Making a data bundle last
Where it actually goes, and the Android settings that cut it most.
Almost all of it is video and automatic downloads. Everything else is noise by comparison, so these are in the order that saves the most.
On your phone
The three biggest savings
- WhatsApp: tap the three dots, Settings, Storage and data, Media auto-download. Set photos to Wi-Fi, and audio, video and documents to No media. This is usually the single largest saving on the phone.
- Video apps: open YouTube, tap your picture, Settings, Video quality preferences, and set Mobile networks to Data saver. 480p looks fine on a phone and uses a fraction of 1080p.
- Play Store: tap your picture, Settings, Network preferences, Auto-update apps, Over Wi-Fi only. An app update over mobile data can be hundreds of megabytes without you touching the phone.
On your phone
Then turn on Data Saver
- Settings, Network and internet, Data Saver. Turn it on.
- It stops apps using data in the background, which is where a bundle goes overnight.
- If one app genuinely needs background data, add it under Unrestricted data rather than switching the whole thing off.
On your phone
Find the app that is draining it
- Settings, Network and internet, SIMs, then App data usage. On some phones it is Settings, Connections, Data usage, Mobile data usage.
- Change the period to the last month, and sort by most used. The answer is usually one app you had forgotten about.
- Tap that app. You will see foreground and background separately. Background usage on an app you rarely open is the clearest sign of a problem.
- Turn off Background data for that app, or uninstall it.
On your phone
Make the phone stop before your bundle does
- In the same Data usage screen, open Data warning and limit.
- Set a billing cycle date that matches when your bundle renews.
- Set a data warning a little below your bundle, and a data limit at it. The phone turns mobile data off when the limit is hit, rather than letting you run into out-of-bundle rates.