10 Ways to Limit Cellular Data Usage on iPhone

Quick Tips

• Enable Low Data Mode from Settings > Mobile Service > Mobile Data Options.
• Turn off Personal Hotspot from Settings > Personal Hotspot.
• Disable Automatic Downloads for the App Store.

Method 1: Uninstall Apps Consuming Excessive Cellular Data

iOS offers a detailed breakdown of mobile data consumption to track apps demanding excessive data. Once located, uninstall them from your iPhone or use light app alternatives.

Step 1: Open the Settings app > tap Mobile Service > review the list of mobile data usage by apps.

Step 2: Once you’ve identified the app consuming excessive data, long-tap the app icon on your home screen > Remove App.

Method 2: Disable Wi-Fi Assist

When you’re connected to a poor Wi-Fi connection, Wi-Fi Assist triggers to enable cellular data for browsing, leading to unintended data consumption despite being on Wi-Fi. Disabling the feature should limit it.

Note: If the Wi-Fi Assist toggle is greyed out, enable Mobile Data on your iPhone.

Open the Settings app > tap Mobile Service > scroll to the bottom and disable Wi-Fi Assist.

Method 3: Disable Mobile Data and Background App Refreshing

Turning off mobile data and background refreshing for apps significantly reduces the cellular data consumption on iPhones.

• To disable Mobile Data for an app, open the Settings app > tap Mobile Service > turn off the toggle for the desired app.
• To stop the background app from refreshing, open iPhone settings > scroll down and tap your preferred app > toggle off the Background App Refresh.

Method 4: Toggle off Mobile Data for iCloud Photos

The Photos app on iPhone is one of the biggest culprits that automatically uploads device media to iCloud servers, devouring your cellular data. Turning it off limits the data consumption.

Open iPhone settings > select Mobile Service > disable the mobile data toggle for Photos. Additionally, scroll to the bottom and disable iCloud Drive.

Method 5: Fetch Mail Less Quickly

Retrieving emails less frequently is another effective trick that limits cellular data consumption on iPhones. Configure the Mail app settings to disable fetching them automatically.

Step 1: Open the Settings app > tap Mail > select Accounts.

Step 2: Tap Fetch New Data > set it to Manually.

Method 6: Compress Text Message Attachments

If you include plenty of images in your text messages or iMessage, compress image quality to limit cellular data consumption.

Open Messages under iPhone settings > enable Low-Quality Image Mode.

Method 7: Turn Down the Network Quality

Using a speedy cellular tech like 5G or 4G spikes data usage. If you have a limited data plan, reduce the network quality to limit cellular data usage.

Step 1: Open Settings > tap Mobile Service > Mobile Data Options.

Step 2: Choose Voice & Data and turn down network quality by switching to LTE (instead of 5G/4G).

Method 8: Disable Automatic App Store Downloads

You can disable automatic downloads on cellular data and save internet bandwidth. iOS also offers an option to disable video autoplay in the App Store on mobile data.

Head to iPhone Settings > App Store > toggle off Automatic Downloads under Cellular Data. Additionally, tap Video Autoplay and set it to Wi-Fi Only.

Method 9: Lower Video Quality on Social Media Apps

Watching high-quality videos on social media apps gobble up cellular data. Thankfully, turning on the data saver mode in these apps rein it in. Let’s take Instagram as an example:

Step 1: Open your Instagram profile > tap the hamburger menu at the top right > select Settings and privacy.

Step 2: Pick Media quality and turn on Use less mobile data.

Method 10: Disable Video Auto-Play for Social Media Apps

Auto-playing videos on social media consume more data as they quickly load and play while you scroll. Disable it manually from the app settings to limit cellular data usage on your iPhone. Let’s take Facebook for instance:

Step 1: Open the Facebook profile Menu from the bottom right and tap the Gear icon at the top to open settings.

Step 2: Select Media > set Autoplay to Never autoplay videos.