Mobile phone Q: any way to prevent email attachments from eating up data? - Computer Technical Help

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Mobile phone Q: any way to prevent email attachments from eating up data?

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03-27-2012 , 09:44 PM

teddyFBI

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 6,596

Seems like I've been getting boned by this every month since as long as I can remember.

I have limited data on my cell phone service plan. When someone sends me a 10-MB attachment, that entire 10-MB gets charged against my quota, even if I don't open the attachment. (Don't get me started on what happened when I was traveling abroad...cliff's: $600 bill)

Is there a way to avoid this? Seems like there should be a relatively straightforward option (or an app??) that will deliver my email stripped of any attachment...text only, please (with, perhaps, an option to download the attachment if I really need to see it).

Any help appreciated...

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03-27-2012 , 10:13 PM

kerowo

lolcat

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 37,190

What kind of phone do you have?

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03-27-2012 , 11:23 PM

teddyFBI

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 6,596

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Originally Posted by kerowo

What kind of phone do you have?

Blackberry, but buying an Android device and I'm told they suffer from the same problem.

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03-27-2012 , 11:35 PM

kerowo

lolcat

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 37,190

I don't use BB or Android, but I'd imagine there are application settings to control that. I don't know that I've noticed a lot of this on my iPhone, but I may not be getting the size of emails you do. I assumed only the headers were downloaded until you opened the email, I'm pretty sure that's what the iPhone app and Gmail app do.

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03-28-2012 , 03:18 AM

wellju

BSOD and racetrack Ninja

Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 5,247

For BB just set the filters on your mail account to send headers only. It's under options > email accounts or if not for some reason, you can chose this option online in your BIS.

Someone explained me that BB is downloading a tiny bit of the message even then for the "auto more" feature. No attachements tho, ldo.

Last edited by wellju; 03-28-2012 at 03:24 AM.

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03-28-2012 , 12:08 PM

teddyFBI

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 6,596

awesome, thx wellju.

Does "headers" mean Subject lines? So I'll only see the sender+subject unless I click the message itself?

How about once I click the message...will it download the attachment too, or can I safely read the email body without the attachment counting against my data usage? (That would be the ideal functionality: be able to read the entire sender+subject+body, but have to proactivley initiate the attachment download if it's something i need to see)

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03-28-2012 , 03:20 PM

KimFraserAye

banned

Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 40

can you not upgrade ur plan to unlimited data?

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03-28-2012 , 04:12 PM

teddyFBI

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 6,596

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Originally Posted by KimFraserAye

can you not upgrade ur plan to unlimited data?

no, not offered by my provider, and besides: as i wrote earlier it's the ROAMING data charges that have boned me most in the past.

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03-29-2012 , 02:28 AM

wellju

BSOD and racetrack Ninja

Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 5,247

Quote:

Originally Posted by teddyFBI

awesome, thx wellju.

Does "headers" mean Subject lines? So I'll only see the sender+subject unless I click the message itself?

yes

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How about once I click the message...will it download the attachment too, or can I safely read the email body without the attachment counting against my data usage? (That would be the ideal functionality: be able to read the entire sender+subject+body, but have to proactivley initiate the attachment download if it's something i need to see)

It does neither download the attachment until you tell your BB to do so and from my understanding not even download the complete attachment at once but that may differ very widely between the providers, file types, attachment sizes and whatnot.

No guarantee on that one as your provider could try to screw you on purpose by configuring the BIS server in a way that you get all the attachments nevertheless.

If your BB asks you if you want to download the attachment you're good to go imo

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03-31-2012 , 11:19 PM

#10

maxostoch

banned

Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 1,145

All data should go via BIS..maybe its wap.

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