When WhatsApp Web Won’t Load: What to Check Before You Re-Link Your Phone

Your bundle of data expired several days earlier than you were expecting, and you have hardly used your mobile phone. A portion of the answer to why your mobile data is finishing up so quickly can be found on your mobile phone itself, as it keeps a continuous updated record of the amount of data that each application has consumed. The Smart Data Management guidance provided by the NCC includes places where your mobile data may be going each day, including streaming video content, automatic application updates, social networking applications that automatically play videos, and applications that automatically synchronize their information when you are not using the application.

However, the gap between your mobile phone’s data count and the data count from your network does not mean that you have been cheated by anyone, and they are recorded separately by your mobile phone and network. It is also important to check your network data usage prior to making changes, as turning off a control that you rely on could result in delays of backups, updates and text messages. Your first step is to determine which number you will put your trust in when checking your mobile’s data count.

Why Your Phone and Your Network Disagree on Your Data Balance

Your device (the phone) and your data provider (network) have different ways of keeping track of how much data you’ve used, which means the two totals sometimes don’t match. Having two different amounts should signal you to make sure both the dates and your SIM are correct because it doesn’t necessarily mean that someone has used your data.

The two major mobile platforms make this clear. Google’s data usage guide for Pixel devices states that the amount of data displayed in settings is a measurement of how much data your phone has used, while the amount of data measured by your carrier may differ. To verify your carrier’s usage and plan limit, you must contact your carrier. The Apple Mobile Data Usage page goes even further; it recommends that in order to get the most accurate data for your current usage, the best way to obtain this is to contact your carrier.

The most common and largest source of discrepancies originates from comparing usage for separate periods of time. For example, with a Pixel phone, the user gets to choose what time the usage amounts report from the app will reflect. On an iPhone, the current period amount will reflect everything that has been counted since someone last tapped the Reset Statistics button, which could have been a couple of months before. If your MTN, Airtel or Glo data bundle starts on Tuesday and your device’s amount was started back in March, then the amounts are measuring totally different periods of time. Dual SIM phones are another potential pitfall. According to Apple’s iPhone information, the amount of data displayed is for the mobile data line that is currently selected; thus, data used from other lines will not be displayed in the amount you are looking at.

Third-party data-monitoring apps do not resolve the issue. The NCC Data Depletion FAQ notes that free usage-monitoring apps will typically provide an approximate number and may record data that is significantly less than your actual usage.

What the audits do and don’t settle

Publicly voiced concerns regarding network claims are widely held and accepted. In March 2025, on a Nairaland forum post made by the individual, the user stated that 5GB of data would be insufficient for an entire day on social media platforms such as X, Facebook and WhatsApp based on their opinion that networks were deducting data secretly; this is purely anecdotal and not a valid measurement of data usage. However, this question can be answered by the data usage applications on your mobile device.

At its “Data on Trial” event held on June 6, 2026, MTN attempted to address public concern over this matter. An article published in Neusroom reported that a KPMG review commissioned by MTN evaluated customer’s data usage starting from April 1, 2026, and concluded that the data usage that appeared in MTN’s Data Usage Portal was consistent with what was billed to customers. It is important to note that this is a very limited view of the evaluation. The report is based only on MTN’s portals and billing and the complete report and methodology used to conduct the evaluation are not available, so it does not offer any insights into how your particular data bundle was billed.

The National Communications Commission considers this a formal complaint type. As per the NCC Quality of Service Business Rule 2026, “Data Depletion” is listed under Billing Complaint Types.

If the numbers still don’t add up (Nigeria, checked 29/09/2026)

Ensure that both SIM cards are identical, have the same dates on them and have no gap between them, because if there is a gap, you should contact your provider before submitting an online complaint to the NCC and obtain a ticket number. Make a note of the date that you contact your provider regarding your telephone connection problem. The online NCC complaint form will ask if you have contacted your provider already and also requests that you provide the date you first contacted them and your ticket ID. The NCC also provides a contact page that directs complainants to the same online complaint form. You cannot expect that you will receive a guarantee of a refund for your complaint nor can you expect a time frame for a response to your complaint, so you must keep your complaint information organized. Do not post photography/screenshots that include your mobile telephone number, your complaint ticket ID or your account number on open forums.

How to See Exactly Which Apps Are Using Your Mobile Data

The phone records the data used by each application in the Data Usage section. You should check this out first before touching any of the settings; otherwise, you will not know what app to work on.

On a Google Pixel

Google’s steps for checking data usage apply to Pixel phones, and some only work on Android 8.0 and later:

1. Open Settings and tap Network & internet, then SIMs. Your total mobile data use shows at the top.
2. Tap App data usage to see the graph.
3. Tap the down arrow to pick the time period that matches your current bundle.
4. Look below the graph for how much each app used.

While many manufacturers of Android phones such as Samsung, Tecno and Infinix have placed these screens in different locations on their devices, Google advises that those devices running custom versions of Android may require specific instructions from the manufacturer. If using one of these devices, you can search for Data Usage in the Settings search bar and it should take you to a similar data usage screen.

On an iPhone

Apple’s instructions cover this, and the menu is called Mobile Data or Cellular depending on your region:

1. Open Settings and tap Mobile Data (or Cellular).
2. Scroll down to the list of apps and the amount each one used.
3. Tap System Services to see data used by the iPhone’s own services. You can’t switch these off one by one.

Do not touch the Reset Statistics button! If you do so, you will erase the previous history that you could use to present to your provider or the NCC, if necessary.

Reading the list honestly

The Data Usage screen only shows what your phone has counted as data being used; therefore, it is very important before closing this screen to note the following: the period of time it covers, which SIM it pertains to and the two to three apps at the top. If you see YouTube or TikTok listed at the top, that is likely where most of the data was used; conversely, when you see apps that you do not open very often (for example: photo apps, app stores or System Services), those apps consumed data in the background (this will be discussed further in the following section).

Neither Google nor Apple provide any guarantee that each device manufactured running Android will classify the data usage of each individual application into: “When I Used This App” and “Background Data Usage.” Thus, do not expect to see this type of detailed breakdown on each Android device manufactured. Additionally, if you used your phone as a mobile hotspot and connected other devices to your phone, the data used by those devices will not display as individual applications but will display as an additional line item for your aggregate overall data usage.

The Background Settings That Secretly Drain Your Bundle

Some of the features that are running in the background of your phone while you are not using it, will consume data after they perform tasks as intended. Backup apps, as well as chat media, send updates, and a few of the iPhone’s connectivity features can all operate over mobile data without your explicit permission.

A contributor on Nairaland has provided an excellent example of this. He stated that before the device-control application he was using, all of his applications consumed mobile data by performing tasks in the background once the app that was controlling the data usage stopped functioning. The contributor described the following symptoms: looking for a place to look for the below-listed options in the Device Manager.

Updates and photo backups

The Google Play Store can update apps over Wi-Fi or mobile data, and Google Play’s help page lists “Update all apps over Wi-Fi or mobile data” as one of the choices. Big app updates on mobile data can eat a bundle quickly. Google also says it may push updates that fix critical security problems whatever your update settings are.

The other use of mobile data is that when you are backing up your digital photos using Google Photos, the small backups of your high-resolution photos and videos must all be uploaded to their servers before being able to download back down from their servers. Google Photos provides a separate mobile data setting for both photos and videos, providing you the option to backup using mobile data. For Apple’s iCloud, photos are automatically uploaded when you have your “Sync Immediately” option on and when you have allowed your Photos Library to use mobile data, Apple has indicated that this may result in the addition of mobile data usage.

Chat media and shared connections

The Help Centre for WhatsApp confirms that you can configure this application to automatically download photos, voice messages, videos, and documents from mobile data. Therefore, when someone sends you a video in a group chat, even if you don’t click to view it, you will still be paying for the video that was forwarded to you.

Hotspot Sharing – Your hotspot not only shares your bundle with your devices connected to it but also confirms in your Google hotspot guide that any devices connected to your hotspot (mobile phones, tablets, laptops) are experiencing your phone (mobile device) connecting to the network and using mobile data. Your laptop will, at times, download its own large updates while connected to your hotspot. The NCC’s data depletion FAQ list also makes a valid point about a risk that may not be as obvious to you – if you accidentally provided your hotspot password to someone else, someone else may be using your hotspot and, in turn, your data plan.

iPhone settings that fall back on mobile data

The Background App Refresh feature allows apps that remain running in the background to receive any new content available to those application(s). If your app(s) have Background App Refresh enabled to use mobile data, it will use your mobile data plan to check for updates.

Some newer iPhones come with a feature called “Connectivity Assist”, which is the replacement for “Wi-Fi Assist”. Connectivity Assist uses mobile data when a Wi-Fi connection is weak, busy, or not working. According to Apple, if you have Connectivity Assist set to turn on, you may end up using more mobile data when you use that feature. If you had Wi-Fi Assist enabled before you upgraded your smartphone, you may find that Connectivity Assist is now enabled automatically.

Apple’s 5G settings, which can be found on the iPhone, will allow users to enable an “Allow More Data” mode to allow users to download iOS updates over mobile data, perform automatic iCloud backups, and allow higher quality video streaming over mobile data. In addition to using the 5G technology for this purpose, if you are using an unlimited data plan, this setting will be enabled by default for you.

How to Stop Apps from Using Data in the Background (Android & iPhone)

It is possible to shut off apps from using background data without switching off cellular data. To do this, you would need to find the one control that most closely relates to your usage report and change only that one control; do not change anything else.

Before changing anything, please be aware that every restriction that you apply will delay something and could mean that messages may arrive longer after they were sent, that backups may wait for Wi-Fi, and that certain apps may stop refreshing until you open them. Please be sure to keep any apps that you consider important for urgent messages and alerts unrestricted. Please wait for your photos and chats to complete backing up before limiting backups. Don’t turn off app update completely.

The following map is based on the information provided on each of the companies’ own help pages and was verified on 29/09/2026. The names of the options may differ based on phone model, software version and where you are located, and. Unfortunately, Tecno and Infinix cannot be represented on the map because the current official menu pathways for both of those companies could not be confirmed.

The most significant item that can be seen from this map is that data saver modes have purposely been designed with gaps. Google states that a Pixel with Data Saver enabled will still allow the app that you are currently using to access mobile data and that both Pixels and Samsung’s can allow you to exclude specific apps. In essence, Data Saver settings on Android devices will limit background mobile data use; however, they will not prohibit you from depleting your data by watching YouTube videos. On Apple’s iPhone, the company describes the Background App Refresh feature as allowing suspended apps to update or obtain new content. In practice, this means that it is not a total off switch, and Apple has no way of predicting how notifications for each app will be affected once you modify this switch.

On an iPhone, Low Data Mode does more than just lower data use and slow streaming quality. It also turns off Automatic Back-Up for iCloud and stops Automatic Updates for iCloud Photo Library. For an app where you only need to use it at home, the best option is to turn its Mobile Data switch off instead of just turning on Low Data Mode; this would significantly reduce data consumption, particularly if you have multiple SIMs.

Checking the fix without wasting data

You do not need to reset your data or run out of data to determine whether your settings are effective. Simply continue to use your device as you would normally for at least two days following your changes. Then check the network report for your app over the same time period to see if there was a decrease of usage for that app. Next, compare that with your network balance for those same days. If both reports reflect a decrease, your settings were successful. If your device reports very little use but you still see a decrease in your balance, you can refer to the details in the previous paragraph to substantiate your claim to your carrier.

The One Setting That Matters

The phone’s per-application data usage report is the most beneficial resource to utilize before making any adjustments. It allows you to determine where the high-data usage comes from before making any adjustments. After checking the report, adjust only the designated controls that affect the app responsible for the high usage. Always preserve backup data and retain immediate notifications. If the amounts indicated on your phone’s report do not match the amounts reflected in your carrier’s balance report, your next steps are to open a ticket with your carrier and submit an NCC Complaint Form, rather than switching to a different data saver mode.