iOS: About cellular data usage
Summary
When using the Internet on an iOS device that has an active cellular data plan and no Wi-Fi network is available, the iOS device will use cellular data.
If you are on a limited monthly data plan, you can adjust how your iOS device uses cellular data.
Products Affected
iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G, iPad Wi-Fi + 3G, iPhone
Adjust your settings to prevent applications from using the cellular network connection to send or receive data:
Push Notifications
Some applications from the App Store use the Apple Push Notification service to alert you of new data. Applications that rely extensively on push notifications (such as instant messaging applications) will consume data.
To disable push notifications, go to Settings > Notifications and set Notifications to Off. Note that this does not prevent new data from being received when the application is opened. Also, the Notifications setting will not be visible if you do not have any applications installed that support push notifications.
Push email and over-the-air syncing
Applications such as Mail can be set to fetch data wirelessly at specific intervals. The more frequently email or other data is fetched, the faster data is consumed.
To fetch new data manually, from the Home screen choose Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap Manually. To increase the fetch interval, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap Hourly. Note that this is a global setting and applies to all applications that do not support push services.
You can also temporarily disable cellular data when it’s not needed.
- From the Home screen:
- iPhone: Tap Settings > General > Network
- iPad: Tap Settings > Cellular Data
- Slide the toggle next to Cellular Data to off. This will disable all cellular data traffic until it’s enabled again.
Additional Information
Go to Settings > Cellular Data > Usage to view your usage. Contact your carrier directly if you have questions about your cellular data usage.
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