{"id":236704,"date":"2017-11-09T17:57:55","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T15:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=236704"},"modified":"2017-11-09T17:59:31","modified_gmt":"2017-11-09T15:59:31","slug":"how-to-stop-disappearing-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/236704-how-to-stop-disappearing-data.html","title":{"rendered":"How to stop “disappearing data”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many South Africans complain that their mobile data “disappears”, and often blame cellular operators for stealing their airtime.<\/p>\n

The reality, however, is that data does not just disappear – users are consuming data at a faster rate than expected.<\/p>\n

Faster networks, high-definition videos, automated app updates, and an increased use of social media all contribute to higher mobile data use.<\/p>\n

Vodacom has created a manual for Android mobile users to assist them in\u00a0managing their data<\/strong><\/a>, and avoid \u201cdisappearing data\u201d, as detailed below.<\/p>\n

\n

Restrict background data<\/h3>\n

Many apps will transfer mobile data in the background, even when the app is not in use.<\/p>\n

Background mobile data usage is one of the main reasons your data usage is high. Restricting background data on your smart device will reduce usage.<\/p>\n

Go to Apps > Settings > Data usage > Cellular data usage > Disable the Background data option.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you wish to keep background data on, you can choose to disable it for certain apps only.<\/p>\n

\n

Disable auto updates<\/h3>\n

Automatic app updates may be enabled on your device, but you can prevent your device from automatically downloading app updates.<\/p>\n

Set apps to update over Wi-Fi only using:<\/p>\n

Go to Apps > Play Store > Menu > Settings > Auto-update apps, and select Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Require authentication<\/h3>\n

You can prevent accidental purchases from the Play Store by turning on the authentication option.<\/p>\n

This means that certain information, such as a password, must be entered to make a purchase.<\/p>\n

Enable password or authentication for app purchases using:<\/p>\n

Go to Apps > Play Store > Menu > Settings > Require authentication for purchases, and tap For all purchases through Google Play on this device.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Wi-Fi Assist<\/h3>\n

One of the biggest contributors to mobile data usage is a\u00a0feature called Wi-Fi Assist on iOS and Smart Network Switch on Android.<\/p>\n

It allows your smartphone to use mobile data when your Wi-Fi signal is poor.<\/p>\n

Users can disable Wi-Fi assist using:<\/p>\n

Go to Apps > Settings > Wi-Fi > Menu > Advanced > and tap Smart network switch.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If presented with a “Smart network switch” prompt, tap OK to continue.<\/p>\n

\n

Data warnings<\/h3>\n

Android allows you to track your data usage and disable your data connection when you\u2019ve reached your limit.<\/p>\n

Set a data usage warning or limit with:<\/p>\n

Go to Apps > Settings > Data usage > Settings > tap the Data limit switch to enable > tap and adjust the Data limit and tap Set.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Data roaming<\/h3>\n

When travelling outside Vodacom’s network coverage, data roaming allows you to use data services on other carriers\u2019 networks. Disable this with:<\/p>\n

Go to Apps > Settings > Connections > Mobile networks, and disable the Data roaming option.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Wi-Fi hotspot<\/h3>\n

Users should turn off their Wi-Fi hotspot functionality if they are not using it and their other devices are connected to available hotspots.<\/p>\n

Go to Apps > Settings > Connections > Mobile hotspot and tethering, and disable the Mobile hotspot option.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Content quality<\/h3>\n

Streaming high-quality music and video over mobile data can quickly add to your mobile data usage.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a good idea to download music or podcasts over Wi-Fi before playing them, instead of streaming over your mobile data.<\/p>\n

Disable high-quality streaming in YouTube using:<\/p>\n

Go to YouTube and tap on a video to begin the playback. Tap Menu > Gear, and select your preferred quality.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Compress your data<\/h3>\n

Users have the option of using an Internet browser which compresses data.<\/p>\n

This lets you load lighter versions of web pages, resulting in data usage savings.<\/p>\n

Browsers such as Opera Mini use a data compression tool.<\/p>\n

Opera Mini also has a feature which shows you how much data is being used during browsing.<\/p>\n

\n

Social media apps<\/h3>\n

Facebook and Twitter are constantly introducing new features, which can use more data.<\/p>\n

One of these features is the Autoplay functionality, which plays videos when you scroll over them.<\/p>\n

Stopping auto-playing will prevent your device from quickly using data.<\/p>\n

Disable the Autoplay feature in Facebook with:<\/p>\n

Open your Facebook app > tap Settings, and disable the Videos play automatically option.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Cloud services<\/h3>\n

Many mobile devices automatically synchronise data to the Google cloud service.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are settings that can be altered to save you mobile data.<\/p>\n

Transfer files over Wi-Fi only using:<\/p>\n

Go to Google Drive > Menu > Settings, and enable the Transfer files only over Wi-Fi option.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Now read:\u00a0Disappearing airtime? Unsubscribe all WASPs<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many South Africans complain about “disappearing data” \u2013 here is how to stop it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":221446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[40702,35,41],"class_list":["post-236704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cellular","tag-disappearing-data","tag-headline","tag-vodacom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236704"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236880,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236704\/revisions\/236880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}