Feed
 

iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Roy Rainford
My wife has a low user SIM Pay-as-You-Go and put £10 on it just before lockdown. No calls made or internet used(knowingly) yet. The phone hasn't been outside the flat during lockdown and it isn't useable on our home network (according to Virgin). On trying to make a call yesterday outside and with a good Virgin signal, the Virgin auto voice said there wasn't enough left on the SIM and it needed topping up.
Could usage be due to apps left open which use the SIM and how do we check if that is happening? (and stop it happening).

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Mick Burrell
You can turn off mobile data.

Don't understand why the chosen SIM has any bearing on its ability to use wi-fi for internet access. It's highly likely that you can't switch on wi-fi calling as Virgin have no way of charging you for that. Vodafone for example, only allow wi-fi calling on their contracts with unlimited minutes i.e. that wouldn't be charging you anyway!

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Drew McFarlane
My wife has had a Virgin PAYG SIM card for over ten years and has only used it to call "Home" every three months for the ten years she has owned it. I believe you need to make at least one call every ninety days to keep it in use otherwise you lose whatever cash is on the card.

Likewise I have a Sony Ericsson P800 bought in 2002 with a Tesco Mobile PAYG SIM (02) that is always in my car as an emergency phone that I have to use at least once in 90 days to keep it in use.

I would check the "Terms and Conditions" Roy.

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Roy Rainford
I realise that the PAYG SIM card doesn't allow home wi-fi access. Mick you put me onto to this in your forum reply 10 March 2020. I was wondering if in some way, when away from home and in range of a Virgin signal, there could be background usage by apps which haven't been switched off. Unlikely I think but when I got a new iPhone recently, Apple gave a free tutorial which took me through how to check if apps were still open. They were on the new phone and I was shown how to close them. That procedure has been forgotten and probably would be different on the SE anyway.
Drew, that usage is similar to my wife's and I think you are right in raising the point about making at least one call every 90 days. That's why we went out yesterday to make a call but found the SIM needed topping up. I was surprised by that because we last topped up about 75 days ago. Have been trying to check the T&C but can't get through yet.

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Mick Burrell
I think you're wrong with that first sentence Roy. The SIM has no bearing (as far as I'm aware) on the phone using wi-fi for accessing the internet but it's likely the SIM will not allow making telephone calls or sending texts over your wi-fi.

To stop apps running, double press (quite fast) on the home screen button then swipe the app window upwards to quit.

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Roy Rainford
When I try to open Safari Mick a message pops up saying, "Ooops to browse the internet, you need to buy a Data Add-on."

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Mick Burrell
That sounds as if you have mobile data turned on - turn it off.

What do you have under wi-fi? I assume it can see your home network. Can it not join?

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Roy Rainford
Right again Mick. Mobile data was on. Now off and it's 'all systems go' on the home network. Main problem is the usage query, as on my original post. Have been sent a copy of Virgin T&C by a member here. I am looking into that for our SIM.

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Mick Burrell
I suspect your £10 was used up by apps using mobile data - I think they charge quite a bit for data on PAYG SIMs. If you put the money on "just before lockdown" it wouldn't have fallen foul of the 90 day non-usage problem.

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Roy Rainford
I agree Mick that it doesn’t seem as if it’s the non-usage aspect. That leaves the question of what apps could be using data when outside, without knowingly switching them on? Could it be Maps, Weather, Health, Find My, Safari?

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Mick Burrell
Any of those. I doubt you can find out retrospectively without turning mobile data on and watching it eat your money!

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Tony Still
If you go to Settings > Mobile Data and scroll down, you can see mobile data usage broken down by app. Hopefully you'll then be able to identify a culprit and turn off its access to mobile data.

I have my phone on PAYG with '3' on their '321' tariff. That charges 1p for a MB of data and your credit doesn't expire: it convinced me to leave O2 some years ago. Coverage is not quite as good as O2/Voda but service in general is pretty good.

Re: iPhone SE High SIM Usage

Avatar Roy Rainford
Thanks Tony. Have now turned off the apps and Mobile Data until present travel restrictions are lifted. Will then reset as required. Also will be taking a PAYG SIM from 3. Thanks for that too.
 
Feed