Reduce & manage mobile data usage

Data usage is how much data your phone uploads or downloads using mobile data. To make sure that you're not using too much data on your data plan, you can check and change your data usage.

Important: You're using a custom Android version. If these steps don't work for you, check with your device manufacturer.Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 8.0 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

Use less data with data saver mode

On Android 7.0 and up, to help automatically use less mobile data on a limited data plan, learn to use data saver mode.

Learn how to use Data Saver with a step-by-step guide.

Check your mobile data usage

If you're on a Pixel device:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then SIMs.
  3. At the top you'll find how much total data you use.
  4. To get graphs and details, tap App data usage.
    • To pick a time period, tap the Down arrow .
    • To know how much data each app uses, look below the graph.

If you're on an Android device:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then Internet.
  3. Next to your carrier, tap Settings .
  4. At the top you'll find how much total data you use.
  5. To get graphs and details, tap App data usage.
    • To pick a time period, tap the Down arrow .
    • To know how much data each app uses, look below the graph.

Set mobile data usage warning or limit

Set warning to get alerts about your data use

If you're on a Pixel device:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then SIMs.
  3. Tap Data warning & limit. If needed, first turn on Set data warning.
  4. Tap Data warning.
  5. Enter a number. To switch between megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB), tap the Down arrow .
  6. Tap Set.

When your usage reaches the level you picked, you'll get a notification.

If you're on an Android device:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then Internet.
  3. Next to your carrier, tap Settings .
  4. Tap Data warning & limit. If needed, first turn on Set data warning.
  5. Tap Data warning.
  6. Enter a number. To switch between megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB), tap the Down arrow .
  7. Tap Set.

When your usage reaches the level you picked, you'll get a notification.

Set limit & automatically turn off mobile data

Important: Some features won't work when mobile data is turned off.

If you're on a Pixel device:

To set a data usage limit:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then SIMs.
  3. Tap Data warning & limit.
  4. If it's not already on, turn on Set data limit. Read the on-screen message and tap Ok.
  5. Tap Data limit.
  6. Enter a number. To switch between megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB), tap the Down arrow .
  7. Tap Set.

If you're on an Android device:

To set a data usage limit:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then Internet.
  3. Next to your carrier, tap Settings .
  4. Tap Data warning & limit.
  5. If it's not already on, turn on Set data limit. Read the on-screen message and tap Ok.
  6. Tap Data limit.
  7. Enter a number. To switch between megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB), tap the Down arrow .
  8. Tap Set.

When you reach your limit and your data automatically turns off:

  • You'll get a notification.
  • To turn mobile data back on, follow the steps above and turn off Set data limit.

Change your settings to save data

Turn mobile data on or off

If you're on a Pixel device: 

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then SIMs.
  3. Turn Mobile data on or off.

If you're on an Android device:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then Internet.
  3. Next to your carrier, tap Settings .
  4. Turn Mobile data on or off.
Tip: You can conserve data by turning off mobile data access. If you do this, you’ll only be able to use data when you connect to a Wi-Fi network.
Turn auto-sync on or off

To use less data, turn off auto-sync. If you do this, you’ll need to sync your apps manually. Learn how to off auto-sync and sync manually.

Allow or restrict background data usage by app

You can control how apps use data on your phone. Learn how to change app permissions.

Use less data with data saver mode (Android 7.0 & up)

To help use less mobile data on a limited data plan, learn to use data saver mode.

Turn data roaming on or off

Important:

  • Users of Google Fi on Pixel and Android devices don't need to turn on Roaming to roam domestically.
  • Data roaming may be the only way to connect to the internet in some places. Some carriers charge extra for data roaming.

If you're on a Pixel device:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then SIMs.
  3. Turn Roaming on or off.

If you're on an Android device:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Network & internet and then Internet.
  3. Next to your carrier, tap Settings .
  4. Turn Roaming on or off.

Troubleshoot mobile data usage settings

Important: Your phone measures the data usage shown in your phone’s Settings app. Some carriers measure usage differently. We recommend checking with your carrier for its measurements and your plan limits.

If you only get Wi-Fi settings
  1. Check that you have a SIM card inserted in your device.
  2. Check that you have mobile data.
If your phone has more than one SIM

Check that you've assigned mobile data usage to one SIM. Learn how to assign activities to SIMs.

Related resources

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