O2 Unlimited Internet - How much till they charge you?

toothpick

Hey all,

I recently got a new phone which can act as a wifi router and allow my laptop to connect to it and surf the internet using the 'Unlimited Wifi Bolt-On' which comes with my contract.

I have google'd and found different views on what the fair useage policy is.

On the O2 site, it says 200MB - is that a day or month?

Some forum threads I read said it was 2GB a month.

Some even say that you should use it as much as you like as they do state its in the marketing (however, thats only an invitation to treat so I'm not banking on that opinion)

Please could someone tell me how much I can download and surf before I am charged?

Many thanks in advance

Regards,

Toothy

JimArnold

You should also read the T&Cs carefully

using your phone as a router is not the unlimited WIFI bolt on That oinly allows you to connect t a WIFI point and surf through that rather than vis O2 GEPS

Most (?ALL?) companies do not allow you to run your laptop off your phone.
In practice how will they know ? I'm not aware of anyone being charged for this

Rusty!

O2's T&Cs:

Data Bolt On Terms

1. The Web Bolt On allows you unlimited use of Telef!nica O2 UK Limited‘s Edge/GPRS/ 3G networks (as applicable to your handset), for personal internet use via your mobile phone. All usage must be for your private, personal and non-commercial purposes. You may not use your SIM Card:
   • in, or connected to, any other device including modems;
   • to allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content, enable Voice over Internet (Voip), P2P or file sharing; or
   • in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other O2 customers.
   If O2 reasonably suspects you are not acting in accordance with this policy O2 reserves the right to impose further charges, impose network protection controls which may reduce your speed of transmission, remove the Web Bolt On from your account or disconnect your tariff at any time, having attempted to contact you first.

So basically it says don't do what you're intending :rotfl:

There is no set amount to how much you can download before you're charged, it's at their discretion.

DarkConvict

I have used my phone as a modem before, but only for limited usage when needed. They won't beable to tell as the data is all the same, what they may notice is the type of websites you use, PC not Mobile style websites, but for the most part i do not believe they care so long as you don't use it excessively. 500MB seems to be a good bar most operators use before wanting you to goto a mobile dongle.

Pokerlad

Im sure they can tell. Im not technical when it comes to this but I think its something to do with the port number used.

robt_2

JimArnold wrote: »

Most (?ALL?) companies do not allow you to run your laptop off your phone.
In practice how will they know ? I'm not aware of anyone being charged for this

DarkConvict wrote: »

I have used my phone as a modem before, but only for limited usage when needed. They won't beable to tell as the data is all the same,

They can tell from various things, the main one being the useragent. I'm sure if it becomes a problem then they will act on it.

toothpick

but on a mobile? what is the fair usage limit?

toothpick

I can confirm that you can download up to 5,354,330kb (appox.5GB) before they send you a text telling you to stop or you'll get charged.

DUTR

toothpick wrote: »

I can confirm that you can download up to 5,354,330kb (appox.5GB) before they send you a text telling you to stop or you'll get charged.

I use 1gb per month on mine regularly (phone used as a modem for my netbook) my younger bro was on the same tariff and decided he would start downloading full length movies, O2 disconnected the web bolt on

toothpick

lol. i didnt do that, was just surfing, youtube and email updates every 5 minutes

monomer

I once received a letter and a text from o2 saying I'd not been using the bolt-on for the intended purpose. It basically asked me to cut back usage or consider getting a (more expensive) bolt-on that did satisfy the criteria.

In my case it wasn't that I'd downloaded a lot of data, it was because I happened to be listening to a streaming podcast playlist on my phone, but I fell asleep and it continued playing for a few hours. The total data download was something like 200MB but the terms did stipulate that they do not "allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content".

So if you do breach the terms, I'm sure o2 will warn you about it!