Turning data off on teen's iPhone?

[lenshanem]

My daughter's LG Neon phone is broke. Thinking about an iPhone for Christmas. She has an iTouch that she LOVES and uses wifi on. I'm wondering if there is a way to turn off the data on an iPhone so she doesn't go over the 200MB plan (which is the smallest plan at $15). We have unlimited family text messaging already. I would just like her to be able to use it for calling and texting, but limit everything else to wifi only like she does on her iTouch. Is this possible? She does alot of YouTube, Netflix and games on her iTouch so it needs to be on wifi! Also, does anyone know if facetime will work if I turn off the data? What about pictures sent thru texting since we have the unlimited family messaging? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[GabbyJacobsmom]

We just upgraded our daughter to a smart phone, not an iphone but just the same. We have AT&T - a data plan is required with any smart phone purchase. I do not think there is a way to work around it and their Smart Limits do not work with the data plan, as she kept showing 0 usage in data when in actuality she had over 100mb used. AT&T does send out a text message when you are getting near your limits on your data and an email to the account.

Good luck!

As with the touch you can add Wifi access to your Iphone and this way she can browse you tube, netflix etc when in the house for no charge. As long as you setup an understanding beforehand about the data and not using it when not in the house it shouldn't be a problem. Facetime sounds like it is used over the web, so that would use data also???? But not sure. Pictures I believe when sending via a SMS/text is part of your unlimited texting plan.

I would ask all of these questions to your carrier that way you aren't blindsided with charges that you were not expecting if you go the iphone route.

 

[bpesch]

I'm not familiar with the iPhone and plans but I do know that unless you have limits set before you give her the phone, you're likely to have some real issues with overages. And that can get very expensive! Hopefully someone will come along that can give you some good advice about if it's possible to do.

 

[StayCool]

I don't think that you can completely turn it off, but I know that when I set up my husband's iPhone I was able to set it up to use our wifi at home when it was available. Then when he isn't home he uses the data plan through Verizon.

 

[HM]

I have no idea. But, it seems like you could ask your DD to continue using the iTouch for all the things she's doing now and only use the phone for text and voice. If she's old enough for a phone then she's old enough to follow your instructions for using it.

At 10, I'm not sure she really needs a fancy iPhone anyway. How about not putting her phone on the family plan and getting her a Cricket or Virgin Mobile smartphone product instead?

 

[puffkin]

As long as the wifi is enabled on the phone (in Settings, very easy) it will automatically connect to your wireless network at home. When a wireless network is not available, it will switch to the 3G network and start using the data plan. I have an old unlimted contract with ATT so I don't worry about it but my DH just got an iphone and is on the $15 plan and that is what we do.

I am pretty sure that your family messaging plan will not work with the iphone. They have their own messaging plans and they are expensive. I have the $5/mo for 200 texts plan. However, now the iphones have a feature called iMessaging which is free from iphone to iphone. But I do use my texts for friends that do not have iphones.

 

[kamik86]

I'm not sure about the iPhones but I know my android you can turn off the data on the phone. However this is just a phone setting. I would take your teen less then 2 min to figure out how to turn it back on if she wanted to. It is there more to not allow you to accidently use too much.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

We are AT&T. I-phone has it's own message/texting package and will not work with the family plan. Each one is separate.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

You can turn 3G data off on the iPhone. If your teen's phone is on the same plan as you, you can monitor any usage of data on that number. -- Suzanne

 

[pigletto]

My dd has the Iphone. It is set to prompt her when it is switching from our wifi to the 3G network. She is also able in the settings to see exactly what she has used for the month.
She is 14 and has never gone over her data in the year we have had it. So if you feel that your dd is responsible enough to monitor herself it can be done with no issue.
A BIG caveat though. Facetime. Face time sucks more data than you can imagine and will eat through her allowance in no time at all. Just something to be careful of.

You can even monitor how much wifi you are using through your router. Ours is set to tell us what devices are connected and what each one is using. Right after we got the Iphone our wifi went over quite a bit. Facetime was the culprit.
However, in the U.S. you have much higher internet caps and it shouldn't ever be an issue for you.
If you want exact instructions on how to monitor your phone data and set it up pm me and I'll have dd explain

ETA) As far as the pics through texting, your provider would need to explain that one to you. Our plan covers unlimiting picture messaging so I've never had to look into it.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

My dd11 has an iphone. When I get the text that she is nearing her limit, she knows she cannot use 3G, and can only use wifi. By that age, they are old enough to control it themselves! We have wifi set up by default, so whenever you are near a wireless network, it automatically connects to that.

We have family texting for $30/month, which covers all of our phones. The iMessage service is great (and free). Facetime is only used with wifi, so that won't use up her data minutes.

Dd was given my old iphone when she was 9, and has been super responsible with it. She knows what she's allowed to do. The only big thing she's asking for for Christmas is the iphone 4s. I'm glad we were given the chance to see how she does with the 3G before spending money on the big one! She'll be very happy Christmas morning

 

[girli565]

If she's home a lot of the time (where there's wifi) then she shouldn't go over the $15 data plan allotment. My husband uses his phone all the time, streams music from pandora, checks his email, looks at websites and has never gone over his allowed amount. AT&T will send you a warning email and text when you're getting close to your limit.

 

[crazelion]

Walmart has lg neon for 39.99 go-phones. All do is throw away the sim card that come with the phone and slide your sim card in. That is cheap then going with a smartphone and keeps her unlimited data.

 

[3boymthr]

There is a way in the settings menue to go in and turn off the 3G and AT&T will send a notice when she's getting close to the limit. DS keeps his turned off so that he has to think about it before he actively goes online - i.e., can he look it up on the computer that's sitting right across the room. Another tip we've learned with DS' iphone - there are certain programs which work on both wi-fi and 3G but which are constantly searching out and using the 3G to download garbage you don't need (and by constantly I mean even when you are not actively using them). DS bought one that within 1 day had used a ton of his data for the month and he had only actively used it for 10 minutes - and it was a program that you would not think needed data (a guitar tuner) - he did get a warning that this app was using an excessive amount of data - so you may want to either avoid them or turn off the 3G when she's not actively using it.

If you don't have a contract with AT&T you may want to look at Sprint which offers an unlimited data plan for $79.99.

 

[ashley0139]

A BIG caveat though. Facetime. Face time sucks more data than you can imagine and will eat through her allowance in no time at all. Just something to be careful of.

Actually, on AT&T, FaceTime can only be used on wifi, so it doesn't use any data at all.

I have the iphone and have never come close to using all my data (though I do have the bigger plan). I am almost always on wifi. When on wifi, it doesn't use any data at all.

 

[RitaE]

We are AT&T. I-phone has it's own message/texting package and will not work with the family plan. Each one is separate.

We have Unlimited Group texting and two out of the five phones on our account are iPhones on our account. It works just fine.

 

[luvmy3]

I can't be the only one wondering if you want to turn of the data why are you bothering with an Iphone?

 

[pigletto]

I can't be the only one wondering if you want to turn of the data why are you bothering with an Iphone?

Because they still have full data capabilities with Wifi. DD uses hers all the time at home, and anywhere else that has Wifi. She just has a limited amount of data in an area without wifi.
So she can text, facetime, call, play games, look things up on the internet, email, send pictures, store all her music and listen to it anytime/anywhere and watch movies. Oh let's not forget it has a HD camera and takes video.

I was going to buy her a Ipod Touch one year for Christmas and get her a cell phone for her birthday. By combining the two, she has it all in one device that she loves!!!

It's been a great decision for us.

 

[pigletto]

Actually, on AT&T, FaceTime can only be used on wifi, so it doesn't use any data at all.

I have the iphone and have never come close to using all my data (though I do have the bigger plan). I am almost always on wifi. When on wifi, it doesn't use any data at all.

Thanks for clearing that up! I assumed it used data on facetime, but like I said the only issue we've actually had is that it pushed us up over our internet usage the first month.
So.. even one less thing for the Op to worry about.

 

[tlbwriter]

I am pretty sure that your family messaging plan will not work with the iphone.

No, that's not true. We have two iPhones and one non-data phone on our family plan with unlimited messaging.

Keep in mind that even if you manage to get her not to USE the data plan, you will still have to pay for it, if you get a phone through AT&T. It might be in your best interest to teach her how to monitor her data use rather than pretending its not there. I know there's a way to check your current data usage by texting a particular code from your phone.