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Onstar Remotelink Android App (2.1.1) using large amounts of data

2K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  canehdian 
#1 ·
I just got a new phone and as part of setting it up installed the latest android remotelink app (version 2.1.1). On my old phone I had been using an older version.

I noticed that remotelink is using a lot of data. When I first set it up, I just tried a few things to test it was working, refreshed to get current data, then tested sending directions to the car. Then I just left it alone.

I am using the My Data Manager app to monitor data usage on the phone. I noticed that the Remotelink app had used over 200 MB of data on the day I was setting it up and testing it. That seems a bit excessive even for using the mapping feature to send directions to the car. After that it has been running in the background and it is still using lots of data. Today I have not touched the app and it has used 34 MB of data.

Why on earth is it using any data at all running in the background? It isn't refreshing the car data because if I bring the app to the foreground, it still displays the old data from when I refreshed it days ago.
 
#2 ·
v2.0.3 has used less than 1.5MB in a month. A few refreshes in that time.

Try clearing app data and see if it's hogging data with just a basic login and refresh. Probably issue with the newer version.
There's a reason I disable auto update on all my apps ;)
 
#4 ·
Sorry for the delay in following up - I was testing things out and it takes a while to see how much data the app is using.

I cleared the app and data cache and brought up the app and then just put it in the background without logging in. As I would expect, it did not use any data when I wasn't logged in.

Then I logged in (checked keep me logged in box) and refreshed and then put it in the background. It seems to use about .3 MB per hour or about 7 MB per day just running in the background. That is a lot better than 34 MB or 200 MB in a day, but it still seems way too high to me. The 1.5 MB per month that you are seeing seems reasonable.
 
#3 · (Edited)
RemoteLink 2.1.1. (build 2235)
LG G3 running Android 5.0.1

On Mobile Data =0.44MB since start of Oct.
On WiFi Data = 23.41MB since start of Oct.
Total Storage = 37.39MB with 26.76 for app and 10.62MB for data. Cache is 1.66MB

I regularly "Clear All" apps from the task manager but have not observed any inordinate amount of data use even if I have left the app open and running in the background for a week or more.

Worst case, remove and reinstall the app if you have a few minutes to kill (preferably on wifi).



I only
 
#5 ·
RemoteLink 2.1.1. (build 2235)
LG G3 running Android 5.0.1

On Mobile Data =0.44MB since start of Oct.
On WiFi Data = 23.41MB since start of Oct.
Total Storage = 37.39MB with 26.76 for app and 10.62MB for data. Cache is 1.66MB

I regularly "Clear All" apps from the task manager but have not observed any inordinate amount of data use even if I have left the app open and running in the background for a week or more.

Worst case, remove and reinstall the app if you have a few minutes to kill (preferably on wifi).
23 MB for 6 or 7 days seems high to me, but until recently I only had 10 MB of mobile data per month. If you were using the app every day it might be reasonable.

I am going to try reinstalling the app. I'll report back in a day or two.
 
#6 ·
It sounds like something in 2.1.1 is keeping the app alive, and using data in the process.
While the version I have sits quietly in the background and the process is ended after a while of being inactive, per normal Android background process rules
 
#7 ·
Since I reinstalled the app, it looks like the app has been using about 6 MB per day consistently which is in line with the usage reported by BigTallV. Of course, much of that is on WiFi, so it isn't going to eat up enough of my mobile data to hurt too much.

Still, I think that there is no good reason for an app like this to be constantly using data and the experience I initially had with it using over 200 MB one day makes me worry that it could someday suddenly use a ton of my mobile data. Is there anywhere to report this to GM other than complaining by rating it in the google play store?
 
#8 ·
Call OnStar and report it. Remotelink and myvolt are all managed by OnStar
 
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