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Data roaming 'massive bill' HELP!!!!!

Guys, I don't have nearly the technical knowledge you do, so let me make sure I've got this right. As long as I turn roaming "Off" in network settings I'm safe, no matter what's going on with email, games, etc.

Is this a correct statement?
 
In network settings it says "turn data roaming off when abroad to avoid substantial roaming charges......" so that seem to address your question, but others may comment in better knowledge.

If you don't need the phone to be 'live' all the time while abroad, I'd suggest put it in 'aeroplane mode' when he plays.

just in case the child gets hold of it un noticed switch it off by pressing the top button and holding it in, then slide to accept.

I always have mine password protected to prevent my two grandsons getting at it :).
 
Another thought occurs to me, just based on sheer size of cost, is this a scam?

Like many I get emails purporting to be from big banks, stating 'account suspension' most from banks I've never used, I have had phone calls stating my computers have a serious virus on. Fortunately I'm fairly savvy and junk emails or give the 're'p a real bad time of it.

I would advise make a 'check' call (not email), direct to your providers customer care dept, to ensure legitimacy of the source.

Hope it helps
 
im about to travel to canada from the usa. i did my research first. now that im ready to travel, i know how to handle this.

after several calls to verizon, and a ton of research online. i have found that usa to canada can send text messages and it will come out of your normal texting bucket without any additional charges. however, any emails or data usage at all on the verizon network will result in high data roaming fees. therefore, i have found the solution to be google voice and talkatone. talkatone uses google voice to make calls and send txt messages over wifi. therefore......no data roaming charges.
 
Guys, I don't have nearly the technical knowledge you do, so let me make sure I've got this right. As long as I turn roaming "Off" in network settings I'm safe, no matter what's going on with email, games, etc.

Is this a correct statement?

If it was me I would turn of mobile data completely just to be sure...
 
I have many friends whom have traveled overseas with both iPhones and iPads with 3G in every case I recommend buying local 3 g cards and using wifi where possible. Roaming can cause serious problems as OP found out personally the service provider should have capped it and notified the user.
 
Col.bris said:
I have many friends whom have traveled overseas with both iPhones and iPads with 3G in every case I recommend buying local 3 g cards and using wifi where possible. Roaming can cause serious problems as OP found out personally the service provider should have capped it and notified the user.
Good advice IMHO

I wonder if his account has been hacked like the early days of 'sniffing' or somehow tethered, just can't believe many normal sensible users could ever eat so much data.

To use a foreign sim surely needs the phone to be unlocked, if bought on contract and you are still on it, i wonder how helpful is the airtime provider is going to be.

I know from a friend, and another post they can take 30 days to send the release code for iPhones :( so ask for it early.

The iphone4 has the smaller sim, are these available in most countries on pre pay?

I know i'm turning mine off, resetting usage the counters at the airport, and taking screenshots of when I leave and return!
 
Skull One said:
Interesting. Data Roaming on US based Verizon (CDMA) phones is turned off by default when you purchase one.

Turned off by default on UK too as I've just checked!
 
I agree with crowd pleaser. Seems more like a scam to me than factual. 15,000 dollars I'd data, when most mobile phone / cell phone operators now will actually ring you if you go over a certain GB. I.E if I was to whack up 5,000 dollars/pounds in 5 days the company would ring/text me to alert me of what's happening. As we all know most carriers now only allow a certain amount of mb. I know this is data roaming so that's even more reason you would be alerted (probably by text) like crowd said I'd double check it is your carrier making these costs! And then I'd double check again lol. Good luck!
 
In the UK I think now providers tend to throttle back or suspend service until your advised, this go's for calls to.

There were so many hardship stories hitting the headlines caused especially by new users, blowing way past their spend limit in a new toy frenzy not really knowing the cost.

Such stories are bad news, enlightened providers now realise making a quick buck from customers misery can cost them more in prospective new client confidence, bit like the reluctance of many older people to purchase on the Internet.

In what is a fairly saturated market here, it makes good business sense not to 'rock the boat' when trying to widen an untaped older customer base who stick with landlines

Shocking stories like this one get remembered and retold for a very very long time as tales if caution, a fear if that's very hard to erase.
 
Sadly a common experience for newbies. Four years ago I traveled to US from Canada with my new iPhone and discovered a bill of many hundreds of dollars on my return. Fortunately at the time because all was so new my provider cancelled the charges to me but today I would doubt it because they are still stuck with the bill from other IPs.

Generally by far the best approach is to leave your iPhone 4 on AIRPLANE all the time and rely totally on wifi which is becoming more prevalent everyday anyway. Of course SKYPE is your primary tool for communication.

This spring I went through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia and it was a communications dream. Did video calls from every cheap hotel I was in(they all had wifi) and could have done it atop an elephant in northern Thailand because the eare was live with wifi.
 
Hi All, well I got a copy of the bill today. The total associated with the data is $15,050.22AUD. Details of the transactions appear differently to what I expected listing a number called, provider number, duration and cost. The number called doesn't look like it has any relevance to anything, there is no detail as to the volume of data downloaded only reference to time.

The rate charged is consistent at approx 90 cents per minute. The vast majority of the charges are for the same durations being 41min 50 sec, 1hr23min, 2hr46min and a couple for 5hr33min. In the majority of cases the charges start within minutes indicating multiple downloads at the same time. The explanation from the carrier is that these relate to open apps on the iPhone which continually are seeking data?

I plan to write to the carrier, outline the situation and seek clarity on the content and resolution. Any guidance and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Jez
 
Jeza said:
Hi All, well I got a copy of the bill today. The total associated with the data is $15,050.22AUD. Details of the transactions appear differently to what I expected listing a number called, provider number, duration and cost. The number called doesn't look like it has any relevance to anything, there is no detail as to the volume of data downloaded only reference to time.

The rate charged is consistent at approx 90 cents per minute. The vast majority of the charges are for the same durations being 41min 50 sec, 1hr23min, 2hr46min and a couple for 5hr33min. In the majority of cases the charges start within minutes indicating multiple downloads at the same time. The explanation from the carrier is that these relate to open apps on the iPhone which continually are seeking data?

I plan to write to the carrier, outline the situation and seek clarity on the content and resolution. Any guidance and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Jez

Hi Jez,
Do you remember using your phone for surfing?

I'm not sure if your phone can be cloned as I mentioned earlier, but another scam was if you responded to a text or phoned a number it gave remote access.

Have you checked your phones data usage meter? If you have not reset it may show overall usage lower than their claimed usage.

Several providers face a class act in the states for overcharging data, google 'mobile data scam'.

I think you now also need to consult legal help, as it looks likely the provider is sticking to their guns, and this is serious money.
 
Doing the maths

15000.00 aus$ equates to approximately £10,050 today (using Thomas Cook App).

based on T-Mobile UK data rates for outside EU £7.80 per meg of data

10050 / 7.80 gives a data usage figure of 1.3 gig

Suggest again check your usage meter in settings :)
 
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