If so, you may want to read on...

A Little Background

My wife and I are currently on Verizon’s “More of Everything” plan with unlimited talk, text, and 10GB of data per phone, per cycle. We’ve been on this plan for over two years and never came close to maxing out on our allotted data, until just recently.

During the past two billing cycles (since SteemFest in Amsterdam, actually) my iPhone 6 has been using much more data on the Verizon network. For the past two months, 2/3rds of the way through the billing cycle I’ve received text messages that I’m nearly out of data and informed that each additional GB used will be an additional $15. Last month we were charged an extra $15 on our bill for one extra gigabyte.

Coincidentally (or maybe not), Verizon launched a new plan called “XL Data” in November of 2016 that we could ad onto our plan for just $10 additional a month per phone.

Analyzing Our Data Usage

I have been spending more time in Steemit and in Rocket Chat as of late so thought the increased charges might possibly be legitimate. I decided to delve into the details of my data usage on Verizon’s website. What I discovered from looking at our data usage details was there were between 2 and 4 sizable data draws every single night between midnight and 5AM. I thought this was very odd since I’m typically sleeping from 10PM until I wake up at 5:20AM. No one is even using the phone when those data draws are occurring and the phone is connected to wifi.

Verizon’s "Explanation"

I was growing ever more suspicious by this point so I contacted Verizon to explain what was going on. The customer representative I connected with said that the iPhone automatically switches to cellular data if the wifi signal is weak...this much even I knew. I explained my phone is no more than twenty feet from our wireless router and the wifi stays constant throughout the night.

Verizon could offer no good reason why these data draws would be occurring and their solution was to manually switch off cellular data when I’m at home. The Verizon rep said she owns an iPhone 7 and has started having to do this recently because she experiences the very same thing! I scoffed at having to remember to manually switch the cellular data off when I’m at home. The customer rep assured me, “Don’t worry, it becomes a habit.”

Conclusion

A coworker of mine, whose family also uses iPhones on the Verizon network, told me they’ve also been suddenly getting these data usage alerts three weeks into their billing cycle.

Is this increased data usage that is suddenly occurring at the same time Verizon launches a more expensive data plan add-on just merely a coincidence? OR could it be another blatant scam by a huge corporation to get their customers to pay an additional $10 per month for their new XL Data plan? The verdict is still out. The real question is will I remember to switch off cellular data when I get home? I already have far too many things to remember. Maybe I'll ask Siri for a little help.

(Gifs sourced from Giphy.com)

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Are you a Verizon customer experiencing a sudden spike in data usage since November? If so please share your story in the comments below (and shut off cellular data when you're within the range of your home wifi network. Oh, and don't worry it becomes a habit.)

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I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and Steemit enthusiast. I’ve been practicing meditation for twenty-four years and teaching meditation for two years. To follow my unfolding story please visit click on the link to my website below to sign up for my author newsletter.

Eric Vance Walton - Media

www.ericvancewalton.net
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