Managing Your Data

Tips for Managing Data Use

Don’t get left without data! You can reach your monthly data limit all too easily if you’re not mindful about data usage. CREDO Mobile sends you an SMS and email when you’ve reached 75 percent and 100 percent of your data allowance. 

1.  Use Wi-Fi whenever possible. Most locations have Wi-Fi (homes, schools, work, hotels, restaurants, etc.) and members should be encouraged to use Wi-Fi whenever possible, especially when streaming. Pandora, Slacker, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and other streaming services, as well as image-intensive resources like Flickr, can incur a lot of bandwidth on the go. At least for video services save them for when you have broadband internet access. You’ll get to enjoy crisper clearer visuals.
2.  Check email accounts and set them for manual download. Sync them in batches whenever you have Wi-Fi connection. If you get tons of emails that can’t wait for periodic downloads, then check and see if your smartphone gives you the option to download messages without images or attachments, many of them do.
3.  Turn off push notifications whenever you can and/or limit your background data capabilities across your apps, if possible
4.  Watch for applications that use location data in the background. Unless it’s necessary, turn it off.
5.  Download apps, games, music, podcasts on Wi-Fi only: Some apps are a negligible size. Others can come in at a whopping 1GB or more. And downloading a song whenever you’re bored can really add up. Seriously, unless it’s an emergency, wait until you get home or on a trusted wireless network.
6.  Try an alternate web browser. If you’re on a later Android device, you can set your browser to block pop-up windows and turn off image loading. Options like this don’t exist in Safari, so if you’re an iOS user, consider getting an alternate browser like Opera Mini or Skyfire, which can minimize data usage. 
7.  Use mobile-friendly sites when possible. Not a lot of people prefer mobile-optimized sites, but they exist for a reason. They strip out stuff like animated ads and unnecessary or large images, meaning they take less bandwidth to load.
8.  Turn off cellular data when you don’t need it. This is different from Airplane mode, which shuts down everything. By turning off cellular data, you can still get calls and texts, but without the risk of an app secretly connecting while unaware.

• iPhone: From a Home screen, navigate: Settings. > Cellular. Tap the Cellular Data switch to turn on or off. To verify the data setting for a specific service, scroll down to the 'Use Cellular Data For' section. Cellular data can be turned on or off by the specific service (e.g., App Store, Mail, Music, etc.).
• Android: Swipe down from the top of the screen, select Settings, press Data usage, and then flick the Mobile data switch from On to Off - this will completely turn off your mobile data connection.  

Important Note: You will still be able to connect to the internet and use apps as normal if you are connected to a Wi-Fi network. When Cellular Data is disabled, the member will be unable to access data through the cellular network. If the member leaves range of their Wi-Fi network connection, they will be unable to access data services until they turn back on Cellular data. 

9. Turn off:  Wi-Fi Assist (iPhone only) / Adaptive Wi-Fi (Android ONLY)

• Wi-Fi Assist (iPhone):Wi-Fi Assist is on by default. If you don't want your iPhone to stay connected to the Internet when you have a poor Wi-Fi connection, you can disable Wi-Fi Assist and possibly conserve your available data.
  • Go to Settings > Cellular. Then scroll down and tap Wi-Fi Assist (Make sure the toggle is set to off)
• Adaptive Wi-Fi (Android):Previously known as Smart Network switching, enabling the Adaptive Wi-Fi feature allows your network to automatically switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data automatically to maintain a stable network connection. Older devices might show options about Smart Network switching instead of Adaptive Wi-Fi. 
  • Open the Settings menu and go to Connections. Select Wi-Fi. Tap on the Advanced link at the top right corner of the screen. Make sure the toggle next to Smart Network Switch / Adaptive Wi-Fi is set to off.