10 Genius Hacks for How To Save Data on iPhone
Your iPhone is a miraculous, versatile device, but there's no denying that it eats through your monthly data allowance very quickly. Unfortunately, if your iPhone uses too much cellular data, you could face seriously high fees at the end of the month.
What if there was a way to save data on your iPhone without compromising its other functions? Let's look at these ten hacks to help you save data on your iPhone one by one.
Download Playlists and Files Ahead of Time
Are you burning up your data allowance when you download a new song, TV show episodes, or other files? You can still put those files on your iPhone without running th
rough your data allowance so quickly.
The solution? Download Spotify playlists, iTunes songs, and any other files you have in mind ahead of time. More specifically, download your files while still connected to a Wi-Fi network. As long as you have access to a Wi-Fi network, your iPhone will use that network to download any important files to its storage.
If you download songs, books, or other media before you leave a Wi-Fi network, your iPhone will burn through your cellular data allowance slower. This is a smart habit because using your home Wi-Fi network is likely more secure than downloading files while you aren't connected to any network.
Turn Off Cellular Data for Specific Apps
Sometimes, your iPhone's data might be hogged by a few problematic apps.
These include data-hungry games, streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu, and social apps like Facebook. If you know that a few apps are consuming most of your mobile data, you can restrict their data usage without affecting your other apps.
Follow these steps:
- Go to the Settings app and tap Cellular
- Toggle the switch next to the app so you don't want to use mobile data anymore. Be sure to toggle the switch marked Cellular Data
- To take things a step further, toggle the switch marked Enable LTE to prevent the app from using that data, too.
When you follow these steps, your chosen apps will only work or download new information when on a Wi-Fi network. It's a foolproof way to prevent a new app from taking all your cell data by accident.
Disable the Background App Refresh Setting
Your iPhone is probably equipped with a Background App Refresh setting. This allows your applications to update themselves and download new information in the background, even if you aren't actively using them. It's convenient, but it can hog a lot of your cellular data without you knowing (plus drain your iPhone's battery).
If you don't want this to happen, you can turn off the Background App Refresh setting by following these steps:
- Go to the Settings
- Tap General
- Tap Background App Refresh
- Then turn it off
Remember that if you use this hack to save data on an iPhone, you'll need to update your applications manually with every use.
Disable Auto Updates for Apps
Many of your apps will still automatically update even if you take the above tip into account.
If you notice that one or more of your apps are still automatically updating even if you turned off the Background App Refresh feature, follow these steps to seal the deal:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap iTunes & App Store
- Tap Use Cellular Data
Don't Stream High-Quality Music
Many of us love streaming music through our iPhones to our wireless earbuds or other listening devices. However, if you stream high-quality music, you'll use up a ton of your monthly data allowance before you know it.
Turning off this setting still allows you to enjoy your tunes while being a little more economical with your data. To turn off high-quality music streaming:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Music
- Tap High Quality on Cellular, which stops high-quality music streaming and downloading by default
Turn Off Location Services
Your iPhone's location services allow a variety of apps, like Maps, to know where you are at any time.
It's a useful feature, but it also uses a ton of data. If you don't need your iPhone to know where you are (and you don't want Apple to track you constantly), you can turn off location services to save cellular data even more.
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Privacy
- Tap Location Services
- Then tap the option to turn it off
You can always turn location services back on whenever you need to use them. Apps that use location services will prompt you to do so automatically, making this even easier to revert.
Disable Wi-Fi Assist
Wi-Fi assist is a special iPhone feature that uses cellular data to supplement or improve your data streaming capabilities if Wi-Fi connectivity is poor.
For instance, if you don't have the best Wi-Fi connection but are still connected to a Wi-Fi network to some extent, your iPhone will automatically use cellular data to bridge some gaps.
While this helps you browse the web smoothly and easily, it also consumes a lot of your cellular data when you think you are safe. Turning off Wi-Fi assist is usually best unless you need a page to load quickly. To turn off Wi-Fi assist:
- Go to the Settings app
- Tap Cellular to disable this feature.
Use Low Data Mode
Did you know that your iPhone has a dedicated low-data mode that you can activate to save cellular data at any time?
As long as your phone runs on iOS 13 or later, you can turn this low data mode on with a touch of a few buttons. Doing so restricts your iPhone's interaction with background networks and cuts down on general Wi-Fi usage as well.
As a side benefit, your iPhone will burn through its battery life less quickly so long as low data mode is on.
To turn on low data mode for LTE or 4G cellular data:
- Go to the Settings app and tap Cellular
- Then tap Cellular Data Options
- Then tap Low Data Mode
If you have a 5G-capable iPhone, you can also turn on low power mode for 5G data use. To do this:
- Go to the Settings app and tap Cellular
- Then tap Cellular Data Options and Data Mode
- Then tap Low Data Mode
Adjust Your Mail Fetch Settings
If you've connected your email account to your iPhone, it will automatically fetch new mail by connecting to the Internet, even if you aren't connected to Wi-Fi. If you set your email app to fetch new emails less frequently, you'll use less cellular data as a result.
To tweak these settings:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Mail
- Tap Accounts
- Tap Fetch New Data
Turn off Push if you don't want new emails pushed to you all the time. Then check out the fetch schedule displayed near the bottom of the screen. You can manually tell your email app how often you want it to check for new messages or even turn it off entirely by selecting the Manual option.
Turn Off Cellular Data Completely
What if you are right at the edge of your data allowance, but the new data cycle is about to begin? In that case, you should turn off cellular data entirely, so your iPhone doesn't accidentally burn through your last bit of data.
You can disable cellular data 100% using these steps:
- Open the Settings App
- Then tap Cellular
- Then tap Cellular Data. This will turn off cellular data on your phone completely.
Note that this method also allows you to change your cellular data options if you want to disable LTE data specifically or roaming data (which allows you to use the cell towers owned or operated by other carriers.
This is a very helpful option if you travel internationally and want to avoid accidentally getting charged roaming fees because your iPhone automatically connects to roaming networks without your consent.
Get All the Data You Need With Red Pocket
As you can see, you can save data on an iPhone with any combination of the above tips and tricks.
However, if you want peace of mind, you'll look for a generous data plan like Red Pocket. offered.
In fact, we have nationwide data-only plans, so you always have the cellular data you need without breaking the bank. Plans are available from as low as $10 per month, so consider switching your data plan provider to Red Pocket today.
Sources:
Music streaming worldwide - statistics & facts | Statista
How to save cellular data on your iPhone in 6 easy ways | Business Insider
