Subscribing to a limited mobile data plan can be annoying, especially because it keeps you on your toes at all times. Sure, you can listen to music on Spotify wherever you go, but you’d constantly be wondering whether your love for music would get you over the data cap sooner. It’s definitely not a pleasant experience. To keep your worries in check, start thinking about reducing your data usage. If you’re ready for some cost-cutting measures, here are 5 clever ways to do that:
Monitor Data Usage
First, you need to figure out what apps on your phone are hogging all the data. In this case, a data monitor will be a godsend! Lucky for you, your phone already has one. With this nifty feature, you can determine which apps will have to be uninstalled or disabled so you can manage your data usage better.
For Apple’s iOS, you can go to Settings > Cellular to see how much data you’ve been using in total. However, its less-detailed breakdown won’t tell you which of your apps are eating up a huge chunk of those data. In this case, you may have to download apps like Onavo to retrieve such info.
If you’re an Android user, all you have to do is go to Settings > Data Usage to know which apps are using up all the data. The monitor will show how much data has been used per app, making it a whole lot easier to keep an eye on those that have to be managed carefully. While in the menu, just tap an app to see if it has any data usage settings that can be tweaked.
Besides monitoring the apps that are eating up your data plan right under your nose, you’ll have to begin keeping your YouTube video marathons in check, too.
Go Streaming with Care
Isn’t it cool how we can readily watch our favorite TV shows, movies, and videos in HD-quality while we’re on our way to school or work? It definitely makes your daily commute a little more bearable, doesn’t it? Sadly, such a convenience may be the reason why you go over your monthly data cap fast.
You see, streaming HD videos consume a whole lot of data. In fact, streaming an hour-long HD movie can eat as much as 2GB of data! Thus, it may be wise to stick with standard definition videos when you really can’t resist watching the latest GoT episode.
In addition to video streams, you have to pay close attention to your music streaming habits as well (that, too?!) While it consumes far fewer data per minute compared to its video counterpart, the more you listen, the more your data usage goes up.
Connect to Wi-Fi Often
Coffee shops, public libraries, malls—a great number of establishments offer free Wi-Fi connection nowadays. With that said, make use of this convenience to keep your cellular data from being used.
For the most part, iOS and Android users can connect to any available wireless network pretty much the same way. Simply open the Settings menu, switch on the Wi-Fi signal, and then choose the available wireless network that one wishes to connect to. In most cases, though, a password will be required before you can connect so just ask anyone who works there for this info.
In addition, iPhone owners can further refine their access to a wireless internet by navigating to Settings > General > Cellular. Then they can scroll down the menu and see an option that lets them turn off cellular data on/off for particular apps. Obviously, turning them all off can significantly reduce data usage.
Turn Off Push Content
By default, push content isn’t a data hog. Unless you use a lot of social network apps and get high volumes of email. The data use from push content can add up enough to put you at risk of incurring overcharge fees.
You can disable push content for each app with individual notifications on iPhones via Settings > Notifications. In addition, you can shut down cellular data for iOS integrated features through Settings > General > Cellular.
Meanwhile, your Android 4.0 (or better) device can do a similar operation through its Data Usage menu, where you can easily view and tap the notification settings for each app. Also, you can change the sync settings for your Google, Facebook, and other social media accounts via Settings > Accounts or Settings (Accounts and Sync for pre-4.0 Android models).
Go 3G
Sure, your mobile device supports 4G or LTE. But did you know that it’s voraciously gobbling your data as we speak? While 4G affords you speeds that are far faster than those internet connections at home, it consumes data quicker as well. To keep your data usage within your plan’s limits, you may have to downgrade to 3G.
To do this on an iOS device, go to Settings > Cellular and turn off the ‘Enable LTE’ switch with a tap. It’s that easy!
As for Android phones, it can be a bit complex as various manufacturers have different carrier restrictions in place. A quick workaround this is to disable 4G through apps like 4G Toggle that perform the action for you.
By disabling 4G, you make sure that you use your data at a modest pace. Although you end up streaming music that buffers or watching HD videos that don’t play smoothly, you can overcome this minor inconvenience by staying in areas with strong 3G connections.
Follow our advice and you’ll surely cut back on your mobile data consumption in a jiffy. However, cutting back comes at the price of a pleasant, unlimited, and unbridled mobile internet experience.
If you’re not a big fan of keeping your smartphone from performing to its full potential—as it should be—you’d probably be happier selecting your favorite service provider’s unlimited mobile data plan.
