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I’m ready to quit my iPhone 3G

I’ve been on prepaid since I got a mobile phone ten years ago. The only time I was convince to get into a postpaid plan was when I got an iPhone 3G subscription plan from Globe. And for the last 12 months, I thought it was well worth it.

Not until this month when I got my last bill. I’m subscribed on the basic iPhone Plan 1599 and ever since I had it, I never once exceeded my monthly allocation. I don’t text a lot or make calls (and I have 2 other active prepaid numbers) and despite being a heavy mobile internet user, I still am not able to consume all the 40 hours a month allocation (mainly because I got wifi at home and have both SmartBro and Globe Tattoo accounts).

iphone 3g

So it was a huge surprise to learn that last month, my bill went beyond Php6,000 (there’s another Php3,700 spill-over internet charges for this month). During that time, I actually monitor my account getting charged about Php400 every day. So I reported it, made screenshots, documented and asked some clarifications. I got a lot of possible answers:

  • Push Email was set to ON and the iPhone could be connecting to 3G all the time. In the last 12 months of having GMail and Yahoo on my iPhone, I never set it to ON and it’s OFF until now. Fetch is also set to OFF/Manual.
  • iPhone Apps that connect to the net in the background. Been regularly downloading new apps (including Yahoo Messenger, TruPhone and Skype). I thought no iPhone Apps can run in the background? Apple specifically disabled this feature as it hogs resources, battery life and slows down performance. I don’t think there’s an app that runs on the background. To be sure, I restarted/rebooted the iPhone several times during the day.
  • iPhone OS 3.0 reset some settings/configurations. However, I did the upgrade in June so I should have experienced this problem much earlier.

The timing is also suspicious as at least 2 other friends on an iPhone plan have racked up Php17,000 and Php20,000 on their bills this same month. I’ve already filed a dispute/report and so have my other friends.

This isn’t the first time this type of incident has happened. I’ve actually helped a couple of people (both on iPhone and Nokia phones) resolve their sky-high 3G internet charges before.

The quick-fix — disable the APN. That way, the iPhone won’t be able to connect even if it tried to.

It’s irritating though that I need to edit my APN every time I want to connect online. It ruins the experience. Now, I’m always afraid to use my iPhone to connect online. If that’s the case, the iPhone looks crippled — might as well ditch it. Apple needs to look into this.

My only gripe si that I only have a Php2,500 credit limit. I assume that when I reach that amount/charge before end of the month, my account gets suspended, which it should be. So, I wonder why my fees go way beyond Php2,500.

My solution?

  • Switch to Globe Prepaid. But that doesn’t solve the problem that my credits/load could get drained overnight.
  • Jailbreak the iPhone and use my other existing Smart Prepaid SIM.
  • Sell the iPhone 3G and get an openline HTC Magic or Nokia E72 for my Globe subscription.

But before that, I need to settle my unpaid and long-overdue bills first. :D

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

139 Responses

  1. Avatar for Charlotte Charlotte says:

    got the same problem with you . . . im using iphone and my bill rocked up to 5,000+ . . . Globe really suck!!!

  2. Avatar for wala lang wala lang says:

    I have this lower end HTC Touch and i noticed one time that its connecting to the internet automatically. I noticed this after I put Windows Live in my phone (among others) and it seems to be connecting automatically whenever I receive emails. Luckily I also have this gprs monitor on my home screen that monitors my kb usage per day that’s why i was able to do something in my settings (i don’t remember actually what – i’m no tech savy – trial and error lang – but it stopped) before I incurred a huge bill from globe. So it’s all this “netphone” (not only iphone) and how you use it…

  3. Avatar for msbadog msbadog says:

    I think the problem is really with GLOBE TELECOMS. I used to have a postpaid number nung panahon na hindi pa uso ang mga iphone ha at you can only get postpaid when you pay the membership fee pero sobrang dami ng problems na na encounter ko. palagi nalang malaki ang bill ko (plan 350 pa nun)i regularly monitor my texts,my calls, but after 2 years ayaw ko na talaga.(kelangan iconsume ang 2 years or i have to pay 50K for disconnection notice) all my friends subscribed to smart at never sila nagkaroon ng overbilling problem.my kuya who is in the states has iphone at wala siyang problem regarding the billing so i think it’s with GLOBE talaga. dapat iboycot na natin ang walang kuentang globe na iyan. buti ang sun at smart. i’m now subscribed to sun postpaid but wala naman ako problems regarding sa bill although di naman iphone ang gamit ko.yun na nga lang pag wala ng “sun” mahirap na ang signal hehehe. but still GLOBE sucks.! rude pa ang mga customer service representative e kung hindi naman sa mga consumers na katulad natin wala silang susuelduhin!.

  4. Avatar for L@nn L@nn says:

    I have the same problem, they sent me a text reminder that my current bill was around 6,000+. I complained to globe and they said it’s because of my iphone settings, and they gave me a set up guide so it wont happen again.

  5. Avatar for jazzme jazzme says:

    iphone? walang radio, 3gs iisa ang camera, pag nasira ang battery kaylangang ibalik sa apple company para palitan ng genuine bat, malaki pang hawakan, walang expnason slot,bluetooth pang tawag lang di pwede ang stereo bluetooth na pang music…3.mega something pixel lang ang camera at most of all…..laki utang sa globe….

    bili nalang kayo ng lg arena..may fm radio, fm transmitter,bluetooth stereo support, gps, 5mega pixel cam, tv out.16million colors screen.touch screen.
    may slow mo ang video nya
    video editing capable
    dolby mobile
    scratch proof screen
    can play divx movies
    stainless still face plate, alloy casing
    8 gig internal mem that can be a use as mobile drive
    up to 32 gig external drive that can be use as mobile drive as well
    front and back camera
    3g na 3d cube pa.
    ito….magipon ka ng 24 gran…tapos bilhin mo tong sa akin
    atleast open line to
    he he he
    at least wala kayong alalahanin sa globe na utang.

  6. Avatar for Tang in a m0o Tang in a m0o says:

    Kayayabang ng iba dito. Nagka iphone lang, lakas ng loob manlait ng kapwa. Mga gunggong kayo.

    Yuga, itapon mo na yang laruan mong yan. Walang kwenta.

  7. Avatar for DailyManila DailyManila says:

    I have an iPhone 3G and these are the things I learned while using the unit for almost a year now:
    [list]
    [*]Turn off Push Email. Everytime a notification packet is sent to your unit, that is counted by their billing system. I think they’re rounding it off to 30 minutes — meaning, if a notification packet is sent to your unit which lasts for only a few seconds, it’s going to be charged as a full 30 minute access.
    [*]Rename the APN to something other than “http.globe.com.ph” (e.g. httpx.globe.com.ph)
    [/list]

  8. Avatar for Dexter | Techathand.net Dexter | Techathand.net says:

    Oucchh.. that’s not good.. Apple has to do something about this.. If it can happen to those who are tech savvy what more to ordinary people who just get and buy those iphone.

  9. Avatar for Techisland Techisland says:

    I use my 3GS with my globe visibility Sim instead. I find using the 3GS more as a replacement for my netbook than my phone.

    I still use my main Globe sim on my HTC Touch Pro.

  10. Avatar for Corporal Killjoy Corporal Killjoy says:

    Globe will deny to death that it was their fault. I suggest you openline and jailbreak the iPhone and put a prepaid sim.

  11. Avatar for Paul Paul says:

    @ neis: i also have the unlimited data plan from visibility for 2k a month. that reminds me to make a double check if my account is still under the unlimited plan. waaaahh! scary!!!!!!

  12. Avatar for neis neis says:

    on iphone,

    i have two postpaid accounts, an unlimited visbility and a regular flex account. experiencing both accounts on it, you need the unlimited visibility to fully maximize iphone as its made for 24/7 as said above.

    globe has a previous combo (visibility+flex) but they discontinued it (was my account before i split it up due to separate ones) – this could have been a more better approach for iphone plans.

  13. Avatar for neis neis says:

    @credit limit

    its not automatic – i have a 200K+ bill for months having a 4k credit limit and i can still use it.

    usually they will call you if you exceeded the limit, which happen on my case, i was suddenly called why i exceeded it, and there goes the months long drama till they get it totally wipe out of my bills

  14. Avatar for neis neis says:

    @my 200k+ bill

    LOOK I AM ON AN UNLIMITED DATA PLAN – CORPORATE TO BOOT! so it’s obviously globe’s fault – for some bizarre reason they can’t even explain, my unlimited suddenly switch to KB charging! – i put it on my iphone BEFORE so i won’t worry about internet excess charges since its unlimited but goodness this still happens… :(

    so don’t tell me i’m not smart, because it’s a stupid glitch on their system that was detected well before my bill was given to me, and it took them MONTHS to fixed it

    and the CSRs are plain stupid on explaining don’t use this for the meantime while it is investigated – if i have waited it will take months before i can use it and i’m paying a 2k bill a month for it!

    thankfully the Account Manager was useful, i can continuously use it (cause i need it for work) and just pay what I’m supposed to pay for. I pity the account manager having to absorbed my rage while his helpless but to followup and escalate to their mgmt about the issue.

    if i have any issues with globe – i direct it to our AM, at least I get better non-idiotic responses than CSRs who’s standard replies aren’t any of use.

    just sharing my story

  15. Avatar for billy billy says:

    Jailbreak the phone, get SBSettings (to open Sbsettings, just slide your thumb on the top part of the LCD, where the time is), download FakeAPN (from Ispazio in cydia). It is basically a toggle that will enable/disable your APN by introducing a “fake” line to the APN field.

    If FakeAPN is on, your APN will look like:

    fake.internet.globe.com.ph

    if fakeAPN is off, your APN will look like:
    internet.globe.com.ph

    beats going to settings everytime. :)

  16. Avatar for vern vern says:

    Except for the inaccurate stats on the iPhone, I don’t see how this is the iPhone’s fault. Again, it’s the iPhone getting flak for the shortcomings of the provider.

  17. Avatar for noemi noemi says:

    you know my case Abe. Got billed 11,000 but insisted on paying 1,000 as that was the highest I’ve ever paid for internet use. Well they gave in to my demands. It was my history of usage that saved me.

  18. Avatar for anonymous anonymous says:

    Wait! Globe has a CREDIT LIMIT guys, right? once it reaches the limit, automatically disabled na dapat yung outgoing calls, text and 3G net browsing. so bakit yung iba dito umabot more than P20,000 for a month’s bill???

  19. Avatar for Ardz Ardz says:

    There are always different sides to a story but the root cause of this is still the iPhone. The iPhone is intended to be connected 24/7, thus the unlimited data plan of AT&T. Even when roaming, it keeps on connecting. Remember the AT&T subscribers who received their bills in a box?

    If you want to have unlimited everything, switch to Sun Cellular. They just started offering unlimited data, voice and text all in one sim with a free phone for Php999.

    I am a subscriber of all three major telcos with Globe and Sun as postpaid and Smart as prepaid. I have no major complaints as of the moment but I know these telcos still need a lot of improvements.

  20. Avatar for Harmony Harmony says:

    Naexperience ko dn yan b4..N0ng 1st bill ng postpaid ko..D naman kcng taas ng bill ng sau but the fact that i was charged w/o my knowledge eh d tlga ok. The next following months nagng cautious n ako pero may pak0nti k0nti pa dn na lumulusot and then i learned from my friend on wap na may mga gumagamt ng postpaid # para mkaintrnet.. Postpaid # ng ibang subscriber hnahack nla para libre nternet nla. 22o man o hndi nkakatak0t pa dn dahl postpaid subscriber ako so gnwa ko pnadeactiv8 ko internet c0nnecti0n ng plan ko taz prepaid sim na lng gnagamt ko pagiinternet. So far ok naman. I just renewed may plan subscription 5mos ago.

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