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Is data usage higher on wi-fi than on 3g net?

M

MaaacX

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 6, 2010
7
0
I just got my iphone and was testing the internet usage watching a 4 minute youtube video. The app I used told me 10.7 mb was downloaded.

I am wondering, will the data usage be less on the 3g net than on my wifi? On my wireless at home I can get upto 30mbit on the computer...

Or will the data usage be the same?
 
MaaacX said:
I just got my iphone and was testing the internet usage watching a 4 minute youtube video. The app I used told me 10.7 mb was downloaded.

I am wondering, will the data usage be less on the 3g net than on my wifi? On my wireless at home I can get upto 30mbit on the computer...

Or will the data usage be the same?
Click to expand...

The data is the same either way. The only difference is the size of the pipe you use to download it.

WiFi = wider, shorter pipe, so the data flows through faster.
3G = narrower, longer pipe, so the data takes longer to flow through.

In order to perform any particular task, (such as watch a movie or download an email, etc) you'll ultimately need to download the same total amount of data either way.
 
Dont quite understand. What data usage?
Youtube on 3G will use less data since it automaticly plays the videos in a lower quality to save bandwidth and long load times. On wifi the videos would be more clear and obviously use more data.
 
Applejuiced said:
Dont quite understand. What data usage?
Youtube on 3G will use less data since it automaticly plays the videos in a lower quality to save bandwidth and long load times. On wifi the videos would be more clear and obviously use more data.
Click to expand...

Ah! I hadn't considered the possibility of individual apps requesting different URLs depending on the connection type. I stand corrected.
 
I went out for a walk in the snow, and the same video that took 10.7 megs on wifi only took around 2.6-2.8 on 3g. Granted, the quality was way worse but that doesn't bother me at all.

I have a 500mb/month plan, which would give me about 16megs/day, which would with 3meg/video land at 5 vids/day. I certainly will not watch 5 vids/day on 3g, nor will I even use 3g everyday, so this should be plenty for me.
 
MaaacX said:
I went out for a walk in the snow, and the same video that took 10.7 megs on wifi only took around 2.6-2.8 on 3g. Granted, the quality was way worse but that doesn't bother me at all.

I have a 500mb/month plan, which would give me about 16megs/day, which would with 3meg/video land at 5 vids/day. I certainly will not watch 5 vids/day on 3g, nor will I even use 3g everyday, so this should be plenty for me.
Click to expand...

How long was that video?
 
If you are talking about the YouTube app, then yess your data usage is less on 3G because the app scales stuff down.

Safari and normal web pages won't do that though. Nor will normal apps.
 
I have 500 mb of data too. My month ends on the first of Februrary, and I've only used 100mb total. I use my phone a lot as well. Most of it is done on Wifi though. Instant Messaging and random internet browsing is all i really do on 3g.
 
I'm not sure how your usage could be higher off 3G than WiFi. The speed will be different, but the actual amount of data being put through the pipes shouldn't change.
 
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