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YOUR CART

Tips, Tricks and News 
about all sorts of technology in your life!

3/7/2020 1 Comment

How to check which mobile provider offers the strongest signal at your location

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Clients Caroline and Chris asked iTandCoffee similar questions last week.

​Caroline wanted to know how to find a location that gives good mobile signal when she is travelling, and Chris needed to prove, after switching to Optus, that her Optus signal was weaker than that she previously had with Telstra at her regional Victorian home address.

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1 Comment

1/2/2018 0 Comments

Ensuring your child does not spend excessive amounts on mobile data usage

(Contributed by Andrew Coulston)
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So many kids have headed off to school this year with an iPhone (or perhaps even a iPad with cellular capability) in their pocket or school backpack. Whether that phone is on a pre-paid or monthly plan, or perhaps on a shared data plan, a key concern for most parents is that their child does not spent a fortune on mobile data.​

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0 Comments

13/11/2017 0 Comments

Why can't I get internet on my iPhone when I am away from home?

A client of iTandCoffee recently asked why he was getting an error message saying that there was 'No internet available' and that his 'Mobile Data is Turned Off' whenever he was away from home or work.

He was not aware of having done anything to turn off his mobile data.

In fact, he had inadvertently tapped a new control in his Control Centre - one that allows Mobile Data to be easily turned on and off. 

This new control (indicated by the red arrow in the  first image) was added in iOS 11.

So, if you find you are suddenly without mobile data, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to view your Control Centre.  (On an iPhone X, swipe down from top right corner.)

If the mobile data symbol does not have a green background, tap it to turn it back on.
mobile data control in Control Centre on iPhone
Mobile data active - symbol in control centre on iPhone
0 Comments

7/10/2017 1 Comment

"iTunes used up all my mobile data!"  How to stop this from happening

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This week, I got a very rude shock when I received a text message from Telstra saying that I had used up nearly all of my month's allowance of mobile data - with 9 days to go until the end of the billing cycle!

I was not conscious of having done anything that could have used up that much data, so did a bit of detective work on my iPhone 7 Plus to see what was eating my data.
What is eating all my data

Uncovering the 'data gobbler'

I found in Settings -> Mobile that one of the biggest consumers of my data was 
System Services.  

Normally, I only have a problem with my mobile data use when I have been using my 'personal hotspot' - which I had not done recently.
  • Lend your mobile internet to your Wi-Fi only device - using your Personal Hotspot​

Further investigation showed that the big user of my mobile data was iTunes Media Services and iTunes Accounts.
iTunes is using all my mobile data
So it was obviously something to do with my music. I had been listening to music as I walked, and wondered if that was the issue.

But that was not the problem.  The problem was with an option I had turned on in Settings -> Music.
My Mobile Data setting was on - as I wanted to ensure that I could stream music when not on Wi-Fi.  What I hadn't noticed was that there are some further options in the Mobile Data option.

Tapping on the Mobile Data option showed that I had the Downloads option turned on. 
Mobile Data settings for Music
Setting to download music using mobile data
In addition to this, I also had the Automatic Download option enabled in Settings -> Music.

This setting meant that any music that I added to my Library in Apple Music would be automatically downloaded to my iPhone (as long as there is space).

I had recently added a couple of '70's Music' playlists, not realising they automatically downloaded - AND that, due to my setting in the Mobile Data, this downloading could happen using my mobile data.

Needless to say, I have now turned off the Downloads option in the Mobile Data option of Settings -> Music.

I suggest you all do the same, to avoid getting caught out like I did!

Related Handy Hints and Articles

Handy Hints (for iTandCoffee Club members only.  Find out more here »)
  • ​Managing and monitoring your mobile data usage
  • Sharing content from one device to another using Airdrop
  • Stopping Facebook from autoplaying videos - and wasting your mobile data
  • Temporarily allowing mobile data and allowing/blocking phone calls when travelling.
Blog Articles:
  • I turned on my data roaming and used 11MB in a flash  
  • A great data usage 'stopwatch' for my iPad and iPhone
  • Have you turned off this data-gobbling feature ?
  • My device shows the internet is working, but it is not!
  • If you use public WiFi, you should read this
1 Comment

12/7/2017 0 Comments

Temporarily allowing mobile data and allowing/blocking phone calls when travelling.

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​As mentioned in the earlier post Lend your mobile internet to your Wi-Fi only device - using your Personal Hotspot, client Chris K is off overseas this week, and will be purchasing and setting up a TravelSim before she goes (with assistance from iTandCoffee). 

This TravelSIM will give her access to a data bundle that offers 1GB for 30 days - so she CAN choose to use mobile data while she travels.  (If she was just leaving her Telstra SIM in the iPhone, she would definitely NOT be using mobile data as it would cost $3 per MB!)  

The TravelSIM will also allow incoming and outgoing calls for only 25c per minute (much cheaper than Telstra's $2/minute).

The trick is understanding what to do to minimise the cost of using this TravelSIM when traveling, and to avoid unintended use of the Mobile Data allowance.

I promised Chris I would write up some (hopefully) straight-forward rules about the settings that she needs to turn on and off at different times, depending on whether she wants to be making/receiving calls and texts, and whether she wants be using her 1GB allowance of mobile data (vs just using Wi-Fi).

So, here goes Chris!  I hope it makes sense.

Enabling/disabling internet, phone calls and texts while travelling OS

In general, leave Mobile Data and Data Roaming OFF to avoid unintended use of the 1GB mobile data allowance
  • Data Roaming is turned on/off at Settings -> Mobile -> Mobile Data Options
  • Mobile Data is turned on/off at Settings -> Mobile

If you really need internet but there is NO access to Wi-Fi:
  • Turn on Mobile Data at  Settings -> Mobile
  • Then turn on Data Roaming temporarily at Settings -> Mobile -> Mobile Data Options
  • Use the internet to retrieve emails, Google, get directions, etc.  
  • Think twice before doing any video/audio calling using Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or FaceTime as this will use a lot of your data allowance.
  • When done, turn Data Roaming OFF 
  • And then turn Mobile Data OFF (in that order)

Block phone calls and texts (incoming and outgoing):
  • Turn Airplane Mode ON (this disables phone calls and texts, Wi-Fi, and mobile data)
  • When Airplane Mode is ON, Wi-Fi can be turned back on when required.  (This means that phone calls and texts CANNOT be sent/received, but internet is still available using Wi-Fi.)

Allow phone calls and texts (incoming and outgoing):
  • Turn OFF Airplane Mode

Handy Hints  (for iTandCoffee Club Members only)
  • Phone and text access while travelling overseas
  • Have you discovered this great feature of the TripAdvisor App?
Blog Articles (no membership required)
  • Exciting news about Google Translate - just in time for school holiday travel to foreign lands!
  • How to keep in touch by phone while travelling overseas     
  • iPhone tip: How to dial an overseas number that has a '+' at the start     
  • Apple SIM provides data for travellers in 90 countries     
  • So many ways to keep in touch from the other side of the world using your iPad and iPhone     
  • Some warnings about using Wi-Fi when travelling - even Hotel Wi-Fi     
  • A really handy app for travellers
  • Checking your voicemail when you don't have access to your regular phone or SIM     
  • Making sure that your contacts' names appear in the Messages and Phone apps when you travel OS     
  • Why don't certain iPhone messages arrive until I am connected to WiFi?     
  • I turned on my data roaming and used 11MB in a flash      
  • For travellers: how to get SatNav on your iPhone or iPad when you don't have internet     
  • Client Question:  Why can't I send my Bigpond email when I am in Hong Kong?   
  • How to get access to Australian content when you travel - while keeping your online world secure   
  • Great ways of adding more storage to your iPad and iPhone - especially when you travel       
  • Here's a handy app for when you travel - especially by train     
  • A great accessory for travelling with your iPhone and iPad - battery charging, backup and extra storage for your i-Device
  • Some great news for travellers who want internet on the go
  • Some information for travellers about iMessage and safe internet usage

Related Handy Hints and Articles

0 Comments

11/7/2017 2 Comments

Lend your mobile internet to your Wi-Fi only device - using your Personal Hotspot

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Chris K has visited iTandCoffee over the past couple of weeks to discuss travelling with her technology.  We have discussed her options for phone, SMS and internet while travelling overseas this month.

The option that best meets Chris's needs is to purchase and set up a TravelSim (which she will get from a Post Shop) for her iPhone.  

Travelsim currently offers 1GB of mobile data with any activation (valid for activations before 16/7/17).  (This data allowance expires 30 days after activation.)

While 1GB is not a huge amount of data for 30 days, it certainly will give her enough to allow her to regularly check her email, look up maps, and do a bit of Googling when she does not have access to Wi-Fi.

Chris will also take her iPad mini. She wants to be able to manage her emails and look up websites using the larger screen offered by that device (instead of always using her iPhone 6).

Rather than buy another SIM for her iPad, I have suggested that she utilise the data allowance of her iPhone's TravelSim when accessing the internet on her iPad.

She can do this by enabling her Personal Hotspot on her iPhone, and connecting to this Personal Hotspot from Settings->Wi-Fi on her iPad.

Find out more about using a Personal Hotspot in the below Handy Hint for iTandCoffee Club members.
  • ​Use your Personal Hotspot to provide mobile data to your Wi-Fi only device

Related Handy Hints and Articles

Handy Hints (for iTandCoffee Club Members only)
  • ​Managing and monitoring your mobile data usage
  • Sharing content from one device to another using Airdrop
  • Stopping Facebook from autoplaying videos - and wasting your mobile data​
Blog Articles (no membership required)
  • I turned on my data roaming and used 11MB in a flash  
  • A great new data usage 'stopwatch' for my iPad and iPhone
  • Have you turned off this data-gobbling feature of iOS 9?
  • My device shows the internet is working, but it is not!
  • How to tell Google to only search for 'recent' content, or only Australian content
  • Understanding NBN and VPN - two TLA's (three-letter acronyms) we are hearing a lot lately!
  • If you have been having trouble lately with your internet or with sending mail ...
  • If you use public WiFi, you should read this
  • Here's how to check if and when NBN is available to you
2 Comments

2/7/2017 0 Comments

How to monitor and manage your mobile data use

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This week we have a focus on understanding how to monitor and manage your data usage - your data in iCloud, your data on your iPhone and iPad and, in this tip, how to manage how much internet data you use when you are out and about.  

We are referring here to your 'mobile data usage' (sometimes also referred to as you 'cellular data' usage).

To complete this trio of data usage handy hints, here's the applicable an iTandCoffee Club hint - just re-recorded to reflect the latest iOS 10 screens and options.
How to monitor and manage mobile data usage

If you are not yet a member of our premium members-only iTandCoffee club, find out here how you can access a great tips like this, plus other members-only offers, products and services.
Find out more about The iTandCoffee Club
0 Comments

25/2/2016 0 Comments

A home internet option to consider when you can't get cable or decent ADSL 

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At a discussion group at a retirement village this week, the topic of internet access was raised.  

At this particular village, the majority of residents cannot get ADSL or Cable internet connections to their units, so must rely on mobile data.

We all know that Mobile Data can be very expensive.  For the residents of this village who perhaps would like to watch a lot of catch-up TV on their iPads, the cost can really make this impossible.

I remembered seeing this SMH article a few months ago (click here to read), describing a new Optus product and plan that can provide 50GB of monthly mobile data, at a cost that is 'relatively' competitive with a home internet plan.  

The cost is $70 per month on a 24 month plan.  Month-to-month plans are also $70, but incur an 'up-front' fee for the modem that is not applicable if you commit to the 24 months.

This is certainly a far cheaper 'cost per megabyte' plan than a lot of other mobile data options.  

For example, on other plans, you might get something like 4GB or 8GB for $30 per month.  Telstra provides a 10GB/month plan for $60.

Read about this relatively new product and plan from Optus here.  You can check on this Optus web page if the service is available at your address.

(And for those of you at Cameron Close in Burwood, I have checked that the service is available in your village. I'll talk more about this topic when I visit on March 8th to present at the March Computer Club meeting at 4pm.)
0 Comments

9/12/2015 0 Comments

How much data is used when using Skype or any other 'free' communications via the internet?

iTandCoffee client Helen asked me this very question yesterday.  So, I did a bit of Googling the find some figures on just how much data Skype uses, and 'gathered up' a couple of other articles that might be of interest to Helen and others.

Skype data usage

The data used by a Skype video call depends on what devices are involved at either end, and on the 'bandwidth' that is available (i.e. the data transfer rate, or speed of your internet service).

Video calls between two mobile devices using Skype over the cellular network apparently uses about 3.75 MB of data every minute.

If you are on a faster home internet service and making a HD video call, you may use up to about 22.5MB per minute.

The below table shows some approximations of the number of Megabytes used for some typical types of Skype calls - those that don't include videos and those that do.
​
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Call Type

Minimum download / upload speed

Recommended
download / upload speed

MB used per minute (approx)

 

Calling

30kbps / 30kbps

100kbps / 100kbps

0.25 - 7.5MB

 

Video calling / Screen sharing

128kbps / 128kbps

300kbps / 300kbps

1 - 2.25MB

 

Video calling (high-quality)

400kbps / 400kbps

500kbps / 500kbps

3 – 4MB

 

Video calling (HD)

1.2Mbps / 1.2Mbps

1.5Mbps / 1.5Mbps

9-12MB, but could be up to approx. 22MB

Some other articles about data usage

  • Broadband usage guide: how much data do you need? 
  • How to see how much data a FaceTime call used on iPhone and iPad                                                                â€‹                                                           
0 Comments

21/11/2015 0 Comments

Apple SIM provides data for travellers in 90 countries

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Did you know that Apple offers SIM cards, called Apple SIMs, that can provide you with data access in over 90 countries while you travel?

I must have 'missed the memo' on this one, because I only just saw the below article this week - even though the article was published on July 1st 2015.

For those of you who are interested in options for having mobile data access while you travel, this may be one to seriously consider.

Apple SIM plans launch in Australia, offering cheap global roaming:
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