Phantom data utilisation...

[Anonymous]

Apologies readers, this is long-winded.... Although my Samsung Galaxy Ace phone has a strong connection to my wireless access point overnight, referring to my bills, I am irritated to see that every day without exception, some data activity occurs around midnight which goes via GPRS rather than the WiFi connection thus using some of the data allowance. I need my phone purely for texts and voice use and occasionally to listen to mp3s and the radio. I have no perceived need or desire to download apps or browse the Internet from it... it is far too small, cumbersome and impractical.. I have a PC and 24" monitor for that! Thus, I cancelled the £6, 500Mb monthly data bolt-on after no more than 17Mb was used in each of the three months I have had the phone. O2 automatically replaced this bolt-on with "O2 Web Daily" giving up to 50Mb per day for max £1.02. Already, after just two days, the spurious "midnight activity" referred to previously, of around 100Kb total, has incurred a somewhat disproportionate charge of 38p! At this rate, I will be even more worse off! I am livid, and have taken the SIM from the now "switched off" Samsung and placed it in my old no frills basic Nokia handset. Why isn't there an option to abstain from data usage altogether? That there isn't, smacks of unfair practice to me... I have a mind to refer it to the Ombudsman on a point of principle. I observed that even with the SIM removed, I was still able to access "My O2" so I'm still not convinced that it won't run up a data usage bill if left powered on. Is there a way to turn off the GPRS modem on the Samsung whilst still allowing the handset to function as a phone? [Flight mode perhaps?]. Not happy!!

[jonsie · Accepted solution]

First off, midnight is the time O2's system updates the previous day's data usage. Your phone must be connecting to Mobile data to incur data costs.

Go to settings/more settings/mobile networks and untick the Mobile data and Data roaming boxes. You will still be able to connect to wifi and use the calling functions of the phone.

[MI5]

The facts:
Smartphones use data. Period. That's what they are designed to do. YOU have complete control over your phone in terms of what you allow or disallow to connect. As above, if you only want data over wifi, turn off the mobile data option on the phone. Unfortunately this is straight forward user error and the "Ombudsman" would quite simply laugh....

The solution:
As stated many times (and this is what we are here for), If you are not sure how your phone works, please ask

[Anonymous]

Many thanks to you and the other respondent... that's exactly what I was hoping could be achieved.

It is ironic that the only perceived data relayed over GPRS, and which eroded my data allowance, was seemingly O2's update to advise or establish how much data I had used or remained!? Whatever this routine nightly transfer of data is/was, why is not routed over WiFi if the WiFi network is within range and with a much stronger signal than the mobile network?

[perksie]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Whatever this routine nightly transfer of data is/was, why is not routed over WiFi if the WiFi network is within range and with a much stronger signal than the mobile network?

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It will be if you turn data off as advised, in fact it won't be necessary, some phones will also switch back to data when asleep or on charge unless it's off.

You may also want to turn off any wi-fi sleep setting too.