Data Useage

[Mikegbr]

Hi, I'm an android user looking to move to windows phone 8 but have a couple of questions.
I know that nobody has used wp 8 yet but on previous experience do live tiles generally use a lot of data?

 

[BellaRed]

Good question.

I will be new to windows phone too. From what I've read you can pick and choose which tiles receive updates, can turn live updates on and off and I would imagine set how often they should update.

I am interested to see the answers from those who have wp7 phones.

 

[Dave Blake]

Live tiles don't use data the apps they represent do. In WP7 you have the ability to chose what apps can pull data. Some apps include the ability to chose how often data will be used. As for the amount of data I would say that my Android device and my WP both use about the same amount of data. I do have both devices set up with similar apps.

 

[Hmar9333]

From logging in to my account to check my data usage, it looks like the live tiles I have activated (a fair few) use around 100-200 kilobytes per day, so for me at least, the data usage is tiny.

 

[BellaRed]

That's great, thanks.

How about the effect on battery life? Android widgets can kill battery if you use too many.

 

[Mikegbr]

Thanks for the info. Didn't want to have to switch everything off as that kinda defeats the purpose.

 

[AngryNil]

Live Tiles generally use the periodic background agent to update, which runs every 30-40 minutes. In that sense, most are not truly "live".

 

[brmiller1976]

WP doesn't use much data for push, just like most other phones. Push data is primarily text, which is low-bandwidth.

If you're REALLY worried about data and battery life from push, come over to T-Mobile. You get unlimited data for $20/month, and HSPA+ has MUCH better battery life performance than LTE or CDMA-EVDO.

 

[jimski]

I have 8 Background Tasks, 3 of which are internal (don't need the Internet) so only affect battery, not data. I have another 4 or 5 apps that use "push" for alerts and updates (BGTs pull data). And 6 email account that use "push" or timed intervals. Data and WiFi are on 24/7. I average 225MB/month of data, most of which is attributed to background activities (WiFi goes to sleep when the phone goes to sleep). So about 7.5MB/day. I also burn through about 5-6% of my battery per hour while the phone is asleep, with all the above running, depending on signal strength. Even with everything above disabled, drain would still be in the 2-3% range, so not that big a hit for what you get.

Unless you are planning a very limited plan, like 200-300MB/month, you should have no problems Just enjoy your phone and stop worrying.

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express Pro

 

[Laura Knotek]

WP doesn't use much data for push, just like most other phones. Push data is primarily text, which is low-bandwidth.

If you're REALLY worried about data and battery life from push, come over to T-Mobile. You get unlimited data for $20/month, and HSPA+ has MUCH better battery life performance than LTE or CDMA-EVDO.

The OP is in UK, so there is no CDMA-EVDO. They have T-Mobile, but his choice of carrier/plan will depend upon his coverage where he lives, works and travels.

 

[jdevenberg]

I used to use Windows Phone 7 and used lots of live tiles (more than 10). I have moved to Android temporarily (until Windows Phone 8), and I have 3 data using widgets on. My data usage has almost doubled since moving to Android, and I really do the same things. It likely has to do with how Windows Phone and Android handle background data. But in my experience Windows Phone is less of a data hog than Android when used by the same person.