Hard data cap on Vodafone PAYG 1

[pctechbloke]

I've ordered a SIM to use the new PAYG 1 plan as I don't use my phone a great deal so the pricing model is perfect.

However, during my lunchbreak I tend to read the news on my phone (Sky News app and sites like The Register) via the browser.

Like most places these days we have in-buidling Wi-Fi but where I tend to sit to have my lunch isn't that well covered so the daily data allowance is of interest to me.

I'll be using a Samsung J3 2016 with the stock firmware as I purchased it SIM Free from Samsung's eshop

I don't think it's likely that I'll get anywhere near to 500MB a day but what happens if someone does? Does it revert to 20p per MB?

[BandOfBrothers · Accepted solution]

Hi,

500mb isn’t a lot of data.

My suggestion would be to consider a Big Value Bundle. https://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/bundles-and-sims/pay-as-you-go-plans/big-value-bundles/index.htm

Data rolls over for another month also. 

Even when you are not accessing the internet yourself the phone can and will use data in the background for updating apps, weather info etc unless you turn off Mobile Data in the phones settings. 

If a person exhausts their data allowance then it’ll revert to charging as per the information in > pay-as-you-go-terms-and-charge.

”

Automatic data capping

With Pay as you go 1, you can use up to 500MB of data each day without spending more than £1. In the unlikely event that you reach your daily limit, our automatic data capping will kick in and you won’t use up any more credit. If you do want to use more, you can get another 500MB to use until midnight that day by purchasing a Data Extra for £1. Please note that only one Data Extra may be purchased each day. If you exhaust your 500MB data allowance and your Data Extra in a day, you’ll have to wait until midnight before you can use more data.

If you think you’ll continually need more data each month, then you may want to consider a Big Value Bundle of data, minutes, and texts. They last for 30-days and renew automatically, with the option to roll any unused data, minutes, and texts into the next month.”

[pctechbloke]

Cheers.

Found that after I'd posted, d'oh!

I have all updates set to over Wi-Fi only and I tend to switch off mobile data when I'm not actively using it as I don't do facebook or twitter.

[Annie_N]

500MB of data is and isn't a lot of data!

Someone using that much every day would get through 15GB in a 30-day month (at a cost of £30 on PAYG1), and only the £30 Big Value Bundle would cover that. Even if you only did that on 3 days a week, you'd get through something like 6MB in a month at a cost of approx £12, so at least you'd be well ahead of the £20 BVB in terms of cost, and of course you'd be able to make a lot of calls and send a lot of texts on those 12 days.

I've been wondering how the new PAYG1 would work out, and it really does depend on exactly what "occasional use" looks like for the individual. For someone who uses their phone a lot on some days, and not at all or only minimally on other days, it could work out very well. For someone making "middling" use on a fair number of days, it could well be that a BVB is the better option.

But the automatic data capping is a very attractive option, provided you are prepared to accept that once in a while your browsing will hit the buffers. No additional data charges unless you deliberately decide to pay a further £1 for another 500MB for that day, and certainly no danger of finding that you've got through a lot of your credit balance by clocking up OOB data usage if you fail to notice the warning texts that arrive.