- Start with the right mobile plan and Add-Ons.
- Monitor your data usage regularly.
- Set which Apps can use your data.
By using these guidelines, you can make the most of your data every month and avoid unexpected charges.
You can also choose an Endless data plan and not worry about your data usage.
Tips for managing data usage
What are KB, MB and GB?
These are simply units for measuring data, just like centimetres, metres and kilometres are used for distance.
- KB which means kilobyte: 1,024 KB = 1MB.
- MB which means megabyte: 1,024 MB = 1GB.
- GB which means gigabyte.
One NZ's mobile plans talk about GB of NZ data, which is data you can use in New Zealand to upload (i.e. pictures to Facebook) or download (streaming a video) stuff on the Internet.
What uses your phone's data?
| Frequency | Minimum Data |
| Occasionally | 1GB |
| Frequent | 5GB+ |
If you are just viewing and updating Text on social media, a low end plan is fine. However if you upload or watch a lot of photos or videos then a 5GB plan or higher is recommended.
| Frequency | Minimum Data |
| Occasionally | 1GB-3GB |
| Daily (Standard) | 5GB |
| Daily (HD) | 10GB |
If you are a casual music listener (including online radio) then a 1-3 GB plan is fine. However if you stream daily Apple Music or Spotify or similar then a 5GB plan is recommended. If you stream HD audio daily then up to 10GB is recommended. On Apple IOS HD streaming is off by default but can be enabled in the phone menu.
| Frequency | Minimum Data |
| Daily (Standard) | 5GB |
| Daily (HD) | 10GB+ |
For daily YouTube or other video streaming (including Facebook), a 5GB minimum plan is recommended with 10GB ideal. If you want to regularly watch higher quality (HD+) video or TV series then 10GB is minimum.
| Frequency | Minimum data |
| Text only | 500MB+1GB |
Can be comfortably done daily within a 1GB plan or even 500MB plan for casual use.
| Frequency | Minimum data |
| Occasional | 1GB-3GB |
For both Android and IOS devices there can be regular updates to the system and installed apps. These can use several hundred megabytes so it is important to set these to only be done on WIFI.
Online gaming can create background data. You should block the data if possible through the application settings on the phone.