iPhone roaming charges - please help.

DUTR

dappyhel wrote: »

Well thanks for branding me ignorant, that's very useful. I know it was stupid and I am aware that I will most likely end up paying the full amount. I'm just very scared and worried about how I'm going to find the money and was hoping that someone could offer me some reassurance and perhaps experience in the matter.

Stop trying to play on people's emotions! You can manage a trip to the caribbean and the rates for an iphone, so it's not really as if a strong budget is high on your list, it is just sad to see that most the whinge stories of taking phones on holidays are from iphone users, can I ask how you knew exactly where to seek opinions as had you asked before the trip, you would have gotten much useful advice , and we would not have the debate ongoing on yet another thread via mse

simax

Tony5101 wrote: »

I wouldn't normally jump to the OP's defence on this issue - however - Orange have been quite crafty/reckless with regard to data-roaming IMO, with regard to their merger with TMobile.
This is my first contract with Orange, and I was pleased to hear about the merge/improved signal etc., so when I joined, I opted into the shared network (as you had to do then...), and was immediately sent a text to say that I had to change the settings on the phone to allow data roaming - so that I could get data via Orange and TMob. (Which I very hurriedly did..) That was a good 9 months or so before we had a planned trip abroad........

Just to add to this, if you have an iPhone on either T-Mobile or Orange, you can leave Data Roaming set to off. The iPhone knows by the carrier ID that is in the UK and allows a data connection regardless of the setting and regardless of whether you are using T-Mobile or Orange.

This is useful..... unless you go to Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.... as they use a UK carrier prefix also, but as they have their own networks, you are classed as roaming. So be careful!!

dappyhel

DUTR wrote: »

Stop trying to play on people's emotions! You can manage a trip to the caribbean and the rates for an iphone, so it's not really as if a strong budget is high on your list, it is just sad to see that most the whinge stories of taking phones on holidays are from iphone users, can I ask how you knew exactly where to seek opinions as had you asked before the trip, you would have gotten much useful advice , and we would not have the debate ongoing on yet another thread via mse

I googled 'iPhone data roaming' last night in an attempt to find some information and it came up with a news article on the MSE so I thought I would do a little more searching/see if others have experienced the same problem. Some people have been very helpful and I'm grateful for that.

As for being able afford such a holiday, I don't think that's really relevant but it did take me 2 years to save for it. I'm not intending to play on people's emotions at all, I just don't particularly like being called ignorant.

malc_b

My feeling is that this will backfire on the phone companies. There is no other equipment I can think of where just taking it some where can run up huge bills without your knowledge (excluding the wife :-)). Take you phone aboard and make calls and you can be in for a shock but you at least made calls. You know you did that. I'd be paranoid about taking anything but a dumb phone aboard after all the scare stories. And even my dumb phone has the answer phone turned off as I've read that can cost ££ aboard. Not the same ball park as data roaming though.

If no one uses their phone aboard because of the scare stories the phone companies lose out, but IMO they are too stupid to realize that it far better to give people a fair deal than rip them off. I'd expect that far more people make calls from Europe now since EU fixed the price and people are thus more reassured that they won't be ripped off. After all it's not actually the airtime that costs money it's the infrastructure. The phone companies have that bill to pay whether they carry 1 call or 100. So the more people that use it the cheaper it costs the user and the more profit they make.

grumbler

It takes them two years to make in UK the amount they make on roaming in two weeks.
It's cruel, amoral, but not stupid.

Tony5101

simax wrote: »

Just to add to this, if you have an iPhone on either T-Mobile or Orange, you can leave Data Roaming set to off. The iPhone knows by the carrier ID that is in the UK and allows a data connection regardless of the setting and regardless of whether you are using T-Mobile or Orange.

This is useful..... unless you go to Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.... as they use a UK carrier prefix also, but as they have their own networks, you are classed as roaming. So be careful!!

Are you sure about no longer needing to be set to allow roaming?
Admittedly, I use an HTC Mozart, but I was still told only 2 weeks ago that for me to continue to be allowed to use data via TMobile, I had to leave the settings as "data roaming allowed".

Cheers,

Kingsd316

Ive never changed my Iphone settings to allow roaming and have not had a problem with the orange/tmobile merge, can get on the net on either network

emeraldbugle

Sorry about your big bill OP. Did you not receive any texts when you arrived in the Carribean, telling you the charges? I know this happens in the EU, just wondered if it was the same worldwide.

I have a company mobile, O2 cut you off if you reach £200, but you can override it. It seems a real shame that the mobile networks can't provide some sort of maximum balance to all tariffs, then you won't exceed your maximum balance.

These bill shocks seem far too common.

Tony5101

I can't be certain that Orange don't send these texts...maybe I just missed it...but when I was recently in Turkey, I didn't receive anything - however my daughter who is on Voda - definately did receive a text advisory.

Tony5101

Kingsd316 wrote: »

Ive never changed my Iphone settings to allow roaming and have not had a problem with the orange/tmobile merge, can get on the net on either network

Thanks for the info - that's good to know. It does contradict the advice given by Orange - but I'm happy to give it a try, as I don't want to deliberately put myself into the data roaming position.