If you are on a network with limited data, you can set up a network usage limit in Windows 11 to ensure you won’t go overboard. For example, in most countries, mobile data is very limited. If you use a hotspot to connect to the internet on your laptop or desktop, setting up the network usage limit helps you be within the data cap limit and avoid excessive data charges.
The good thing is that you can configure the data limit for any network directly from the Data Usage page in the Settings app. It just takes a couple of clicks to set up and you don’t even have to enable the metered connection setting. Once the limit is set up, Windows 11 warns you when you are close to it.
In this quick and easy article, let me show the steps to configure the network data usage limit in Windows 11. Let’s get started.
Before You Start
- Ensure you are connected to the network for which you want to enable the network data usage limit.
Set Up Network Usage Limit in Windows 11
- Open the Settings app by pressing “Windows key + I”.
- Go to the “Network & Internet” tab on the sidebar.
- Click on “Advanced Network Settings“.
- Click the “Data Usage” option.
- At the top, click the “Enter Limit” button.
- Set up the limit type, reset frequency, and data limit in MBs or GBs.
- Click the “Save” button.
- With that, you set up the network data usage limit in Windows 11.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First thing, press the “Windows key + I” to open the Settings window. Once it opens, go to the “Network & Internet” tab on the sidebar and then click the “Advanced Network Settings” option on the right page.
In the advanced settings page, click the “Data Usage” option.
This page shows the data usage of your PC. At the top, ensure that your network is selected in the top dropdown menu, and then click the “Enter Limit” button.
Now, configure the following options and click the “Save” button.
- Limit type: Monthly, Weekly, Daily, or One time. In my case, I’m selecting the “Daily” option as I want to limit my daily usage.
- Reset type: Select the time when the limit resets. Generally, you can leave the default “00” option. This means the limit resets every midnight.
- Data limit: Enter the data limit you want to apply in MB or GB format. For example, I want to limit my data usage to 1 GB per day. So, I entered “1” in the Data Limit field and selected “GB” from the “Unit” dropdown menu.
The above action saves the network data limit configuration. From now on, Windows will closely keep track of the network usage and even show the amount of data you’ve used and the remaining data according to the limit you set. For instance, of the 1 GB limit I set, I’ve used up 74%.
Once you reach or exceed the limit, Windows 11 shows a notification that “you’ve reached your Wi-Fi data limit“.
In addition to the notification, you will also see a banner notification on the Data Usage page of the Settings app.
Keep in mind that even if you reach the limit, Windows will not stop you from using the internet. It’s just there to inform you of the limit you set.
If you want to remove the network usage limit, simply, click the “Remove Limit” button in the Data Usage page and then click the “Remove” button in the confirmation dialog.
Wrapping Up — Configure Network Data Usage Limit in Windows 11
As you can see, thanks to the built-in options, setting up the data usage limit in Windows 11 is quite easy. One thing to keep in mind is that when configuring the network usage limit, Windows only counts your internet usage towards the usage limit and not the local network transfers (such as file sharing within the same network). Also, as I said before, it is not a hard limit. i.e., Windows 11 will not stop you from using the internet once the limit is reached, it just notifies you that you’ve reached the limit so that you can take appropriate steps.
Also, just as you can limit the overall network usage, you can also limit how much of your network bandwidth Windows Update uses. Setting up this limit frees up your network resources for other applications and services.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
