[Q] How much data per month does GPS use? - Windows Phone 7 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I want to change my cell plan to one with either 100mb or 250mb.
I want to use:
- GPS (about twice a week)
- Leave my Live tiles on to have them update with data like email sync and weather+news
- Email check (about once a week)
How much data does a 10 minute session of GPS use?
Do you think I can fit into my data budget? I can't go above 250mb because my monthly budget stops there.
Thanks for your help
OS: WP7.5
Hardware: Samsung Focus

GPS doesn't use any data. It uses the 31 GPS satellites to determine the phone's position only, which is not a "data" connection at all.
What uses the data is the app that is using the GPS. Bing Maps, for example, downloads Map data on the fly, so using it will use your data. Nokia Drive, however, has the option to download maps on WiFi at home, then use it offline while you're out and about... meaning, it will not use any data even while it's using GPS. Does that make sense?

Yeah, it does. Thanks for the clear info. Let's say I won't have a Nokia phone, how much data will maps use per hour?
Also, how much data do live tile use? Is this quantifiable or is it just trivial?

Live tiles are pretty trivial data usage, a few KB a day normally. Apps with a lot of notifications, like an IM app (or of course email) use data much faster, although it should still only be a meg or two per day under normal situations.
As for the built-in Maps app, I haven't measured it but I suspect that 20 minutes of use a week won't break the budget. I haven't checked, though. Disable stuff like the birds-eye view - the high-quality images use a lot more bandwidth than the basic street map images - and if possible try to load the map immediately surrounding your route while on WiFi, and you should be fine (the data will cache until you close the app). Long trips, where the app is constantly needing to load more map data, will also use a lot more data than short ones that stay in one area.

Related

[Q] Which programs uses the data?

Hi
During a day, my phone uses 2-4 MB of data in the background.
I don't have any special programs that needs data (to my knowledge), so I am a bit surprised.
How do I find out which programs that are using the data?
It is not a problem as I have flat rate data, but on the other hand I would like to known what the data is used for.
/Michael
Desire S
check if you have syncing turned on or off for weather,facebook,twitter or e-mail ?

[Q] Controlling data usage?

I have the 200mb/month plan, and for the last few yeras, that has been fine... Starting with iphone 3gs and then captivate and skyrocket (when on GB) - never really used much more than 100 mb/ month - since I'm at my office or home most of the time and on wifi. Lately with ICS on the phone, the data has been going wild and I'm pushing the limit every month for the last 2 months. I read about 3g watchdog and onavo and droidwall - but don't know much about using them. I was hoping to find an app that would come up while using mobile data and asking explicitly if I want to allow that app to go through the firewall or not. Droidwall can be configured to allow traffic - but I'm not sure what traffic to allow through or not. For instance, this month my top data useage so far is 'Google Services' @ 15mb and the next down is Maps @ 2.23 and then Pandora @ 1.59mb.
I would like to be able to enjoy using most of the phone features on the run but block stuff that happens in the background, like Google syncing bookmarks etc that could wait till wifi is available - or blocking pandora from network if wifi drops off accidently.
Playing around with the droidwall I cut off other apps that need some data use so was looking for something that would pop-up and ask me 'do you want to allow this app to utilize network data' or something to that effect. Any suggestions that I should look at?
Droidwall is the closest thing. If u are looking for an app that behaves like superuser except for data, there is no such thing. My suggestion is to leave everything for 3g in droidwal unchecked except the stuff u need. All the other stuff that requires data that u use occasionally, set to wifi.
*#* Google dropbox, its useful.
https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTcwNDE0ODUyOQ *#*
Sounds good - does 'disable background data' in the system cp do much better than droidwall?
That turns off pretty much ALL data, u have to leave that enabled
I can use 200 mb in a day... :/
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

[Q] AGPS over WIFI on Android?

Hi all,
I'm going on holiday and would like to use my Android (Galaxy Tab) for offline navigation. I'd like to keep my GSM module switched off all the time to avoid data roaming charges. I'll do my surfing etc over WIFI where available.
I'd like to use AGPS for a quick satellite fix.
Can I download AGPS satellite data over WIFI, or does this require a GSM (GPRS/UMTS) connection?
How do I manually trigger AGPS download on Android?*
Help is much appreciated!
N.
* On the Windows Mobile devices of old there used to be a program calles "QuickGPS" or similar that would download AGPS satellite data, but I don't see any such option on Android - - ?
Android GPS requires a LIVE data connection to function with realtime navigation, if u are just using Wi-Fi this won't work.
On the other hand, assuming u have a hefty sdcard in your tablet, u could use "sygic GPS" from market, that WILL allow offline GPS.
icenight89,
I'm using Navigon, which keeps map data on board, no data connection required there. Sygic is another option. Google Navigation does require a live connection, but Navigon, Sygic and others do not. Storage required for on-board map data is not all that massive btw, my Navigon maps of Europe require ~ 2 GB.
My question was more on the point of assisted-GPS satellite data. How do I download current satellite data so that my GPS knows where to look (thus getting a quicker satellite fix) if I want to avoid a mobile data connection via GSM?
Once I have a GPS fix, offline satnav is no problem.
Any ideas there?
N.
Android downloads agps data automatically, there is no way to "force" an update. U could try connecting to wifi and then running android nav (google maps/navigation) with GPS enabled, that would cache the new data I presume. That's your only option really
On a side note, I consider 2gb for one sole app a lot, whether its maps or not lol
Um, GPS Test software lets you do this.
syl0n said:
Um, GPS Test software lets you do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Five years later, google lands me on this thread because I too was asking "can I update AGPS over wifi?". (Empirical evidence: I can, because at the trail-head I get a lock in about 10 seconds. On the other hand, maybe it didn't update, and the GPS hardware/antenna is just that good. )
And since answers were given without answering the question, I will keep looking.
But as for GPS Test, it is essential. Prior to using any nav app, I open GPS Test and watch it get a lock, or not, because the satellite display shows me exactly what is going on, as opposed to the nav apps, which just sit there maybe getting a lock maybe not and you have no effing idea why.

[Q] What is your average daily data usage?

Just converted to winpho, and I love all the integration and fluidity as everyone says. But I feel like it takes up way too much data.
tl;dr. data usage hitting 10+mb daily, <3mb on android. wtf?
I find myself hitting 10mb+ daily, when i was below 3mb on android. WiFi continuously on (it wasn't on android either). I browsed wiki (one page) and used bing once, and found myself at 10mb halfway through the day. The only running app with data usage (that i know off) is 2 gmail account (probably 20 emails total, all text), with 30min interval and metrotalk (google voice client).
Looking at tmobile data spreadsheet, my phone seems to randomly access about 5+mb (up to like 13mb) daily in one section of time, and everything else below 1mb. I stream no music or video.
Not a new toy syndrome either, I used the phone for half a month already and found this trend.
Data Usage spreadsheet from t-mobile. http://bit.ly/JVQk0C
This is frankly, ridiculous. That would be like downloading a giant app a day. what could possibly my phone be doing?
phone: nokia 710
edit: i did the math, wp7 avg. at 15mb/day while android at 4mb/day wtf? (same usage for the most part)
Moved to Q&A for you mate, should get you a few more opinions
I actually found WP7 much easier on my data allowance than Android. Don't forget that your live tiles etc. will use data to refresh, and having your Google voice client open all the time may not be doing you any favours, either. It's entirely possible that the Voice client on Android hibernates one way, and the client you're using on WP7 does it another way
You could always turn off the xbox live synchronisation with your games and the zune account for the music. I believe they will take up some of your data. You should also check any of your applications that might use the internet a lot! By the way, why don't you use push notifications for your google accounts? Those might use your data too!
There are number of services that can use data in the background. A few suggestions of things to check:
Make sure the feedback info is either turned off or set to only send over WiFi.
Un-pin the Me tile, or accept that WP7 will need to ping Facebook to see what your contacts are saying about you (may also apply to the People tile).
Marketplace tile probably uses a little data, checking for updates, but it should be minimal.
Games hub definitely uses som data, if it's synching with the Xbox Live servers (not sure how much).
A small bit of Marketplace configuration data is downloaded nightly, but it should be only a few KB.
Tip: Leave the phone plugged in all night, even if it doesn't need it. WiFi turns off when the screen is locked, unless the phone is plugged in. No, that behavior is not (yet) configurable.
I note this too after NoDo update. At the begining, my phone uses a little of data every day (some Kb, never goes far than a Mb). I use data to sync my hotmail account, gmail account, rss channels, some webpages. After NoDo update, my phones starts to consume a lot of data (more than 10Mb every day with the same uses). Then mango goes out and i think maybe they fix this situation. Today my phone have 8107 and the data usage is over the clouds. I switch on data connection manually and my data usage is more "normal". I know my phone has a lot of new services over the cloud but i can't maintain its appetite of data.

Increased Data Usage

I recently came back from a two-month trip and started using my ATT sim card again. My Infuse is basically the same as when I left - Infused 2.23, no major changes.
All of a sudden my data usage has gone from an average of a couple of megabytes (at the most) a day to over ten. I only have a 200mb plan, so this is a problem.
I installed traffic monitor; unfortunately most of the data used falls under the heading of "System Traffic," which cannot be researched further. New build of Maps? Some rogue system program? I can't figure out how to find out what it is, and a google search wasn't particularly helpful.
Something is different, and I don't know what it is.
Anyone facing a similar situation or have any clues?
Start uninstalling apps and watch your usage to see which is the culprit.
Sent from my not-an-iPod
Thanks. That's a good idea, but it's all system apps, not apps I've installed. None of them are causing any trouble. I'm not even sure which are all the system apps...
Some apps I noted:
1. Quick Office Pro uses like about 20k on phone start up; not sure if it does it every time. There could be a few more apps that do this.
2. Google voice syncs itself
3. Push emails send info to server saying the link can be used
4. Maps new build could be a possible culprit (I keep mine frozen all the time now, and defreeze it only when needed)
I noticed this even on my wife's iPhone sometimes when she gets 65% usage sms (she has a 200 MB plan), and she's always on WiFi at home, and sometimes the data usage on AT&T site shows up to 20-30 MB per session. No way to track it. I tried taking it up with them, but that won't help since AT&T too does not track which app or what data it is.

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