iTunes Media Services is completely out of control draining cell data

Ever since I installed iOS 17, iTunes Media Services is constantly draining my cellular data at an alarming pace. I have all the usual suspects (Music, iCloud, App Store, Podcasts, etc) with cellular data off, with low data mode on, and WiFi Assist off. Yet even with my phone sitting idly in my pocket, it's been draining what appears to be around a minimum of at least 2-3 MB every minute. May not sound like much, but 120-180 MB+ every hour away from WiFi, when doing literally nothing else is unsustainable, especially with high data rates in Canada.


Anyone else ever find a proper solution, or know of it being a new issue with iOS 17?? Every time someone's brought this up online in past, there never seems to be a real resolution posted, just the unsuccessful suggestions to turn all the cellular data syncing off.


I just had to reset my phone a few months ago because of another glitch, and quite frankly, I hate that as a last resort.


Please don't send any replies suggesting turning off iCloud Drive and WiFi Assist off, especially with obsolete screenshots.


Thanks,


At Wit's End






iPhone 13 Pro

Posted on Oct 14, 2023 03:46 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 29, 2023 02:18 AM

I have been encountering this also, with iTunes Media Services eating up my entire data allowance (3 GB) each month since the iOS 17 update despite Apple Music not having mobile data permissions. At the weekend I deleted all offline playlists and in the last 3 days it has ‘only’ used 1.36MB; early days still as to if this is the culprit but worth a try if you’re also having this problem.

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7 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 29, 2023 02:18 AM in response to Mark Holoubek

I have been encountering this also, with iTunes Media Services eating up my entire data allowance (3 GB) each month since the iOS 17 update despite Apple Music not having mobile data permissions. At the weekend I deleted all offline playlists and in the last 3 days it has ‘only’ used 1.36MB; early days still as to if this is the culprit but worth a try if you’re also having this problem.

Jan 26, 2024 01:13 PM in response to Mark Holoubek

Same thing is happening to my wife’s iPhone 12 Mini, beginning in Nov (or Dec?) ‘23. We’ve been getting by with her turning off her cellular data altogether, which is a lame and increasingly impractical solution. And I agree that SravanKra’s rehashed response is not helping to resolve the problem. I have an iPhone 12 Pro purchased at the same time as my wife’s & have gone through the same updates, but so far so good with my phone.

Feb 8, 2024 06:38 AM in response to stevienewell

After deleting all your "offline music" did you downloaded your music again? Were you listening to music "offline"? I've had the same problem when I upgraded to iOS 16. An advisor then suggested to turn off completely Background refresh and it worked. The only glitch was that the album illustration were not displayed on my Apple watch, but the crazy iTunes Media Services cellular data draining stopped. When I upgraded to iOS 17 the problem reappeared. I still have this issue only when I am listening to my music outside of Wifi zones. All my music is downloaded, 179 GB in total. All mobile access to music is off. Since then, I have been on the line with 3 senior advisors and 2 Apple store geniuses that unfortunately don't have a solution and are reluctant to escalate this issue to top engineers. I once forgot my Apple watch at home and tested playing music through the headphones. It wasn't draining the cellular data! I reproduced this test with and without the Apple watch and it confirmed that in my case the bug is related to wearing my Apple watch when I'm listening to my downloaded songs. I remembered that when this issue was resolved in iOS 16, my album illustrations on my Watch were gone. Very strange iOS bug! So now I'm still waiting for the last senior advisor to call me back. ...

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iTunes Media Services is completely out of control draining cell data

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