Help Disable 2g phone data connections?

[bearcave]

I have a Galaxy on O2 UK. It's via work, and on a business tariff that boasts unlimited data.

After a couple of huge bills, it turns out that apparently 3g data is unlimited, but 2g data is charged at the usual eye-watering rates. Phone Bloke is checking with O2 whether they are serious.

In the meatime, I'd like to disable 2g data connections. I can't find a way to do that. Anyone got any cunning suggestions?

 

[MichaelW]

Someone is pulling a fast one, I'm also on O2 UK. At home I do not get a 3G signal at all and yet frequently look up facebook or twitter updates. I've never been charged for data usage.

Unlimited data usage is just that, whether it's 2G/3G/Edge, it doesn't make any difference.

 

[bearcave]

Maybe - we're checking. However, one of the guys has an iPhone as part of the same tariff and reports the same. But you can specify data on 3g only on the iPhone.

 

[informale]

Maybe O2 has different billing conditions for business tariffs? I have not seen the "3g only data" setting on Android. There is an app called WiSyncPlus - it does not have such feature, but I'm sure the dev could easily implement it on request.

Android Market QR-code link to WiSyncPlus:

 

[martino]

That's weird... Maybe you have some different contract that might be only for businesses, but when I was on O2 what they took as 'fair usage' on unlimited data it didn't matter if you were using 2G or 3G.

You can turn on 'use only 2G connections', or something like that, so if you untick the box, more chance of being on 3G, but as MichaelW posted, depends on the signal you can get.

 

[Teknik]

the only thing you could do is if you disable background data (or all data) and only refresh your gmail etc when you can manually check you have 3g?

am i right in saying that both 3g and 2g go through the same access points?

 

[informale]

You are right.

Would be handy if it wasn't so. )

 

[crester]

*#*#4636#*#* -> Phone information -> WCDMA only

Would that help?

Edit: that forces the radio to use 3G, note that if you go to an area that does not have 3g you will not get any phonecalls or sms's with this option on. But you can always change it back to WCDMA preferred.

 

[Teknik]

ignore the last comment, i just checked and you can set it to WCDMA only, which is the long name for 3G, so that should sort it for you

 

[bearcave]

Thanks. That's a cunning idea.

Sadly 3g coverage around me (central Oxford) is patchy. I'll have to keep 2g enabled. I've disabled background data for now, and will watch that damm 3g symbol closely.

 

[Andronix]

it's safer to disable apn with 'toggle data'. you can use 'Droidwall' firewall (whitelist apps) as well.

 

[bearcave]

Thanks for the suggestions, all.

Company Phone Bloke has spoken to O2. Apparently they haven't correctly applied internet service to my phone number, and are rectifying this. So, panic over. I can go back to 2g data chatter.