Total Mobile Data usage exceeds App total data usage - OneUI2 S10 + Note10 Problem and workaround

There are a few alarming reports online about S10 series and Note10 series devices experiencing an issue which consists of a sharp and mysterious increase of mobile data usage. The most puzzling aspect of this situation is that the applications' total data consumption, as reported by the system, does not equal the total data the device reports it consumed. This is corroborated by carriers' data counts, which also report that the abnormal data was consumed.

Needless to say that this is a serious issue. Users are facing a problem that will potentially make them incur overage fees (and in North America, those fees can give anyone a heart attack) or waste valuable "high speed data" for those with "unlimited data" plans.

Help! I don't want to waste my data!

What is the solution? You got a few options, the first being to chuck away your phone. Data consumption is guaranteed to decrease sharply that way 😉. Or... here's a real solution.

I say "real solution", but it doesn't solve the root cause of the issue. It's just that in the meantime, while we wait for a fix, which doesn't appear like it will be released before March, this will allow you to bypass the issue. I think it's for the best to sacrifice a few features than spending more cash on data you did not consume.

You probably guessed that the workaround is to rollback to Android 9. But do not worry, I'm going to guide you.

Steps to rollback!

0- Backup your data! This might format your device. So make a backup of your important stuff before you proceed. Backups are a good idea in general too, so don't hesitate to make some at a later moment. If you need help with backing up your data, please refer to this post: ---TBA---

1- Identify your device.

Okay so here you must check in your device for the model number (EXACT MODEL NUMBER, SM-G970U1 is good, Galaxy S10 is bad) and your CSC.

If you have a North American device or Korean (G97xU, G97xU1, G97xW, G97xN), the CSC is irrelevant.

If you have something else (ending with F, F/DS, B, Q, 0...), this is mega important.

Not sure what is your CSC? Search in Settings/About Device/About Software and see the Service Provider SW version. See the first 3-letter code, which is after your model number. It should start with an O. This is your Multi-CSC code. Only install firmware from the same Multi-CSC code, otherwise you risk softbricking your device.

2- Download your firmware.

Is your device not listed in the links below? Please fill this form and I will do my best to get it for you in a timely fashion.

Galaxy S10 Models

SM-G970F OXM

SM-G973F OXM

SM-G975F OXM

SM-G973W Canada

All the firmwares are here: Ouvrir

Once you downloaded it, unzip it and you should get a "OneUI 1 FW" folder of about 4 to 5GB.

3- Go to this link: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Av9nrwh43L-a33P1vpWypeZVyR4I?e=3o1d7y

4- Download the folder named "Standard Package". Unzip the .zip files you have downloaded into a folder named "OneUI 1". Move the folder downloaded at Step 2 here. If done correctly, your folder will look like this:

5- Turn off your phone.

6- Reboot in Download Mode. To do so, please hold down the Volume Down, Bixby and Power buttons at the same time.

If your device lacks a Bixby Key, such as the Note10 series, you only need to use the Volume Down and Power Key, like so:

7- A teal screen will appear with a warning. Just press Volume Up to confirm you know what you are doing.

8- On your PC, open the folder "Standard Package" and open Odin.

9- Click on the BL button. In the popup window that appears, navigate to the "OneUI 1" folder, then in the "OneUI 1 FW" folder. Select the file that starts with BL and hit Open.

10- Wait a bit.

11- Repeat for AP, CP and CSC. AP will take much longer than the others, this is normal. USERDATA must remain empty! For CSC, select the file named "HOME_CSC".

12- Plug your phone to your computer while still being in Download mode. Then, hit Start.

13- This will take a while, so be patient. If everything goes as planned, you'll see PASS appear in Odin.

14- Enjoy your phone again.

Won't I get the update again?

If you do nothing, then yes, you will get the update again. So here's how to block it:

Follow the instructions here: https://www.xda-developers.com/uninstall-carrier-oem-bloatware-without-root-access/

Stop at step 12. Then type this in your Command Prompt:

pm disable-user --user 0 com.wssyncmldm

and then hit Enter. That's it. To re-enable updates, you do the same thing until step 12,

and then you type this command instead.

pm enable-user --user 0 com.wssyncmldm

Do that only when a fixed release is available.

What is this fuss all about?

It is certainly a puzzling problem. Why in the world would this happen? Why can't you see what drains your data? Well, I have a theory that due to the update being rushed through the door, some debugging telemetry feature has been left enabled in the firmware. There's a few pieces of evidence supporting this theory, including posts from people involved in firmware development that clearly say that beta/internal firmware has quite a bit of telemetry going on, and the fact that the component consuming the data remains hidden.

Need more help?

If you need additional help, if you are in Canada please use S Members. If you can't/don't want/are not in Canada, send me an e-mail at chm@chmultimedia.ca and I will do my best to assist you. Firmware requests sent via e-mail will be ignored.