How to put your iPhone in Low Data Mode

If you run on a limited data plan, you may find that you can run out of data quite quickly when using your iPhone. Very often, this is due to updates and downloads that are done in the background while your device is connected to the internet. While allowing your device to perform these functions in the background may optimize your overall experience, it can use up a lot of mobile data and battery. Thus, in this article, we will cover how to put your iPhone in Low Data Mode to help you keep within your data bundle limits.

See also: iPhone 11 Ultra Wide Camera – How To Use It

How to put your iPhone in Low Data Mode

How to put your iPhone in Low Data Mode

Enabling Low Data Mode on iOS 13 and above

There are two areas where you can enable Low Data Mode. Enabling the first method will reduce data usage while using your own device’s mobile data plan. Enabling the second reduces background activity while using Wi-Fi or personal hotspots.

To enable Low Data Mode while using mobile data from your service provider:

  1. From the home screen of your iPhone, go to the Settings application. Launch the Settings application.
  2. Tap on the Mobile Data settings option. It could also be named as Cellular Data. It should be found near the top of the list of settings available.
  3. Choose Mobile Data Options or Cellular Data Options depending on the label found on your device.
  4. On the new page that appears, you will find the settings for Low Data Mode. To enable this function, toggle the switch on the right side of your screen.
  5. Once the function has been enabled, tap on the button on the top left to return to the previous page. You do not need to save the changes as they will be automatically updated.
  6. If you are running a dual-sim device, you would have to repeat the process on the other sim-card as well.

To enable Low Data Mode while using Wi-Fi or another person’s hotspot:

  1. From within the Settings application, click on Wi-Fi.
  2. Enable Wi-Fi by toggling the switch at the top of the settings available.
  3. Connect your iPhone to the Wi-Fi source that you would like to enable this function. To do so, tap on the name of the Wi-Fi source you would like to connect to. If it is a private network, input the password when prompted to do so.
  4. Once your device has been connected to the network, it will appear just below the option to enable the device to connect to a Wi-Fi network. Click on the blue information button beside the name of the network. It should be represented by the letter ‘i’ in a circle.
  5. Toggle the switch beside Low Data Mode to enable the function. This will reduce internet usage by your iPhone while on this network.
  6. Repeat steps 1 to 5 for all the Wi-Fi networks that you would like to enable this function for.

For iOS 12 and below

While there isn’t a function that you can enable, you can manually restrict apps from accessing the internet while on mobile data. This will help reduce your mobile data usage.

  1. From Settings, tap on the Mobile Data or Cellular Data depending on the label on your device.
  2. Under the Current Period, you will see a list of applications from your iPhone that are allowed to access the internet. To disable internet access by the app, toggle the switch beside the name of the app. This will disallow the app from using the internet when on mobile data.

Join our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss out on what's happening in the tech world. It's that simple.
subsc

🚀 Trusted source for tech since 2012