Turned Off iPhone Gets $4800 Bill from AT&T

Tech.Luver writes "Jay Levy says he has been stung by Apple's iPhone pact with AT&T after he took an iPhone on a Mediterranean cruise. They didn't use their phones, but when they got back they had a 54-page monthly bill of nearly $4,800 from AT&T Wireless. The problem was that their three iPhones were racking up a bill for data charges using foreign phone charges. The iPhone regularly updates e-mail, even while it's off, so that all the messages will be available when the user turns it on. ""

So

[niceone]

When you go out of the country, just yank the battery out.

Oh, wait...

Requisite tag for this article: iphOWNED

[jimstapleton]

I think that covers the situation nicely.

How to make BIG BUCKS with your iPhone

[word munger]

1. Travel overseas and rack up huge iPhone bill
2. Submit your story to blogs, forums, and /.
3. ????
4. Profit
5. Pay your iPhone bill

Gap in the market!

[adycarter]

So when the phones "off" it communicates, and you can't kill it all together by removing the battery?........

Coming soon to the iStore, the iCoffin, a lead lined box designed for when you need to take your phone out of the country, or near medical equipment.

Be the envy of the Intensive Care ward with your small and portable iCoffin weighing only 1 tonne, marvel at its lead casing, lick its tasty exterior and be a role model for Chinese toy makers everywhere!

Re:Gap in the market!

[Kazymyr]

That's actually a neat idea, but you don't need the lead (the thing's not radioactive to my knowledge). Let's see which gadget company will be the first one to sell Faraday's cages for iphones. Can you just imagine the ads? "Be absolutely protected from unwanted phone bills! Only with the iCase(TM)"

Yikes

[y86]

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris points out in its terms and conditions that it will cost an arm an a leg to use an Iphone out of the US even if no services are intentionally used.

I didn't realize organ trading was allowed in the US.

Nice in theory

[Anonymous Coward]

But if phones were actually off when you turn them off then the government couldn't use them as a bug to listen in on your offline conversations.

If the government didn't watch you at all times like that, they wouldn't be able to stop you from doing something stupid before things got REALLY out of hand.

So thats why they should be on all the time....it is necessary to ensure that the government can be effective in its ongoing efforts to protect you from yourself.

Re:Off means off

[gardyloo]

Well, hospital equipment already racks up astounding charges. Maybe hospitals should start buying iDefibs and iProctoscopes. Sounds like iPhone owners will probably need both of those soon.

boycott

[Skapare]

"boycottcingular.com" is now the new "boycottatt.com".

Re:So

[Dunbal]

Every other phone I have EVER seen is actually OFF when you turn it OFF.

      I've got news [209.85.165.104] for you...

Re:Uhhhh

[mir]

But the guy was on a cruise BOAT.

Re:Yikes

[Kredal]

It's not. That's why it costs an arm and a leg OUTSIDE the US.

Re:Try turning it off instead of sleeping the disp

[arose]

It's so intuitive!

It's Tinfoil Hat Time!

[OmniGeek]

1. Take large sheet of tinfoil
2. Wrap that sucker up like a ham-and-Limburger sandwich
3. Explain to the nice folks at the X-ray machine why that suspicious package is your iPhone
4. Be unable to get emergency calls from your family at home while on your Mediterranean cruise

Of course, there's always the simple, brute-force power-down solution: the iHammer. (Can you tell how unimpressed I am with this overpriced, overhyped gewgaw?)

Re:Soo..

[jimicus]

Actually if you have no plan for international data AT&T charges .0195 per KB

But is that $0.0195 or 0.0195 cents?

Re:There is no "Off" ?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a shame the damn things talk in their sleep...

Re:Off means off

[Anonymous Coward]

apple fanboys unite - the only product where off does not mean off. Good thing apple does not make weapons, the iGun with the 'safety' that does not actually do anything.

Re:Off means off

[itsdapead]

This is why things should actually be OFF when you turn them off.

Er, what if its a PHONE and if you turn it completely off people won't be able to, like, PHONE you...?

If you read on, someone posts that the iPhone (just like Windows Mobile phones) has a power-down mode if you really want it.

What other phones DON'T do is periodically phone home all by themselves - and unless AT&T/Apple have a large friendly warning* in TFM then they're probably in the wrong on that one.

(* Do not eat iPhone. Do not operate iPhone while attempting to defuse atomic bomb. Do not drop iPhone onto the head of a pedestrian from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Do not smash iPhone to pieces and stab yourself with the shards. Do not insert iPhone anally unless you are the goatse guy. If you are the goatse guy please do not return iPhone to Apple afterwards. Do not select The Lumberjack Song as ringtone while drinking in a bar in rural Canada. Turn iPhone off properly when traveling abroad. Do not take the name of Jobs in vain. Warning: this booklet may cause paper cuts if mishandled. See page 199 for more warnings)

Re:So

[pherthyl]

Or blend it..

Re:There is no "Off" ?

[CommanderData]

I don't know if there's anything we can do for her. I supplied her with earplugs to fight off the incessant sound of bagpipes, and a can of sheep-b-gone. I did my part... Anyway I'm enjoying the quiet time ;)

Re:The law needs to clarify things like this

[SolitaryMan]

For the same reason that someone who signs a contract without reading it and/or insisting on changes, deserves to be screwed. It's called a manual, it comes with the device, and you are allowed to read it. There is no "deception", only ignorance on the part of the user.

Yeah, exactly [xkcd.com]

Re:Sleep/Wake Doesn't mean "Off"

[Gary W. Longsine]

"How many people has the iPhone killed when it was supposed to be off?"

Why do you hate America?

Re:boycott

[quantum bit]

AT&T: Your world, delivered. To the NSA.

Re:Off means off

[kevinadi]

Do not select The Lumberjack Song as ringtone while drinking in a bar in rural Canada.

But... he's a lumberjack, so he must be OK.

Customer will receive a new manual

[Provocateur]

The Samuel L Jackson version of the iPhone manual:

Chapter 2 "The Basics" (page 14) how to turn the iPod motherf***** off.

Re:Off means off

[Minwee]

It has to be fixed where the failure is, i.e. the equipment that will fail.

That would be the human heart. When you come up with a workable redesign that addresses the problems you have discovered, please let the rest of us know.

This was completely avoidable

[DeepZenPill]

Just remove the battery.

Oh wait.

Re:Off means off

[nelsonal]

Especially in the fall, elk like to talk, a ton. Txting Hi wnt 2 m8 is much easier than bugling all day and night (and you got shot at far less too).

Re:ihpones

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll bring this up next time I catch Steve-O in the exec washroom.

Somehow, I suspect you'll have other matters on your mind, Senator Craig.

Re:ihpones

[Killjoy_NL]

PC guy here, but.... don't you drag the Sim to the trashcan? ;)

Re:Off means off

[gardyloo]

I'm stuck paying $800-1300 per screw

Hey, a girl's gotta make a living.