# Electron data usage problem redux

**URL:** <https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062>\
**Category:** Troubleshooting\
**Created:** [December 20, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062 "2016-12-20T01:05:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/1 "2016-12-20T01:05:09Z")

</div>

@RWB, @ScruffR, @BDub  
I haven’t been running my Electron for a little while (lots going on, but also working with a colleague testing an Electron in Brazil). In any case, I fired mine back up… and my data usage is totally out of whack. I started with my most recent code that pushes 142 bytes (according to `getDataUsage()`). However, pushing every 10 minutes for 24 hours showed 0.11 MB. I expected more in the ballpark of 20-25 kB. Somehow I’m using 5 times that. I’m deep sleeping between sessions, but am running `0.6.0-rc.2`, so there shouldn’t be any reconnection overhead. Edit: I was also running this with NO\_ACK.

I reverted to much simpler code to check my usage. `getDataUsage()` indicated about 102 bytes per session. After 25 hours, console showed I had used 0.12 MB, but I expected closer to 16 kB.  
Here’s the simpler code:

```
    void setup()
    {
    }
 
void loop()
{
    FuelGauge fuel;
    float value;
    bool success;

    value = fuel.getVCell();
    String output = "{\"batt-value\": \"" + String(value) + "\"}";
    success = Particle.publish("fuel-level1", output);

    System.sleep(SLEEP_MODE_DEEP, 600);
}

```

A couple events from the feed:

```
event: fuel-level1
data: {"data":"{\"batt-value\": \"3.935200\"}","ttl":"60","published_at":"2016-12-18T21:36:49.746Z","coreid":"1a0033000b51343334363138"}
event: fuel-level1
data: {"data":"{\"batt-value\": \"3.935200\"}","ttl":"60","published_at":"2016-12-18T21:47:19.696Z","coreid":"1a0033000b51343334363138"}

```

I feel pretty dumb now. Any idea what I’ve forgotten and caused my usage to be so high?

Edit: P.S. In case it’s important. I had been using a 3rd party SIM when I started my tests again. I noticed that data usage was unusually high, which is why I reverted to my Particle SIM for the tests presented here.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RWB](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rwb/32/22599_2.png) [@RWB](https://community.particle.io/u/RWB)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/2 "2016-12-20T02:27:25Z")

</div>

Are you pushing this data anywhere?

I’m pushing the same data to Ubidots every 2 mins using the code below and the data rates are lower than yours I’m pretty sure but haven’s tested exact data consumption.

Setup a free Ubidots account and give this a try since it should give you lower data overhead,

 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/2X/7/7a8c9045f79d6667c6d5e78b592d38c59e3f99a9.png)

```cpp
SYSTEM_MODE(SEMI_AUTOMATIC);
SYSTEM_THREAD(ENABLED);
// This #include statement was automatically added by the Particle IDE.
#include "Ubidots/Ubidots.h"

#define TOKEN "123456789" // Put here your Ubidots TOKEN
#define DATA_SOURCE_NAME "ElectronSleepNew"

Ubidots ubidots(TOKEN); // A data source with particle name will be created in your Ubidots account

int button = D0; 
int ledPin = D7; // LED connected to D1
int sleepInterval = 60;

void setup() {
 //Serial.begin(115200);
 pinMode(button, INPUT_PULLDOWN); // sets pin as input
 pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); // sets pin as output

 ubidots.setDatasourceName(DATA_SOURCE_NAME);
 
 PMIC pmic;
 //set charging current to 1024mA (512 + 512 offset)
 pmic.setChargeCurrent(0,0,1,0,0,0); 
 pmic.setInputVoltageLimit(4840);    
}

void loop() {
    
FuelGauge fuel;
 
    
if(fuel.getSoC() > 20)
  {
   
   float value1 = fuel.getVCell();
   float value2 = fuel.getSoC();
   
  ubidots.add("Volts", value1); // Change for your variable name
  ubidots.add("SOC", value2);

  Cellular.connect();
  Cellular.ready();
  
  ubidots.sendAll();;

  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(250); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  delay(250); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(250); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  
  System.sleep(D0, RISING,sleepInterval * 2, SLEEP_NETWORK_STANDBY);
    
  }
  else
  {
      
  Cellular.on();
  delay(10000);
  Cellular.command("AT+CPWROFF\r\n");
  delay(2000);
  //FuelGauge().sleep();
  //delay(2000);
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  delay(150);
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  System.sleep(SLEEP_MODE_DEEP, 3600);
  }
    
}    
   

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ScruffR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/scruffr/32/6952_2.png) [@ScruffR](https://community.particle.io/u/ScruffR)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/3 "2016-12-20T04:54:48Z")

</div>

As @RWB did in his code, you should use the `SLEEP_NETWORK_STANDBY` option to save data

> [@bioagbob](#):
>
> System.sleep(SLEEP\_MODE\_DEEP, 600, SLEEP\_NETWORK\_STANDBY);

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 7:02am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/4 "2016-12-20T07:02:47Z")

</div>

Thanks for the ideas @ScruffR and @RWB.  
I am pushing through a webhook to M2X.

 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/2X/f/fadbe2c58fcfdb6a9713c0390b6449c12b6d4842.png)  
I’m confused because I’ve already been down the road of testing AUTO and SEMI\_AUTO and Sleep\_Network\_Standby. I had been using a 3rd party SIM and I settled on AUTO and non-Standby because data usage seemed to be about the same for me with and without Standby, and SEMI\_AUTO caused problems for my 3rd party SIM. I’d like to sleep the radio for ultra-low power if possible and hadn’t seen major issues with overhead when doing so.  
In one test on a 3rd party SIM with more overhead, I had been pushing battery values every 20 min and was on track to use 670 KB per month at a 20 minute publish rate (based on carrier data usage numbers). In a second test, I was on track for 1.4 MB per month with a 10 minute rate.  
Firing it up again this week, it’s as if something if different on the carrier or cloud side that’s blown up usage on both the 3rd party and Particle SIMs. 😣 I’ll keep testing and at least try to replicate @RWB. Thanks!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RWB](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rwb/32/22599_2.png) [@RWB](https://community.particle.io/u/RWB)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 7:31am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/5 "2016-12-20T07:31:31Z")

</div>

@bioagbob Try this customized code based on your example code you provided.

```cpp
SYSTEM_MODE(SEMI_AUTOMATIC);
SYSTEM_THREAD(ENABLED); 

int button = D0; 
int ledPin = D7; // LED connected to D1
int sleepInterval = 60;

    
void setup()
{
  //Serial.begin(115200);
 pinMode(button, INPUT_PULLDOWN); // sets pin as input
 pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); // sets pin as output
 
}
 
void loop()
{
    FuelGauge fuel;
    float value;
    bool success;

if(fuel.getSoC() > 20)
  {

  Particle.connect();
  
  value = fuel.getVCell();
  String output = "{\"batt-value\": \"" + String(value) + "\"}";
  success = Particle.publish("fuel-level1", output);

  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(250); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  delay(250); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(250); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  
  System.sleep(D0, RISING,sleepInterval * 2, SLEEP_NETWORK_STANDBY); 
  }
  else
  {
  //Put Cellullar Modem into Deep Sleep until battery charged above 20%   
  Cellular.on();
  delay(10000);
  Cellular.command("AT+CPWROFF\r\n");
  delay(2000);
  //FuelGauge().sleep();
  //delay(2000);
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  delay(150);
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // sets the LED on
  delay(150); // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // sets the LED off
  System.sleep(SLEEP_MODE_DEEP, 3600); //Wake Up Every Hour to check if battery is over 20% yet. Can do this for 20 Days with no charge input before depleting battery. 
  }   
}

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/6 "2016-12-20T18:02:25Z")

</div>

Thanks for the code @RWB. Very kind of you. 🏆  
I watched the Electron and console log for the last hour while running your code above exactly as written. I’m still going to run code longer and am waiting for console to update with data usage, but wanted to post observations so far. The publishes are not reliable.

1. There’s a clear pattern in the interval between publish events and failures. There’s a sequence of 3 events that repeats:  
i) t = 0, fuel-level1, breathe cyan for 60 sec, sleep;  
ii) t = 3 min, fuel-level1, breath cyan for 3 sec, sleep;  
iii) t = 5.2 min, Came Online (no fuel-level1), cyan blinks 3 sec, rapid flash 5 sec, sleep;  
iv) repeat cycle 2 min later.

- Is the 60 sec breathing cyan waiting for an ACK?
- Why does device ‘come online’ every 3rd cycle instead of publishing properly?

 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/2X/6/66ae769cdac4cf4cf53d0b4e7755faf6d9637a0f.png)

So, I’m only getting 2 out of 3 packets. This is reflected in M2X data as well.

 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/2X/9/90bb97db4190643b68b5b379c77079c4bec24468.png)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RWB](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rwb/32/22599_2.png) [@RWB](https://community.particle.io/u/RWB)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/7 "2016-12-20T18:09:54Z")

</div>

Try removing the `SYSTEM_THREAD(ENABLED);`

And see what happens.

The reason we’re running semi-automatic is because we do not want the device to automatically connect to the cloud once the battery SOC is below 20% to save on battery usage during the 1 hour wake-up periods.

I was using the System Treading when sending data to Ubidots without the need for Particle Cloud Access but since your using the Particle cloud you can remove it, which may eliminate the problem you’re seeing also.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/8 "2016-12-20T18:17:28Z")

</div>

Will try now. Curiously, how much data do you use sending to Ubidots compared to Particle (difference in overhead)? In another thread you said “In my test, I was sending 5 min updates using a Particle Publish event for an almost 200+ byte data string using NO-ACK and it ended up using 1.68 MB per month or 30 days.”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RWB](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rwb/32/22599_2.png) [@RWB](https://community.particle.io/u/RWB)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/9 "2016-12-20T18:58:15Z")

</div>

I’m not exactly sure yet either but we can do a crude test right now.

As of 1:58 PM Eastern Time here is what my SIM data usage reports.

![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/2X/e/e882799ea338d68d8bad6373590f1210cecfeb91.png)

This is with publishing data every 2 mins to Ubidots using their Library that uses MQTT, no Particle Publish required.

I’ll check again at 2 AM or 2 PM tomorrow if I forget and see what the difference is.

My end goal is sending data via Particle Publish to Azure IoT Hub and I will be running test on that later.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/10 "2016-12-20T19:17:00Z")

</div>

Cool. Thanks for watching. I wish Particle had a better way to track carrier charges during testing.

Results of new code without SYSTEM\_THREAD. Different pattern, but still strange and not reliable timing.

i) t = 0, fuel-level1, breathe cyan for 60 sec, sleep;  
ii) t = 3 min, fuel-level1, breath cyan for 5 sec, sleep;  
iii) t = 5.2 min, NOTHING in cloud, cyan on \< 1 sec, sleep;  
iv) t = 7.2 min, Online AND fuel-level1 packets, cyan blinks 3 sec, rapid flash 5 sec, sleep;  
v) repeat cycle 2 min later.

 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/2X/9/9d7755aa51cc003f0b5c5e4859222ecf101ce15e.png)  
 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/2X/3/391fc7ab8250eaecbd58816fccaab276acb30bfc.png)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ScruffR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/scruffr/32/6952_2.png) [@ScruffR](https://community.particle.io/u/ScruffR)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/11 "2016-12-20T20:04:37Z")

</div>

That disconnect does remind me of this open issue

> <https://github.com/particle-iot/firmware/issues/1023>

And another one I reported in conjunction with publish and sleep but can’t find right now 😊

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/12 "2016-12-20T20:14:48Z")

</div>

Hmm… except I’m publishing every 2 minutes. It seems that since yours worked at 1.1 sec, I should be okay at 2 min. 😄 I guess I can try a longer interval anyway. I can rule nothing out at this point.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ScruffR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/scruffr/32/6952_2.png) [@ScruffR](https://community.particle.io/u/ScruffR)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/13 "2016-12-20T20:26:33Z")

</div>

Yes, but the exact same behaviour with a full connect handshake after a fix count of wakes was seen by another member and I was able to confirm that and back then I reported the similarity between that and the fix count of “rapid” publishes issue to Particle.  
As far as I remember adding a `delay(5000)` between the publish and sleep instructions did help getting around the issue.  
Could you try that?

The minimal wait with immediate sleep may be just that tad too quick for a reliable reconnect on next wake as the expected 1000ms was that bit too short.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/14 "2016-12-20T21:25:51Z")

</div>

I’ll try adding the delay after I wait for my console to reach steady state (Electron turned off).

I ran RWB’s code (part with and part without threads) for about 3 hours over which there were about 70 fuel-level or ‘online’ connections. The console started at 0.28 MB (had not run all night before this test) and is now at 0.40 MB (about 2 hours after Electron turned off). So, 0.12 MB is about 1.7 kB per connection. 😵

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RWB](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rwb/32/22599_2.png) [@RWB](https://community.particle.io/u/RWB)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/15 "2016-12-20T22:05:06Z")

</div>

> [@ScruffR](#):
>
> As far as I remember adding a delay(5000) between the publish and sleep instructions did help getting around the issue.

@bioagbob Try that for sure.

When I was Particle Publishing and going to sleep I was seeing the Electron flash Green or Cyan for up to 60-90 seconds before it would actually go to sleep for some reason. Never tried the 5-second delay before calling sleep I don't think. It would be nice if it fixed the issue though.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/16 "2016-12-20T22:36:59Z")

</div>

Testing now with 5 sec delay before sleep. I may have done something similar way back, but can’t recall now since things had been working okay (My most recent code did have a 1 sec delay to allow the serial port to flush before sleep, so perhaps that helped - but doesn’t explain why I started seeing problems now).

Console billing was stable at 0.40 MB at start of test. Updated code (with delay 5) took about 6 minutes before it reached a repeatable pattern of publishes. First 6 minutes: ONLINE, pin reset, update, fuel: breathing cyan for 60 sec, fuel: [missed flashes], ONLINE. Since then it’s been publishing every 2.1 minutes, each time breathing cyan for about 7-9 seconds. So, I’d say that fixed (worked around) the re-connection bug. 👍

Will let it run to see what happens with data usage.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BDub](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/bdub/32/5137_2.png) [@BDub](https://community.particle.io/u/BDub)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/17 "2016-12-20T22:42:55Z")

</div>

Looks like you might be hitting this bug ( **Fixed in 0.6.1-rc.1** will be releasing soon):

> <https://github.com/particle-iot/firmware/issues/1133>

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/18 "2016-12-20T23:12:23Z")

</div>

Thanks @BDub. Glad to know there’s a fix. How soon is “soon”? 😉  
And while you’re here, what are the odds of getting better tools to track carrier usage charges (per session or hour or anything timestamped!)? [Monthly Electron Data Usage](https://community.particle.io/t/monthly-electron-data-usage/23689)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BDub](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/bdub/32/5137_2.png) [@BDub](https://community.particle.io/u/BDub)\
**Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/19 "2016-12-21T01:31:32Z")

</div>

> [@bioagbob](#):
>
> How soon is "soon"?

How about right now 😄 (check the Web IDE... haven't even finished the release post yet)

I'll come back for your other question in a bit...

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bioagbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bioagbob](https://community.particle.io/u/bioagbob)\
**Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062/20 "2016-12-21T01:45:03Z")

</div>

> [@BDub](#):
>
> How about right now 😄

Wow! That's what I call service! 😛

[Next page](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-data-usage-problem-redux/28062.md?page=2)