I currently have the Cingular 8525 and recently went down to Baja for a week. I had the phone function on to let me know when a call came in and then would go to the local internet cafe, switch the phone function off using "flight mode", confirmed phone function was off in "Comm Manager" and looking at "Settings/WLAN Settings" for the WiFi establishment.
I would then use Skype on the WiFi network to make calls back to my cell phone carrier to retrive messages.
Upon returning to the U.S. and reviewing my usage on the Cingular Web page I find that I have "Roaming Data Charges" to the tune of about $120. I have talked to Cingular and they were perplexed as to how the data charges were incurred if the phone funciton is turned off. HTC technical services were equally perplexed. HTC came up with the solution of pulling the sim card out to totally disable the phone function while still allowing WiFi access. In the states I have unlimited data access so this is not an issue, but since I travel abroad frequently, this could get costly without a simple solution (pulling the sim card out each time is not a simple solution).
Is there anychance that one of the following apps are allowing my phone to indicate that the phone is in flight mode (phone disabled) while still broadcasting in GSM/UMTS.
All thoughts on the subject are appreciated
Phone: Cingular 8525
Apps: PTTfix.cab
BandSwitch.Arm4.cab
Not sure if this helps, but after a couple of rediculously high months of data usage on my Orange UK contract, for two months I did not use any data features on the phone unless it was docked with my laptop, using it's broadband connection to browse on the phone. The opposing arrows signal was showing, signifying that my tytn was using the laptop's connection. My bills still show high usage, I had NoData running, blocking all Gprs usage.
Is it possible for the sim card to be still recording the data transfer and wrongly charging me for the usage? I have tried speaking to Orange about this but each time they have not understood what I'm talking about.
I'd sugggest you to try Spb GPRS Monitor.You need to play with it to tune it right way. It allows to monitor up to 5 different connections, and have a Today plug-in and an indicator in the top bar to show the activity. It helped me a lot by signalling that my phone uses GPRS instead of WiFi (no, I never even heard of GPRS/UMPT in flight mode!).
I have it set up to monitor GPRS for two SIM cards I have, connection via USB and BlueTooth. For any other type of connection (incl. WiFi) it does not indicate anything. Quite enough for troubleshooting, and also to understand your bills.
Probably there are similar apps, I never tried them.
Thanks for the suggestion on SPB GPRS Monitor.
I put the SPB GPRS Monitor on the phone and low and behold apparently any time the system kicks into the GPRS data mode, and it seems to do this on its own every once in awhile you get charged for the link whether you use it or not. SPB GPRS Monitor does a good job of letting you know if your not paying attention to the Martini Glass icon up top.
Related
I was on the phone with cingular today because I want to upgrade to the cingular 8125. From everything I have read on these forums and some others, it is possible to use the wifi without using gprs in any way. The lady on the phone told me that even if I am using wifi through a free access point, I will still be charged for data usage, or would need a data plan. One of the key reasons I want this phone is for the wifi (my college campus is entirely wireless).
I just wanted to make sure that I will be able to connect to wifi without any charges or a data plan, just as say a laptop with wifi would be able to do.
Thanks in advance
WiFi has nothing to do with your cellular plan. They are either talking rubbish, or you misunderstood?!
(Take your sim out. You will still be able to use wifi - how are they gonna charge you?)
That is what I thought. She either was confused, or just really wanted to sell me a data plan as well.
Thanks
I do not have GPRS and I do not get charged for data using WiFi. You do need to watch out for auto log on by the phone when you have WiFi off. I would suggest you have cingular block all wireless internet access for your phone. I had them do this for all of the phones on my plan, including my 8125. I told them I had kids and did not want a huge bill. They did it with no problem. I know that this has prevented data charges since all of us have indavertently had our phones look for for the internet when we did not want it to. I use my 8125 via WiFi on vaious networks all the time.
Hope this helps.
David
i hate people who sell cell phones, they lie so much
Thanks for your help guys. I just ordered it from cingular. I can't wait until it comes.
Billabond1 said:
I just wanted to make sure that I will be able to connect to wifi without any charges or a data plan, just as say a laptop with wifi would be able to do.
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Click to collapse
Correct, you do not have to have a data plan and you will not be charged for WiFi usage... BUT... you have to be careful as the 8125 will switch to GPRS if it loses the WiFi signal by default. Here's a cab that allows you to turn off all data access of various flavors so you can leave WiFi on, but the others off, then you don't have to worry about it switching on you.
. . . or you can just remove the APN from your connection settings. Without an APN your unit cannot establish PDP on the GPRS network, and hence no connection . . .
Start > Settings > Connections > Connections
Edit your connection
Tap Next to the Access Point Screen.
Remove your APN (and note it for future reference) and replace it with XXX (or whatever).
Tap Next and then Finish.
Repeat for any further connections.
Not a viable solution if you need to use GPRS, but if you are never going to use it then it's not a problem.
To recap:
An incorrect Access Point Name will result in no connection, and hence, no charges.
Thanks again. I talked to my dad today, and it turns out that he has medianet disabled through cingular, so it is all good. But thanks a lot for the help.
hi
How can i monitor how much data i've used (not wifi)
I've got 500mb a month, and while i'm sure i wont use this, i want to keep tabs and reset each month
is this functionality built in?
cheers
m.r.davies said:
hi
How can i monitor how much data i've used (not wifi)
I've got 500mb a month, and while i'm sure i wont use this, i want to keep tabs and reset each month
is this functionality built in?
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to rack up over £100 of data charges before I realised that my network settings (buried away down start->connections->connections->advanced->select networks .... obviously !) were set to use the cellphone connection by default. It was therefore using HSDPA even when wifi was connected. I proved this by downloading an app called GPRS Traffic Monitor. It's very basic but it monitors your GPRS/HSDPA traffic. I've now switched the default connection to be "My Work Network" instead of "Contract Internet" and traffic monitor now shows no increased data usage while the wifi is connected.
I've also noticed (although not scientifically tested) that if an application gets a connection via HSPDA before the wifi connection is established then it continues to use HSPDA and doesn't switch over.
Maybe everyone else knows all this but it was all news (and very expensive) to me.
Cheers,
David
link for gprs traffic moniter
dcoales said:
I managed to rack up over £100 of data charges before I realised that my network settings (buried away down start->connections->connections->advanced->select networks .... obviously !) were set to use the cellphone connection by default. It was therefore using HSDPA even when wifi was connected. I proved this by downloading an app called GPRS Traffic Monitor. It's very basic but it monitors your GPRS/HSDPA traffic. I've now switched the default connection to be "My Work Network" instead of "Contract Internet" and traffic monitor now shows no increased data usage while the wifi is connected.
I've also noticed (although not scientifically tested) that if an application gets a connection via HSPDA before the wifi connection is established then it continues to use HSPDA and doesn't switch over.
Maybe everyone else knows all this but it was all news (and very expensive) to me.
Cheers,
David
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hie have you got a link for gprs traffic moniter, either freeware or paid thanks
www.efficasoft.com. Costs about $10. BTW this is just the first one I found and there may be better ones out there if you have the time to do some google searching. However, this one does seem to work and a couple of other I looked at were fine with monitoring GPRS but couldn't seem to handle HSDPA - this one seems to work fine though.
At the moment I'm still trialling it and if nothing better turns up in the next couple of days I'll register.
Which version did you select?
I can't get the efficasoft cab to install (it keeps reporting back as installation unsuccessful).
Any clues?
I think I downloaded GPRSMonitor_PPC12.cab - I'll check tomorrow and repost if different - I'm just going out now.
dcoales said:
I managed to rack up over £100 of data charges before I realised that my network settings (buried away down start->connections->connections->advanced->select networks .... obviously !) were set to use the cellphone connection by default. It was therefore using HSDPA even when wifi was connected. I proved this by downloading an app called GPRS Traffic Monitor. It's very basic but it monitors your GPRS/HSDPA traffic. I've now switched the default connection to be "My Work Network" instead of "Contract Internet" and traffic monitor now shows no increased data usage while the wifi is connected.
I've also noticed (although not scientifically tested) that if an application gets a connection via HSPDA before the wifi connection is established then it continues to use HSPDA and doesn't switch over.
Maybe everyone else knows all this but it was all news (and very expensive) to me.
Cheers,
David
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure that you don't have some other setting wrong?
I have cellular network selected here but have issues with it dialing with wifi or activesync connected.
I have noticed my Xperia has turned on the data connection a few times without me requesting it to. I was not doing anything, so hopefuly i will not be charged (i don't have any web usage in my contract).
Is there anything i can install that will password protect the data connection or at least stop it acciedently turning on?
Had the same with my Prophet - in the end I installed SPB GPRS Monitor which gave me an idea of how much it used (could also set it to warn you when it went over limits, cut connection I think, etc)
Next to that, whenever I wanted to disable it (e.g. roaming, etc) I changed the networks used (settings-->connections-->select networks) to something without settings, that way programs that connected automatically didn't find the right settings and couldn't connect (for when the phone was in my pocket etc).
Not sure if there is an app available now to PW protect the data connection - been on an unlimited plan for a while now (internet/rss feeds etc).
I had a similar issue until my data plan became active.
There's a free program on the modaco website called nodata that allows you to turn off/on the data connections when needed. It worked very well whilst I was using it.
... here's the link NoData Utility (Modaco)
I gave my wife my old 8125 to use when her phone went out, now she's hooked on it & wants to be able to check e-mail. she dosen't have or want a data plan on it, and is home most of the time, but can't get to the computer b/c of other responsibilities.
I have set it up to access wifi, and it will use it for PIE, But when I set up the e-mail account it wants to dial out to check. I have tried setting the account to work, and internet but it just won't work, If I let it use medianet it's fine.
Any ideas?
I have not found a way to keep WIFI active at all times and doing so would kill the battery in just a few hours anyway. (seems to be more problematic on secure wifi networks)
This is the solution I use because I don't have an unlimited data plan and I don't want anything using the mobile phone network and thus being charged for data usage.
I stop GPRS on the phone using a freeware program called "NODATA". It toggles off the data connection to the phone company. The phone itself and text messaging still work without GPRS. I can then connect to a hotspot and everything else uses wifi instead. SMTP mail, internet browsing, google, search, etc. all flow through the wifi and I don't get billed for it.
See - hXXp://www.modaco.com/content/pocket-pc-software/246171/new-free-utility-nodata/
Works great for me. Simply toggle GPRS back on only when you need it...
I've heard of others setting up "fake" GPRS connections settings and switching to those. Since the "fake" connection fails, it rolls over to WIFI. But this is much simpler.
db90483 said:
I have not found a way to keep WIFI active at all times and doing so would kill the battery in just a few hours anyway. (seems to be more problematic on secure wifi networks)
This is the solution I use because I don't have an unlimited data plan and I don't want anything using the mobile phone network and thus being charged for data usage.
I stop GPRS on the phone using a freeware program called "NODATA". It toggles off the data connection to the phone company. The phone itself and text messaging still work without GPRS. I can then connect to a hotspot and everything else uses wifi instead. SMTP mail, internet browsing, google, search, etc. all flow through the wifi and I don't get billed for it.
See - hXXp://www.modaco.com/content/pocket-pc-software/246171/new-free-utility-nodata/
Works great for me. Simply toggle GPRS back on only when you need it...
I've heard of others setting up "fake" GPRS connections settings and switching to those. Since the "fake" connection fails, it rolls over to WIFI. But this is much simpler.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try wifimonster
I recently had a weekend in the UK on holiday and to make sure I did not get charged a fortune for roaming connection charges, I made certain that every time I used the phone online I had a good connection to the hotel's wifi hotspot.
I've just received a bill for nearly £100 for 18mb roaming, and nearly had a heart attack since I should not have been using any roaming services!!
Anyone know how this could have happened? As I said, I made absolutely certain that every time I was using the internet I was successfully connected to the wifi hotspot, so I don't understand how this can have happened but I'm furious about it.
Not to mention that the thieves have charged me £6/mb for a crappy GPRS connection!!
Thanks guys.
What also really annoys me about this is that I even tried to setup SPB's data monitor app beforehand as a precaution but it would not register any data traffic even though I set up the tariffs with all the necessary info.
Hotel WiFi isn't free - usually £5 an hour or something extortionate like that...
EddyOS said:
Hotel WiFi isn't free - usually £5 an hour or something extortionate like that...
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Click to collapse
But that wouldn't end up on his phone bill, it'd be on his hotel bill.
True, just stating
Might be down to others apps using it perhaps...
Your right that wouldn't end up as part of the phone bill, However the following items will
Weather updates
Email syncronisation (possibly automated)
MyPhone (or any other "Cloud") backups
RSS Feeds
We're any of these enabled? Unfortunatly I am unaware of any way to turn off DataConnection without the above having the ability to automatically turn it back on. For that reason I will never take my phone (and leave it on) overseas.
Will that 'NoData' app not work for disabling anything over gprs/3g on the HD2?
And I'd like to echo the above - chances are it was an app on your phone downloading data in the background.
Unlucky mate - hope you can dispute it.
Thanks for that, but yes it was definitely free at this one (actually a B&B rather than a hotel as such). The bill I'm talking about is the monthly carrier bill for my HD2, NOT my hotel bill.
The problem is that the HD2 has basically been using my normal data connection but was showing as using wifi at the time.
I switched off all auto updates to prevent this too. The periods where I've been charged are for like an hour or so when I've been browsing the web in the evening.
Cret said:
Thanks for that, but yes it was definitely free at this one (actually a B&B rather than a hotel as such). The bill I'm talking about is the monthly carrier bill for my HD2, NOT my hotel bill.
The problem is that the HD2 has basically been using my normal data connection but was showing as using wifi at the time.
I switched off all auto updates to prevent this too. The periods where I've been charged are for like an hour or so when I've been browsing the web in the evening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that i want to make this sound obvious but, are you sure you was connected to the WiFi network. Just turning on your WiFi does not mean you are connected to the network, as most have Network Keys to grant access (or public guest passwords), you don't normally allow any old Joe Blogg onto the network.
jrrigney said:
Not that i want to make this sound obvious but, are you sure you was connected to the WiFi network. Just turning on your WiFi does not mean you are connected to the network, as most have Network Keys to grant access (or public guest passwords), you don't normally allow any old Joe Blogg onto the network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a little extra note to this is that many public wifi spots actually let you connect, and only then ask you for user info, so the phone looks like it is connected, when in fact there is no gateway out past the first landing page.
i had this problem with my old htc kaiser ( i had turned off all data connection apart from wifi) and it would still try and connect to a 3g network. when i returned from the states to the UK my bill was over £300!! i complained to t-mobile and they thankfully cancelled the bill!!
good luck.
Applications may well (and do) connect to the internet over 3G even when you have Wi-Fi connected and operational. That is simply how WM works.
There are various solutions out there to fix this problem, both manually turning cellular data connections off as well as those that automatically turn them off when you are roaming. I know one of the latter ones is on Marketplace.
valid point guys but yeah it had a full wifi connection and a valid wep key.
if I could get gprs monitor (our whatever its called) to work then I could try to reproduce the fault st home but it never registers any data use when I try it. are there any other apps that can monitor my phones data traffic?
Chainfire said:
Applications may well (and do) connect to the internet over 3G even when you have Wi-Fi connected and operational. That is simply how WM works.
There are various solutions out there to fix this problem, both manually turning cellular data connections off as well as those that automatically turn them off when you are roaming. I know one of the latter ones is on Marketplace.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - I did see that one of the auto updates had gone ahead anyway using the data connection as it showed a connection to a server but it was for a very brief instant.
The big amounts of time/data however are purely down to browsing though. And that's my issue here. How can it be using the normal GPRS data connection for browsing even though it has a stable, fully open, free wifi connection? Have I got a setting wrong somewhere perhaps?
My guess would be that the hotel internet link was down. You would still connect to the wifi network but it would fail to route traffic. tcp/ip was designed to work for US military to handle parts of network getting nuked so it seamlessly (and transparently) uses the next best link. I did think the HD2 asked before connecting when roaming tho. To be safe go to comm manager and switch off data connection before browsing next time and watch it doesnt come back on again.
I suppose that's an idea that they may have had a problem with their network BUT I've just tried a test at home.
I'm connected perfectly to my home wifi network with a strong signal, but my phone refuses to do any data stuff like go online, basically because my normal data connection has failed (it does this maybe once a day). This means that even though it is showing as being fully connected to wifi, it isn't actually doing anything with the wifi network and is still trying to do all data traffic including browsing through my GPRS connection instead!
How can this be happening?!
Incidentally I got a reply from HTC about this. It was VERY apologetic - which to me suggests that they know there is a fault. You don't apologise unless you're at fault for something after all!
They sent me some HTC app that they said I need on the phone to prevent this happening in future, which seems like an admission of blame to me, but I know I'll never get the £100 in roaming charges back from them even though it appears to be their fault after I've taken reasonable steps as a consumer to ensure I wouldn't get charged.
Very unhappy about this.
Data connection woes
I have a similar problem - skyfire or opera will not connect using wifi when data connection is disabled - both in settings and individually using "nodata" app.
Does anyone have an idea of how to force use of wifi and restrict to wifi use?
Thanks,
Ehud
I am very interested in hearing more about this. If you ever find out what caused this problem, please let us know in this thread or drop me a pm. In a couple of weeks I'm off to the States for a holiday and I have read enough stories here on the forum to actually think twice about taking my phone with me.
personally i would have manually turned off the the phone connection under Wireless Controls and just turned on the Wi-fi on the phone.. that way it cant possibly use GPRS as essentially it is in a semi "Flight" mode..
those BT 'clouds' (think thats what they call them) charge to your phone bill, when I phoned up to change my price plan I was told if I didn't have mobile internet addon using wifi through these will incur charges
Don't worry - use "no data"
VoicesUK said:
I am very interested in hearing more about this. If you ever find out what caused this problem, please let us know in this thread or drop me a pm. In a couple of weeks I'm off to the States for a holiday and I have read enough stories here on the forum to actually think twice about taking my phone with me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used my XDA's around the world for years without a problem
In the UK I've got bundled unlimited data - so data is always enabled.
The first thing I do when putting my HD2 into flight mode on the aircraft is to run no-data. most cooked roms include it - but if not just download the cab.
"no data" allows you to toggle your cell operator based data connections - to off. Which has worked flawlessly for me in the US, Europe and far-east. On your return to home just toggle the settings back on.
The alternative is to go into comm manager and turn the phone off - but whats the point of that? You won't even be able to receive texts. I like to be able to receive calls and texts, but with the security of not running up extortionate data bills.
As an aside - if only all operators would allow you to set a strict (low) limit on data charges for roaming.