Apart from the cellular data problem I experienced after purchasing my iPhone 16, recently I ran into another annoying issue that would gobble up my entire limited bandwidth in just a few days. The same data pack that would comfortably last the full month ended within a week. Thankfully, taking control of all the data-hungry featured rescued me. If you have also encountered the same problem, give these tips a try to reduce data consumption on your iPhone 16.
Why is my data draining so fast on my iPhone 16?
Unexpected data consumption on your iPhone 16 could be triggered by more than one thing. For instance, it could be due to streaming high-quality videos/music and intensive background tasks. Besides, you should never rule out the possibility of a software bug, given how rampant it has become these days.
Therefore, you will need to not only prevent the data-draining features but also troubleshoot the bug that might be eating into a large chunk of mobile data from behind the scene.
How to find out what is draining your data on your iPhone 16
To see how much cellular data you’ve used on your iPhone 16, go to Settings > Cellular, then do any of the following:
- See cellular data usage for individual apps: Scroll down to your list of apps, then tap Show All. The amount of cellular data used appears below each app.
- See cellular data usage for individual system services: System Services appears above the list of apps in the cellular section. Cellular data can’t be turned on or off for individual system services.
You can view the data-usage statistics for an app from a current period, or view data statistics for apps that used data when you were roaming. To reset these statistics, go to Settings > Cellular, scroll to the bottom, then tap Reset Statistics.
Tips to reduce data consumption on your iPhone 16
Here are all the ways to save cellular data on your iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max:
1. Enable Low Data Mode
Low Data Mode comes in handy when you want to reduce cellular data (and even Wi-Fi usage) in order to help the limited bandwidth survive. By pausing background tasks and automatic updates, it prevents unnecessary data consumption. So, the very first setting that you should enable to stop your iPhone 16 from finishing data so fast is to enable Low Data Mode.
- Go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options.
- Tap Data Mode, then choose Low Data Mode. This mode pauses automatic updates and background tasks when iPhone isn’t connected to Wi-Fi.
2. Disable data for certain apps
Finally, you might decide to just limit which apps can use data.
Go to Settings > Cellular, then turn Cellular Data on or off for any app (such as Maps) or service (such as Wi-Fi Assist) that can use cellular data.
If a setting is off, iPhone uses only Wi-Fi for that service.
3. Disable Automatic Downloads and Updates
While I have always found “Automatic Downloads and Updates” quite useful, I never fail to turn them off whenever I want to save my cellular data. If you don’t mind updating apps or downloading apps (which you have already downloaded on other iDevices linked with the same iCloud account) manually, I would recommend you to turn off these settings.
To get it done, navigate to Settings app > App Store. Now, turn off the toggle for Automatic Downloads under CELLULAR DATA section.
4. Turn Off Auto-Play Videos in App Store and Safari
While exploring apps, I like to take a sneak peek into the auto-playing videos of apps and games as they give me a fair perspective about whether or not a particular item can live up to my taste. Though this feature is quite helpful, it is one of my targets whenever I notice battery drain or fast data consumption.
As for the auto-playing videos in Safari, I choose to keep them turned off for a couple of specific reasons. First, they tend to distract me from browsing the web with the needed peace of mind. Second, they also kill plenty of battery and cellular data. Oh, they also often tend to earn my wrath for slowing down the web browser.
To disable App Store auto-playing videos: Go to Settings App > App Store > Video Autoplay. Now either select Wi-Fi only or Off.
To turn off Safari auto-playing videos: Go to Settings app > Accessibility > Motion. Now, turn off the switch for Auto-Play Video Previews.
5. Disable Background App Refresh
Background app refresh is not only power-hungry but also data-hungry. Background data is one of the biggest ways your apps use data, especially because you don’t necessarily know that they’re using it. That means if you don’t take control of this feature, it can eat into a large chunk of cellular data on your iPhone, resulting in an abrupt end of the limited bandwidth.
Fortunately, Apple offers a better way to manage the background app refresh on iPhone. For instance, you can choose to completely disable background app refresh, enable it on a per-app basis, or activate only when the device is connected to Wi-Fi. If you wish to keep it enabled to help apps run smoothly, I would recommend you to enable it only when the iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi.
Go to Settings app > General > Background App Refresh > Background App Refresh. Choose Wi-Fi.
6. Turn off Location Services
Location services falls into the same category as the background app refresh. Therefore, you should always keep an eye on it to not only prevent the battery drain but also stop it from gobbling up a ton of cellular data. Considering how data-sucking this feature is, iOS allows you to manage it with a desired control.
Depending on your requirements, you can completely turn off the location services or choose to keep it enabled on a per-app basis – perfect for the times where you are continuously sharing your location or navigating with the help of an app like Google Map or Apple Map.
Head over to Settings app > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Now, either turn off the switch for Location Services or dive into the setting of each app and then choose the preferred option.
7. Stream Normal-Quality Music
If you are fond of streaming high-quality music on your iPhone, you better download the high-quality music when you are on WiFi. On mobile data, I think you should stick to streaming normal quality music. Both Apple Music and Spotify let you stream normal-quality music to let you reduce cellular data usage on your iPhone 16.
To disable high-quality Apple Music streaming: Head over to Settings > Apps > Music > Audio quality. Now, turn off the switch for Lossless Audio.
To enable data saver in Spotify: Launch Spotify app > Settings icon at the top right corner of the screen. Now, tap on Data Saver and then turn on the switch.
8. Take Control of Video-Streaming on Mobile Data
If you stream videos on your iPhone 16 using mobile data, make sure to optimize the video-streaming to prevent the app from eating into a lot of data. Most video-streaming apps like Apple TV and Netflix allow you to stream low-quality videos to save data. So, you should activate the data saver to stop the video-streaming app from derailing the limited bandwidth.
To optimize mobile data usage for Apple TV :
- Go to Settings > Apps > TV.
- Choose streaming options:
- Choose Data Saver to use less data.
- Choose Fast Downloads to minimize data usage.
You can also completely stop the app from using mobile data or downloading videos on mobile data. To do so, turn off the Use Mobile Data toggles to limit streaming and downloads to Wi-Fi connections.
To adjust your mobile data usage settings on Netflix:
- Open the Netflix app.
- In the lower right, tap My Netflix.
- In the upper right, tap the Menu.
- Tap App Settings.
- Under Video Playback, select Cellular Data Usage.
- Select Save Data.
To adjust your downloads data settings, switch Wi-Fi Only on under Downloads.
9. Send Low-Quality Images
Though it’s always nice to share high-quality photos with your friends and loved ones, they should never let them become the wrecker-in-chief, especially when you are on low-bandwidth. If you often indulge in sharing a ton of photos with your friends via iMessage, you should force the stock messaging app to share low-quality images.
To do so, go to Settings > Apps > Messages. Now, scroll down and then toggle on the switch for Low-Quality Image Mode.
10. Stop Photos App from Using Mobile Data for Uploading and Downloading to iCloud
Updating iCloud photos and shared albums using mobile data is something you should avoid, especially when you are already finding it hard to reduce data consumption on iPhone 16. If you no longer want the Photos app to kill your mobile data, head over to Settings > Apps > Photos > Mobile Data. Now, you have two options:
- Mobile Data: Turn off this toggle to restrict updates to iCloud Photos and Shared Albums only over Wi-Fi.
- Unlimited Updates: Turn off this switch to prevent the Photos app from using mobile for uploading and downloading to iCloud.
11. Turn off autoplay of videos and Live Photos
By default, videos and Live Photos automatically play when you open collections and albums. Turn autoplay off to cut down cellular data consumption on your iPhone 16.
- Go to the Photos app on your iPhone 16.
- Tap your account in the top-right corner.
- Turn Auto-Play Motion off.
12. Update Carrier Settings
Carrier settings updates let your carrier provider update carrier network and related settings to improve cellular network connectivity and performance. If the unexpected cellular data consumption is related to cellular, updating a carrier setting can fix the problem. You can manually update carrier settings by following these steps:
- Make sure that your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network.
- Tap Settings > General > About.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to install your carrier update.
13. turn off Wi-Fi assist
With Wi-Fi Assist, you can stay connected to the Internet even if you have a poor Wi-Fi connection. For example, if you’re using Safari with a poor Wi-Fi connection and a webpage doesn’t load, Wi-Fi Assist will activate and automatically switch to cellular so that the webpage continues to load. Because you stay connected to the internet over cellular when you have a poor Wi-Fi connection, you might use more cellular data, which may incur additional charges depending on your data plan. Thankfully, you can easily disable Wi-Fi Assist. Go to Settings > Cellular or Settings > Mobile Data. Then scroll down and toggle off the slider for Wi-Fi Assist.
Bonus: Update Software
More often than not, a miscellaneous software bug is found to be the culprit behind most issues these days. So, it wouldn’t be wise to rule out the possibility of a bug behind this issue as well. With every software update, Apple rolls out a series of bug fixes and performance enhancements. Thus, never fail to keep the iPhone updated to the latest software version as it can play a pivotal role in getting rid of several issues.
To get started, launch the Settings app on your iPhone > General > Software Update. Now, download and install the latest version of iOS on your iPhone.
Fix Unexpected Cellular Data Consumption Issue on iPhone 16
I guess you have finally got the better of the rapid cellular data consumption issue on iPhone 16. In most cases, these tips come in handy in fixing the problems. So, I don’t see any reason why they can’t help you save mobile data on your iPhone 16.
Which one of these solutions has worked for you in getting rid of the mobile data drain issue? Is it the low data mode or the option stream low-quality movies/music? Feel free to share your feedback in the comments section below.