Understand & manage your data
In this article
What is mobile data?
Mobile data allows your phone or iPad/tablet to access the internet even when you’re not connected to WiFi. It gives you an internet connection anywhere where your phone connects to the 2degrees mobile network. We measure your mobile data usage in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB). There are 1024 MB in 1 GB of data.
If you have a 2degrees SIM in your phone or tablet, be sure to turn on Mobile Data on your device so that you can access the internet, your emails and any apps that you may need when you’re away from WiFi.
New to your phone and/or 2degrees? No problemo, check our Mobile Settings guidelines to access data on our network.
If you’re often on the go and want to access mobile data on your WiFi-only laptop or tablet, then you can use the WiFi Hotspot function on your phone.
How does Carryover data work?
If you’re not on a Prepay or Pay Monthly plan with endless data, you’re probably on a plan with NZ Carryover data. We figure that if you pay for the data it’s yours for up to a year. It’s only fair. What this means for you is that any unused data in any month will be carried over to the following month as long as you keep your plan active. You’ve got 12 months to use it, so anything left over won’t go to waste.
Carryover data from a previous month is used after your new monthly allocation of plan data. You can see your remaining balances at any time, just log in to My 2degrees, or check it out in the app.
If I’ve run out of my included data and my Carryover data, what will it cost me?
If you’re on a current Pay Monthly mobile plan or have used Data Clock, we’ll warn you before your data gets low.
If you’re on Prepay and run out of data but still have credit, you’ll be charged for data at a rate of $0.50c per MB. If you’re using Data Clock or have Autopay set up, casual data use is not available.
For the best value, if you’re out of data, you should head to our Data Clock app to grab a great value time-based pack or add one of our awesome Prepay or Pay Monthly Data Add-ons, which won’t break the bank.
How do I buy a 2degrees Data Add-on?
All our plans come with either endless or Carryover data, but if you have the megabyte munchies, check out our full range of Data Add-ons for Prepay, Pay Monthly and Business. They’re easy to get your hands on and give you the best bang for your buck when it comes to mobile data.
To buy your Add-on simply log in to My 2degrees, or text buy and the name of the Add-on you want to 233. If you’re texting, you can find the list of Add-on codes here.
How do I check my data balance?
Either log in to My 2degrees online, or check it out in our snazzy app.
What’s this Data Clock you keep mentioning?
We’re glad you asked! Our Data Clock app lets you buy endless* mobile data in affordable bursts, giving you the freedom to use data whenever you need without chewing through your mobile plan data while you are in New Zealand. Buy as little as you need to stay entertained during a ride home, or get a bigger chunk of data to binge watch your favourite show. Read more about it and download the Data Clock app here.
*Fair use Policy applies. Data Clock Max speeds reduced to 1Mbps after 40GB/month & hotspotting speeds may be reduced further during periods of network congestion. Data Clock data can only be used in New Zealand. T&Cs apply. See Data Clock Terms and Conditions for full terms.
How do I monitor my data usage?
You can regularly keep track of your data usage in your 2degrees App or by logging in to My 2degrees and clicking on Your Usage. To keep a record, click Filter by Data and then download your transactions to export to Excel.
What uses mobile data on my phone?
Everything you send to (upload) or receive from (download) the internet will require some amount of data. Apps are the main culprit, but you also use data when you browse or search using your internet browser, send or receive an email, post to Instagram, chat on WhatsApp or sync to the cloud.
Data usage is unique to each person. Your usage depends on which device you use and how much time you spend online.
On average, how much data does each activity on my mobile use?
Remember, the way you use your mobile data is as unique as you are. Data usage will vary depending on a number of factors including, but not limited to, device used, network connection (5G, 4G or 3G), device settings and applications on the device.
You should be aware that connecting to a faster mobile network may use more data than connecting to a slower one. For example, a device may use more data on a 5G network than a 4G network, especially for things like high-definition video and web browsing.
How can I reduce my data usage?
Manage your apps
When downloading new apps, it's important to check the following details to understand how the app works:
- The size of the download
- The app description
- The permissions the app requires and that you allow
If you give the app permission to access data at any time, it may do so without you even opening it.
Have a look at which apps you have and delete any that you don’t need or use. These apps may be using data in the background. You can also download apps that help you manage and monitor your data usage.
Get to know what your phone can do
Keep an eye out for notifications that tell you data is being used on your device. Most devices have a function in the Settings menu to display how much mobile data you’ve used in the last month as well as how much data different applications have used.
Read your phone’s instruction manual and adjust your data settings to better manage your data usage.
Connect to WiFi
When you're connected to a WiFi network, your phone uses that connection to download or upload info – instead of using mobile data. If the WiFi connection drops, your phone or device may default back to using mobile data.
Your phone probably has a setting to only download updates when connected to WiFi. Turn this on to avoid automatic updating when you only have a data connection.
You may also want to check out our WiFi Calling service.
Spend some time planning before you travel internationally
When you’re travelling overseas it’s important to keep track of your data usage, so you don’t arrive home to a hefty bill. If you want to use your phone overseas, you should check if you’re visiting one of our Daily Roaming destinations (there are over 100 of them) where you can use the minutes, texts and data on your 2degrees plan for $8 per day. Daily Roaming will automatically be activated once your phone connects to a network in an applicable destination. This rate will be activated and charged when you do any of the following:
- make a call (including to Voicemail)
- receive a call (or don’t answer an incoming call that diverts to your Voicemail)
- send a text
- use mobile data (This includes any apps that may refresh or update automatically, even when you aren’t using them.)
For most destinations where Daily Roaming isn’t available you can purchase a Roaming Data Add-on to help you keep connected.
If you choose not to use Daily Roaming or the Roaming Data Add-on, we recommend you turn your mobile data off on your phone when you’re overseas and connect to local WiFi to use the internet. Different countries have different roaming rates, so it’s important you understand the potential costs before using your phone overseas. Read more about managing your data while overseas here
If you’re on a Business or Endless Pay Monthly plan, it’s also worthwhile setting up a Spend Control before you go to keep an eye on your spend. Set your limit and we’ll let you know when you’re getting close to hitting it.
Business customers, please see our Spend Control for Business and Business Roaming pages.
Things you need to know about data usage
- Please keep in mind that connecting to a faster mobile network may use more data than connecting to a slower one. For example, a device may use more data on a 4G network than a 3G network, especially for things like high definition video and web browsing. For example, a device may use more data on a 5G network than a 4G or a 3G network, especially for things like high-definition video and web browsing. Read our handy guide to the difference between 4G and 3G and other types of network connections.
- Your usage may change while travelling. For example, you may spend longer looking at maps and tourist information websites, but less time streaming bandwidth hungry videos.
- There are steps that you can take to reduce your data usage when roaming. These include: accessing a local WiFi network to avoid using mobile data, turning off mobile data capability when it is not being used, avoid streaming movies and music and turn on data saving settings in applications where they are available.
- Usage will vary depending on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the model of device, the device settings, network used and application settings
- There are 1024kb (kilobytes) in 1MB (megabyte), and 1024MB in 1GB (gigabyte).
‘After 100GB/m reduced Max speed’ explained
You’ll see the phrase in relation to reduced speeds on our endless Pay Monthly mobile plans. Our new plans come with up to 100GB per month of Max speed data (per person if on a Group Plan) then endless at reduced speed of 1.2Mbps.
Read on to see what this means and how can you expect your mobile experience to change if your speeds are reduced to 1.2Mbps for the remainder of that month.
What's is Mbps?
Megabit per second (Mbps) relates to the speed of a data connection, in this case your 4G mobile connection. Our new Endless Pay Monthly mobile plans come with up to 40GB per month of Max speed data. So, when we talk about speeds being reduced on applicable plans, what we mean is if you use over 40GB of mobile data in a month, your plan will then be on reduced speeds of 1.2Mbps until your next bill date. After this, you go back to Max speed data based on the amount included in your plan.
Please note that 100GB is the upper limit of Max speed data. Your speeds will be reduced as soon as you exceed the Max speed Data limit on your specific Endless Pay Monthly mobile plan.
Also, actual speeds will vary depending on factors including your location, phone and network coverage and congestion.
Why are speeds reduced?
We’re a team of over 1 million 2degrees-ers, and we need to make sure everyone using our mobile network gets a great experience. By reducing the Max speeds on our highest users, we can ensure that everyone has room to surf, scroll and chat when they need to the most. You’ll return to full speed when your plan renews on your next bill date.
In a nutshell, what will change?
You can mostly use data on your phone the same as before. But the experience will be impacted at reduced speeds of 1.2Mbps. You can continue to listen to music, browse online, make video calls with your mates, stream, download and watch movies. But with video, the image quality will be impacted.
1.2Mbps is not suitable for HD video (as there may be buffering or interruptions), some high-speed games and applications, multiple applications, high resolution images and loading large files may take more time.
Using my mobile with 1.2Mbps reduced speeds
Just what exactly can you expect with 1.2Mbps reduced speeds? We’ve laid it down below.
