V-Flyer

Last year when I went to Orlando I switched off all my dataroaming stuff on my iphone, then logged on to the hotel wifi,
almost instantly I got a message from O2 telling me I was useing WiFi outside Europe and there would be a £40 charge.

How can I be sure to prevent this happening again, I thought external wifi providers were free. Looked at the O2 forum but it seems some people have had the same, some got refunds and other members simply don't believe its possible as if people are making it up.

That's appalling.

I tend to put my phone on Airplane Mode and switch on WiFi where available.

I used WIFI in Japan in coffee shops, hotels etc and didn't get any of these kinds of messages nor did I get a big bill
Strange

Well I ended up paying the £40, did not want to do it this Oct though. Still can not fathom that I had disabled push etc and turned off roaming and yet o2 still managed to bill me.

O2 is (or certainly was) a nightmare for this. That was one of the reason why dumped them. Never had any roaming data leaks with EE (or other networks) whist abroad other than with O2. Every time I travelled when on O2, even with all cellular data turned off, they still managed to charge me

This applies to all networks when roaming to avoid data roaming charges - Before you travel, turn off voicemail/visual voicemail (there is a short code you can dial from your handset on O2 to do this, can't remember though what is is now, for other networks you will have to speak to customer service to do this), make sure data roaming is off, cellular data is off, MMS is off and email push is also off.

I've not had any problems historically but based on this information I'm leaving my iPhone at home when I go to Oz and taking the work Blackberry.

Jacki wrote:I've not had any problems historically but based on this information I'm leaving my iPhone at home when I go to Oz and taking the work Blackberry.

Jacki, I always take a not so smart phone for my UK sim, in case anyone needs me in a hurry. And the smartphone (unlocked...thank you Google) gets a local sim..data and calls..cost about 30AUD for 30 days. (Telstra and Amaysim do them).

HWVlover wrote:

Jacki wrote:I've not had any problems historically but based on this information I'm leaving my iPhone at home when I go to Oz and taking the work Blackberry.

Jacki, I always take a not so smart phone for my UK sim, in case anyone needs me in a hurry. And the smartphone (unlocked...thank you Google) gets a local sim..data and calls..cost about 30AUD for 30 days. (Telstra and Amaysim do them).

Thanks for the advice but to be honest It's not such a big deal and gives me an excuse only to take one phone as friends and family have both my numbers. In the past we have also bought two local pay as you go phones at the airport offering free calls that exceed the cost of the phones. Unfortunately we arrive late in the evening this time and the shop will be closed!

I have just got back from the staes after a 12 night trip and today I got a text message saying I was £102 over my usual bill amount. I had data roaming switched off for the whole trip and only used the internet when connected to wifi.

I did wonder why Google Maps was still working though!

I've actually had my iPad connect to networks with airplane mode on :-(

I have had my O2 phone on in the USA plenty with wifi activated and never got that message, never got charged, and would not pay it if I did. Free wifi is free wifi. Is this just targetting iphones? I would ditch them in a heartbeat if they even thought about doing that.

Are you sure you weren't getting that message because you were not connecting to free wifi over there ?

Yes silver it was from Leows hotel wifi, everything else on my phone was off. Seem quite a few O2 iphone customers have had it happen, some amazingly have been charged at home on their own wifi. Have a look at O2 community chat.

Good grief. I don't doubt you. I don't have an iphone so cannot comment, but on my Android everything is turned off in terms of data and roaming when I travel. I have a dual SIM phone with a US calls/text only SIM enabled when I travel to the US. I turn the UK number on occasionally to see if I have any UK texts, but the wifi is pretty much on 24x7, for emails, Viber, etc. and never a sniff of a charge. I suspect that if data is on, even with roaming off, then that is causing the issue.

We are both on O2 and never had a problem in the US with our iPhones. Just ensure data roaming is turned off and only connect to wifi and you shouldn't have a problem of extra charges, we never have.

Seems to have been a problem for some time with O2 and iphones.

Link

I had the O2 issue on a trip a few years back - data roaming switched off and using wifi - got charged. O2 quick led refunded and since then, the issue has not occurred again.

Neil wrote:We are both on O2 and never had a problem in the US with our iPhones. Just ensure data roaming is turned off and only connect to wifi and you shouldn't have a problem of extra charges, we never have.

Thats my point, i did have a problem and it cost me £40. I don't want same this time.
I might take my old IP4 without the sim and use wi-fi on that.

Settings > General > Cellular

You have to make sure both data roaming AND cellular data are switched off.

Thanks for the alert on this, I'll look out for any fees - however I travel to the US twice a month, and have for years, with my O2 iPhone and with cellular data turned off have never seen this happen. Although I rarely WiFi with my UK phone as I have a US iPhone too ... mind you that's on AT&T and they're a whole other story!

easygoingeezer wrote:

Neil wrote:We are both on O2 and never had a problem in the US with our iPhones. Just ensure data roaming is turned off and only connect to wifi and you shouldn't have a problem of extra charges, we never have.

Thats my point, i did have a problem and it cost me £40. I don't want same this time.
I might take my old IP4 without the sim and use wi-fi on that.

How can you pick up wifi without a sim? Ohhhh, hang on, that's the same as using wifi on an iPad that doesn't run on a contract? Would a smart non-iPhone also pic up wifi without a sim????

Yes, any mobile handset that has WiFi capabilities will sill be able to access the internet on just WiFi with no SIM card inserted. It won't be able to send or receive calls though.

Many will still be able to send or receive messages, like iPhones with iMessage for example, as that also works when on just WiFi as well.

If you do need to make calls, use something like Skype for example. Not sure if everyone is aware but with Skype, you can dial Freephone numbers without needing any Skype credit i.e. It still works if you just have a free Skype account. I use my free Skype account to dial freephone numbers all the time on my iPhone (some mobile networks do block Skype when on 3G/4G though). Even works on tablets too.

Interesting, and I had no idea you could use Skype that was, will have to find out how to do that...

Who needs to go anywhere else for tech help

Just don't hold your tablet/iPad up to your head to make a call with it as you may look a little silly, it's bad enough seeing people take photos with tablets never mind using them as a mobile phone

mitchja wrote:Just don't hold your tablet/iPad up to your head to make a call with it as you may look a little silly, it's bad enough seeing people take photos with tablets never mind using them as a mobile phone

I'm so with you on that

Just thought I would let you know that once again even after switching everything off as advised I got the "you are using wifi outside Europe" message and would be charged for Data up to £40.
Switched the phone off and used my old IP4 instead with no sim in.

O2 are little shysters but didn't get my money this time.