Smartphone have to download more data ‘cause many applications use the Internet, not mentioning social networking, media resources, web services and e-mail scanning. So how can you properly use tariffs with a restriction on the amount of data transmitted? Here are a few tips to help revise your habits to never overpay.
Control
Before you start trying to reduce the bandwidth consumption it is necessary to clearly understand how much traffic is commonly used. The only way to get this info is to control and monitor traffic usage. That’s how you will find out how much data pass through the phone even when it is not used and only background processes are on.
There are several ways to track data usage on your Android or iOS device. The easiest one is to see the statistics on the device itself. Go to the "Settings" in "Wireless & networks" section and select " Data usage" for the interactive graphic that shows how much data was used during the last month. In addition, it is useful to see the statistics for previous months and the list of applications that use the data to check their consumption.
Besides, some applications provide monthly reports on the use of traffic and consumption analysis.
Avoid video or music streaming
It is probably obvious that audio/video streaming requires significant amount of data, so the less you use it, the more traffic you safe.
Podcasts, music or videos can be downloaded to the device in advance and streamed in an offline mode. When listening to music via the Internet, you can save a little by controlling the bit rate (audio quality).
Check what apps use lots of traffic
Do not forget about other applications that use a lot of traffic: social networks that are constantly updated in the background, games, loading updates and notifications, cloud storages such as Dropbox or Google Drive, seeking to synchronize files. Such apps can use traffic even without notifications.
Forbid apps to get traffic and use Wi-Fi instead
iOS 7 and Android can disable use of data got via the cellular network in certain applications, allowing them to connect only with Wi-Fi connection. It can be rather useful when the apps consume a lot of bandwidth.
If you have access to Wi-Fi its use will save a significant share of mobile traffic. However, the use of Wi-Fi can drain the battery a little faster.
Turn off background apps updates
Android and iOS allow applications to update themselves using mobile connection in the standby mode. And if you have a few dozens of applications, they will be updated almost every day.
Turn off auto sync
In iOS you can take steps to disable synchronization with remote servers using configuration «Settings - Wireless and network - Data usage». In this mode, «Auto sync data» must be disabled. Turn off background updating of applications like Dropbox, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Twitter in the menu «Settings - Accounts».
Set a limit on traffic consumption
Androids can set an arbitrary limit on traffic consumption based on the data plan. In this case, when the threshold is reached, the application will use the Internet only via Wi-Fi. It is configured in the menu «Settings - Data usage - Set Mobile Data Limit».
Author Bio: Katerina Merzlova, a digital marketer from Nasty Creatures, an innovative mobile company providing Android app development and digital publishing services for enterprise and small business clients. To get more information about the team, follow them on Twitter @nasty_creatures. And remember: We’re nasty only to competitors!
