Use cellular data on your iPhone or iPad

Find out how much mobile data you're using and how to turn it on or off for all apps or individual apps.

Turn cellular data on or off

To turn mobile data on or off, go to Settings, then tap Mobile Data or Cellular. If you're using an iPad, you might see Settings > Mobile Data.

An iPhone screen showing mobile data settings

Depending on your service provider and device, you may have additional options listed under Mobile Data Options:

  • Enable LTE, 4G or 3G: You can select what type of network connection to use for voice and data. Find out more about these options. Find out about data options with 5G on your iPhone or iPad.

  • Turn Voice Roaming on or off: With CDMA networks, you can turn off Voice Roaming to avoid charges from using other service providers' networks.

  • Turn Data Roaming on or off: When you're travelling internationally, you can turn off data roaming to avoid roaming charges. If you have an international data plan, you may need to keep Data Roaming on. Find out more about travelling internationally with your iPhone or iPad.

Depending on your carrier, data roaming may be used if you travel domestically. Contact your carrier for more information about your data roaming policy or other cellular data settings. You can turn mobile data on or off to limit apps and services from using the mobile network to connect to the internet. When mobile data is turned on, apps and services will use your mobile connection when Wi-Fi isn't available. As a result, you may be charged for using certain features and services with cellular data. Contact your carrier for more information about possible charges.

View how much cellular data you're using

To see how much mobile data you’ve used, go to Settings > Mobile Data or Settings > Cellular. If you’re using an iPad, you may see Settings > Mobile Data.

An iPhone screen showing mobile data usage

  • Scroll down to find which apps are using cellular data. If you don't want an app to use cellular data, you can turn it off for that app. When mobile data is turned off, apps will only use Wi-Fi for data.

  • To see the mobile data usage for individual System Services, go to Settings > Mobile Data or Settings > Cellular. Then tap System Services in the list under Mobile Data. Mobile data can't be turned on or off for individual System Services.

  • You can view the data-usage statistics for an app from a current period or view app data statistics for apps that used data when you were roaming. To reset these statistics, go to Settings > Mobile Data or Settings > Cellular, and tap Reset Statistics.

  • When you're using an iPhone with Dual SIM, you can see how much mobile data you've used with your selected mobile data number.

To get the most accurate mobile data usage from a current period, contact your service provider.

Get help

  • Find out what to do if you still can't connect to a mobile network.

  • If you're using an Exchange ActiveSync account, it may continue to use cellular data even if you've turned it off for Mail and Calendar. To see the mobile data usage of your Exchange ActiveSync account, go to Settings > Mobile Data > System Services.

  • If it's activated, Wi-Fi Assist will automatically switch to using mobile data when Wi-Fi connectivity is poor. Wi-Fi Assist is turned on by default. This may result in additional cellular data usage, which could incur further charges depending on your data plan. You can turn off Wi-Fi Assist in Settings. For more information, see About Wi-Fi Assist.

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