iPhone 4 Data Usage Question

[forcetactic]

I'm currently contemplating about upgrading my old phone to iPhone 4 and adding the 200MB/month plan. I just have a few questions about the usage though.

If I moderately use
-Meebo with push for IM'ing
-Textplus
-Facebook

and NO
-youtube
-streaming music/videos
-sending/viewing emails with photos/attachments

and having wifi a pretty decent amount in the day

Would I have a good chance of staying under 200MB?
If not, I could probably remove facebook because that has pictures, and then would I have a good chance?

 

[Applejuiced]

Noone knows.
You will find out within 2-3 months how your usage averages.
Try it out and see how it goes.

 

[Brinkman]

I've had my 3GS for almost 2 years, browse with safari/facebook regularly and I've never gone over 200mb's. I switched to the tiered data plan as soon as it was avalible and love it.

Just two things I don't do is 1) stream data like pandora and 2) update large apps over 3G.

But if you're just doing casual browsing, looking up information, mapping, and facebook then you wont see anything over 200mb's.

On ATT's website you can retro check your data use from the previous months, that was a good tool to see if I went over or not.

 

[Sauby02]

Personally I cant stnad having limited data but I can see unlimited isnt an option for you. If your on wifi a good part of the day then try to do what ever it is you have to do on wifi while your there. Then if your on 3g or edge and want to do something look up something or anything like that I think youll be fine.

I do recommend getting a larger data plan but if the 200 mb one is in your udget then go with it.

 

[smooth]

Personally I cant stnad having limited data but I can see unlimited isnt an option for you. If your on wifi a good part of the day then try to do what ever it is you have to do on wifi while your there. Then if your on 3g or edge and want to do something look up something or anything like that I think youll be fine.

I do recommend getting a larger data plan but if the 200 mb one is in your udget then go with it.

If you have wifi at home, you'll be fine. I've only had my iPhone for a month but I only used about 25MB. When I'm not home, I'm using 3G mainly for Facebook and email and some occasional web-browsing.

 

[Nrwrit3r]

I do casual browsing and such and am at 800MB for about 1.5 months.

I would get the 2gb plan and then see if you use less.

 

[stcanard]

Stay away from streaming and there's a pretty good chance you'll never get close to 200 mb. I have no wireless access at work, and even so in 8 months the only times I've pushed over 200 was when I streamed audio (and the only one time I hit close to my 500m limit was when I spent a couple of hours on streaming video).

Web browsing / facebook / email uses very little data.

 

[trevorplease]

how do i check data usage?

 

[mkrishnan]

how do i check data usage?

On the phone, General -> Usage -> Cellular Network Data (you have to manually reset it -- it's a running count essentially over the life of the device).

Alternatively, most providers have a web tool that will tell you. In the US, if you log into your AT&T account page, you'll see the current usage statistics (number of minutes used, etc) and next to that, there will be a link for past data usage, which will bring up a bar graph.

 

[-C-]

^ Re: the phone vs web usage tool – I’m a few weeks into my new plan that includes data (first smartphone) and they don’t match. I’ve had the data off for a few days so I think the web tool has had enough time to catch up…

The AT&T app and website say I used 7.75mb
The phone says 8.2 sent and 14.6 received

Is it normal that the two are so far off?

 

[mkrishnan]

The AT&T app and website say I used 7.75mb
The phone says 8.2 sent and 14.6 received

Is it normal that the two are so far off?

Good question. Did you definitely reset the statistics on the iPhone at the same time that the billing cycle started?

In any event, the data from the AT&T bar graph is reasonably what you can expect to be charged for / against.

 

[-C-]

Good question. Did you definitely reset the statistics on the iPhone at the same time that the billing cycle started?

Absolutely, there were a few days before the new plan took effect and I reset the first day. I've been very careful at the start because I'm trying to get a feel for the data I use and the best way to monitor. For now I control data manually until I figure out how it works.