Save mobile data when viewing NWAN forum with text only view
Nov 4, 2017 17:51:47 GMT 1
digit likes this
Post by radiostationx on Nov 4, 2017 17:51:47 GMT 1
NWAN Member Speke-EZY brought up this very valid point a while ago .
Could he view the nwan forum without photos ?
It was discussed in this thread
derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/20919/photographs-north-west-news-forum
We all like photos, and they are part and parcel of the forum but the data they take up when mobile browsing can be an issue for those members who are on very limited mobile data allowances or if you happen to be in an area which has low mobile data /internet speed.
Sometimes when on the move we would like perhaps to see only alerts or better still a text only view of the forum when connected to 3g or 4g mobile network services.
I found a solution some time ago to this issue so for the benefit of other members and guests, heres a "how to" for android devices.
(For Apple devices and Microsoft Windows Mobile Devices see notes at the end of this write up).
When connected to your home wifi, open google play services app, use the search bar at the top to find "UC Browser".
Download and install the UC Browser app.
The download will take a few mins, when its complete the app will invite you to open it, click "open" or alternatively click on the icon on the home screen which is created automatically by the installer.
UC Browser will run.
Next, find the browser settings by clicking on the UC Browser menu icon at the bottom of the screen.
Then , Select the "Settings" icon ( gear/cog).
In the menu, choose "Text Only" option by moving the slider to the right.
This will block any images in browser when connected to 3g or 4g mobile networks but will allow images when connected to wifi networks. A message appears at the bottom of the screen to confirm this.
In the settings menu, ensure Text Only is selected and in the image quality option, set this to Meduim so that the device will load medium quality images.
This image qulaity facility is active only when the device is connected to a wifi network.The text only browser option set earlier will block images when your device is connected to 3g/4g services only.
Here is how the NWAN forum looks on UC Browser connected to wifi.
A sample of posts on NWAN with photos,
And now with wifi on my device switched off, Its now connected to a 4g mobile network only. (see the notification bar at the top of the screen, no wifi icon, 4g only).
The same sample posts on NWAN
Note the text only comes through, all images are filtered out,even the members individual forum avatars are not shown !
When I monitored the usage, text only with UCB is around 6 times less data usage than before using google chrome browser when connected to a mobile network. Chrome lacks the text only function so UCB is a useful tool when on the go.
Hope this solution helps with conserving your data allowance.
Notes: this browser has news notifications switched on by default, however you can switch these off in the Menu/Settings/Notifications.
There is a version of UC Browser for apple devices available on the app store For IOS platform for the iphone/ipad, this version has text only option in the menu settings.
To round things up, there is a UC Browser version for Microsoft Windows Phone & tablets called UC BrowserHD available on Microsofts "Marketplace" ( windows version of app store/google play store),this version also has a text only menu setting.
Could he view the nwan forum without photos ?
It was discussed in this thread
derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/20919/photographs-north-west-news-forum
We all like photos, and they are part and parcel of the forum but the data they take up when mobile browsing can be an issue for those members who are on very limited mobile data allowances or if you happen to be in an area which has low mobile data /internet speed.
Sometimes when on the move we would like perhaps to see only alerts or better still a text only view of the forum when connected to 3g or 4g mobile network services.
I found a solution some time ago to this issue so for the benefit of other members and guests, heres a "how to" for android devices.
(For Apple devices and Microsoft Windows Mobile Devices see notes at the end of this write up).
When connected to your home wifi, open google play services app, use the search bar at the top to find "UC Browser".
Download and install the UC Browser app.
The download will take a few mins, when its complete the app will invite you to open it, click "open" or alternatively click on the icon on the home screen which is created automatically by the installer.
UC Browser will run.
Next, find the browser settings by clicking on the UC Browser menu icon at the bottom of the screen.
Then , Select the "Settings" icon ( gear/cog).
In the menu, choose "Text Only" option by moving the slider to the right.
This will block any images in browser when connected to 3g or 4g mobile networks but will allow images when connected to wifi networks. A message appears at the bottom of the screen to confirm this.
In the settings menu, ensure Text Only is selected and in the image quality option, set this to Meduim so that the device will load medium quality images.
This image qulaity facility is active only when the device is connected to a wifi network.The text only browser option set earlier will block images when your device is connected to 3g/4g services only.
Here is how the NWAN forum looks on UC Browser connected to wifi.
A sample of posts on NWAN with photos,
And now with wifi on my device switched off, Its now connected to a 4g mobile network only. (see the notification bar at the top of the screen, no wifi icon, 4g only).
The same sample posts on NWAN
Note the text only comes through, all images are filtered out,even the members individual forum avatars are not shown !
When I monitored the usage, text only with UCB is around 6 times less data usage than before using google chrome browser when connected to a mobile network. Chrome lacks the text only function so UCB is a useful tool when on the go.
Hope this solution helps with conserving your data allowance.
Notes: this browser has news notifications switched on by default, however you can switch these off in the Menu/Settings/Notifications.
There is a version of UC Browser for apple devices available on the app store For IOS platform for the iphone/ipad, this version has text only option in the menu settings.
To round things up, there is a UC Browser version for Microsoft Windows Phone & tablets called UC BrowserHD available on Microsofts "Marketplace" ( windows version of app store/google play store),this version also has a text only menu setting.
