Ways to Reduce Data Consumption on your Android Smartphone
Smartphones are no longer
just about voice, text and e-mail. They are work tools, entertainment devices,
social media hubs, learning devices and mobile links to the web. But there is
just one thing holding us back from freely enjoying all these activities: OUR DATA PLANS
Fortunately, phone manufacturers
and wireless carriers are starting to add tools that can help us manage data
consumption and avoid those costly overages. Here are a few suggestions on how
to slow down your data usage and stay within those strict monthly limits
⇒Restrict Background Data use
Some apps just spend too much data, even
when the smartphone is not in use. It’s actually one of the greatest features
on Android, as background data allows you to keep everything updated and
monitored while you are off doing other things. The deal here is that not every
app needs to stay active at all times.
Go into Settings > Data Usage and
select the app you want to restrict data for. In the stats you will see two
types of data: foreground and background. If you find background data is too
high and you don’t need the app to stay active, simple toggle the switch that
is labeled as “Restrict app background data”.
⇒Download (and upload) on Wi-Fi only
If you regularly download movies, songs, or
any other large files, wait until you can use your home or office Wi-Fi or
another alternative to your cellular network. The same applies to uploading all
those photos and videos to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Uploading or downloading
10 photos a day can use as much as 1GB of data a month. Most smartphones will
now ask you whether you want to wait until Wi-Fi is available when you try to
transfer files. Take the hint and get into the habit of saying “yes.”
⇒Update apps on Wi-Fi only
Apps are constantly updating themselves and,
if you have a lot of them, those updates can make a difference to your monthly
data consumption. Most smartphones will allow you to select the option of only
updating apps when a Wi-Fi network is available. On Android phones, visit
Google Play and go to Settings. Make sure that the auto-update option is set to
“Auto update apps over Wi-Fi only.”
⇒Turn off auto-sync
Most smartphones are set to automatically
sync with a number of different external services. These can be cloud storage
services like iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox, or individual apps like
Google+, Calendar and Facebook. This auto-syncing can start to use up a lot of
data, particularly if it involves syncing photos and other data-heavy files.
While turning off auto-syncing completely defeats the purpose of
cloud storage and backup, temporarily disabling auto-sync when it’s not
required can be a good data saving option. On Android phones, select Settings,
Data Usage, Menu and then uncheck Auto-sync data.
⇒Understand which apps use the most data
The key to managing your data usage is
understanding which apps are doing all the data guzzling. Sometimes it will be
obvious, like when your kids decided to watch a movie in the back of the car,
but sometimes it can be less clear. All recent smartphone operating systems now
offer a data usage summary, which details which apps are using the most data.
If you are not a chronic movie-watcher, music-streamer, or Facebook updater,
then it’s likely to be something as mundane as e-mail or web browsing. Whatever
app turns out to be your #1 data guzzler, make a mental note to change how you
use that app, either cutting down on overall use or, again, waiting until
a Wi-Fi network is available.
⇒Pre-load streaming apps
A number of data hungry apps now offer the
ability to pre-load content, so you can download on Wi-Fi rather than stream
via cellular network. Nokia Drive and Nokia Music are just two examples of
these pre-loadable apps. With Nokia Drive, you can pre-load maps to save data
during navigation, and with Nokia Music, you can download your favorite
playlists to listen to along the way!
⇒Set up data notifications
Another key to managing your monthly data is
knowing how much you have used at any given moment. Most network carriers now
allow you to set up notifications when you have reached 50%, 75% or 90% of your
monthly allowance. Even if you can’t cut back on your data, it gives you the
opportunity to retroactively move to a higher data tier, which is a lot cheaper
than paying overage charges.
⇒Set data limits
If all else fails, setting strict data limits
will make sure you never go over your agreed allowance. You can usually do this
through the Settings option on your smartphone or by setting up a pre-paid
account with your
carrier. If you set data limits on your smartphone, make sure you are using the
correct usage cycle, as it’s your carrier’s monthly usage cycle that’s
important, not the calendar month or any other cycle assumed by your
smartphone’s operating system.
Hope it Help
Comments
Post a Comment