Rude awakening

Approximately $ 6 per day and a single device? That is not scalable.

What kind of data and how often are you monitoring it?

I have received something similar.  Let me lead with "Go slow.  It doesn't have to cost you anything."

When I signed up for my "free" account, I used my hotmail.com account - because it's a Microsoft account.  Well... I got the "You're Number 1!" sign, but they used the wrong finger.  By then, Microsoft already had my credit card so when I tried my work email I got directed to a pay-as-you-go account.  Basically, every way I turned, I was told "You're Number 1!"

So I relented and used a different credit card and went with a pay-as-you-go plan.

When you set up your IoT Hub, you don't have to take the "pay" option.  You can change the settings to the free version.  This version limits the amount of data that you can poll, but it's still not a debilitating amount.

What I can confirm is that for the month that I have had the account, I have been billed ZERO dollars.

If you want to save data and plot the data a "Time Series Insights environment" attached to your IoT Hub is $150 /month using default options.

If you click on pay-as-you-go, you get different pricing.  I didn't see any option where storage and data plotting was "free".

When I signed up, it said I had a $200 start up credit to use.  Maybe if I delete the time series option I can continue.

rsc  wrote:

 

I received this today:

So now I have to choose to continue this project and pay Microsoft, or quit and work on something else.

Here's my "Free Trial" cost analysis:

So....if I choose to continue to work on this project for another month, it will cost me approx $150 without changing any features.

I'm not sure its worth the price just to enter a contest.

Scott

Oh no. Same here

It easy to accidentally configure something that costs more than you thought. I recently did the same but fortunately it was just a day before my free £40/month (via MSDN) rolled over. I find the best way is to work out what was doing it, wait until your account rolls over and delete it. It's amazing what you do get for free, but also surprising what can cost a fixed monthly fee.

At least Microsoft don't suddenly land you with hundreds in fees without warning. (I'm talking about you, Pluralsight!)

Now that the issue preventing my Reply Why no Reply link on this post has returned, I can ask my question.

What service(s) are you paying for that are required to support the Azure? What is the threshold for the service to cost more than free?

I don't recall reading the requirements that indicates a cost. This seems like a shady up sell opportunity. "Hey you can have this development system for free. As your development progresses and you are ready to delivering milestones, we will charge you. "

I have a strong negative bias to the products offered by the MS blackhole. These kinda gotchas just seems to be the hair on their blackhole.

Sean

I think the problem is the default settings lead you to the costlier solution. Carefully select the option for free. And always read the doc for clues to what maybe free.

Dial back the anti Microsoft conspiracy. It's not a deliberate trap. Nobody has been charged a cent. It's just that some helpful guides try to illustrate the simplest way to do things without thinking about the fact that some people are on limited subscriptions. When you try something out just take a look at the cost prediction. Some things are charged by use. Some have a regular fee. Delete stuff if you've tested something but no longer need it.

Dial back the anti Microsoft conspiracy. It's not a deliberate trap. Nobody has been charged a cent. It's just that some helpful guides try to illustrate the simplest way to do things without thinking about the fact that some people are on limited subscriptions. When you try something out just take a look at the cost prediction. Some things are charged by use. Some have a regular fee. Delete stuff if you've tested something but no longer need it.

" Nobody has been charged a cent." ==> Do you work for Microsoft? How do you know this?  If there are no charges, then why do they have to have my credit card number?

Interesting business model.

I meant that as standard the service stops rather than continuing and billing you. (Not like Pluralsight, who recently billed me $299 to renew a one-off purchase that I hadn't used for 7 months. They have a strict "no refunds" policy too.)

Sorry - the conspiracy bit does sound a bit harsh and wasn't really aimed at you!