Stay on top of your prepaid data usage so you don’t run out of data or pay extra.
The best way to track your prepaid balance on the Telstra network is through the Telstra app. You can also use built-in apps in your device settings or third-party apps, but Telstra will give you a more accurate picture.
Here’s how to check your prepaid balance on the Telstra network using your smartphone or computer:
- Smartphone
Download the My Telstra App and open it > tap the Services tab > select Pre-paid > your prepaid balance is displayed under Service summary. If you want to see your usage history to get a better idea of how much data you usually use, tap your balance for more details. - Desktop
Use your Telstra ID to log in to My Telstra online > Select the prepaid service you’re interested in > View the balance and click Balance remaining for more details. If you want to check your usage history, select Usage to see your last 30-day history, or download to see your last 5-month history.
Check your balance regularly if you’re on a prepaid plan
Telstra prepaid SIM plans offer short, normal, and long expiry options. You’ll find prepaid plans that last for just 7 days before you have to recharge, as well as others that last for 28 days, 6 months, and even a year.
But while postpaid plans are paid for after you’ve used their inclusions, prepaid plans have to be paid for before you can use them. This could be seen as an advantage or disadvantage depending on how you look at it.
The advantage is that you can avoid overage charges – that is, if you use up all your allowances in a prepaid plan, then they simply stop working until you purchase more. Many postpaid plans, on the other hand, would continue to work, which would result in overage charges when you receive your bill.
Because your prepaid plan stops working when you exhaust your inclusions, it is wise to keep track of your balance. All Telstra prepaid SIM plans include unlimited national calls and texts, so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of those. However, they come with limited data allowances which can easily run out and leave you stranded.
In our experience, there are plenty of plans out there that rival Telstra for more data at lower prices. You can start comparing now and easily switch when your plan expires.
What kind of plan do you want? Compare now:
How to manage your data usage
If you exhaust your plan data, your Telstra SIM will no longer be able to access the Internet. That means, all your data intensive apps will stop working, including social media and streaming apps.
But if you manage your data usage, you might even have some data left over when your plan expires. And thankfully, Telstra have a continuous data rollover feature that allows you to continue using up to 200GB of unused data when you recharge on time.
To enjoy this feature, we’ll give you some tips on how to manage your data usage:
- Set a data limit
Your phone can send you an alert when you’ve used up a certain amount of data. For Android users, go to Settings > Connections > Data usage > Billing cycle and data warning. iPhones users can also control usage with different options. - Use Wifi
You don’t have to use your Telstra prepaid SIM data all the time. If you have a broadband plan or other WiFi networks available, take advantage of them to save your mobile data. Telstra customers have free access to Telstra Air, which is a free WiFi network with over 1 million hotspots throughout Australia. Using Telstra Air wherever its available can keep your SIM data usage to a minimum. - Turn off background data usage for hungry apps
A lot of apps continue running in the background even after you close them, which means they continue using your plan data. To avoid this on an Android phone, go to Settings > Connections > Data Usage > Mobile Data Usage > toggle off Allow background data usage on any app you wish. iPhone users can go to Settings > Mobile Service > Mobile Data Options > Low Data Mode.