Kind of a Dumb Question

[MissCroft]

Would you expect any less of me? LOL

I'm pretty smart in a lot of ways but never been very tech savvy.... So anyway my internet wasn't working on my blackberry for a little while and I couldn't figure out the problem. Finally removed the battery from it and now it's working fine.

The thing is that the only place it would work during this time was up north out of town. I was told it likely 'jumped' onto another network there and failed to jump back when I returned to the city. Makes sense. Now for my question - I was told by someone else that I may have been charged roaming fees during this period because I was on another network. Could this be true? Yes, dumb question I know. :-( lol

I tried to check my account balance but it's not yet available for the month of November (that drives me crazy!) And please no one tell me to go on to the website to check out my airtime minutes etc. I forgot my password and for some strange reason it doesn't recognize my e-mail address, name or phone number. It won't even let me re-register. I told them that oover the phone and they don't know why. Bizarre.

 

[letsn0twastetime]

It might have worked up North because you were likely on Rogers' 2G network as opposed to its 3G network which is faster because its newer technology but the coverage area is more around the cities. Sometimes there are icons on your blackberry that shows you which one you are on which likely means there was some problem the 3G network. But I wouldn't worry about roaming if you were up north because rogers should have coverage there. If you were close to the US for instance then that's another story.

But what is probably the most likely explanation is that you hopped on someones unsecure WiFi network which the phone prefers over the cell network since its normally faster and you don't get charged data usage on your phone although who's ever WiFi you were using will get your usage

 

[MissCroft]

Thanks guys. I should maybe mention that I'm with Telus. And yes, the person on the phone told me that I would likely only get charged roaming fees if I left the country or if I was really close to the border. I still don't want to get a crazy big phone bill for such a stupid reason. When I went to Texas a few years ago, I made only a few short calls and got a phone bill that was over $400. Not a big deal but it was still annoying.

 

[TheDr]

Any time you are having issues with a BlackBerry a battery pull is the first line of troubleshooting. Also, under the Manage Connections app on the device, select Service Status and it will give you an idea on whats connected and what isnt.

Also in the Manage Connections app set the following defaults:
Data Services: On
While Roaming: On or Prompt
Connection Preferences: WiFi Preferred
Network Selection Mode: Automatic
Network Mode: 3G & 2G

for further troubleshooting change Network selection mode to manual and select your carrier from the list. also change Network Mode to 2G.

feel free to PM me if you need more help.

 

[fluffytoast]

Depending on the network it jumped onto, yes you could of been charged roaming fees. If checking online is not an option for you and you're really curious, perhaps you could try calling them? If you were charged roaming fees, maybe you can even request for it to be lowered seeing as how you were back in the city.

Also, if you travel outside the city often and don't want your networks jumping around all the time, you can change your network selection mode to manual (if you call, they should explain to you how to do that)

 

[MissCroft]

Depending on the network it jumped onto, yes you could of been charged roaming fees. If checking online is not an option for you and you're really curious, perhaps you could try calling them? If you were charged roaming fees, maybe you can even request for it to be lowered seeing as how you were back in the city.

Thank you. I did call them and they said they don't have my account balance for the month yet. Also she said I shouldn't be charged roaming fees if I wasn't out of the country. But it seems more and more people are saying that I could indeed be charged roaming fees so that's worrying me. Not sure how much they would be (?)

 

[fluffytoast]

Well you might of been charged depending on the network you jumped onto and your plan, we don't know for sure.
Hey if you are charged roaming fees, just try to talk it down these companies are so notorious for overcharging. Gl

 

[MissCroft]

I don't know how long you were there but, unless you were talking up a storm and using LD and sending photos and using email, you probably wont have that much in roaming fees. probably $100. If you were doing more it will be more. No sense in worrying about it though, it is what it is, and now you are much more the wiser about roaming.

I wasn't out of town for very long but the point was that I could still possibly be getting charged roaming fees despite being back in Toronto because I was still on that other network. Anyway, I got my monthly balance over the phone just now and it's about $120 more than it normally is so it appears I got charged for something. 120 is no biggie - I was a bit worried it would be significantly more. I read some horror stories....but they were international roaming fees.

 

[doggee_01]

i would give them a call when you get your bill and can see the charges.......they may very well lower the charges if you are a long time customer and have a reasonable story........ especially if they have coverage in the area where you were

 

[Brill]

Not dumb questions at all, they might be helpful to other people too.

Call them and explain the situation, $120 is a big enough deal.
Maybe you can get your password and other problems fixed as well.

 

[Thunderballs]

There are no dumb questions, just dumb telcos.