How do you easily tell which network (Wi-Fi versus Cellular) is being used?

You're not really agreeing with me or possibly not understanding what I suggested. It means you should not care what is going on with your phone while driving. If it beeps, rings, belches a notification, or catches fire, you should ignore it until you can safely deal with the distraction. It too me a while to get use to the concept of ignoring the distraction generating monster, but after a few minor near accidents, I decided it was a necessity. Try to imagine how crappy you will feel if you decided to look at your phone just before you rear-ended the car in front of you.

I wonder if Google Assistant will tell you if your phone is charging. Try asking "What's my phone battery level" or use an app like this:

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Also, put your phone into a bag so you're not tempted to look.

Sorry. I forgot that you are into privacy or something. So many apps, so little time.

I try to do the same, but often find that there are no alternatives. I don't mind ads and paying a few dollars. I don't use utility apps enough that the ads become annoying, and the cost is negligible compared to the entertainment and diagnostic value of the app. One of my friends, who writes apps in his spare time, noticed that programmers tend to be the worst payers for shareware. They don't hesitate to buy $1,000+ computers, but balk at paying $5 for an app.

Nope. Jailbreak the OS and you can delete icons and apps. However, the icons that appear in the Google Play store are not on my phone. They come from the Play Store web pile and are generated from a database of apps that I had previously downloaded. Google offers no way to edit that database, and by implication, edit the resulting icons.

A clean desk(top) is a sure sign of a sick mind. My various desktops closely resemble the way a organize myself:

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That's from 2013 and somewhat out of date.

Thanks. I missed that. I have the billing cycle setup, but I don't really need it. I'll delete the widget and see what breaks. Monitoring my traffic would be nice, but there are other programs available that will do a better job and produce more than a single number for traffic.

Free is nice, but the setting doesn't enable/disable FREE roaming, just turns on roaming. I was driving through a mountain area where the only cell service was from tiny cellular operators that are somehow associated with Verizon. Although the roaming indicator was on, there was no indication that I was being charged for the roaming. Verizon and Sprint will roam into each others networks for free, but not the tiny operators that got me.

Sure, but does it tell you when you are being charged for roaming? Probably not.

Sorry about my excessive trimming, but I don't have time to read all the detail much less reply to every point. I tried to hit the highlights and vaporized the rest.

Gone on a service call.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann
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Nice app, but it doesn't address the original problem. What was needed was an app that separately displays traffic on Wi-fi and on cellular. It should also display with network interface is currently active and/or the default. One common problem I run into is having both wi-fi and cellular data active, but in a location where the signal strengths vary and my phone might decide to switch back and forth between them. If I wanted to make a large download, it would be really nice to know which network interface the phone preferred to use. My Data Manager doesn't appear to do any of this.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Actually, I think it sank long ago.

If there are such apps, I haven't seen any that do all that. Got a name, URL, or hint?

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Jeff Liebermann snipped-for-privacy@cruzio.com asked

The only thing I lost by deleting the "Data counter widget" widget was a. The widget itself (it contained updated summary data averages) b. The billing cycle (which now defaults to a calendar month instead) c. The weird rainbow arcs (I still don't know what they were telling me)

Once I solve this for Android, then I attempt to solve it for iOS.

  1. T-Mobile USA doesn't charge for roaming, so, for me, that's moot.
  2. But, for others, I agree that they might be charged for roaming.
  3. And, you are correct, it doesn't tell you if you are being charged.

Since I'm all about efficiency on a phone, I found what to put in the TARGET field of the shortcut to make it a single click to see when I'm roaming. TARGET = com.android.settings.Settings$SimStatusActivity

A shortcut with that TARGET will, in a single tap, go here in Android 11: Settings > About phone > Status information > SIM card status

In that page of other bits of SIM-card information is this one line: Roaming = {Roaming or Not roaming} So I've solved the problem of knowing in a single tap whether I'm roaming.

What would be nice is a custom _sound_ (and resizeable icon) that tells me exactly when I begin & end roaming just like the charge direction app does.

Reply to
Robin Goodfellow
<snip>

I have some that warn you when you're going to do a large download over cellular data.

I haven't been anywhere where, when not moving, the phone switches between Wi-Fi and cellular data.

I thought that on an earlier Android version you could restrict background cellular data on an app by app basis, but I don't see that anymore. And sometimes you want to NOT use Wi-Fi data for certain apps.

Reply to
sms

When I'm on I-8 near the Mexican border my phone sometimes hooks up to a Mexican tower. I know because it warns me with a popup advising that my free roaming doesn't work (even though I'm still in the US)...

Reply to
AJL

sms snipped-for-privacy@geemail.com asked

On my Android 11 phone there is a setting which I hope is also on iOS. Setting > Connections > Data usage > Mobile data usage Setting > Connections > Data usage > Wi-Fi data usage

Each, when pressed, brings up a graph of your data usage over time, broken down into both foreground and background data usage overall for each app.

For each app is the option to allow or disallow background data usage. Allow background data usage = yes or no Allow data usage while Data saver is on = yes or no

In addition, the FOSS NetGuard will, also on a per app basis, restrict access on either wifi or cellular data (or both, as you wish) as shown in this screenshot I created below on my Android 11 phone.

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If you restrict WiFi for example, for any one app, and that app tries to access the Internet, the "log Internet access" option will pop up a message.

You can also block specific apps for roaming access only, if you like. And, you can allow or block specific apps' Internet access in lockdown mode.

You can allow wi-fi access for any given app only when the screen is awake. You can allow cellular data access for any given app when the screen is on.

The app also logs all the IP addresses of the sites any given app accesses.

If this capability exists for iOS please let us know as I love this app!

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Reply to
Robin Goodfellow

Yes, I realize(d) that. I was just giving an alternative for the data management app you were trialling.

It *does* do that, but not in real time, i.e. you'll have to refresh the page if you want to follow any changes. It displays (on/off selectable) usage bars for Mobile, Wi-Fi and Roaming.

I think 'Robin Goodfellow' (a.k.a. 'Arlen Holder', a.k.a. ad infinitum) is just in search for another problem, instead of to a solution for a real need/want.

He - intentionally? - didn't bother to mention which phone this is about, but his Samsung phone has 'Intelligent Wi-Fi' which takes care of these issues (if your willing to enable location service, which he doesn't want to do 'because' of 'privacy'). Also he has one or more apps (I probably can look one up if needed), which can enable Mobile or/and Wi-Fi on a per app basis).

So he does not need to have his 'problem' and you wouldn't have to have yours, if he was actually being constructive, instead of yet again sending people on goose chases.

FWIW, My Samsung (Galaxy A51, Android 10/11) phone lies on the table next to me. If I swipe down from the top, I can confirm that not only is Wi-Fi switched on, but also connected to the correct network (SSID). So I know my phone won't use mobile data, unless I allow it to or tell it to.

Reply to
Frank Slootweg
<snip>

The other thing is that most people don't worry too much about data usage these days. Even most prepaid plans, other than the super-low-cost prepaid plans like

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, include more mobile data than is typically used in a month. If you're downloading or uploading a lot of video, high-resolution photos, or offline maps then it makes sense to use Wi-Fi.

When I see reports on the average amount of mobile data used per person per month (currently about 7GB in the U.S.) what these reports don't state is that that number is so high because so few people bother to even use Wi-Fi when it's available. If you're traveling, using the hotel's Wi-Fi should also include using a VPN, but how many people actually do this?

Reply to
sms

Frank Slootweg snipped-for-privacy@ddress.is.invalid> asked

The problem is universal even if you don't understand what the problem is.

The problem is universal; it doesn't matter _what_ phone a person is using.

That will solve nothing. With all due respect, you clearly don't even understand the problem set.

I already discussed in detail (with screenshots) why NetGuard doesn't do it. Again with all respect, you do not understand the problem set at all, Frank.

The only person who _understood_ the problem was Jeff, Frank. I'm being respectful when I say you don't understand the problem set.

With all due respect, that isn't even close to the problem set, Frank. Please don't waste your time trying to solve what you don't yet understand.

Reply to
Robin Goodfellow

sms snipped-for-privacy@geemail.com asked

The problem set is stated very clearly in the SUBJECT line of this thread. The problem is universal (it's the same problem on an iPhone as on Android).

The problem is universal even if you don't understand what the problem is. It's no different in purpose than highbeam/lowbeam/foglamp indicators Steve.

Why do you think a car has a highbeam indicator on the dashboard, Steve? You may think it's there so you can worry about wearing out the bulb, Steve.

But that's not what the highbeam/lowbeam/foglamp indicator is for, Steve. If that's what you think it is for, then the apps proposed already do that.

They tell you "how long" your phone has been on highbeam/lowbeam/foglamp. *highbeam/lowbeam/foglamp === wi-fi/cellular/roaming*

But we're not asking how long in a month you used each type of headlight. What we're asking here is what your headlights are doing instantaneously.

Until someone understands any problem, they can't propose any solution.

Moving on, I've been working on the problem set a bit more though, and I found something interesting in the Google Play Services Activities... Jeff - Please take a look at this specific sequence (mine is on Android 11): Settings > Apps > Your apps > {pick an app} such as "Google Play Services" When I picked "Google Play Services", somehow (magically?) it listed below the name of the app a series of start-and-stop dates which _exactly_ coincide with my actual monthly T-Mobile billing cycle.

Huh?

How the heck did it get that information? Does yours have your _accurate_ billing cycle information also?

A minor question for you (or for anyone) is related to that billing cycle date which Google Play Services seems to "know" (somehow) magically.

Is your billing cycle correct for your Google Play Services too? Settings > Apps > Your apps > Google Play Services > Mobile data

Reply to
Robin Goodfellow

Too late. In order to totally remove the widget, I had to remove the application, and then reinstall from scratch without activating the widget. That reset the billing cycle start date. Also, I don't have time to do much right now. Locally, we had a 3.5 hr power failure today. Too many other problem, such as I tried to pay for the pro version ($5), but Google would not accept my password or fingerprint for authentication. No reason given. I checked the password and fingerprint(s) in other apps, and they work. Not sure what happened, but I might have broken something with my install, uninstall, reinstall ceremony. Meanwhile, instead of beating this app to death and trying to reverse engineer where it obtains it's information, I might spend some time trying to find an alternative. It's a useful program, but I don't want to spend the time figuring out how to make it work or what it's doing in the background.

Good luck.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Jeff Liebermann snipped-for-privacy@cruzio.com asked

No problem. But what I'm talking about has _nothing_ to do with the app. The billing cycle is (apparently) native on Android. The test I asked is completely independent of any app you've set up. It's only dependent on Google Play Services being installed (Android 6+).

I've been looking myself for an app that tells me instantaneously what the phone is doing with data on Wi-Fi & Cellular and have tested a few more.

None yet do what is universally needed, which is show unequivocally how much traffic is going over the cellular & wifi and by which apps at any instant.

While "Data counter widget" is a keeper...

I think you misunderstood the request, as my request has _nothing_ to do with _any_ app.

It seems the Android OS natively knows my billing cycle (at least Google Play Services on my phone seems to know it).

No big deal though, as I can check other people's phones. Settings > Apps > Your apps > Google Play Services > Mobile data

Reply to
Robin Goodfellow

Robin Goodfellow snipped-for-privacy@Heaven.Net asked

I forgot to mention the app I was testing when I replied a moment ago.

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Dunno if it does what we want, but it's a widget that is configurable to show Wi-Fi and Cellular Data information, so I'm testing it as we speak.

Reply to
Robin Goodfellow

AJL snipped-for-privacy@none.com asked

Thanks for letting me know that you get an obvious popup when your phone wants to connect to a roaming tower near the border between the US & Mexico.

I have two single-press methods that can tell me if I'm roaming:

  1. Jeff showed me that Cellular-Z freeware will report roaming connections
  2. I created a single-click shortcut to the about-phone roaming Settings

I noticed these NG options as I was looking for roaming realtime indicators.

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We can turn off roaming on a per-app basis using the NetGuard free firewall. NetGuard:Settings > Network options > Ignore national roaming = {on/off} "Do not apply roaming rules when the SIM and mobile network country are the same." NetGuard:Settings > Network options > Ignore EU roaming = {on/off} "Do not apply roaming rules when the SIM and mobile network country are within the EU (i.e., roam like at home)."

Those who pay for roaming can set the roaming per app off, by default. NetGuard:Settings > Defaults (white/blacklist) > Block roaming = {on/off}

Back to the original quest, I'm still trying to solve this problem where I almost never fail, on Android, to do whatever it is that I want to do.

Only after I have Android working, do I even bother trying it on iOS.

Reply to
Robin Goodfellow

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