Contributor
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2 Messages
Must read. Incompetence in Management even after being told he is wrong!
I, like many customers on this forum have been getting hit very hard by data overages. My two daughters are on constant wi-fi and do not leave our home but sparingly. I called at&t to speak to a rep about this problem and was told that I must turn off cellular data when connected to wi-fi. I explained that this does not make sense and that once my phone connects to wifi my phone should no longer use cellular data and therefore no data overages should occur.
I asked to speak to a manager or supervisor and of course I was disconnected. I called back again and requested a supervisor and was finally able to reach one. I spoke to a supervisor (or manager) named Michael. I expressed my concerns about my data usage and he once again said I must turn off cellular data when on wifi to not incur charges. I disagreed with him and he said that he would get apple on the phone to prove his point. I told him that I do like the idea of my kids forgetting to turn on the cellular data when out of the house because I use find my phone to keep track of them. He said that as long as the phone is on you do not need data. What? I again disagree.
I called him out on calling an iPhone rep on the phone. I waited as he made the connection with a rep named Zeke.
As soon as Zeke got on the phone I asked him, “ Do you need to have cellular data on or wifi on to use find my phone?”. He said, “ yes”. At this point Michael starts spinning what Zeke said tries asking the question in several different ways to get a different response. Again, zeke says you need data on to use find my phone.
I then ask Zeke, “ If I am connected to my wi-fi connection at home while also connected to my AT&T data will the iPhone use my cellular data plan?. He said, “No”.
This is where things turned really bad. Michael, the supervisor mind you, again starts to spin the questions to Zeke trying to get a different answer. To the point where Zeke states he has a preference of turning off cellular data when using wi-fi. Ah ha, says Michael. You see.
So I ask Zeke, if this is personal preference and he states yes. I ask him, if you choose to leave your wi-fi on and cellular data on at the same time will you consume data from your cell plan? He says, No. Its a matter of preference.
Michael blows a gasket and says this is wrong. That you must turn off cellular data.
It got so bad that I actually told Michael that I will pay my bill if he simply would man up and recognize that he is wrong based on the conversation we just had with the iPhone rep he called himself. He did not even have the ability to correct himself or recognise the information Zeke gave us contradicted what he was saying. So what is the point of calling someone to verify your information if you do not have the cojones to admit you are wrong?
As a manager there are many ways to handle this situation and he did not handle this well at all. Lack of professionalism, and down right rude. When you try and spin your statements to expect a different outcome you are making yourself and your company look completely incompetent.
I have the conversation recorded and will look to speaking to upper management in hopes to rectify this issue. Michael should not be in the position he is in. The fact that they choose someone with this character and demeanor to represent them is scary to say the least. Even when confronted with the obvious truth by the very iPhone rep he himself called he continued to have the audacity to change and flip the excuses to point of nausea.
It’s bad enough I pay overages for something I should not be paying but its even worse to have someone talk down to you and twist their words in a way to try and force their excuse.
Even after repeatedly asking him to simply acknowledge that he was wrong he continued to make excuses and spit words of stupidity in the event some of them would possibly stick and change my mind.
I will transcribe the entire voice recording when I have time to show you the complete incompetence of this individual.
I have never, never been so freakin upset at a person.
GeekBoy
Master
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4.1K Messages
10 years ago
When your daughters are at home, are their iPhones plugged into external power?
If not, then you may have a case which you neglected to ask teh Apple rep about. When an iPhone goes into a "sleep mode" the screen will turn off, and the wifi radio will also turn off. If your daughters are using their phones for streaming audio, then the phone screen turns off, and the phone goes into the sleep mode, it will turn off the wifi radio (to save battery) and your iPhone will revert to using cellular data, even though you are well within range of a valid wifi network.
This issue has been discussed many times in the Apple support forums, and it is mentioned here on the AT&T support forums as well. There have been users who have tested this using a wifi analyzer which shows the cell phone wifi connection dropping after a period of time, but the cell phone continues to stream data but now using cellular data instead of wifi.
One way around this is to connect the iPhone to anexternal power source when you are in the wifi area. I use my iPhone heavily, and I also use external power much of the time. Because of this, I generally use about 1GB of cellular data a month. My wife, on the other hand doesn't use external power as much, and she uses over 5GB of cellular data each month, even though I use more overall data.
One last comment I will make is that when the iPhone 5 was first released about 2 years ago,mine would still turn off the wifi even if it was connected to external power. This would cause my iPhone to use more and more cellular data because it was not usig the wifi when I wanted it to. I don't remember which iOS update corrected this for me, but it was corrected in one of the many iOS updates.
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frankic1
Contributor
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2 Messages
10 years ago
I thank you for your suggestion and will look into this. This makes sense and I can see how this can help data continue to be charged. I am open to suggestions but the At&t rep I spoke to was far from helpful and his only suggestion was to siply turn off cell data when home. I do not see this a solution to this problem.
At&t is billing data usage when we have wifi coverage all day. My kids are always home and on Wi-Fi. Even in the event their phones went to sleep without power connected it would not use up all our data.
The fact that Michael states that I HAVE TO turn off my mobile data at home is a farse and unexceptable. When we are on wi-fi there should be NO data usage on At&t. Even the little data that may get through when the phone is asleep is not enough to go over on data unless they are streaming movies or audio 24/7 when and this is not happening.
I am open to suggestions but I do not want my rep speaking to me with about facts is making up as he goes along. Especially when an Apple rep confirms what I have been saying all along with him on the phone.
It is an embarrasment and shows a lack of professionalism. People like Michael should be stocking shelves where his words will never reach a customer ear.
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.2K Messages
10 years ago
As mentioned, this is an often discussed issue in the Apple forums, which I spend time in since I own many Apple gadgets.
In the settings on the phones under Cellular data, is the option to "Use cellular data for:" and then a list of the Apps on the phone. turning off most of these switches, especially for games, Apps store, You Tube and many others that use the screen.
You can also look in settings under mobile data to see what is using the most data. (Facebook, whatever)
The phone will still default to mobile data in sleep mode if not plugged in to power, but will not use large amounts of data.
Only the Apple iPhone does this. (Love my android!)
It is easily controlled by changing the settings under Cellular data.
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hmoverton
Contributor
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1 Message
10 years ago
I have been having the same issue with my son's iPhone 5c lately. Last month within 2 days, we were charged an extra $40 for data overages. I called AT&T and was told to turn off the cellular data. I did turn off the cellular data for a few hours and guess what, we got an email saying that he had used 1GB of data and they were adding another 1GB for $10. I was so mad that I called AT&T back. I was then told that when the phone goes into sleep mode, that the wifi disconnects and the phone uses the cellular data. Funny thing is, my son has had this iPhone 5c since October 2013 and has never had any problems with going over data before until June 2014. AT&T reps even said I need to call Apple, which I did. One Apple rep just about lost it that AT&T was trying to blame Apple. The Apple rep called AT&T and let her know that this was not an Apple problem, but an AT&T problem. No one seemed to want to help.
My son plugs is iPhone 5c into the wall charger every night and yet his phone is still using cellular data. He makes sure he closes all of his apps when he is done with them. We even turned off the Background App Refresh. Nothing is helping!
I filed a complaint with the FCC and received a call from a lady at AT&T Corp office and she told me to turn off the cellular data when using wifi. I am like you, I do not want to turn off the celluar data because I use Find iPhone to track my child occassionally. Finally, I spoke to a AT&T rep who gave us a $40 credit on our phone bill for the data charges they had added.
I looked at our current data useage online tonight and surprise surprise...my son's phone as almost used all his data and he hasn't left the house for the past 4 days. His phone has been connected to our home wifi. I've left the house on several occassions and my data is saying that I have barely used any data this month. That just doesn't seem right.
I can't keep paying these outragous fees that AT&T are charging when I know my son isn't using all his cellular data. I just want someone to give us an answer on what to do to stop this! AT&T is taking advantage of their loyal customers!!!
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.2K Messages
10 years ago
This is an Apple problem, you can resolve easily.
May I ask what phone you have? (Not that it matters, but android and windows phones don't have thei problem)
As for your sons iPhone, have you checked on his phone to see what is using mobile data? The phone keeps track of what application uses the most data.
Then in the settings of the phone, under cellular, turn off the switches for those Apps that use a ton of data.
Another thing you should check is your home wifi service. If his phone gets a better connection to mobile data because your router is old and slow, or has poor reception, it will default to mobile data frequently.
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