..:| applei.ph |:..

Siops wrote:
5 Months ago I shared my experience here about Globe's Internet Billing problems. I first encountered the problems when iPhone 3.0 came out and I upgraded my firmware. It's really sad to hear that after almost half a year Globe has not solved anything with regards to their Internet Service. They keep on telling subscribers that every charge is VALID and that no amount of explaining can null their charges.

I had my GPRS and MMS de-activated because of this. I now rely on wifi spots to update mail and apps. The only thing I miss is MMS because apparently you can't turn on just MMS service, you have to turn everything on and get charged an insane amount just to receive pictures from friends.

To me the iPhone was designed as an always on device, and yes the responsibility of keeping track of data charges should be on the owners, that is why we pushed to have APN editing early on, and that is why we turn off internet and 3G when we don't need it. But when GLOBE still charges you when everything is OFF. THAT IS GLOBES PROBLEM NOT OURS.

The action you took to have GPRS and MMS deactivated is the correct path to your problem, which should be the same for everyone else who do not want to be charged arbitrarily and do not need the cellular data services Globe offers.

Re your statement "To me the iPhone was designed as an always on device, and yes the responsibility of keeping track of data charges should be on the owners.......But when GLOBE still charges you when everything is OFF. THAT IS GLOBES PROBLEM NOT OURS.", again, as earlier discussed re how the iphone reverts to the correct APN settings et al, if and when after this deactivation of GPRS service and Globe still charges you, then yes, it is indeed a Globe problem.

I had a similar experience last december when I was charged for like around 300 pesos for around an hour usage. I have the habit of checking my unbilled charges everyday and contested with globe CSR. Since they cannot give me a reasonable explanation the CSR agreed to have the tech support contact me. But until now, no call.

Anyway, guys, I had some experience before even when I enter a wrong APN, I can still access the net via safari. So I kinda figure to change the APN in different ways or better after changing the APN, launch safari or the appstore. If you can still connect, better change the APN to another address then check again.

Globe-speak: We will have this investigated and have someone call you back..

Translated to English: Ha ha you dumb customer, too bad for you we are an incompetent large monopoly and don't really give a damn about our customers. Oh and you use one of those new-fangled iPhones. They are very complex and you must disable your APN because we never really took the time to understand this oh so complicated technology behind sending DATA across the network. Oh, and did I mention that if you dont PAY these invalid charges, your phone will be cut off?? ha ha ha. Have a nice day.

Oh yes, I didn't pay the charges I was contesting and they did cut my my line for like a week. I was in Vancouver and I couldn't do anything. When I got back the only thing they told me was that they informed me before they cut my line(which they didn't) and that they didn't know I had a pending case.

Those of you who are jailbroken, do try to use the new Data Toggle from Cydia in addition to your current practice of changing the APN (or installing the FakeAPN toggle). Data Toggle changes the data IP to a bogus one, thus preventing the unit from accessing data.

This is currently the best solution so far. That is until Globe/Smart releases an affordable unlimited data plan package for smartphone users. It's either that or you cancel your data subscription which isn't really an option.

I am having the same problem! My internet bill reached 5k. I am not using my net for 3 days na and napadeactivate ko na ang net browsing ko.. OhmyGod!!

GLOBE NEEDS TO FIX THIS! KURAKOT!! WAAAAHHH

For what its worth, I never had problems with Globe. I was very careful to install all the needed apps needed to monitor and disable such internet connectivity. Ingat lang, lalo na to those who are new to iPhones and how it handles 3G/Edge signals. Read the forums, search the forums, use google, etc. That's what I did to ensure I didn't run my bills up.

kattiesucks wrote:
I am having the same problem! My internet bill reached 5k. I am not using my net for 3 days na and napadeactivate ko na ang net browsing ko.. OhmyGod!!

GLOBE NEEDS TO FIX THIS! KURAKOT!! WAAAAHHH

Keith, I guess we already get your point with all this ranting and attacking Globe and how much your bill is. In fact you've been ranting at two other forum topics on this and to tell you honestly, part of this is also your fault for not learning how to operate your device properly.

The solution to your problem is really very simple and you have been already advised of it as well at another thread, but here it is again:

!. Just tap Settings->General->Network and turn Enable 3G and Cellular Data to OFF. Then, tap on Cellular Data Network and type in anything you want on the APN. Doing these things alone is a surefire guarantee that you won't get charged for "unwanted" data services.

2. Go to a Globe Business Center and have your data services terminated.

Related discussions:
iP4 settings to prevent unwanted data charges from GLOBE

I do agree that these data charges can be prevented by the user but for first time iPhone users which are not familiar with how the iPhone works, I understand how disappointing/angry/(insert other adjectives here) you may be once you get your enormous Globe bill right after switching to an iPhone. The thing is to learn from it, research and make sure it doesn't happen again. But of course, its still a bit unfair to pay for the bill you got right? So here's just a tip from me based on my own experience.

I think Globe is a bit lenient when they find out that you're an iPhone user. The first time I was billed, they easily let me off the hook. I kind of remember them saying that that was the first and last time they would shoulder the data charges...not so sure. Funny thing is, when I switched from a 3GS to an iPhone 4, I had to switch to a micro sim. Because of this, the apn settings I changed before were reverted to the original one. So basically, I got an enormous bill the 2nd time around. I explained that the rep at the Business Center didn't advise me to change the apn settings again. Sabi ko nalang kala ko nasa network na yun. Anyway, they offered me 25% off which I dodn't accept. Tapos nun 50% pero ayaw ko parin. We finally settled on 75% discount since aminado naman ako na may ginamit rin ako na data that month.

I guess point of the story is that, try and talk to customer service and explain your side. Not sure if its standard procedure na yung first "offence" pwede nilang i-waive and sa second offense, some kind of a discount but it doesn't hurt to try. I'm using a line which have been with Globe since the day they opened. I'm not sure if this played a part in their leniency but I'm guessing maybe it didn't (tinitingnan pa ba ng CSR yun?).

Haven't had any problems besides those 2 instances. I guess iOS4 also helped a lot. Yung 3G and DATA switch ngayon works much much better than in OS3. Personally, hindi ko na kelangan palitan yung apn settings or install fakeapn in sbsettings which I used before in OS3.

Hope this helps in some way!

di ba by changing your APN to wrong APN, it will prevent you from getting unwanted data and internet connection charges?

i never had problem with my bill sa Globe since day 1 na nag-iPhone ako kasi mismong yun CSR sa Globe advised me to edit APN to a wrong APN so that I won't be charged for internet usage.