Smartphone randomly connecting to the internet in the middle of the night?!

Melisandre_of_Asshai

I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia mini. I just got a bill that was a lot higher than normal and upon investigation have discovered that the phone appears to be randomly connecting to the internet via wap at random times of the day and in the middle of the night (when i'm asleep!).

Seeing as I am sleep at 4 and 5 in the morning, I don't understand why this is happening. When I use my phone for internet access I connect via wireless, which I turn off when I am not browsing.

I have checked my phone settings and all the mobile internet settings are switched off so I am baffled as to how this is happening. Any ideas?

Salz

Melisandre_of_Asshai wrote: »

I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia mini. I just got a bill that was a lot higher than normal and upon investigation have discovered that the phone appears to be randomly connecting to the internet via wap at random times of the day and in the middle of the night (when i'm asleep!).

Seeing as I am sleep at 4 and 5 in the morning, I don't understand why this is happening. When I use my phone for internet access I connect via wireless, which I turn off when I am not browsing.

I have checked my phone settings and all the mobile internet settings are switched off so I am baffled as to how this is happening. Any ideas?

This happened to us with Orange - I had to call them up and get them to stop it, which they did straight away with no hassle at all - very common "error"

m5rcc

Do you have an auto on/off mode on the phone for when you sleep?

Melisandre_of_Asshai

The phone goes into a 'standby' mode when not being used. I dont know if that is the correct technical term :rotfl:

S0litaire

Are you sure you only use Wifi?

If yes then keep the Wifi on. The default for most phones is to first try Wifi then 3G for internet access.

It's probably checking for new email / social networking updates etc...etc... every few hours.

If Wifi is on then it will use that and that will keep your bills low.

Korkyb

The phone should not (can not) access data via your mobile network if the "mobile internet" settings are switched off ?? Perhaps you are looking at something else in the settings?



Have a look at your installed apps / widgets to see which of them might be responsible for downloading data without you knowing - Weather Widgets caused me a problem for a while when I first got a smartphone.

You can check out what is using your data allowance by downloading "Onavo" or "My Data Manager Free" from Google Market / Play. Either of those should tell you what the culprit is and both are free.



What might also be useful for peace of mind is a Data Toggle which allows you to switch your data connection on and off as you need it at the press of a button (icon).

I believe your phone has a "Toggle" widget build in which allows you to switch on & off data. If you cant find the widget then download & install something like APNdroid from Google Market (Now known as Google Play) - It costs a pound or so but cheaper than a big bill. There may also be free ones available but I've never used any others. Doing this apparently also saves a wee bit of battery usage too.

Personally I wouldnt leave my WiFi switched on - it burns battery & wont stop this downloading when you are away from a WiFi hotspot.

Let us know how you get on!