Help Save WiFi with Low Data Mode!

Every year, we often say two things make CHI succeed: (1) 🧑🏽‍🎓👩🏽‍🎓our amazing Student Volunteers and (2) 🛜 stable WiFi. At the CCIB, accounted for 4 IP addresses per person (some people carry more devices with them!) and are upgrading our WiFi subscription and bandwidth at the center to meet our registration numbers. We wanted to tell everyone how they can help share the load: using Low Data Mode on your devices! This will not downgrade your experience but just turns off or slows down many of the background data intensive stuff your computer(s) and phone(s) do without telling you. Low Data Mode (or Metered Connection or Data Saver) will only be set to the specific WiFi endpoint. Also, this will save your battery throughout the day…so it’s a Win Win! Here are some ways to enable it based on your device:

How to Turn On Low Data Mode

• iOS
• Android
• Mac OS
• Windows (10 & 11)
• Linux
  • GNOME (Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian)
  • KDE
  • Terminal/CLI (Universal)

iOS

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Wi-Fi.
3. Tap the ℹ️ icon next to the connected WiFi network.
4. Toggle Low Data Mode to On.

Android

Android calls Low Data Mode a “Data Saver”.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on Network & Internet.
3. Select Data Saver.
4. Toggle the switch to turn it on.

Mac OS

1. Open System Settings.
2. Navigate to Wi-Fi settings.
3. Select the network you are connected to.
4. Look for the Low Data Mode option and toggle it ON.

Windows (10 & 11)

Windows calls Low Data Mode a “Metered Connection’.

1. Right-click on the Start button and select Settings.
2. Navigate to Network & Internet.
3. Choose Wi-Fi or Ethernet, depending on your connection type.
4. Click on the network you want to set as metered.
5. Toggle Metered connection to On.

Linux

Linux distributions vary greatly; here are some common starting points to turn on a “Metered Connection”

GNOME (Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian)

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Wi-Fi (or Network if using Ethernet).
3. Click the Gear icon next to the network you are currently using.
4. Look for the Metered connection toggle (often under the “Details” or “Identity” tab).
5. Switch it to On.

KDE

1. Click the Networks icon in your system tray (bottom right).
2. Click the Configure network connections icon (the settings sliders).
3. Select your current Wi-Fi network.
4. In the General Configuration tab, find the dropdown for Metered connection.
5. Change it from “Automatic” or “No” to Yes (forced).

Terminal/CLI (Universal)

If you prefer the command line or are using a lighter desktop environment, you can use nmcli (Network Manager CLI):

• Find your connection name: 
  nmcli connection show
• Set it to metered: 
  nmcli connection modify "Your_Connection_Name" connection.metered yes
• Restart the connection: 
  nmcli connection up "Your_Connection_Name"

Photo by yasara hansani on Unsplash.