How do I check my remaining data left?
iPhone: Settings > Cellular, scroll for data usage. Android: Settings > Data or Settings > Connections > Data usage.
Check your mobile data usage
Open your phone's Settings app. Internet. Next to your carrier, tap Settings . At the top you'll see how much total data you use.
To see how much mobile data you've used, go to Settings > Mobile Data or Settings > Cellular. If you're using an iPad, you may see Settings > Mobile Data. Scroll down to find out which apps are using mobile data. If you don't want an app to use mobile data, you can turn it off for that app.
To check your remaining Internet balance, you can usually do so by logging into your account on your internet service provider's website or by using their mobile app. Alternatively, you can also contact your internet service provider's customer service hotline and inquire about your remaining Internet balance.
- Click "Settings."
- Select "Network & Internet."
- Click "SIMS."
- Select "App data usage."
- Make sure the billing cycle at the top of the screen is correct.
- You will see total data consumption for that cycle.
Even 2GB will be cutting it close, so for some breathing room we'd generally suggest at least 3GB. Meanwhile, if you're using mobile data much of the day, every day, or using data intensive things like video streaming and tethering regularly, you'll probably want at least 50GB – and even that might not be enough.
On a mobile data plan, using more than your allowance each month usually attracts a surcharge, or your provider may slow down your data connection. Your provider may automatically give you the extra data as a top-up and charge you for it as you use it. This extra data is sometimes called an add on.
| Internet activity | Minimum recommended data per month |
|---|---|
| Making video calls on Zoom | 60GB |
| Running home security cameras | 30–300 GB (depending on video resolution and frequency of activity captured by the cameras) |
| Online gaming | 30GB |
| Web browsing and checking email | 40GB |
Calculate Total Monthly Data Usage:
For example, if you stream music for an average of 2 hours per day and watch Full HD videos for 3 hours per week, your monthly data usage calculation would be as follows: Streaming music: 2 hours/day x 60 minutes x 2 megabytes/minute x 30 days = 2400 megabytes or 2.4 gigabytes.
| Activity | Data Size |
|---|---|
| 1 min. of streaming standard-definition video | 11.7MB (700MB/hr.) |
| 1 min. of streaming high-definition video | 41.7MB (2500MB/hr.) |
| 1 min. of streaming 4K video | 97.5MB (5850MB/hr.) |
| 1 min. of online games | 200KB (12MB/hr.) |
What uses the most data on cell phone?
- High definition video streaming (900MB per hour)
- Video conferencing, like FaceTime® and Skype® (480MB per hour)
- Standard-definition video streaming (240MB per hour)
- Online interactive gaming (60MB per hour)
- Streaming music (30MB per hour)
- Downloading movies and large data files.
Speed throttling: Some service providers may reduce your internet speed after you've used up your daily data quota. This means that while you can still use the internet, your connection may be slower, and certain activities, such as streaming videos or downloading large files, may take longer.
Once you turn off Cellular data, you won't be able to access any websites or use any apps that use internet data. The only way to access the internet is by enabling Wi-Fi when you're near a Wi-Fi hotspot. You can enable this by going back to the main settings menu and tapping Wi-Fi.
You can check your available data on your MyVerizon account. Your account can be accessed or created on My Verizon Log In . Also, you may dial #DATA (#3282) from your Verizon device. You will be promptly texted with a link to check all your data info without having to log in.
How much data do I use? Ofcom's Communications Market Report 2022 said that the average person used 5.6GB of data per month in 2021. This was up by 24% on 2020's 4.5GB per month. In fact, mobile data use has increased by roughly 20-30% every year since 2016.
How much is 1GB of data? To give you a rough idea, 1GB lets you send or receive about 6,000 emails with standard sized attachments. Or, put another way it's about 20 hours of browsing.
Messages are considered texts and don't count toward your data usage. Your data usage is also free when you turn on chat features. Learn how to turn on chat features (RCS). Tip: You can send texts over Wi-Fi even if you don't have cell service.
Turning cellular data off reduces your phone's battery usage by preventing your phone's constant attempts to connect to a mobile network to receive messages in your social media and email apps. It also stops background data usage from mobile apps that can drain your battery.
Does unlimited data mean unlimited internet? Correct. Internet, apps, videos, music, texts, etc., all use a set amount of data. So if you have unlimited data, you should have unlimited use of these and more when using your phone.
Throttling Speeds
While the term "unlimited" suggests unrestricted access to data, most unlimited plans come with a fair usage policy. This means that after consuming a certain amount of data, typically around 22GB, your connection speed may be reduced during times of network congestion.
How many hours does it take to use 1GB of data?
| Activity | Time duration with 1GB* |
|---|---|
| Browsing the internet | 16.6 hours |
| Listening to music | Spotify 92.5 hours (24kbps) 23 hours (96kbps) 13 hours (160kbps) 6.9 hours (320kbps) |
| Watching Netflix | 1 hour (standard definition) 0.3 hours (HD) / 18 minutes |
(30 fps is the standard frame rate for most movies in the United States.) A 1080p HD 60 fps 2-hour movie averages 6 GB in file size. A 1080p HD 30 fps 2-hour movie averages 3 GB in file size. A 720p HD 2-hour movie averages 2 GB in file size.
Usage data is collected from a number of sources including emails, mobile devices, applications, databases, servers, etc. Example: Usage data includes the pageviews on a product in an ecommerce site or tracking of the customer activities in your website over a period of time.
On your mobile device…. Open Settings and tap Data usage. Scroll down to view a list of your Android apps sorted by data usage (or tap Cellular Data usage to view them). ...
- Open your phone's Settings app.
- Tap Developer Settings.
- Turn on developer mode: Tap About Phone. ...
- At the top left, tap Back .
- Tap Security & Privacy More privacy settings. Android System Intelligence.
- Choose a profile.
- Select Network Usage log.
- Turn Record Network Usage off or on.
