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mobile wifi router (does it cost extra?)

Hi i have mobile wifi router installed on my phone (came with duttys rom) and i was wondering if using it my network could tell and charge me extra?
I have an unlimited data plan but i know I could pay an extra £10 and then my phone could be used as a mobile boradband device, does this mean that if i try to use the mobile wifi router program that my carrier would be able to tell and block it or charge me extra?
Also is there a way to share the phone connection with a pc without using wifi and without having to buy the networks extra mobile boradband package because I will almost never use it but its good to know i have the option if i go on holiday or whatever, maybe i want to prows the web in the garden soemthing like that

no wifi works even if you don't have a sim card in the phone
just like pda's with wifi and no phone
just like your laptop connecting with wifi to the router
just like your desktop connecting with wifi or cable to the router

no its not that, mobile wifi router converts your phone into a router so your laptop/whatever can connect to it and use its data connection to connect to the internet, I was just wondering if doing this the network can tell and then charge me extra as they usually charge for using your phone as an internet access point

the connection from the phone to the laptop or computer is free anything wifi
the cost to go onto internet will however depend on your satat rates, just to be sure id ask your operator

Hi thanks for trying to help, but thats not what I was asking. I know wifi connections are free what I was asking is if my operator will be able to tell the difference between my phone using its data connection and my laptop using my phones data connection.
The reason I ask is that I have unlimited data for my phone.
but
you can pay extra money to upgrade your account to allow your phone to be used as a mobile broadband dongle
but if they can't tell the difference between phone using its data and pc using its data then there is no need to pay the extra money.
is this the case or am i missing something

Depending on your operator, there could be a max of MB's. So it might be 500 MB/month, but also unlimited internet. With that, you are able to use it without any extra costs.

Is it possible to somewhat put up a wifi network on your phone via some program (WiFi Router is one I think) and connect to it and use it ON your phone?

aaah teething
as far as I know they should not be able to detect it
but I could be mistaken

If the usage is large 500MB/month, carrier might suspect unusual activity. teething is paid service with some carriers.

I have a G1 tethered on T-mobile USA. I have talked to customer service. They said they do not support tethering but that it is not illegal. Their solution is to allow a soft cap of 10gb of data service with their unlimited plan and once you reach the cap they throttle the internet speed down from 3g to 2g levels. Not to horrible. I play all my online games with my G1 connection, Counter Strike Source, Perfect World International, Flyff, and download quite a bit of music and usually only reach about 300mb a day which gives me a full month of service before i reach that cap. And at the start of the new month I get reset.

I´m in the same situation.
I´ve got an unlimited data plan, which covers phone/PDA use, but EXCLUDES using the device as a modem for a PC/Laptop (tethering).
I´ve tethered it ocasionally, and it worked.
My carrier didnt charge me extra, nor blocked. BUT i know the risk exists. I´ve tried to research.
What i read is that carrier COULD tell if you are tethering by traffic analysis (one way is looking the user agent of your web pages request, which identifies yor browser), but that this traffic analysys is not practical, and most carriers dont do it....by now.
So of you tether ocasionally, you are safe.....today, ....until carriers perceive there is a number significant enough to make profits,of people tethering under a data plan intented just for phone use, then they can start charging you.

jdshifflett said:
I have a G1 tethered on T-mobile USA. I have talked to customer service. They said they do not support tethering but that it is not illegal. Their solution is to allow a soft cap of 10gb of data service with their unlimited plan and once you reach the cap they throttle the internet speed down from 3g to 2g levels. Not to horrible. I play all my online games with my G1 connection, Counter Strike Source, Perfect World International, Flyff, and download quite a bit of music and usually only reach about 300mb a day which gives me a full month of service before i reach that cap. And at the start of the new month I get reset.
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ha nice, well im gonna give it a go anyway and see what happens, its just funny that they specifically advertise to upgrade your account to be able to do this as if they can somehow tell. I dunno what mobile boradband is like in the us but in the uk there advertising it all over the place as if its someting people really need instead of something that is ocasionally useful, apart from in your case its mad how much you do through your phone.

sirgawain123 said:
I´m in the same situation.
I´ve got an unlimited data plan, which covers phone/PDA use, but EXCLUDES using the device as a modem for a PC/Laptop (tethering).
I´ve tethered it ocasionally, and it worked.
My carrier didnt charge me extra, nor blocked. BUT i know the risk exists. I´ve tried to research.
What i read is that carrier COULD tell if you are tethering by traffic analysis (one way is looking the user agent of your web pages request, which identifies yor browser), but that this traffic analysys is not practical, and most carriers dont do it....by now.
So of you tether ocasionally, you are safe.....today, ....until carriers perceive there is a number significant enough to make profits,of people tethering under a data plan intented just for phone use, then they can start charging you.
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thanks for this, if the only thing they can do to check is by the web requests of your browser surely there is a way to pretend to be opera mobile for example which should receive the full web anyway. Anyway as you say I won;t be using it much if at all so if i do fancy it i think ill just take the risk and see what happens worse they can do is charge me a little extra and i may even be able to avoid that by pleeding ignorance

ArtieQ said:
Is it possible to somewhat put up a wifi network on your phone via some program (WiFi Router is one I think) and connect to it and use it ON your phone?
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I don't quite understand this question, you could use the program i mentioned to make your phone into a wifi access point and use its data connection to the internet then anything you like could then connect to it e.g. another phone, psp, ps3 laptop .....
is that what you ment?

Fully utilizing internet connecting mode for bittorrent

[Win7]
When using the internet connection mode does the phone have a built in firewall or port blocker? My laptop was already connected to the internet through my home's WiFI internet and I was downloading off bittorrent using µTorrent. I was getting decent download speeds on my torrents, but almost nothing on upload. Knowing that the LTE network is more balanced and generally faster than my home network I connected my phone to my laptop via usb and selected internet connection mode.
At this time I noticed no difference and opened task manager to check network utilization. Task manager showed that my home network connection was being used and LTE was not being utilized at all. So I disconnected from my home network and waited for µTorrent to adjust to my phone's connection. After tinkering with some settings in µTorrent it showed the "!" at the bottom right notifying me that either the port I've selected is blocked or some other setting is stopping my connection from being used to it's full potential. I again check task manager and as far as network utilization goes it was around ~1% and my download speeds are far from what they should be, and far worse than when I was just on WiFi.
So I connect back to the WiFi and µTorrent starts behaving how it did before I tried to use my phone. Task manager shows more activity on the WiFi connection and still around 1% for the phone's connection.
My concern is how can I maximize LTE's potential when for bittorrent. Is there some kind of built in port blocker or firewall element? Or is it some kind of protection set up by Verizon and they know I'm using their network for bittorrent? I was getting consistent 5MBps Down and Up when I tested my laptop using internet connection mode, so network stability shouldn't be the issue. Any thoughts?

I haven't tested it, but I'd be willing to bet that the built-in internet sharing mode on the phone blocks certain ports. You could try using a tethering app like EasyTether or PDAnet.
Are you rooted? You could try Wireless Tether for Root Users, and see if you get any different results with that, too. I had some issues using VPN from my OG Droid because there were some blocked ports when using USB tethering, but once I rooted and started using Wireless Tether, all my problems went away. It'd be worth checking out. If you're not rooted, I would imagine that the wifi hotspot would act the same way (although it's only free for another week or so).

Sweet! Another person who's going to get us capped.

Ya, runniNg bittorents off your phone is RETARDED
Sent from my 4G LTE Thunderbolt using XDA Premium

EEdaesung said:
[Win7]
When using the internet connection mode does the phone have a built in firewall or port blocker? My laptop was already connected to the internet through my home's WiFI internet and I was downloading off bittorrent using µTorrent. I was getting decent download speeds on my torrents, but almost nothing on upload. Knowing that the LTE network is more balanced and generally faster than my home network I connected my phone to my laptop via usb and selected internet connection mode.
At this time I noticed no difference and opened task manager to check network utilization. Task manager showed that my home network connection was being used and LTE was not being utilized at all. So I disconnected from my home network and waited for µTorrent to adjust to my phone's connection. After tinkering with some settings in µTorrent it showed the "!" at the bottom right notifying me that either the port I've selected is blocked or some other setting is stopping my connection from being used to it's full potential. I again check task manager and as far as network utilization goes it was around ~1% and my download speeds are far from what they should be, and far worse than when I was just on WiFi.
So I connect back to the WiFi and µTorrent starts behaving how it did before I tried to use my phone. Task manager shows more activity on the WiFi connection and still around 1% for the phone's connection.
My concern is how can I maximize LTE's potential when for bittorrent. Is there some kind of built in port blocker or firewall element? Or is it some kind of protection set up by Verizon and they know I'm using their network for bittorrent? I was getting consistent 5MBps Down and Up when I tested my laptop using internet connection mode, so network stability shouldn't be the issue. Any thoughts?
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I'm sure they block ports, and to be honest, I sincerely hope they block torrenting on a cell phone. Why not use your wifi?

As others have already stated use your home internet connection as I like having unlimited data.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

eallan said:
I'm sure they block ports, and to be honest, I sincerely hope they block torrenting on a cell phone. Why not use your wifi?
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It's because LTE's upload speeds are superior to my home connection. And for people worried about getting capped, there is no way I could get within the 10% of users who are throttled.
^_^_^

It's people like you that are going to ruin it for the legitimate rest of us. There is absolutely zero reason you should be torrenting on your phone, thats what your home connection is for. As mentioned earlier I hope that they do block the ports as I love my unlimited data plan knowing that I don't have to check my usage every 3 minutes like I would with att and their 2gb limit.
So in short, stop doing what your doing and ruining it for the rest of the U.S.

EEdaesung said:
It's because LTE's upload speeds are superior to my home connection. And for people worried about getting capped, there is no way I could get within the 10% of users who are throttled.
^_^_^
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Click to collapse
Neither matters soon Verizon will take away the unlimited tethering plan and you will be sol. Even if you use a rooted wireless hotspot Verizon will know when you start racking up the gbs.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

I didn't realize it was such a big deal. Especially since it's a service I pay for, and I wasn't planning on torrenting the entire internet.
Since there are so many concerns of losing unlimited data, I'll think twice before using my phone's network to do any heavy downloading or uploading.
^_^_^

EEdaesung said:
I didn't realize it was such a big deal. Especially since it's a service I pay for, and I wasn't planning on torrenting the entire internet.
Since there are so many concerns of losing unlimited data, I'll think twice before using my phone's network to do any heavy downloading or uploading.
^_^_^
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Click to collapse
First off you are not paying for the Mobile Hotspot service it is free until May 15th.
Second as of right now there is no real threat of losing the unlimited plan. Verizon has not said anything about taking it away and as of right now you could up and download 100gb of data and Verizon may say nothing. The problem is that we just don't know. We could wake up tomorrow and all have capped plans (As it is in the contract we all signed when we bought our phones Verizon can change the details of the data plans basically at any time they want) Yes there is like a 1% chance of this happening at the PR Verizon would get from this would most likely run them into the ground but the thought is still out there. And for most of us who only use ~5gb of data per month or less just don't want to worry about that odd month when maybe some new series comes out and they use 50gb.
TLDR: As of right now its more of just a fear of losing it than anything else and not really something to be too worried about ATM.

EEdaesung said:
I didn't realize it was such a big deal. Especially since it's a service I pay for, and I wasn't planning on torrenting the entire internet.
Since there are so many concerns of losing unlimited data, I'll think twice before using my phone's network to do any heavy downloading or uploading.
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Click to collapse
Or at least posting here about doing so.

EEdaesung said:
It's because LTE's upload speeds are superior to my home connection. And for people worried about getting capped, there is no way I could get within the 10% of users who are throttled.
^_^_^
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Click to collapse
There is a difference in using a phone to web browse, or to watch a movie or whatever, and maxing it out 24/7 and saturating the connection to torrent.
One is a bad idea IMO.

Got it guys. I agree with all previous posts. I don't want to get capped either and I won't be a factor towards it.
^_^_^

That's bull...you pay for it you use it how you want...I dare Verizon to come at me already and I told them I'm rooted...I ruin my OG Droid and they still replaced it...they make hundreds of millions of dollars and I pay an already high phone bill...too bad there is already an Frostwire app

currensy said:
That's bull...you pay for it you use it how you want...I dare Verizon to come at me already and I told them I'm rooted...I ruin my OG Droid and they still replaced it...they make hundreds of millions of dollars and I pay an already high phone bill...too bad there is already an Frostwire app
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LOL. Another reprobate weighs in.
"you pay for it you use it how you want"
So, exactly how much are you "paying" for tethering (not that which is currently offered as a freebie, but the theft of services your comment implies)? Your comment might be better phrased "you pay for it, I use it," since it's going to be paid for by someone, and if not by those who rationalize stealing it, then by the rest of us.
"they make hundreds of millions of dollars"
I'm guessing (assuming you're not still in Jr. High, as your attitude suggests), that you make thousands of dollars. So, I'd be justified in stealing from you, by your logic.
"I pay an already high phone bill"
If it's too high, it's very easy to cancel the service. Obviously, since you're posting in the TB forum, you have one, which means you've recently renewed your service. Which is it - you agreed that the value per dollar was acceptable, or you're just stupid?

You have to disable other connections after enabling internet sharing mode. Windows doesnt magically switch to a better connection on its own.
People should also remember that torrent does not mean illegal. He never mentioned what he was downloading. Apparently no one else in this thread has ever downloaded a linux distro, since bittorent is a primary way to do it. Certain games and game content are distributed legally through bittorent as well along with other software (generally opensource stuff).
The other day I didn't want to wait 30 minutes for aptitude to update my system on my 630KB/s average DSL, so I plugged in my phone to internet sharing on LTE and it was done in < 5minutes @ 2500KB/s average.
Verizon's network does not block ports as far as I know, but you are behind NAT, so you aren't going to be running any sort of server either on the public internet or easily connecting to your phone from a remote location.

Why do people take threads like this off the rails so quickly? The OP asked a simple question that didn't really warrant a philosophical decision. Imposing your will on the miniscule number of TB users who visit XDA won't make any appreciable impact on Verizon's attitude towards sanctioned network use.
OP, please report back if following "yareally"'s suggestion of disabling other connections works once ICS is enabled. Also, are you able to bridge your connection to the TB's in Windows? It'd be sweet to be able to merge WiFi (for speed) with LTE (for reliability).

currensy said:
That's bull...you pay for it you use it how you want...I dare Verizon to come at me already and I told them I'm rooted...I ruin my OG Droid and they still replaced it...they make hundreds of millions of dollars and I pay an already high phone bill...too bad there is already an Frostwire app
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Click to collapse
If you use frostwire... you probably still have a myspace...
Lol at your made-up story, VZW is here on XDA also... they just might come at you bro...
In regards to the OP, lol at anyone who thinks this one single guy is going to be the downfall of unlimited data...

Nooter said:
OP, please report back if following "yareally"'s suggestion of disabling other connections works once ICS is enabled. Also, are you able to bridge your connection to the TB's in Windows? It'd be sweet to be able to merge WiFi (for speed) with LTE (for reliability).
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Click to collapse
Nope, cant bridge them in windows and use both (that is, it's not as simple as selecting both connections and clicking bridge). There's some ways to distribute their use over *nix and/or using a router and using them as separate connections, but it's not worth the time/effort. If you're really interested in doing it, there's some discussions about it on the xda forums already and elsewhere if you google around.

Can Verizon tell I am using free tethering??

Pretty Self explanatory. And if Verizon can tell i am using free tethering, can they do anything about it?

Short answer: With their hotspot app? Yes. With Wireless Tether for Root Users? No.
End. of. story.
Myth busted.
Just don't expect to replace your home ISP with a damn phone and cry when you get smacked with an "unfair usage" fine because you chewed through 26 GB of data.

I'm sure if they cared enough about what you were doing that they could probably deduce you were using it based on packet analysis.

They could make some assumptions based on usage.

I'd say be smart with your usage and don't push it. If you go overboard, it's liable to throw up a red flag and you really won't have any ground to stand on as it's a violation of your TOS. That said, what Verizon don't know won't hurt 'em.

+1. If you are Torrenting, Usenet-ripping, etc.. I'm sure they'll catch on. If you're casually browsing the web, etc. then I bet it would cost them more money to cause a stink than it would to just let it go.

Yes, they can see where your packets are originating from. VZW just hasn't looked yet. There is no program that is a work around, rooted or not. They will probably let it slide till tiered data starts.
Sent from my TBolt using XDA App

uniqueflips said:
Yes, they can see where your packets are originating from. VZW just hasn't looked yet. There is no program that is a work around, rooted or not. They will probably let it slide till tiered data starts.
Sent from my TBolt using XDA App
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True, but you can obscure the source and encrypt the contents of said packets via tunneling through secure proxy or vpn.

yareally said:
True, but you can obscure the source and encrypt the contents of said packets via tunneling through secure proxy or vpn.
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VPN is my plan when they revoke the mobile hotspot. I'll send all my traffic, phone, tablet and laptop through VPN so they can't tell the difference between anything.

All they can see is the top level headers of the packets which will simply show that they are coming to and from a phone. Anything beyond that involves actually inspecting the packet contents which is a horrendous violation of privacy and something they would be successfully sued for doing to customers without their consent.

scook9 said:
All they can see is the top level headers of the packets which will simply show that they are coming to and from a phone. Anything beyond that involves actually inspecting the packet contents which is a horrendous violation of privacy and something they would be successfully sued for doing to customers without their consent.
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More importantly, the PR backlash of doing something like that would be terrible for them - especially since the rules governing Net Neutrality for wireless ISPs are still in flux. They won't risk throwing public opinion even further in favor of increased FCC regulation right now.
It is not an issue of capacity either - a single LTE eNodeB can handle roughly twice the aggregate downstream throughput as a DOCSIS 2.0 node per channel, and there will eventually be more eNodeB's in the country than DOCSIS nodes. Take a moment to think about that - Verizon's LTE will likely more than double the total "network capacity" of the United States once complete. This terrifies Verizon. They want to keep people thinking that cellular networks are fragile little things that can't take the pounding that wireline ISP's can, so people will be OK with being nickeled and dimed for their data. They don't WANT to compete with cable internet providers (even though they would win) because it means they will become a dumb data pipe. Tethering is the last hurdle keeping them from becoming just that, so I wouldn't exactly expect them to play nice.

I know that if the Thunderbolt I am getting gets good signal at my house I would consider dropping my FiOS line haha since they are about the same speed.
Ping would go from like 20ms to 120ms....big whoop still better than most of the country lol

They will see your amount of usage and send you a letter to stop. Just be smart and don't try and download 1GB movies through your phone.

If I decide to stream through my phone they can't do anything about it. Netflix is supported on an Incredible hehe, how can they prove that I do not just like watching TV on my phone alot? Add HBOGo to that and you have ALOT of traffic on the phone that is perfectly justifiable

scook9 said:
If I decide to stream through my phone they can't do anything about it. Netflix is supported on an Incredible hehe, how can they prove that I do not just like watching TV on my phone alot? Add HBOGo to that and you have ALOT of traffic on the phone that is perfectly justifiable
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You'll likely just get throttled as their top 5% throttle policy is impartial to how you used the data. What they classify as top 5% and the throttle speed is still unknown.

I find it hard to believe that they can enforce such a policy without providing some information on how they classify that data usage, otherwise they could throttle everyone and say we were in the top 5% data usage then never have to worry about network congestion

I believe as it keeps getting easier and easier to root phones we'll have more and more people tethering their phones without paying.
That's not too big of a deal, until you get the people who go home and cancel their cable or dsl, and start using their phone as their primary internet source. Not that it would hurt verizon if people did that. But get a few people streaming netflix through their dvd players on LTE and see what that does to verizon's network. It wouldn't take many people doing that before verizon start's paying attention.
The ISP I work for did a test a few weeks back to see exactly how much bandwidth is being used by netflix. We had a little over 30 customers eating up 75% of our bandwidth. that 30 customers was about 10% of our customer base.

Netflix is the largest source of downstream traffic after all haha. My point was, that downstream can come to a phone legitimately without tethering so how will they be able to discriminate on tethering people vs. just netflix users
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Netflix-Sandyvine-BitTorrent-Downstream-Upstream,news-11226.html

IMO, why can cellular providers dictate what we can/can't do with the data we purchase? If home/business ISP's pulled that, there'd be hell to pay and a huge outcry. Data is data. It is that simple but cellular providers are working on a dictation level at every step from hardware and software right down to the kilobytes we use.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

i heard they were going to monitor your usage and start tagging you if they caught you, i use the wireless tether app all the time never heard a word yet

AT&T and Tethering

I know this is a frustrating subject for all AT&T users. Does anyone know what they are using to track tethering. I ask because I have been with AT&T over 10 years and have in the past tethered without a plan. However today I received notice that I am going to loose my unlimited data plan if I do not stop tethering, sad part is I am not tethering or have I been tethering at all in the last several months. I do stream A LOT so I know I am on their list, but honestly I generally go over 3GB so I am not a data hog. I spoke to AT&T's version of customer service and request that they tell me the exact technical specification of the test they are using to determine I am tethering, the answer was, "I don';t know, my system tells me that so it must be true". I then asked what app on my device is causing the issue, "I don't know". Finally I asked how can I stop a behavior my phone is doing if I do not know what if causing the problem? "I don't know". The one thing he (a "supervisor") did know was that I could fix everything by changing my plan and paying more. I am now waiting for his manager to call with an explanation, but it would be good if I actually had some facts to fight with. Most everything I know about AT&T and their policies is completely subjective and open to interpretation.

I've heard of this happening before, and I don't think they really "track" it at all. I think all AT&T is doing is going by your bandwidth. They assume if you're regularly pulling down that much data that you must be cheating somehow.
If you're regularly using 3GB a month, that's probably what's on their radar screen. Keep complaining and insisting that you've done nothing wrong, and they should back down. Ask for some proof, which I doubt they can provide.
I tether all the time, but keep my data usage down, and I've never gotten a warning.

SMH at your story. This is ridiculous! Keep fighting, man. Don't succumb to the beast! :sly:
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app

Lol, I got a letter in the mail... Apparently they track... Now the question is .. disabling ARMS?
WCX HTC One "Hell of a fast phone" X

I got a warning to seems they can track it better now.
Sent from my One X using xda premium

Any of you guys using the Foxfi app from the Play store and the proxy addon? I've been using it on At&t with my Nexus 7 and haven't been notified.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

Also, if the new share data plans work out for you, i believe tethering is included. I'm switching my wife and I over to that plan today (supposed first day they are turning it on). It'll save us about $25/month. But the plans aren't for everyone... Some it increases their price.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

I've seen this discussed on other device forums here on XDA. No definitive answer was ever given on how AT&T determines whether you are tethering. One person who seemed to have a good degree of technical knowledge stated that every single data packet coming from a tethered computer are tagged differently than just phone use, and that any carrier can detect that tagging easily. Other people disputed that statement. I personally don't have the technical knowledge to say either way, but it seems feasible.
I personally doubt they go by bandwidth alone. I frequently go over 3 GB per month, sometimes close to the 5 GB throttle limit. Sometimes download close to 1 GB a stuff in a single day. But all on the phone (not tethered), and have never gotten the warning. Maybe they look for patterns, but not bandwidth alone.

redpoint73 said:
One person who seemed to have a good degree of technical knowledge stated that every single data packet coming from a tethered computer are tagged differently than just phone use, and that any carrier can detect that tagging easily. Other people disputed that statement. I personally don't have the technical knowledge to say either way, but it seems feasible.
I personally doubt they go by bandwidth alone. I frequently go over 3 GB per month, sometimes close to the 5 GB throttle limit. Sometimes download close to 1 GB a stuff in a single day. But all on the phone (not tethered), and have never gotten the warning. Maybe they look for patterns, but not bandwidth alone.
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I've seen that theory as well. But being able to identify tethered packets is not the same thing as being able to monitor all of them all the time. It's the latter that I am not certain is feasible given the number of smartphones on AT&T's network.
One thing that is certain is that AT&T is not consistent in how they do this. I've seen people get nailed after a single tether; others--like me--have been blithely tethering for years without any trouble. I've also heard of people like the OP, who get tagged even though they aren't tethering at all.
I continue to think that bandwidth has to be the biggest part of it. I suspect they watch for heavy usage, then pay closer attention to those accounts.
Another thing: AT&T is known to give certain perks and leeway to larger accounts, such as letting you upgrade more frequently. I have a big family plan with three smartphones, unlimited texts, Family Map, etc. I've often wondered if I'm on some kind of "let them alone for now" list given how much I tether.
In any case, I'm switching to the new sharing plans (which launched today), which include tethering, so it will be moot for me at least.

iElvis said:
I've seen that theory as well. But being able to identify tethered packets is not the same thing as being able to monitor all of them all the time. It's the latter that I am not certain is feasible given the number of smartphones on AT&T's network.
One thing that is certain is that AT&T is not consistent in how they do this. I've seen people get nailed after a single tether; others--like me--have been blithely tethering for years without any trouble. I've also heard of people like the OP, who get tagged even though they aren't tethering at all.
I continue to think that bandwidth has to be the biggest part of it. I suspect they watch for heavy usage, then pay closer attention to those accounts.
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Completely know what you mean when you talk about being able to identify the packets vs. actually monitoring all accounts. My feeling is that this is the main reason the enforcement is so inconsistent, that AT&T simply does not have the resources to monitor all the accounts this way. As you suggest maybe bandwidth is the first red flag, then they look at the tagging after that. And whatever the system is, it seems to be evolving ("improving" in the eyes of AT&T), as more people are getting caught.

Interesting feedback. I think I have figured it out. I was just guessing at my data consumption at 3GB, I actually pulled a report and looked. I average between 1 and 2 GB of data a month (pretty shocking to me, guess I use wifi more than I realize), last month it doubled to 4GB. It must be because I doubled my usage in one month, that must have set off a flag.
Still waiting for that manager to get me proof.
On a side note it felt really good to answer their survey texts with a 1 and not a 10.
I will update this thread if I get more information from the "manager". I am to stubborn to let AT&T win this one. Almost makes me want to start tethering again.

cyber_pete said:
I will update this thread if I get more information from the "manager". I am to stubborn to let AT&T win this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good for you, man. Be interested to see how it turns out. Good luck.

I also just got a letter like this today. I've had unlimited data for four years, and I've tethered very sparingly over the years with the likes of PDANet, WiFi Tether, etc without being notified by AT&T. The only time I've really needed to tether was for the one week out of the year when I vacation to a cottage that doesn't have an internet connection. I went on vacation about a month ago, and tethered using the built in Hotspot with CleanRom's Hotspot Hack. I called AT&T after reading the letter over, and the rep told me that they did detect tethering activity on my end. I ended up telling her that I used a tethering app from the Play Store for the one week that I was without internet, but that I only used it in that instance and that I would prefer to keep my unlimited plan. She just asked that I delete the app from the phone, and cease tethering, and assured me that I could keep the plan by doing so. So, it seems as though their plan of attack is to enroll you in plan that enables the Hotspot functionality if they don't hear from you, but if you call and insist on keeping your unlimited plan, hopefully they will honor that like they did for me. Good luck!

Is it possible they are looking at the browser type? I've heard that browsers which don't normally run on mobile devices can get you caught.

smartphonesanonymous said:
Is it possible they are looking at the browser type? I've heard that browsers which don't normally run on mobile devices can get you caught.
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Click to collapse
That's the User-Agent factor, and yes they can get you that way, if you've gotten far enough onto their radar screen that they're reading your packets.
But no one really knows for sure how exactly they're doing it.
I, since I went to a shared data plan a few months ago, have come in from the cold.

Wow, zombie thread.
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USB tether with SSH and VPN
To carrier, it just looks like an ssh connection from your phone, everything else is encapsulated inside that doubly encrypted channel
(openvpn encrypts, so does ssh)
-- IP packet "signatures", Browser User-Agent, all invisible to carrier.
root not required, unlock/mod not required. works on stock unrooted device.
should work with any android phone, any carrier, any plan (that includes Internet access on phone)
(usage will still count against your data limit if you have a capped plan - mostly useful with unlimited plans)
carrier will still see your usage so they still might become suspicious, they just can't prove anything
use this advice at your own risk
it will use double the bandwidth on your HOME connection - everything has to go in, and
then right back out - may not be useful if your home internet is capped
.....
setup openvpn server on home PC connected with wired broadband
setup openssh server on home PC
setup proper passwords/keys for both to protect access.
use non-standard ports for greater security
(if you have a home router, be sure to forward the ports for both SSH and openvpn through it from "the outside" to the ssh/openvpn server)
if your home router is DD-WRT or similar, you may be able to do sshd and openvpn server right on the router, skip the PC.
.. EDIT: you will need to know the IP of your home connection to connect to it remotely. a dynamic DNS service can be useful for this ..
install sshdroid on phone.
install openvpn and adb on laptop
...
ok, you are out and about, and want to tether your laptop.
turn OFF wifi on phone.
enable usb debugging on phone.
connect laptop PC to USB on phone (connect type doesnt matter, charge-only is fine)
start sshdroid, have it ssh to your home PC and forward a tcp port for openvpn
use 'adb forward' command on laptop to forward the openvpn port from the laptop to the phone.
run openvpn on laptop, configure it to connect via localhost:xxx (where xxx is the port thats forwarded by adb to the phone, then by ssh to your home PC.)
use vpn tunnel for internet access
"whatismyipaddress.com" for laptop should show your HOME internet IP.
- this is just an overview, you will need to know how to setup the details of these apps and services, especially openvpn, in order to make this work. If you don't understand how to do so, find someone that does, or pay your carrier for the service.
- no wifi support, so no way to tether a tablet or anything else that can only connect via wifi; only a laptop or other PC that has a host USB port that can recognize the phone.

Tethering
I use FoxFi or PdaNet is the same. And not require Root.

I got this same letter two or three years ago. Idk but it think they are trying to scare ppl in to the new plans. I regularly use more than 5GB a month without tethering.
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I got a letter and called them and they are using this as a way to generate more money.

T-Mobile to punish tethering theives!

http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/31/9230595/t-mobile-unlimited-data-tethering-warning
I got my warning however tethering the normal way no longer works. Idk why. Might be my APN. So currently my only ability to tether is using WifiTetherRouter. I'm not sure but the post says once a customer has hit their limit they will be able to track who is using more tethering than they have. So not sure if they can still track people who are tethering before the limit is hit. This is my only current means of Internet. They think blocking my ability to tether is going to stop me from using my 9999999999tb monthly cap they are mistaken. I do most of my data downloads directly on my phone. 160 to 180gb worth a month. If they don't like it they shouldn't have given unlimited data. For what they want you to use it for, you won't even use up 5gb total. Browsing the Web and Facebooking.

What phone do you have and what method did you use to tether?

Wifi Tether Router used to not count against my tethering allotment, but now it does.
I also USB tether with PdaNet+, but I don't know yet if they detect this and count it against my allotment. I won't know (unless someone else confirms or denies) for a few days, because I only noticed this today after getting a text message that I've hit 80% of my allotment (6.1 out of 7.0GB), and I've got a few days left on my billing cycle, so I have to be cautious and conservative until it resets. I know Wifi Tether Router does this because tested it while watching the "Space Mutiny" MST3K episode on youtube (I got about half-way through it and went from 6.1 to 6.3GB used). I'll keep an eye on it and give updates when I have something to report.
I did get the dreaded text message about violating the TOS by concealing tether usage to circumvent my 7.0GB allotment with my plan. It's interesting that they're able to detect, and now track wifi tethering with Wifi Tether Router, yet are still threatening to "punish" abusers. Because what would be the point since I'd hit my 7.0GB allotment and get throttled to 128kb/sec? This leads me to believe that other methods might still work. Maybe signing up for a VPN? I'm still worried though (since I'm already flagged), and I'm going to radically change my habits, at least for the time being. I'd hate to have to switch to Sprint. I do use a lot of data. Right now I'm at 118GB with a couple days left on my cycle. Once (the first or second month after switching) I hit just shy of 400GB, but that was because I'd just come from Verizon where I had a 4GB limit (and absurd bills because I'd go over), so I did a ton of downloading. Most months I'm under 200GB. Maybe the FCC will slap T-Mobile on the wrist and tell them they can't do this, but I have no idea if what they're threatening is truly kosher or not. It does irk me that Legere has been spending the last couple years spouting all this "Uncarrier" and "truly unlimited" stuff, and first they semi-throttle during peak times if you go over 21GB/month, and now this business. Yet, music streaming doesn't count? What if someone streams 12 hours of music every day, using the cheapest plan? How much data does that use? How is that less evil than downloading torrents to my phone then transferring them over to my PC instead of just tethering and downloading to my PC (arguments about torrenting/piracy aside). How is tethering and watching Amazon Prime, youtube, or whatever on my TV any different than doing the same on my phone? Same data, same content, yet I'm a data thief?
As I mentioned, torrenting is another issue, because you're uploading as well as downloading, so I can see why they'd get upset with that. I also find it irksome that in their press-release they mention nearly 3000 customers (wow, I'm one of 3000!), some who use as much as 2TB/month. I can't even conceive of actually using that much data for myself. So it's obvious that those users are running torrent servers (constant ones, not just download and delete), or game servers, or running a hotspot for entire household. And I don't like being lumped into that group of true abusers, even though I lose some moral ground on the torrent issue (plus the whole piracy thing).
I guess I need to buy some more 64GB microSD cards...

I notice WiFi Tether Router does let some leak in. I used PDA net on my old vetizon work phone that had no tethering plan. It allowed me to tether despite not having tethering on the plan.
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