If I leave 3G on, on my phone, will it use up data?

[john]

I'm wondering if I leave my 3G on, does it use up data even if I'm not using the internet? This would really help me out if I could get an answer?

[Adonis]

Depends on the 'phone but if it's an iPhone then the answer is yes unless: you have taught the iPhone to use a WiFi Access Point & then it'll use that instead.

[Liam Prendeville]

Possibly, yea I know this doesn't really answer anything

It really depends on what apps and operating system you have on your phone, for example my windows based phone automatically checks my email and social network every 30 mins and I also have an app that updates with the news every hour. These functions can be turned off but obviously if you miss one by accident you'll still be using data. So might just be easier to turn off your 3g altogether if you don't want to use it.

The other problem with having your 3g on all the time is that it causes your phone to seek far more often for the best connection and this in turn causes your phone to go through battery power like a hungry badger through a chicken coup.

[puffin57]

It will use up some data, since the phone and apps may check for updates from time to time, or things like Facebook or Twitter etc will check for updates too. It probably won't use up all that much, but if you leave mobile internet on all the time, then it all adds up.

Also, if the phone were to check for OS updates, then it can easily install them on the mobile if it finds one and this can eat up lots of data (I got bit by this when setting up my son's phone, I wondered why he had little credit left, and discovered that it had updated the OS via mobile - I had forgot to set the phone not to automatically check and download updates!).

What you are best to do is simply turn off the mobile internet when you are not using it. The phone will work fine, just switch on internet when you require it. Set your apps to manual update only - this can be done in the play store (android) and I assume this can be done on the Apple store too. (To do this, go to the store, select the app you have on the phone, and uncheck automatic update box. Do this or all apps, or when installing, ensure it is not set to automatic. This is for Android, but there probably will be equivalent for iPhones).

With the OS updates, go into settings - About phone - updates. Uncheck automatic update. OS updates are best done via wifi, since they can be pretty data hungry.

Use wifi wherever possible, too. This will save your mobile data allowance big time, especially if you like to watch videos and any other data hungry things like that.

[ScσττRΛSC³]

Possibly. Things update in the background which of course require internet access, like email for example.