So the two previous trips to Italy and Spain, we took only my dumb Nokia phone so we would not have to worry about excessive charges for data.. This time we were in Europe for 6 weeks and my husband took his iPhone, fully aware that he needed to turn data "off" and only use it on wifi. All went well until yesterday,our last full day, when he got the dreaded " excessive data usage" message. Turns out he turned the phone off at some point in the last few days to save power. Apparently when he turned it back on to use it on wifi in our apartment, it defaulted to data " on" and was busy cranking away whenever we left the apartment, even though he never accessed data while we were out of range of our wifi. We don't yet know how long it was on or what the charges will be. Just wanted to post a warning: if you turn your phone off at any point, you need to go back and switch off data when you turn the phone back on.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
Your post should be in the Trip Reports section, not Transportation. This section of the Helpline is for those asking transportation questions.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32201 posts
Lola,
Thanks for posting this warning, as it may help others. I've seen a number of posts where travellers reported the Cellular data switching on "by itself". There's some discussion of that topic on this Forum:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19031425#19031425
I'm not sure why this is occurring? I've only been travelling with an iPhone for a few years, but I tend to leave the phone "on" all the time and so far the data has never turned on by itself.
The iPhone performs a lot of functions "in the background" which use data, so hopefully you don't get stuck with a huge bill.
I often suggest that those travelling with Smartphones should check the "Cellular Data" switch from time-to-time, and also check the Usage Meter to ensure they're not using any data.
Good luck!
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2788 posts
Contrary to what Nancy posted, Lola's post should be on all the web pages as a warning to everyone especially those of us who do not visit every web site. Thank you Lola.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, WA
16224 posts
I meant to post this in" General Europe" but the website seems to be misbehaving today, maybe due to the new format. Or maybe it was because I was at Heathrow airport when I wrote that. Sorry for the confusion. Maybe I should repost as a question: did you know this can happen with your Smart phone even if you think you turned data off?
Posted by
OP
Seattle, WA
16224 posts
On second thought, rather than reposting as a question to comply with the Community Guidelines, I will just resign from this travel forum.
The other travel websites where I post (Fodor's, Tripadvisor, and Flyertalk) are far more appreciative of my contributions. I do not wish to write a Trip Report of our 6 weeks in Europe, as someone suggested (and subsequently removed the suggestion). My warning about the phone in a Trip Report would be seen by only a few, and not necessarily those who need to know this. Apparently a simple helpful tip to Smartphone users (not just iPhones) is not allowed, which makes me question the usefulness of the forum.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32201 posts
@Lola,
It's possible that your post was misdirected to the wrong section due to all the Helpline renovations that are taking place at the moment. In any case this is a minor detail.
The information you provided may help others, so it's a timely reminder of the hazards of travelling with a Smartphone, regardless of which section it's in.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32732 posts
It seems to me that costs on an iPhone, or any other flavour of smartphone as the problem is not brand specific, is indeed a transportation issue.
In fact, one of the times a visitor can become vulnerable is turning the phone on and off for the flight and afterwards. I believe that this is the perfect place for this valuable information.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8941 posts
I too, think it belongs on the Helpline, but certainly not in the Trip Reports section. As Lola said, she wanted to post this in the General Section, but due to all the moving around of the new software, it got put in Transportation.
Please stay with us Lola.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
Frankly, if someone takes the time to post helpful information, I could care less what Helpline subsection he or she uses.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5513 posts
Keep posting Lola. I'm just interested in helpful information and you always have good info. I don't care what board it shows up on or if it is worded in the form of a question.
Anyone who complains to you must have missed the community guidelines in this post:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/for-everyone-follow-the-golden-rule
Posted by
white plains, ny, usa
4140 posts
Letter from Paris ; Keep it up Lola . The information I get from you and all the other sharp people here has made traveling a pleasure . Don't despair !
Posted by
Seattle, Washington, USA
14 posts
I am mostly a lurker here but have learned a lot about travel in Switzerland from the OP, and am grateful to her.
The naysayer deleted one of her two negative posts, so it is not as obvious now why the OP would feel so discouraged. It is comments like those that keep me from posting more. I thought this board was supposed to be a friendly place.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32201 posts
@Marie,
I've found that the HelpLine IS a friendly and helpful place. The Webmaster makes sure that everyone behaves themselves.
If there are any posts that you find objectionable, just try to ignore them and carry on.
Hope you'll post on the site more often!
Cheers!
Posted by
Texan in CA
4407 posts
Don't you dare leave, Lola! I'll hunt you down and bring you back... ;-)
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10215 posts
What Eileen said! I do think this should be posted under General Europe, if only because that is the one section most likely read by everyone. When the Helpline is working properly again, maybe this thread can be transferred to that section or a new post can be done. This is valuable information that can help many people. Thanks for this and all your other helpful posts. There are a lot of people here who appreciate all you add to this forum.