How did my phone connect to the internet?

[Happy Grumpy]

Bought a new Samsung J5 last week.

We have a wireless 3BB network at home, I don't have any other package.

Went out shopping. Got messages on Messenger and Line apps. Bit surprising. So turned off the Wifi on the phone to see what was going on.

Could still send and recieve messages, no bother.

Wot's this all about? How? 4G?

[Chicog]

Depends on your package obviously.

I'm assuming you put a SIM card in it?

If not I'd open it up and look.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Chicog

[wooloomooloo]

I have heard of smartphones inexplicably receiving a signal by magic.

[Happy Grumpy]

Depends on your package obviously.

I don't have a package.

*ahem*

phone/internet wise.

Only internet package we have is in our house. A standard 3bb home wifi network. For nearly 3 yrs now.

I'm assuming you put a SIM card in it?

Er yes, the same D-Tac Happeeee sim I've had since 2009.

[bubba1]

Your data connection is on. Turn it off in the settings or get a data package from DTAC else all your credit will be eaten up soon if on prepaid.

[Happy Grumpy]

When I turn off Wifi on the phone,there is a small icon along the top that looks like a capital H, with two small opposing arrows underneath it.

When I open up this bar the icon for 'Mobile Data' is on.

So presumably that is that.

But what is it and what is it connecting to that allows me to use the internet for f without any package or subscription.

[Happy Grumpy]

Your data connection is on. Turn it off in the settings or get a data package from DTAC else all your credit will be eaten up soon if on prepaid.

Gotcha.

I wondered how 200 baht of credit went in one or two days.

I'm guessing it connects to 4G or whatever, and it takes money from your phone credit for doing so.

thank you very much. question answered.

[bubba1]

When I turn off Wifi on the phone,there is a small icon along the top that looks like a capital H, with two small opposing arrows underneath it.

When I open up this bar the icon for 'Mobile Data' is on.

So presumably that is that.

But what is it and what is it connecting to that allows me to use the internet for f without any package or subscription.

You don't need a package or subscription it will eat away at your credit or charge your post paid account.

[Langsuan Man]

One of the dirty little secrets of the Thai telecom providers. There is no difference between voice and data in pre paid accounts so it is extremely easy for your smart phone to outsmart you and use what you thought were voice minutes as data minutes

If you have a dual SIM phone you can separate them but if you only have one SIM then you must turn data off via your Settings screen . in Android it is usually Settings > Data usage > Cellular data (toggle on or off)

I am sure that iOS has a similar method of turning it off and on

[SoiBiker]

A dirty little secret?

Hardly. You can't blame the network operators for the fact that some naive people are surprised when a smartphone connects to the internet.

[Langsuan Man]

A dirty little secret?

Hardly. You can't blame the network operators for the fact that some naive people are surprised when a smartphone connects to the internet.

The dirty part is that voice and data are exactly the same, yet they don't tell you that and the OP learned it the expensive way

[SoiBiker]

Voice and data aren't the same - but they both cost money. If your phone has it's data connection turned on, they're going to charge you for the data it uses.

In 2016, this should hardly come as a surprise to anyone.

[Tywais]

A dirty little secret?

Hardly. You can't blame the network operators for the fact that some naive people are surprised when a smartphone connects to the internet.

The dirty part is that voice and data are exactly the same, yet they don't tell you that and the OP learned it the expensive way

Not sure what you mean as they are not both the same. You can turn data off and still use voice. With voice only, you will see the signal strength bars. With voice+data you will see the bars plus a H+ or 3G or 4G icon at the top. Generic example:

[KhunBENQ]

Your data connection is on. Turn it off in the settings or get a data package from DTAC else all your credit will be eaten up soon if on prepaid.

All said and likely the "data connection on" is default.

With "off" the "always on generation" would get withdrawal symptoms

Data on and no package is always the most expensive option.

There are zillions of package options and many smartphones have options to set volume limits, raise alarms or switch data off when limit is reached.

Edited April 11, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[WhizBang]

As an aside to all this, the OP might also consider adding a firewall app to his phone. Then he can allow/disallow access on an app by app basis.

I use Mobiwol 'no root' Firewall. It has the advantage of also blocking ads, as the apps are not allowed to connect, unless you want, or need, them to.

[Chicog]

Depends on your package obviously.

I don't have a package.

*ahem*

phone/internet wise.

Only internet package we have is in our house. A standard 3bb home wifi network. For nearly 3 yrs now.

I'm assuming you put a SIM card in it?

Er yes, the same D-Tac Happeeee sim I've had since 2009.

Then you have a package.

DTAc probably gives you GPRS and deducts your balance for it.