Data usage can accumulate quickly depending on the type of activities or mobile applications that are being used.
Activities that can trigger significant data usage include:
- Streaming/downloading video or audio (music or radio) from the Internet
- Sharing your device's mobile data connection with a laptop (tethering) or with other smartphones (creating a personal hotspot)
- Using live navigation/map apps
- Uploading or sharing photos and videos through social media, email, or messaging apps
- Browsing on the Internet for prolonged periods
- Enabling email settings to automatically fetch new emails or "push" to your device
- Using apps that automatically update or require the use of location services
Tips to manage your data usage:
- Upgrading your rate plan to increase your data usage allowance
- Connecting to a Wi-Fi network when available
- Updating apps over Wi-Fi or through your PC, and then synchronize the updates to your smartphone through a USB cable or Bluetooth
- Setting email settings to manually update/fetch
- Closing and signing out of apps when possible
- Using an application manager that will reveal high usage apps
Bell also offers some great tools to help you manage your data:
- You can quickly check your data usage in the My Usage section of MyBell.
- Data usage notifications are sent by text message when you reach certain thresholds (e.g., when you have used 95% of the data in your plan).
- Check out the Data usage calculator to find a rate plan or data feature that best suits your usage.
- For details specific to your device, consult the device tutorials from our smartphone support section.
