Open Radar

 
Summary:
Not all WiFi networks are created equal. Some are metered and currently there is no way to tell iOS this is the case.  Android allows vendors to indicate that the connection is metered by setting DHCP option 43 (Vendor Specific Information) with the value ANDROID_METERED. This indicates to the OS that should to treat the current network as it does any mobile connection (3G, LTE, etc).

iOS has no such feature and will happily consume large amounts of data on a metered connection because it thinks it's connected to WiFi. In most cases the user experience of automatic downloads is great, but it becomes very bad when users are paying for the consumed data.

The solution is to add some way to indicate to the OS that the current network is metered. iOS should then treat it as it does any mobile network. Prevent automatic downloads and warn the user when he/she is about to consume large amounts of data.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Connect to a metered network

Expected Results:
iOS to not consume large amounts of data. Optionally warning the user when it's about to do so.

Actual Results:
Eventually iOS will decide to consume a large amount of data by downloading a OS or app update, because it thinks it's connected to WiFi.

Version:
Every iOS release so far

Configuration:
iPhone