Whether you are on a postpaid or a prepaid phone plan, it’s important to know how to check your data usage.
If you are on a postpaid plan, depending on your mobile provider and the plan you're on, going over your data allowance may mean that you can no longer use services that require an internet connection when you're away from a Wi-Fi network, or that your download speeds are slowed way down, or even that you’re charged additional fees at the end of your billing cycle.
If you hit your data limit on a prepaid plan, you won’t be able to use any more data until you recharge.
Knowing your average monthly data use is also a great fact to know when you’re shopping for a new mobile plan, as it will let you select one with a data allowance that matches your actual real-world needs.
So, whether you’re thinking of switching phone plans or just want to avoid any of the hassles from going over your limit, we've broken down how you can check your data usage on Apple iPhones, Samsung Galaxy handsets and other Android devices. We've also added information on how to use a providers’ own online or in-app tracking tool.
How to check your data usage: a step-by-step guide
How to check data usage on iPhone (iOS)
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Mobile.
- You should be able to see how much data you’ve used in the current period.
- You can see when the current period began by scrolling to the bottom of the Mobile screen, and reset the period by tapping ‘Reset Statistics’ at the bottom of this page.
How to check data usage on Samsung
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Connections.
- Select ‘Data usage’.
- The amount of mobile data you have used should now be displayed.
How to check data usage on Android
The instructions for checking Android data usage can differ slightly depending on the brand and specific phone you own, but these steps should work for most devices.
- Open Settings app.
- Tap on ‘Network & internet’.
- Select SIMs.
- Tap on ‘App data usage’.
- Now you can see the total amount of data you’ve used in the current period, as well as the amount of data being used by downloaded apps.
Be aware that this amount is tracked from the start of the month and resets at the start of the following month. To change the start date to align with the date your allowance is refreshed (aka your billing cycle), do the following:
- In the Data usage page, tap billing cycle and data warning
- Tap ‘Start billing cycle on’ and change the starting date to the date that your allowance is refreshed
- Select ‘Set‘
How to use your provider's app or website
If you’d rather check how much data you have left on your mobile plan, you can do this by downloading your mobile providers app. Most providers have apps that can be downloaded on both iOS and Android devices and, once installed, you can follow the prompts to find out how much of your included data you have used.
Below are links to the apps of some of the bigger mobile providers:
Need more data?
While we acknowledge that every user's data needs are different, we've got a list of plans with upwards of 50GB data that are popular with Getprice readers.
FAQs
How can I reduce my mobile data usage?
There are some easy ways you can reduce your data usage, for example:
- Make sure you’re using Wi-Fi whenever you’re at home or work, or can connect to a secure network
- Turn off data for specific apps that you don’t want to access mobile data
- Close apps you aren’t actively using
How much mobile data does the average Australian use?
The most recent ACCC report suggests that the average Australian uses 15.9GB per month on a postpaid mobile plan and 7.5GB per month on a prepaid plan.
Do any Australian mobile providers offer unlimited data?
Yes, there are a few providers in Australia that offer unlimited data mobile plans.
The one ‘true’ unlimited plan is from Felix mobile and costs $40. The catch here is that while there’s no monthly data limit, your speeds are capped at 20Mbps at all times.
The other option are plans that come with a primary data allowance, but still allow you to continue using data if you exceed this at a significantly reduced speed – sometimes as low as 1.5Mbps. The providers that offer these types of plans are Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, Belong and Dodo.
