Apple iPhone users looking to save themselves some cash by turning off data roaming while abroad have been coming home to some pretty nasty-looking phone bills, according to reports from MoneySavingExpert.com. It seems that even without data roaming turned on (which allows users mobile access to the web and e-mail), many iPhones continue to connect to the web, and the bill for the error gets footed by the customer - at full international rates.

The problem seems to affect iPhones on all networks, although most of the reported cases have been from O2 customers (who make up the large proportion of iPhone users in the UK).

O2 have acknowledged that there is a problem, and have said that they are taking this problem up with Apple. The company has reportedly been giving out refunds to customers who have fallen foul of the roaming problem, although with reports of similar problems coming in from customers of different networks, chalk this up to yet another glitch somewhere in the Apple camp.

Source

----

The iPhone faults just grow and grow!!

Does Apple actually have any kind of rigorous test process before they release these devices to the faithful Apple massive, or do they just rely on marketing BS to see them through?

It used to be that Apple was overpriced but high quality. Ever since they started becoming popular (so much for "think different"), QC has gone out of the window in favour for cheap design, slave-labour construction and denial of any issues that crop up.

At least the roaming alert works perfectly on my Android phone (if only 3 would sort out their roaming stuff so that my phone didn't whine about roaming and costs, when I am actually only roaming on Orange). I think they're in the process of doing it with their iPhones.

And yet people buy them in their millions.They sound like drug dealers

No product is perfect, but credit where it's due the iPhone is one of the most bug-free and problem-free handsets on the market. The main reason the media have jumped on the signal issue is because it's a chink in an otherwise nearly flawless suit of armour. I'm no Apple fan but to claim that they don't have any form of quality control or testing is a little silly, to say the least.

So people with i phones are the only ones to ever get ripped off when travelling abroad ? I don't think so

The i phone customers are the ones who are getting their money refunded from what I can see

A couple of my mates got stitched up by Tmobile but didn't manage to get their money back but thats not news because they where using Erickson phones

Is this an iOS 4 bug or all versions?

Thanks for reminding us of the piss poor antenna design on the iPhone 4, but we are now discussing another fault.

This time its people being stung for huge amounts of money because an option in the iPhone software doesnt work...

So not fair play at all really and most certainly - if I was looking at a large bill as a result of this - I would not call this device bug free.

To be blunt, it goes way beyond bugs and strays into the realms of utterly crap hardware and software design and its possibly a first where the fake iPhones stand a chance of being better than the real thing

The issue in this case is a handset fault, not a billing fault. Big difference

But those who ignore the warnings (if any are presented by the network or phone) and press on deserve to be billed.

The iPhone owners should be refunded - they've enabled a feature, it should work, it didn't. Not exactly their fault, especially when the iPhone connects to a data network and starts racking up a bill automatically. Perhaps the networks should start getting Apple to pay up any lost revenue.

It's all versions - it happened to me last year with an iPhone 3G. O2 refunded all £1.42 of the data charges. I was using WiFi every day, yet data only cropped up on about 3 days of the 14 I was in the US, so explain that one!

Unless you have data roaming enabled, the iPhone donesn't start racking up a bill automatically. Though the bug does mean that it does seem to make the occasional connection to the data networks, which it shouldn't.

If this is true, and I'm in no position to verify it personally, do we know how widespread it is? OS Versions? Hardware versions? I'm surprised the networks aren't advising customers to turn off data when they leave the UK, if the Auto Data Roaming 'feature' isn't working.

To be on the safe side >Settings>General>Network>Cellular Data>Off manually as soon as you step on the plane... Or doesn't this work either? Would be nice if there was some official information from the networks and Apple if this is true.

Yes, that's annoying and it's poor that that bug has slipped through. However, the money is being refunded according to that quote.

My issue was with you questioning whether Apple do any form of testing, when it's clear to all - even Apple haters - that they clearly do.
"Utterly crap" = any chance of your argument being taken seriously, gone.

Hmm very interesting - so cross software and hardware version? This would seem to indicate it's a problem globally. Not just here with o2...

Don't take steve too seriously, he once spent 20 pages trying to convince everyone that there were simply too many apps in the app store. Way too many. I mean, who needs that many apps? Who would need ones that he himself didn't? Madness!

So you've loaded your phone up with the thousands of vuvuzela apps and fart clones, then?

1: Bare metal antenna on outside of phone
2: Roaming bug results in users being charged

1 is hardware
2 is software

If they did testing, wouldnt the most basic of faults, eg the conductivity between the wifi antenna and cellular antenna, have shown up? I mean, surely, reception is basic phone functionality?? Or maybe not in the iPhones case? ha CASE....get it.

I have only gone for vuvuzela apps that do proper polyphony, and fart ones that make streetcar Minis start their engines at the same time.

Why aren't TV Stations, Senators, Whoppi Goldberg and the Woz etc. bringing this up with Apple? Or isn't it happening in the US? Or don't they ever travel?

Yeah just make sure you dont hold it "wrongly" or they wont work at all

Oi, I have those!

Vuvuzela apps can't do polyphony!

As for the original issue surely you should just close the apps down which use the net?

I've taken my iPhone (3G and 3GS) abroad a few times over the last 2 year and not been charged anything. Both been on o2.

Hope my up iPhone 4 isn't any different!

Well I took my 3G abroad a few times and was never charged for data roaming. On my phone data roaming is disabled but I think you should always check before you go away to be on the safe side.

Yeah but if you were using my Iphone4 to test the signal issue you would never have been aware of it, mine has never dropped a call or had signal issues. And I am left handed. You make it sound like every Iphone4 drops calls and users cant make calls. that really isn't the case.

Somebody get Jobs a book about quality management quickly. They should start to spend more time on testing and less on PR bullshitting.