How can I stop data renewal texts being received in the early hours of the morning?

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › How can I stop data renewal texts being received in the early hours of the morning?

g102768

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#142435 12-Mar-2014 19:38

As per the subject line, is there any way to stop 2 degrees sending automatic monthly data renewal texts in the early hours of the morning. I have phoned them two or three times over the last 12 months and also tried emailing recently and they don't seem to be able to stop them!

These were the times and dates for the last 12 months:

07/03/2014 - 01:04am
06/02/2014 - 01:05am
05/01/2014 - 01:33am
13/11/2013 - 01:10am
08/10/2013 - 01:12am
03/07/2013 - 00:30am
21/03/2013 - 01:01am
20/02/2013 - 01:09am

Their recent response is:

Regarding the issue you have raised around receiving notifications out of social hours. With the way these massages are generated we are not able to have them sent out in a specific time frame or not go out in a specific time frame.

One option I can give you is to disable these notifications coming through to you all together, if you are happy to have this done ether reply to this email or give us a call on 0800 022 022 quoting referents 2D2682596.

I have only worked in I.T. for 30 years but I wouldn't have thought it would be that hard to control the time that automatic texts are sent out!!!

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752 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#1004515 12-Mar-2014 19:41

I thought they disabled early morning alerts?

The problem is
One person is trying to sleep and they receive an alert.. They dont want it
another person is awake, using the connection.. They want to receive the alert

So its hard for them to strike a balance
Waiting to send the messages till morning means some people will go over their allowance and then complain they didnt get the message

Buzz Bumble

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#1004517 12-Mar-2014 19:42

Easy solution: turn the phone off at night. :-)

g102768

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#1004522 12-Mar-2014 19:47

Thanks for your replies. These are specifically the automatic renewal ones based on date, not usage. i.e. the previous months data has expired so it auto renews.

I was told in one of my early conversations with them that it was based on the time it last auto renewed and, as it happened, I did trigger a data renewal in the early hours of the morning once so I cancelled the auto renew and made a point of renewing it again during the day then turning auto renew back on. No joy, they still come through in the early hours.

I could turn my phone off over night but, as mentioned, I work in I.T., so I am chained to it. :(

BlakJak

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#1004525 12-Mar-2014 19:56

It was only recently that Vodafone stopped doing the same thing. It appears using some logic like (if (current time is not between 9am and 9pm) then (queue message for delivery between 9am and 9pm)) is too hard for some automation. :(

No signature to see here, move along...

JimmyH

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#1004526 12-Mar-2014 19:56

Can you assign a custom alert sound to txts from that number? If so, make it a wav/mp3 that's entirely silent. Alter will come through, and the phone may vibrate, but at least there will be no sound.

alasta

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#1004527 12-Mar-2014 19:57

I have blocked all messages from 2degrees because I got sick of the unnecessary and disruptive messages. iPhones running the latest software can do this, and I imagine it would be a common feature on other phones.

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g102768

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#1004528 12-Mar-2014 20:03

Thanks for the suggestions. I do have an iphone so if 2degrees can't come up with a solution I will go with one of yours.

They did say that there was a problem with this in the past but it had been fixed. In my case, obviously not!

SaltyNZ

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#1004531 12-Mar-2014 20:09

g102768: Thanks for the suggestions. I do have an iphone so if 2degrees can't come up with a solution I will go with one of yours.

They did say that there was a problem with this in the past but it had been fixed. In my case, obviously not!

It depends what kind of pack you have. One kind (e.g. the $19 Combo) can have its messages delayed until the morning. The other kind (e.g. the 1GB national data pack) cannot. Low balance messages will be delayed until the morning. I had built the data session control logic not to send messages at all in the middle of the night but it some people still seem to be receiving them - although it's hard to tell because often people don't read them so I can never be sure which one they actually got.

It is possible to simply have the messages disabled, though.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

eXDee

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#1004532 12-Mar-2014 20:09

For a long time telecom has sent them out at 8am, which is great.

g102768

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#1004538 12-Mar-2014 20:19

SaltyNZ: It depends what kind of pack you have.

I am usually in a wi-fi area and don't use a huge amount of data so just have the 50MB National pack. It is nice to be reminded that I have just spent another $6 so don't have a problem with 12 texts a year, it is just the time they come that is the problem. I would also prefer to know if something is chewing through data without me realising.

Is there any reason why the time of one set of texts can be controlled and another can't?

SaltyNZ

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#1004614 12-Mar-2014 22:13

g102768:
SaltyNZ: It depends what kind of pack you have.

I am usually in a wi-fi area and don't use a huge amount of data so just have the 50MB National pack. It is nice to be reminded that I have just spent another $6 so don't have a problem with 12 texts a year, it is just the time they come that is the problem. I would also prefer to know if something is chewing through data without me realising.

Is there any reason why the time of one set of texts can be controlled and another can't?

The autopurchase packs are controlled asynchronously by custom logic I built. Messages sent by custom logic are delivered at the time the logic runs -- which is whenever the pack renews, even if that's in the middle of the night. Packs like the $19 Combo use a built-in feature in the system, which does support delayed message delivery.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

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g102768

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#1004624 12-Mar-2014 22:30

So what triggers the custom logic because they mainly seem to come through between 01:00 and 01:30. Is there any way I can influence what time the pack renews when the new monthly cycle starts?

SteveON

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#1004626 12-Mar-2014 22:35

Its one message a month, set up a do not disturb if it bothers you. Customers will get shiitty if they arent notified as it happens. Or just sleep through it.

SaltyNZ

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#1004723 13-Mar-2014 10:20

g102768: So what triggers the custom logic because they mainly seem to come through between 01:00 and 01:30. Is there any way I can influence what time the pack renews when the new monthly cycle starts?

Monthly expiry of the pack. Expiries are processed after the next NZ midnight after expiry time, the first time the account is touched on that day. So if I have a pack expiring at 3pm this afternoon, the expiry will be actually be processed after midnight tonight. A background process goes through and constantly picks up accounts to see if they need processing. Most accounts requiring processing are picked up in the first couple of hours of the day, and therefore most recurrence events happen in the first couple of hours of the day.

But it is a background task, so the system does not guarantee any particular time of the day for any particular account, only that an account will be picked up at least once a day at some time.

There isn't really any way you can influence it to stop recurring in the middle of the night other than to use up remainder of the pack while you're awake, and that will only work for autopurchase packs. Regularly scheduled ones like the $19 Combos recur on a fixed schedule regardless of usage.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

g102768

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#1004828 13-Mar-2014 12:28

Thanks for the update. I am suprised the 2Degrees are not inundate with complaints if that is the case. Maybe there aren't many tight ars*s like me buying just the data pack for a phone. The ipad wouldn't have the same issue because it can't receive texts.

I have gone with JimmyH's solution for now and set the number up with a non sounding, non vibrating text tone. My wife will be relieved!

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