Android smartphones without internet connection is nothing. Can you tell me what you can do with your unconnected to internet Android smartphone? Not much. Right?
Most Android users don’t mind to subscribe to a certain data plan because they know that Android smartphone without internet connection is just a regular cellphone, nothing else. The problem is, the price of data plans can drain your wallet, especially if you are a member of social media addicts and frequently watch videos from YouTube or Instagram. Isn’t there Wi-Fi?. You are not wrong but you have also probably known that not all public places provide a Wi-Fi.
If you are in the money saving process and want to prolong your data plan, you can do some settings to reduce the mobile data usage on your Android smartphone. The simple things below have been proven to save mobile data on Android.
1. Turn off mobile data when not in use
The first thing you can do to save internet quota when you are on a limited data plan is turning it off when you are not actively using it. Turning off mobile data is extremely easy since most Android smartphones put this option into notifications bar. So, just roll up your screen and tap the Mobile data option.
2. Restrict push notifications
Push notification is a great feature in Android smartphone. It ensures you to not miss any update such as Instagram comments, news updates and lots more. But think it twice, do you really need all those notifications?
Disabling push notification in some apps can you lead into a successful mobile data savings. To do this you can go to Settings –> Application manager and choose the apps you want to disable their notification.
3. Disable auto-sync
Another great feature of Android is auto-sync. This feature will bring the changes you made in your apps — like Google Drive, Dropbox and other similar app — from other devices. But, you have to know that sync means download. So, if you are on a limited data plan I am pretty sure that you don’t want to activate this feature all the time. Thankfully, Android also gives you the ability to disable this feature. To disable auto-sync in Android you can go to Settings –> Data usage and tap the three-dot icon at the top-right corner.
4. Set a data limit
You can always monitor the mobile data consumption in your Android smartphone by going to Settings –> Data usage. You can also set a data limit to ensure you are not wasting your limited data plan. Android will automatically turns off your data connection every time you have reached a certain number of quota you have specified before.
5. Never install data-hungry apps
Apps in Google Play Store are countless and you can always install your preferred ones if you need (or want) them. But keep in mind that not all apps are good for your mobile data. There are some that are notorious for using a huge amount of data. Facebook and Facebook Messenger are two examples of this this kind of app. So, instead of installing both app (and other data-hungry apps) you can install alternative apps to replace them.
6. Set the auto-update method
The latest version of apps are not just enable you to enjoy the new features of those apps but also make your smartphone saver since not all latest version always bring new features but also bug fixes. So, it’s always important to have the latest update of your apps. Android comes with an auto-update feature so you don’t have to manually update every new version of your apps.
But, be careful. If you want to activate this feature be sure to select the “Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi Only” option if you want to save your mobile data. You can set this option from Play Store. Swipe from the left-hand side to open the menu and select Settings –> Auto-update apps.
7. Tweak app settings
Popular apps like Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram come with default settings that can drain your mobile data. Twitter for instance. The default settings of this app will automatically play video contents on your timeline. So do with WhatsApp. The default settings of this app will automatically download every image on your chats. You can change the default settings of those apps to help you save your mobile data.
8. Turn on “Reduce data usage” option in Google Chrome
If you regularly use Google Chrome in your Android then you should know about this. Google Chrome has a feature to compress web pages you want to visit before they are be downloaded. This simple feature can help your intention to save your mobile data. To find this option go to Settings –> Bandwidth management.