Most Android apps require the Internet to work properly. Apps use the Internet to download updates, new data and information. At the same time, unlimited use of mobile data by applications often leads to the use of all available traffic for the month. Even with a plan with unlimited mobile data, operators impose a speed limit after exceeding a certain amount of data. In this article, you’ll learn how to check data usage on Android phones and tablets. And also how to set a limit on mobile data usage by applications.
Note! The name of the menu and the sequence of actions may vary slightly in different phones due to the Android version and the type of graphical interface.
How to check mobile data usage in Android OS
The standard mobile data usage tracking feature for cellular and Wi-Fi is available in Android.
Procedure for Android 8-13:
1. Open the system settings on your phone or tablet.
2. Select “Network and Internet.”
3. From the new menu, select “Mobile Network” or “SIMs.
4. Next, select “App data usage.”
5. In the next menu, the data usage statistics will appear. At the very top, you can select a period to view the statistics. A list of apps with the amount of data used will be displayed below.
Procedure for Android 5-7:
1. Open the system settings on your phone or tablet.
2. Select the “Data usage” menu.
3. The next menu in Android 5 displays a graph with data usage and time period selection. In Android 6 and 7 only a short statistic appears with the amount of data used per month.
4. To view the statistics in detail, select “Mobile Data Usage”.
5. The next menu will display statistics on the data used by apps for the specified time period.
How to check mobile data usage on Samsung phones and tablets
In Samsung phones and tablets, checking mobile data usage is slightly different due to the use of the proprietary One UI screen shell.
Procedure:
1. Open the system settings of your phone or tablet.
2. From the settings menu, select “Connections.
3. Next, select “Data usage.
4. From the new menu, select “Mobile Data Usage.
5. In the next menu, you can see the mobile data usage schedule for your apps. You can also change the time interval to view data usage for a specific period.
How to check mobile data usage through a traffic monitoring app
An alternative way to view data usage is through traffic monitoring apps. The advantage of some of these apps is the separation of the type of traffic. You can see how much data has been transferred and how much data the app has spent downloading. As an example, let’s take the GlassWire app.
Procedure:
1. Install and run the GlassWire app.
2. Give the application the necessary permissions to work.
3. From within the application, select the first panel at the bottom of the screen to view the statistics.
4. The selected pane defaults to showing overall mobile and Wi-Fi data usage statistics.
5. To switch the network type, tap the button in the upper right corner.
6. To change the time period display, tap the button in the upper left corner.
7. Each app’s data usage statistics will appear at the bottom of the screen.
How to set a mobile data usage limit in Android OS
Android supports the standard feature of setting a limit on data usage by applications. Once the limit is reached, the system will disable mobile Internet. You can also set a warning. When the set warning is reached, the corresponding notification will appear. Account of the data used by the phone and the operator may be different, with a preponderance in favor of the operator. Therefore, it is advisable to set a warning and data usage limit with a small margin.
Procedure for Android 8-13:
1. Open the system settings of your phone or tablet.
2. Select “Network and Internet.”
3. Next, select “Mobile Network” or “SIMs”.
4. In the next menu, select “Data Warning and Restriction.
5. If you want to set a data usage warning, then activate the function and set the required amount of data.
6. To set a data usage limit, activate the function and specify the amount of data.
Procedure for Android 5-7:
1. Open the system settings of your mobile device.
2. Next, select “Data usage”.
3. In the next menu, if you are using Android 5, you will see a window with controls to set the warning and data usage limit. The setting is only available when the mobile data feature is activated.
4. When using Android 6 and 7, you need to scroll through the page.
5. To set the limit, you should activate the function next to “Limit”. Then you must set the preferred amount of data.
6. To limit the data, activate the function next to “Limit mobile data usage” and enter the amount of data to be limited.
7. To set the alert, activate the function. Enter the amount of data for the alert .
How to set a mobile data usage limit on Samsung phones and tablets
The standard way to set the data usage limit on Samsung phones and tablets is slightly different due to the use of the proprietary One UI screen shell.
Procedure:
1. Go to the basic settings menu on your phone or tablet.
2. Select the “Connections” item.
3. In the next menu, select “Data usage.
4. Then select “Mobile Data Usage.”
5. The new menu displays a graph of mobile data usage by apps. By moving the sliders up or down, you can set a warning and a data usage limit. After setting a warning, the system will notify you when a certain amount of data is being used. With the limit set, the system will disable mobile data usage.
How to set a limit on mobile data usage through a traffic control app
Traffic control apps are better at limiting data usage. Because traffic control apps have more parameters that take into account the specifics of your data plan. This makes it possible to more accurately account for the amount of data used by apps. For example, you can exclude applications with unlimited traffic, and you can allow unused data from the current month to be carried over to the next month. As an example, let’s look at the GlassWire traffic monitoring application.
Procedure:
1. Install and run the GlassWire app.
2. Give the app the permissions it needs to work.
3. At the bottom of the screen, switch to the “Rate Plans” menu.
4. Click the “Add” button to create your data plan.
5. Set the data limit of your data plan. It is desirable to leave a small margin due to the possible difference in the accounting of the application and the operator. Specify the details of the tariff plan: the interval of the tariff plan update, applications with unlimited traffic, transfer of unused traffic, etc.
6. Click the “Done” button to save your changes.
How to enable Data Saver in Android
Traffic saving allows you to limit the use of mobile data in the background. The feature will reduce traffic consumption if mobile data runs out or if your data plan includes a small amount of mobile data.
Procedure for Android 8-13:
1. Open the system settings of your phone or tablet.
2. Open the “Network and Internet” menu.
3. Select “Data Saver”.
4. In the new menu, activate the traffic saving feature.
You can also select applications with unlimited traffic. These can be applications where the operator does not consider the traffic consumption or such applications need to work without limiting access to mobile data.
Procedure for Android 5-7:
1. Open the system settings of your phone or tablet.
2. Select “Data usage”.
3. In the next menu, if you’re using Android 5, tap the three-dot button in the upper right corner. From the drop-down list, select “Limit Background Traffic.” Restricting background traffic will affect all apps.
4. If you are using Android 6 and 7, you should select the “Data Saver” menu.
5. In the next menu you should activate the Data Saver function.
6. If necessary, you can set exceptions to the list of installed apps. For such applications, the data usage limitation in the background will not be applied.
How to turn on Data Saver on Samsung phones and tablets
Samsung phones and tablets have 2 traffic-saving modes available. The first traffic saving mode works in the same way as the standard traffic saving mode on all Android phones and tablets. The second traffic saving mode is called “Ultra Data Saving Mode”. In this mode, images and videos are compressed by the Samsung Max service to further reduce data consumption.
Procedure:
1. Open the settings on your Samsung phone or tablet.
2. Select the “Connections” menu.
3. Select the “Data usage” menu to use the default traffic-saving feature. From the new menu, select the “Data Saver” option, and then activate the feature. If necessary, select applications to eliminate the restriction on data usage in the background.
4. To use “Ultra Data Saving Mode”, select such an option from the “Connections” menu. In the next menu, activate the function. You may also select up to 6 applications to exclude the data usage limitation in the background.
Conclusion
This article has described in detail how to check data usage on Android phones and tablets. Standard features of the Android OS allow you to track the traffic consumed by applications, set warnings on excessive data usage, or set limits on the amount of data used. Traffic control apps have more options for tracking and limiting mobile data. Traffic control apps let you know how much data the app is receiving and transmitting, you can set a traffic usage limit in accordance with the operator’s data plan. Android also allows you to enable mobile data savings. In this case, applications will not use mobile data in the background. Notifications and other information will come with a delay. At the same time, data saving will help reduce traffic consumption when data volume runs out or if the tariff initially has a small amount of traffic.
How do you track and save mobile data? Share your opinion in the comments at the bottom of the article.
FAQ
Do tablets and phones use the same SIM card?
The SIM cards of mobile operators are universal and work with tablets and phones. The size of the SIM card may vary. Most modern phones use the compact Nano-SIM SIM card. Older phones used Micro-SIM and Mini-SIM SIM cards. All SIM card formats differ only in the size of the plastic. The contact size on all SIM card formats is the same.
Can I use my tablet as a phone?
If the tablet allows you to make phone calls, then you can use it as a full-fledged phone to make calls over a cellular network. If the tablet does not support phone calls, then it can only be used for voice and video calls via messengers: WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, etc.
What does LTE mean on a tablet?
LTE on a tablet means the availability of mobile Internet. The tablet allows you to install a SIM card for mobile internet. The tablet can be used as a mobile hotspot for a basic phone or laptop.
Which app shows data usage?
You can view the data usage in any traffic monitoring application: GlassWire, My Data Manager, Traffic Monitor, Data Monitor, Data Usage Manager, Data Usage Monitor, etc.
How do I add mobile data to my Status Bar?
Some phones and tablets support the standard feature of displaying mobile data in the status bar. To do this, you must activate the feature in the Internet settings. If this feature is not in the settings, then you can use a traffic monitoring application such as GlassWire or My Data Manager.
Does a tablet use more data?
The type of device does not affect data usage. The amount of data usage is affected by the number of apps installed. The more applications on your phone or tablet, the more data is used.
How do I check my data usage on Samsung Android?
Open the settings. Then menu “Connections”. Then “Data usage” menu. A new menu will show the amount of data usage. You can also install the GlassWire app or My Data Manager to monitor the traffic via a widget on your screen.
How do I monitor activity on my tablet?
For easy tracking of used data, traffic monitoring apps are a good choice. The best traffic monitoring apps are GlassWire and My Data Manager. Both apps allow you to track traffic using a widget.
How to show data usage in status bar android?
In some phone manufacturers’ shells this function is available in the mobile Internet settings. If you do not have this feature, you may use traffic monitoring applications. For example, you can use apps like GlassWire or My Data Manager.
How do I check my daily data usage?
The exact mobile data usage is best viewed in the traffic app GlassWire or My Data Manager.
