Some tips and tricks to help you use less data and yet get the most out of it at the same time.
View your data
You can view your data via your Belong app home screen or by logging in to your Belong account and viewing your dashboard. Find out how to check your data .
What happens when I go over my data allowance?
In Australia, when you've used up your data allowance, we won't charge you extra. Your data speeds will be simply slowed to a maximum of 1 Mbps and you can continue using it.
If you’re roaming overseas, travel packs don't automatically top up when you run out of data. We’ll let you know when the data runs out. If you need more roaming data, you can buy another pack. Note that you’ll forfeit any remaining inclusions.
Find out which apps and activities are using the most data
To start managing your data, you first need to understand how you use it.
All of these activities use data:
Streaming TV, movies and music (e.g. Netflix, Stan, YouTube and Spotify)
Gaming
Downloading podcasts, music, software updates etc.
Video calling and messaging apps (e.g. Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype)
Uploading photos and videos to social media (e.g. Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook)
General website browsing (e.g. online newspapers, blogs, online shopping)
The amount of data you use is dependent on your device and the quality of the data you’re streaming, down or uploading.
Refreshing your Twitter or Facebook newsfeed: 50-200kB
Using Google maps for 10 minutes: 6MB
Sending and receiving email (100): 2.5MB
Streaming music (3 minutes): 3MB
Email (10 sent/received with attachments): 18MB
General web browsing (30 minutes): 10-20MB
YouTube, Vimeo video streaming at 720p (5 minutes): 37.5MB
Downloading a TV show or movie in SD: 800MB- 4GB
Downloading a TV show or movie in HD: 1.5GB – 4GB
Source: ACCC Manage your data
Change your video, podcast and music streaming settings
Most of your video and music streaming apps allow you to change your viewing settings to help you use less data.
Netflix
Tap on the Netflix app and log in to your account (if you need to)
Locate and select the More tab
Choose App Settings
From there, set Video quality to Standard
YouTube
Tap on the YouTube app
Locate the Account button on the top right of the screen and select Settings
Toggle on Play HD on wi-fi only
Next, toggle on Autoplay next video
Select Off for Autoplay on Home
Finally, select 360p for Upload quality
Most music and podcast apps let you listen to songs and episodes offline. You just need to make sure that you download your music and podcast episodes when you're connected to wi-fi. Once downloaded to your device, you'll be able to listen wherever and whenever you like, without it affecting your data allowance.
Change your device settings to help you save and track data
iOS devices
Turn off Mobile Data
Open Settings on your device
Tap Mobile
Toggle off Mobile Data
Turn on Low Data Mode
Turning on Low Data Mode on your iOS 13 device can restrict background network use and save cellular and wi-fi usage.
Open Settings on your device
Tap Mobile
Select Mobile Data Options
Toggle on Low Data Mode
Switch off automatic downloads
Open Settings on your device
Select Apple ID, iCloud, iTunes & App Store (at the top, next to the devices name)
Tap iTunes & App Store (yep, again)
From there, toggle off Music, Apps, Books & Audiobooks, App Updates and Automatic Downloads
Next, tap on App Downloads and select Always Ask
Match your devices mobile data usage report to your billing date
Aligning your devices data usage to your billing date is a great way to keep track of how much data you use each billing cycle.
Open Settings on your device
Tap Mobile
Select Reset Statistics (you might have to scroll down a bit). It’s important to note that you’ll need to do this on the day of your next bill. You can find your next Belong billing date via your Belong app home screen or by logging in to your Belong account.
Android devices
Because Android devices differ so much, it's best to contact the manufacturer of your device for advice on how to adjust your data settings – their Help and Support pages often cover this.
Alternatively, doing a quick internet search using the following questions can help:
How do I set data alerts and limits for my Samsung Galaxy S9?
How do I match my devices (insert device type) mobile data usage report to my billing date?
How to switch off automatic downloads on my (insert device type)?
How do I automatically switch to wi-fi on my (insert device type)?
Connect to wi-fi wherever possible
One way to save on data is to turn off mobile data when you're not using it and use available wi-fi instead. It's always good to check your location to see if there are any available wi-fi networks you can connect to.
Another tip is to download podcasts, movies and TV shows when you’re connected to wi-fi so you can watch at another time and it won’t affect your data allowance.
Note: If you've used a wi-fi network before your phone will automatically connect to that wi-fi network when you're near it again.