E-Mail Auto-Check Features Can Run Up iPhone Bills Quick

September 10, 2007 – 7:47 pm

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Are you planning on traveling abroad with your Apple iPhone? If so, one thing that you might want to do to not run up a wireless phone bill the size of the Eiffel tower is make sure that you have disabled the feature that automatically checks for new Emails.

This feature (which comes in handy when you’re not in roaming territory in another country) automatically dials into whatever network is available, picks up new Emails and starts piling on the roaming charges.

The iPhone is no different from any other phone, said Todd Smith, an AT&T spokesman, with the exception of the BlackBerry, whose users can opt for a flat monthly rate when traveling. Any AT&T customer planning to travel outside the United States should contact AT&T to inquire about roaming plans, he said.

Dave Stolte did that before taking his iPhone with him on a two-week trip to Ireland and England in July. He signed up for a roaming plan, but he said the customer service representative’s explanation of the charges was unclear. His bill was $3,000.

As a precaution to avoid excessive and unexpected cellular fees, be sure that your calling and data plan covers the areas you are traveling to. You could also contact AT&T to make sure that your phone feature to automatically check mail has been deactivated.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.. since no one wants to return from their
international travels and be greeted with a multi-thousand dollar cellular phone bill.

New York Times

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