How to set up traffic on the phone. What is traffic in a mobile phone. Save bandwidth with Opera Max
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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 multiple GBs of mobile data. Now apps are more "weighty" (it's not uncommon for the apps themselves and their updates to be over 100MB in size), and music and video streaming is becoming more and more popular, and with all this, you can easily use the data limit in a matter of days.
An hour of watching videos on YouTube and now you no longer have several gigabytes of traffic. And if you watch HD videos, 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 much, but imagine using these services every day for an hour, you already get 840 MB in a week. An hour a day for a month and you will already spend about 3.2 GB. If you use a 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 extra traffic with money, but who wants to pay? Before paying for a more expensive plan or for an additional data package, we offer a few tricks to reduce transmitted data (and control).
How to view the amount of data transferred
First of all, you need to check how much data is transferred. If you do not know how much traffic you use, it will not be clear how you need to change the structure of data consumption.
The easiest way to check your data usage is through your cellular provider's web portal. If you never use the limit, then it might be worth switching to a cheaper plan. If you never fit into the traffic package allotted to you, then you should definitely read the article further.
You can also view data consumption statistics on an Android device. Go to Settings -> Data transfer. You will see a screen similar to this:
If you scroll down, you'll see the apps' mobile data usage, 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 by connecting to Wi-Fi, but this will not be displayed in the statistics. If you want to see Wi-Fi data usage statistics, press the menu button and select "Show Wi-Fi traffic".
It is worth noting that you will need to enter your billing cycle here in order to accurately calculate data usage. Since your data will be reset on the first day of a new cycle, it does not matter what you used a month earlier, so the result will not be distorted.
In addition to the graphs, you can set a traffic limit at which a warning will be shown to you, or you can set a limit by adjusting the slider on the graph at which the transfer of mobile traffic will be disabled. Don't forget to turn on the "Mobile data limit" option.
After reaching the limit, mobile traffic will not be transmitted until you turn it on again.
How to control data usage
There are two types of traffic consumed: when the user is using the application and knows that it is working 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 a mobile data connection and not Wi-Fi Internet. Obviously, in order to use less data, you need to stop streaming content and downloading files.
Less obvious data transfer is "background transfer" which uses a lot of traffic. Checking for new messages in the VKontakte application client or checking for new messages in email and other background processes constantly consume traffic. Let's see how to reduce background data consumption.
First, find out which applications are consuming data
First, let's look at which applications are actually using a lot of traffic. Go to Settings -> Data transfer and you will see the applications using data. Click on one of them to see more information. Here we see the normal data transfer and work in the background:
Now that you know which apps use the most data, you know what needs to be optimized.
Using Data Saver in Android Nougat
Android 7.0 Nougat has a new feature with the telling name "Data Saver". It allows you to limit the consumption of background traffic 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 bar and tap on the gear icon to access the settings menu.
In the "Wireless networks" section, click on the "Data transfer" item.
Under the used traffic, you will find the option "Traffic saving". This is where the fun begins.
The first thing to do is turn on the switch located on the top right. The new icon will be displayed 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 Unrestricted Data Access.
After that, a list of all installed applications on your phone will appear. By using the slider next to apps, you can whitelist them by allowing background data transfer.
It should be borne in mind that this applies only 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 data. Look at the settings of this application, it may be worth reducing the number of notifications (for example, VKontakte) or turning them off completely. This will have a great effect not only on the consumed traffic, but also on battery discharge.
True, not every application has such settings. There is another way...
Go to Settings -> Data transfer and click on the app. Turn on the "Restrict background mode" toggle.
Disable all background data transfer
If that's not enough, you can also disable all background data transfer with a single toggle - this will reduce data usage in most cases, but it can also be inconvenient. From the data transfer point, click on the menu and select "Limit background. mode". This will turn off background data for all apps.
Disable Background App Refresh
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 in the item "Auto-update applications" "Only via Wi-Fi" is selected.
Buy frequently used apps (to remove ads)
Apps are often offered in a free version with ads and a paid version. The fact is that ads are not only annoying, but they also use traffic. Therefore, if you want to reduce traffic consumption, you can buy a paid version of a frequently used application.
Many tablet owners have a question: “how to check the remaining traffic on the tablet?”. Now we will understand this article.
There are several ways to check traffic, they partially overlap with the methods from the article.
1. If the tablet can make calls and send SMS, USSD requests
Everything is simple here, of course, enter the necessary combinations, send SMS to the desired number or call the operator's phone and find out your remaining traffic on the account. The fastest and easiest way.
2. If you are not too lazy to pull out the SIM card from the tablet
You can pull the SIM card out of the tablet, insert it into the nearest phone, and follow one of the methods of the previous paragraph.
3. Using Android tools
Go to Settings -> Data transfer. Here you can see traffic costs by application and by time intervals. Here you can also specify a limit at which the system will warn about approaching the limit, or automatically turn off mobile Internet when the set threshold is reached.
4. Using the "Internet Assistant"
Go to your personal account on the operator's website and see information about the current balance of traffic there. Almost all mobile operators have this feature available.
5. If there is a lot of free time
Another option is to simply go to the nearest office of your mobile operator, taking with you an identity document. Passport or driver's license.
There are no real unlimiteds from mobile operators. Subscribers have to save traffic or use the Internet through home Wi-Fi. Another thing is that not everyone has home Internet - love is forced to make do with limited mobile channels. If the traffic is over, the most interesting and costly begins - the purchase of additional packages.
In this review, we will look at:
- How to save Internet traffic;
- How to find the best tariff plan;
- How to purchase additional packages.
Traditional surfing does not lead to a wild waste of Internet traffic. The same applies to social networks - consumption is minimal here, text content is very light, pictures weigh little. Only watching videos and GIFs, as well as downloading files and listening to music, affect consumption. Torrents are considered the most voracious, they are best used through the home Internet, where there are no limits.
Quickly running out of traffic on the phone? You need to learn how to save it. Give up the habit of browsing social media feeds 50 times a day - there is a lot of garbage content here that leads to mental degradation. Unsubscribe from publics with useless information, dubious animations and other muck. Leave only what you need - do not mock your brain. Take an hour or two a day to watch the tapes, you don’t need more.
Turn off automatic software updates if you are an active mobile Internet user. Practice shows that these updates do not make much sense - the main functionality of the software rarely changes. It is enough to update once a month - not more often. This will help save traffic. And if a program cannot do without updates, you will receive a notification.
Other ways to save traffic:
- Listening to music offline - download your favorite music to your phone and stop tormenting online players;
- Install on your smartphone a browser equipped with the function of compressing Internet traffic - for example, Google Chrome;
- Install a program that counts the amount of received / sent data - it will help control the flow.
Divide the traffic allocated for a month by the number of days, get a portion of traffic for a day and try not to go beyond the created limit (you can also use programs that automatically turn off network access when the set thresholds are reached).
Eliminate traffic leaks
The following tips are relevant for computer owners. Using unlimited home Internet, users do not see small leaks - especially if the home channel boasts a speed of tens of megabits. But when it comes to mobile access, here you have to check the computer for traffic leaks. Here are our recommendations:
- Install a normal antivirus (for example, Kaspersky Free) - scan the operating system for viruses. Many of them actively exchange information with external nodes, which causes a leak;
- Complete your antivirus with the Malwarebytes application - it will provide additional protection against viral infections;
- Install the Adblock Plus plugin in your browser - it will prevent the loading of advertising modules, which will help save traffic and make the content on the pages more enjoyable;
- Install an application to control the Internet traffic consumed - it will help cut off the activity of unwanted network software.
And a few more tips - do not visit dubious resources, do not download dubious programs, do not peck at ads that claim that your computer is infected with viruses and offer to install something on it. All this will help save mobile traffic.
These tips are given by millions of experienced users, but inexperienced users don't give a damn - then they complain about hacked social media accounts, mobile subscriptions and stolen funds from bank cards.
Internet traffic leaks are also possible on smartphones and tablets. The recommendations here are simple - install programs only from official sources, do not visit dubious resources, do not pay attention to advertising, watch what you do on the Internet.
We select the optimal tariff
The traffic has ended, the Internet does not work or it works very slowly - a situation familiar to many users. In fact, you need to choose the right tariff plan. For PC users, tariffs with Internet packages of at least 10-15 GB per month are recommended. If you work on the Internet, you may need more traffic - up to 30 GB or more. We recommend that you take a closer look at the tariff plans with nightly unlimited.
Here are some suggestions for the most wasteful users:
- "For a laptop" from MTS - an interesting and affordable unlimited at speeds up to 4 Mbps for 800 rubles / month. Even torrents work, but at speeds up to 512 kbps;
- "MTS Connect 4" from MTS with the "Internet VIP" option - 30 GB and unlimited at night for 1200 rubles / month (without restrictions on torrents);
- "MegaFon Online" from MegaFon with the "Internet XL" option - 30 GB during the day and unlimited at night for 1290 rubles;
- "Internet for a computer" from Beeline - up to 30 GB for 1200 rubles / month;
- “Internet for devices” with the “50 GB” option from Tele2 - 50 GB of Internet with nightly unlimited for 999 rubles / month.
Iota offers special tariffs for modems and routers with speeds from 64 kbps to a maximum with a monthly fee from 0 to 1400 rubles / 30 days.
On a smartphone (including iPhone), we recommend using package tariff plans that include minutes, SMS, traffic packages, as well as unlimited Internet packages for social networks, instant messengers, video hosting and other online services. By the way, it is the additional packages that will save money for those who do not part with social networks.
Traffic extension
The traffic on the phone is over, the modem is silent, the tablet is idle - the situation is not pleasant, especially since there is still a lot of time until the end of next month. Let's see how to increase the amount of traffic on a particular operator.
Extension of traffic from MTS
This operator offers subscribers a variety of so-called "Turbo buttons". Additional 100 MB will cost 30 rubles, 500 MB - 95 rubles, 1 GB - 175 rubles, 2 GB - 300 rubles, 5 GB - 450 rubles, 20 GB - 900 rubles. Unlimited for 3 hours costs 95 rubles, for 6 hours - 150 rubles. To order additional packages, visit the resource http://i.mts.ru/ or use the mobile application - you can get confused in USSD commands.
Prolongation of traffic from MegaFon
Here are some additional options for subscribers to choose from:
- “Extend Internet 1 GB” - 1 GB of Internet traffic for 175 rubles;
- “Extend Internet 5 GB” - 5 GB of Internet traffic for 400 rubles;
- “Extend Internet XS” - 70 MB for 19 rubles (relevant for a smartphone or tablet).
The set is quite modest, but nothing can be done.
Extension of traffic on Beeline
The service "Auto-extension of speed" is provided here. It will add 5 GB for 150 rubles in automatic mode, if it has not been disabled before. There is nothing more interesting and useful on Beeline.
Extension of traffic on Tele2
The options for the "Internet for devices" tariff provide additional packages - up to five pieces of 1 GB each. The cost of one package is 100 rubles. After they are exhausted, Internet access is suspended completely. It turns out insanely expensive and completely uninteresting.
Extension of traffic on Iota
For tablet PCs and modems / routers, unlimited is offered here, so there is not much to renew. On tariff plans for phones, traffic is limited. Here you can order additional packages of 5 GB for 100 rubles each - their number is not limited in any way.
Consider a question from a blog reader: “I have unlimited internet, but Android is blocking the 5 Gb traffic limit. Is it possible to remove the restriction so that Android does not block traffic and how to remove it?
Indeed, it’s a shame when you pay for unlimited Internet, but in fact you are modestly content with what is installed in Android.
Where to look for traffic settings
To get to the appropriate settings, we will open nesting dolls in turn, one by one. The largest of these is "Applications" (given for Android 5.0.2):
Rice. 1. Open Applications in Android
Having opened Applications in Android, we find Settings there:
Rice. 2. Android Settings
In the settings we need "Data Usage":
Rice. 3. Open "Data Usage"
How to remove the traffic limit on Android
If the Internet is unlimited, then you can forget about the restrictions. To remove them, it is enough to uncheck the box next to “Mobile Restriction” as shown below (number 2 in Fig. 4), because there is no checkmark - there are no restrictions.
Rice. 4. No mobile data limit (none)
On fig. 4 shows that there are two types of Internet traffic on an Android smartphone:
- by Wi-Fi,
- mobile traffic through a SIM card (below it goes under the name Nadezhda).
It is also shown that the amount of Internet traffic consumed is 292 kb so far.
How to disable traffic on android
If you uncheck the green checkmark next to "Mobile data" (1 in Fig. 4), a warning will appear:
“Without a Wi-Fi network, you will not be able to use the Internet, mail and other applications that require data transmission. Mobile data will be disabled."
If you click “OK” in such a window, then by doing so we will turn off the traffic and Android will be generally free from the Internet, access to which the mobile operator opens for us (not free, of course).
How to set up traffic restriction
We are interested in how you can change the restrictions on Internet traffic in order to take full advantage of the Internet access services provided by the mobile operator.
Click on “Mobile Restriction” (2 in Fig. 4), after which a window will appear:
Rice. 5. Restrict data transfer
I duplicate the message in the "Restrict data transfer" window (Fig. 5):
“The data connection will be disconnected when the specified limit is reached. Data usage is measured on the device and your service provider may calculate traffic differently, so set a tighter limit."
Here we can only click on the "OK" button, confirming our desire to limit data transfer so as not to overpay and so that Android monitors the amount of traffic and stops accessing the Internet in time.
Rice. 6. Traffic limit set - 5 GB
On fig. 6 shows that the Internet traffic limit is 5 Gigabytes. If you click on the number 5.0 GB, which is visible on the Android screen, then in the window that appears (Fig. 7) we can set any other limit by typing numbers on the online keyboard, for example, 15 GB.
Rice. 7. You can set a traffic limit using the online keyboard
Or you can simply “move” the top line, which limits the traffic to 15 GB, as shown in Fig. 8. You need to move, hooking the line in the place where there is a bold dot - at the opposite end from the inscription 15 GB. The line moves easily both up and down.
Rice. 8. The traffic limit is set to 15 GB.
We will move the line that limits the traffic limit down, hooking it to the thick dot, at the top right (circled in the frame in Fig. 8).
Thus, for example, we set the upper limit on the figure 2.9 GB (Fig. 9). You can also move by hooking on the fat dot and the "Warning" line. This line shows at what amount of traffic on Android a warning will be displayed about reaching the specified limit, but at the same time restrictions will not be enabled, Android will still have access to the Internet. But when the upper limit is reached (in the variant in Fig. 9 it is 2.9 GB), the Internet will turn off.
For those who are too lazy to move the black line up or down, they can simply click on the number next to the "Warning" line to use the on-screen keyboard (Fig. 7) to specify the amount of traffic at which a warning will be received.
Rice. 9. Finally set values of Warnings and Limitations of Internet traffic on Android
Results
That, in general, is all the wisdom of installing warnings and limiting mobile Internet traffic on Android. I must say that the established warnings and restrictions are valid on Android for any type of Internet use, whether it is accessing the Internet on Android, or accessing an access point for “distributing Wi-Fi”, using mobile applications with Internet access, using e-mail, etc. All traffic will be taken into account by this access control system.
Unfortunately, the traffic counted by Android may not match the traffic counted by the mobile operator itself. In my practice, it was when Android had not yet limited Internet access, and the mobile operator had already drastically reduced the speed of the Internet or turned it off altogether.
To avoid this discrepancy (whether we like it or not, mobile operators and Android devices will still always count traffic differently), on Android it is useful to set traffic limits a little less than the mobile operator suggests. In particular, in Fig. Figure 9 shows setting a limit of 2.9 GB with a given limit of 3.0 GB from a mobile operator. With this setting of restrictions, there will be no contradictions between Android and the mobile operator, and Android will notify in time, and then turn off the Internet, without waiting for the mobile operator to do this.
Hello friends blog site!
If you do not have enough mobile Internet traffic for your smartphone, then this is not a reason to change your tariff to a more expensive one. It makes sense to first figure out where the blood megabytes go. How to do this and prevent leakage, now I will show everything in order!
Not many people can afford to deposit money for mobile Internet traffic, so as not to pay attention to its cost. The fee in the communication + Internet compartment is quite expensive for a simple layman. Even if you take unlimited, which also in most cases has its own limits and restrictions, after which, in excess of megabytes, they will “get out” for a pretty penny.
Let's start by disabling auto-updates of applications, as this not only consumes Internet traffic on your smartphone, but also drains the battery, and also affects performance if your gadget has average technical specifications.
Ways to save mobile traffic
1.Play Market
Open the Google Play service, enter the Menu.
Select the Settings item.
Here you need the section Auto-update applications. In the pop-up window, out of the proposed 3 options, I recommend highlighting the third one, only via Wi-Fi.
No matter how weak your smartphone is, applications still need to be updated because the developer is trying to improve them all the time and each new version will almost always be better than the previous one.
The initial goal of the article is to save mobile traffic, which we will strive for without digressing from the given topic.
a) Manual control.
If you are not satisfied with the automatic update over Wi-Fi and want to control the entire process personally, select the Never option.
We are interested in two points here:
1. Update - designed for manual control, when a new version of the program is released, you will be informed about it. After that, make an independent decision whether you need to upgrade or not.
2. Auto - those who have a Wi-Fi update will also receive information that the application or game has been successfully updated.
b) There is also such an opportunity to control the update for a single program. To do this, select My apps and games from the menu.
From the list of installed applications on your phone, choose which ones you want to control yourself.
Click on the three vertical dots in the upper right corner
Remove the checkmark.
2. Disable Background App Connections for Mobile Internet
We enter the Android settings.
Choose SIM-cards and mobile networks.
Select Traffic settings.
Disable background connections.
This action will also significantly reduce the consumption of mobile traffic.
3. Save traffic in Google apps
Every Android smartphone comes pre-installed with some of the necessary apps from Google that are very useful and many people use them successfully.
The most popular tool is, of course, Google Play or, in other words, the Play Market, which we just set up, and now let's move on to other popular tools.
YouTube
Open YouTube settings.
Click the General tab.
Saving traffic is the lowest possible quality.
Download - only via Wi-Fi.
Video quality is 360.