If you are also a victim of unnoticed and unaware loss of your cellular data then this post is here to save you few extra bucks that are lost due to unawareness. If you do not use unlimited cellular data then you need to read below and learn how you can control it. Although it is a menial expense but it will affect your finances a little.
At first you need to know how you can keep a check on your current data usage. You can do that by going into Settings app on your iPhone and select Cellular category. Under it, scroll down until you see Current Period that will be displaying amount of data currently consumed. Do not freak out if the data usage is above the roof, as this feature do not reset every day, week or even month. Therefore the amount shown is actually sum of many months. To periodically reset the amount you need to scroll down to Reset Statistics and select it.
This feature also displays the amount of data used by any of your specific app. This feature is effective in analyzing which app is eating up most of your data and need to be monitored if it is of not that much need. To check specific statistics you need to scroll down to System Services.
Adding Restrictions to Use Data
Once you are aware of data usage by your apps you can also restrict them to use your data usage. You can do that by selecting the switch right next to these Apps and select option to use the internet only when connected to Wi-Fi. Whenever you will be using your data packages, these apps will appear offline and will reconnect once you connect your iPhone to any Wi-Fi network.
Disabling Cellular Data
You can also disable cellular data usage for selected apps on permanent basis so they are restricted from it until you enable it yourself some time later. You need to re-enable it if you want to use the cellular data again on your iPhone.
Using Built-in App Options
Each app has its own options that will let you control the usage of data or internet. Apple Store, the marketplace of Apple, has the option that will restrict automatic downloads of updates while you are connected through your data internet. This will force Apple Store to wait for connection made through Wi-Fi or any other source to download automatic updates. Similarly the default Podcast app gives you features to control the data usage and avoid downloading new episodes while connected to data internet. It will resume downloads when you connect your iPhone to a Wi-Fi network.
Disabling Background Operations by Apps
You can also save your data packet by avoiding their usage in background operations. Apple has given capability to numerous apps to download content in the background even when you are not using it. Although it is a good option in those apps where you need to stay connected but it will eat up additional data and might drain up your battery too because your iPhone is then always operational and never on standby mode. You can disable background operations by going into Settings app and selecting General. Here you have to find and select Background App Refresh. Toggle all those apps you do not want to work in the background by switching them off. You can either select all apps not to operate in the background or apply this restriction to few apps that you might not use on daily basis. You can save bits of your data by disabling push notifications. They need a very few amount of data but still if you want to save bits you need to disable them as well.
Disabling Synch of Mails, Contacts and Calendar
iPhones, by default, are set to synchronize your Mail app so you can receive new email messages on your iPhone as soon as they are received in your inbox. It regularly checks the servers for new information to download whenever new email is available. You can disable this feature if you want to check your email manually whenever you feel like. Similarly, it is also keeping a copy of your contact list, and calendar events on its servers that cause extra usage of data that you can avoid. To do so, go to Settings app, and select Mail, Contacts, or Calendar. Here you can select options if you want your iPhone to fetch data on its own or you want to do so manually. This will disable your mail app to stop downloading mails until you open it on your own.
Reducing Web Browser Data Usage
If you do a lot of web browsing from your phone you can reduce the usage by your internet browser with built-in data compression proxies. Although Apple’s built-in browser Safari does not support this feature but you can avail this on Chrome or Opera. By enabling the Data Saver, the web pages that you want to visit will be sent to Google first, there they will be compressed so minimum data is needed and will be sent back to your iPhone. Since they will be small in size therefore smaller data packets will be required to open such pages. Considering security reasons, HTTPS pages cannot be sent to proxies for data compression. If you are using Google Chrome, you can enable Data Saver by going into Settings, and selecting Bandwidth.
There is another way to save data while navigating the web from your iPhone’s browser is by using a VPN solution. VPN is a similar option to proxy but more extreme and effective in saving your data. With a VPN on your device all the data will be first sent to VPN and then to you. This works for all the browsers without any exceptions.
Using Cache for Offline Fun
If you are good at planning and you know how your day is going to spend, you can cache the files that you are going to need to avoid data usage. For example, if you are going outside where you cannot reach your Wi-Fi network you can download the stuff you are going to need in advance and cache them for future use. You can have Spotify cache the music files avoiding online streaming before you leave home, or if you need to use map, you can use a mapping app that will enable you to cache map files that can be used even when you are offline.
- TFJ
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