How to check how much hotspot data you have used on iPhone and Android

Checking your hotspot data usage on iPhone

By keeping an eye on your hotspot data usage, you can avoid overage charges. Here’s how to check how much hotspot you have left on your iPhone:

1. Go to your iPhone’s “Settings” and tap “Mobile service” (or “Cellular”).

   

2. Scroll down to the “Mobile data from primary” section, find “Personal hotspot” and tap it. Keep in mind that if you gave your primary SIM card a specific name, the section will be called “Mobile data from [your SIM card name].”

   

3. In the “Personal hotspot” section, you’ll see information about the devices that have connected to your hotspot and the amount of data each device has used while connected.

   

To monitor your hotspot data usage more closely, you might want to reset your data usage statistics at the beginning of each billing cycle. Go to your iPhone’s “Settings” and tap “Mobile service.” Scroll down to find “Reset statistics” and tap it, then tap “Reset statistics” one more time.

Checking your hotspot data usage on Android

Checking your hotspot data usage on Android is just as easy.

1. Open the “Settings” app on your Android device and tap “Connections.”

   

2. Tap on “Data usage.”

   

3. Now, tap “Mobile data usage.”

   

4. Scroll down to find “Mobile hotspot and tethering” and tap it.

   

5. Here you’ll see how much mobile data you’ve used when your phone acted as a mobile hotspot in the current month.

   

Now you know how to check hotspot usage on your Android phone to avoid exceeding your mobile data limit. 

Checking your hotspot data usage with your carrier

Apart from checking how much hotspot data you’ve used up in your phone settings, you can also do that with your mobile carrier. Some carriers, such as AT&T, offer information on hotspot data usage in your online account portal or app.

However, some carriers don't offer a distinct breakdown of hotspot data usage in their standard account interfaces and only provide information on how much mobile data you’ve used in total in your current billing cycle. If you’re using T-Mobile or Verizon, you can only monitor your overall data consumption through their respective apps or websites.

Manage hotspot data usage on your iPhone and Android

Setting mobile data use limits and warnings in your phone’s settings is a smart way to manage your mobile data and avoid surprise fees. Once you get an alert or your data is restricted, you can cut back on streaming your favorite show in HD or save those endless TikTok scrolls for when you’re on Wi-Fi.

Check out the options for managing how you use your mobile data on an iPhone and an Android.

Set app use limits on your iPhone

iPhones don’t have a single built-in feature to set a specific cellular data usage limit or send you a warning about heavy consumption, but they have the “Screen time” feature. By using “Screen time,” you can set time limits for data-hungry apps like streaming or social media. It’s a great way to stay in control of your data and avoid going over your allowance — especially when using a hotspot.

Here’s how to limit data usage for apps on your iPhone:

1. Go to “Settings” to find “Screen time” and tap it.

   

2. Tap “App limits.”

   

3. Tap “Add limit.”

   

4. Select one or more app categories. For example, select the “Entertainment” category.

   

5. To set limits for specific apps, tap the category name and select the app(s) you want to limit.

   

6. In the window that opens, you can set the amount of time allowed for this app. You can also customize days to set limits for specific days. When you finish setting limits, tap “Add.”

   

If you allow your friends or family to connect to your hotspot, they should also limit their app use on their iPhones to avoid draining your hotspot data too quickly.

One more way to use less mobile data on your iPhone is to turn off the Wi-Fi assist feature (available on devices running iOS 9 or later). It automatically switches to cellular data when your Wi-Fi signal is weak, which is great for browsing, streaming, and app use but consumes a lot of data. Consider disabling it to reduce your cellular data consumption:

1. Open “Settings” and tap “Mobile service” (or “Cellular”).

   

2. Scroll down and toggle off “Wi-Fi assist.”

   

When you turn off Wi-Fi assist, your iPhone will stick to the Wi-Fi network, even in weak spots, instead of switching to cellular data automatically.

Set data warnings and limits on your Android

If you don’t want to keep checking your data usage on your Android, you can simply set a data warning that will alert you once you use up a specific amount of data. Here’s how to do so:

1. Open the “Settings” app on your Android phone and tap “Connections.” 

   

2. Tap on “Data usage,” then “Mobile data usage.” 

   

3. Tap the gear icon at the top right corner next to the time period.

   

4. Then, tap “Data warning.”

   

5. Now, type in the number of GB you would like to be warned you’ve used and tap “Set.”

   

If you still feel like you might forget to adjust your usage after you get a warning, you can simply set a data limit. Better safe than sorry, right? Once you set a limit, your cellular data will be turned off when you reach it. To set the data limit, follow the same steps as above until you tap the gear icon, then:

1. Tap the toggle switch next to “Set data limit” to an “On” position to activate the mobile data limit.

   

2. Your data limit is set! You can also change the limit — simply tap “Data limit,” type in the number of GB you would like to limit your mobile data use to, and tap “Set.”

   

Now you can browse the internet with peace because you won’t exceed your mobile data limit by accident.

Optimize hotspot data usage

You can optimize your mobile hotspot data usage and reduce your overall data consumption in several ways, including enabling the data saving mode, finding and limiting high-data apps, and disabling background data for non-essential apps. 

Enable “Data saver” on your phone

Modes like “Data saver” on Androids and “Low data mode” on iPhones help to cut down your data usage by preventing apps from using data in the background.

Save data on your iPhone

Enabling the “Low data mode” on your iPhone turns off background app refresh and saves some data. Here’s how to do so:

1. Go to “Settings” and tap “Mobile service.” 

   

2. Under SIMs, tap your “Primary SIM.” Please note that your primary SIM might have a different name if you’ve customized it by naming it “Work,” “Personal,” or something else.

   

3. Toggle on the switch next to “Low data mode.”

   

Save data on your Android

To start saving data on your Android phone, follow these steps:

1. Go to “Settings” and tap “Connections.”

   

2. Select “Data usage.”

   

3. Tap “Data saver.”

   

4. Then toggle on the switch next to “Turn on now.”

   

You can exclude certain apps from these restrictions so they continue to function normally even with “Data saver” on. Simply open the “Data saver” section once again and tap “Allowed to use data while Data saver is on” and toggle on the switches for all apps you want to go on using data without restrictions.

Find apps that consume the most hotspot data

You should know which apps eat up the most of your cellular data so you can limit their usage. 

Find high data usage apps on iPhone

To find data-hungry apps on your iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Open “Settings” and tap “Mobile service.” 

   

2. Select “Mobile data.”

   

3. Under the “Mobile data for primary” section, you’ll see a list of apps. The apps are listed in order of usage (from highest to lowest), so you can easily see which ones are using the most data. Tap “Show all” to expand the full list.

   
   

Find high data usage apps on Android

On Android, you can view data-heavy apps by going to your phone’s “Settings” > “Connections” > “Data usage” > “Mobile data usage.” There, scroll down to see the apps, listed in the order of usage (from highest to lowest).

Disable background data for non-essential apps

Limiting background data activity can help you save some of that precious data, including hotspot data. On your iPhone, you can do so by disabling background data for non-essential apps:

1. Open your iPhone’s “Settings” and tap “General.”

   

2. Scroll down and select “Background app refresh.”

   

3. Tap “Background app refresh” again.

   

4. Choose “Off” or “Wi-Fi.”

   

If you’ve selected “Wi-Fi & mobile data,” you can control which apps refresh in the background by toggling background app refresh on or off for each app.

On an Android, you can limit background data for non-essential apps by opening “Settings” > “Connections” > “Data usage” > “Mobile data usage.” Find the app you want to disable background data for, tap on it, and then toggle off “Allow background data usage.”

Password-protect access to your hotspot

Setting a password for your hotspot is a simple way to stop strangers from connecting to your internet. Just make sure it’s not a simple number combination like “12345” or your pet’s name — think of a complex and long password.

On an iPhone, go to “Settings” > “Personal hotspot” and tap “Wi-Fi password” to set or change your hotspot password. Anyone who wants to connect to your hotspot will have to provide this password upon access.

On an Android, go to “Settings” > “Connections” > “Mobile hotspot and tethering” and tap on “Mobile hotspot.” Then tap “Configure.” Enter your new password and tap “Save.” 

You’re all set! You’ve just made your hotspot much more secure. 

Get an eSIM for hotspot data abroad

Using an eSIM for cellular data when traveling is a smart way to save money you would otherwise spend on roaming fees, so why not use it for hotspot data too? The same mobile data you get with the eSIM can cover your hotspot needs.

Once you’ve set up an eSIM on your device, you can use your device as a hotspot to connect other devices. Plus, when you secure your hotspot with an eSIM, you can easily track your remaining mobile data in the eSIM provider’s app and steer clear of unreliable public Wi-Fi.