One of the things you don’t want to worry about when you travel is racking up outrageous data charges. You don’t want your data costs to be higher than your vacation!
With a few data management tips and careful monitoring, you can enjoy the internet while on vacation – and keep your data costs to a minimum.
Tips to Manage Your Data
- Turn off data roaming on your phone, laptop or tablet. You might be surprised how many apps are getting updated in the background without you realizing it.
- Disable automatic email updates, auto-syncing, or any push notifications you might have set up – like updating to iOS 10. You can manually connect to the email server when you have a Wi-Fi connection to retrieve your emails. Some apps give you the option to only sync when in Wi-Fi mode (e.g., Evernote).
- Similarly, turn off the feature to automatically upload attachments for your emails.
- When you see a video clip, resist the urge to click on it. You’ll be surprised at how much data is used on short video clips. See the chart below:
- Take the internet with you. Having a Wi-Fi hotspot with a data package allows you to have a reliable and secure data connection when you need it.
- Eliminate surprises and track how much data you are using. Your smartphone or iPad have options for tracking data usage. Apps like Onavo Protect take it a step further; they will monitor your data and notify you when an app is using a large amount. Also, if you take a Wireless Traveler Pocket Wi-Fi device, you can monitor your data usage in real time after each session through your Account Login page.
- Download a Wi-Fi enabled calling app that allows you to call people when you have a Wi-Fi connection for pennies on the dollar. If each person has the app on their phone, calling is free app to app.
- Save web pages. Apps like Pocket allow you to save offline copies of web pages that you can access later without having an internet connection.
- Use offline apps when possible, e.g., for navigation. Instead of connecting to the Internet to look at a map, download an offline app, like Maps.me.
- Download videos, books, and music before you leave so that you aren’t trying to download anything while traveling – and using precious data.
With these tips in hand you are set for an enjoyable trip – so use the internet as needed without the worry of coming home to huge data bills!
