Will 1GB data be enough?

[snaqvi91]

So I'm in a WiFi zone almost all the time. What I do most of the time on my phone is instant messaging (whatsapp), read twitter feeds, web browsing (upto 20 pages a day) and email. So if I were to get an LTE WP8 device, would 1GB be enough for me?

For YouTube I would only watch when in a WiFi zone.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[lottidah]

I've had my WP for exactly a month. I'm always on WiFi at home, cell network at work. I've played with my phone more than usual since it's new and I've only used 396 Mb of data over a month. And that includes streaming music over cell while at work a few days. I would think you'd be fine, given what you've said.

 

[snaqvi91]

OK so even if I were to use LTE, have continuous syncing for email, send a few photos (average 3 a day) to folk over kik, WLM, whatsapp, Facebook or whatever, web browse up to 30 pages a day, even then I would probably be safe within 1GB?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[badMojo69]

It is until it isn't. Having said that I've never used over 1GB, but I don't stream much of anything, but I do surf the web.

 

[socialcarpet]

Yes, if you're on Wi-Fi most of the time and the usage is what you describe I think you'd be fine.

I have a 3GB plan and I rarely use much more than 1 GB.

 

[snaqvi91]

What if I keep WiFi turned off in order to save battery and get the super fast LTE speeds? Would it still be enough?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[anon(5334066)]

Been on WP since launch and only ever used 1 GB with heavy browsing in a month. Throw in Xbox Music streaming though and that number goes through the roof - close to 2 GB just from music this month. Good thing I've got a 6 GB plan.

 

[socialcarpet]

What if I keep WiFi turned off in order to save battery and get the super fast LTE speeds? Would it still be enough?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Eh... Maybe. It depends on how you use your phone. 1 GB with no wi-fi is good only for some fairly light use. If you stream video or music at all, you'll chew that up in no time. I have a 3 GB plan, but I use wi-fi wherever possible and I still go over 1 GB most months.

 

[scottd34]

best thing you can do is go with 1gb and monitor your data usage. most carriers give you a way to trakc your usage. vzw has the my verizon app, and calling #data in addition to the website.. i cant imagine that the others wouldnt have a similar setup.

best anyone can do is estimate, but watching your usage while you use the phone the way you use it is the only way to know for sure.

 

[david90531]

If you don't watch YouTube or stream other videos or music with it, then it should be fine. For me I usually use around 2GB doing regular emailing browsing apps downloading and watch some videos. Now with my new 920 I will even tether for my tablet so I w probably will go over 2Gb
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 using Board Express

 

[kevin2577]

The nice thing about modern data plans is that they aren't contractually locked, you can go up and down as needed. Follow your usage like some people have said and if after 2 or 3 billing cycles you'll see a trend emerge

 

[Laura Knotek]

What if I keep WiFi turned off in order to save battery and get the super fast LTE speeds? Would it still be enough?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

It really depends on what you'll be doing while using LTE. For instance, if you would be streaming audio or video that could eat up data really quickly.

I know what you're saying about slow WiFi. I was at the car dealership today for service. They have slow WiFi.



I wasn't streaming audio/video, so the slow WiFi speed didn't matter. However, if I wanted to watch Netflix (which uses a lot of data), I probably would have turned off WiFi on my device. I have a grandfathered unlimited data plan, and I usually use around 3 - 3.5 GB a month.

 

[HeyCori]

I'm also on a 1GB plan and like you I'm blanketed in WiFi. 20 days into my monthly allowance and I just hit 300MBs. My data usage isn't insane, some streaming video, picture uploads, emails, web browsing. Most of which is done on WiFi, so rarely do get close to 1GB.

Several months ago, back when I still had a higher 2GB plan, I turned WiFi off to see how much data I really used. Found out I use about 1.5GBs a month. Knowing that, I felt safe dropping to a 1GB plan.

However, it kills the enjoyment a little bit because I started counting MBs whenever I wasn't on WiFi. I became very hesitant about using data. I quickly found that I wasn't watching videos or loading graphic heavy websites because 1GB isn't a lot. What if I have a few spikes in usage during that month? What if I had to use Nokia/Bing Maps? Mapping data is murder on your data plan.

Do you want to constantly monitor your data 30 days a month? The fear of going over is something to consider. And you may not know how much it's going to bug you until you really know how much data you burn through.

As for me, I'm hopping ship soon to a cheaper bill and higher data cap so I can go back to streaming vids without fear of overages. After all, for as much as I pay, I should be able to use my phone worry free. Doing otherwise kinda defeats the purpose of buying it, right?

 

[smartrthanu]

We have two windows phones in my house. I have the 3gb plan and my wife have the 300mb plan (att). I typically use around 1.5-2gb but i stream a lot of music via LTE. My wife uses about 250mb but is on WiFi most of the time. I think you'll be fine if use WiFi a majority of the time.

 

[Ali Babba]

1GB was enough for me. 3 email accounts, light surfing, occasional app downloads, light map use, some XB live games. 500MB is all I burned. I saved large app downloads for when I was on WiFi and use WiFi at home, work not at all.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

I'm also on a 1GB plan and like you I'm blanketed in WiFi. 20 days into my monthly allowance and I just hit 300MBs. My data usage isn't insane, some streaming video, picture uploads, emails, web browsing. Most of which is done on WiFi, so rarely do get close to 1GB.

Several months ago, back when I still had a higher 2GB plan, I turned WiFi off to see how much data I really used. Found out I use about 1.5GBs a month. Knowing that, I felt safe dropping to a 1GB plan.

However, it kills the enjoyment a little bit because I started counting MBs whenever I wasn't on WiFi. I became very hesitant about using data. I quickly found that I wasn't watching videos or loading graphic heavy websites because 1GB isn't a lot. What if I have a few spikes in usage during that month? What if I had to use Nokia/Bing Maps? Mapping data is murder on your data plan.

Do you want to constantly monitor your data 30 days a month? The fear of going over is something to consider. And you may not know how much it's going to bug you until you really know how much data you burn through.

As for me, I'm hopping ship soon to a cheaper bill and higher data cap so I can go back to streaming vids without fear of overages. After all, for as much as I pay, I should be able to use my phone worry free. Doing otherwise kinda defeats the purpose of buying it, right?

I'd reckon even if I was on a 16GB plan I'd start counting the MB. Despite the fact I use around ~2GB/mth. Fortunately for me, being on Three, I get a jaw dropping 1000GB a month. I tried hammering the network out the wazoo. I think the highest I got was 10GB. My friend, who has the same plan as me, managed 83GB in a month. Neither of us received any extra charges or got throttled.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'd reckon even if I was on a 16GB plan I'd start counting the MB. Despite the fact I use around ~2GB/mth. Fortunately for me, being on Three, I get a jaw dropping 1000GB a month. I tried hammering the network out the wazoo. I think the highest I got was 10GB. My friend, who has the same plan as me, managed 83GB in a month. Neither of us received any extra charges or got throttled.

Wow! That's amazing. AT&T U-Verse and Comcast do not even allow broadband users so much data.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

Wow! That's amazing. AT&T U-Verse and Comcast do not even allow broadband users so much data.

Well on Three, it's actually unlimited. They just say 1000GB is the most one person can use in a single month on 3G.

 

[gsquared]

This is something you will ultimately need to determine for yourself. I rarely use Wi-Fi and only use around 300-400 MB's per month. I stream music in my car and the normal automatic updating of apps. If you are gaming or watch video expect the monthly useage to be much higher.

 

[rockstarzzz]

Smartphone data: How much do you need? - Confused.com