How to see data use in Xbox One settings
If you play Xbox Live on an installed mobile broadband connection, you may need to monitor your XBox One data usage closely. Unless you have unlimited 4G LTE, your carrier will throttle your speeds or slap you with overage fees if you exceed your plan’s data limit during the month. Luckily, you can see exactly how much data you use playing Xbox One in your console’s Network settings.
Check your bandwidth usage
To check your bandwidth use, which is the same as your data use on an installed mobile broadband connection, navigate to the Bandwidth usage setting in your Network settings.
- Press the Xbox button to open the guide.
- Select System > Settings > All settings > Network > Network settings > Troubleshooting.
- Select Bandwidth usage from the drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the screen.
Bandwidth usage is a log of your console’s bandwidth use. This log breaks down your bandwidth use by hour (for the last 24-hour period) and by month (for as long as you’ve used Xbox Live). By checking Bandwidth usage, you can see how much data you currently use, how that number relates to your monthly data limit, and how it relates to your past data use.
Tips for using less data playing Xbox Live
If you find you’re using too much data playing Xbox Live, here are a few ways to reduce the amount of data you use playing online games.
Turn off auto-updates. Game downloads, patches, and updates use far more data than gameplay. Keep yourself from exceeding your monthly data limit by turning off auto-updates and manually updating your games when you know you have extra data. To turn off auto-updates:
- Press the Xbox button to open the guide.
- Select System > Settings > System > Updates.
- Click the checkbox to turn auto-updates on or off.
If you switch auto-updates off, your console will tell you about any new updates when you launch your game. Then, you can choose to update the game immediately or to delay the update for some other time. To see a full list of updates:
- Press the Xbox button to open the guide.
- Select My games & apps > See all.
- Select Updates in the drop-down menu.
More Tips for Less Data Usage
Play games with fewer players. The more players in a game, the more data your network exchanges with other players’ networks. This data includes information like the stats, score, and locations of each player. To save data, avoid “Battle Royale” style modes and, instead, choose multiplayer modes with fewer players.
Play without voice chat. If you use voice chat while playing Xbox Live, expect to use almost twice as much data. For example, playing a game like PUBG for an hour without voice chat uses less than 30 MB of data. With voice chat, playing PUBG for an hour uses 50 MB of data.
Reduce your frame rate. A higher frame rate refreshes the game more often, so that you exchange more up-to-date information with other players. While a higher frame rate helps you react faster in the game, it also uses more data. By turning off the VSync setting, you can adjust your frame rate manually with Freesynch:
Play on a 64-tick server. A 128-tick server, which refreshes the game 128 times every second, uses about twice as much data as a 64-tick server, which refreshes the game 64 times every second. To save data, play on a server with a lower refresh rate.
Switch to unlimited 4G LTE. With our unlimited 4G LTE connection, you can spend as many hours as you want playing games, even if you can’t get cable internet where you live. We never throttle your speeds or charge you overage fees. To find out more, check out our unlimited 4G LTE plans or give us a call at 866-439-6630.
