Weekend Open Forum: How much mobile data do you use in a month?

[Jos]

Cell phone data usage has surged in recent years with the proliferation of smartphones and speedy 4G networks. But while there are still a few holdouts among wireless carriers offering unlimited data plans in order to lure customers, big guys like AT&T and Verizon have tightened the grip, pushing a tiered pricing model and shared data plans instead. Depending on your usage habits that may just not cut it.

In this week’s open forum we want to know: how much mobile data do you use in a month? Do you enlist the help of any third-party apps such as Data Usage or Onavo Count manage your usage and schedule warnings?

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https://www.techspot.com/news/54389-weekend-open-forum-how-much-mobile-data-do-you-use-in-a-month.html

 

[Guest]

About 4 gigs

 

[t3chn0vamp]

I only use around 350MB data in a month as I only use mobile data for messaging and light browsing while I am out. At home, I keep wi-fi on all the time so that I can do the heavy updates and emails.

 

[Julio Franco]

I'm on a very old plan with unlimited data, so I don't actively monitor usage. On the downside, it's on sub-par 3G that we have available here. Whenever possible I'm on Wi-Fi otherwise it's utterly frustrating to use data beyond email and other basic tasks.

 

[CJ100570]

I consistently use over 200GB a month streaming Netflix, YouTube, and various music services. This is a little old but it's a thread I started on Android Central to see how much others were using: http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon/228599-whats-most-data-youve-used-month.html

 

[Lionvibez]

500-700 sometimes more sometimes less never break my 1GB cap.

Being an IT guy I always have access to a laptop on wifi or a desktop with a hardwired connection close by so there isn't a need to stream any video or anything on my phone. Not to mention I don't really care for watching stuff on a 4-5inch screen.

I would rather view on a real computer or stream to my 64' plasma.

So my mobile data needs are quite modest.

 

[nismo91]

Pretty much what lionvibez mentioned. it's always below 600MB for me. what's the use of all the PCs around me for? even my phone gps is capable of doing offline navigation.. internet is just mainly for checking mails. there is no need to track my usage because I wont exceed my data plan.

 

[psycros]

I typically use anywhere from 3-5 gb a month because wireless is the only internet you can get where I live. Lately I've been trying to keep it much lower to avoid throttling but they've started doing it anyway. Even if I only use 300mb or so, halfway through my billing cycle my internet speed will drop by 90%. When I asked my carrier about it they said it was due to "tower upgrades". Yeah..3-4 months of upgrades, sure..that makes sense. These are the kinds of absurdities you deal with living on the Last Mile just beyond the reach of cable or DSL.

 

[Guest]

Around 5 GB.
Much of it because tethering though.

 

[Guest]

Maybe 100mb. If that. Almost everywhere I go has free wifi. Most of my data is used when the wifi goes out (like at school, this happens often) or when I use google maps to find my way around the city.

 

[Seventh Reign]

0mb per month. WiFi Rules.

 

[hahahanoobs]

About 700MB a month. I want more so I can watch more YouTube videos, but a gig is the max I can get from my provider on prepaid.

 

[tipstir]

None, I have the min that comes with the contract smart phone. Start using the data too much they start overcharging like crazy plus taxes extra fees..

 

[bchen88c]

Just got unlimited from T-Mobile a month ago (ditched Big Red)...used 4.27GB in September. However, 9 days into this current billing cycle I've already used 4.87GB. I should note that my area just got 4G LTE two weeks ago, but even then the download speed is only slightly better than HSPA+ on my Nexus 4, which has unofficial LTE support. (Uploads were much faster, 9Mb/s vs 2Mb/s).
I definitely can't live with a cap whether it be mobile or cable internet (I top 300GB at home on occasion)

 

[Burty117]

I use 500mb a month but have a limit of 1GB, moving over to 4G next week so I may use more, at work and home though I'm on the WiFi, average download at home is around 600gb a month, sometimes up to 900gb but it's never been lower than 460gb for the whole house though, no idea about my phone!

 

[highlander84]

Normally 700-1000Mb but I have a 2GB plan so at the end of the billing cycle I burn it all up. No carry-overs.

 

[trgz]

0GB.
2G/3G is a bit poor in this rural area; I work from home; play all my games on a desktop; use my Nexus 10 on WiFi; and my old, Nokia 6303i, 240GB & 160GB iPods, and Edge 800 GPS combination do all I need, and better, when I'm on the move (note that I said 'all I need'). Looking to replace the Nokia with an Android phone soon - data will be a nice extra but I'll probably only use it once or twice a month when shopping.

 

[Tekkaraiden]

50-100mb depending how often I have to use google maps.

 

[yukka]

Around 500mb although I'm on a 2gb plan. Upgraded from 1gb for free due to a miss-sell. I got through 1gb while I was waiting 2 weeks for fiber to be installed when I moved but the rest is push mail. I am always near to wireless at work and most coffee shops where I love have the cloud free wireless service available.

 

[mls067]

I use under 2GB only because of the data plan. I use to have the unlimited until I lost my job and had to go to a plain cell phone. When I had the unlimited I used quite a bit more than the 2GB. I once took a long road trip with two families--same car--and one of the kids used my phone tethered to my laptop and played WoW the entire trip. 17 hours straight! I guess that's probably why they try to limit people on their networks, so everyone doesn't do something like that? ;-)

 

[soldier1969]

Between 3-5 gbs per month. Still on AT&T unlimited data plan, getting 4G LTE speeds, grandfathered in, but they do throttle my usage when I pass 5gb.

 

[Mister_K]

Depending if I am on the move alot, which atm I am not. However, when I was on the move 12hrs a day, I used anywhere up from 2GB to 5GB of data per day. On casual uses, up to 1GB.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

About 30 Mb which I buy prepaid. 98% of the time I'm on wi-fi and I have no idea how data I use on that because it's unlimited. In South Africa 1 gig mobile data from mobile carriers = 250-300 USD. I'm afraid not many people are prepared to spend that much on data.

 

[tipstir]

My limit is 1GB never come near that amount though. For every 1GB it's like $15 more. Nope never going to happen. I have 4G LTE service. Unlimited talk and text but with contract corp phone it's limited data plan you pay for that's how they get you is the data. But if use the cell phone has hot spot using their app service (no extra charge) then I can tether in my Android tablets in the vehicle cell internet service. I've done it couple of times and never seen the bill shoot-up doing so.

 

[Guest]

2 to 4GB. Biggest Usage is Crunchyroll and Soundcloud for my daily fix of anime and music at the gym