If you’re on a prepaid phone plan, there’s one thing that will always be on your mind – data (and if you’re on a postpaid plan, data might still be a concern too). The last thing you want when away from your home WiFi is for your data to run out, or for your credit balance to be depleted.
Needless to say, every telco out there has some way that you can check on your data – and if you’re a Telstra customer, you’ll have several options for keeping on top of your plan usage. Here’s a detailed guide on how to check your prepaid or postpaid balance with Telstra.
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Prepaid offers you might like
The following table shows a selection of sponsored SIM Only plans on Canstar Blue’s database with links to referral partners.
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $17.50) SIM Only Prepaid
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50GB Data/month |
$17.50 Cost/month |
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $17.50) SIM Only Prepaid
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50GB Data/month |
$17.50 Cost/month |
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $20) SIM Only Prepaid
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UnlimitedGB Data/month |
$20.00 Cost/month |
Go to site |
How do I check my Telstra balance?
Checking your Telstra balance is the only way of knowing how much data you’ve used and how much you have left. This is best done directly through Telstra, even though there are third party apps that may facilitate this, because Telstra is going to provide the most accurate and up to date information.
This can be done either through the Telstra App or the Telstra website on either your smartphone, tablet or computer.
My Telstra App
You can check your balance via the My Telstra app, which is available on both Android and iOS platforms.
Web Browser
An alternative option is to sign into My Account using your Telstra ID through a browser on your computer, tablet or smartphone to check your current data usage. Otherwise, you can type m.telstra.com into the search engine on your phone (such as Chrome or Safari) and it will tell you the balance of the SIM in that phone without you having to log in.
Text 176
The last option for checking your Telstra balance on your smartphone is to simply text the word USE to 176 and you will get an SMS back with the amount of data remaining.
Telstra prepaid and postpaid plans
The following table shows a selection of Telstra prepaid SIM-only plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.
The following table shows a selection of Telstra postpaid SIM-only plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.
What can I use the My Telstra app for?
The My Telstra App is the most useful way to check your information, update your billing details, recharge your plan and pay your bill. Here, you can check your billing information and consider any potential add-ons. No matter whether you’re a postpaid or prepaid customer, you can use this app to check your usage. You can download the app on the iOS store or Google Play store.
In short, you can do this with the My Telstra App:
- Check your mobile usage data and plan information
- Display recent payments and payment information
- Recharge your prepaid plan, or pay your postpaid bill
- Purchase plan add-ons
- Turn international roaming on or off
Tips to manage your data usage
If you’re on a prepaid plan, running out of data means that your SIM will no longer be able to access the internet. If you’re on a postpaid plan, it means excess data charges or slowed down service. However, if you manage your data effectively, you may even end up with excess data when your plan expires, which would be able to be rolled into your next recharge thanks to Telstra’s continuous data rollover that allows customers to bank up to 200GB of excess data when they recharge on time.
Here are some things you can do to manage your data usage:
- Set data alerts: Some phone models have a setting that can send you alerts to warn you that you’ve reached a certain amount of data. Otherwise, your provider might send a text or email to let you know if you’re close to using up your data. For example, Telstra notifies customers when they’ve reached 50%, 85% and 100% of their data usage.
- Save high data usage activities for WiFi: Updating and downloading apps use a large amount of data, so it’s best to save them for when you’re connected to WiFi. Other examples of high data usage activities include streaming, gaming and social media scrolling.
- Turn off background data usage: Some apps continue running, even when they’re closed, which means that they continue to chew through your data. While the specific process will vary depending on which phone you have, turning off background data usage or background app refresh should be under the Mobile Data section of your phone settings.
- Download music and shows/movies: Rather than streaming music, tv shows or movies while you’re out and about, it’s a good idea to download your playlists or episodes of your current shows to your phone while you’re connected to WiFi.
While these tips are useful for managing your data usage, if you’re finding that you’re continually running out of data before the end of the expiry period, or it’s very tight, you might consider increasing your data allowance by switching plans.
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