This article covers how to ensure you're not using more mobile data than you intend to, with suggestions of things to check on and monitor.
Before you begin
If your device is connected to the internet it may use data without you realising it.
Tips
Use the following tips to better manage what data your device is.
Auto backup or file transfers
If you use a file transfer app or service such as iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive, you need to make the following changes to save data:
- Change settings to use only Wi-Fi for document uploads or downloads
- Change the frequency of backups from automatic to manual
- Choose which content you want to back up instead of backing up all of it
About turning off automatic backups to iCloud
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App updates
If your apps are set to auto-update, they will begin updating using your mobile data. To prevent this,
Set your apps to update automatically only when you're connected to a Wi-Fi network
You can also set your apps to download updates manually. This way you can be sure your apps don't accidentally use your mobile data for updates
Block ads
Pop-up advertisements on websites and even within certain free apps use your mobile data to play their content
- You should block these ads using an ad-blocker or close them before they start playing to minimise the loss of data.
Download large files over WiFi.
Larger files like songs, games, OS updates, PowerPoint presentations, Apps and other software should only be downloaded over WiFi, if you want to avoid mobile-data use.
Be sure to check the size of the download and ensure you're properly connected to the WiFi network before downloading. This is because, if your phone drops out of WiFi range during the download, your phone may continue the download using your mobile data.
We also urge you to be careful while downloading content to your phone. Email attachments and software downloads are prone to be infected with viruses which could damage your phone and in some cases, even steal your phone's data.
We recommend downloading attachments only from trusted sources.
Switch off your phone's Personal Hotspot feature.
Your smartphone or tablet connects to our network using 3G, 4G or 5G. It can then broadcast this signal over WiFi so that you can connect other devices to the same data connection.
We recommend being careful when using this feature. You should only turn on your Personal Hotspot when you're sure no other phone or mobile device can connect to your phone's data connection without your permission.
To do this, we recommend using a strong password for your Personal Hotspot and only giving out the password to people you trust. This is because other devices connected to your Personal Hotspot can use your data to download large files or update their apps.
Switch mobile data off.
In extreme cases, you can even switch off your mobile data completely.
We recommend looking at plans with more data instead of using this option, simply because most smartphones rely quite a bit on data for several key functions.
If you share your data via a Red Plan, you have the option of switching off data for specific users on your shared account.