XDA Basics: How to check Mobile Data Usage on Android

Some people are lucky enough to actually have an unlimited data plan on their smartphones. Others, however, are not that lucky. Keeping tabs on your mobile data usage is essential to keep you from either running out of data or overpaying on your cellphone plan. So what can you do as an Android user if you want to keep an eye on how much data you’re consuming every day? Pretty much all of the best Android phones give users a lot of options to control data consumption. Today, we’re going to show you how you can check how much mobile data your phone and individual apps have been using throughout your day.

Navigate this guide:

• How to Check Mobile Data Usage on Android
• How to Check Wi-Fi Usage on Android
• How to Check a Specific App’s Data Usage
• Why should I care about how much data I’m consuming?

How to Check Mobile Data Usage on Android

The instructions might vary a little from device to device, but usually, the way to do it goes as follows.

Pixel/Stock Android phones:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on Network & Internet.
3. Select your carrier under Internet options.
4. Tap on the graph if you want to see it in more detail.

Samsung phones:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on Connections.
3. Tap on Data usage.
4. Tap on Mobile data usage.

OPPO/Realme phones:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on SIM card and mobile data.
3. Tap on the Data usage option.
4. Tap on Mobile Data Usage.

Xiaomi phones:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on Connection & sharing.
3. Tap on the Data usage option, where you’ll see several options regarding your data usage.

Depending on the phone and what software it’s running, you can also access mobile data options, or even data usage directly, by pulling down the quick settings menu and tapping and holding on to the Mobile data icon, which is usually two arrows pointing in opposite directions.

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How to Check Wi-Fi Usage on Android

Checking Wi-Fi usage is often a similar ordeal, but this particular part can change quite a bit from device to device. Usually, though, the way to do it goes as follows:

Pixel/Stock Android phones:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on Network & Internet.
3. Select Non-carrier data usage under Internet options.

Samsung phones:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on Connections.
3. Tap on the Data usage option.
4. Tap on Wi-Fi data usage.

OPPO/Realme phones:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on SIM card and mobile data.
3. Tap on the Data usage option.
4. Tap on Wi-Fi data usage.

Xiaomi phones:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on Connection & sharing.
3. Tap on the Data usage option.
4. Switch to Wi-Fi usage.

It’s mostly the same instructions, except you need to do an extra step in order to access Wi-Fi data consumption.

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How to Check a Specific App’s Data Usage

What happens if you want to check a specific app’s data usage? The process for checking this is much more streamlined, thankfully.

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Get to the App list.
   • On most phones, there will be a dedicated Applications option in Settings, where it’ll then show you either the full apps list or a Manage apps option.
3. Get to the app you want to check.
4. There, you should be able to find an option that says Data usage. On some phones, it will even show you directly how much data an app has consumed.

If you want to access it from the main Data Usage panel:

1. Follow the instructions for getting to the data usage panel.
2. Scroll down to see an individual breakdown of how much data each app has consumed.
3. Tap on a specific app if you want to check it more closely.

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Why should I care about how much data I’m consuming?

The main reason why it’s important comes down to what I mentioned above — it can get very expensive, very quickly, if you’re consuming more data than you should be consuming. If you’re in a country like India and have a capped plan, you can blow through it quickly if you don’t keep it in check. Abnormal data consumption above what you’d expect is something that must be checked promptly, and Android’s built-in tools for seeing data consumption, seeing what apps are consuming the most, and how much they’re consuming, can be helpful in tracking down a culprit and either start regulating it more or simply uninstalling it.

Keeping your data consumption in check, and regulating it if needed, can help you keep your phone bill down and help you get the most out of your data cap. Even if you don’t care or don’t have to care about either of those things, it can still be helpful in order to spot an app that might be consuming too much data on its own.

The post XDA Basics: How to check Mobile Data Usage on Android appeared first on xda-developers.

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