How not to waste traffic. How to make apps update only when connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi
Smartphones consume gigabytes of traffic - synchronizing data, updating, downloading applications, reporting problems to developers, etc. Even if you hardly use the Internet yourself, smartphones will handle it for you, and you will receive a huge bill or the provider will cut the speed at the most inopportune moment because the traffic limit has been exhausted. How to control the Internet on a smartphone and minimize traffic consumption?
Firewall
Download some kind of firewall or antivirus with a firewall function and select those applications that are allowed to access the Internet. Let everyone else work locally.Automatic application updates
Go to settings Google Play Market and prevent apps and games from updating automatically. Large updates are rarely released anyway, and small ones, as a rule, are useless, since they fix problems that may not exist on your smartphone. In addition, maybe you do not use all the applications installed on your smartphone and simply forget to remove unnecessary ones, but they are still updated.Browser Compression
Browsers like Chrome and Opera can compress traffic, and quite significantly. If you activate compression in them, savings can reach several hundred megabytes per month.
Delayed reading
If you use applications that download articles from the Internet, go to their settings and see if there is an option that allows you to download articles in advance for delayed reading. Articles will be downloaded via Wi-Fi and you can read them on the go without using mobile traffic.
File synchronization
You probably have cloud storage applications installed on your smartphone. Set a ban on synchronizing files via a mobile network, leaving only Wi-Fi. The data is still synced in the background and you won't notice the difference.
Cards
Open maps and download data for the area where you are.Music
If you love music, but have a very limited amount of Internet traffic, it makes sense to abandon online services like Google Play Music and listen to albums and collections that have been downloaded in advance and copied to local memory.System savings
- Disable mobile data usage when you don't need cellular internet.- Go to “Settings → Location” and turn off “Location History”.
- Go to “Settings → Accounts”, “Menu” button and uncheck “Auto-sync data”.
- Open “Google Settings”, go to “Security” and uncheck “Anti-malware” the right decision. In addition, you can disable “Remote device search” and “Remote blocking”.
- Open the Search and Google Now application, go to the Personal Data section and turn off Send statistics. In the “Voice search → Offline speech recognition” menu, download the offline recognition package and disable its auto-update or select “Only over Wi-Fi.”
- Open “Settings → About phone” and disable auto-checking and auto-downloading updates operating system.
Traffic control
Android has a built-in mobile traffic consumption monitoring tool. Set the monthly limit a little less than what the operator gives you, indicate the date when it will be reset, and if the smartphone consumes it, the Internet will be limited and you will understand that you need to switch to saving mode so as not to use it on a regular basis speed or not be left without a network at all.
Mobile phones are increasingly using mobile traffic. Read on and we'll show you how to manage your data.
Just a few years ago, it was almost unheard of to be able to transfer several GB of mobile data. Now apps weigh more (it's not uncommon for apps and their updates to be over 100 MB in size), and streaming music and video is becoming more popular and with all this, you can easily use up your data limit in a matter of days.
An hour of watching a video on YouTube and you no longer have several gigabytes of traffic. And if you watch videos in HD format, then the traffic flows like water... Do you use streaming music services such as Google Play Music or Spotify? You can spend about 120 MB per hour. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but imagine using these services every day for an hour, in a week you already get 840 MB. An hour a day for a month and you will already have spent about 3.2 GB. If you are using tariff plan with a 5 GB traffic package included, then in a month you will spend 65% of the limit only on music.
Of course, you can buy traffic with extra money, but who wants to pay? Before you pay for a more expensive plan or additional data package, we offer a few tricks to reduce your data transfer (and control).
How to view the amount of data being transferred
First of all, you need to check how much data is being transferred. If you don’t know how much traffic you use, it will be unclear how you need to change your data consumption structure.
The easiest way to check your data usage is through your cellular provider's web portal. If you never use up your limit, it might be worth upgrading to a cheaper plan. If you never fit into your allotted traffic package, then you should definitely read the article further.
You can also view data consumption statistics on your Android device. Go to Settings -> Data Transfer. You will see a screen something like this:
If you scroll down, you will see the mobile data usage of the apps as seen in the second screenshot above. It's important to note that these graphs only show data sent over a cellular data connection, not over a Wi-Fi connection. You can always hang out on YouTube while connected to Wi-Fi, but this will not appear in the statistics. If you want to see Wi-Fi data usage statistics, click the menu button and select “Show Wi-Fi traffic.”
It's worth noting that you will need to enter your billing cycle here in order to accurately calculate your data usage. Since your data will be reset on the first day of the new cycle, it will not matter what you used the month before, so the result will not be distorted.
In addition to the schedules, you can set a traffic limit, at which you will be shown a warning, or set a limit by adjusting the slider on the schedule, at which the transmission of mobile traffic will be disabled. Don't forget to enable the "Mobile traffic limit" option.
Once the limit is reached, mobile traffic will not be transmitted until you turn it on again.
How to control your data usage
There are two types of traffic consumed: when the user is using the application and knows that it is running over the Internet, and data usage in the background. When watching a video or downloading a new album, you consume a data package if you use mobile data rather than Wi-Fi Internet. Obviously, in order to use less data you need to stop streaming content and downloading files.
A less obvious data transfer is "background transfer" which uses a large number of traffic. Checking new messages in the VKontakte application client or checking new letters in email and other background processes constantly consume traffic. Let's figure out how to reduce background data consumption.
First, find out which applications are consuming data
First, let's figure out which apps actually use a lot of bandwidth. Go to Settings -> Data Transfer and see the apps using data. Click on one to see more information. Here we see normal data transfer and work in the background:
Now that you know which applications use the most data, you know what to optimize.
Using data saving in Android Nougat
Android 7.0 Nougat has a new feature with the self-explanatory name “Traffic Saving”. It allows you to limit background traffic consumption and provides the ability to maintain a “white list” of applications that are allowed to use data in the background.
To get started, pull down the notification panel and tap the gear icon to go to the settings menu.
In the “Wireless Networks” section, click on “Data Transfer”.
Under the traffic used, you will find the “Traffic Saving” option. This is where the fun begins.
The first thing to do is turn on the switch that is located at the top right. The new icon will appear in the status bar, as well as to the left of the other data icons (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, cellular, etc.).
Remember that once you enable this, background data access will be restricted for all applications. To change this, click on "Unlimited data access."
After this, a list of all installed applications on your phone will appear. Using the slider next to applications, you can add them to the white list, allowing background data transfer.
It is worth keeping in mind that this only applies to mobile traffic and will not affect the Wi-Fi connection in any way.
Limit background data transfer
If you don't have Android Nougat, then you have other options.
Open an app that uses a lot of bandwidth. Look at the settings of this application, it may be worth reducing the number of notifications (for example, VKontakte) or disabling them completely. This will have a great impact not only on the traffic consumed, but also on battery drain.
True, not every application has such settings. There is another way...
Go to Settings -> Data transfer and click on the application. Turn on the "Limit background activity" switch.
Disable all background data transfer
If that's not enough, you can also turn off all background data with a single switch - this will reduce data usage in most cases, but it can also be inconvenient. From the data transfer item, click on the menu and select “Limit background. mode". This will turn off background data for all applications.
Disable background app updates
Google understands how valuable mobile data is, so app updates will only happen automatically when you're on Wi-Fi by default. To check this, open the Google Play Store. Go to the settings and make sure that “Only via Wi-Fi” is selected in the “Auto-update applications” item.
Buy frequently used apps (to remove ads)
Applications are often offered in free version with advertising and paid version. The thing is, not only are ads annoying, but they also use up traffic. Therefore, if you want to reduce your traffic consumption, you can buy a paid version of a frequently used application.
Hello! Despite the fact that the number of gigabytes (included by cellular operators in their tariffs) is growing every year, and the price, on the contrary, is falling, still not many can afford completely unlimited Internet on their device. And here, most likely, it’s not a matter of “allowing”, but simply not many people need it. There is a conditional one gigabyte per month and it is enough - why pay more?
But in some cases (especially when switching to an iPhone from another device), these same gigabytes suddenly begin to not be enough - when turned on, Apple’s mobile phone begins to wildly eat up traffic and eats up the entire available limit in a few hours. And here the cries begin: “The iPhone is bad, I just inserted a SIM card - I don’t do anything, and the traffic goes away on its own (and even the battery is drained!).” Ay-ay-ay and all that...:) Why is this happening? Believe me, not because the iPhone is bad and the company decided to ruin you. No.
The thing is that the iPhone, like any modern smartphone, has a number of settings that you simply need to pay attention to in order to avoid such “arbitrariness” of your smartphone with your own Internet.
But first, a small list of where traffic on iPhone can go without your knowledge:
An experienced reader and user will say: “Yes, there are still plenty of places where traffic can flow!” And he will be right - updates mailboxes, push notifications, browser, etc. all this also affects the number of gigabytes consumed, but:
- Say that push notifications, mail loading, etc. they literally devour everything cellular internet- it is forbidden. If they use it, it is in very small quantities.
- And if you turn all this off, as suggested on many sites (the most brilliant advice I’ve come across is to turn off the Internet in the settings so that you don’t waste it), then why use an iPhone?
Therefore, we’ll try to make do with little expense - we’ll ban the iPhone from consuming the Internet on its own, but without much damage to us.
Updating or downloading programs from the App Store
Current applications and games can reach 2-3 gigabytes in volume and Apple company took care of saving traffic - you cannot officially download a program with a volume of more than 150 megabytes from the App store (though we know). But at the same time, there are a large number of programs with a volume less than this threshold (150 MB). And it is they who can devour your Internet package.
Here we are talking not so much about downloading (you see what you are downloading), but about independently updating these programs via the cellular network. Therefore, such an update needs to be disabled:
That's it, now programs will stop using the cellular network for their updates, and will do this only via Wi-Fi.
How to find out which application is consuming traffic on iPhone
Installed programs, in addition to simply updating their version, can also consume the Internet in order to perform their normal functions. Therefore, if you really feel that megabytes are running away, it makes sense to check - maybe some application is too greedy? You can do this:
Just in case, remember this point so that in the future you won’t be surprised why cards (for example) refuse to work and update their data.
Sending “official information” can also waste internet
In fact, of course, this option does not consume so much Mobile Internet I myself have not encountered this, but I have seen several stories that talk about this particular “glitch” or failure, when this same service information was constantly sent. Therefore, I decided to include this item here - disabling its sending would definitely not be superfluous. How to do it?
As we see in the explanation, this information is sent daily, and does not bear any special burden other than helping Apple improve its products. Therefore, if you turn off its transmission, then nothing bad will happen, and traffic (even if small) will be saved.
“Help with Wi-Fi” - traffic on iPhone leaks very quickly
“Wonderful” option, which for some reason is enabled by default. Its essence is that if your Wi-Fi signal does not work, but the cellular network can provide better speed- Wi-Fi will automatically turn off and data transfer will go through the SIM card.
Not long ago I fell for this bait myself - I sat watching videos on YouTube and didn’t bother anyone. Then the iPad didn’t like something about my Wi-Fi (bad signal, insufficient speed) and decided to turn it off (which is important - no notifications come!), and I, blissfully unaware, continued to enjoy the video via cellular connection. I came to my senses only after the operator sent an SMS message with the text: “Your Internet package is coming to an end.”
Therefore, in my opinion, if you do not have an unlimited tariff, this option should be disabled immediately. How to do it:
I repeat, this option should be turned off in almost any case, so that there are no surprises with the disappearance of traffic.
Syncing iCloud services eats up mobile data
iCloud is really good and convenient, and backups are generally beyond praise. However, if you care about saving precious megabytes on your tariff, then in this case the “cloud” will have to be turned off.
We are now talking about iCloud Drive - this is a kind of cloud data storage (I have already discussed the principles of its operation). So, synchronization (downloading and uploading data) with this storage can occur over a cellular network. And it’s good if you sent the object there small size, and what if 100-200 megabytes? By the time it downloads, all traffic will go away.
Yes, and ordinary programs can store their data there. And who knows how much they will load there? But the good thing is that all this can be turned off:
After this, the “cloud” will synchronize exclusively via Wi-Fi.
It would seem that each of the actions is quite simple and does not require special effort. But disabling and fulfilling all points.
In your mobile phone settings you can find a section called “Data Transfer” or “Data Usage”. This section calculates the traffic that the user spends on his phone.
But many users do not know what traffic is and what to do with the traffic values that are displayed in the mobile phone settings. If you also have not yet figured out this issue, then we suggest that you read our article.
Traffic is the amount of information that mobile phone sends and receives from the Internet. Traffic can be measured in packets, bits, or bytes. But in phones, bytes and their derivatives (kilobytes, megabytes and gigabytes) are usually used as a unit of measurement. Traffic counting is necessary so that the user can control his Internet expenses.
When traffic is counted, it is usually divided into several types. This can be incoming, outgoing, internal or external traffic. But the phone usually doesn’t have such detailed statistics about traffic usage. Instead, the phone simply shows the total amount of data that has been used over a period of time. In some cases, separate counts may be kept for mobile Internet (traffic transmitted via cellular communications) and Wi-Fi.
If necessary, traffic counting can be organized on any device that is connected to the network or the Internet. For example, if you need to count traffic on a computer with a Windows operating system, then you can use the following programs: TMeter, NetWorx, BWMeter or DU Meter.
How to view traffic on Android
In order to see traffic consumption on an Android mobile phone, you need to open the “ Settings" and find the section there " Data transfer" or " data usage" For example, on pure Android 8.0, to do this you first need to go to the “ Network and Internet", and then open the subsection " Data transfer».
Here you can see how much traffic was used over the last month and take advantage of the functions that allow you to manage your mobile Internet expenses. There is also information about the amount of information that was transferred via Wi-Fi.
If the information that Android provides is not enough for you, then you can install special applications for traffic counting. For example, you can use applications or.
How to view traffic on iPhone
There is a similar section with traffic information on the iPhone. If you have an Apple mobile phone, then you need to open the settings application, go to the " cellular" and scroll the screen to the item " Statistics».
Here you can see the total amount of data from the Internet, as well as data that was received while roaming. In addition, the iPhone gives exact value traffic for everyone installed application. This allows you to quickly identify the applications that access the Internet most often and increase your mobile communications costs.
If the information provided by the iPhone is not enough for you, then you can install special applications for counting traffic. For example, you can use applications or.
How to save traffic on your phone
If your Mobile Internet expenses seem too high to you, then you can take a number of measures to reduce the amount of traffic consumed:
- Turn off mobile Internet when you don't need it. Simple but very effective advice. If you are severely limited in mobile traffic, then mobile Internet should be turned off at every opportunity.
- Explore your phone settings. Explore the settings available on your phone. You'll likely find a variety of features and functionality that can help you reduce your data usage and control your mobile Internet costs.
- Use a browser with a saving feature. Many browsers have built-in bandwidth saving tools. For example, you can use the Opera browser. This browser passes all traffic through its own servers, where it is pre-compressed.
- Try to always connect to Wi-Fi. While you are connected to wireless network Wi-Fi, you transmit traffic through this network, while the mobile Internet is actually disabled.
- Explore application settings. In the settings of many applications there is an item “Only via Wi-Fi”; after enabling it, the application will only use the Wi-Fi network.
In light of the fact that operators mobile communications stopped providing tariffs with unlimited Internet traffic, it would be useful to know how to save mobile traffic in android smartphones and tablets. In this material, we will tell you how to significantly reduce traffic consumption and try not to go beyond the volume that is required by your tariff.
Identifying applications with high network activity
To determine consumers of mobile traffic in the Android operating system there is a built-in application, which, depending on the versions of the operating system and the proprietary user interface, may be called “ », « " or " data usage».
Here you can see which programs consume megabytes the most, and also set a traffic limit, upon reaching which work on the Internet using mobile network will be terminated. And if you look at the name of a specific application in the list of Internet data consumers, you can see more detailed information about the consumption of mobile traffic.
Having studied the list of applications, you can see that the main consumers of the Internet are a small amount of applications. Typically, these are those programs that provide viewing of pages on the Internet (browsers), viewing online video and audio, as well as navigation maps. Let's see what can be done to save mobile traffic in these applications.
To save mobile traffic when browsing the Internet, you should use browsers that support data compression and . In such browsers, the requested information is compressed on a special server and then transmitted to the user.
Along with blocking unsolicited advertising banners, which take up additional data against your will, with such browsers you can get quite good traffic savings on the mobile network. Applications such as Ghrome, Opera and UC Browser have proven themselves well.
Watching videos on the Internet using a mobile operator’s network is the most “traffic-consuming” activity. After watching just a couple of videos in good resolution, you can spend the entire monthly limit on your tariff. The vast majority of users watch videos on YouTube using the application of the same name. How can you save mobile traffic here?
Open the app settings and check the option " Traffic savings", thereby disabling viewing HD video on mobile Internet.
Listening to music and radio online also consumes a large amount of data over the mobile network. Although compared to watching video, traffic consumption here is an order of magnitude lower, it is still worth setting up an application for listening to streaming audio to save Internet data received. Almost all streaming audio download apps have an option to select the audio quality. The lower the quality, the less consumption traffic.
For example, in the Google Play Music program, you can select the sound quality over the mobile network " Low», « Average" And " High" You can completely turn off listening on the operator’s network and use only WI-FI.
Most users use maps from Google and Yandex search engines on their smartphones and tablets for navigation, which significantly consume mobile traffic when downloaded to the device. You can save here by saving required area cards in the smartphone’s memory or otherwise cached.
And if you are in roaming, then for navigation it is better to use special navigation applications that work without using the Internet, determining the location using GPS or Glonass satellites.