Post your settings to minimize data usage (cellular & wifi)

[cbay7]

Just got a G3. Live out of town and even wifi is limited with satellite internet which is 10gb per month for home and use tracphone for cellular service. So data is always a concern. Seems like there are always trade-offs with convenience and limiting data usage.
Like to hear from others who are learning to master data usage with Android!
So if you have tips and tricks you've learned along the way please share!

 

[Rukbat]

Turn off ALL data usage (that's usually in the app itself) and only turn on what you need when you need it.

 

[cbay7]

Turn off ALL data usage (that's usually in the app itself) and only turn on what you need when you need it.

So many things are interdependent that turning everything off can be a lot of work to get some apps working again. I've disabled so many things in the last couple weeks and went back to enable stuff here and there to use something that i can't keep track of all the different settings. If it wasn't for the no root firewall app i would be more frustrated with the phone for sure. Maybe my post makes less sense the longer you use Android but right now it seems like quite a learning curve figuring out all the different tricks.

 

[acejavelin]

I don't know what your paying for Tracfone, but why cripple your phone? Pay a few extra bucks and get a ton more data...

Since your on Tracfone, I assume it is AT&T or T-Mobile based SIM? If it's AT&T then for $35/month (with auto-pay) you can get 2GB of high-speed data, unlimited 2G data, talk, and text on Cricket, or drop an extra $10 and get 5GB of high speed data. If it is T-Mobile you can get 4GB LTE data, unlimited 2G data, voice, and text for $40 on Simple Mobile. Even Straight Talk has recently increased their data allotment making it a viable answer.

I use my phone a lot, although rarely watch videos (a huge data eater), and I rarely ever exceed 1.5GB/month of usage. My son does a lot of YouTube video watching, he pushes around 5GB/month.

 

[cbay7]

Nevermind on this i guess. I'm sorry i posted it now. Over 100 views and not what i thought so maybe people aren't as concerned about being frugal with their data consumption as i thought. Living out in the country with satellite internet has taught us to be very careful with our allotment of data. I'll figure it out.

 

[Rover Pow]

lol at the people saying $40/month for a phone is nothing I pay $4/month for my phone and get 150mins/150sms/150mb
I have installed Opera mini for web browsing and it save 80-90% of data when browsing the internet so even with the 150mb its enough for me as I use it only when I really need it.
all other time i have unlimited wifi at home.

 

[ecksmc]

lol at the people saying $40/month for a phone is nothing I pay $4/month for my phone and get 150mins/150sms/150mb
I have installed Opera mini for web browsing and it save 80-90% of data when browsing the internet so even with the 150mb its enough for me as I use it only when I really need it.
all other time i have unlimited wifi at home.

150mb I use that in 30mins lol Opera max app allows you to save some data as well without using Opera Browser, opera max uses sake process as the browser but it also let's you compress data in other apps

 

[acejavelin]

lol at the people saying $40/month for a phone is nothing I pay $4/month for my phone and get 150mins/150sms/150mb
I have installed Opera mini for web browsing and it save 80-90% of data when browsing the internet so even with the 150mb its enough for me as I use it only when I really need it.
all other time i have unlimited wifi at home.

In the US, $40/month for cell service is nothing... I have friends that still are under contract with the big carriers and spend hundreds per month for crap limits.

In the US we are pretty screwed over by cell phone providers, according to ABC news the average American spends over $1000/year for their cell phone bill.

 

[cbay7]

Totally forgot about Opera. Will have to check that out.
Play store app settings - turning off auto update can help
Also had an issue with goog keyboard - can't remember the setting but it was using way too much. Can look into that as well.

 

[NucleBAH]

Wow. It's worse than I thought. In the UK I *pay £120 (~$174) for 2gb of data, 500 minutes and unlimited SMS (Plus BT WiFi which I get with my internet anyway) a year*. Still can't send SMS and it's a problem with my phone and not my carrier however.
*Fixed typo, made £120/year obvious
Posted via the Android Central App

 

[cbay7]

For intermittent low use the tracfone has been a good fit for us. 4GB of data for $50 and doesn't go away at the end of the month. I've been using from the same 2GB of data for over 6 months.

 

[acejavelin]

For intermittent low use the tracfone has been a good fit for us. 4GB of data for $50 and doesn't go away at the end of the month. I've been using from the same 2GB of data for over 6 months.

No way to argue with that...

 

[Rover Pow]

wow. It's worse than i thought. In the uk i lay £120 (~$174) for 2gb of data, 500 minutes and unlimited sms (plus bt wifi which i get with my internet anyway). Still can't send sms and it's a problem with my phone and not my carrier however.

Posted via the android central app

£120 per month????????

 

[NucleBAH]

£120 per month????????

£120 per year.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[NucleBAH]

Also *pay^

Posted via the Android Central App