iPhone 6(S)/Plus How To Ensure iPhone Is Using Wifi and Not Data?

[Scoot65]

I've recently got my first smartphone, it's an iPhone 6s running iOS 11.2.1 I'm on a 'pay as you go' top-up plan with EE carrier here here in the UK.

If I connect to wifi, how do I ensure that the 'phone is using (free) wifi and not my cellular data?

I did a quick test by turning on wifi and also 'wifi calling on the phone' in settings. I then made a quick test phone call and found that it had used some of my cellular data (my pre-paid money amount was used).

Should I have just turned on wifi and not 'wifi calling on this phone' in settings?

 

[StellarVixen]

It's simple. If you turn off cellular data, your iPhone won't and can't use it.

The situation is different with WiFi, where turning WiFi off in Control Center doesn't turn it off completely, but just disables it temporarily. However, once you turn off the cellular data, it is turned off for good until you manually turn it on again.

 

[Jimmie Geddes]

I thought it was prioritized to use WiFi over cellular ?

 

[Scoot65]

Many thanks for the replies. Much appreciated!

In Settings I have:-
Mobile Data - Off
Personal Hotspot - Off
Wi-Fi Calling -Off

I checked my ££ balance, watched two short YouTube films and checked my balance again and there was no reduction.... so with settings turned off as above, none of my cellular data is used.

So that at least shows that going online via wifi does not use my data. I'm assuming that it will be the same case reading making 'phone calls (as long as Wi-fi Calling is switched to off)?

Thanks again!

 

[maerz001]

You also want to disable Wifi assist, which uses mobile data when wifi is weak.
ist under settings > cellular > at the bottom after the list of apps.

and update your os. 11 was a mess

 

[alFR]

So that at least shows that going online via wifi does not use my data. I'm assuming that it will be the same case reading making 'phone calls (as long as Wi-fi Calling is switched to off)?

If you are on WiFi the phone should prioritise that connection for data over the cellular network, unless the WiFi connection is poor and you have WiFi assist turned on (so you should turn that off).

Making a call doesn’t use any data, but it uses up some of your PAYG credit because making a call costs money. WiFi calling doesn’t use any cellular data either, it routes voice calls over the WiFi network you’re connected to if you’re in an area of low cellular signal strength. If you turn cellular data off and leave WiFi calling on you’ll be fine.

That said, remember that turning off cellular data means that you’ll have no iMessage, no email, no maps / GPS navigation etc. Obviously you can switch it on manually if you need it, but a lot of the useful functions are passive (e.g. receiving email).

Also, I’m slightly confused as to why you are so worried about using data: all but one of the EE PAYG plans at the moment come with a usable amount of free data (the lowest is 1Gb for £10/month with rollover of anything unused) and if you happened to be on the ”Talk pack” that only has 50Mb data you could change to one of the other ones next month. 1Gb would be plenty for email, message, maps etc., as long as you don’t stream a lot of video / music when you’re away from WiFi you should be fine. There’s a 2Gb one for £10 (with less call minutes though) as well.

 

[Scoot65]

Thanks again for the additional replies, very useful.

My phone usage is very minimal, the odd call and a few texts (sms) now and again.
I'm coming from using a Nokia 6230i candy bar phone for the past 13 years until it finally died a few weeks ago. So that should give you an idea of my phone needs / usage.

I've been with EE, formally Orange, for many years and currently a PAYG £10 top-up can last me three months (so didn't want data / credit to be used if I'm not using the phone).

Having said that, I now see the advantages and potential that using a smartphone has and maybe my phone usage might change to make use of the iPhone's capabilities....