How Do Phones Know When to Switch Between Wi-Fi and Mobile Data?

Phones switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data like a kid switching between two favorite toys. When your phone is near a strong Wi-Fi signal, it uses that instead of mobile data because it's faster and cheaper. If the Wi-Fi gets weak, maybe you walk out of the house, your phone notices and switches to mobile data automatically so you can still stream or message without interruption.

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Examples

  1. Your phone switches to mobile data when you walk out of your house, so your music doesn’t pause.
  2. If the Wi-Fi connection is too slow, your phone might switch to mobile data during a video call for better quality.
  3. Your phone automatically uses Wi-Fi at home but switches back to mobile data while you're driving.

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