You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
We gave mini-me my very old iPhone for Christmas. It's his first mobile. The SIM I bought for £10 had 30 days of 'credit' including data allowances etc
The credit has expired and now we are on to what I thought was the simple 'top-up' stuff, but it has changed soooo much since I last did this circa 14 years ago!
I added £10 credit today and immediately it was reduced by £2.00. I think this was because I had mobile data switched on. That equates to £60 per month!!! I could get a fancy new handset with included voice/text/data for that!!!!!
I have now disabled Mobile data, but the handset now can't send or receive pictures texts (MMS). Surely you don't have to pay £60 per month for that? 🙁
I have just tried to phone Vodafone, but gave up holding after 25 mins (I'm tired after a long day). I can't find an answer on their webpage and Google is not helping so far...
Can anyone give me any pointers?
TIA
Not sure the above helps! But fwiw I have an s4 and unless I turn data on, my mms messages don't come through.
Yay
and
...
Just off for a read...
That thread is based in the US and started 4 years ago!
However, it has recently been updated and does seem to suggest that Mobile data has to be on to send/receive an MMS. So £60 per month 😯
I really hope that is not the case 🙁
Well of it helps... Probably not... But I just tried a little experiement.
S4 on o2
Blackberry on voda
Wife's phone on ee
My pay go emergency phone on three
Data off.... No mms on all. Left for about 30 mins. As soon as data turned on... Boom! Mms comes through.
That's £1 you owe me (well OK work). Ha
MMS is expensive and small resolutions usually, and yes it uses a data connection of sorts to send. It's antiquated technology and generally rubbish.
I'd rather use something like WhatsApp (would need data enabled) and use that for texts and pictures. Maybe you can get something on the phone that controls what can and can't be used.
Also is it possible to encourage use on WiFi where possible rather than mobile data?
Sadly that seems to mirror my findings 🙁
So £60 per month to allow MMS, plus the per message charge 👿
Thanks for the help. I will drop a couple quid into the charity of your choice. Let me know which one it should be 🙂
In the meantime, if anyone else can help me bypass this ridiculous issue please let me know
It's OK.... Put it toward the data plan 🙂
As the dead guy says above.... Mms is really out of date now. I think today is the first time I have sent one in well over a year or so. Even text messages I only use to my parents. Everyone else is whats app. Pretty much the same for most people I know really.
Not another who has been VODABONED!
I suggest having a free THREE sim card delivered to your home.
Thank me later 😉
@ Deadkenny - Data enabled = £2 per day. £60 per month so the same issue.Whats App is not the solution
@ Singlesteed - THREE does not have any service where we live or work or where he goes to school so absolutely useless in this instance
🙁
Package?
I've got a Vodafone PAYG SIM I use for my business phone and if I top up by some amount, maybe £10, then I get 500MB I think for the month. Might be a better one also. Fairly sure EE/Orange do a 1GB PAYG package. Annoying as I have a contract with them and costs me a fortune for half of what they offer on PAYG.
Default daily data is usually way more expensive. Also there's usually a capped option somewhere to ensure they can't use any more than a certain amount per day.
And yeah, Three have the best deals, but service sucks in a lot of locations.
It's a first phone and I wanted to keep the spend low per month. They did not have to provide a handset so that should help keep the costs down...
I can get a 'package' (or some such similar marketing named guff) for £10 per month, but it expires even if nothing is used which means £120 per year 😯
If I get a regular £5 credit I expect the text and calls would last a month for now (he is still young). But he wanted to send me a photo yesterday and it failed until I enabled data at which point there was £2 off his £10 credit!
100mins, 100txts & 100mb data for £5 a month...
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/mobile-phones/deal/?id=6530245793
And set him up an email account for pics. The phone should default to WiFi at home.
PAYG always looks a rip off to me.
That talk mobile deal above seems a cracking package for a first phone, I guess it'll just depend on which carrier it uses for signal whether it'll work for the OP or not.
It is a cracking deal and has grabbed my attention as an ideal first package. However, as expected, it lists the location of his school and the bus route as low/no cover so probably won't work for us/him (Vodafone are the only operator that works in the village apparently)
I may get a SIM and try it out and give him the choice;
Picture messages etc, but no signal to/from/at school
OR
Texts and calls to/from/at school, but no picture messages
Is that from experience of knowing that!?
Assuming the question was based on my last response to you: No, not 100%
However, I know that Vodafone installed a mast in the village about 8 months ago and before that I did not know anyone who had a phone signal there. The Head of the school had to write a phone policy as it had never been an issue before
Googling suggests they don't share masts/transmitters
My O2 Phone does not get a signal and neither does my mates work phone which is not Vodafone
Talkmobile is owned by Vodafone, so uses the same network. So it should give you exactly the same coverage.
You could also look at Lebara or Sainsbury's mobile, they also use the Vodafone network. Though I've not checked if they are much cheaper or not.
Fair enough!