How to Limit Windows 8 Live Tiles Data Usage

Windows 8 tiles display in the all-new Windows 8 Start Screen is something we have not witnessed in the former version of Windows. Some of these tiles like the Mail app and the Photos app have the ability to connect to the internet and update themselves with set of new data automatically in the background and display them as a live preview.

Although these tiles take a minimum amount of connection bandwidth, what if you are on a limited data plan? Say 3G, for example, on your Windows 8 tablet. In such scenarios it’s always better to limit data usage of these tiles to draw a line.

Limiting Data Usage by Windows Tiles

1. Open Windows 8 Network Connection Panel by clicking the network icon from the system tray. Here right click on the connection you are connected to and turn on Metered Connection Mode. This mode makes sure that you can limit the connection you are connected to.

2. Having done that, open Windows 8 Start Screen and open the Charm Bar. You can open the charm bar by moving your mouse pointer to the top-right corner of the screen, but I prefer using the Windows+C shortcut key. Click on the Settings button on the charm bar to open the Metro Start Screen settings panel.

3. In the Settings option select Tiles.

4. In Tile settings you can limit the data usage of the tiles. By default, it’s set to 50 MB and that’s the bare minimum. You can however increase it using the drop-down list. After the limit’s been reached you will be notified that new content is available, but the tiles will not update. In the meantime, if you connect using any non-metered connections, the tiles will update automatically.

Conclusion

These live tiles look amazing on Windows 8 Start Screen and the way they automatically update in the background and show the latest updates in the tiles are their USP. Therefore, if at all you are not on a limited bandwidth connection, it’s always recommended to turn off the data limit on these tiles.

Via: LostInTechnology