brakeforcake

Hi Guys
I have just bought my first ever smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Apollo) & have signed up to Orange Pay as you Go "Dolphin" scheme.
I have looked at www.youraccount.orange.co.uk to try & find how much of my 100Mb allowance is left.
On the View Your Usage History page they do not give a total amount of usage, just a long list of the individual amounts.
Do they send you a text when you go over your limit ?
What difference would it make to the usage if i used WiFi instead of the GPRS ?

Thanks for helping

bfc

(total newbie !!)

Rev Gear

It's only GPRS usage that counts towards your quota, not WiFi.

I don't believe there is anywhere online to see your remaining quota but if you dial 453, select option 1, then option 1 again, you'll get a recorded message with your balance.

You will get an SMS a couple of days before your month is up reminding you to top-up but you won't get one if you use your 100Mb within that time. I'd recommend 3G Watchdog to keep track of what you have used, it's really easy to set up and best of all it's free.

Whatever you do don't use Orange PAYG outside of your free allowance unless you've bought another 250Mb bundle. Orange charge a minimum connection fee, so every time Android connects you get charged that minimum fee even if it only transfers a few bytes of data. You can wipe out any remaining credit in a matter of hours without realising.

brakeforcake

Thanks for that very helpful reply Rev Gear. I am getting the hang of managing the data allowance now after my harsh initial experience !! I have installed DataSwitch & APNdroid to help me.
Now i am looking to replace Kies with a smaller program. I tried Mobilego but Malwarebytes found a trojan ( Backdoor.popwin ) included...so i have uninstalled it.
Perhaps you could suggest another manager for my non-rooted phone ?

Thanks again

bfc

Rev Gear

I don't use a manager so can't help you there, I just keep an eye on the 3G Watchdog widget on my homescreen.

If you are worried about how much data you are using then look at the setting of various apps to see how often they synch. I don't use GMail as a primary address so not point that checking for new emails more than once a day. I don't need share prices or weather updates every 15 mins.

Assuming you've got WiFi at home then make sure you've got your device set up to connect to it. If WiFi is available then Android will use that for data in preference to GPRS, so zero data costs whilst you are at home. Likewise if you regularly visit friends or family with WiFi then don't be afraid to use that as well.

brakeforcake

Thanks again Rev Gear !! Unfortunately we do not have Wifi at home but i can get it elsewhere.
The Wifi scanner has located several unprotected services near my house but i am loth to start using those.

bfc

GalaxyS2

Should this tell you the remaining amount of data you have left as well? This is my first month on orange payg and the first time in 3 years that I've run out of credit. I very rarely use the phone to ring I use texts and there free, so I've spent £9 on data usage in 20 days. That's a lot!