Setting up data limits is the best way to make sure your devices don't exceed a certain data threshold. Upon reaching the limit, your SIM will no longer have access to data until the billing cycle renews or the data limit is modified.
A data usage limit defines the total amount of data the device can consume during a billing period. You can set a data usage limit in in kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes. When a SIM reaches the limit you set, its data usage is paused. The organization's owner will also get an email notifying them of the pause.
When are data usage limits useful?
- To prevent data overages on Pay Monthly data plans that include a set amount of prepaid data.
- To limit unexpected data usage when testing.
- To prevent runaway data usage in devices that stream large amounts of data.
- To prevent unexpected SIM data usage in devices that run the risk of theft.
- To maintain budgets by preventing any overage data.
- To limit your customers’ access to overage data.
Note: Data usage limits come into effect after the data session in which the limit is reached ends. There is a chance that your device consumes more data than allowed via the Data usage limit feature.
How do data usage limits pause a SIM’s data usage?
Data usage limits are set per SIM, and come into effect after the data session in which the limit is reached ends. Once a limit is reached after the session closes, we issue a pause command to our carrier partners to pause data usage for the SIM.
There is a chance that your device consumes more data than allowed even when a data usage limit is set, as we are unable to force close an open session. This can be an issue with carriers that report sessions to us as reporting windows.
Data usage limits are tracked against each SIM’s individual 30-day billing period. Organizations that receive monthly invoices may see SIMs pause even when the total data usage displayed for a SIM does not match the data limit. Your data usage is displayed and billed monthly, but A SIM may reach a data limit within its 30 day billing period.
How to set data usage limits
You can set data usage limits for your SIMs during activation, when changing data plans, on the SIM’s details page, in the SIMs page, or using our REST API.
Important: Data usage limits set on Pay Monthly data that include prepaid data are set above the included data amount. A data plan with 2 GB of included data can only have a data limit set above 2 GB. In the REST API, at limit of 2 GB on a 2 GB plan is represented as 0 overage, not 2000000000 bytes.
Setting up data usage limits for a single SIM
You can set data usage limits for a SIM on the SIM's details page
- Find a SIM using the global search or in the SIMs pages and open it to view the SIM's details page.
- The current data limit for a SIM can be found in the page header, and listed in the Pricing tab. Data limits do not show in the header for organizations that are billed monthly.
- Open the Manage SIM menu in the top right corner of the page, and select Set data usage limit.
- Select the option for how you would like the data limit to apply.
- Unlimited: No data limit. A device can use as much data as it needs.
- No additional usage: The SIM will automatically be paused when data use exceeds the allotted plan amount. This option does not apply to Pay as you Go data plans that allow for unlimited data usage.
- Custom amount: Set a data usage limit in kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes, after which the SIM will be automatically paused.
Setting up data limits for multiple SIMs
You can apply data usage limits to up to 10 devices at a time from the SIMs pages.
Note: Setting data usage limits on multiple SIMs will replace all existing data limits for those SIMs.
- From the SIMs section in your dashboard, select which SIMs to apply the limit to by checking the box beside their name.
- Open the Manage SIMs menu and select Set data usage limits.
- Choose your preferred option and hit the Update button. If you select Custom amount you will be prompted to enter your desired data usage limit in kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes.
Setting up data limits in activation or when changing data plans
Note: Existing data usage limits are reset when changing SIMs' data plans.
- After choosing a coverage area and selecting a data plan, you will be prompted to set a data usage limit for the selected SIMs.
- Choose an option using the Set a data usage limit dropdown in the Data usage limits card.