Difference between Wi‑Fi data and cellular data
Cellular data connections work wherever cellular
coverage
is available. TELUS’ 4G HSPA+ network covers 97% of Canada’s population, which means you can use your device nearly anywhere.
A Wi-Fi connection is established with a wireless adaptor at home or in a public place, like a coffee shop, and only works within the limited range of the router. When connected to Wi-Fi, the device uses the data allotment from the router’s internet service.
Most devices will seamlessly switch between Wi-Fi and cellular data and some can use a cellular connection to assist unstable or poor Wi-Fi signals.
To track your data on a device, you can download the TELUS My Account app, which shows at a glance where you are in your usage for your billing cycle.
Data counter on the device is another good tool to help manage your data. It provides approximate usage details (±10 MB) and can show what applications use the most data. You can reset statistics, to restart the device’s app monitoring of data usage.
Consult the video below for the most common Apple settings to manage your data or visit our
Get to know your device
section, which covers individual device’s data management features under Settings section for your device.
Other tips for reducing data use
Wi-Fi Assist is a feature on iOS 9 or later that automatically switches to cellular data, if the Wi-Fi connection is poor. You can turn it off in the
Settings
to manage your data use
From the
Settings
menu, you can also verify individual applications, such as iCloud Drive, Podcasts, iMovie, etc. to ensure that
Use cellular data
is off
Within several applications, such as Facebook or Netflix, it is possible to disable videos playing automatically over cellular data or reduce the quality playback in the app settings
Use Wi-Fi whenever possible
Whenever you are near a trusted Wi-Fi network use the Wi-Fi receiver in your device to save your cellular data.
From the Home screen, select the
Settings
icon
Switch
Wi-Fi
to the
On
position
Select the name of the Wi-Fi network you wish to join
If required, enter the password and select
Join
Note
: After you join the network, you'll see a checkmark next to the network name and a Wi-Fi icon will appear in the upper-left corner of your display.
To stop using cellular data you can cut access to it using the settings options on your device.
Position the slider to the
Off
position
A Wi-Fi network allows you to connect to the internet and use apps even if cellular data is turned off
The amount listed under "Current period" in the "Cellular data usage" section represents the total amount of cellular data used since the last counter reset
To view the date of the last reset simply scroll to the bottom of the menu
To reset the counter simply tap
Reset statistics
2 times
To track your usage on a monthly basis, you can reset this counter on the first day of your bill cycle
You can control which apps have access to your data on an individual basis and limit some applications to Wi-Fi only.
Scroll down the screen to reveal the different apps that are using your cellular data. The amount of data used by each app is listed under the app. No figure means no cellular data usage
Toggle the on/off switches to control which applications can use cellular data
Turn off Personal Hotspot
Move the slider to the off position
Turn off push notifications
Push notifications are alerts from specific apps that relate to some kind of new information that is pushed to your device regardless of whether you are using the app or not. Although it’s not possible to disable all push notifications at once, it can be done on a per-app basis.
From the Home screen, select the
Settings
icon
Scroll down and select
Notifications
Select the App you wish to turn off
Move the slider to the off position
Turn off background app refresh
Many apps transfer cellular data in the background. This means that an app may download data when you're not using it.
Scroll down and select
General
Scroll down and select
Background app refresh
Note
: To turn off background updates for all apps, move the slider to the off position. To turn on background updates for individual apps, turn the slider to the on position and turn on the individual app switch to the desired position.