Looks like AT&T is still sending out passive aggressive -- or aggressive aggressive -- text messages to top iPhone data users again/still.

AT&T Free Msg: Your data usage this month is in the top 5% of users. Use Wi-Fi to help avoid reduced speeds in future bill cycles. Visit www.att.com/dataplans.

Nothing new, of course, they've been sniffing around for Jailbreak tetherers and trying to figure out other ways to lighten their network load for a while now. In this case, however, the reader who sent us the screen shot wasn't even Jailboken, he was just streaming tons of video.

Anyone else wake up to this particular nastygram recently? If so, how much data did it take to make you a five-percenter?

• TiPb AT&T help and discussion forum

Thanks: David!

Have you ever wanted to know how to track how much data your iPhone or iPad are using? If you're on a capped plan, you probably should, especially now that there have been accusations AT&T have been fudging data numbers. There are a few different ways in which you can track how much data your iPhone or iPad has used. Stay with us after the break to find out how to use the built-in method.

Most casual users will only go through about 100 to 200 MB per month. So as long as you are not downloading videos or streaming a ton of internet radio you should be fine even on a relatively low tiered plan. The only way to know for sure, however, is to keep track of it. (I have at times gotten into hot water with my carrier due to the number of YouTube videos I watched!)

1. Go to settings
2. Tap General
3. Tap Usage
4. Look at Cellular Network Data, sent and received
5. Reset Statistics

Now you can reset the statistics so you can track your usage. It will also tell you the last day that you reset. Unless you're a math whiz with a great memory, set an alarm to remind you to tap Reset Statistics at the beginning of each billing cycle so you have a better idea how much data you're using during the current month.

Bonus Tip: There are also apps like DataMan -- which Ally reviewed back in December and now comes in an iPad version as well -- that help you track and manage your data.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

Have limited 3G data on your iPhone or iPad and want to know how to conserve it as best as you can? Get that dreaded "You've used up 80% of your data for the month" message and there are still weeks to go before your next billing cycle? Overage charges are probably the most expensive expensive items a carrier can bill you for so stay with us after the break to find out how to best conserve your data!

If you're worried about conserving your precious data the first thing you need to know is how to track how much data you are actually using. Unfortunately, only your carrier is considered 100% accurate when it comes to data tracking but if you just want a general idea you can use the iPhone's built-in data usage monitor.

Check your data usage

First it's a good idea to keep an eye on how much data you're using:

• How to track your iPhone data usage

Now, on with the conservation...

Death by streaming

The biggest usage of cellular data is media streaming, especially video. If you have a serious YouTube -- or whatever site -- video streaming addiction wait until you're on Wi-Fi to feed it. Many sites now offer streaming HTML5 video for iPhone, from news to video podcasts to entertainment. All of them will chew through your data cap in no time. Learn to avoid them when out and about!

The same goes for audio. If you're streaming Pandora, internet radio, or podcasts it might sound small to start but will quickly add up.

Other things to avoid

• Anything that streams. We can't stress that enough!
• Online gaming. All those graphics are costing you data!
• Google Maps. The map tiles are being downloaded.
• App Store. Even though apps are capped at 20MB for cellular data, start downloading a bunch of 20MB apps and you'll feel the pain.

Settings

Once you've gotten streaming under control, conserving data becomes pretty much about how to turn off Settings and shut down apps that use up data, especially those that run in the background. Here are some tips:

• Turn off push email. It's small but it adds up. Switch to fetching email in manual mode. Go to Settings: Mail, Contacts, Calendar : Fetch New Data and set it to Manually.
• Turn off push notifications. Same deal. Go to Settings: Notifications and set them to off.
• Turn off Cellular data unless you absolutely need it. This will prevent anything from running in the background and adding to your overages. Go to Settings: Cellular Data and turn it to off.

Texting is fine, MMS, Visual Voice Mail isn't

SMS/Texting doesn't use data so don't worry about using them when your data usage is at its limit. However, MMS and Visual Voice Mail use data to transmit pictures, videos, and audio. Stop using them if you're close to your limit!

Upgrade your data plan if you need to

It's important to be realistic. If you are constantly finding yourself getting billed for extra data use every month it may be a better idea just to upgrade to a bigger data plan. Try to talk to the retention department. While not always the case they can generally give you better deals then regular customer service reps.

Hope this has helped you out, and if you have any other ideas for conserving your iPhone data usage let me know in the comments!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

In light of AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega saying iPhone users user more data than any other smartphone user, indeed that iPhone users "crowd out" other users, and that they may have to "manage" iPhone data, TiPb reader Louie asked if we'd run a poll to find out just what the numbers looked like.

We've asked this before, though not in poll form, and while reader polls are by no means scientific, they are fun, so here it is! How much iPhone data are you using each month?

(If you're not sure how much data you're using, check your bill for an exact amount, or go to Settings > Usage on your iPhone for a rough idea)

Last August, a month after the iPhone 3G's release, we asked you how much iPhone 3G data you were using. Now, some 10 months post-release, with cries that iPhone users consumer "too much" of their "unlimited data" and should be charged more, and perhaps on the eve of the next generation iPhone announcement, we're asking again:

How much iPhone 3G data are you using now?

Because here's the thing: the iPhone is the first real, successful consumer smartphone. Lots of people have them. And even though Wi-Fi is an option (one not available to many Verizon smartphone users) and serious video-streaming apps are still missing in action, get a convention full of iPhone users together and AT&T's network still goes down.

So is it that iPhone users use too much data, or simply that too many people have become iPhone (and thus, data) users for AT&T's current infrastructure to handle?

After all, single lane highways are fine -- until everyone starts buying cars.

Bla1ze brought this to our attention and while we're likely not the first to notice this, we haven't found or figured a good answer for it either. If you have a low data usage on your iPhone (in the MBs rather than GBs) and you do a reboot, when your iPhone comes back up, the Cellular Network Data meter will be lower.

Above are two screen shots taken right before and right after a reboot, which show the difference.

We've heard before that the usage meter isn't accurate, can be gamed, and shouldn't be used in place of your carrier's official record (especially if you're concerned about data charges), but if anyone has any insight into what's going on (or not going on) with regards to the iPhone's inner metering, drop us a comment and let us know.

Have you ever traveled out of the country just to come back home and get smacked upside the head by your AT&T cellular bill? Well one of our faithful readers, Mike, has a very unusual situation... he asked us to share his story with you in hopes of preventing this happening to any other readers.

Mike recently added a International Data Roaming Plan before a trip out of the country. It seemed like all was covered... until he got home and received his latest bill. Here is Mike's story, in his own words:

I was informed by an AT&T service rep that AT&T had charged me the exorbitant per KB rate for international data useage because I had cancelled my International Data Roaming plan after I returned to the United States. The plan is available on a month-to-month basis, so cancelling it when I got home seemed like an obvious thing for me to have done, since I have no plans to go overseas again in the foreseeable future. But the service rep said that AT&T's policy (unwritten, so far as I can tell) is that one needs to leave the roaming plan in place for 90 extra days, so that it is still in place when the foreign carrier finally reports the subscriber's roaming back to AT&T. If the plan is not in place when the foreign data useage gets reported to AT&T, then AT&T's billing system is incapable of recognizing that I had an international data roaming plan in place on the dates that the foreign carrier says I used its data connection.

Ouch, I could imagine this bill would have really hurt. Luckily for Mike, he spoke with a "very nice" AT&T rep and she credited his account for the appropriate amount. Mike is not alone either, for similar stories be sure to check out this thread in AT&T's official forums.

And for more information regarding International plans be sure to check out the plans available here. Mike and all of us here at TiPb really want you to be aware of AT&T's policy. So before you leave the country, if you have any questions be sure to call and ask a service rep! It may just save you a pretty penny... or two...

Thanks for the tip Mike!

It's been a month since the iPhone 3G launched, and unlike the US and a few other countries, not every country -- or every user -- got unlimited data with their shiny new wonder toy. Some, like Canada and Sweden gave eleventh hour reprieves, but others remain bass akwards and incredibly stingy/gouging with their data rates to this day.

But regardless of your cap (or even if you have no cap), how much data are you using?

We already told you how to find your iPhone's usage meter (even if Auntie TUAW rightly points out that it's rough at best), and you can presumably check your bill for more exact numbers.

Me? Turns out VERY little. I've even turned off WiFi (which I have pretty much everywhere from home to work to friends' houses) for long stretches, and I've still only managed to pull about 150MB, far short of the 6GB I really want to hit Rogers with. Then again, I haven't watched almost any YouTube via 3G, or slammed on the streaming internet radio, so I guess I only really have myself to blame...

How about you? What's your usage number? Is it more or less than you expected? And if you're in one of the "countries of dread", how worried are you about overage charges on that first bill?

The iPhone 3G is a data monster. With speeds of 400, 600 or more than 1400kps reported in some areas, it sucks down information faster than El Jobso does veggie smoothies. Unfortunately, not every carrier in every country provides unlimited data plans to go with Apple's next generation revolutionary internet device, or even reasonable data. And even those that do typically have a "soft cap" (e.g. 5GB) after which they either throttle down your speed, or put a black mark in your record as a problem customer and eventually give you the boot.

If you're in one of the Scandinavian countries, in Mexico, Belgium, or any other Pacific or European, Latin or African country with very expensive data, or if you just want to keep track of how much you're using and when, Apple has provided you and easy way to do it. Read on to find out how!

From the Home screen tap the Settings icon.

In Settings, tap General, then tap Usage. Near the bottom, you'll see Cellular Network Data, both Sent and Received.

WARNING: Your iPhone may not always exactly match the data usage of your carrier, so if you're near your limit, or have any reason to be concerned, always check directly with your carrier for updated, billable data usage.

To reset your usage data (for example, if one month ends and you want to start a fresh count for the next month), just scroll down and hit the Reset button.

As an alternative, you can consider using it like a car's odometer instead, and just note down where you are at the end of one month, and subtract that a the end of the next to get each month's total, and an overall total.