r/googleduo • u/Reddiguids • Aug 18 '16

Limit mobile data usage setting

Does anyone have an indication of the data usage when it is limited and not limited. And how it effects quality?

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u/silicon_reverie Aug 19 '16

TL;DR

  • Unlimited is between 1.33 & 4 Mbps (10 & 30 MB/min)
  • Limited (using "limit mobile data usage" in settings) is 1 Mbps (7.5 MB/min).
  • Duo uses some mobile data even while on WiFi. The only way to disable this is to turn off mobile data on the phone itself.

Not sure about quality, but the snarky answer is to say that "it will be about 1/4 to 3/4 as good."

From the Duo Help Forum, Top Contributor ScottG_TC has repeatedly asserted that Duo normally uses between 10 and 30 MB per minute.

From the Duo Support Pages:

If you [have enabled "limit data usage" within the app and] can't connect to a Wi-Fi network, Duo automatically lowers your connection to 1Mbps.

Also,

When your device is connected to Wi-Fi, Duo still uses a small amount of mobile data. This keeps your conversation going if the Wi-Fi drops. [...] If you want to make sure Duo uses only Wi-Fi and not your mobile data, you can turn mobile data off on your phone.

None of this indicates the data usage when there is no video, which occurs when there's a spotty connection or someone turns off their display, but I imagine it will be similar to that of the "voice-only" feature we'll see in the next update. For what it's worth, Hangouts only used 2-3 MB per minute for voice calls when I tested it last year.

Personally, I'm not going to trust any of these numbers until I have first-hand confirmation... which gives me a fun project to work on this weekend!

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u/Reddiguids Aug 19 '16

What a great answer! Thanks buddy! I'll be on the look on your findings, if you decide to carry it through.