iPhone users in South Africa — and elsewhere — have reported problems with location service updates that download map data automatically over their mobile data connections, leading to out excessive bills in some instances.
The problem that most users have reported to TechCentral is that iOS mapping services can download up to 1GB of data when new versions of the operating system are installed. This happens after the installation of iOS, meaning some users unwittingly walk out of their Wi-Fi hotspot and incur mobile data charges for the additional service download.
Vodacom has confirmed that the problem is occurring in South Africa. “This is a worldwide issue and not specific to Vodacom,” says Davide Tacchino, Vodacom’s managing executive for terminal devices.
“Our teams, as well as the Vodafone global team, are working with Apple to resolve the problem,” says Tacchino. “The issue is related to location service updates and not the move from Google Maps to Apple Maps, which happened much earlier.”
If a user’s device is set to allow auto updates via mobile data, then these updates will have been pushed through automatically,” he explains.
Vodacom recommends that customers set the device to alert them to any updates that might be available and to set it to do automatic updates only when they are on a Wi-Fi network. Tacchino adds that users should switch off location services and activate them only when needed. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media