How it works
How to check how much data you have left on your travel plan
Your phone's counter and your provider's don't measure the same thing. Where to look for what, why they never match, and how to keep track without fretting.
Bea Nogales 5 min Photo by Peter Mitchell on Unsplash There are two ways to find out how much data you have left, and each answers a different question. Mixing them up is what makes people think their plan is lying to them.
Your phone's counter
It's in your mobile data settings and it measures what the handset has used since it was last reset. It's good for seeing your daily pace and which app is using most, which is the genuinely useful information.
What it doesn't know is how much of your plan is left: it has no idea what you bought, it just counts bytes.
Your provider's counter
That's the one that decides what's left, and you check it wherever whoever sold you the plan tells you to. That figure comes from the network and can take a while to update, especially right after heavy use.
Why they never match
- Your phone counts from whenever you reset it; the plan counts from when it started.
- The phone's counter also adds up what other lines have used unless you filter it.
- The network measures on its own terms and with a lag.
- And some technical traffic never shows up in the handset's counter at all.
A five or ten per cent gap between the two is normal. A huge gap is worth asking about.
Keeping track without obsessing
- Reset your phone's counter on the day the plan starts.
- Check it every two or three days, not every morning.
- Divide what's left by the days remaining: that's your real daily budget.
- And if you're ahead of pace, lower your video quality before anything else.
What to cut back on first is in how long 1 GB lasts when you're travelling.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I see how much data I have left?
The figure that counts is your plan provider's. Your phone's counter is for seeing your daily pace and which app is using most.
Why don't the two counters match?
Because they measure different things on different terms. A five or ten per cent gap is normal.
How do I work out my daily budget?
Divide what's left by the days remaining, and compare it with what you've used over the last few days.
Does the iPhone counter reset itself?
No, you have to reset it by hand. If you've never done it, the running total could be years old.
