Samsung Galaxy S Series

[lisawright1981]

My fiancé renewed his contract last summer after waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S2 to be released.

He got the standard 500MB included in his tarrif which having had an android phone for a year myself assured him was plenty. The guy in the shop told him he had ‘virtually unlimited’ internet as 500MB is considered unlimited when it comes to smart phones as regular use is more than covered by this limit.

Since day 1 he has used his phone for email access checking face book and updates online as to football scores etc, the usual stuff

He checked the first few months to ensure he was within the limit as he is constantly glued to his phone and was nowhere near the 500mb.

He only installs software updates through our home broadband connection. 

His bills are paid from a shared account we both use, and some time ago I noticed one much higher than normal he thought it odd as his usage hadn’t changed at all

Well since then the problem has got worse and worse.

He has only once had a notification he is nearing his limit (a month in the midst of all this at random) and his bills are getting higher and higher. His line rental is £36pm and bills are anywhere from £50-£70 now.

We have been into the store numerous times, where he was told to stop automatic updating (was already off) to not stream videos (he never has done) told to use a task killer (he always has done and still does) etc etc

Month after month we got another huge bill which quite frankly we can’t understand.

We are both ‘phone addicts’ and I have never had such a bill. I got the HTC sensation when my upgrade was due shortly after his, purely because as much as he loved his phone I didn’t want the same one I am glad I didn’t get the GS2 as I would have huge bills too.

I don’t understand how we can both use our phones constantly yet he is getting these huge charges.

Worse than that is the fact he has no notification he is going over his allowance.

At one point we went into store to seek advice and the guy said to test the use of data they left videos streaming overnight once and still would have had nowhere near the usage we've been chared for even if they did that every night.

We went back to Vodafone again a few weeks ago and was told wither the phone could be sent away as there have been software problems (but would leave him with no phone) or what has worked for other users is to do a factory reset.

He wasn’t keen on this idea as meant he would lose all his apps (which they said he could download again-but of course this would use more data)

He did this, backed up his important information, and then did a factory reset and only reinstalled the very minimum apps he had been using. He downloaded a new data counter and constantly turned apps off/used task killers etc and the data counter said he was within his allowance.

The Direct debit has just come out our account and is for a staggering £61.58

Based on data usage charges being £5 for every 250MB that’s like saying he has been using between 1.5 and 2.5GB of data on his mobile.

Nothing we were advised in store has helped at all, and over the last 6 months alone the data charges alone come to over £160 ON TOP of his line rental charges

Can someone please help us out as we are very unhappy? We even considered dropping to a lower tariff and leaving the sim at home switching to Vodafone freebies sim instead but were told we can no longer change the tariff at all.

[wintee]

Try installing an app called 3g watchdog pro - there's a free version and a paid for.

It'll allow you to set a monthy usage limit and warn you when you're overusing your data.

It'll also give you an app-by-app breakdown of internet (and wifi) usage which will help you at least identify which app is swallowing the bandwidth.

Here's a link to it on the store (https://market.android.com/details?id=net.rgruet.android.g3watchdog&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGw....

D.

[thesoupdragon]

---

lisawright1981 wrote:

told to use a task killer (he always has done and still does

---

 This could be a part of your problem...

The task killer will constantly close System processes and also Apps. The Android System will then restart these processes, many of which are internet supported. Such as Push email and Messaging, also Facebook, Twitter, Google+ for example.

So you are forcing your phone to make constant re-connect attempts to the internet!

Ditch the Task Killer... Android is made to govern itself! you are killing the very essence of the Android system.

Set the sync options for Facebook and email to once an hour, and any other Apps that sync/push to the phone.

Weather Apps are notorious for syncing every 5 minutes, most have the option to change this. As do News apps etc.

Also set the Wifi Sleep policy to NEVER.

Other wise when the screen goes blank the wifi will disconnect and the phone switches to 3g...!

[jayc1980]

This is what I do, not only does it sa save usage, but my God it saves battery.

Hold the power button down and turn off data network mode when you are not using it. Just switch back on when you need to use it. Saves so much juice and stops apps accessing the internet when your not using it

[Northern-dj]

First           as above install 3G watchdog

Secound    Turn Off Active Sync in accounts

Third          When your not using the phone switch the data OFF Vodafone will not tell you to do that )

This will stop any apps using data.

The main apps that suck up data are facebook (to much posting)

Youtube

500MB is for most fine if there not using it alot but you should get a txt saying your near and offering you 500MB for £5

also make sure your wifi is set to Never so when your phone goes to stanby it will not switch the 3G on

[Nabs]

---

Northern-dj wrote:

500MB is for most fine if there not using it alot but you should get a txt saying your near and offering you 500MB for £5 

---

I think it's changed down to £5 for each additional 250Mb. You can still add a £5 web pack that will give you an extra 500Mb each month.

[Northern-dj]

Thats not fare trust them to do that !!!!

Vodafone and internet are not good bed fellows

[wazzaladd]

i have my wifi turned on so when home i dont have an issue. same at work

[thesoupdragon]

wazzaladd makes a good point there!

I also leave my WiFi on all the time. I also connect to all my Friends and Families WiFi also. So wherever I go the phone will pick up WiFi rather than being on 3g all the time.

[Northern-dj]

I no i keep mentioning this 

Bt if your a Bt customer there BT fon Network rocks and covers more the Vodafones 3G

Its not fast but you can video chat on it 

But if your paying for your internet Via BT then its FREE!!!!!!!

check it out on

http://www.btfon.com/

[wintee]

but as the original poster stated. 500MB has been enough for them before now, so something's probably not right.

I'm on a 500MB contract and I'd consider myself a moderate->heavy user. I don't keep track of what I surf. But I don't play videos unless I'm on the wifi. They really shouldn't be hitting 500MB unless they're streaming movies, downloading apps/music or looking at *cough* image intensive sites 

I always forget to turn my wifi on when I get home, but there's a handy app called tasker that'll help with that.

[Northern-dj]

Sounds like heavy sinking, Or somthing running in the back ground

Check your bill and look for when your in bed

If this is a Problem then you do need toi Monitor your self then if every thing is fine then you can hammer Vodafone over this

The is a News app called APN News that is a Data Hog and runs on Vodaphone phones 3G watchdaog will show this up

[SimonWilding]

Hi,

this may be a silly question but are you sure it's the data that's causing high bills? You certainly seem to be doing the right things to keep within the limit.

Unless I'm mistaken, in the original post you don't actually state that you have checked the bills and been charged for XMB of usage, it appears that you have merely assumed that this is the reason for the high bills.

Are you sure your partner has not been calling lots of 0800/0845/0870 numbers, which are charged for, or inadvertantly signed up to Vodafone subscription services and/or premium text services?

I'm sure you've already thought of these but as you've not actually said for definiate what is causing your bills to be high, it may be worth checking.