7 steps you can take with your smartphone to stop going over your data limit

I’ve found that most people have a good understanding of how much data they are paying for each month as part of their cellular plan. What they don’t understand is when they are using their data plan.

It basically comes down to this. If you are not connected to a private or public Wi-Fi network and you are doing anything that requires data over the Internet (checking email, checking Facebook, watching videos, etc.) then you are using your cellular data plan.

And if you’re not careful, you can blow your data limits faster than you think which could end up hitting you right in the wallet.

Here are 7 steps you can take with your smartphone to stop going over your data limit:

1. Use Wi-Fi whenever possible

This one is the most relevant of them all. Whenever possible, use a free private or public Wi-Fi connection. Use it in your home, your hotel, your local coffee shop, wherever. When you’re using Wi-Fi, you’re not using your data plan.

2. Do not stream videos over your cellular connection

Videos eat up more data than anything else on this list. If you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, do not watch Facebook or YouTube videos. And don’t even think about watching that movie or television show on Netflix or Hulu.

3. Disable photo/video syncing services

If you have a syncing service like iCloud or Dropbox that backs up your photos and videos to the cloud, you’ll want to make sure the service is disabled when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi. Better yet, look for the option on these services that only syncs your photos and videos when you are connected to Wi-Fi.

4. Do not download large file attachments in your email

Receiving an email with a large file attachment over your cellular data connection (ie, not Wi-Fi) is ok as long as you don’t try to download or otherwise view the attachment. If you download a 20 MB attachment, you just used 20 MB of your data plan.

5. Do not install new apps or update existing apps

This is very similar to #4 above. If you are using your cellular data connection and you download a 30 MB app, you just used 30 MB of your data plan. App updates are often worse as you may have 20-30 updates pending which in total can add up to a lot of data. Like #3, look for an option in your app store to only update apps when connected to Wi-Fi.

6. Limit background data usage if at all possible

This is a sneaky one. Apps like Facebook, your news app and your email are constantly checking to see if you have any new notifications. While these checks don’t take up much of your data plan, they can add up over time. If you are really tight on your data budget, look to turn off or disable these background checks. This is for more advanced users only as you’ll need to do this app by app.

7. When all else fails, turn on Airplane Mode

If the entire list above overwhelms you and you are worried about exceeding your data plan when not connected to Wi-Fi, take the easy way out and turn on your smartphone’s Airplane Mode. With Airplane Mode enabled, your phone won’t be able to make any Wi-Fi or data connections. In other words, it will stop transmitting data of any kind. Of course you won’t get any email or Facebook notifications but you won’t be using your data plan either.

Have a tip to add to this list? I’d love to hear it. Leave it in the comment section below.