Step-by-step

Reduce data usage on the iphone

1 Turn off data

Turning off mobile data completely is a last resort, to be used only in emergencies. Go to Settings>mobile Data and turn off the switch. Apps continue to work on Wi-fi.

2 Lower data usage

If you want to leave mobile data enabled, press ‘Mobile Data Options’ to access the Low Data Mode switch. Turn it on to reduce automatic updates and background tasks.

3 Configure each app

Return to Settings>mobile Data to see a list of apps with switches. Use them to choose which apps can use mobile data. Block App Store to limit it to Wi-fi for example.

4 Background app refresh

Some apps run in the background and perform various tasks, some of which use mobile data. Go to Settings>general> Background App Refresh and set it to Wi-fi.

5 Check app settings

Apple News consumes a lot of data, which is fine on Wi-fi, which is unlimited, but beware of using too much mobile data. Go to Settings>news and turn off Mobile Data.

6 Limit Photos

Go to Settings>photos>mobile Data. Not only will it use mobile data, if the second switch is on, it uses unlimited mobile data! Turn them off to limit Photos to Wi-fi.

7 Mobile email settings

Go to Settings>mail and there is an option to turn off Mobile Data. The problem is, you will not see new email messages until you connect to Wi-fi somewhere. You choose.

8 Stretch the fetch

Go to Settings>passwords & Accounts and press ‘Fetch New Data’. Some apps fetch updates like mail and messages on a schedule. Set it to Hourly or Manually to save data.

9 Use low power

Low Power Mode can be set in Settings> Battery or it can be accessed in the Control Centre. Enabling it not only saves battery power, it enables many data saving features.