thomas fitzgerald.net

When the iPhone launched in Ireland a few weeks ago it launched with some of the most limited options available to iPhone customers anywhere, with allocated minutes a fraction of what’s available in the UK for example. Perhaps the most obvious limitations though are the lack of visual voice mail and the 1 gig data limit. It is the later that has become a cause for concern.

Unlike the UK, the US, Germany and France, the iPhone tariffs offered by O2 do not come with an unlimited data plan. Instead customers get 1GB of data per month and are charged by the megabyte once they go over that limit. On a traditional mobile device 1GB may sound enormous, and the company claimed that 1GB of data was far more than most people would ever need. This may be true, but unlike traditional data capable cellphones, the iPhone has a full browser, and downloads full websites. In addition, Google Maps, YouTube and widgets all consume data. Having said that, you are probably unlikely to go over the limit unless you are a heavy surfer and not using wifi. Still, it is undoubtedly prudent to keep an eye on your data usage so you don’t get caught with a huge bill. And this is where the problem lies.

The iPhone keeps a track of the data sent over Edge. The function is in the settings panel under “usage”. I have had my iPhone now for about three weeks. The Edge usage stats on the iPhone are telling me that I have downloaded 26.3MB and I have uploaded 4.9MB. Obviously no where near the limit. However, if I check my bill online, where I can see how much data I have left it is telling me that I have used 58MB. That’s a pretty big discrepancy. As it is my first month you would expect the iPhone’s stats to mach my providers, but they are claiming that I used almost twice as much data as my phone is telling me that I used.

I could understand if they were a meg or two out but not that much. What’s more, because the online bill is itemized and lists individual data sessions, I have noticed some peculiar entries. On one such session, the online bill claims I downloaded 20MB. However I know what I was doing at the time and I was only browsing a mostly text based site. There is certainly no way I downloaded 20MB, unless my phone was doing something in the background, but I doubt it because that is the only single entry on the bill that large. Everything else is around the 1 MB mark. I don’t know just what is going on here but either way let me make this absolutely clear, you can not trust the usage counter on the iPhone. While this doesn’t matter to iPhone users in other countries where the iPhone is available, because of the limit it could affect you here. Regardless of what is causing the discrepancy, whether the network is measuring the data incorrectly or the iPhone is doing something strage, check your bills, don’t trust the phone, because it’s what O2 has recorded for data usage that they are going to bill you on.

Incidentally I did contact O2 customer support about this and they pretty much fobbed me off with a blanket statement claiming that the phone may not be accurate and reminding me that mail, maps and widgets all use data. Thanks for stating the obvious. They did not explain the mysterious 20MB of data. I’ve also had reports that similar problems have occurred using unlocked phones on other networks. If you are living in Ireland and have an iPhone or know someone who has an iPhone please check your bill and do not assume the phone is telling you how much data is being used. If you see anything suspicious on your bill, pursue it with customer service. Even if you are no where near your limit, you could be some day and if they are going to charge you for excess data by the MB then you need to be able to accurately measure the data usage.