[Siops]

I am sharing this story with this community because I think we iPhone users need to know this and protect their interests.

Over the past year that I have had my iPhone I have no real complaints with regards to the device itself. It seems that my problem has always been with the network carrier whether it be because of repairs or incidents like this.

This evening I checked my unbilled usage using Globe's PLAN UNBILLED feature and this is what I got.

Good day! Your total unbilled charges as of 08/23 8:33:19PM is 2885.22
Breakdown is as follows

Voice: Local = PHP34.80
Other Network = PHP81.20
Local Voice Promo = PHP 114.43
SMS: Local = 192.87
INTERNET = 2461.92

The amount does not include taxes or amounts for share a load

OMG!!!! 2461.92 just for INTERNET ?

Ok let me explain, my billing cutoff is every 15th of the month, that means every 16th of the month a new billing cycle is started. Today is August 23, 2009. It has just been 8 DAYS since a new cycle was started and I have already got a bill of 2461.92 just for using the internet

Ok i have ALL my settings off
APN settings, 3G, PUSH you name it it's off

Now let me do the MATH

PHP2500 / PHP5 per 15 mins of browsing ( YES I AM SUBSCRIBED TO TIME BASED CONNECTION) = 500 connection times in 8 days - doesn't sound bad diba? wait...

500 connections X 15 Mins each = 7500 Mins of internet connection in 8 days

7500 mins / 60 mins = 125 hours

125 hours / 24 hours = 5.20 days

Now this means that out of the 8 days, i have been online for 5.20 days straight. That's just INSANE

I called globes customer care and they gave me the following lines.

Hi sir what phone are you using - I was using my iPhone, until i sent it to you guys for repairs yesterday.

Oh sir iPhone pala, do you know that you can get charged if you ( don't turn off the settings ) - YES I KNOW THAT IS WHY IT IS OFF

Ay sir are you sure that everything is off ano po settings nyo? - Yes i'm sure it's internet.globe.com.p
Ay sir MMS nyo po? - What? i don't touch that since i don't send out MMS. And I think if it's MMS i will be charged for MMS, right?

Ay sir yan po talaga yung problem sa iphone always connected - NO NO NO, as far as i know once you change the APN, turn off the PUSH, the 3G, there is no reason for my phone to be connected to the net unless it is Wifi, which i have at home and in the office.

Ok, this is what i noticed, when i told them that i was using the iPhone they immediately told me that it will get charged because it's always on. Now my concern is, is this true even with everything off?

When I told them that my iPhone was with them for repairs( which is really the case, and a source of another annoyance with globe) the CSR suddenly said, ay baka may mali lang... sige we will check

It just dawned on the that when i told them i have the iphone and i have an internet billing concern they automatically blame the phone, even if all the settings are off. When i told them it's another phone then there is just a mistake? What is wrong with that? Does the iPhone suddenly give globe a reason to bill subscribers for services they are not using? do they even care if the transactions are valid?

The CSR told me that since this is the running balance i can only contest it once the bill comes out. But based on prior knowledge once the bill comes out they just cut the charges in half as " GOODWILL" to the subscriber.

c'mon GLOBE i don't need good will, i need you to answer how in god's name can i be connected 5 days out of 8 for 24 hours straight without my settings on all the time, and yes I AM CONTESTING MY BILLING AS EARLY AS NOW!

If any of you guys have the same problem please do give me insights...
If anyone from Globe is in this community, please do tell your colleagues that you have to do something about this whole iPhone mess.

[jaijin]

What i did when this happened was ask them to deactivate my internet and mms. I now use a prepaid sim for such services. Sucks talaga.

[bluesoda00]

@ jaijin, i did this the 1st day that my iphone was activated. pero ang sagot nila ay check and turn off all internet related settings. they dont have daw capability to turn it off on their system dahil subscriber dependent daw un. simula noon up to now, sa awa ng dyos, ma internet charges ako na constant at 3.97. i made a complaint at ang sabi minimal naman daw yung amount at iconconsider nila yung actual usage. duh, e wala nga akong actual usage tapos i am charged with 3.97? hahay!

[aragorn_109]

Mods: Please merge this with the other billing thread.

Siops: Just a question: when you sent the iPhone for repair, did you leave the sim card with them? Or did you insert the sim on another phone?

Do take note that even if we set the APN to a wrong one, doing any of the following resets the APN to its original state (and will thus make the iPhone connect again):
1. Re-inserting any Globe sim card on the iPhone
2. When you use reset network settings or reset all settings on the iPhone
3. When you sync to iTunes and download a carrier update
4. Restoring and updating to a new firmware

IMHO, asking Globe to permanently deactivate internet and MMS defeats the purpose of having an iPhone since you can't maximize its features. One just needs to be consistent in checking the APN and editing it as you need to connect/disconnect.

I have a new iPhone plan (with 40 hours or 2400 minutes free internet usage) and so far did not have problems with my 1st bill. I'm also in the middle of my current billing cycle and my internet usage is P164.53, considering that I do check e-mail, facebook, twitter thru 3G around 3-4 times a day and occasionally use Maps, GPS and compass apps. This means I have just used around 500 minutes out of my free 2400 minutes. I guess the good thing about an iPhone plan is one gets charged by the minute (P0.33) and not by blocks of 15 minutes (P5).

[dep28]

don't think we're allowed to be critical of Globe here. i remember an old thread being closed because of that...

[Siops]

@Jaijin Thanks for the suggestion, but i kind of find it tedious to have another sim just for browsing, plus given my experience with prepaid, i'd rather know how my load is being consumed. It's just annoying that this is happening and i feel so helpless

@aragorn Thanks for the reminders, but i am aware that doing those things do reset the settings and I do always turn off the APN after updates or syncs. I actually just realized that my problem only started with me upgrading to 3.0. For some reason even with my APN, 3G and Push off, the iPhone still connects to the network. Has anyone else here observed that their bill shot up after upgrading to 3.0?

The guy at globe told me to change the apn for MMS too, which is kinda weird. I also read somewhere that the iphone runs checking for softwares via EDGE if 3G is not available since the last firmware upgrade, is there any truth to this?

I just got another text from globe this afternoon and they are claiming that my last billing cycle which is from July 15 to August 15 amounted to 4000 plus with the bulk also coming from Internet usage. I found that this problem started only this June when the 3.0 firmware came out.

@Dep28 Why can't we say anything critical of Globe? I don't understand this? I know the community respects apple that is why there is no talk of jailbreaking or hacking allowed but can't we complain about the bad service we are getting from Globe or Apple Centers since they are official?

[beckham07]

This thread will help out many users. =)

I respect the concern of our fellow philmugger.

I'm also an Iphone user and every 3 days I have to call csr to check my internet usage or current bill.

Who knows maybe one of us here is from Globe. =)

[doblezeta]

Originally Posted by Siops

@aragorn Thanks for the reminders, but i am aware that doing those things do reset the settings and I do always turn off the APN after updates or syncs. I actually just realized that my problem only started with me upgrading to 3.0. For some reason even with my APN, 3G and Push off, the iPhone still connects to the network. Has anyone else here observed that their bill shot up after upgrading to 3.0?

Your settings got "stuck". Hence, even with your APN wrong, the iPhone still retained the correct APN, leading to an unwanted network connection.

The quickest remedy to this would be:
1) Reset Network Settings (Settings-General-Reset-Reset Network Settings)
2) Edit the APN again (add "1")
3) Test if you have connection (launch Safari)

This problem has been around for over a year. I've heard many success stories on getting the internet charges reversed. Just be persistent in contesting the bill. But be polite, as the Globe folks are not really at fault for stuck APN settings, hence reversing the charges is not really their duty/obligation. Just calmly explain to them how the charges were incurred and that you are requesting that it be reversed.

[Treb22]

Originally Posted by dep28

don't think we're allowed to be critical of Globe here. i remember an old thread being closed because of that...

If we can be critical of Apple Resellers, I dont think we should do the opposite to Globe. They have an even crappier service. Basta walang below the belt.

[jayzZEe]

sakin no problems naman. i'm using KB-based browsing plan. Minsan nga yung unbilled internet ko umaabot ng 20,000 pesos. pero pagdating naman ng bill, total bill ko is 2,000 pesos only. I'm on plan 1,599 nga pala.