iPhone 4S - MTN - A few questions about data usage

[Alwyn Swart]

Good day guys,

I'm eligible for upgrade this Friday (1 June 2012), currently on a MTN 200 Blackberry contract and looking to get the 16gb iPhone 4S on MTN Anytime 200 for R479 a month... price dropped with R20 from last month...

Went in to my nearest MTN store to ask a few questions about loyalty points ext. I though, okay 250mb a month (you get that with the contract) is okay, but I need more, I thought, okay I get R200 worth of airtime for calls (part of the contract), why not just convert that to a data bundle? But no, you cannot do that!? According to the sales person the R200 airtime you get can only be used for making calls and sending smses... And when your databundle of 250mb is depleted (I presume after day 3) you use the R200 airtime on data usage at R2 a MB!!

Also asked the sales person if I can then bolt on a data contract to that package or buy once off data bundles, he said 'NO'... okay... Only way is to get another sim (micro sim) and load data to that sim and swap sims when you need to do updates ext... Really!? Swapping sims, that is so 2002!! Come on!!

So I'm basically stuck with a 250mb cap + 100mb if I use the R200 aitime I get at R2 a MB... Okay so I can connect to the works WIFI and do updates and downloads via it, but really?

My question, what do you other people (non-racial remark) do that has bought the iPhone 4 or 4S, do you only connect to the internet when in Wifi range? Is 250mb enough for basic browsing and email (NO YouTube)?

Want to try something else for a change, but do not want to buy into a 2 year contract and be afraid to turn on my phone

Regards,
Alwyn Swart

 

[ndlovusn]

I'm using a 16 gig iPhone 4(not 4S) got it for R429 on MTN anytime 200, I get 200 minute(cant use them for data, thats true) 25 SMS and 100MB(I finish that within 2 days)...currently I buy airtime of R189 and load their promotional 2 Gig data bundle(lasts me a month, I do youtube, download apps, facebook, twitter, whatsapp sometimes skype)...

Also asked the sales person if I can then bolt on a data contract to that package or buy once off data bundles, he said 'NO'... okay...

contract bolt on bundle = No but you can load airtime and buy additional data bundles...

I hope I didnt missunderstood your question

 

[Nive~k]

seriously? i thought u could buy data.
i hv the iphone4 on topup 275 and can use r275 for data

 

[shakebake]

Yes same with me, I have iPhone 4s on MTN Topup 200 with 250mb per month. I use WIFI at home on my M-Web uncapped so don't use any of the 250MB data while at home. I do find that the 250MB lasts me around 20 days when I receive about 100 emails a day, browse a lot of internet sites and use it to remote desktop into my servers.

It's correct that you can't use the R200 airtime to buy bolt-on data bundles, but you can buy airtime and then press *141*6# to go into the Data Bundle menu and buy a 1GB bundle etc.

All in all I use my phone a lot of internet browsing and I can't say that I've ever felt that it's costing me an arm and a leg. I buy R49 bolt on bundles when I run out of airtime - that gives me another 75MB which lasts quite a while, strangely.

I will however say, that I find MTN's call rates rediculous. I will also state that I find MTN 3G extremely irritating. Here's the thing: I live and work in Sandton. The iPhone was designed to go into EDGE mode when you put it to sleep, to conserve battery life. So when you unlock it, you will always see "E" in the left top corner for a split second, and then it will go into 3G mode. But.... with MTN it's super irritating as the phone struggles to lock on to a 3G signal, in most areas in Gauteng for some reason. So it says Edge and then you want to start browsing or check your mail and it's super slow, then after 15 - 30 seconds of struggling, all of a sudden it gets a 3G signal - and when the phone switches between Edge and 3G, there's definitely something that goes wrong - it's not a seemless switch and I find it super irritating. Lots of times you need to redo your last request now that it's on 3G, otherwise it just sits there.

I've tested my phone with a Cell C simcard and Vodacom sim card and I think these two have stronger 3G signals in Sandton cause the phone instantly locks on to 3G after an unlock.

I'm also due for an upgrade and I'm thinking of moving to Vodacom or Cell C for that simple reason + the new R0.99 per minute call rates. With MTN I pay about R2.70 per minute, and I know they say you can activate MTN Zone, but I've never seen any real savings from that.

The iPhone is an amazing though and you will love it. I used to have a BB too and will never get another phone ever, except for the iPhone 5!

 

[Synaesthesia]

Yep. iPhone 4/4S works very well with Cell C.

 

[noxibox]

As others have said you can bolt on data, but not combine a data contract with the Anytime contract. However adding data on MTN is much less hassle than it is with Vodacom.

I will however say, that I find MTN's call rates rediculous. I will also state that I find MTN 3G extremely irritating. Here's the thing: I live and work in Sandton. The iPhone was designed to go into EDGE mode when you put it to sleep, to conserve battery life. So when you unlock it, you will always see "E" in the left top corner for a split second, and then it will go into 3G mode. But.... with MTN it's super irritating as the phone struggles to lock on to a 3G signal, in most areas in Gauteng for some reason. So it says Edge and then you want to start browsing or check your mail and it's super slow, then after 15 - 30 seconds of struggling, all of a sudden it gets a 3G signal - and when the phone switches between Edge and 3G, there's definitely something that goes wrong - it's not a seemless switch and I find it super irritating. Lots of times you need to redo your last request now that it's on 3G, otherwise it just sits there.

I've tested my phone with a Cell C simcard and Vodacom sim card and I think these two have stronger 3G signals in Sandton cause the phone instantly locks on to 3G after an unlock.

I have the opposite problem around here. Hunts endlessly on Vodacom, but locks on quickly to MTN

 

[Alwyn Swart]

Wow, thanks to all for the great responses, much appreciated!

@ndlovusn - Did not know MTN had a 2GIG promotion for R189, awesome, thank you for the info!

@shakebake - Thank you for the detailed response. Wonder why the sales person was unaware that you could still load airtime and convert it to a data bundle via *141*6#... Will definitely inform him when I go for my upgrade Friday

I have the exact issue you are describing on my Blackberry currently, when loading a webpage and the signal jumps from 3G to EDGE or EDGE to 3G the webpage just keeps loading and loading and fails at the end with a 'cannot connect to server' error, very frustrating!

Good to know that even when receiving emails your 250mb still goes a long way... puts me at ease to know that thank you.

@noxibox - For internet at home I use 8ta (yes I actually have coverage ), also quite a mission to load a data bundle, but with their promotional 2GIG + 1GIG (only at night time) for R149, it is definitely worth the effort

Thanks again for all the replies, very assuring hearing the opinion from people actually owning a iPhone!! Looking forward to Friday, will definitely be upgrading to the iPhone 4S!