[ale] help not using 3g/4g broadband quota android

[Ron Frazier (ALE)]

Vernard Martin <vernard at venger.net> wrote:

>On 08/24/2012 01:37 PM, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
>> Hi guys,
>>
>> I've been on the road and away from the list for a while. I probably 
>> have a few hundred emails to read so I don't know what all you've
>been 
>> discussing. However, I have a question to ask. I'm using my Android 
>> tablet with ice cream sandwich. I don't have wifi internet where I am
>
>> so I just got one of the Verizon prepaid wifi hotspots so I can keep 
>> somewhat connected. I have a 3 GB 1 month plan, so I started doing
>the 
>> math and that works out to only 100 MB / day, which ain't much. The 
>> problem is, that, under normal circumstances, everything from my 
>> podcast client to email to my news reader, to the os itself is trying
>
>> to do routine updates, which could drive me over my quota. I already 
>> went and turned off background syncing for k9 email, pocketcasts 
>> podcast catcher, weatherbug, greader news reader, etc. That has 
>> reduced data consumption a good bit. However, there are a number of 
>> processes that turn on and do things over wifi periodically, some for
>
>> no apparent reason, that I have little knowledge of or control over.
>I 
>> do not have root access on this device. I'm wondering if there is an 
>> app which will let me restrict access to the wifi to only certain
>apps 
>> when I'm connected to my hotspot's specific SSID. I don't just want
>to 
>> control wifi in general. I need per application control. That way, I 
>> wouldn't have to tweak the settings for every app when I want to use 
>> 3g/4g service. The podcatcher, for example, could try to update, but 
>> would fail. When I connect to my normal router at home, or to a hotel
>
>> router, it would work. Note that setting the "only on wifi" option in
>
>> the app won't help, since, as far as the tablet knows, I AM on wifi. 
>> I'm connecting to the hotspot periodically to do web browsing and 
>> collect email. Let me know if you have any ideas as to how to reign
>in 
>> the data beast. Thanks in advance.
>"My Data Manager" seems to be quite popular for this. Also,  I think 
>"Onavo Count" has some data restriction settings in it that you can
>use.
>

Hi Vernard,

Thanks for the tips.  I was going to try Onavo Count but the Google Play installer says it's not compatible with my version of Android (ICS).

I installed My Data Manager.  I think I can get by with it for now, but it has one problem for my application.  Since I'm using a MiFi, I'm connecting to the 3G/4G network through a wifi hotspot.  So, My Data Manager never thinks I'm on mobile at all.  So, all the plan and quota settings don't have any effect, other than the time left in the month.  However, I can still read the wifi graphs and see how much data is going through, and since I'm ONLY on my MiFi at the moment, that's the same number as the mobile data.  This helps me get a lot closer to knowing where I stand than I was before.

Sincerely,

Ron


--

Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9 Mail.
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(To whom it may concern.  My email address has changed.  Replying to former
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Ron Frazier
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linuxdude AT techstarship.com