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Will AT&T prorate my iPhone international data?

J

jisaac

macrumors member
Original poster
May 8, 2009
48
0
Am heading to Canada at the end of the month for 10 days. Some of my time is work but some will be free time. I have Skype on my iPhone and will use that to make some phone calls out. I usually text a bit but will just limit myself to not sending texts.

Though I will look to use WIFI when possible, I will want some data ability over 3G/EDGE. If I add the AT&T intl data plan the week before I leave and cancel when I return I believe they will prorate my charges for the intl data. However will they also prorate the amount of data I can use?

Thanks
 
Get the details from ATT but they will hit you with a one year international data plan. You can raise and lower the plan anytime you want but you will have to sign up for a year. If you travel a lot it's no big deal but if it's just one short trip to Canada you may want to re-think the game plan.
 
My intl travel is about to drop - maybe completely as I am getting married in a month. Do you have a better suggestion how I can keep the cost down while still having full use of my phone?
 
Other than getting a SIM in Canada I would just say try to find an open Wifi. I ran into this when I went to Aruba. Wifi for the week was $30 but I did manage to find a few open hotspots. Using both Skype and Google Talk I was able to call back home for updates for free. Airport had an open wifi too so I used Qik to send vids back home. Be creative but if you are really pressed then I suggest either getting a skype out or Gizmo out plan or try and see if you can get a SIM card and use yellowsn0w.
 
iPhone International Data plans

I travel often and use the iPhone data plans, follow link below. You do not have to sign up for a year you can terminate after one cycle. The catch is , and you need to watch this, is the delay in the foreign carries delivering the call records to AT&T. If the record comes in after you terminate the plan they will rate it as if you did not have the plan. You need to call them back and they will re-rate them. I usually keep the package on for a few weeks after I return, beucase it is a pain in the ass dealing with them.


I travel to England, France and Spain and never had any issue with exceeding data. I also generally by a prepaid access to Wi-FI spots, and leverage them a lot. If you can follow the rules and monitor the usage you will be fine.




http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/iphone-travel-tips.jsp
 
@pugnut - so they do prorate the plan for the time you have it activated. What about data? If I sign up for the 100mb plan will I only have a portion of that (portionate to the time it is activated) or will I have the full 100mb?
 
jisaac said:
@pugnut - so they do prorate the plan for the time you have it activated. What about data? If I sign up for the 100mb plan will I only have a portion of that (portionate to the time it is activated) or will I have the full 100mb?
Click to expand...


I have look at my bills and they seem to take the cancellation out to the full bill cycle, there is a future deactivation date on one of them
 
Yes they do prorate your bill for the cost of the international data. No they do not prorate your data usage. When you sign up you get the will 100 mb. Most of the time they will make you sign a contract for the international data plans, for the sole purpose of people going for a week then coming back and canceling like you want to do. So IMO don't even waste your money/time with it, just use WIFI.
 
TheNewsPaperBoy said:
Yes they do prorate your bill for the cost of the international data. No they do not prorate your data usage. When you sign up you get the will 100 mb. Most of the time they will make you sign a contract for the international data plans, for the sole purpose of people going for a week then coming back and canceling like you want to do. So IMO don't even waste your money/time with it, just use WIFI.
Click to expand...

When you go to signup online there is nothing spoke about it being a long term commitment.
 
I called last night and was transferred to the International something dept. The guy I spoke to was upfront and told me that the data would be prorated as well as the price. I didn't hint or ask, just mentioned that I would want to add it for a few months.
 
jaw04005 said:
A one-year commitment is not required. However, as posted above you will need to take notice of when the international carrier call/data records are delivered to AT&T.

Even with an international data and calling plan, it's still expensive.

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp#2
Click to expand...

* $24.99/month: 20 MB Data Global Add-On gives you 20 MB of usage within over 90 countries
* $59.99/month: 50 MB Data Global Add-On gives you 50 MB of usage within over 90 countries
* $119.99/month: 100 MB Data Global Add-On1 gives you 100 MB of usage within over 90 countries
* $199.99/month: 200 MB Data Global Add-On1 gives you 200 MB of usage within over 90 countries



honestly unless you really need it, I would stick with wi-fi, its only 10 days


those prices are ridiculous
 
I'll need my VM and as I understand it, VM when it arrives is data. I average about 10-15 VM a day which I must have access to.
 
jisaac said:
I'll need my VM and as I understand it, VM when it arrives is data. I average about 10-15 VM a day which I must have access to.
Click to expand...


not true

go to your phone app

hold down the 1 button

that should take you to your voicemail ( regular voicemail)
 
You're right. Stupid rep from ATT told me that my regular VM was gone and no longer accessible.
 
I wonder how long to give the international data usage to "post" to account, before canceling the international package? My problem is I get back only 5 days before the end of the billing cycle, so I wonder if all the data will have posted by then?
 
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