WiFi charges showing up on phone bill even though WiFi is turned off

Question

Level 2

227 points

WiFi charges showing up on phone bill even though WiFi is turned off

I bought a used Original iPhone in August '09 and it's connected to T-Mobile. I've been with T-Mobile for 4 years. My T-Mobile bills run from the 15th-14th of each month. In Nov. '09, I began seeing WiFi access info on my T-Mobile phone bills. This began on 11/12/09. Never saw this before, even though I occasionally turned on the WiFi when traveling back in August and September '09 to get my email, but I always turned it off within an hour.

Since then, I have seen daily internet access on my phone bills, even though the WiFi is turned off on the iPhone. I don't travel much, am home 99% of the time (I work at home), and I don't turn on the the phone's WiFi daily. I only turn it on once or twice a week to update the calendar or if I make a change on my home computer's contact list, and then turn it off again immediately. So how is it possible to get these daily charges on my phone bill?

Mac Mini 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.5.5), Logitech mouse, Apple wired keyboard, acer monitor

Posted on Apr 19, 2010 12:59 PM

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Answer 1

paulcb

Level 6

19,245 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:09 PM in response to schoodle

TMobile cannot and will not charge your for wifi use on your iPhone, unless you log into one of their wireless hotspots, i.e. with Safari. The charges you're getting are from the cellular data that is being used by your iPhone, most likely via the apps you use. The majority of apps use data.

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Answer 2

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:10 PM in response to schoodle

Since your phone has been hacked to work with TMobile here in the US, you're on your own. Suggest you contact TMobile to sort this out. The terms of use here prohibit any help for hacked phones. Unless you bought your original iphone in France(which was the only place it was sold officially unlocked), it has been hacked.

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Answer 3

Apr 19, 2010 1:14 PM in response to schoodle

When at home 99% of the time connected to your private wireless network at home - not connected to a T-Mobile hotspot or with wi-fi access off which makes it impossible to access your private wireless network at home or any wireless network, I don't know how this is possible.

Since the iPhone is sold in the U.S. as carrier locked with AT&T and the only country where the original iPhone was sold as officially unlocked was in France, unless your iPhone was originally purchased in France as officially unlocked when new, this means you are using an iPhone that has been hacked to be unlocked. Who knows what unknown problems hacking an iPhone can cause, but if your iPhone is rarely if ever in range of an available T-Mobile hotspot for wi-fi access, it isn't your iPhone you are being charged by T-Mobile for or T-Mobile has a billing error.

Contact T-Mobile customer support.

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Answer 4

schoodle Author

Level 2

227 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:18 PM in response to paulcb

I do not use apps of any kind

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Answer 5

schoodle Author

Level 2

227 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:21 PM in response to wjosten

I did contact T-mobile and they are of no use since they don't support iPhones. I have T-Mobile at home too, but again, how is it possible to be getting access, even minuscule as it is, if the phone's WiFi is off?

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Answer 6

Apr 19, 2010 1:22 PM in response to schoodle

You don't access an email account with the Mail application, never use Safari to browse the web, never use the Weather app, etc.?

Then you are using apps - maybe not 3rd party apps but the included apps I asked about require internet access and use data when connected to T-Mobile's cellular network for internet access.

Contact T-Mobile customer support.

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Answer 7

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:27 PM in response to schoodle

The iphone, by design, is meant to ALWAYS have a data connection. The only way to turn this data connection off is: 1. Turn the phone off, 2. Remove the sim card & turn wifi off, 3. Put the phone in airplane mode, or 4. Have your carrier totally block data access. Since you've hacked or acquired a hacked phone, there's no way to say for sure what else is going on here. As already stated, you're gonna have to sort this out with TMobile.

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Answer 8

Apr 19, 2010 1:28 PM in response to schoodle

You have T-Mobile at home in which way - for internet access via your wi-fi network at home, or internet access with your iPhone via T-Mobile's cellular network?

how is it possible to be getting access, even minuscule as it is, if the phone's WiFi is off?

Via an available wi-fi network it isn't possible with an iPhone that hasn't been hacked, but you are using a hacked iPhone. When wi-fi access is off, you are accessing the internet via T-Mobile's cellular network when using any app that requires internet access - Mail and Safari to name two. Are you confusing being charged for wi-fi access via a T-Mobile hotspot with being charged for data/internet access via T-Mobile's cellular network? Do you have a data plan with T-Mobile for data/internet access via their cellular network? If not, you are being charged by the KB for all data uploaded/downloaded when connected to T-Mobile's cellular network.

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Answer 9

schoodle Author

Level 2

227 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:30 PM in response to schoodle

I know it's been hacked, it came that way. I'm not a whiz at using the iPhone with WiFi, as you can probably guess. And, I shouldn't say I don't use apps, only the ones that came with the phone, which are the basic ones, but virtually never use them. Can only remember using the WIFi for Safari when I was camping at a KOA one night. Since then, I haven't bothered.

Cell phone access in my home is soooo bad that I rarely use the phone at home for anything other than texting, if I can get any service, which is only around 5% of the time. I really only have a cell phone for when I'm not at home.

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Answer 10

schoodle Author

Level 2

227 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:34 PM in response to Allan Sampson

When I travel, I bring my laptop with me. I don't surf the web on the iPhone, get the weather, or bother getting my email (most of the time) on the phone. Just really don't need to. I only turn on the WiFi once in great while. Not daily.

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Answer 11

schoodle Author

Level 2

227 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:36 PM in response to Allan Sampson

I have a T-Mobile HiPort box at home for home phone service only. Comcast is my internet provider.

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Answer 12

Apr 19, 2010 1:45 PM in response to schoodle

Forget about wi-fi access. If wi-fi access is turned off with the iPhone, it is impossible to connect to an available wi-fi network unless the hack used to unlocked the iPhone has affected this in some way. And it is impossible to connected to a T-Mobile hotspot when there is no T-Mobile hotspot available to connect the iPhone with when wi-fi access is enabled.

Do you have a data plan with T-Mobile for data/internet access via their cellular network?

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Answer 13

Tamara

Level 6

13,744 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:47 PM in response to schoodle

It sounds like the hack is the problem. I'd suggest selling the iPhone and buying a phone meant for use on T-Mobile's network.

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Answer 14

schoodle Author

Level 2

227 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:50 PM in response to Allan Sampson

I don't use T-Mobile@Home for home WiFi service; that requires a different box, namely a T-Mobile router. The HiPort box is similar to the ones Vonage or Lingo give you for VoIP only.

So, you're saying that because my T-Mobile@Home HiPort is connected to my router, which is connected to my modem (and btw Comcast is my internet provider) so I can use VoIP for my home phone, I'm getting internet access info under my cell phone number?

These charges are not actually $ charges, but recorded as internet access under my cell phone number. They aren't actually charging me anything for the tiny bits of of access, but I just find it weird that this didn't begin when I first installed the T-Mobile@Home HiPort last April. I had a WiFi accessible phone before too, though it was a Windows SmartPhone.

The HiPort is the culprit?

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Answer 15

schoodle Author

Level 2

227 points

Apr 19, 2010 1:51 PM in response to Allan Sampson

I do not have a data plan with T-Mobile because I don't need one.

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