Data For Text And Phone Calls
BethBB40
Newbie

My son has been running my data up, over 9gb this month.  I signed up for the family thing and set him a limit.  Since he's already over the limit,  it has him blocked.  Now he says he can't text or make calls without it. Is this true??? he said when he got home with the wifi, he could Text and call.

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Re: Data For Text And Phone Calls
Ptmc518
Contributor - Level 3

If he is using iMessage to text friends/family with an iPhone, it does use data.  He must me sending a LOT of text messages though because an iMessage is a very small amount. 

For phone calls, the only thing I could think of that would use data like that would be Facetime calling or a 3rd party app to call, which also would use data.  So he could turn off iMessage to be able to text away from home but wont get the texts as iMessages.

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Re: Data For Text And Phone Calls
Ptmc518
Contributor - Level 3

If he is using iMessage to text friends/family with an iPhone, it does use data.  He must me sending a LOT of text messages though because an iMessage is a very small amount. 

For phone calls, the only thing I could think of that would use data like that would be Facetime calling or a 3rd party app to call, which also would use data.  So he could turn off iMessage to be able to text away from home but wont get the texts as iMessages.

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Re: Data For Text And Phone Calls
Tidbits
Legend

Means he was using iMessages and face time which counts towards data and not voice and text packages

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Re: Data For Text And Phone Calls
BethBB40
Newbie

He does text a lot, he's 14, but I'm not sure if that's what is using the data. It just kept getting worst every month,  this month he pushed me too far. He just text me though,  regular text and said it wouldn't go through.  Do you think this family thing blocked him during school hours? ?

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Re: Data For Text And Phone Calls
Tidbits
Legend

Yes probably should. If he is using an iPhone with iMessages and FaceTime that uses data. If you put a block on calls and text then that means he was using that to get around those blocks.

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Re: Data For Text And Phone Calls
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep
Hello BethBB40! We can certainly help you today! Just to be clear, with the iPhone, the only things that use data when talking is FaceTime or any type of Skype app. Regular text messages do not require data. You can easily check this feature by going to Settings > Messages > tap on iMessage to disable > verify Send as SMS is turned on (green= on). Here's a helpful link to review Family Base: http://spr.ly/65817ksP  Let us know if you have any further questions. Thanks!

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If my response answered your question please click the "Correct Answer" button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!
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Re: Data For Text And Phone Calls
BethBB40
Newbie

I got it figured out. The app blocks their phone during school and night hours which is the craziest thing I have ever heard of. I had to change it to Monday from 2:00 a.m. to 2:04a.m. my son will have access to his phone.  You never know what will happen at home or at school.  You should NEVER block their phone! !!

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Re: Data For Text And Phone Calls
Weth
Legend

That is what trusted contacts are for - numbers that can always call him or he can call. Set those up in Family Base. 911 is always unblocked also. Blocking at night and during school is not a very crazy thing at all, except for the numbers that are essential. He needs to learn to manage his data. 9 GB is a lot for calling, messaging and social media.

Re: Data For Text And Phone Calls
tbo27
Master - Level 2

Family  base feature may cause struggles for calls in extended areas but sounds  like you got it

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