# Cellular Data Usage

**URL:** <https://community.particle.io/t/cellular-data-usage/64771>\
**Category:** Connectivity\
**Created:** [June 19, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/cellular-data-usage/64771 "2023-06-19T19:59:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![oraclerouter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/oraclerouter/32/30494_2.png) [@oraclerouter](https://community.particle.io/u/oraclerouter)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/cellular-data-usage/64771/1 "2023-06-19T19:59:43Z")

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Hey everyone,

Quick question. Does having this in the code use up cellular data?

CellularSignal sig = Cellular.RSSI();  
strength = sig.getStrength();  
quality = sig.getQuality();

I'm trying to get to the bottom of an issue. I have 3 devices that are using over \>1 MB of data daily while the remaining device using the same .bin file are using \< 0.2 MB daily. As a troubleshooting step I updated the three devices to OS 4.1.0 today to see if the data usage comes down over the next few days. It would be great to have more insight into the data usage info in the console.

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**Author:** ![rickkas7](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rickkas7/32/8681_2.png) [@rickkas7](https://community.particle.io/u/rickkas7)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 3:23pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/cellular-data-usage/64771/2 "2023-06-20T15:23:00Z")

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The RSSI function does not use any cellular data or data operations.

Note, however, that it can block for a long period of time, so keep that in mind if running out of the main application loop thread.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![oraclerouter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/oraclerouter/32/30494_2.png) [@oraclerouter](https://community.particle.io/u/oraclerouter)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/cellular-data-usage/64771/3 "2023-06-21T15:40:59Z")

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Thanks @rickkas7, yes I am running it out of the main thread.

After upgrading to 4.1.0 it looks like data usage on those devices is similar to the rest of the fleet. Its only been around 48 hours but things are looking much better.

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**Author:** ![sensorcheck](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/sensorcheck/32/20257_2.png) [@sensorcheck](https://community.particle.io/u/sensorcheck)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/cellular-data-usage/64771/4 "2023-06-21T20:30:05Z")

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Would upgrading from 4.0.2 to 4.1.0 be expected to lower data usage?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![oraclerouter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/oraclerouter/32/30494_2.png) [@oraclerouter](https://community.particle.io/u/oraclerouter)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/cellular-data-usage/64771/5 "2023-06-21T20:55:14Z")

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I'll defer to the Particle team on that. My code did not change only the Particle OS version changed and I did notice the data usage drop thus far.

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**Author:** ![sensorcheck](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/sensorcheck/32/20257_2.png) [@sensorcheck](https://community.particle.io/u/sensorcheck)\
**Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/cellular-data-usage/64771/6 "2023-06-22T00:24:12Z")

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We have had great success from changes to Particle.keepAlive (see [Looking for text compression for published data - #9 by rickkas7](https://community.particle.io/t/looking-for-text-compression-for-published-data/64586/9)), but kept the OS at 4.0.2. Three of our devices are still "off the charts" compared to the rest. Will try 4.1.0.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/3X/3/2/3291e3c9351789fe8620ae5bcec8d3fec67ff221.png) [@system](https://community.particle.io/u/system)\
**Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 12:24pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/cellular-data-usage/64771/7 "2023-12-21T12:24:38Z")

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Closed on December 21, 2023, 12:24pm UTC

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