@TomT1 wrote:
Data is used when no Wi-Fi is available. Wi-Fi takes precedence. Do you turn off data when no Wi-Fi and phone is idle to conserve data? Do you use airplane mode? Does data usage only start when sending texts, emails, etc. In other words, can it be on and idle and not eat up the amount of data available?
Data across wifi is abundant and cheap (or free). Data across cellular is limited and costly.
There's no reason to use cellular data when wifi is available. Although some apps, updates, and logins will only work across cellular for "security" (and tracking) purposes.
I turn off wifi and turn off data whenever I'm not actually using it. No need to let my phone consume data or consume battery (or report my movements) when I don't actually need to access something online.
Airplane mode completely disables all radio transmissions. It disables wifi and bluetooth and cellular service (data and talk and text). Not much point in having phone service if you always keep the phone radio completely turned off. Although Airplane mode is useful when you need to recharge your battery quickly.
You can control your phone's data with software settings. Disable all background activity, syncs, and updates - there's really no reason your apps need to be updated every second, there's really no reason they need to be updated until you actually intend to use them anyhow. The built-in software in some phone brands/models (and operating systems) can offer settings which do this better or worse than others, although you can usually replace bad built-in apps (dialer, texting, data usage tracker, etc) with other apps which work better.
On Public Mobile there's no way you can use more data than you've already prepaid, and there's no way you'll have to overpay for exceeding the limits. Although badly (mis)configured apps can waste your precious cellular data if you don't keep their settings tightly leashed.
