What does 500MB or 1GB internet actually mean? Explaining mobile data limits
February 8th, 2012
Almost all mobile phone contracts come with a limit on your internet usage. But what do terms such as 500MB or 1GB limits actually mean in the real world? Ken’s Tech Tips investigates.
When buying or upgrading to a new smartphone, you’ll need to have an internet tariff or an “inclusive data allowance” which goes with your phone. This is because almost all of the functionality in a modern smartphone will require an internet tariff to work properly, with the exception of making phone calls and sending text messages. Sending e-mails, browsing the web, using Facebook and Twitter, viewing maps and watching YouTube videos are examples of activities which will use up data.
The major networks offer a range of tariffs with a choice of data limits. Typically you’ll get 500MB or 1GB each month but it really depends on the tariff. Some tariffs offer all-you-can-eat data with no download limits whereas other tariffs offer data allowances as low as 100MB per month.
There’s a great deal of confusion about what figures such as 500MB, 1GB and all-you-can-eat actually mean in the real world. In this article, we want to reduce this confusion. We’ll outline exactly what you can do with your download allowance, how you can avoid going over your download limit and how to decide how much data you’ll need.

photo: Aitor Escauriaza
What’s the inclusive data allowance or download limit on my mobile contract?
The standard data allowance in the industry is 500MB per month – this is what will be included on most mobile phone contracts. There are some notable exceptions: Three’s ‘The One Plan’ (from £25/month) and T-Mobile’s ‘The Full Monty’ (from £36/month) both come with unlimited internet and no download limits. With either of these tariffs, there is no need to worry about how much data you’re using and the risk of incurring extra charges.
On the other end of the scale, networks such as O2, Orange and Vodafone offer plans with just 100MB or 250MB per month – these are only really suited for light usage.
Please select your chosen tariff to view more information on the inclusive data allowance and what it corresponds to:
For Pay Monthly tariffs, download allowances are as follows:
| Network | Typical Download Allowance | Other Tariffs |
|---|---|---|
| 3 (Three) | No download limit (more info) on The One Plan | Between 500MB and 1GB on Talk/Text Plans |
| O2 | 500MB | 100MB on The Basics 500MB on The All Rounder 1GB on The Works |
| Orange | 500MB | Between 100MB and 1GB |
| Tesco Mobile | 500MB | 1GB on iPhone plans |
| T-Mobile | No download limit (more info) on The Full Monty | 100MB on ‘Basic’ plan 750MB on ‘Standard’ plan 1.5GB on ‘Extra’ plan |
| Vodafone | 500MB | Between 250MB and 1GB |
Please note that these are the typical download limits found on tariffs available today. If you’re on an older tariff which is no longer available, your download limit or fair usage limit may be different.
For more information on the download allowance included with your specific tariff, consult your mobile network’s webpage: 3 (Three), O2, Orange, Tesco Mobile, T-Mobile or Vodafone. Alternatively, use the form above to select your network and tariff.
What is the relationship between KB, MB and GB?
There are 1,000 kilobytes (KB) in 1 megabyte (MB) and 1,000 megabytes in 1 gigabyte (GB).
This means that if you see a tariff advertising a 1GB limit (1000MB), the limit is twice that of a tariff advertising a 500MB limit.
You may occasional come across other terms such as a terabyte and mebibyte. These terms are rarely used in the mobile industry but Wikipedia has a good explanation in case you ever come across them.
What activities will count towards my download limit?
Most activities on a modern smartphone will consume data – the exceptions being making a phone call and sending a text messages.
Activities which consume data include browsing the web, reading and sending e-mails, browsing Facebook and Twitter, sharing photos, downloading applications, downloading music, listening to online radio and watching videos on YouTube. Voice-over-IP and instant messaging applications such as Skype, BlackBerry Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Talk and Facebook Messenger will also consume data when in use.
It’s worth noting that your phone may consume data in the background even when you’re not using it. For example, the weather widget on your homescreen will update itself periodically by download the latest forecast from the internet. Your e-mail application will also check for new messages in the background periodically.
Is 500MB enough for day-to-day use?
Yes. Generally we think 500MB is enough for day-to-day use providing that you don’t use your smartphone for data-intensive things such as:
- downloading or streaming video/music (for example applications such as YouTube, Spotify, Last.fm, TVCatchup, BBC iPlayer).
- tethering your phone to a computer (using the phone’s 3G connection as a mobile broadband device)
- using P2P applications on your phone (e.g. BitTorrent)
- using voice-over-IP applications (e.g. Skype, Google Talk)
The typical smartphone user will consume about 250MB of data each month. Typically we recommend a plan with at least 500MB per month of inclusive internet as this provides a buffer against additional costs.
For heavy users, data consumption could be substantially higher than 250MB (perhaps upwards of 1GB) so plans such as The One Plan and The Full Monty would give peace of mind against incurring additional charges for excess data consumption.
What do 500MB and 1GB actually correspond to in real life usage? For example, how many webpages, emails or videos is this?
It’s hard to give an exact figure – for example every webpage will differ in size depending on the amount of text, images and other multimedia content on it. Also, whilst most e-mail messages are typically small in size, they can be fairly large if they include attachments such as photographs. In the following table, we’ve taken “typical” values as provided by O2:
| 500MB corresponds to… | 1GB corresponds to… | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic webpages (mainly text) | 5,000 | 10,000 |
| Rich webpages (with multimedia, e.g. BBC) | 1,500 | 3,000 |
| Basic e-mails | 500,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Rich e-mails (with attachments) | 1,000 | 2,000 |
| Downloading/streaming music | 100 songs | 200 songs |
| Downloading/streaming video | 1 hour | 2 hours |
| Skype voice call | 15 hours | 30 hours |
| Skype video call | 2 hours | 4 hours |
| Listening to online radio | 8 hours | 16 hours |
| Downloading/updating apps | 80 apps | 160 apps |
Source of estimates: O2 [1, 2]. Our testing found a Skype mobile voice call consumes around 0.55MB/minute (70kbps). Skype video call uses 4MB/minute (500kbps). Online radio calculation assumes 128kbps bitrate. Average size of app is 6.1MB (based on top 20 free Android apps).
Note that we’ve listed what 500MB and 1GB correspond to: this is not a shopping list of what you can download with a 500MB allowance. In other words, viewing 5000 web pages, watching 1 hour of video or downloading 80 apps would use up the entirety of a 500MB allowance (a 500MB allowance does not allow you to do both in the same month). Realistically, you’ll do a bit of everything in a month and so each activity would contribute towards your data usage.
To see the download limits for your chosen tariff and what they correspond to, please select your chosen tariff:
Where can I get a smartphone tariff and how much data would it come with?
All of the major networks offer tariffs which are suitable for use with a smartphone. You can either choose a tariff which comes with an inclusive smartphone or a tariff which only provides the airtime (a SIM-only tariff).
| Select a tariff for more information and to see which phones are available: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Three (500MB – 1GB)
|
O2 (100MB – 1GB) |
Orange (100MB – 1GB) |
T-Mobile (100MB – 1.5GB)
|
Vodafone (250MB – 1GB) |
For a comparison of SIM-only smartphone tariffs see our guide to the best value SIM-only tariffs.
What are the charges for exceeding the monthly download allowance?
If you exceed your download allowance in a given month, you may subject to some additional charges:
- Three: None on The One Plan; 10p/MB on other Pay Monthly tariffs; 11p/MB on Pay As You Go
- O2 & Orange: £1/day (£2/day on Orange Pay As You Go)
- T-Mobile: No charges but your internet usage is restricted
- Vodafone: £5 per 250MB on Pay Monthly; £1 per 25MB on Pay As You Go
I’m worried about incurring extra charges for exceeding my download limit. Are there any tariffs with no download limits?
Yes. If you enjoy downloading applications, listening to music or watching videos on your smartphone, you should opt for a tariff with no download limits. An unlimited data tariff is often comparable in price to a 500MB tariff andwould additionally allow you to connect an iPad, iPod Touch or laptop to the internet through tethering.
The most well-known unlimited internet tariff is Three’s “The One Plan”. It has no download limits so you’ll be able to use your smartphone to your heart’s content without worrying about any extra charges. The One Plan features all-you-can-eat data and even allows you to connect your phone to a computer and use it as a modem. It’s available either as a traditional mobile phone contract (from £25/month with an inclusive phone) or as a SIM-only contract (from £25/month without an inclusive phone; airtime only).
You’ll get a monthly allowance of 2000 minutes, 5000 Three-to-Three minutes, 5000 texts, all-you-can-eat data (no download limits) and free tethering included.

- Apple iPhone 4 (8GB) with no download limits - £30/month on The One Plan (£49 upfront charge)
- Apple iPhone 4S (16GB) with no download limits - £34/month on The One Plan (£49 upfront charge)
- Apple iPhone 4S (32GB) with no download limits - £36/month on The One Plan (£159 upfront charge)
- Apple iPhone 3G S (8GB) with no download limits - £35/month on The One Plan (free handset)
- HTC One X with no download limits - £34/month on The One Plan (£29 upfront charge)
- Samsung Galaxy S II with no download limits - £29/month on The One Plan (£29 upfront charge)
- Nokia Lumia 800 with no download limits - £36/month on The One Plan
- Blackberry Bold 9900 with no download limits - £41/month on The One Plan
- SIM Card with no download limits - £25/month on The One Plan
We’ve got a in-depth review of “all you can eat” data on The One Plan. Note that Three’s “Talk” and “Text” Pay Monthly tariffs still feature download limits.
Another tariff with no download limits is T-Mobile’s “The Full Monty”. The offering is very similar to that of The One Plan – you get 2,000 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet starting from £36/month. The Full Monty is only available on a 24 month contract (The One Plan is available on a 1 month SIM-only contract). We’ve got a side-by-side comparison of The Full Monty VS The One Plan.
Do tariffs with unlimited internet cost more than tariffs with download limits?
No. In fact, tariffs with unlimited internet often work out to be similar in price to those with download limits. Three offers the 16GB iPhone 4S on The One Plan for £36/month plus £69 upfront. This comes with unlimited internet as well and is comparable in cost to a tariff with 500MB internet elsewhere. T-Mobile also offers a similar deal for £36/month plus £100 upfront. We think it’s worth checking out Three and T-Mobile’s tariffs given the peace of mind offered by unlimited internet and the additional minutes included with the tariff.
| Network | Allowance | iPhone 4S Price |
|---|---|---|
| 3 (Three) | 2000 minutes, 5000 texts & all-you-can-eat unlimited internet | £69 plus £36/month |
| O2 | 600 minutes, unlimited texts & 500MB internet | £100 plus £37/month |
| Orange | 600 minutes, unlimited texts & 500MB internet | £100 plus £36/month |
| T-Mobile | 2000 minutes, unlimited texts & unlimited internet | £100 plus £36/month |
| Vodafone | 600 minutes, unlimited texts & 500MB internet | £129 plus £36/month |
I’m thinking about using tethering. How much data will I need?
Tethering means connecting your mobile phone to a PC or laptop as a modem and sharing your phone’s 3G mobile broadband service. This includes USB tethering and tethering via the iPhone & Android personal hotspot features. We’ve got a detailed guide to tethering which outlines how to use tethering and how much data you’ll need. Three’s “The One Plan” and T-Mobile’s “The Full Monty” come with unlimited internet and free tethering: on other networks you’ll need to pay extra for tethering.
Can I use my download allowance abroad?
No. Your inclusive download allowance can only be used within the UK. If you go abroad, it’ll cost between £4/MB and £8/MB for data. If you’re going abroad, see our detailed guide to using your phone abroad and how you can turn off “data roaming”.
Does data transferred over a wi-fi network count towards the download limit?
No. Data transferred over a wi-fi network does not pass through your mobile operator and will not be counted towards your monthly download limit. For this reason, we recommend using a wi-fi network for all of your bandwidth-intensive activities such as listening to online radio, making calls over Skype and watching online video. Note that you may have a separate download limit associated with your home broadband connection.
Does listening to radio on my phone count towards my download allowance?
Yes, but only if the audio stream was transmitted over the phone’s data connection. If you listen to music through a radio application or a web browser, it’ll have been transferred over the data connection and will count towards your download limit. Meanwhile, if you’re listening to a radio station broadcast over FM, it won’t count towards your download allowance. So if you stick to your phone’s built-in “FM Radio” feature you’ll be fine.
How do I find out how much data I currently use?
The best indication of how much data you use is to find out from your mobile network. You can often find this information by logging in to your mobile network’s website:
Note that the networks don’t always make it easy to obtain this information. For example, T-Mobile customers need to click on the “See what you’ve used since your last bill” button, choose the “Mobile data usage” tab, click on “Download this information”, load the data into an Excel spreadsheet and then SUM() over the “Volume” column to find their total data usage in kilobytes (KB). Your mileage may vary depending on how accessible your network makes this information. Drop us a comment below and let us know if you have any success.
Alternatively, you could look to see if your phone keeps track of how much data/internet you use. iPhone users can find their data usage stats under in the menu under Settings > General > Usage. Meanwhile, Android users should download the “3G Watchdog” application from Android Market. If you’ve got a phone with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or later, there’s a Data Usage Monitor built in.
If you are changing phone, your current usage is not a good indicator of how much internet/data you’ll need with your new phone. Modern smartphones will use much more data than older feature phones and you should keep this in mind when purchasing a new smartphone on a contract.
| Select a tariff for more information and to see which phones are available: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Three (500MB – 1GB)
|
O2 (100MB – 1GB) |
Orange (100MB – 1GB) |
T-Mobile (100MB – 1.5GB)
|
Vodafone (250MB – 1GB) |
| About Ken | |
![]() | My mission is to demystify the world of mobile technology for general audiences and to communicate how mobile technology can enhance every aspect of our daily lives. I've been maintaining the Ken's Tech Tips website since 2004. I have experience communicating mobile technology and presenting new mobile products both online and offline, including at various trade shows and events. You can check out my profile or drop me an e-mail. |
- How Tos & The Basics , Mobile , Mobile Broadband , Pay Monthly , Smartphones
- Comments(208)










Thanks for this. I've spent a frustrating day trying to get salespeople to explain to me what they mean by "unlimited", but they failed. Now you've told me what I need to know. Ta
This is really helpful. Thanks
i just browse the web on a 1gb a month what dose it mean /.
have you not just read the above, it explains that
brill. thanks for this article!
This was extremely helpful, thanks!
What about opening say BBC website and then listening to the radio over the net? How much does this use?
500MB a month will be terrible for the iphone 4 i think! does it affect if u want to download apps
Excellent article. Saved me a trip to the phone shop to no doubt be confused by a sales person!
download them on itunes on your PC then sync them onto iphone would do the trick
ok, i hate to be so dumb and i know that it sais that with 1GB corrisponds to 3,000 rich web pages. but i am not downloading the web pages so why 3,000, is it a restriction or something?
Hi,
When you browse a web page your computer/phone must download it before it can view it.
Ken
Theoretically whenever you load a web page you 'download' the content so that you can see it, so you are downloading it. I hope i helped a little bit
Thank you very much for this! I had no idea that when it says 'unlimited' there is still a secret limit on usage….i was going to take a more expensive contract as i thought 'unlimited' meant just that. I definitely wont be doing that now! Cheers for really good article!
When you actually watching the stream video you downloaded, will it separately use up your free GB for downloading and then for watching it?
When we say that "download", simply think of that as "data transferred". If you're streaming video from the internet, data is being transferred from the internet onto your mobile phone. This counts towards your data usage limit regardless of whether you are streaming the video or saving it to memory.
Thanks fr ur article. I have few questions. I just got a new blackberry 8520 contract, the data usage allowance is 500mb.
If I turn off Mobile O2 Network in my Manage Connection settings and turn on wifi instead, and use wifi to browse and download webpages, will that also contribute to my monthly 500mb allowance ?
Are there ways in which I could track my internet usage ? like, just to check how much MBs do I have left to use?
thanks much.
cheers
Hi mazel,
If you connect through your wi-fi network, it won't count towards your 500MB download allowance. With regards to your second question, you can find out by logging in to the "My O2" section of the O2 website.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Hi, I'm only 17 (new to tariff phones and just bought one last friday) and my dad pays for my tariff but i'm scared to use my internet cos i might over use it. My tariff is 300minutes calls, unlimited texts and unlimited internet (but it came up to be 500mb monthly). Now, i've read what it says above but i'm still a little confused about the 500mb internet part. Is this means i can use my Facebook/Internet/Games i downloaded, for 'free' for a month (everyday) and when my first monthly tariff bill is payed i can use it again for another month for free and so on?
Plese could somebody reply to this! Thanks!
Really good article, now I know what the figures actually mean it will help me alot.
Hi, thanks, this is very helpful. But I have one more question… How does 1GB correspond to skype calls? I.e. How much of my 1GB allowance is used in a one-hour skype call? And is this different depending on whether I am using WiFi connection or a 3G connection? Thanks very much!
I dont seem to have any mention of limits on my contract with orange but when I returned from a US trip recently i saw my bill mentioned £3.80 for internet data usage. I queried this & said I have never connected to the internet via a mobile phone. they told me I may have accidentlly pressed a wrong button! And this resulted in a £3.80 fee? YIKES! ( they did refund the money)
How can anyone afford to do internet stuff by mobile? It could cost me £150 to check my emails!
I have a Nokia 6700 BTW, maybe smart phones are much cheaper to connect?
Hi Simon,
The chances are you probably do have fair usage limits on your contract but this is not why you've been charged this time. It's more likely that you've been charged for roaming internet which costs a fortune. We've got some more info over at http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/10-things-to-… and info about how to stop it happening.
Ken
or you could use a wi-fi connection to do all of your downloading and streaming and save your 3G for when you cant remember whats-his-faces name from that film you saw and get that strange urge to find out that instant…. tehe
Thanks Ken – this is really useful – actually very reassuring as starting a new contract and was told about the 1GB limit which was concerning at the time, but now it's not!!
I bought a prepaid vodafone internet package that allowed me up to 1GB over the course of 90 days. I bought it 2 weeks ago and it told me I had no more time left and had used my GB. I am abroad in Spain so I Skype with my parents a lot and watch TV on the internet and do research, but it seemed a little ridiculous. I went to ask the people at the department store I bought it at and they didnt really have any idea. Is it possible its incorrect or did I go through my 1GB using roughly 5 hours of skype and 10 hours of television and more hours of internet? Thanks for all the info!
Hi – thanks for the very informative article. Currently I spend a fortune monthly on internet usage and all i actually do is browse facebook. I never spend long on there and can't actually get much of the app up – it's just really status updates etc. I also have 300 mins and unlimited texts in my contract and i stay within these limits. Now i want to go over to an iphone and am wondering if 500mb will be enough. like i say – all i do is browse the odd page or two of facebook a few times a day. i very occasionally look up something on google. that's it. at the minute it's extortionate the extra i pay so i want to make sure i'll be covered. any ideas anyone?
Hi Annsley,
Yep – if you're doing phone calls and television, you'll use up your data allowance really, really quickly. See the guide above, and our article about watching online video from your mobile: http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/watching-the-…
I must say though… if you're abroad in Spain I would have thought that your internet allowance probably wouldn't cover data usage in Spain anyway.
Ken
Hi Aileen,
Yep – 500mb should be plenty for you if you only check Facebook and use Google occasionally. It's usually pretty difficult to exceed 500MB unless you download music, videos or a lot of photos.
Ken
I would just like to add that as a mobile phone sales person, i have (for the past 2years) broken down what 500mb, 750mb 1gb internet usage actually entails then relating it to that customer asking what they may use the internet for so they know what they can/cant use and what they will be limited to. I too find it strange when instore colleagues and other phone store staff dont know this info. I found it out off my own back, we've had this product in the U.K for about 2 years.
I once worked in a store where 1GB (1024mb) package was available for £5 ($8) on top of a monthly contract but many people didnt want it as facebook and youtube wasn't the "in thing". We pitched it to most customers because it was part of our job. Low and behold a customer ran up an EXTRA £75 ($119) on their bill for about 300mb of usage because they didnt want the add-on. They came in to complain but the customer was responsible for their own usage.
I have 1gb internet usage and i frequently – stream Youtube, watch tv via BBC i-Player, stream worldwide internet radio, use google maps, google street maps, check google for quick answers, wikipedia, about 5 push emails per day, download music tracks, heck oi networks in the day time and once tethered (use mobile as a modem) for about 5 hours and didnt go over.
I’d recommend 250mb for light users, 500mb for regular and 1gb for heavy users. if you’re unsure just ask before you sit down and agree to anything.
500mb gets refreshed every month. general internet and facebook will be fine. be carefull with games you download as 1. you have to pay for the actual game itself. If its £3.00, add £3 onto the bill. if the game is free thats ace! 2. Downloading a game will use more data than normal because your downloading it to your phone. 3. some games you can download BUT they connect to the internet to work, even tho you’ve downloaded it you wont physically have it. Just be carefull, read everything before you click on something.
Nothing wrong with 500mb on an i phone 4 at all. If there was, a mobile provider wouldnt give you an i phone with 500mb of internet in certain package (usually occasional to frequent users) Ive worked in a phone store for 2years.
bbc website is light usage. internet radio is streaming. depends on how often you’d be doing it. to be safe you’d need 500mb. you’re network should provide 500mb, 750mb or 1gb depending on your provider.
Guess i cant be seen as being ‘too’ helpful lol.
Thanks for your contributions – we really appreciate it! Yes there is definitely a lack of knowledge about download limits here in the UK and I commend you for outlining to your customers what they mean. It's a shame that not all mobile phone salesmen do the same!
sprint has a deal for a laptop that has 500mb and i feel like one trip on the internet with use that up for the month. and considering california doesnt have 4g 'yet' im slightly worried about doubling my monthly bill. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you might want to change the 3 internet useages as they have now changed to 500 mb
Hi Craig,
Three changed the "unlimited" internet definition to 500MB in May and June of this year. Some customers who signed up in May/June can ask to have their internet allowance raised to 1GB. Three no longer sell packages with "unlimited" internet – all packages are now advertised with the actual limit (usually 1GB).
Ken
will wi-fi connection abroad count as "roaming" and be chargeable? thanks i think you have answered most of the questions i had.
Hi gunzter,
No. Data downloaded over the wi-fi connection doesn't go through your network operator at all. There are no charges for using wi-fi from your phone except from the normal charges you incur for your home broadband service. If you use a public wi-fi hotspot, same again… no charges except from any charges which might be charged by the hotspot provider.
Ken
Hello Ken
Just wondering, I have 500 MB and would like to know how much do Skype calls use?
i bought 1GB of internet, n quite expensive……….. but its not frm these mentioned networks
it finished in a week………… didnt watch movies……….
i used skype however, n facebook…….. tell does skype use that much of the internet that i buy??? it was a normal call, not even a video call…… plz help me i, need to buy it again……….
why doesnt anyone answer the skype question??? i am desperate to knw…. but no one seems to know or answer???
Hi twilight,
Sorry for the slow response… I was taking some time off for Christmas! Skype is a real bandwidth-hog. I'm not sure what the bitrate of Skype calls (and I've struggled to find a definitive answer anywhere). The audio quality of Skype calls is lower than that of music but bear in mind that during a phone call you are transmitting audio data both from the internet and to the internet. As a good approximation, you should consider Skype usage to be about the same as downloading music (maybe a bit less). My quick guesstimate is that an hour of Skype calls would use about 100MB so using Skype for even 10 hours a month would use up the entirety of your download allowance. This probably explains why you ran out of internet so quickly.
Bear in mind that using Skype is also against the terms of use of most UK networks. The only exception is Three. See more information at: http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/how-unlimited…
Hope this helps,
Ken
since i needed the info sooo badly……….. i searched n the conclusion of the search was that 1GB gives about 40 hours of skype calls………this apparent rule of thumb ppl have made up….!!!!!??
……… now i dont knw whats true n whats not,………..
(more confused)
i hope u can help
I have a 1GB data allowance on my mobile plan and have never gone over it until last month. I use my home internet for most things, only use my phone occasionally for checking bank balance, maps (very rarely), checking sports scores, etc… Youtube and facebook are free (not counted towards the data allowance) and I dont download apps (at least not in the past 4 months) or use skype. I dont use email on my phone, dont stream radio…
Could anybody tell me how i could possibly have used over 400mb in one go, on three seperate occassions?? I'm adamant that there is no way it happened but my phone company reckons it did. I wasn't doing anything new or unusual so i dont understand how this is possible..
In the 3 weeks since my last bill i have been tracking my usage closely and only used a total of 140mb. Is it possible the phone company screwed up? And any ideas on how i could prove that i didnt?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Jimmy,
Sorry to hear about your situation but unfortunately it would be difficult for you to prove so now afterwards. If you've got an Android phone, download the "3G Watchdog" app (a similar app should be available for other platforms). It will allow you to view information on how much data you're using from your phone. You can set it to notify you when you reach a certain threshold, compare the stats from that with your networks stats and diagnose any problemaic apps.
My inclination is that it might be to do with your YouTube usage… as far as I'm aware all networks count YouTube usage towards the data allowance and it's possible this could have pushed you over the 1GB allowance. And whilst Three allow free Facebook but this is only to 0.facebook.com… all other Facebook usage is metered. However, Facebook usage alone is unlikely to use up very much data.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Hi can i ask ive just got a new HTC wildfire with 300 minits and unlimited tex the lady at Vodafone told me to take out 500mb of internet so i didant get a big bill so i told here i dont go on my phone on the internett she said it dosent matter as your phone uses internett all the time so i saide you had better put it on is this right and have i have i done the right thing thanks not very good at this sort of thing so hope you can help thank you Ken
Hi Floss,
With a smartphone such as the HTC Wildfire, you'll need an internet package to be able to use most of the features on the phone. For example reading your e-mail, updating Facebook, downloading and using applications, using the maps functionality and the turn-by-turn GPS navigation which is included in your phone. So even if you never open a web browser, you'll still need an internet package.
If you really don't use any of those functions, you could disable internet connectivity on the device but you should be aware that most of the functions which set the Wildfire apart from a cheaper handset will not work correctly.
Hope this helps
Ken
Hi Ken Thanks for the info so ive just put 500mb on will that be ok i dont do Facebook or gps as own sat nav i dont do email i dont look at eney thing on my phone as will use my computer at home for all that i dont trust Facebook and Twitter at all im not good with all that stuff so i only Tex and Make calles but i liked the look of the phone and its there if i do wont it so could you just tell me will 500mb be ok for me miss borring thanks Floss
Hi Floss,
If you don't use any of those features, you can disable data usage through the mobile network. There is more info over at http://www.mydigitallife.info/2010/04/30/how-to-t… – this will save you from having to pay for the 500MB data package. Otherwise, yes, 500MB will be more than enough for you
Ken
Thank you Ken as i find this most confussing so a big thank you for all your help and info thank you and Happy New Year Floss .
Thanks for the kind words Floss. Happy new year and enjoy your new HTC Wildfire!
Ken
Hi
I am thinking of purchasing from Tesco Mobile a Blackberry Curve and like that you can get it on a 12 month contract and not the usual 24 months. Do you have any feedback on this as I believe this is new Tesco Mobile offering Blackberry. It says 1 GB data, 250 minutes and unlimited text and feel that is ample for my usage. Unsure whether to get or not!
Wow, so helpful, thank you so much! Unbelievably helpful! I have an iPhone 3GS right now with unlimited internet from a contract I got a year ago, I think that I may use over 500MB per month so my iPhone is absolutely perfect at the moment, I watch BBC iPlayer before I go to bed every night. I want the HTC Desire so badly though! Maybe I should just wait because my iPhone contract I think is 18 months so I should enjoy it for now! It's so annoying how you can't get unlimited internet on ANYTHING now! Very frustrating! I use the internet more than calls and texts! Anyway, what do you think I should do? Thank you so much for the help Ken!
P.S. Just another quick question, I want a Phone for music, internet, facebook, streaming and apps etc (like an iPhone). Although I'm bored of the iPhone and am really concentrating on HTC'S, which HTC do you think is the best for me? Or any other Phone you think would suit me best? Thank you so much!
Hi Boz,
You'll most definitely go over your 500MB allowance if you watch iPlayer over 3G but you should be OK if you use it over wi-fi.
You might be interested to hear that Three have just scrapped download limits and fair usage limits on "The One Plan". They now provide all-you-can-eat data. The HTC Desire is available for free on a £30/month tariff and I think it's a great phone
More info & links at http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/three-offer-a…
Ken
Thank you so much for the help, I am currently looking at the Three plan right now. Thank you so much, happy new year!
Pleased to be able to help Boz! I hope you have a happy new year!
I have just purchased an iphone 4 and have downloaded an app called tunein radio which cost me 0.59 which is no problem as I always listen to the radio but I am worried that if I'm listening to the radio on it that I am using internet data.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
Hi Robert,
I've had a quick Google around – it looks like TuneIn radio is an internet radio application so the answer is yes it would. The data usage would be in the order of that for downloading music tracks (listed above)… maybe slightly less depending on the quality of the streams that TuneIn uses. Bear in mind that when you're at home and connected to wi-fi, it doesn't count towards your download allowance… only when you're on 3G.
Regards
Ken
my daughter is using a virgin blackberry 9780 for 3 days and has a 1Gb allowance. she has downloaded 13 songs maybe over the 3G and not wi-fi. Could this take her over her 1gb as i have a bill for £70 in 3 days. Is this possible?
Hi Goldie,
Sorry to hear about the huge bill… but 13 songs alone would not have taken her over the 1GB allowance. One song is roughly 4MB to 5MB so I would expect 13 songs to weigh in at around 65MB absolute tops – a long way from 1,000MB (1GB). Is this definitely a data charge as opposed to an expensive phone call?
Ken
thanks guys this really helps 500mb it is for me then
Hi Ken
Great article….all the answers I have been looking for on one page. I just have one last question. If I downloaded an App of a radio station is listening to that station classed as usage? I have a 2GB limit but only got it yesterday so weary of doing anything at the minute.
Thanks a million
Claire
i have taken 1gb so for this day how much it has charged to me can u reply for this plzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Hi soumya,
Which network and tariff are you on?
Ken
Hi Claire,
Yes, radio station apps will typically stream audio through the internet connection and this will count towards your download limit. There is a great discussion of radio stations & data usage at http://james.cridland.net/blog/what-a-500mb-fair-…. In short, 2GB would allow you to listen to a 64kbps stream for 64 hours a month.
Ken
i have ordered blackberry torch 500mb usage will that be enough to browse face book (upload my photos) and download the free apps such as wasap and idioet tests??? thank you xx
i was told i only had 2 GBs of internet on my smartphone. i wanted to know how much internet service i had and this helped alot
Hi Rosie,
Yep, I think 500MB should be more than suffice for Facebook and apps!
Ken
Cheers for the helpful site, i think i'll just get 500mb now not 1gb so it will save me £6 a month on 3
i want to browse FB, occasionally google and use BBM-contract on vodafone would only cost me £20/month with blackberyy internet service-would 1 gb be enough to cover as this is the max allowed?i'd rather pay for more and not use it tbh as then i would feel safer knowing i wasnt running up a massive bill!
A brilliant piece of straight talking, it's exactly whatI wanted to know in a very easy to understand way , Thanks.
So if i get a Galaxy S with 500mb of internet, i will be able to access facebook and other webpages like that with no limit in my monthly contract? or could i only visit so many times in a month?
HI just want everyone to be aware ,. the platform that is used to update your device will use diffrent amounts of data to some extreme and can be over the top of data 500mb usage for windows vista and less for xp version , so i have been told by (big pond ) Dose this problem also affect
these phone type applications programs ?
Excellent info.
My question is,: I have facebook and MSN messenger 'logged on' all day on my pc, if I have them 'logged on' on my Blackberry 9700, is this going to use up much data? (I would log them off at night obviousley). It would be cool to see the little red messege alerts as and when they come in on my Blackberry when I'm out and about.
You can use up to 500mb of data every month,check list above for what you can downlaod.
I have just got a galaxy samsung with 1GB of internet, and this has really helped!
at least now i know, i shouldn't have to worry about how much i'm using it etc …
although i would like to know the same as Flynn – will staying logged in to a site mean i am using the internet constantly?
Thanks
Hi Jane,
No. Staying logged into Facebook or another website does not mean you'll constantly be using internet – you only use internet when you access the website
Ken
I've just upgraded to my first smartphone, a BlackBerry with 500 MB of data usage. Your table suggests this equates to anywhere up to 500,000 emails a month, but does this mean both incoming (which I can't control) and outgoing mail (which I can)? And if I receive a mail with an attachment but don't open the attachment, does that save some capacity? Sorry to be so ignorant – I'm new at this game!
thanks
Hi Susan,
Yes, this refers to both incoming and outgoing mail. However, chances are your phone won't automatically download every single e-mail – spam e-mail will probably be in a different folder for example and won't automatically be downloaded onto your phone. With regards to the attachment, the attachment isn't normally downloaded unless you open it. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on how your phone & e-mail application is configured.
Hope this helps,
Ken
very helpful thanks Ken. I haven't got as far as email folders yet and assumed they would be identical to those on my computer. I'm also most grateful for your tips about data roaming – that's something I would never have thought of and for obvious reasons the mobile companies don't advertise it!
Hi, i have 500mb of usage on my iphone 4 and wondered what this means in terms of downloading apps? does this mean im using up all my data allowance on apps alone??
Also I bought a tv episode last nights and didnt realise it was 693mb but i was on a wifi network so does this count??
Im a bit worried now about costs!!
Thanks!
Hi Hannah,
Hard to tell as applications can vary in size a lot – Angry Birds is 17MB for example whilst many other apps are <1MB. Data downloaded over a wifi network doesn't count towards your 500MB data limit so you're in luck!
Ken
Excellent article. 5 stars! *****
What a brilliant article.
Everything I've been searching for and summarised really well.
Thanks a lot
does streaming radio go heavy on usage.i luv my internet trance radio.
Great article. I just got a new blackberry with a new network, it has a 1gb data allowance. My old BB had BB unlimited, but I only use my mobile for emails and occasional facebook/twitter. I have connected to my home wi-fi and the wi-fi icon is on my mobile. I decided to download the apps I used on my old BB, had a few emails and tried a bit of web browsing, and afterwards I checked my allowance and it says I have used my whole 1gb in 1 day, even though I have been at home and connected to my home wi-fi. I tried calling the network up but after being on hold for 15 minutes and having my call answered by someone who couldn't understand my query, I gave up. Is it correct that my allowance is all used up in one day while connected to my home wi-fi?
Hi Paul,
Unfortunately it does yep. You should assume that streaming radio uses roughly the same amount of data as downloading music – around 1MB per minute of online radio.
Online radio is encoded in 128kbit/s = 16kbyte/sec = 960kbytes/min = approx. 1MB/minute
Ken
Hi Jen,
This is very strange: data through your home wi-fi connection won't count towards your 1GB data allowance. The data allowance applies only to downloads over the mobile network. Please do let us know if you find out what caused your entire download allowance to be used in a day: I don't have any ideas at the moment.
Ken
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all of your fantastic comments and suggestions. The entire article has just gone a rewrite to try and answer some of the most commonly asked questions: also I've added a dropdown where you can view download allowance information specific to a certain tariff (e.g. for O2 you have the choice between 100MB, 500MB and 1GB when you order your tariff so our dropdown will show you exactly what these terms correspond to).
Please feel free to drop us a further comment if you have any questions about download limits!
Ken
Thanks for the very useful guide. I'm a low user on 02's Simplicity 100MB a month tariff. You didn't mention using Google Maps as a satnav – how much data would that consume on, say, a one hour journey?
Hi Gerry,
Thanks for your question. As I understand it, Google Maps GPS navigation on Android downloads road information in vector format (e.g. it just downloads the route and information on where the roads are, rather than image files of the map itself like some older version of Google Maps do. Hence I wouldn't expect it to use very much data – maybe a rough on-the-order-of estimate 0.1MB per mile. You could download the 3G Watchdog application for your phone, run it on a journey and let us know what you find out though!
Cheers
Ken
hi friends
please can you help me, 1Gb internet , how many hours i can chat or PC to PC calling.
Hi Zameer,
Standard chat shouldn't use up very much data at all – they're just text-based messages so you don't need to worry about it. For PC-to-PC calling, do you mean voice/video calls whilst tethering?
Ken
yh i know what you mean – that always happens! a lot of the time, if you are around a town or city, you can usually connect to a nearby wi-fi hotspot in a coffee shop or something for 'emergency googling'
Interesting piece of article..very informative
Hi found the article very helpful, just have one question. Checking useage on iPhone under Cellar Network Data it has 'Sent' and 'Receive', do I add the two of these together to work out my current usage?
Great article, I've been flirting with my data plan limit (1GB) and now realize it's probably those short YouTube videos I peek at here and there. Guess they all add up! Thanks for giving it all some parameters, I'm sharing this with my colleague.
Hi Rachel,
Yep, exactly! Not sure if all networks will count "sent" data towards your download limit but usually it's pretty small compared to data received anyway!
Ken
Hi. Can someone help me. I have just got the new I phone 4 and within the network section there are options to enable 3G, mobile data and data roaming. Can someone tell me what these are and the differences between them?
Thanks
Hi Mark,
The 3G toggle determines whether you can use 3G/HSDPA high-speed data on your phone. This sometimes uses more power than 2G but you'll get much better download speeds.
The mobile data toggle determines whether you can use data over the mobile network at all – I'd turn this off only if you were on a tariff without inclusive data (otherwise you can still use wi-fi networks)
Finally, the data roaming toggle determines whether your iPhone can connect to the mobile networks whilst abroad. Be aware that this will often cost ~£6/MB so it's strongly recommended you have this OFF. http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/10-things-to-…
Hope this helps,
Ken
looking to get htc hd7 from o2 with a 500mb bolt-on then also offers me moblie boardband at
500MB + Unlimited Wi-Fi (30 days) £10.21 per month
2GB + Unlimited Wi-Fi (30 days) £5.11 per month
1GB + Unlimited Wi-Fi (30 days) £15.32 per month
is this different to the data package or the same thing ??
thanks
Hi Ray,
This is indeed different from a data package for your phone – I believe you're looking at mobile broadband (USB dongle) tariffs.
Ken
when it says 500mb mobile web does it mean that you can have unlimited time on the internet until the 500mb runs out or you have to pay for the internet ?
Hi Tony,
Mobile web is charged by the amount you download rather than the time you spend on it. So the amount of time you spend on the internet doesn't directly affect your data usage: only what you do in that time.
Hope that helps,
Ken
I may sound really dumb by this but my partners sister has the HTC wildfire and her phone often shows a little 3g symbol near her signal bars (she is on tmobile). I myself am on 3 but get the letter 'R' showing, and as far as I am aware have the data roaming settings turned off. How do I know when my phone is connected to the mobile internet? (how do i do this even?) As I am paying monthly for threes text 500 (500 mins, 5000 text, 1gb internet), so far I have only connected to my home WI-Fi but am now worried that i'll get charged a lot extra due to this 'R' symbol which I am presuming means roaming, yet as mentioned I have turned off the data roaming facilities. I have downloaded various free Aps, visited websites using the browser and have my two email accounts setup, as far as i know using wifi only. I have the HTC Desire. Help! – thanks in advanced!
Hi Marie-Louise,
Thanks for your comment. I'm unsure about the exact reason – but does the R symbol correspond to the fact you're roaming on Orange 2G? Although they've begun to turn it off in some areas <a href="http:// (http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/three-begins-2g-coverage-switch-off-have-you-been-affected-your-rights),” target=”_blank”> <a href="http://(http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/three-begins-2g-coverage-switch-off-have-you-been-affected-your-rights),” target=”_blank”>(http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/three-begins-2g-coverage-switch-off-have-you-been-affected-your-rights), there are still many places where it's active.
Ken
hello to all! first sorry for my bad English but i`m from Bulgaria! i have a one question! in my home me need from internet but we don`t have BT-line! and to make BT line is to expencive! that`s why i search a lot of deals in internet for offer and i think i found the right one! this is on 3 all-you-can-eat-data we will use my phone like HOT SPOT (like router) and the question is "we have 3 laptops and i must to know the speed for the internet from 3 Mobile? are the speed is good for us? thanks in advance and have a nice day all
i am thinking about getting a iphone 4 on three and i dont know what data useage to get as i want to use apps facebook occasionally google and msn chat wondering if you recomend the 500mb or unlimited as there is a slight price difference. also i was planning to get the £30 a month one with unlimited but i cant find it it says it would run out on the 31st of may do you know if it has stopped
thank you
Hi Becca,
500MB should suffice for Facebook and instant messaging applications. If you're looking to listen to online radio or watch online video, it might be worth considering the all-you-can-eat package instead.
Ken
OK I know I'm a bit thick but age is against me so please be gentle. If I use my mobile for navigation York to London over a period of four hours. How much of my download allowance will I have used?
Hi Pippin,
Very difficult to tell – is this Google Maps on Android? To be honest I wouldn't worry about data usage for navigation – it certainly isn't a lot! Maybe a megabyte – probably not even that much but I don't have any hard figures I'm afraid…
Ken
I might be getting a Samsung Galaxy Ace and wondering if 500mb is enough. For Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and maybe an occasional photo upland. Enough?
So I'm looking at getting a blackberry with 1GB of mobile web it doesnt have 3G so will I be able, with this, to go on facebook and few times a day and possibly twitter and some other websites without going over my limit
Hi George,
For Facebook and Twitter – 500MB is more than enough. Occasional photo uploads should be OK (I presume you won't be uploading more than 40-50 per month). For YouTube videos, it might not – see the figures for online video in the table above.
Cheers
Ken
1megabyte is actually 1024 kilobytes. If you didnt know that then i am skeptical about what else you may be wrong about in this article
Hi
Thanks for this article. I am a bit of a technoilliterate and it has been hugely helpful in explaining some basic terms. I want to upgrade my phone to an iphone 4. However, I want a £35 tariff that I currently am on and I really don't want to pay very much for the phone. I notice that Three is offering a 1GB deal on an iphone 4 for £35 a month and only charging £35 for the phone which looks pretty good to me. I wonder if there is a catch – what do you think?
Also if i download applications such as games and have them stored on my phone – will I use up any MB's when I play games etc.. etc..
Thanks
hi there i am going to go away to tenarife in 1 months time to celebrate my Th and was wondering my hotel has wi-fi but will it still charge me even if im picking up a wi-fi signal
Hi Ken
Great article and very helpful (even to an ex-IT guy!)
Having worked in the industry for many years I'm appalled that there is still confusion about GB as Giga Bytes and GB as Giga Bits/Sec. I'm never really sure myself when the mobile providers (or general ISPs for that matter) quote GB whether they are talking about bits or bytes!
What's your understanding?
Also, on a related subject, many mobile Internet users can log into office systems at their place of work using Citrix (or GoToMyPC). Since these systems only transfer changes in the bit patterns of the office screen (or it's pseudo version in a server) down the line and mouse movements, etc up the line wouldn't it be cheaper to access the Internet this way (always assuming their company policise allow them to do this)?
What do you think?
Hi Dick,
Given the overhead of creating the session – I strongly suspect this would be much more bandwidth intensive. However, I recommend investigating applications such as Opera Mini which can compress webpages. This is probably along the same lines as what you're suggesting but with a lot less overhead!
Cheers
Ken
Hi Lily-Rose,
You'll be pleased to know that you won't be charged when using hotel wi-fi. However, please make sure you've disabled data roaming to avoid large charges which could be incurred if you accidentally connect to a 3G service (see http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/10-things-to-….
Cheers
Ken
Hi Connor,
Technically a megabyte is 1000 kilobytes whereas a mebibyte is 1024 kilobytes. More info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mebibyte. However, usage is inconsistent within the industry and many people use a megabyte to mean 1024 kilobytes. For the purposes of mobile data, we suggest using the ISO definition of 1 megabyte = 1000 kilobytes and 1 gigabyte = 1000 megabytes. The reason being that because it's ambiguous what your mobile operator actually means, confining yourself to the lower limit will ensure that you don't exceed your download allowance & incur extra charges. In practice, this is mostly an academic argument as the probability of data usage being between 1000MB and 1024MB in a given month is very small.
Ken
Hi Anna,
Thanks for your comment! For a review of Three's £35 tariff (called The One Plan), see our review at http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/three-launche….
With regards to games… *normally* they don't use very much data. Some games will use data but this varies depending on the game and what kind of features it incorporates. However, I would say that you most certainly shouldn't worry about data usage from playing games stored on the phone – it won't eat up a significant amount of data. Probably 1MB tops.
Ken
I work at Three and the reason for the change is not that the limits have changed but instead a decision to stop using the word unlimited when it is subject to a fair use policy. Text 300 and talk plans include 500mb, Text 500 and above include 1gb while the one plan includes All you can eat data with no fair use policy at all.
I've just got my 1st smart phone today and am just getting to grips with it. You're advice has been really helpfull as I am so new to using the phone for internet and many people have been telling me to watch out for this and that, so I'm a bit nervous about using it. I have unlimited internet and I need to know if the apps continue downloading (and thus eat up my usage) even when i'm not using it. I will mainly be going on facebook, twitter and my emails. If they do is there a way to stop this or turn them off when i dont want to use them? I really dont know what I'm doing with this do I?
Hi Susan,
Facebook/Twitter/E-mail probably will use some data even when you're not using it (e.g. your phone might automatically download new e-mails). That said, I really wouldn't worry about Facebook, Twitter or E-mail taking you anywhere close to your download limit if you only use your smartphone for these things. It's only really things like music, video, downloads, radio, Skype, etc. where you need to worry about download limits.
Ken
Hi I found this article really helpful! Can I ask a quick question? – even when i have a wifi connection (at home) it still comes on my bill as using the mobile internet usage,when I know for a fact I have down all my internet browsing through our wifi connection…. do you know why this is? is there a setting on my phone where i need to turn off mobile internet, or should it happen automatically. my phone is set to automatically use wifi when available….
Hi Billie,
Yes – your phone will have an option to turn off "mobile network data" or something. Turn this off if you are billed for mobile internet – typically your phone will automatically switch to 3G for data if it loses the wi-fi connection (e.g. you stray outside the range of the wi-fi hotspot, connection temporarily lost due to microwave interference, etc.)
Ken
that you have more than enough data
Great post, thank you, quick question – To send an SMS message on a Blackberry curve 8520 I turn on my mobile wireless setting – as I have no reception otherwise… does this use my internet allowance of 500mb up? Is it ok to leave the wireless setting on, so I can send SMS messages? Or do they send without this? Any suggestions asap would be so so so much appreciated as I need to use the phone ASAP!!! Thank you.
Hi Bella,
Many thanks for your comment. Are you sure you're sending an SMS message and not WhatsApp/BBM/MMS or SMS through some application? You shouldn't need to enable data to use SMS!?
Ken
When you say downloading video (example iTunes, not watching streaming video such as YouTube) does 1 hour mean the download time or the length of the video? Thanks.
Hi Carla,
The figures in this article refer to the length of the video as opposed to the download time. Note that we made assumptions on the bitrate(quality) of the videos.
Ken
wow! This article is amazing. much better then standing in a shop for hours on end asking all of my questions and remembering nothing when i come out.
Would just like to ask, i have been thinking about getting the i phone 4 on a 3 mobile contract and unsure if 500mb would be enough. as im going to uni in september i can easily connect to the wi-fi on campus and also connect to the wi-fi at home and therefore not use up and of my 500mb a month. The only places i would use my MB up would be on a bus or out and about where wi-fi isnt available. Is this correct? And do you think in my case, it would be wise to go for 500mb?
Thanks a lot
Gemma
how easy is it to switch between data usage and wifi at home? does an iphone do it automatically when in range of home wifi? thanks.
Hi Chris,
If you leave wi-fi turned on then your phone will automatically connect to a wi-fi network. However, many people choose to disable wi-fi functionality when they're not using it to extend battery life.
Ken
Hi Gemma,
Thanks for the kind words! In general, 500MB per month should be plenty providing you don't download/stream music or video over 3G – you'll need to save those things for when you have wi-fi on campus or at home. Things like Facebook, Google Maps and browsing the web alone shouldn't take you anywhere close to 500MB so I would say it's fine! That said, it might be worth looking at The One Plan if you're looking for some reassurance with no download limits: http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/three-launche…
Ken
Thanks Ken.
Just got my new i phone 4
and i got the one plan as they did me a good deal. and just to let others know i am on three mobile and on the one plan "unlimited" actually means unlimited so i am very happy
Thanks again ,
Gemma x
yikes – I had no idea radio would use up so much… won't be using that again without wifi! Glad I hadn't yet sent that angry email to Three!!
Really useful article – thank you so much
This is a brilliant article!
But I've just bought a blackberry on virgin with 1GB of internet a month and I'd like to know if there's any way in which I can check to see how much internet connection I've got left. Is there a way??
Thanks,
Hannah
Thanks Hannah!
I've never tried it myself, but there is an application called "Network Traffic Control" in the BlackBerry App World which promises to measure the amount of data you use. http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/6…
If you give it a go, please let us know what you think!
Ken
this is helped a lot I am look at changing my contract & will use to info from this to choice what I need
I'm thinking about swapping to '3' but concerned about coverage. I'm based on the south coast in Sussex but regularly travel into Wiltshire, Hampshire & Yorkshire. Anyone experienced any problems.
Hi Ken. Really helpful articale.
would like to bounce a few questions off you if that is ok. My 14 year old daughter has a SIM ONLY Orange 12 month contract for £10 a month giving 300 minutes plus UL text per month, She wants to buty a Blackberry Curve (has an LG350 currently) but i am a little out of my depth re data (i have a company iphone so do not get any costs). So after speaking to Orange i am not able to change her current contract for another 7 months(seemed like a good idea at the time). The only option i think i have is to add a £5 per month 500MB bundle to her current contract and buy a Blackberry. thats the story so far the questions i have are. Can BBM only be sent to other Blackberry users and are they FOC. She is an strong user of TEXT messaging but i do not believe that BBM is a full replacement of this. In the house she can use the WiFi FOC but will stream data for Facebook, tumblr Utube and Skype when out an about. After reading your article FB is ok however Skype and Utube are an issue due to data use. can you confirm all this for me please? any advise is greatly recieved. Thanks Bill
Hi Bill,
Thanks for your comment. Adding a data bundle sounds like a reasonable solution – however make sure it's a BlackBerry data bundle. BlackBerry devices cannot be used with any old data bundle – more info over at http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/blackberry-ta….
BBM messages can only be exchanged between BlackBerry users. They are free of charge. SMS messaging is still important for contacting friends who don't use BlackBerry. An alternative application called WhatsApp is similar to BBM but can be used on Android and iPhone devices too.
And you are correct
Skype and YouTube will use up 3G data allowances *very* quickly; but Facebook and Tumblr should be fine. If Skype and YouTube are used over wi-fi, it doesn't count towards the 500MB limit on 3G.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Yeh really helpful, good to get some figures actually in front of you and in black and white.
I'm planning on upgrading to an I-Phone with 750mb allowance but just need to make sure im not getting conned. My current contract for my vivas is consistantly high but i reckon this may be down to the fact that no data charges are even considered in my contract, and standard data charges are given? I only really use the internet for facebook and football scores, so i'm slightly puzzled as to how my bills are often quite expensive.
Thanks, Stu
Hi,
If you don't have an inclusive data allowance in your package this would mean you're paying standard rates for data – it could be as high as £4/MB in some cases – or sometimes £1 or £2 per day depending on your tariff. If you've got an inclusive data allowance, you shouldn't have to worry about data costs providing you keep within the 750mb allowance
Ken
I just got my new phone and i have 750mb data allowance a month,
Am i right in thinking this will be ok to use Facebook daily, read the few emails i get and occasionally check cinema times?
I have wifi in my home so at home it will connect to that. But out and about will it eat into my allowance as its a smart phone?I.e, be connected to the internet all the time, or will i have to keep turning it off and on again?
Hi Meme,
Yes you can… if those are the things you use your smartphone for, and especially with wifi at home, no need to worry about a 750mb data allowance. Things like online radio, YouTube, music downloads, etc. are the only things you really need to worry about – those are the things which eat up your data allowance very quickly!
Ken
Thanx for ur useful info!! Has helped me alot!
Hi Ken, I've recently got a contract phone, £20 per month with 250 mb. My monthly bill was over £41 last month but I barely use it. I do receive about 25 emails a day but have only ever replied to one and have looked at FaceBook and internet a couple of times. Not sure why my bill is so high, perhaps I have something switched on that is using up all my mbs? I checked my usage this month after one week and had already used up my allowance!
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Sorry to hear about the problems you're having. My first recommendation is to make sure you use wi-fi at home: this should cut your data usage substantially. Secondly, monitor your data usage using something like 3G Watchdog (for Android devices). You can set up this application to alter you or automatically disable your internet connectivity when you reach a certain point (e.g. 225mb). Hopefully this application will help you to work out why you exceeded your data allowance last month: for example it could be that you've downloaded a software update or several large applications from App Store/Android Market over 3G.
Ken
Hi Ken
Brilliant article, I understand so much more now!
Just 1 quick question, will using a sports tracker/sat nav type application eat into my allowance considerably?
Lynn
Hi Lynn,
Thanks for the kind words! It shouldn't do no: GPS positioning alone shouldn't use up any data – that said if the application does things such as automatically downloading maps of your current location that would eat into your allowance. For a sports tracker application I'd say it would be very unlikely to use very much data!
Ken
I know this is an old article but I'd just like to point out that O2 customers are only charged up to £1 per day if they do NOT have an internet allowance (bolt on). Once the monthly limit is reached your mobile data speed is simply slowed down until the next month. Otherwise, great article, very useful thanks!
Hi Juliet,
Many thanks for your comment! The article should say that the excess charge on O2 is £1/day although it's possible something has been left out – if you can spot anywhere in the article with the old prices please let me know!
Ken
hi im getting the samsung galaxy ace , and when i top up £10 i get 500mb internet and i am at home alot of the time , i have wi-fi so when i connest to it will that 500mb decrease ???
thanks max
Hi Max,
Any downloads over wi-fi will not count towards your 500mb allowance.
Ken
thanks for this but im still insure – im getting a phone in a few days and theres this deal on an android phone which gives me 250mb free of internet a month. if i do get this phone i will only be on facebook and downlading free apps , will 250mb be enough??
also when you download free apps and then u go on to play it , it wont take ur megabites off ,, will it ???
please help me
any help will be apperciated
thanks.
Hi Amelia,
I'm afraid it's so hard to say – every single app will use different amounts of data so there isn't a universal answer. Do you have a specific one in mind?
Ken
hi just got an iphone 3 with 500mb got it connected to sky go when not at home how long would 500mb of viewing last
ken,
thankyou for that but im more to the question : if you download a free internet app will it take off your megabites or not plus when you hook it up to the wifi and you are on apps or facebook that wont take away megabites will it ?
amelia
Thank you for this, very helpfull!
if you downloaded a free app and then you go on to play it then it wouldnt take your megabites off , will it ?
and if you hook it up the the wifi it wont take megabites off will it?
thankyou
Hi Amelia,
It might or it might not – it depends on the game! If you're connected to wi-fi, it definitely won't come out of your mobile internet download allowance.
Ken
thanks alot of help
my contract is supposed to be £20 a month but for the last 3 months it has come in at £60. I rang vodafone up to ask why it was this price and they said my blackberry makes an update every night at 12 and becuase internet wasnt a part of my contract i was having to pay 89p every time. I was not made aware of this when i brought the phone..am i entitled to ask for the money back?
Hi Robert,
I'm afraid I'm no expert on consumer law – sorry. Vodafone have a valid argument in that your phone was using data services and so you should be charged. You may also have an argument in that you never authorised the use of the data service and that you were unaware of the use. My suggestion is to disable the automatic update at midnight to prevent further charges – whether you want to go further and to dispute the additional £40 worth of charges is something I cannot advise on!
Ken
thanks for taking the time to reply
Hi Richard
The article has been updated with statistics about listening to online radio!
Cheers Ken!
I am considering upgrading to my first ever smartphone from a VERY old Nokia 1100 so this article has been extremely useful.
Thanks a lot!
This is an amazing easy to understand web site! Thank the lord someone has taken the time to do this!
Thankyou for your helpful advice! A good deed indeed!
thanks………i was considering which monthly plan to get (500MB vs 1GB), and now I know, very well explained.
if you want a bargain use giffgaff(02) network £10 per month pay as you go 250 mins unlimited texts,and unlimited internet no download limit AND NO FAIR USE POLICY AT ALL…………..
Many thanks for clear and concise article.
how about 1 gb internet sim card how many hours if i use on vedio call on skype
If I buy into a prepaid plan that offers 750 minutes of talk, text, and data, am I correct in assuming that however long any internet page takes to download will be how many minutes is subtracted from the plan?
Joe
Hi Joe,
Nope. Internet pages will be subtracted from the data part of your plan (however much data it takes to download that webpage)!
Ken
Is 5 gig a month enough, just for browsing the net for about 5 hours a day, whats apping constantly, msning and emailing? I just want to leave the 3g connection on permanently. How much data would that eat?
In your third question, there is a app you can download called 3G Watchdog, it lets you know how much you are using.
Hope this helps.
Hi momo,
5GB should be more than adequate for those things!
Ken
thanks for this info!! just what I needed to know
how many time taken for completing 1gb in our pc
Simple and to the point very good site I will pass it on.
Thanks for all the easy to understand information in your article and for getting back to me so quickly. I'll keep a close eye on it over the coming weeks and stop the kids from playing on it.
Thank you!! I also thought that the usage was a bit high for a week but i turned it off for a few days and now its gone back to 0mb usage so i'll check when my bill comes through if it was for that or not! Thanks so much again!
Thanks for the article man, helped me a lot
I'm rubbish at this stuff sorry
So if I got a contract iPhone 4s and got the 500mb how many hours roughly a day could i spend on the internet without being charged and going over at the end of the month? x
Hi
I have a Xperia Ray on pay as you go t-mobile. I was thinking of taking out the interent booster for £20 for 6 months, from your article can you tell me what my limit will be, 500mb or the 1gb you mentioned
Hi there,
T-Mobile's £20 for 6 months deal comes with 500MB allowance per month.
Hope this helps,
Ken
for the new HTC sensation is 500MB a substantial amount, for a girl who like facebook reads emails and just wants fast internet (checking train times, cinema)
Thanks for this clear, succinct article. I'm hoping to switch to a smartphone soon and found this article, and the comments and your response to them, extremely helpful.
Good article but one small thing that always annoys me when I see it, it's actually 1024 Killobyte and 1024 Megabytes in a Gig.
Hi sorry to be stupid but am unsure has to how wifi which we have in the house to use our computer can be an advantage or not too my smarphone
Thank you for de-mystifying this subject for a non-techie!
Thanks Ken you are a great big light in a mobile world of darkness.
this was very helpful. thank you
Very helpful, thank you! :0)
Ken? Thank you very much indeed. And congratulations on a fantastic page. You anticpated my every question and with time-saving links.
Hi Stephen,
I'm really pleased that the page was useful!!
Ken
Hello, could you tell me if I were to watch live TV on my iphone at home via my wi-fi would it still use my 3G allowance? Thanks a lot
Hi there,
No – this would not count towards your 3G allowance. Any traffic transferred over your home wi-fi does not go through your mobile operator at all
Hope this helps,
Ken
Excellent advice, thank you very much. I wanted to know if the free web access I just got from Vodafone would interfere with my wi-fi (home) usage and found the answer I needed (no, it won't!)
Thanks for clarifying this, I understand it now. And thanks for the link to the Watchdog app. I’m not rich, so need to keep my spending to a minimum. Cheers, K
Thank you for making sense of data allowance. Very informative and explained very clearly. Excellent article.
Very helpful! Thank you.
htc wildfire . i will be using phone to watch bbci player and sky go. i have 1 gig. how long will i get before the gig expires. i have unlimited browsing and the gig is for download.
thanks
jono again. oops sorry forgot to say i will be using my phone as hot spot for laptop whilst camping