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international roaming -- yikes!!
Saw this article and it freaked me out.
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/36084
International iPhoning Results in $3,000 Bill
Wed Aug 1, 2007 8:28AM EDT
See Comments (244)
It was only going to be a matter of time before something like this happened. Someone decided to take their iPhone on a little jaunt to Europe, where he says he underwent "sporadic AT&T EDGE network usage off and on mixed with wifi when available." The bill waiting for him when he got home: three grand. (And I bet it was 40 pages long, too.)
Dave Stolte is hardly alone in the annals of absurd, accidental overseas charges, but as more and more people start traveling abroad with their iPhones, cases like this are going to become a lot more common, and fast. The iPhone is a chatty little device, constantly checking the network and calling home to the mothership, and iPhone users quickly get spoiled on its nifty data features, using them constantly to check the web, watch videos, etc. (In fairness: You do have to call AT&T first and ask for international roaming to be unlocked for this to work at all.)
Those little charges add up fast. $0.02 per kilobyte sounds pretty cheap, right? WRONG. Do the math: A 1-megabyte web page (a very common size) costs almost twenty bucks to open. 20. Dollars. Whoa. Seriously. (Thanks to Portfolio for helping out with our collective multiplication, and noting that there are various rate plans available, going down to $.005 per KB, which would still be about $5 per megabyte.)
So what do you need to do if you're going abroad with your iPhone? Portfolio suggests the same thing I do: Sign up for an affordable international voice plan but disable the data plan altogether. You can still use data services over Wi-Fi, which is free. The inconvenience of not being able to check Google Maps when you're away from a hotspot is nothing compared to a multi-thousand dollar data bill. When you get home, just turn your data services back on.
Stolte's story has a happy ending. After wide online publicity, AT&T agreed to waive the charges. As the first to report such a problem, he's the lucky one. But I doubt the next 10,000 or so people to fall into this predicament will find AT&T so accommodating. Don't become one of them.
LINK: ATT + iPhone int'l. roaming data horror story: $3K bill
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/36084
International iPhoning Results in $3,000 Bill
Wed Aug 1, 2007 8:28AM EDT
See Comments (244)
It was only going to be a matter of time before something like this happened. Someone decided to take their iPhone on a little jaunt to Europe, where he says he underwent "sporadic AT&T EDGE network usage off and on mixed with wifi when available." The bill waiting for him when he got home: three grand. (And I bet it was 40 pages long, too.)
Dave Stolte is hardly alone in the annals of absurd, accidental overseas charges, but as more and more people start traveling abroad with their iPhones, cases like this are going to become a lot more common, and fast. The iPhone is a chatty little device, constantly checking the network and calling home to the mothership, and iPhone users quickly get spoiled on its nifty data features, using them constantly to check the web, watch videos, etc. (In fairness: You do have to call AT&T first and ask for international roaming to be unlocked for this to work at all.)
Those little charges add up fast. $0.02 per kilobyte sounds pretty cheap, right? WRONG. Do the math: A 1-megabyte web page (a very common size) costs almost twenty bucks to open. 20. Dollars. Whoa. Seriously. (Thanks to Portfolio for helping out with our collective multiplication, and noting that there are various rate plans available, going down to $.005 per KB, which would still be about $5 per megabyte.)
So what do you need to do if you're going abroad with your iPhone? Portfolio suggests the same thing I do: Sign up for an affordable international voice plan but disable the data plan altogether. You can still use data services over Wi-Fi, which is free. The inconvenience of not being able to check Google Maps when you're away from a hotspot is nothing compared to a multi-thousand dollar data bill. When you get home, just turn your data services back on.
Stolte's story has a happy ending. After wide online publicity, AT&T agreed to waive the charges. As the first to report such a problem, he's the lucky one. But I doubt the next 10,000 or so people to fall into this predicament will find AT&T so accommodating. Don't become one of them.
LINK: ATT + iPhone int'l. roaming data horror story: $3K bill
I’m frustrated
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Inappropriate?Whoa. Thanks for posting that, Jackson. Some of our team are heading oversees for a conference this fall and they'll surely have their iPhones in tow, so this is good to know!
I’m grateful
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Inappropriate?luckily the software unlock for iphone should be available to the general public in a matter of weeks. buying and using a local SIM card always beats roaming on your home carrier!
I’m smiley
1 person says
this solves the problem
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Inappropriate?Oh, that's right. Good suggestion.
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Inappropriate?AT&T has an international roaming plan, but I think it's just a discount on their already high rates.
I’m meh
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Inappropriate?turns out, as of the 1.1.1 update, you can now disable the EDGE network on your phone entirely while still allowing cell phone calls, text messaging, and wifi. handy for the international travel!
to do it, go to "settings" -> "network" -> set "data roaming" on.
I’m not going to get a $1400 iphone bill while i'm in london next week
1 person says
this solves the problem
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Inappropriate?Just got off the phone with AT&T International. Here is the iPhone plan (bottom of the page):
"International Data Global Plan for iPhone
For just an additional $24.99 per month, iPhone customers may add a Data Global Plan to their existing domestic data plan and receive 20MB of data usage in 29 countries, including Canada, China, Mexico and many additional countries in Europe/Asia. Overage rate is $.005/KB. Outside the 29 discounted countries, the data usage rate is $.0195/KB"
20Mb is probably enough for non-wifi use of data for a week in London, but it turns out SMS isn't cheap: 50 cents to send a SMS overseas and 15 cents to receive one (Turn off twitter before you go!!!). Also, you have to remember to cancel the international data plan after you get back (not prorated, so you'll have to pay for the full month).
I’m still meh about the whole thing
1 person says
this solves the problem
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Inappropriate?yeah, that's ridiculous that they charge that much for SMS. looks like all my twitter updates will be safari via wifi!
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Inappropriate?Don't you mean "settings" -> "network" -> set "data roaming" OFF ?
Looks to me like setting the switch to ON gives you an expensive phone bill.
One way to be sure is to reset your usage stats before getting on the plane. Then you'll be able to check on how much edge data has been sent. -
Inappropriate?yup, you're right! sorry 'bout that, everybody.
i assumed it was turn it to "on" because mine came preset to "off" after the 1.1.1 upgrade. which is silly, since it really should default to "on."
the sentence underneath the data roaming reads "When abroad, turning off Data Roaming may avoid roaming charges when using email, web browsing, and other data services."
I’m standing corrected
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Inappropriate?Notably, you can also just turn on the option to make calls internationally, which I believe costs $1.29 a minute but with no monthly fee.
I’m still vomiting
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Inappropriate?Yeah, they said even with the iPhone int'l roaming thing, I'd still have to pay $1.29 a minute to use my phone. Seems pretty nuts to me, I might just rent a local phone instead.
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Inappropriate?I'm headed to Italy next month. AT&T is telling me if I sign up for the International data package, I have to commit to a full year. They are also saying I will be charged for wifi data (with Edge turned off) at a rate of .0195/kb Can this be right?! -
Inappropriate?That doesn't sound right. If you're committed to basic plan already I don't understand why they'd force you to make a one year commitment to an add-on feature. When we went to Argentina a year ago, we turned on an International package for my husband's AT&T and then turned it off when we got back.
As for the cost, that doesn't surprise me.
