The Android operating system has a built-in Data Saver mode; enabling this helps avoid going over the data limit induced by your carrier. But you may not need to worry about this if you’re on an unlimited data plan. Leaving it on can hinder your experiences with apps requiring constant background activity. You may miss messages, emails, and other alerts when Data Saver mode is on. There’s also an option to make exceptions for essential apps like Gmail and Teams to receive alerts in the background even when Data Saver mode is enabled. But if you wish to gain complete control over your apps and alerts, we’ve created a guide teaching you how to deactivate Data Saver mode on any Android phone you own.
Turn off Android Data Saver mode
There are several ways to turn off Android Data Saver mode. When the Data Saver mode is active, you see a small + icon in a circle in the status bar at the top. Let’s deactivate it.
- Launch Settings and select Network and internet.
- Tap Data Saver.
- Turn off the Use Data Saver toggle.
How to set up Android’s Data Saver mode
Apply some brakes to abnormal cellular data usage on Android
Turn off the Data Saver mode from the quick toggles menu if you don’t want to go into the Settings menu. It’s the fastest way to turn off the Data Saver mode on Android.
- Swipe down on the home screen to reveal the notification center.
- Swipe down again to expand quick toggles.
- Find the Data Saver toggle and tap it to turn it off.
Turn off Data Saver mode from the Settings widget
You can create a dedicated Data usage widget on the Android home screen and access essential information like mobile data usage, data warning and limit, Data Saver, and more with a single tap.
- Long tap the Android home screen and open Widgets.
- Scroll to Settings and drag the widget to the home screen.
- Tap Data usage.
- Access the Data usage menu via the added widget and select Data Saver to turn off the option.
Read our dedicated guide to explore more
useful Android widgets
. The Settings widget is available on a handful of Android phones only. You won’t find the Settings widget on Samsung phones.
Deactivate Data Saver mode on Samsung Galaxy phones
Samsung uses different Settings on Galaxy phones. Go through the steps below to turn off Data Saver mode on it.
- Open Settings on your Samsung Galaxy phone.
- Go to Connections.
- Select Data usage.
- Tap Data saver.
- Turn off the Data saver toggle.
Allow unrestricted data usage to certain apps
Go through the steps below to activate Data Saver mode and keep an exception for specific apps.
- Go to the Data Saver menu in Android Settings (refer to the steps above).
- Select Unrestricted data.
- Turn on the toggle beside your essential apps.
Turn off Data Saver mode in Android apps
Some Android apps also offer a data saver mode to use less data. Social media apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook pack a data saver mode. If you face issues loading content in such apps, turn off the Data Saver mode. Let’s take Instagram as an example.
- Launch Instagram and go to your profile.
- Tap the hamburger menu at the top and go to Settings and privacy.
- Scroll to Data usage and media quality.
- Turn off the Data Saver toggle.
TikTok is another popular social media app. Turn off the Data Saver mode if you notice glitches and high loading times for TikTok videos on your phone.
- Launch TikTok and go to your profile in the lower-right corner.
- Tap the three horizontal lines at the top and open Settings and privacy.
- Scroll to Data Saver.
- Turn off the Data Saver toggle.
The steps to turn off Data Saver mode differ on other apps like Facebook, Twitter, and more. Dig into the respective app’s settings to find and turn off the option.
Use Data Saver mode only when required
If you’re still worried about having apps hogging too much data after disabling Data Saver mode, you can always create a routine to check your device’s data usage periodically. If you also want a detailed breakdown of what’s using up your mobile and Wi-Fi data, there are some great third-party mobile data monitoring apps you can install. Otherwise, note which apps use the most data and consider searching for some (data-saving) alternatives.
