October
Realised after a trip to europe my phone was roaming the whole time. I was using WIFI at all times as I did not want to use roaming and phone was on airplace mode. The amound of data used each day was tiny but still cost me $15 for every day. Has anyone else had this issue? Seems crazy with a pre paid account Fido would automatically sign you up to roaming. I have seen since on the website that you have to opt out of roaming.
Website also mentions needing to receive authorization for over $100 in roaming charges, I never received any communication about this.
If anyone has had this issue in the past and has some advice I would love to hear from you.
October
Hello Cbobrien,
Welcome to the community!
Sorry to hear you've incurred unexpected roaming charges. However, somethings do not sound quite right.
@Cbobrien wrote:
.... phone was on airplace mode. The amound of data used each day was tiny ...
Airplane or Flight modes should have prevented the device from connecting to the local cellular towers. Is it possible your device only had data and roaming data disabled? That said, you should note that some manufacturers might allow some data usage to occur despite those settings (see here). One would believe that disabling data and roaming data should prevent the device from using any data. Yet, some manufacturers seemingly allow some data usage despite those settings disabled. That would explain the bits of data used that you noted.
That said, if your device is connecting to cellular towers despite Airplane or Flight mode enabled, that would be an issue with the device.
@Cbobrien wrote:
.... The amound of data used each day was tiny but still cost me $15 for every day. .... Seems crazy with a pre paid account Fido would automatically sign you up to roaming. ...
Are you sure you plan is a pre-paid plan? I do not believe pre-paid plans have access to Fido Roam (see here). Pre-paid usage abroad is on a pay-per-use basis. In addition, I don't believe roaming data is available with pre-paid plans.
@Cbobrien wrote:
...I have seen since on the website that you have to opt out of roaming. ..
With post-paid plans, Fido Roam is automatically enabled. Yes, customers not wishing to avail of Fido Roam would need to opt-out of the feature. Once opted-out, any usage would be on a pay-per-use basis (see above link for rates). Some customers have alternatively requested a roaming block on their lines.
If you had used Wifi-calling, you should note some usage is considered roaming. There seems to be some misunderstanding regarding Wifi-calling . I'm not sure how people have gotten the impression that Wifi-calling does not use the networks. However, that is not true. While the calls and messages do not transmit via cellular towers, they still use the networks via the internet gateway (see image here). The cellular towers and Wifi are merely alternate means of accessing the networks. Calls and messages would not be able to complete or get sent/received without the networks. As such, using Wifi-calling is technically using Fido services. However, they have allowed certain usage to be free from additional charges. All the messages and calls you receive (from anywhere in the world) will be taken from your plan's voice minutes and messaging limits. As well, all Wifi-calling messages and calls you make to a Canadian phone number while abroad won't incur long-distance or roaming charges (see link above).
You should also note this forum is community-driven and not intend as a venue for customer services. We would not have access to your account. If you would like to discuss your situation, you would need to contact customer service . In addition, they can also be contacted via Facebook, or Twitter. Those methods can be accessed via the contact page posted above.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers