What Apple iPhone’s Low Data Mode does to the device, here’s how to activate it

You may have seen a low data mode on Android smartphones and even in the Chrome app when opening for the first time. However, many might not be knowing about the 'Low Data' mode present in iPhones. Yes, it exists and there's an easy way to activate it. But before we tell you how to do it, let's take a quick look at what exactly it does to your iPhone.

So what happens in Low Data Mode?

To give you an overview, this feature simply reduces Wi-Fi and mobile data usage across apps. It also kills several background tasks as well that require an active Internet connection. This includes data syncing in the background, Photos syncing and more.

This is what Apple states as the description for its Low Data mode. "Low Data Mode helps reduce Wi-Fi and mobile data usage. When Low Data Mode is turned on, automatic updates and background tasks, such as Photos syncing, are paused." Apple's support page gives some more insight.

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With this mode enabled, you can expect:

-Certain apps to stop using network data when they are not being used.

-No background app refresh.

-Reduced quality of video streaming.

-No auto-downloads and backups.

-No iCloud Photos syncing.

Apple also explains how the company's own built-in apps adopt this mode.

-App Store: Video autoplay, automatic updates, and automatic downloads are turned off.

-Music: Automatic downloads and high-quality streaming are turned off.

-Podcasts: The frequency of feed updates is limited, and episodes are downloaded only on Wi-Fi.

-News: Article prefetching is turned off.

-iCloud: Updates are paused, and automatic backups and iCloud Photos updates are turned off.

-FaceTime: Video bitrate is optimized for lower bandwidth.

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Now that you have an idea what you will face when the Low Data Mode is enabled, here's how you can activate it in a few simple steps.

Step 2: Tap on 'Mobile Data' section.

Step 3: Tap on 'Mobile Data Options' section.

Step 4: Toggle on the 'Low Data Mode'.

In case you have a Dual SIM or eSIM supporting iPhone, you can enable the Low Data Mode separately for each connection. Separately, you can enable the 'Low Data Mode' for Wi-Fi as well.

Step 1: Open the 'Settings' app.

Step 2: Tap on 'Wi-Fi'.

Step 3: Tap the 'i' button next to the Wi-Fi network you are connected to.

Step 4: Toggle on the 'Low Data Mode'.