Using Three UK Mobile Internet via ZTE??

[Guest redhawkuk]

According to Three UK my Internet should be charged at a rate of 11p per 1MB or 11p per 1024KB which sounds like a good deal.

However for some reason doing basic stuff like checking emails and reading the BBC Mobile News pages appears to be costing me more than using my previous handset an INQ Mini 3G.

I should point out that I'm not running any background data apps because when my phone is idle my Internet balance remains unchanged.

Anyway I did a test experiment with the Digitally Imported music application because it has a built-in data meter.

First I checked my balance after idling (the balance page updates like every 30 - 45 minutes).

Then I loaded the DI application and played an audio stereo for a duration of approximately 1MB.

When I subtracted credits before and credits after the total came to 14p not 11p as expected not even 12p - huh??

Now I realise 3p is a small amount but in the end it all adds up and I wouldn't be happy if Three have been ripping me off slightly.

So I was wondering has anyone else noticed inconstancies in Three's Mobile broadband charging??

Richard S.

[Guest Racerboy]

hmm are their hidden charges they are not telling you about per meg of data? and obviously this covers upload and download data streams and some apps in the background like market also check for updates or sync which will cost.....i buy the addons they provide (£10 for 500meg, 100mins, 3000texts for 30 days, plus 150meg anyway for topping up) some apps are the not best at measuring data usage maybe try a different 1.........

[Guest sandys]

Had same problem on the missus' Racer, she went from a feature phone to this android handset and found we kept blowing the litlle be of data she had what was it 25Mb daily?, seems an Android phone is always doing something, apps downloading ads etc.

We found DC Switch app which enabled us to put a data toggle on the home screen and so the missus just turned off data when she is not using it, stops adds showing on games etc too which is a nice side effect, as well as prolonged Battery life.

Found using same toggle switch on my Liquid meant battery went from lasting 2days to lasting about 5days.

Ultimately though I ended up putting her on a contract with more data bundle and now its not a problem, we even manage to reduce our monthly payment and get more from Three which was nice.

[Guest redhawkuk]

It's possible the DI application isn't highly accurate and maybe it doesn't consider upload packets but even so 3p additional charge for 1MB download seems questionable.

When I get the time I'm going to try wifi tethering mode via my laptop, download files of exactly 512KB, 1024MB, 1000KB(for good luck) and see how my balance looks.

As for Android app ads I agree they're a pain, they eat your data and tend to obscure the screen too which is especially true for games like Angry Birds.

You can control them though by enabling Airplane mode and disabling wifi however I find adding 127.0.0.1 entries my hosts file /etc/hosts just as effective. :)

Thanks to ad blocking and startup tweaking with Gemini App Manager I've managed to greatly extend my usual 2 1/2 days to nearly 3 times that amount with light wifi usage.

Richard S.

Edited October 3, 2011 by redhawkuk