How To Turn On Mobile Data On IPhone And Android

With the introduction of 5G, mobile data brings improved data speeds and more versatility. While Wi-Fi only covers a limited range, mobile data can be accessed from anywhere as long as you have a network signal and data plan. 

In order to access the internet on your phone, you need to turn on your mobile data provided that you have a proper data subscription. The process is not that cumbersome either. You can turn it on through the Control Center or your phone’s settings.

How to Turn on Mobile Data?

Before turning on mobile data, it’s better to understand and check a couple of things.

• You need to have a mobile data plan.
• While using data on roaming, network carriers may charge you high if you are in some other country.
• If your device supports physical SIM and E–SIM, you can switch between them to use mobile data.
• You need to have a correct APN (Access Point Name) for mobile data to work. 
• The speed of mobile data depends on different factors such as your location, weather, network generation (5G/4G) and so on.

Now, let’s quickly jump in to see how you can turn on mobile data.

On Android

Here’s how you can turn on your mobile data through your phone’s settings:

1. Open the settings by tapping on the Gear icon.
2. Go to SIM cards & mobile networks.
   
3. Toggle on the Mobile data.
   

Alternatively, you can do it from the Notifications/Control Panel:

1. Open the Notifications/Control panel by swiping down from the top-right corner.
2. Now, just tap on the Up/Down icon or the name of your Carrier to turn on mobile data.
   

On iPhone

Here’re the steps to turn on the mobile network through the Phone’s settings:

1. Tap on the Gear icon to launch the iPhone’s settings.
2. Go to Cellular.
   
3. Now, toggle on the Cellular Data to enable it.
    

Alternatively, here’s how you can do it from the Control Center

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner to open the control centre.
2. Now, tap on the Tower icon. (It will turn the colour to green which means it’s on)
   

How to Share Personal Hotspot?

There can be times when you may need to share your personal hotspot using mobile data. For instance, if your Wi-Fi is not working on other devices (laptop, tablet, etc.), you can use your mobile hotspot to share the internet connection. 

When you turn it on, your device will act as a Wi-Fi network to offer internet to nearby users. Other nearby users can find and join your network using your hotspot password. The password can be found in the hotspot settings. 

On Android

1. Turn on the Mobile data from the Notifications/Control panel or Mobile data settings.
2. Then, open the device’s settings. Go to a Portable hotspot.
3. Then, toggle on a Portable hotspot. 
    

On iPhone

1. Firstly, turn on Cellular data from the Control center or Cellular data settings.
2. Then, open the iPhone’s settings.  
3. Go to a Personal Hotspot.
4. Then, toggle on Allow Others to Join.
   

How to Limit Data on Your Mobile Device?

When you restrict background data, the apps won’t run in the background, which helps preserve your mobile data. For instance, your mobile won’t sync data in the background and won’t get app notifications or updates until you open that specific app.  

To restrict the background data on mobile, follow the below steps.

On Android

You can easily restrict data on all Android devices. However, some Android manufacturers have provided a feature to limit data usage. Once it reaches the limit, mobile data will automatically be turned off. Here are both ways to restrict and set a data limit.

 To Restrict Data

1. Open the phone’s Settings.
2. Scroll down and Go to Apps.
3. Tap on Manage apps.
   
4. Now, open the apps you don’t want to run in the background.
5. Scroll down and tap on Restrict data usage.
   
6. Then, deselect the SIM and hit OK.
   

To Set a Data Limit

1. Open the Notifications panel.
2. Long tap on the Mobile data icon.
   
3. Tap on the text Mobile data
   
4. Tap on Data warning & limit.
   
5. Toggle on Set data warning.
   
6. Then, tap on the Data warning and set a data limit number. Next, tap Set to confirm.
   

On iPhone

Here’s the best way to restrict the usage of data on your iOS device.

1. Launch the iPhone’s settings.
2. Go to General.
3. Tap on Background App Refresh.
4. Toggle Off the apps you don’t want to run in the background.
   
5. If you want to disable all the background apps from consuming mobile data, simply tap on background app refresh and select Off or Wi-Fi.