How to stop an iPhone 3G from using cell data, ever?
My wife has inherited my iPhone 3G and it's using a few megabytes of GPRS data every month even though she doesn't deliberately use any services that cost mobile data. The problem is that she doesn't have a data plan, so these few MB's cost as much as a few gigabytes would with a data plan.
1: How can I set up the iPhone 3G (OS 3.1.3) so that it absolutely never sends or receives any data except on wifi?
2: Also, what is sending/receiving this GPRS data if it isn't the user? My wife never launches the web browser or other Internet-needing apps.
Please don't simply suggest the obvious get a data plan because my wife doesn't want one. She wants to use the thing as a cell phone and for text messaging, but certainly absolutely positively no Internet or e-mail or whatever, except when she's on our home's wifi.
I thought I had thoroughly turned off mobile data. Here's what I've done so far (written from my memory, might be inaccurate):
Settings > General > Network:
- enable 3G = off
- cellular data = off
- data roaming = off
SBsettings:
- 3G = off
- data = off
- bluetooth = off
- location = off
Based on all this, the damn thing should only use wifi, but somehow it uses GPRS data anyway. Argh!
Solution:
Well, I didn't manage to turn off the mobile data usage despite all your very useful and helpful suggestions. Instead, I spoke with the provider and they offered me 8 months of 1GB-per-months for free, and after that I'm free to cancel it or continue at €7 per month (or whatever the rate will be at that time). They also gave me the money back for the data costs on the last bill. Very good customer service, thank you tele.ring of Austria.
Solution 1:
In my country (Australia) we are able to ask the mobile provider to disable data on our accounts to ensure we cannot use any at all, and thus cannot be charged for it unwillingly. It might be worth calling up the provider and asking if they can disable the data service.
Solution 2:
That's pretty bizarre. This should have done it:
- enable 3G = off
- cellular data = off
- data roaming = off
The only thing I can think of is perhaps visual voicemail? If you have this turned on and it's working then it's using data. Try turning it off. If not, then I'm not really sure what the problem could be, but I suggest calling up your carrier and asking them to block data on their end so that you don't get charged for it.
Solution 3:
It is possible to have a voice-only no-data iPhone.
Be careful about trying to set this up yourself on the phone. Phones have been known to use data (and get charged) even when all phone options have been set to not use data.
Your best bet is to call the carrier and ask them to disable all data from their end.
Solution 4:
Changing the APN (if you have access to those settings, AFAIK some carriers block that specific menu) to some random set of chars (fake APN) will disable all data communications. However, everytime you try to access internet, the iPhone will pop up a message saying that you are not subscribed to a cellular data service.
You can also change it to a fake one even if your carrier disallowed access to that setting, by visiting http://www.unlockit.co.nz/ using your iPhone and letting it install the fake settings for you.
Solution 5:
I can add a few things that bothered me when I did the same.
I had to go to the network settings of the carrier and remove the user/pass for the “EDGE” network. Inserting bogus information prevented the iPhone from connecting at all.
Voicemail. Here in spain we have visual voicemail (and so do other EU countries as well). I disabled the voicemail too (there is a ## command you can type, ask in your company).
Despite having everything disabled, the phone, notably mail, tried to do things, but after #1, it started failing (giving me an annoying popup that it couldn’t connect). So I went ahead and obliterated Mail settings, and such.
Since then it has been silent. ;)