1. Solutions for metered connections before the Spring Creators Update
To moderate the appetites of the system and third-party software in terms of access to the Internet, in the “Ten” version of the Fall Creators Update inclusive, we can set the connection as metered. When setting up a metered connection, the system goes into traffic saving mode, in which data from OneDrive, Outlook and other Microsoft products is not synchronized, UWP applications are not updated, updates are not downloaded, except for especially important ones, and other communications with the network are disabled.For greater savings, we can disable the background activity of UWP applications that work with the Internet. You can also limit network access to third-party programs in their settings and use data compression modes in browsers.
Of course, these measures will help save traffic, but they will not allow you to take control of it and set a consumption limit. We can limit traffic to a specific amount of data per month only in terms of distributing updates to other computers. But by default, the configured distribution of updates stops when the connection is set as metered. What has changed in the Spring Creators Update?
2. Limiting traffic on Windows 10 Spring Creators Update
From now on, we can set our own Internet traffic consumption limits, and for all system software. The “Ten” has introduced the “Traffic Limit” function, where you can specify a certain amount of data sent and received for a given number of calendar days. But this is not a radical tool with a sharp shutdown of the Internet when the established limit is exceeded. Exceeding it gives the system a green light to turn off the background activity of some system functions and services. We, the users, are provided with information for your information - they say, this way and that, the specified limit has been reached. What we should do next—surf or not, download something or not—only we can decide for ourselves. What does it all look like?
The “Data Usage” subsection as part of the “Network and Internet” section of standard parameters previously served only to obtain statistics on traffic consumption by individual programs. In the April update, it was replenished with settings for this very “Traffic Limit” function.
Here we can choose one or another Internet connection, it doesn’t matter whether it’s wired, wireless, mobile or satellite.Click the “Set limit” button and select the type of limit - monthly, one-time, without restrictions.
For the monthly type, indicate the reference date - the date of activation of the tariff plan. Then we set, in fact, the limit - this or that amount of MB or GB of data. Click “Save”.
For a one-time type, we set the validity period to within 60 days. And also, as in the previous case, we set the limit and save.
After which we will see background information - how many days are left until the end of the specified period, the end date of this period, the amount of data used and the amount remaining until the assigned limit.
As soon as the traffic limit is exceeded, we will see a system notification about this.
OneDrive synchronization will immediately be suspended, and the background activity of a number of system services and the Update Center will stop. For the latter, the connection will be listed as limited with all the ensuing consequences - downloading only critical updates.
We can only download all the updates and synchronize OneDrive content manually.
The "no limit" type of limit simply tracks the traffic used within a 28-day period. It does not provide for setting a limit on the amount of data, and, accordingly, the system does not react to anything. This is information for your information only.
The established limit can be reconfigured at any time or deleted altogether.
The “Traffic Limit” function does not provide for limiting the background activity of UWP applications; this feature is offered to us by a separate setting – “Background data transfer”.
The activity of universal applications is limited both within the established limit and without it. Those.We can cut down access to the Internet to standard Skype, the Mail, Calendar, Groove Music, People, Movies and TV applications and others for any connection, regardless of the restrictions configured for it. Within the limits of the established limit, UWP applications can be limited not immediately, but from the moment when 10% of the established limit amount of data remains.
3. All Windows 10 settings for metered connections
As you can see, the “Traffic Limit” function is essentially the purpose of a connection as a metered connection, only with the ability to delay the activation of this setting. This, of course, is not an ideal tool for controlling expensive traffic, but with our conscious participation it can become quite a good solution for tariffs with per-megabyte payment above the free amount of data established by the provider. What now, after updating to the Spring Creators Update, can “Ten” offer users of metered connections? These are its old and new features:
- Setting the connection as metered - Windows 10 inherited this feature from Windows 8.1, and it is still the primary solution;
- The new features of the April update discussed above are the “Traffic Limit” function and settings for limiting background data transfer;
- Disable background activity of individual UWP applications;
- Disable Timeline activity feed synchronization. By the way, disabling its synchronization is not provided either in the traffic limit mode or when limiting background data transfer;
- Disable automatic updates for UWP apps and live tiles in the Microsoft Store.
4. Effective solutions and radical measures
Disabling data synchronization, limiting the activity of the Update Center and UWP content is all good, but usually we, the users, are the active traffic eaters. Surely most, when analyzing the statistics of data downloaded and uploaded to the Internet, at the top of the list they will find user software - a browser, file downloader, torrent downloader, etc.
Here the operating system, no matter how intelligent it may be, will not help us. With a metered Internet connection, we need to give up the habit of pulling everything from the Internet and look for a browser with a data compression function. Among the browsers that natively support this feature are Opera and Yandex.Browser. There is an extension for Chrome called “Traffic Saver”. In Chrome, Firefox and any browser that supports their extensions, you can install an ad blocker and a content blocker - a radical but effective solution. There is a standard content blocker on board the mega-functional out-of-the-box Vivaldi browser. With content blockers we will be able to work in the most severe survival mode and see the Internet without pictures and animation.
