Roaming Charges Warning - G1

[decoyte]

I was just out of the USA for a few days and received a $126 data roaming charge from T-Mobile despite the fact that I did not actually use the phone at all except for WiFi and calls.

If "Data Roaming" is checked in the settings you will be charged eveytime the phone connects with a network. I would strongly recommend that you turn this off if you are outside of a T-Moble network, apparently and according to their customer service, you will be charged a extra data roaming charge in the USA if you connect to another carriers 3G network!!

T-Mobile had a very hard time understanding the difference between WiFi and data roaming but to be fair they did credit half the charges when I complained. Thankfully I was only out of the country for 4 days... (I even had charges from the Airport where I had a two hour layover)

 

[m0rk]

I read somewhere that this can even happen with third party apps even if you disable the data roaming....

I'll try to find that source

 

[dkaufman1]

I was interested in your point about it occurring here in the USA among carriers via traveling. Did a rep explain that?

 

[cubby27]

This has been a problem for many people since the phone came out. T-Mobile now officially advises us to leave our G1's at home.

I am planning to use the SIM that came with the phone while in Europe in March and April. That way I can still use the GPS function, as it would be handy to know my latitude and longitude. Even better would be if I could somehow download maps of Europe onto my SD card and use that to know where I am.

And when free wifi is available, it will be handy to be able to use the phone to surf and read the news, and perhaps check email.

 

[The Kartman]

I was in mexico recently and they charged me $80 for data roaming because gmail was coming through. I call to tmo got them to reverse as I told them there is no way to turn it off on the phone.

 

[johnnewhouse]

i think this is something that has to be solved very soon, otherwise its a big step backwards, and the g1 may as well not be a quad band phone as far as i am concerned.

i am planning on switching my sim back to my windows mobile for any trips outside the UK, which is a shame.

if roaming data was not so bloody expensive, then i wouldnt mind.

 

[philje123]

I have just been to australia for 3 weeks and took my phone with me.

As a precaution I unchecked data roaming and also removed all access points in the settings apart from the UK one and added an "s" to the end of the access point name and didn't get any charges for data as it was totally disabled (no data symbol at the top).

Phil

 

[Manacit]

I think the only way to stop overage charges is to change the APNs so that it can't connect.

 

[upgrayedd]

Here's an easier way to disable data roaming (and avoid charges) when you travel overseas.

Disable all data connections on your G1:
1. Use Anycut to create a shortcut to "Testing"
2. Click on Testing.
3. Click on Phone Information
4. Hit Menu button
5. Click on More
6. Click on Disable data connection

This turns off all data access. Note that GPRS service switches to "disconnected".
Now you should have a phone that does voice calls, but no data access.

 

[drustvold]

If you're going out of the country you should call and get a roaming plan for where you're going. Not saying thats a fix but at least you won't be surprised and you'll save some $.

 

[Mike4391]

Here's an easier way to disable data roaming (and avoid charges) when you travel overseas.

Disable all data connections on your G1:
1. Use Anycut to create a shortcut to "Testing"
2. Click on Testing.
3. Click on Phone Information
4. Hit Menu button
5. Click on More
6. Click on Disable data connection

This turns off all data access. Note that GPRS service switches to "disconnected".
Now you should have a phone that does voice calls, but no data access.

Wait so if I do this and go to Mexico I will be able to use my G1 for calls and text messages but not for data, correct? Someone else told me that I HAVE to have data for the phone to work.

"You MUST get Data to work or you can not Register Gmail and if you can not do that then phone will not work at all. You CAN NOT turn off DATA any other way because even if you do the programs can turn it back on without your permission in other words T-Mobile is dishonest and only wants your money."

 

[Ageless Stranger]

"You MUST get Data to work or you can not Register Gmail and if you can not do that then phone will not work at all."

That is correct and valid advice when registering the phone for the first time.

 

[tiredhiker]

Yes you need DATA to get the phone to work THEN add some letters to the APN code and stop it from using DATA. Phone will still work and TEXT Message will work fine too. Make sure you hit the SAVE after you change the code. It works fine for me in Vietnam but I had to learn the hard way. At least here I saw that I lost about $12 before I could figure it out. I like this phone but they should have stayed away from T-Mobile. I have nothing good to say about them ANY this damn phone should not require I have GMail to work. Its ok they ask but when it fails the phone should work! I mean it does belong to me and not Google and I was the one who paid the full price of $400 plus $30 for the unlock code online. Again T-Mobile only wasted my time on that matter... The other way of using Anycut works but when you reboot the phone it goes back to using DATA...all by itself... Or was this T-Mobiles plan?

 

[johnnewhouse]

does anyone know if this bug has been fixed yet? e.g. you turn off data roaming on the phone and it stays off until you choose to put it back on. or even if the android dev team are working on it?

(i say bug as this has to be classed as one, no matter what t-mobile say)

 

[zebrafish]

I'm annoyed with Android due to the control of the auto software update function and background syncing. In the UK I have unlimited data so leave all options open to syncing data and software. Now there is no easy simple way of disabling this when you travel. I thought I had but then received costs of

 

[pconte]

A potentially good solution, which I recently used, is to unlock your T-Mobile phone, buy a sim for your destination country, and sign-up for unlimited roaming.

See this page for how you can get a month service in France for only 21 euro:
France - Pay as you go sim with data Wiki

I posted more details on my on experience on this page.

 

[NunyaBidnez]

You could also try rooting your phone and installing a custom rom. I'm sure someone has made a Froyo rom for the G1, which includes a setting to turn off data when roaming or to turn it off completely

 

[UncleMike2011]

Same problem here.

Just back from a 2-day trip to Paris. Before going, I topped up my pay-as-you-go phone with

 

[UncleMike2011]

Following the farce when I did my Paris trip, during a recent holiday to Spain, I deliberately kept Roaming switched off during the entire trip... Except for one day, when I enabled it, to check my email.

The result was a $50 stupidity fine.

While I was checking my email, the HTC Desire was busy (and silently) updating the Google Maps application.

What ?!

I'll say it again... I absolutely detest Android.

It's just not finished yet.


Even when you keep your wits about you, Android jumps in and does ridiculous stuff like this, without asking your permission. Do they REALLY think we want to install software updates when we're Roaming ? Really ?

No wonder people jump ship, and go to Apple.

 

[SEMIJim]

I realize this thread is nearly a year old, but...

Following the farce when I did my Paris trip, during a recent holiday to Spain, I deliberately kept Roaming switched off during the entire trip... Except for one day, when I enabled it, to check my email.

The result was a $50 stupidity fine.

While I was checking my email, the HTC Desire was busy (and silently) updating the Google Maps application.

What ?!

I'll say it again... I absolutely detest Android.

It's just not finished yet.


Even when you keep your wits about you, Android jumps in and does ridiculous stuff like this, without asking your permission. Do they REALLY think we want to install software updates when we're Roaming ? Really ?

No wonder people jump ship, and go to Apple.

There's a check box for "update automatically" for each app. I never check that. Part of the reason is so I can check reviews, when there's a new release, before upgrading to it. (Sometimes developers really screw things up, like one who added a "small search monetization" "feature," which causes users' searches to be intercepted. His app's ratings have been plunging ever since.) The user quoted above just gave me another reason.

Btw: That check box is unchecked, by default. Hard to lay this one on the Android platform, or even the app store. Sounds like a self-inflicted wound, to me.

Jim