- Which version of Windows Phone do I have?
- How do I update my phone software?
- Phone updates FAQ
- Copy and paste
- Switch between apps
- What do the icons on my phone mean?
- Tips to help keep my phone secure
- Keyboard
- Accessibility on my phone
- Lock screen
- Use Speech on my phone
- Find a lost phone
- My Phone FAQ
- How can I minimize my data usage?
- Battery: making it last
- SD cards and my phone
- Use a PIN to lock my SIM card
- Privacy resources
- Feature and service availability
How can I minimize my data usage?
If you don't have an unlimited data plan, you may be looking for ways to shave a little bit off of your data usage. This topic provides a few ways to turn down or turn off some of the features that require a data connection on your phone.
Turn on Battery Saver
Battery Saver turns off some, but not all, of the features that require a data connection. You can turn it on whenever you want, or set it to turn on automatically when your battery is low. To learn more, see Battery: making it last.
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On Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
> Battery saver.
-
Do one or both of the following:
- If you want Battery Saver to turn on whenever the battery gets to 20%, select Always turn on Battery Saver when battery is low.
- If you want to turn on Battery Saver now and leave it on until the next time you plug in your phone, select Turn on Battery Saver now until next charge.
Change email sync settings
You can choose how often your phone automatically syncs email, or you can sync it manually, just when you want to.
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On Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap the email account whose settings you want to change.
-
Tap More
> Settings, and then tap Sync settings. -
Tap the Download new content list, then tap a time. If you don't want your phone to ever sync email from this account automatically, tap Manually.
Turn on airplane mode
If you're looking to turn off your cellular connection just for a while, an easy way is to turn on airplane mode.
-
On Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
> Airplane mode.
-
Turn Status to On.
Stop sending usage feedback with a data connection
Your phone can send feedback to help improve Windows Phones, but you can choose not to send this feedback using a cellular data connection.
-
On Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
> Feedback.
-
Clear the Use my cellular data connection to send feedback check box.
Turn off your cellular data connection
The most thorough way to make sure you're not using data is to turn off your data connection altogether.
-
On Start, flick left to the App list, and then tap Settings
> Cellular.
-
Turn Data connection to Off.
