iPhone on Speakeasy

Hrududu

So I'm on pay as you go with my iPhone. I've turned stuff like Location Services, Push etc off. So as far as I know it's not connecting to the internet unless I specifically select an App that does so. And I've been keeping an eye on my balance just in case.

This morning I was down 40 cent. I know I havent made a call, sent a text or gone online since I last checked. So can anyone think of a reason for this?

Ideally if anyone knew of an App that monitored when you went online, or what App accessed the internet it would be perfect.

Donnelly117

If your wi-fi connection is interrupted it will automatically pick up on 3g/edge without any notice. so you may think you're on wi-fi but you're actually on 3g/edge

Hrududu

I wasn't online at all, wifi or otherwise. Its a real puzzler at the moment.

Calibos

Back when O2 gave you your Free €80 credit in one go or monthly, I was known as they guy who's phone died and needed to be replaced before his free phone credit had run out. Effectively, for years, O2 never made any money from me except for their cut of the handset price. They started to make a little bit of money from me on the last phone with lasted longer than previous handsets. In other words I had it long enough for the free credit to run out

The feckers have been making quite a bit of money from me since I got my 3GS. I am on Speakeasy. I read the data allowance/charges rules wrong. I thought it was basically 50mb free a day, then 99c for every 50mb thereafter. I had no fear of even using up my free allowance in any given day.

So I was quite suprised when my credit seemed to run down rather quickly. Turns out, it seems you get hit with a 99c charge up front every day should the phone contact their servers for even a second on any given day. So much for the 'Free' 50mb allowance.

Did a search here and found the solution was rather easy. Don't bother with turning off push and all that. As you have found, you might miss an app and forget to turn off a data services setting in it.

Just go to Settings. General. Network. Cellular Data Network. and beside the APN label you will see the word 'internet'. Just delete the 't' off the end and it means that no app on the phone can connect up for any reson. When you are out and about, need access, accept that its going to cost you the 99c, then just go back in and put the 't' back in.

Sad Professor

Calibos wrote: »

Turns out, it seems you get hit with a 99c charge up front every day should the phone contact their servers for even a second on any given day.

No, I think it's 2c per Kb up to 99c.

seamus

Sad Professor wrote: »

No, I think it's 2c per Kb up to 99c.

No it's a 99c minimum charge effectively. Once you go over 50MB, you start getting charged 2c per KB.

So OP, if you even go online for a second or download a single email, you'll be charged 99c.

If you dial *113#, it'll tell you how much data you've used that day.

Sad Professor

Here's what the O2 site says:

Will I always pay 99c?
You pay 2c per Kb for the data you use up to 99c, so if you only use 25Kb of data you will still only be charged 50c, however once you hit 99c all your data is free up to 50Mb

http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Explore+Services/Price+plans/Speakeasy+prepay/Data+Pricing/

Calibos

Which effectively means you get hit with 99c everyday.

Its this that caused my confusion. I didn't read it as 99c per Kilobyte, I read it as 99c per megabyte in error. And as such I read the 50mb free as 2c x 50mb = €1. In other words I thought O2 were letting me off 1c and that the 50mb wasn't really free at all. Because I thought the 99c and the 50mb were connected I assumed that if I only used say 5mb in a day that I would only be charged 2c x 5 = 10c, and yet my credit was going down 99c every single day

Now it turns out that the 50mb is actually free but that the 99c has absolutely nothing to do with it. The 99c is effectively a setup charge because you pay 2c per kb up to 99c and then and only then does your 50mb free allowance kick in.

I'd imagine just opening boards uses up 50kb alone and thus you are hit with 99c straight away. All it takes is the AppStore dialing home checking for updates or a slip of the finger and opening up Facebook or google maps by mistake and bang, you've downloaded 50kb. Or say you are using one of these apps the night before and just use the top button to switch off your phone intstead of closing with the home button. Next day you switch your phone back on and it opens up the last open app. Bang you just inadvertantly used your 50kb/99c.

So for all intents and purposes there is a minimum data charge of 99c per day. Complicating it the way O2 have done just lets them get away without explicitly telling you that there is a minimum 99c per day data charge.

Don't get me wrong. I will happily pay the 99c if I really need to use a data downloading app on any given day away from wifi (and know I might as well continue to use it till midnight that night cause I have then activated my 50mb free) but for the other 3, 4 or 5 days of the week where I am not using data services away from wifi I don't want to pay 99c per day when I don't have to.

seamus

Sad Professor wrote: »

Here's what the O2 site says:

D'oh missed that, because the first sentence on that page makes it appear otherwise:

If you go over the 50MB usage allowance, you pay 2c for each additional KB used.

Just looking at my bill, I can see it itemised every time my phone checks my mail and it uses up 48KB. So if you even check your mail once that day, you'll almost be at that 99c cost immediately.

Hrududu

So OP, if you even go online for a second or download a single email, you'll be charged 99c.

Yup except I didn't go online, and my credit was down by 40c. I'm keeping an eagle eye on it now. I may resort to doing the 'delete t from internet' that another user suggested.

Stuxnet

99 cent a day x 30 days nearly 30 euros, doesnt leave much for texts or calls if you want a low bill,
you should get the 45 a month plan, 175 any network mins 350 texts (i'm inc eirtext here) and 1 gig of web stuff, which i personally dont come near using, and i'm flat out connected to net

makes more sense imo !

OI

I'm on the 45€ per month price plan but I hoped to switch to speakeasy, but this 99c per day charge is ridiculous. In the uk, I'm pretty sure you can purchase a data bundle for like 10£ for the month and like a gig of data, as it come packaged with the pay monthly option here. Thing is i don't get near my texts and calls quota.

Is there any option for me to switch to pay as you go and still avail of a decent value data plan?by unlocking or otherwise

Sad Professor

OI wrote: »

Is there any option for me to switch to pay as you go and still avail of a decent value data plan?by unlocking or otherwise

I was considering the non-contract O2 Clear for €15 a month plus a 250MB data add-on for €7.50. It's the cheapest non-contract option I can see from O2.

O2 don't really get the iPhone unfortunately. A bit of competition will do wonders though.