Roaming charges even when its turned off on T-Mobile G1
The Android Guys have a story from a T-Mobile G1 owner who got charged for $102.85 (£70) in roaming charges — even after he turned off data roaming on his phone. The story goes that he was visiting the UK, and knowing that he would rack up high roaming charges while abroad, he turned off data roaming, data sync and 3G on the phone (although he did still use it for calls and texts under an international calling plan).
When the G1 owner contacted the t-mobile customer service line the CSR and his supervisor told him that there is nothing they can do. The CSR told him that the way the G1 works it will always access the internet, whether it is for texts or calls, even if the data roaming features are off.
After this story has circulated all over the internet, today T-Mobile has issued an official response to clear things up, and the gist of it is this: the “Off” selection in data roaming should work fine, but third-party applications can essentially override this command and wreak havoc on one’s phone bill.
From the horse’s mouth: “Some third-party applications available for download on Android Market require access to the internet and have the ability to turn on data roaming when in use. Customers are informed whether an application will use this feature prior to downloading, but should also be aware when traveling outside the country.”
Official T-Mobile statement:
T-Mobile is committed to delivering the best experience in wireless to our customers. If a T-Mobile customer would like to use their T-Mobile G1 while outside the country, they should contact Customer Care before they leave to ask that the WorldClass feature be added to their service at no additional charge. If they choose, customers can also disable data roaming on the G1. This can be done by going through the following steps: Home Screen > Menu > Settings > Wireless Controls > Mobile Networks > Data Roaming.Some third party applications available for download on Android Market require access to the internet and have the ability to turn on data roaming when in use. Customers are informed whether an application will use this feature prior to downloading, but should also be aware when traveling outside the country.
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