How to Use Cellular Data for Automatic App Downloads on Your iPhone

By Leanne Hays Wed, 01/03/2018

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Do you have an unlimited data plan? If not, you’ll want to pay close attention to today’s tip. One of the many convenient features Apple offers is the ability to share downloads across devices, as long as you use the same Apple ID for each one. This means you can purchase an iBook on your iPad, and read it on your iPhone as well. While that’s very exciting, the data overages you can incur if your iPhone automatically downloads that content without a Wi-Fi connection could be… less thrilling. So here’s how to find out if your iPhone is set to automatically download new purchases made on other devices, and if it uses your cellular data to do so!

How to Use Cellular Data for Automatic App Downloads on Your iPhone

Go to Settings and click on iTunes & App Stores.
Halfway down the page you’ll find the Use Cellular Data switch.

Toggle on to use your data for downloads, or off to save your data and wait until you’re connected to Wi-Fi.

Now that you know how to change Automatic App Download settings, you can decide what you prefer based on your data plan and Wi-Fi availability.

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Topics

How-To

iPhone

Cellular Service & Data

Wi-Fi

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Author Details

Leanne Hays

Leanne Hays is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life, and has written hundreds of in-depth how-to and troubleshooting articles. She's a former Associate Editor for iPhone Life magazine, and has written for the Iowa Source, as well as web content for education marketing. Leanne has an associate's degree in education, with a focus on curriculum development, as well as a bachelor's degree in science. She has over nine years of experience with SEO, social media management, and web development and writing. Despite years of web work, Leanne is by no means an early adapter; she's only owned a smartphone for five years, which makes her highly sympathetic to the learning curve of new iPhone owners. She enjoys making reader's lives easier and putting her education experience to work by walking them through the most practical ways to use Apple devices, step-by-step.

In off-work hours, Leanne is a mother of two, homesteader, audiobook fanatic, musician, and learning enthusiast.

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