Cell Phone Data warning

[stinkbelly]

I just wanted to warn everyone about a "feature" with newer cell phones. My boys have been out of school for a week. They are at home with my wife. They are playing on their phones which are on the house wifi. Now here is the problem. According to Att if the phone thinks the Att network is faster than the local wifi, it will switch to the Att network. I have the wifi on for a reason, but the phone isn't using it. That benefits Att by me going over my data plan and having to pay more.

Basically my son used 8G of data in 8 days while at home on our home wifi network.

The only way to avoid this is to turn off the data on the phone while you are on a wifi network.

[RiverRat1]

LOL Now that's a scam. I wouldn't pay it. Call BS10

[hoythitman]

Never heard of that. I'd pitch a fit.

[Bullseye07]

What model phones are they using? I've never heard of this

[TX_Phil]

My Android phone has a setting under Settings \ WiFi called "Smart Network Switch". When ON it automatically switches from WiFi to Mobile Data to give the best internet connection. I have this setting to OFF and thus far I've not noticed the issue you described.

[TallTexan]

I'd bet someone forgot to turn the phone wifi on

[stinkbelly]

I personally turned the wifi on all the phones. I did it and watched it yesterday. I then went online and saw the data usage and it was using data while I had it on wifi. They update the online data usage every three hours. It used data all night while they were sleeping and the wifi was on. I guess it was updating stuff.

The phones are Samsung galaxy and Iphone.

I am going to look for that "smart network switch".

For now the kids are told to turn the data off at home and then on when they leave. If they don't do it, the data gets turned off by me.

[Saltgrass Mikerr]

never heard of that. I'd pitch a fit.

x2 !

[Tye]

That happened to us with our daughters phone a while back. She learned that she needed to turn off her data

[Schweino]

you can turn off that feature on the phone... its called: "smart network switch"

turn it off and if wifi is on, and the phone is connected to a wifi network, wifi is used first

[Schweino]

on the samsung, its on the wifi menu, in the settings... on the iphone, i have no idea... those things are the work of the devil...

[Nado]

I had been getting kicked off my wifi at home and I hadnt noticed it for about a month but then I noticed my data was getting used up quickly I called Grande told them my wifi was messing up and if they could send a technitin out to my location. Over the phone they restarted my wifi said there was alot of errors on it and alot of the customers had the same issue with the recent thunderstorms it was causing alot of their electronics to have those error issues.

I have the Note 3 and I have smart switch on, they reset my home wifi and everything is better now, I am not getting kicked off my wifi and useing my data. How fast is your data speed on your wifi, if your att data is faster then the wifi maybe that could be the reason too.

[Smart]

Sounds like a phone issue and not a network scam...

Never had that issue on any of my Iphones and I am on Wifi more than the ATT cellular network by far..

.

[stinkbelly]

what about the Motorola moto x? I can't find it on mine.

[GatorBait]

I had this problem as well. I turn the mobile network off when using wi/fi