Duplicate browser sessions showing on my usage....and 'short code messages'?
I was checking my usage online and have found that there are consistent incidents where the mobile browser engages at say 6:07 am for 13:49 mins and the line below shows 6:07 for 1:17 min, these secondary entries are gradually eating up my usage.
I can't see if this was happening on my bill cycle that ended Aug 9, as I get the 'oops' message when trying to access this.
I've also been getting dinged for 'short code messages' but have no idea what that is from/for. I don't have messaging included with my Iphone plan (I chose VVM and CID instead as it was still an option at the time). I have only been using iMessage and when attaching any pics to the iMessages it's all been done via my wifi.
Data usage is very different then other usage, because the timestamps are in fact the times of specific sessions of data, not a block of usage. Sessions can start and close on various things-- such as the launching of a new app, or an Email account. These sessions will have different data consumption based on the application being used, and can be "reset" if there's a time out in the application, or if you close it down and restart it. Each one of those is a separate data app, so if you don't want a lot of data running in the background, make sure to close any apps that aren't being used
Short code messages are 3rd party text companies that offer things like contests, trivia, games, or other services, which charge for their service. Each service is required to have a double opt-in (which means you get a text confirming your subscription, and reply to start it up). For more information on these, check out www.txt.ca for a list of all the third party providers
The odd thing here is that I have not changed anything in the way that I use the phone apps, none of my previous bills show this 'duplication' of browser sessions but it mysteriously shows on my current set of charges, for each and every browsing session. Would this be a phone issue?
Re short code messages. I understand the short code usage for texting etc but I have never used any of these 3rd party practices and have only used iMessage to communicate with known individuals. And still these charges show on my bill.
We could definitely look at the device, but it's common to see overlapping data sessions-- because of the reasons mentioned above how it registers. That being said, if you think something's up, we're most happy to have our techies check it out!
As for short codes, we know how you feel-- but we sadly don't run them, so we're in the same spot as all our find members on that one. Make sure you send the word STOP, as that's the standard unsubscribe code used for those all providers, and if you have any questions about the bill itself, give us a shout at 611 or email us at hello@virginmobile.ca-- cool?
I did as you suggested and shut down any apps/programs that were sitting 'in active' this morning, methodically using only one at a time and shutting it down when done. I just checked my usage from this morning and the exact same duplication is occurring. None of this was showing up on any of my previous bill cycles until the current one.
Again, I've not used any SMS so there is no # to which I can 'send the word STOP" as you recommend.\
So I called in and got to speak to a nice CSR named 'Anna' who listened to my concern, stated she had to look into it further, put me on hold and 2 mins later, I got a fast busy signal. My call appears to have been terminated at Virgin's end of things. So now I'm calling back....
And according to 'Andrew' and his supervisor (with whom I did not speak) they advise that if there are more than 3 programs used in a single browsing session, it adds a 2nd line of session to the bill to cinch up the total usage.... which to me is hard to fathom as I've used mutiple programs within a single browsing session on a constant basis over the past year and only started noticing these double browsing issues since July 18th according to my statement.
Tonight I will run a single program to visit one web page then shut it down until tomorrow then take a look online in the morning to see if their theory holds true (or not).
Survey sayssssss --> Nope. the reps explanation last night was a complete and utter fabrication. As noted in previous post, I did a short 3G session last night and used only one app (email) and shut it down after 2 mins. Sure enough, there were 2 browser sessions listed for that time period. Same thing again later today.
I just hope that the usage is correct. I left Bell Mobility because of this sort of thing.... oh wait...... will seriously consider a different carrier once my contract is up in 2 years.
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