In my android phone (Samsung S6 6.0.1), there is no real impact for the Settings->DataUsage->RestrictNetworks option. To me the emails or app updates are always downloaded irrespective of the wifi nw being marked as "restricted" or not. Is this expected? What is really the use of this "RestrictedNetworks" option?
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follow up question... Without enabling "restrict bg data" global setting in the phone, can i restrict data usage only for those hotspot wifi n/ws which are set as "restricted" or "metered" in the DataUsage->RestrictNetworks list? (bcos I have an unlimited T-mobile data plan, hence no restriction on bg data when connected to my mobile nw. But in those places were my mobile n/w is weak and when connected to hotspot wifi n/ws I want to have the restricted data usage) – ramkris Jun 19 '16 at 20:51
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That should be asked separately as a question, linking this question as reference if needed. This site works well with single Q and A format. – beeshyams Jun 20 '16 at 14:09
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Thanks. I am going start a new thread closing this one as answered. – ramkris Jun 20 '16 at 15:01
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On Moto X Play (6.0.1), Data usage →WiFi → Network Restrictions displays this self explanatory note - I assume this should be the case with your device also, even if not explicitly mentioned
From Google Support
If you use Wi-Fi, you can set your device to restrict data usage on Wi-Fi networks that are mobile hotspots. This will help you optimize your data usage by preventing apps from using background data or large downloads on these networks.
Edit: To clarify reference made to data network in Moto definition, this helps - From 8 ways to tame your data-hogging Android phone
Once you designate a hotspot's Wi-Fi signal as a "metered" connection, your Android device will obey the rules of the cellular-data road whenever it's connected to that particular connection—meaning, for example, Android won't exceed any mobile-data limits you've set, or allow your apps to use background data if you've restricted it.
Verified by setting 50 MB limit on mobile data, setting my WiFi as metered and trying to download a 600 MB ROM. I got a warning on my notification bar as shown below
beeshyams
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Thanks. Let me try enabling "restrict bg data" and "restrict network" together and see if that makes any difference. – ramkris Jun 19 '16 at 17:07
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What I observe is having "restrict bg data" disabled always, i dont see any difference with toggling restrict network (metered network) on or off. I see all downloads/emails completely downloaded irrespective of the restrict network setting when the "restrict bg data" is disabled. – ramkris Jun 20 '16 at 14:01
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exactly my point i made in the previous comment- unless you try with a large download , you may not see any warning or restriction – beeshyams Jun 20 '16 at 14:07
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Google explanation doesn't ask you restrict background data- it is Moto explanation which gives that impression on first reading but if you read again, it is using mobile networks as an example only – beeshyams Jun 20 '16 at 14:11
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yeah, i tried downloading >1mb files in email attachments & also sent photos in email and all of them always downloaded fully irrespective of restrict nw settings (in all these cases i had my email client setting as download all attachments/email when connected to wifi) – ramkris Jun 20 '16 at 14:32
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"Google explanation doesn't ask you restrict background data- it is Moto explanation which gives that impression on first reading but if you read again, it is using mobile networks as an example only –" Though samsung doesnt explicitly talk about the restrict bg data as mentioned in moto wrt restrict/metered networks, i believe what moto says so is the real implementation even in samsung... just my thoughts – ramkris Jun 20 '16 at 14:35
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"1 Mb is not large- try downloading a movie video (of course, you can disconnect if there is no warning) –" Well, i had 3 emails.
- attachment greater than 1MB
- email with photos greater than 5MB
- email with long text body greater than 2MB
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Being chatty on comments is not appreciated on this site, so I am not going to respond any more- if you have any valid data to share, you can please to that under your question as a comment – beeshyams Jun 20 '16 at 14:37
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Though I agree with your answer (which looks logical to me), at least in the samsung s6 galaxy that I have the data usage (as per the settings->DataUsage tab) increases only for the wifi nw (& not for mobile) even when connected to a wifi nw set as metered/restricted. Because of this, I am not seeing the warning when I download huge files. I believe from your test that it may work differently in moto & in samsung. PS: I have "restrict bg data" disabled & mobile data disabled for my test. – ramkris Jun 21 '16 at 16:23
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Then it is a specific Samsung implementation I suppose and I can't comment on it. Moto X claims to be "pure Android" and the solution hence mentions Google explanation (which doesn't call for restricting background data) and validated. Other sources mentioned also don't mention this. If the solution meets your expectations, you can mark it as "accepted" by clicking the green arrow- it is entirely OP discretion – beeshyams Jun 21 '16 at 16:33
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beeshyams' answer seems more correct. But on a test with samsung galaxy s6, the "restrict networks" setting has no impact at all though i have applied a mobile data limit in "settings->data usage". Looks to me different behavior in different devices. I am currently talking to Samsung support on this. Will update if I get an answer.
UPDATE: Talked to samsung support. They accessed my phone remotely and they were not able to validate my use case. They also said, they have not received any complaints from users regarding this feature. They recommended taking this phone to samsung service center to check with technician. I don't think I will be the first person testing this feature on samsung s6????? Anyone knows more info about this feature on samsung, please share.
ramkris
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