update. Also, there are two "Facebook" entries in [Settings > Accounts] but only one is added.

Before Onavo reset the data usage meter for the new billing cycle, "Android OS + others" had used about 150 MB of data in a week and Facebook about 40 MB.

Can anyone help me out here? I need to reduce this phantom data usage. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

You should increase your data plan. Sorry but 500mb is nothing. You would use over half of that just downloading an update.
 
I'm having the same sort of issue on my Samsung SIII. The Samsung Gallery appears to be the main culprit. It has blown my data plan is a matter of hours. I believe it is because of syncing with picasaweb, on which I have a lot of albums. I turned all picasaweb synching off (under Google settings) and hope to see results. Samsung Gallery app has few setting options and there is no Gallery setting to sync only on wi-fi. Drained my battery fast, too.

Also, an application I was using to monitor usage appears to have split the gallery usage. In my case, OS Services was showing the most usage, but the default data manager did not list OS Services and the Gallery usage was about equal to the sum of OS Services and Gallery, so I think some apps may be "hiding" the source of some usage.
 
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