Samsung Galaxy S4 - Turn off the internet?

winter_combat_knight

hi guys, im new to the smart phone thing.
I just signed up for a mobile phone plan which has a 1.5G internet data limit per month. I was wondering, with the Galaxy S4, how do I turn off ALL running internet applications so that my phone doesnt chew through credit without me knowing?
Im probably a little paranoid, but I dont really want to unknowingly go over my cap, considering it will cost me an extra 10cents per mb.
I probably should have asked this in store today, but totally didnt think about it.

I just disabled 'Mobile Data' in the Data Usage menu. Will this do it?

Any help for a dumbass would be fantastic!

T-bolt

Yes, disabling mobile data will do what you want. In the same menu, you can set a hard cap on mobile data usage, like right below.

Cryogen

I have an S4, and I also have a 1.5G data limit. I use my phone data for internet frequently throughout the day, and just leave everything turned on. This includes watching youtube videos whenever I feel like it without really stopping to think about data. I do have it set to use wifi at home (I recommend this if you can, especially when you're downloading/updating your apps*) however my router is old and screwy and regularly needs a reset, sometimes I can't be bothered getting out of the chair so I just switch wifi off and use the 4g. Unsure if it is relevant but I am in Australia (Melbourne). Just checking my phone now I have 4 days left in this period and I've used just over 500Mb. Which is to say you're probably fine. Just use the phone normally and check up each day on your phone providers website to see your usage progress, and judge for yourself from there. Assuming you just use the phone like a typical person you probably won't get anywhere near 1.5G.

*Downloading/updating apps can really chew through usage, so do that on wifi unless urgent for some reason or you know you have tons of cap left and few days. You can set your phone to update automatically whenever on wifi, or never update automatically. I can't remember where this is located but googling should explain it. I definitely set mine to auto-update on wifi. (it still prompts you for some things anyway)

The same Data Usage menu you disabled mobile data also contains all the metrics showing what apps are using how much data, so you can also use that to remove any app that acts a bit mental.

Neaden

Yeah I wouldn't worry too much about your limit, my wife and I share 1 gig between our phones and never have gone over.

zerzhul

Neaden wrote: »

Yeah I wouldn't worry too much about your limit, my wife and I share 1 gig between our phones and never have gone over.

Single point of evidence doesn't mean much, unfortunately. I regularly use 6GB/mo. We don't know what the OP's usage habits will be yet

Gaslight

Out of curiosity, what do you actually do to use 6GB in a month? I really can't conceive of it. Do you stream movies from Netflix using your mobile data all day long or something?

zerzhul

Yeah, I'm not saying that what I do is typical either, just that a single point of data doesn't get you somewhere reasonable

A huge portion is because I stream music all day while at work. I watch some youtube here and there when people link me things. A significant amount of it is streaming NFL redzone on sundays when I'm not at home. The music alone would push me through 2GB though.

My wife has a 2GB/mo plan and usually uses around 1-1.5GB. This is mostly from constant facebook and pinterest usage, along with youtube videos and a little music.

I am sure the OP will probably be fine, but that doesn't mean that the OP shouldn't start paying attention to usage and habits to get a feel for it.

Disallowing app updates while not on wifi will help a ton for a casual user.

Namrok

I just got a Galaxy III, and the very first thing I did was set a 1 GB warning, and a 2 GB hard "Stop using any bandwidth NOW". It's in the settings under "Data Usage". I checked off "Limit mobile data usage" and "Alert me about data usage" and then touched and dragged the warning lines on the graph below to where I wanted them. I assuming it works in a similar fashion on the Galaxy IV

Gaslight

I stream music and stuff at work too but I am always connected to office wi-fi. Always connected to home wi-fi at my house too (since I managed to move into an area which is a black hole for Verizon).

zerzhul

Yeah, we don't have wifi at my office that will accept personal devices.

Foomy

Does your carrier offer the option to send you a text when you reach some threshold of data left for the month?

That way you could use the data plan your paying for and if you do somehow get close to the limit then you can turn off data.

But it does take a fair amount of watching video or listening to music all day to use up a 1.5Gb limit, so your most likely worrying too much.

zerzhul

Verizon sends a text and an email. I know because I just got the email that tells me my wife's usage is at 75% of her 2GB/mo limit.

Melinoe

There's also an app called Juice Defender that turns off data when the screen is off, so you'll still get calls and texts but it won't constantly check for updates to email/Facebook/whatever. There are a few different tier options in the free version, I just use it to increase my battery life because my data is unlimited but it could maybe help keep your data usage down some.