Sure signal using Bundle Allowance

[jeffjjack]

I have just found out that my sure signal uses my data allowance when on 3G at home.... How can this be?... without the sure signal I have no signal in the house and therefore got the sure signal. Due to having an iphone I do not turn the wifi on and off and simply us the 3G for browsing the internet  thinking that it was the same as being on wifi.....

After searching the forum I found this.....

Quoted from another post

"Data traffic via the SS uses both your ISP's data allowance - to get from the SS to VF - and  your VF mobile data allowance as it then traverses the VF network to get to the ultimate destination.

It's both 'cheaper' and more efficient to use wifi at home for data if you can to bypass the VF component entirely ..."

So the question being.... If without the sure signal I cannot get any vodaphone signal..... and only browsing the internet...why does this use my 3G allowance?. Once on the internet I am not traversing any vodaphone network to get to its ultimate destination... surley I am using the broadband service that I am already paying for!

Cheers

Jeff

[jeffjjack]

I can see there's a tomayto tomarto thing going off here. What ever way you look at it I pay for broadband. Without it I couldn't use Vodafone in my house. I pay Vodafone for their network use that I can't use in my house. I pay Vodafone to use data to use my mobile at home.

Anyone want to buy a sure signal?

[jeffkinn]

That's a different discussion. Should you have to buy a Sure Signal to be able to use a Vodafone phone at home? Some would say yes and some no. That's a personal preference. I also assume that you didn't pay for the Sure Signal from a comment you made earlier and if that is the case the whole situation is cost free to you. You should also be aware with iPhones that Wi Fi goes to sleep when the phone sleeps (screen turns off) so you need to turn mobile data off if you have a Wi Fi connection that you want to use.

[jeffjjack]

Like you say, probably and different discussion.

The way I look at it is that I move into a house with intermittent water supply, bloke down the road got perfect water supply. We both pay the same for the service. To get a good supply I am told to pay for a pump to be installed and that if I use the pump too much I'll get charged for it. Would this be acceptable to most people? I don't believe so but it seems that mobile phone providers can get away with charging the same for vast differences in service quality.

I pay Vodafone for a service. The same price for the same service that everybody pays. I get poor service in the house I moved into and when my contract was up I was going to move to another provider. The sure signal would solve all that I was told.

I've been on a "data test drive". I got a text message telling me that it will end soon and that I have used 350Mb of data over my contract value. If I hadn't been on this data test drive I would have had to pay the data charges. This is how I became enlightened to whole affair.

I don't believe the phone wifi turns off when on standby for several reasons. I am out the house for 10 to 18 hours a day at work and the phone stays in my pocket the majority of the time. With wifi on the battery is significantly reduced compared to not having wifi on. The other reason is that with wifi on over night I receive emails, push and whatsapp messages... The phone must be connecting and checking throughout the night while on standby.

[jeffkinn]

A couple of responses. Utility companies have a legal obligation to provide their service in your home. Vodafone does not and indeed they make it very clear that they do not guarantee a certain type of signal indoors. Their responsibility stops at your front door.

Secondly, Wi Fi sleeping when the phone sleeps in not a matter of opinion or discussion - it is a fact. It is a design feature and, unlike Android, iOS does not give you the option to stop Wi Fi from sleeping. The only time that Wi Fi stays on is when the phone is charging.

[jeffjjack]

Understood, I know they have no legal obligation but they make no apology for poor service either. I have no major issue with this I was just shocked that I could have been charged for this service. Some have agreed that they are piggybacking on the back of another service which I am paying for and then potentially charging me for the full service as I would if I was in the middle of a field.

I have unplugged the box and will not use it, purely because I cannot rely on myself to turn the wifi on and off nor can I keep the wifi on and intermittently charge the phone during long days.... These are my faults/issues not Vodafone.

We are spoilt with the technology we have these days and have become lazy. So I will get off my ###### and get the ipad out the draw to browse rather than using my phone.

The sure signal was, as I understood then, a magnificent idea and made my life at home and in the garden a lot easier as the sure signal 3G signal went further than my wifi.

I will upgrade the wifi router and research other service providers for the next upgrade/change of contract.

Thanks all for the discussion