How to check hotspot usage on iPhone and Android?

You are using your phone as a hotspot. Keep an eye on the data usage to avoid the early data runout. You share your connection with friends or siblings, they start watching YouTube or scrolling reels on Instagram, and suddenly, your data is almost gone.

To avoid the data running out before the billing cycle even ends, it's ideal to check the hotspot data usage time to time. Checking hotspot usage on your iPhone or Android is not hard.

In the guide, I will discuss the different methods to check your mobile hotspot data usage.

Why You Should Even Bother Checking?

The common mistake most of us make is checking the data when it's almost gone. Your mobile hotspot uses the data from the same plan as your regular mobile data. So, your data runs out early if you don’t check the hotspot data usage.

Confirming the data usage takes a few minutes from the device's settings.

If You Have an iPhone

The Basic Way to Check

Go to Settings, tap Cellular.
Scroll down to your apps to check the data usage.
At the top, you can see your overall data numbers.

iPhone never resets this counter on its own. So if you last reset it six months ago, those numbers are from six months ago.

Scroll to the bottom of that Cellular screen and tap Reset Statistics.

Make it a habit at the start of every billing cycle.

Checking Your Personal Hotspot Usage

Open the Settings.
Tap Personal Hotspot, see which devices are currently connected.

iPhone does not give a built-in hotspot-specific breakdown. The ideal option is to check through your carrier app.

If You Have an Android

Finding Your Data Usage

Open the Settings app on your phone.
Click the Network and Internet or Connections.
Now, click Mobile Network or Mobile Data. Here, you will find the Data Usage.

While checking the data usage, don’t forget to set the billing dates correctly.

Tap Billing Cycle and match the start date of your plan set.

People forget about this or skip it intentionally, thats why the numbers look weird sometimes.

Checking Hotspot Data on Android

Now go back to Settings.
Find the Hotspot button or tap Network and Internet, and then Hotspot & Tethering.

If you have a Samsung or Pixel phone, you will see a small data usage section right inside the hotspot settings.

For Samsung specifically, you can check the data usage following the given settings.

Open Settings, click the Connections button.
Then, Mobile Hotspot & Tethering.
Tap Mobile Hotspot. Right there, you will see the data usage and the option to set a data limit.

Set a Warning So You Do Not Get Caught Off Guard

Setting a data limit or warning is the best thing about Android devices. If you are an iPhone user, unfortunately, your device lacks this built-in feature. To minimize your hotspot usage, you can follow these steps.

Go to the Settings of your Android phone.
Click Mobile Data, then Data Warning and Limit.
Now you can set a number that is slightly below your plan limit. When your device data usage reaches that limit, it sends you an alert message before you run out of data.

Checking Through Your Carrier: The Most Reliable Way

Your carrier always has the accurate picture of your hotspot data usage. The carrier tracks everything at the network level.

Here is how you can check your hotspot data usage through your carrier's app.

AT&T

Open the myAT&T app.
Go to Usage, and here you can see your mobile hotspot data listed separately.

T-Mobile

Open the T-Mobile app.
Tap Account, select your line.
Now, click Hotspot Usage, and the hotspot data appears there.

Verizon

Open the Verizon app, click your line.
Then tap Usage to check the data consumption.

If you are using eSIM data plans from the carrier, such as Yaalo, you can confirm the data usage on their app or website. The carriers show you the detailed breakdown of your data plans.

Simple Things You Can Do to Stop Burning Through Data So Fast

Now that you have confirmed how much hotspot data is being used. So you will definitely require some tips to avoid this high data consumption.

Here are some of these.

Watch what is connected: Check your connected device list under Personal Hotspot on iPhone and Android devices.
Ask friends/siblings to lower the video quality: Streaming is a top data killer. Ask those connected to your device to reduce video quality to avoid high data usage.
Set that Android data warning: If you are an Android user, you have the advantage of setting the data limit. You can set the limit to get the warning message before the data runs out.
Use your carrier app more: You can use your mobile carrier app to keep an eye on your hotspot data usage.

Conclusion

So you may have found that checking the hotspot usage on Android and iPhone devices is simple. You can check it from the device settings or through the carrier's app. I suggest you use the carrier app to get more precise details. Once you confirm which device is using more data, you should execute the steps in the guide to avoid burning through your data faster.

FAQs

Can I see which apps used my hotspot data on connected devices?

No, you can’t. Mobile phones generally show the total data that went through the hotspot. But it doesn’t provide the detailed information about what the connected device was doing with it.