Hello again,
@Laura199224 wrote:
....
- Yes. All iMessage. And not included on my bill - conveniently, just the guy on the phone said he could see i had sent texts. But these were all iMessage - so no, it is not possible that these messages incurred other data use, they're all iMessage through wifi and the data usage is not even listed on my bill. ...
As mentioned, the mobile provider can only know usage. If the messages sent are on the system, then they were not sent as iMessages, but rather SMS or MMS. That said, they would likely have been SMS if data was not transmitted. If they were sent as iMessages, they would have been considered data.
@Laura199224 wrote:
... He's like 'well the texts don't show on your bill because that would be too much for us to list all the texts people make' - mm no, they're not on my bill because they obviously didn't incur any data charges,...
It's true Fido does not regularly list the recipent phone numbers for sent text messages. However, you should be able to request the numbers to which those messages were sent provided they are cellular numbers (see here).
@Laura199224 wrote:
....you guys scammed him for one extra day the last time, saying 'oh because of the time difference, we're in EST and the data would have bled into the next day' - makes no sense lol as Argentina is behind Toronto...
From what I gather the supervisor was trying to explain, the Fido Roam daily fee covers each calendar day of usage until 11:59:59 pm Easter Time (ET) (see link provided below). If your BF used services in the early hours of the morning they might have thought it would be considered the same day. However, a new chargeable day would have started at 2:00:00 am Argentina Time (ART).
I don't know why enabling Airplane mode to prevent roaming charges was not mentioned to your BF. However, I'm not sure why you keep insisting it's not true. If your devices did not connect to the local networks, the mobile providers would not have even known you (and your device) was outside of Canada. You did not have that mode enabled and your device connected to the local networks and used services. In additon, your BF also did not have Airplane mode enabled and their device also connected to the local networks and used services. I cannot speak as to what your previous experiences might have been. However, it does seem clear that enabling Airplane or Flight mode for the duration of your time abroad could have prevented roaming charges.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
Hello Laura199224,
Welcome to the community!
Sorry to hear you've incurred unexpected roaming charges. The Fido Roam charge incurs when your device uses Fido Services abroad. That is, the charge will incur when you make/receive calls, send text messages or your device uses data outside of Canada (see here). The mobile providers only know usage. If a device is using services when its settings are set not to use them, that's an issue with the device. The mobile providers have no access to a device's settings to know what settings are enabled/disabled.
Generally using Wifi for regular internet access will not incur Fido Roam charges. That would include sending iMessages via Wifi. However, are the charges for sending iMessages?
@Laura199224 wrote:
...NEXT person told me we HAVE to put it on airplane mode the WHOLE time abroad, otherwise the device WILL connect to Canadian signal no matter what we do...NOT TRUE THOUGH!?? - What is the point in the data button if this is the case?? ...
I understand you may have disabled data and/or roaming data. However, you should note that disabling data and roaming data does not prevent roaming for voice and messaging. In addition, some manufacturers might allow some data usage to occur despite those settings (see here). That's why it is generally recommended to enable Airplane and/or Flight modes to prevent unintended roaming usage. You could then manually enable Wifi when required. If you did not have Airplane mode enabled, is it possible those charges are for that data usage rather than sending iMessages?
To clarify though, when abroad, the device does not connect to Canadian signal. The device will connect to the local networks and could use services on that foreign network if airplane or flight mode is not enabled.
There has been much discussion about Apple allowing certain data usage despite data and roaming data settings disabled. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't seem to think it's an issue. However, their devices are using data when those settings are set not to use data.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
