Tips to Save Data & Enjoy More
How to save data stands along the greatest questions in recent human history: how to find one’s purpose in life, how to contribute to the greater good, what would Steve Jobs do in my place?
General tips might seem to be a blast from the past from any pro user, but just ? with us, and part II will be about answering some of the customers’ FAQ about Tello data usage & products.
Covering the basics
We have to mention this before anything else: the (first) best way to avoid sucking down huge chunks of data while you’re out & about (and dependent on cellular data) is to take full advantage of the Wi-Fi connection – shocker!
Many streaming service apps are adding offline modes that allow users to pre-cache data while on Wi-Fi to use when on their cellular data connections – like Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker Radio, and Spotify.
There are data savings toggles & features design to help, even your smartphone operating system is built this way. All the info structured according to the type of device you have and is a collection of good advice compiled & design to give you a lot of useful insights & references from geek guru’s that we love.
iOS Commandments
- Only Selected Apps to Use Data
It has always been one of the game changer tricks for fixing the fast data usage. So, give it a try.
- Tap on Settings → Cellular (Mobile in some cases).
- Toggle off the switch next to the app which you no longer want to use data.
- Disable Location Services
Easy peasy: prevent fast data consumption by using Location Services only when it’s needed.
- Launch Settings app → go to Privacy.
- Tap on Location Services.
- Toggle off the switch next to Location Services.
- Turn Off Background App Refresh
Background App Refresh is a well-known killer not just for a lot of power but also data. Hence, it’s better to turn it off. Disabling auto-downloads & updates can be a life savior for your cellular data as well, regardless if we’re talking about iOS or Android.
- Disable Wi-Fi Assist
Whenever there is poor Wi-Fi, your iPhone automatically uses cellular data so don’t think twice about turning off Wi-Fi Assist.
5.Don’t forget the Mail app
In some cases, it might be best to stop the Mail app from downloading stuff in the background altogether. Gmail and iCloud users can download Dropbox’s Mailbox app (Android, iOS), which is nifty for a few reasons, but it will also save you some data.
Android Insights
It won’t kill you to check your current month’s usage right from your android phone: Navigate to Settings > Wireless & Networks > Data Usage – just saying!
Android 7.0 Nougat News
Android 7.0 Nougat introduced a much more granular way to take control over your mobile data with a new feature called Data Saver that allows you to limit background data used by apps: background data is disabled for every app by default, but you can then pick & choose where to grant unlimited access.
If you don’t have Android Nougat, you have a few other options.
- Go back to your home screen and open one of the apps that’s using too much data to see if it has any settings designed to restrict data usage.
- You can even try to go into the Facebook app and turn down the frequency of push notifications or turn them off altogether since that will be a battery life enhancer as well.
Turn Off All Background Data
If that isn’t enough, you can also turn off all background data with the flip of one switch—this reduces your data usage in most instances from the Data Usage menu
- press the menu button and check “Restrict Background Data” → it will turn off background data for all applications.
Use Chrome’s Data Saver
If you surf the web a lot on your phone, Google Chrome’s “Data Saver” mode can be easier on your data cap. It routes all of your traffic through a proxy run by Google that compresses the data on a server before downloaded to Chrome on your device, reducing the data consumption on your end by a surprising amount.
Tello’s best practices on saving data & FAQ
Hey, congrats, you’ve made it this far! Since you’re still with us, let’s put things into perspective and say you have a Tello plan with 2GB of data.
Here are some tips to make the most of it:
- The browser you use can make all the difference. Speed is one of the most crucial aspects of mobile browsers & improved page load speed saves our day.
- Use miser data apps like Puffin, Dolphin, Opera Mini and Facebook Lite – for more, check out this article.
Q: What does data throttle mean?
- If your data speed is throttled, it means your internet speed is limited to just 64kbps and tethering automatically disabled. Throttling is automatically enabled when your data plan balance runs out. You can still benefit from 4G LTE speed if you renew your data plan, upgrade to a new plan with a higher data balance or top up your Pay As You Go balance.
Q: If I choose no data, does that mean no unlimited 2G is offered? Would I immediately have access to the throttled (64k) data, or would there really be no data available whatsoever?
- No, if you choose the “No Data” option then you would not have access to Data, throttled or otherwise. The throttled data speed of 64kbps only applies on an active Data Plan when your data plan balance runs out.
Q: Where does Tello have a toggle switch for LTE/throttle?
- You will only see the toggle switch if you have a PAYG balance and then you will see the toggle switch on your Dashboard when you log in to your online account, just scroll down a bit. The toggle is between 4G/LTE to be ON or OFF.
Q: Is the unlimited 64 kps only available when having an active monthly paid data plan in which the LTE allotment is used up?
- Yes, that is right – the unlimited 64 kps is only available for an active plan that has run out its data plan, not applicable for PAYG. You have the option to toggle in both services and also the option to disable minutes, SMS or data by contacting CS.
Q: Do I have unlimited data when using Pay As You Go?
- No. Unlimited data only applies to active data plans. Pay As You Go does what it says. You can use data from your PAYG balance as long as you have balance available and Pay As You Go data is ON in your online account. Once your Pay As You Go balance goes below $0.50, your data is disabled and you won’t be able to share data through tethering.
Q: Is tethering/hotspot eating up my data?
- We know that free tethering is one of the many things our customers love about Tello, that personal Hotspot may be a mobile users and telecommuters dream, but tethering can easily go through your data extremely fast.
