A common worry before a big day out: will tracking burn through my data or battery? Here's the honest answer for a ride or a run.
Data: tracking is light
- The biggest one-off download is an event's route and map, which happens when you register or first open the event. Do that on Wi-Fi beforehand and it's cached for the day. A Just Ride has no such download.
- While you're out, the app sends your position as small updates — light on data.
- With no signal, tracking uses no data at all. Your points are saved on the phone and uploaded later when you reconnect. See What happens when I lose signal?.
So beyond that first route download, a typical activity uses very little data.
Watching uses more than being tracked
If you're watching other people live — rather than being tracked yourself — that streams a live map and updates continuously, so it uses more data, much like any live-map app. On the move, prefer Wi-Fi for long watching sessions.
Battery: honest about the cost
Tracking uses your phone's GPS for the whole activity, and GPS is a real drain — there's no way around that on a phone. What you can control is the recording rate: pick a battery mode to match how long you'll be out, and let the app drop to a more economical mode as your battery falls. For a rough forecast of how long each mode lasts, and tips to stretch it further, see aster-track.com/battery-use and Tips for a reliable track.
What works with no signal
Almost everything you need on the day:
- Starting and finishing an activity
- Recording your full route
- Pausing and resuming
- Your cached offline map and route
- Crash detection and raising an Alert
Only signing up, your first event download, and live updates reaching watchers need a connection. Everything inside your activity is kept on the phone and syncs when you're back in range.