How to disable extra data charges on your plan

[justinistaken]

Hey,

TL;DR: I think my iPhone may be lying to me but I wanna make sure I don't get extra data charges.

Full: I don't see an option to disable any sort of extra data charges on your plan in the account settings.  I just got my phone set up 2 days ago and my iPhone claims I have already used 29.7GB of cellular data!!!  I have since turned off wifi-assist etc., but I never received any sort of notification that I was using all my data.  My profile on Public claims I have only used ~143MB.  Either my phone is lying or the website is delayed.

Regardless, how do you disable activating any sort of additional data to avoid extra data charges?  Or is this disabled by default?

Thanks,
Simon is pretty useless and I hate that I have to use this community form to try and get any sort of answer. Buyer regret going with Public is setting in fast only 2 days into it.

[HALIMACS]

@justinistaken 

Alot of users (falsely) rely on their device's native data counters to give them an indication of how much data they've consumed.

In all likilihood, you may be viewing your device's total data and/or wifi GB consumption since January 1, or the last time you 'reset' your device's data counter.

It's a common oversight and not something a lot of newer folks realize, given the fact Public Mobile bills on 30-day cycles from the date of activation and NOT calendar months.

If you want to rely on your device's data counter, on the evening of your next renewal cycle, reset your device's data counter before going to bed.  That way, when you wake up, it'll be starting from a ZERO value, and you'll have a pretty good idea how much is consumed without having to go into your Public Mobile self-serve site to view it.

[darlicious]

@justinistaken 

Welcome to public mobile!

Are you new to an iPhone? Anyhow from my understanding your data tracker cannot be set to 30 day ( pm plan cycles) or monthly tracking automatically. It gets set and then just tracks data usage until it's reset. There are iOS data tracking apps that make this easier then resetting every 30 days.

Although the following tips apply more to android there are important points that apply to iPhones along with info about how data works with pm. Whatever you do don't run any speed tests if you value your data. If you have plan data left over on day 30 of your cycle you can run a test then just do it before midnight eastern as that is when your data and/or minute counters reset.

Read the spoiler for more info:

Spoiler

Here is some more tips on data usage that can help you conserve data usage and/or find where high data usage is coming from.....

1. Turn your data saver on.*
2. Set your data tracker to the correct calendar dates of your 30 day cycle.
3. Set your data warning. ( I set mine to 25% of plan data**.)
4. Set your data limiter. (I set mine to 50%.**)
5. Turn off all background data in your app usage settings.***
6. Set video content to play on wifi only ( or off altogether) in each individual app's settings.
7. Turn off wifi assist for iPhone or the Android equivalent.
8. For low data plans turn off mobile data and turn on when needed or to download MMS.
9. Use free wifi when available.
10. Double check that your phone is connected to wifi. Your phone can sometimes not automatically reconnect to wifi after rebooting, resetting or leaving/entering a wifi area.

*Android and iPhone's data saver tools work differently it is prudent to check settings in each phone's apps for such things as your photo app for device syncing, backing up etc.... Note: viewing or searching for backed up/stored photos can use considerable mobile data.

**Public Mobile sends out a text from 611 giving a warning at 75% and 95% of total data usage. If you have data add ons these warnings include both plan data and add on data.

**So if you just have 1gb of plan data you will get a warning at 756mb/1024mb and 973mb/1024mb. However if you have 1gb of plan data and a 5gb data add on (1024mb+5120mb=6144mb) these warnings will recieved at 4608mb/6144mb and 5837mb/6144mb respectively.

**This is why setting your data warning and limiter is important so that an errant app's sudden usage can be noticed and/or stopped by your phone's data usage tools rather than relying on pm's limited warnings system.

***Background data can use up to 38% of your data that is pure wastage.

Get in the habit of taking screenshots of your overview page and payment history before and after renewal for record keeping and checking that your data and/or limited minute/text counter resets.

To contact customer support click below:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

To pre-verify your account include your full name, address, email, phone # and 4 digit acct pin #.

[dabr]

@justinistaken    No need to apologize and your question is not dumb especially if you're not familiar with how everything works around here.  Have you taken a look at PM's overview page in self serve yet?

Edit:  I should say there's no dumb questions but there may be dumb answers occasionally.. 😊

[justinistaken]

Googling the answer brought me to Public's website, which is rather difficult to navigate.  I guess my phone is a huge liar as I never received any sort of texts nor directed to self-serve:

2. Data Usage Notifications

We send you a text message when you've used 75% and 95% of the data included in your plan. If you try to use something that requires data when you’ve reached your data limit, you will be directed to Self-Serve. Once signed into Self-Serve, you can review your usage and, if you’d like to continue to have access to data, you can purchase a data Add-On here too.

Sorry for the dumb question,

justinistaken

[dabr]

@justinistaken    There are no overages that PM charges but you will obviously not have anymore data available to use if you deplete your plan allotment until renewal of your cycle or purchase add-ons.

Log into your self serve account and take a look under My Data/Add-ons section to see an accurate usage report of how much data you have left. 

Also your phone needs to be synched to the start of your plan cycle to get an accurate data usage.  Change the dates to match your payment cycle (30 days) and see if that gives a different reading for how much data you might have consumed.

It's possible you've already used up a lot more than intended if you just activated as the data speed does not get throttled for the first couple of days after activation.  Plus depends what you're were using your data for or what apps were running.

You can set a the data limiter on your phone for the future to guard against this happening again.

[Yummy]

You cannot be charged for extra data (or minutes if you are on $15 plan) at PM.

When you use your plan allotment or add-ons, data will just stop. Same as outgoing call minutes. And then you will have to wait until next renewal or buy add-on.

[Anonymous]

The overview page counter is accurate and almost immediate.

What's the problem with asking in this community? You'll get quicker more accurate answers here. We just can't actually do anything in your account.

[0PX9O4 · Accepted solution]

@justinistaken 

Good news! Your extra charges are already disabled! Once your plan data is all used up, there will simply be no more data to use until your plan renews at the end of your 30-day period!

Unless you decide to buy an extra add-on in self serve.

PM is prepaid, so there are no extra (overage) charges, ever!

And yes, your phone is definitely not correct since no PM plan offers 30GB of data in the first place 🙂