What is traffic on a mobile phone? How to save mobile traffic on Android

Now Mobile Internet It’s relatively inexpensive, but that’s no reason to throw it left and right. Full unlimited service still costs a pretty penny, and many operators, by the way, are already giving up such luxury.

Most of the available tariffs are conditionally unlimited, that is, they provide a certain and rather limited amount of traffic per day or month. If you exceed the limit, the speed will drop to the level of a dial-up modem and it will become impossible to use the Internet.

Perhaps you do not fit into the volume provided under the tariff or are dangerously close to the limit. Perhaps you want to save some traffic reserve so that you can use it when urgently needed. In any case, it is useful to be able to save megabytes, and now we will tell you how to do this.

Get rid of pest apps

Increased traffic consumption is not always related to your appetite. Often the unjustified gluttony of individual applications is to blame. Such scoundrels sit in the background and constantly transmit and send something. You can find them using a standard tool that is built into any current version of Android.

1. Go to Android settings.
2. Select Data Transfer.
3. Select Mobile Data Transfer.

Here you will see a general graph of mobile traffic consumption, and below it - a rating of the most voracious residents of the system.

To curb the ardor of an individual application, tap on it and turn off the background mode. After this, the sly one will not be able to receive and send data in the background.

The problem is that in order to identify scoundrels, you need to understand what the normal Internet consumption is for a particular application. Obviously, the browser, music and video streaming services, as well as maps are capable of eating hundreds of megabytes, but offline-oriented and working with a small amount of data have nothing on this list.

Set up a warning and traffic limit

1. Go to Android settings.
2. Select Data Transfer.
3. Select "Payment Cycle".

The billing cycle is the date when the subscription fee is charged. Usually a new Internet package is given on the same day. Specify it so that the system knows the date the traffic counter was reset.

1. Enable "Alert Settings".
2. Select Alerts.
3. Specify the amount of traffic upon reaching which the system will notify you about it.

If you want to strictly limit traffic consumption, enable “Set traffic limit” and specify the value, upon reaching which the system will turn off the mobile Internet.

Disable app updates via mobile network

1. Go to your app store settings Google Play.
2. Select Auto-update apps.
3. Select the "Wi-Fi Only" option.

Enable data saving in Android

1. Go to Android settings.
2. Select Data Transfer.
3. Select Data Saver.

After enabling traffic saving mode, the system will prohibit background data traffic for most applications, which will significantly reduce overall traffic consumption. To allow data sharing in the background for individual applications in economy mode, tap on the appropriate item.

Save data with Opera Max

In fact, the Opera Max application does the same thing as the built-in Android mode saving traffic, that is, it blocks background data, but at the same time it looks a little nicer and more visual.

Enable data saving in individual applications

Any normal developer, if his application works with potentially large amounts of data, can optimize traffic consumption using settings. For example, almost all Google tools can save precious megabytes of mobile Internet.

Google Chrome

1. Go to Google settings Chrome.
2. Select Data Saver.

Besides Google Chrome, traffic saving mode is provided in the Opera browser.

YouTube

1. Go to YouTube settings.
2. Select General.
3. Turn on the “Traffic Saving” mode.

Google Maps

1. Go to Google Maps settings.
2. Turn on “Wi-Fi only” and follow the “Your offline maps” link.

Offline maps allow you to save hundreds of megabytes of traffic. Be sure to download the area where you live and don’t forget to add areas you plan to visit in the near future.

1. Click Other Area.
2. Use pan and zoom gestures to select the area to download and click "Download".
3. Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the Downloaded Areas menu.
4. Select "Download Settings" and select "Wi-Fi Only".

Google Press

1. Go to Google Press settings.
2. Select Data Saver Mode and select On.
3. In the "Download" section, turn on the "Wi-Fi only" mode.

Google Photos

1. Go to Google Photos settings.
2. Find the “Use mobile internet” section and disable the option for photos and videos.

Google Music

1. Go to your Google Music settings.
2. In the Playback section, lower the quality when streaming mobile network.
3. In the “Downloading” section, allow downloading music only over Wi-Fi.

If necessary, allow music playback only over Wi-Fi.

Google Music can save albums for offline listening. You can download music to your device if you have Wi-Fi and play it without an Internet connection.

1. Go to the artist's album list.
2. Click on the vertical ellipsis icon in the lower right corner of the album and select “Download” from the menu that appears.

Google Movies

1. Go to Google Movies settings.
2. Under Mobile Network Streaming, turn on Show Warning and Limit Quality.
3. In the Downloads section, select Network and select Wi-Fi only.

Monitor your carrier's rates and options

Often a person overpays for communications simply because he is on an outdated tariff. Find out what's new with your operator. It's possible that you can get more internet for less money.

How to reduce the consumption of mobile traffic on a smartphone or tablet is a classic problem of the era of the mobile Internet, solved with varying success from year to year, as technology develops and new services appear. How to minimize traffic consumption when using iPhone we'll tell you below.

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Video instruction

How to reduce mobile data consumption on iPhone or iPad

1. How to track traffic consumption

Is there a problem with overspending at all? To do this, you need to know exactly how many bytes have leaked and arrived over a specified period of time, tied to the tariff plan, usually per month. The numbers you are looking for can be found along the following path: Settings → cellular In chapter Cellular tariff statistics field "Current period", but there's one catch. iOS automatically counts traffic and summarizes old data with new ones, showing by default values ​​for the entire period of operation of the gadget.

This means that you will have to get into the habit of pressing the button once a month "Reset statistics" at the very bottom of this menu and “start life from scratch.”

As an alternative, you can use a third-party service, for example, the Traffic Accounting application or.

2. How to identify and disable applications responsible for increasing traffic consumption

Here in the section Cellular data for Mobile traffic usage statistics are available for each application installed on the iPhone.

Starting with iOS 7, the system is trained to report, in detail, which specific applications used cellular communications in their work. And indicating the value of traffic shares in understandable units of measurement - kilobytes (Kb) and megabytes (MB), calculating the most “gluttonous” is as easy as shelling pears. In order to show who the true owner of this iPhone is, we study the list of consumers and, with royal gestures, turn off the very best. In case of doubt, the switch can be moved in the other direction at any time.

3. Turn off cellular data (2G, 3G, LTE)

A method recommended when traveling or for users with a small monthly mobile data limit. You don’t have to deal with a long list of applications that consume cellular Internet, but with just one toggle switch (Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data) turn off cellular transmission ( mobile traffic) fully.

There is no reason to worry; you certainly will not be left without access to the Internet - Wi-Fi is not turned off by this toggle switch.

4. Limit Instagram, VKontakte, FaceTime and other social networks and instant messengers

Scrolling through the list of applications during tip 2, you will probably see this name, among others, with far from symbolic numbers next to it. Is being ready to communicate every second with your contact list really so important that you don't have to worry about paying for traffic? Then there's no point in doing it further actions– move the switch to position “ off", leaving only a connection via Wi-Fi. The one that is free in many cafes, offices and in the presence of frivolous neighbors. We do the same with « gluttonous » Instagram, Skype and Vkontakte.

5. Turn off syncing iCloud Drive

The option is designed for a good purpose, but in practice, not everything is so simple - updating data in the cloud at every convenient moment does not so much help save files as it increases traffic. Of course, for those who actively use content, automatic synchronization is vital all the time when working with documents.

Especially if we're talking about about real work and corresponding responsibility, but most iPhone owners do not store business files in iCloud at all, but all sorts of interesting garbage. And let him be all dear, like a memory, in the name great goal to minimize traffic it is worth going to Settings → Cellular and at the very bottom turn the switch iCloud Drive, to the off position, thereby prohibiting the system from using cellular communications to work with cloud storage.

6. Block downloads from the iTunes Store and App Store on cellular networks

The business world is cruel - we are forced to pay for content, for using a virtual service and, in addition, for traffic. Often redundant, and the question of the need to necessarily copy purchased files to all iOS gadgets is still a matter of debate. Meanwhile, the optimal solution is before our eyes - let’s go to Settings → iTunes Store, App Store and turn off cellular traffic (switch Cellular data) For automatic downloads from iTunes Store, App Store.

7. Turn off data roaming

What many compatriots vacationing abroad have been burned by - downloaded clips, fashion hits, news from home and other benefits of mobile Internet at the resort turn into millions of bills. Even if it is an exaggeration, it is not based on nothing, and since this article is about minimizing traffic to reduce costs, you should absolutely not ignore this aspect.

The easiest way is to “take and cancel”, switch to position "Off" corresponding toggle switch data roaming, located along the way Settings → cellular → Data Options → data roaming.

8. Use Safari offline

Many users like to save web pages of sites for later offline reading. And you don’t need to download third-party applications for this; you can use the standard Safari browser. For this:

1. Open Safari and load the desired web page;

2. Switch to reading mode by clicking on the special icon to the left of the URL;

4. In the menu that appears, click on the option “ Save PDF to iBooks»;

5. Once saved, the page will open in the easy-to-read iBooks app.

Tips on how to save traffic on a 3g and 4g modem are often linked to the question of how to speed up mobile Internet. These are two tasks, by solving which a person will be able to receive quality service not only in major cities, but also on the periphery (for example, in regional centers or outside the city). With the right approach to business, you can reduce content consumption by 2-3 times.

Control over traffic consumption

The tariffs of the main cellular service providers, such as MTS, Megafon and Beeline, have fees for used traffic or package restrictions. Therefore, it is useful to have a program on your computer that will count in real time how much traffic has been spent. For example, the NetWorx program is capable of measuring the volume of materials received as needed in terms of days and hours; it can set restrictions on the consumption of content for the required unit of time. In this case, the program will warn you that the limit is running out and can protect you from unnecessary expenses.

There are several ways to check the remaining traffic on a modem, for example, Megafon:

• using the program that comes with the supplied equipment (the “Statistics” tab);
• in registered personal account on the operator's official website.

When figuring out how to save traffic on a Megafon or other operator modem, you should remember one important detail. Unlike wired Internet providers, mobile operators count not only incoming traffic, but also outgoing traffic. Most clients simply do not know about this and, accordingly, do not take it into account when planning their daily or monthly limits.

The size of outgoing mobile Internet traffic can be up to a third of the total volume (with 10% of home Internet). Every letter sent and photo posted on social networks “eats up” a piece of the Internet purchased as part of the service package.

Ways to reduce data volume

There are a number of other ways to save money when accessing the Internet using 3g and 4g modems:

Setting up software to reduce flow volume

First you need to prepare your computer:

• clean up unnecessary programs;
• disable auto-update for the remaining ones and auto-start for software that interacts with the Internet;
• Conduct an anti-virus scan and remove potentially dangerous elements.

After this, a firewall (for example, the free Outpost Firewall) is installed, which will control unwanted activity of existing applications. As a result, the computer will not generate an unnecessary flow of information. This should be checked using an antivirus, the firewall itself, or NetWorx.

If everything works fine, then free HandyCashe (a proxy server for gzip compression) and Fastun.ru are installed ( cloud service for ad blocking and content caching). After registering on Fastun.ru in your personal account, you can set the degree of file compression and track savings. Acceleration and savings are achieved by initially downloading information from a local proxy, only then compressing updated information from the Internet.

The lack of Internet in the suburbs or villages is quite common.

So how to spend wired Internet is not always possible, representatives of mobile communications have proposed an alternative - Mobile Internet. The quality of the mobile Internet leaves much to be desired and the phrase is more suitable for this type of Internet connection, but still it is better than nothing. Surfing the web via mobile Internet is not only longer, but also more expensive.

Many tariff plans from various mobile operators combine a certain amount of traffic and a fee for it.

But as we know, this traffic is not always enough for even comfortable surfing the Internet, not to mention downloading music or pictures.

In this regard, there are many traffic meters for precise definition using it, but today we will not talk about traffic measurement (more on that in one of the upcoming articles.

So as not to miss) but about ways to save traffic. Now there are many recommendations on this matter on the Internet, which gave me the idea to put them all together + add a few tricks of my own, since at one time I myself had to look for ways to save traffic.

Advertising is our main enemy, since when viewing sites and information on them, we are unlikely to click on it to buy something or go somewhere. But the lion's share of the page is often occupied by advertising. It is with disabling advertising that traffic savings begin.

What is needed to disable advertising on the Internet? To do this, I recommend using an excellent plugin forFirefox Adblock Plus . Read about the intricacies of setting up and operating the plugin.

If you use another browser, then you can look for an alternative by asking in the search engine Yandex request - "Ad blocking opera » For example.

Using the plugins found, I recommend getting rid of all advertising likeflashand text. Just by blocking ads, my traffic savings increased by at least half.

Traffic compression service

If you decide to surf a large number of sites where you can find a large variety of pictures, then I recommend using a traffic compression service - Toonel.net.

This free service does real miracles of compression of HTML code and images. It is worth remembering that the service Toonel.net You should not use Google to work with Google, as it will determine your location in Germany (servers Toonel.net are located in Germany) and you will see everything on German. The rest of the sites will be fine.

Cash

A great thing for those who often view the same sites - mail, news, blogs. Now in all browsers this function can be customized. Read about this in the article -. There are also special utilities such asHandycache. By usingHandycache you can save hundreds of megabytes of traffic every day, so I recommend it. You can download it.

Images

Sometimes images take up 80% of the traffic consumed. Therefore, if you are looking for text or want to download something, instead of waiting for large images to load, I suggest you simply turn them off.

Of course, for some, images are important, but still, for the sake of experimentation, I would advise you to try surfing the web without images for at least a week, then you can definitely decide whether you need it or not.

Every browser has a function to disable images, if you have difficulties with this, write in the comments what browser you have and I will tell you how to configure the display of images on it.
So everything seems to have been indicated, more precisely ways I've outlined how to save traffic, now it's just a matter of small things. It remains to configure all this for more efficient work. A little tip: for mobile surfing, I recommend using latest version browser.

First, install the plugin forFirefox -Adblock Plus .

Launch the downloadedHandycache. And in the proxy settingsFirefox (Options - advanced - network - settings) set port 8080 and HTTP proxy 127.0.0.1.

All cache is configured. In principle, I stop there because the effect is quite enough for me. You can also turn off images if you don't need them.

Also for those who don’t connect enoughHandycache and Toonel.net. Download and install the programToonel.net set the degree of compression you need in it.

Next in settingsToonel.net add proxy Host:127.0.0.1 Port:8090. Now, all requested data via the Internet will first be taken from the cache, and if not available, it will be compressed and cached viatoonel.net.

That's all. True withToonel.net sometimes there are some glitches, the servers can’t handle it or something else, so I don’t use it.

Overall, even without usingToonel.net by usingWith simple caching settings and disabling images, you can surf the web much faster, longer and cheaper. What traffic saving methods do you use?

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 several GB of mobile data. Now apps weigh more (it's not uncommon for apps and their updates to be over 100 MB in size), and streaming music and video is becoming more popular and with all this, you can easily use up your data limit in a matter of days.

An hour of watching a video on YouTube and you no longer have several gigabytes of traffic. And if you watch videos in HD format, 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 a lot, but imagine using these services every day for an hour, in a week you already get 840 MB. An hour a day for a month and you will already have spent about 3.2 GB. If you are using 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 traffic with extra money, but who wants to pay? Before you pay for a more expensive plan or additional data package, we offer a few tricks to reduce your data transfer (and control).

How to view the amount of data being transferred

First of all, you need to check how much data is being transferred. If you don’t know how much traffic you use, it will be unclear how you need to change your data consumption structure.

The easiest way to check your data usage is through your cellular provider's web portal. If you never use up your limit, it might be worth upgrading to a cheaper plan. If you never fit into your allotted traffic package, then you should definitely read the article further.

You can also view data consumption statistics on Android device. Go to Settings -> Data Transfer. You will see a screen something like this:

If you scroll down, you will see the mobile data usage of the apps, 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” on YouTube while connected to Wi-Fi, but this will not appear in the statistics. If you want to see statistics on data usage via Wi-Fi, then press the menu button and select “Show Wi-Fi traffic”.

It's worth noting that you will need to enter your billing cycle here in order to accurately calculate your data usage. Since your data will be reset on the first day of the new cycle, it will not matter what you used the month before, so the result will not be distorted.

In addition to the schedules, you can set a traffic limit, at which you will be shown a warning, or set a limit by adjusting the slider on the schedule, at which the transmission of mobile traffic will be disabled. Don't forget to enable the "Mobile traffic limit" option.

Once the limit is reached, mobile traffic will not be transmitted until you turn it on again.

How to control your data usage

There are two types of traffic consumed: when the user is using the application and knows that it is running over the Internet, and data usage in the background. When watching a video or downloading a new album, you consume a traffic package if you use mobile transmission data, not Wi-Fi Internet. Obviously, in order to use less data you need to stop streaming content and downloading files.

A less obvious data transfer is "background transfer" which uses a large number of traffic. Checking new messages in the VKontakte application client or checking new letters in email and other background processes constantly consume traffic. Let's figure out how to reduce background data consumption.

First, find out which applications are consuming data

First, let's figure out which apps actually use a lot of bandwidth. Go to Settings -> Data Transfer and see the apps using data. Click on one to see more information. Here we see normal data transfer and work in the background:

Now that you know which applications use the most data, you know what to optimize.

Using data saving in Android Nougat

Android 7.0 Nougat has a new feature with the self-explanatory name “Traffic Saving”. It allows you to limit the consumption of background traffic and provides the ability to conduct " White list» applications that are allowed to use data in the background.

To get started, pull down the notification panel and tap the gear icon to go to the settings menu.

In chapter " Wireless network» Click on the item “Data transfer”.

Under the traffic used, you will find the “Traffic Saving” option. This is where the fun begins.

The first thing to do is turn on the switch that is located at the top right. The new icon will appear 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 "Unlimited data access."

After this a list of all installed applications on your phone. Using the slider next to applications, you can add them to the white list, allowing background data transfer.

It is worth keeping in mind that this only applies 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 bandwidth. Look at the settings of this application, it may be worth reducing the number of notifications (for example, VKontakte) or disabling them completely. This will have a great impact not only on the traffic consumed, but also on battery drain.

True, not every application has such settings. There is another way...

Go to Settings -> Data transfer and click on the application. Turn on the "Limit background activity" switch.

Disable all background data transfer

If that's not enough, you can also turn off all background data with a single switch - this will reduce data usage in most cases, but it can also be inconvenient. From the data transfer item, click on the menu and select “Limit background. mode". This will turn off background data for all applications.

Disable background app updates

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 “Only via Wi-Fi” is selected in the “Auto-update applications” item.

Buy frequently used apps (to remove ads)

Applications are often offered in free version with advertising and paid version. The thing is, not only are ads annoying, but they also use up traffic. Therefore, if you want to reduce your traffic consumption, you can buy a paid version of a frequently used application.