Do Bluetooth Earbuds Use Data?

Does Bluetooth use data when listening to music? Read on to learn more about what happens when we listen to our favorite tunes!

Woman listening to music on AirPod Pros

You’ve been using your earbuds a lot recently, and you noticed that your internet data is gone. You have never wasted all your data, so this confused you. Upon considering how the data is gone, you may be wondering: Do Bluetooth earbuds use data?

No, Bluetooth earbuds don’t use data. All that is needed for Bluetooth earbuds to work is a Bluetooth connection with a device. Listening to music or watching movies online wastes data. How much data you’re using has nothing to do with the earbuds.

I understand why you are asking this question. Data usage can be suspicious sometimes. Let’s clear some things up.

How Bluetooth Earbuds Work

The best way to assure you that earbuds don’t use data is to explain how they work. I’m sure most of you know this, it’s quite intuitive. Nonetheless, it’s something we have to go over if we want to proceed.

Bluetooth earbuds have a wireless connection not supported by the internet. The earbuds are connected to a device that supports Bluetooth. You can use Bluetooth on your smartphone or laptop without having an internet connection.

Test it out, without turning on the internet, and play something on the storage device. As you will see, the earbuds will still output audio while you are offline.

In case you’re wondering, Bluetooth does not use data. Bluetooth works by radio waves in short ranges. So, Bluetooth can’t connect to some internet servers. Bluetooth connects two devices in close proximity that both support Bluetooth. You’re connecting two devices via radiofrequency connection, not a device with an internet server.

Earbud switched on

Sound Output Device

So, Bluetooth earbuds are just a sound output device. You feed it with something to be played, the earbuds will play it. Earbuds will play stuff you have on your storage and stuff you find online. What does this tell us?

Well, it means that what you play wastes data, not the earbuds. As we said; songs and movies which you have on your device’s storage don’t waste data. You’re using data only when you’re playing something online. For example, listening to music on Spotify or YouTube, and watching movies on Netflix. In these situations, you will waste data even if your earbuds are not connected.

In conclusion, Bluetooth earbuds are just like other sound output devices. You’re not wondering whether your PC’s speakers or smartphone’s speakers are wasting data, why would you about earbuds?

It doesn’t matter what device you’re using for listening to music, it matters where the music is located. If what you’re listening to is found online, you are wasting data. If it’s on your device’s storage, you’re not using any data.

Related article – What Specs On Earbuds Actually Tell You How Loud They Are

Woman listening to music and having a coffee

What Uses Data The Most?

Since you’re having problems with data usage, I think it’s nice to give you an overview of what wastes data the most. We’re limiting ourselves to apps you use most with Bluetooth earbuds. I don’t think anyone uses earbuds just for Instagram or Facebook.

I guess you’re concerned about cellular data and not your Wi-Fi at home. Nowadays almost everyone has unlimited data in his home, it’s cellular data that is limited. Also, most people use their earbuds with their smartphones so that’s that too.

Related article – How Long Do Bluetooth Headphones Last?

YouTube Data Usage

I don’t know about a person who doesn’t use YouTube. We fall asleep with it, we cook with it, we study with it. YouTube uses a lot of data, especially if you’re watching for a long time. So, how much data does YouTube use?

It depends on the video quality. A video with 480p uses 260MB in an hour. Watching a video on High Definition quality can use as much as 1.60GB in an hour. The higher the video quality, the more data is being used.

YouTube also has that autoplay button which is not always great. If you forget to stop the next video, it will keep playing and playing. Perhaps that’s how most of you lost your data.

Spotify Data Usage

Spotify Data Usage

Spotify is a great platform to find your favorite albums. It’s easy to get lost in Spotify while you’re using your earbuds. Most listen to Spotify when they are walking, studying, or exercising. So, you listen to music for at least an hour. That has to waste data right?

The basic 2-3 minute song on Spotify uses 2-3MB of data. That amounts to 40MB of data for an hour of listening to music. Spotify doesn’t use that much data. Again, the data usage depends on the sound quality. Songs with high-quality sound use more data.

I wouldn’t worry about Spotify using data if I were you. After all, with the premium plan, you can listen to music offline.

Netflix Data Usage

Netflix has expanded quite a lot if you’re asking me. More and more, Netflix is being used on smartphones. Whether you’re traveling, chilling, or trying to fall asleep, you’re watching Spotify on your cellular data. So, how much data does Netflix use?

For an hour of watching Netflix, you use around 1.1GB. The video quality affects data usage but you can’t change the quality on Netflix. The video quality is set to 480p on cellular data.

Some providers give you the option to not waste data while watching Netflix. If you have that option, by all means, use it.

Now that we’re done with this, let’s give you some tips on how to minimize data usage.

How To Keep Celular Data Usage To A Minimum

Even though some apps can use a lot of data, there are ways to limit how much data is used. If you put in a little bit of effort, you won’t have to deal with this problem again. Just follow these steps.

  1. Limit data usage on your smartphone.
    Limit data usage on your smartphone.Every smartphone has an option that enables you to monitor data usage. You can set the limit at a certain MB or GB. When that limit is reached, you will be notified. It doesn’t keep data usage to a minimum but you are aware of how much data you’re using.
  2. Lower the sound quality or video quality.
    We’ve already said that the higher the quality the more data is being used. So, if you have the option to control the sound or video quality, do it. I’m sure you won’t mind the low quality if your data is being saved.
  3. Disable auto-play.
    Certain apps like YouTube or Netflix play upcoming videos on their own. So, if you forget that you were watching and don’t close the app, videos will keep playing. No matter the quality, data is being wasted. More so, you’re not watching anything but wasting data.
  4. Download albums or movies on your smartphone.
    If you have the storage, while at home, you can download stuff that you want to listen to. Use your home internet for this. Download your favorite stuff so you’ll have it on the phone’s storage. This way you don’t have to go online.
  5. Invest in an SD card.
    I know that you have limited storage on your phone so downloading can be tricky. However, your data is limited too. SD cards enable you to increase your phone’s storage. They are quite cheap too.

That’s all for this post my friends. We’ve concluded that Bluetooth earbuds don’t use that. We’ve gone over data usage control too. I hope this answered your questions!

Interesting read – Do Earbuds Degrade Over Time?