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[Q] AT&T tethering, avoiding detection

From what I can gather there are 2 ways to tether (without buying tethering option), changing the APN or by rooting and running appropriate programs. I have a grandfathered unlimited plan so tethering would be great, but I'm not gonna pay extra for a tether specific plan. AT&T terms of service says that doing so will result in charge/termination...but how do they check? Changing the APN can be read (at least on an iphone, from what I read), not sure about rooting. Can anyone explain how data transfered during tethering by changing the APN will appear to the network vs a rooted tethering system. Also what is with this 5GB soft cap, I've read and believe BS.

Uh, I used my captivate w the USB tethering app from the marketplace just fine. Never got billed additionally.

The only way for them to "know" would be to check the browser agent information on the sites you visit. As long as you don't go nuts and stream netflix for days on end or host torrents you'll be fine.

I've tethered with an N1, Aria, now and Inspire all running stock unbranded froyo or CM, I've never had a tethering charge on my bill. I've gone so far as 10+ gb

while i haven't tried this on the inspire, before on my jailbroken iPhone, i ran a tethering app, using about 15gb a month for a few months in a row (was sitting in florida with no internet connection whats so ever to use but the phone) i never had a problem.

ive been using tethering for years on my incite,pure,tilt2,hd2 and now my inspire and never been charged extra for it.im glad they cant tell or i would owe them lots of money

double post.

I've tethered on my my old tilt 2 every day, with no issues up to 5GB. I sideloaded PDAnet on my inspire already, and plan to use it as well.
Scott

Tethering Data Usage
The Least amount I have ever had in a Month between the Inspire,Iphone 4,Iphone 3GS,Captivate,ARIA,with "MyWi",Rooting,Jailbreaking,Whatever method (I am a phone Junkie)using my Grandfathered Data Plan is 63Gigs in a Month and usually between 150 to 180 Gigs and never a Problem,They actually game me the 3rd Degree when I wanted to keep my Unlimited plan with the 4G Inspire and I told them I stream Movies,ie. Netflix,and I run a router Flashed with "DD-WRT" using the HotSpot and I have 3 teenage Boys that are Gaming,ect Constantly. My Argument is that is what "Unlimited " Means,I said to AT&T I have 5 Smartphones and have had for 6 years,I will take my Business Elsewhere,they called me back the next Day and said I could Keep the Unlimited because of my longtime status,I was one of the very first to win the Argument,I got home with my Inspire and the next day got a Data Usage Warning that I was at my 2 gig Max after the Guy in the Store said I could keep my Data Plan,Corporate said NO Way, I told them I was bringing the phone back and going elsewhere with my Business,Within a Day I had my Plan back in tact,Vegas

Wow....some people need to spring for broadband it seems.

63 gigs a month? WTF?????
Sent from Desire HD or Inspire 4G or whatever this thing is called via premium XDA app.

People like him are why the rest of us lost the ability to choose unlimited
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

daveop said:
People like him are why the rest of us lost the ability to choose unlimited
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
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Your right in that one.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

I'd love to watch him and his boys at the "all you can eat buffet"

newter55 said:
I'd love to watch him and his boys at the "all you can eat buffet"
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I do believe the owner of said buffet would be crying...

Iphone4 and APN detection vs website red flag, pdanet?
Question: I have an iPhone 4 mod with 4.3.1
Was on a lot recently in last month - 5-10 g possible downloads- got the death message from AT&T . Will charge if I don't reform ways. ( feel like some kid) what bs! Have unlimited data plan. I
I use an HP mini laptop with win 7 starter OPS, I am tethering (wireless),
Guy who jb my phone - said that detection happens by - when tethered- when downloading either by choice or by auto update - programs like flash player and adobe PDF , Microsoft windows , AT&T sees download traffic and flags as obvious tether for laptop thus their 'unauthorized'tethering traffic going on.
Is this the case- not APN ISSUE?- site location issue?
I oftentimes use remote tethering to downloading and updating data files on programs that are native to both desktop and iPhone to exchange data. I need tethering - don't need limit to band width nor 45$month charge.
If monitoring locations what steps needed other than obvious -not downloading flash updates nor adobe reader updates while online? Problem is I have quit a few programs- can't seem to completely be free of auto updates- adobe is not allowing pure manual update preference setting-to set on auto update feature.
Also does pdanet work as stated??
PDA net doesn't shield site location just APN's?! Correct? What is ideAl settings to
Max out protection . Thank-you

Guess not one of you using 60 gigs a month knows that you can get DSL, UVerse HSI, Cable HSI, etc for like $20 bucks a month for a year.

I know. It really tickles me when I hear people complain about not being able to tether or being caught for tethering. And ATT is the bad guy here?? You have never been allowed to tether on ATT without a tethering plan. FACT. Unlimited data is not unlimited. FACT. Even on the prior unlimited plan there has always been a fair useage policy of 5GB. Anything over 5GB is considered excessive. For the most part it has been overlooked by ATT.
The only BS here is those that abuse the system and come here to cry about it.

Agoattamer said:
I know. It really tickles me when I hear people complain about not being able to tether or being caught for tethering. And ATT is the bad guy here?? You have never been allowed to tether on ATT without a tethering plan. FACT. Unlimited data is not unlimited. FACT. Even on the prior unlimited plan there has always been a fair useage policy of 5GB. Anything over 5GB is considered excessive. For the most part it has been overlooked by ATT.
The only BS here is those that abuse the system and come here to cry about it.
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+1
I too am tired about people complaining about caps and tethering plans. Att networks are not ready for this kind of traffic yet. I'm sure they want to be able to offer it to people as much as they want it. People don't understand that if they just let you do whatever you wanted to now, everyone's experience would be terrible. Let them build up their networks and maybe someday it will change, but until then, just accept the fact that you still need home internet and tv service. Besides, I think its cool that att is letting people even keep unlimited data plans.
Phone: HTC Inspire 4gRadio: 26.13.04.19
Ril: 2.2.0179Rom: GB Sense 4.0 by fshami

The only times I've tethered is when I'm on the road and there is no wifi for my laptop. Even then it was just for web browsing and for no longer than 30 minutes at a time.

VZW Blocking teathering without teathering plan.

http://arstechnica.com/#!/gadgets/n...tethering-customers-may-violate-fcc-rules.ars
I'm at work and cannot confirm that vzw is now redirecting all 3rd party teathering apps to its sign-up page for teathering. Can anyone confirm this?
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

not sure if you're refering to just wireless or all tethering, but PDA Net still works just fine.

Funny that the article discusses a "jailbroken" Droid X and pictures and iphone.
Nevertheless, this is why I decided to pay for unlimited tethering, no more looking over my shoulder. With my wife's discount on service it was a great deal.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

Meh, let them try. I tethered all weekend driving from DC to Philedelphia and back
There is absolutely no way they can call tethering a provided "service" beyond simply providing data to the phones. What we do with that data is none of their dam business. If you are forced into a tiered data plan, it should not be up to them how you may use that limited data. If you want to tether and use your whole allowance on day one of the month, that should be your right.

No issues. Its working fine on mine.
Sent from my PUR3 A05P using Tapatalk

my "jailbroken" Thunderbolt is in tethercity with no concerns.
in fact, that's how I'm posting this.
-sent from my massive e-persona in which I attempt to convince you everything I do is Like A Bo$$

Good luck trying to block it. They can request the apps removed from market. We'll just download them elsewhere. They should be spending their energy on something more customer friendly, and stop trying to punish people.

Ita impossivle for verizon to determine if u are downloading bigass files on ur phone or through thetering.
Sent from my PUR3 A05P using XDA App

kevenrivera said:
Ita impossivle for verizon to determine if u are downloading bigass files on ur phone or through thetering.
Sent from my PUR3 A05P using XDA App
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To them it doesn't matter. If you're downloading 80GB+ per month, which some are, you're abusing the network.
They'll more than likely develop a throttling system for extreme users. It's not fair for them to suck up all of my bandwidth if they're too cheap to pay for regular internet or the hotspot feature.
200th post...FTW!!

I had heard with LTE they have more control over the network and would actually be able to tell if it was your phone or if it was a PC attached to the network through tethering.

rommel500 said:
I had heard with LTE they have more control over the network and would actually be able to tell if it was your phone or if it was a PC attached to the network through tethering.
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They will never be able to tell those things unless inspecting your packets.....which is an obvious violation of privacy

Using Barnacle and traveling around the country at the moment, no issues here.

rommel500 said:
I had heard with LTE they have more control over the network and would actually be able to tell if it was your phone or if it was a PC attached to the network through tethering.
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they can tell, but apparently its a PIA to do it. I would expect for unlimited users to start getting throttled if they use a huge amount of data (which is already in your contract).
scook9 said:
They will never be able to tell those things unless inspecting your packets.....which is an obvious violation of privacy
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umm, they are providing the data. Good luck winning a lawsuit saying they didn't have the right to verify you weren't breaking the TOS.
As far as the OP, I really think they got confused. AT&T can tell if you are tethering your iphone using the mifi cydia program. Apparently the program tells at&t that its tethering. But isn't that the dev that apple hired anyways so he probably added that on purpose?

There's no way to tell what "kind" of data is being used other than what the phone reports. On my Dinc, it was the ol' "dun" fix. I don't use it enough anymore to justify the extra expense, considering how many free WiFi locations are available. Also, I rarely even use my laptop anymore, I do 99% of my browsing from my phone.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

CanesDrew said:
To them it doesn't matter. If you're downloading 80GB+ per month, which some are, you're abusing the network.
They'll more than likely develop a throttling system for extreme users. It's not fair for them to suck up all of my bandwidth if they're too cheap to pay for regular internet or the hotspot feature.
200th post...FTW!!
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They already throttle too users. No one is Sucking up your bandwidth either. I was sold an unlimited data plan and they gladly took my money.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

eallan said:
They already throttle too users. No one is Sucking up your bandwidth either. I was sold an unlimited data plan and they gladly took my money.
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You were sold an unlimited data plan for phone data, with the condition that the top 5% of bandwidth users could be throttled. Read your contract.

This isn't news.... We've known about this for months....
Sent from my HTC GingerBolt powered by Gingeritis 1.2.1

lrs421 said:
Funny that the article discusses a "jailbroken" Droid X and pictures and iphone.
Nevertheless, this is why I decided to pay for unlimited tethering, no more looking over my shoulder. With my wife's discount on service it was a great deal.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
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Me too, same as you. Except for the wifey thing.

eallan said:
They already throttle too users. No one is Sucking up your bandwidth either. I was sold an unlimited data plan and they gladly took my money.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
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It's semantics. From a technical point of view there's no such thing as unlimited data. Multiply the download speed times the number of hours in a month and that's the theoretical limit. Of course, no one can go the full download speed all the time. It's just not possible.
What you get promised is that they won't cut you off at a specific number of bytes. However, unlike cable companies, I haven't seen any phone carrier advertise or even mention the download speed. They can't. Unlike your cable modem, your phone moves around.
So, not having promised any kind of speed performance it's easy for them to just slow you down if you eat too many bytes.
And, as an "average" user I'm THRILLED that they throttle the heavy users. I don't want to be on a network that averages 500kbps because there are hundreds of people in my cell eating up the bandwidth all the time.

T-mobileTethering access has been blocked.

I got a text msg from T-mobile this morning informing me that MY tethering access has been blocked. They want me to pay $14.00 dollars more a month for me to use my data how i want to (I currently pay $140 for unlimited talk/text and 10gb of data.) To me, this is ridiculous. Is there a work around for this? Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
jononioo

Are you on the stock ROM?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

I am on the latest CM7 Nightly.

try using one of these http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/downloads/list you will have to try the different versions. I am using the latest version on CM7 and have no problems tethering. Now i do only have 5gb of data and most likely do not tether anywhere close to you do since you have the 10gb package. I have heard that if you are using the tethering under the network settings T-Mobile has away to find out. Now i am not sure if that is just with the stock rom or all roms. Give it a try you never know. All carriers charge for tethering not just T-Mobile or i think they do. So if you have to pay you have to pay.

How often do you tether, how long do you tether, and what are you doing when you tether?

interesting.. I tether daily for I'd say at least 2 hours total. hell I'm tethered right now. guess ill keep an eye out for that text.

Is your tethering actually being blocked?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

I tether constantly for hours at a time daily.
Ok, so this is really weird. I can tether without issue when using Crome, but when i try to surf out using firefox, im forced to t-mobile's tether page. So it seems to be browser specific. It just so happens that i do web chats using firefox while tethering.

How many gigabytes do you use per month?

About 10gb per.... Why?

jononioo said:
About 10gb per.... Why?
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Because "unlimited" isn't really unlimited. Although you say your plan allows 10GB per month, and you say you are using "about" 10GB, which is kinda vague?
For example, 10.1GB is not "about" 10GB if it's over your limit. To T-Mobile, 10.14GB can add an additional $14 per month
Mobile providers use words in the contract like "abuse", "unusual activity", and other such words. You don't seem to know exactly how much you are using per month, but it's a sure bet you are either going over 10GB or most probably you are tethering in a way that makes T-Mobile suspect unusual activity.
For example, most users use their mobile data bandwidth in spurts, but sustained data transfers gets T-Mobile's attention and can be labelled "unusual activity". It puts a load on T-Mobile's network. By contract, anything you do that affects T-Mobile's overall service will cause T-Mobile to take action.
If you are filesharing over tethering, that is sustained data activity and T-Mobile will know and penalize you for it.

EEngineer said:
Because "unlimited" isn't really unlimited. Although you say your plan allows 10GB per month, and you say you are using "about" 10GB, which is kinda vague?
For example, 10.1GB is not "about" 10GB if it's over your limit. To T-Mobile, 10.14GB can add an additional $14 per month
Mobile providers use words in the contract like "abuse", "unusual activity", and other such words. You don't seem to know exactly how much you are using per month, but it's a sure bet you are either going over 10GB or most probably you are tethering in a way that makes T-Mobile suspect unusual activity.
For example, most users use their mobile data bandwidth in spurts, but sustained data transfers gets T-Mobile's attention and can be labelled "unusual activity". It puts a load on T-Mobile's network. By contract, anything you do that affects T-Mobile's overall service will cause T-Mobile to take action.
If you are filesharing over tethering, that is sustained data activity and T-Mobile will know and penalize you for it.
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Excellent response couldnt have said it better myself. Becareful with the "abuse" of the data, i have a buddy of mine that was FORCED to have a 2gb plan. Yet again he is on att lol

Along with the above statements, I did a bit of research before I started tethering on CM7.
Put simply, you can tether all you want as long as you don't go over the data cap. The only reason you've received that message is because you went over.

T-Mobile has no special way to tell you're tethering on the G2x. They can on the SGSII, Amaze, LG MyTouch series, and a few other of the newest phones that are programmed in the tethering code to use an entirely different APN similar to the way that iPhones do. The G2x, however, does nothing of the sort.

jamadio said:
Along with the above statements, I did a bit of research before I started tethering on CM7.
Put simply, you can tether all you want as long as you don't go over the data cap...
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Wrong.
Even if you are under the data cap if you show long sustained data activity such as filesharing, T-Mobile will penalize you for it.
JaiaV said:
T-Mobile has no special way to tell you're tethering on the G2x.
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Yes they can tell. Any child can tell if the connection is tethered simply by looking at the HTTP headers!

Tethering to a tablet
Ok. I just got a Toshiba thrive for Christmas. Is tethering to that seen any different? Just curious seeing as it's an Android device. I only Tether in spurts so I don't use a **** ton of data during(no file sharing). Thanks.

EEngineer said:
Wrong.
Even if you are under the data cap if you show long sustained data activity such as filesharing, T-Mobile will penalize you for it.
Yes they can tell. Any child can tell if the connection is tethered simply by looking at the HTTP headers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way they can tell is by user agent string and that requires someone actually looking, which isn't usually being done...

I wireless tether to my laptop 4 hrs and sometime more everyday. I play games on facebook. I have a pre-paid 5 GB data, unlimited talk and txt for $70 a month and I have yet to be block since I changed to it. I did however get blocked when I was on a regular plan as I hit 2gb of the 5gb I had. I did the same amount of tethering then as I do know.
So why then and not now, I really couldn't tell you.
If you're using 10 gb a month, you're doing more than social browsing or facebook apps. Stop downloading the movies and music and you will see a difference. 10 gb? Really?
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

So I just got t989 and I wanted to tether but now I'm forced to pay, I use to have sgs4g and tethering was free. So do I have to just root or install a custom ROM to avoid adding tethering option to my plan
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App

JaiaV said:
The only way they can tell is by user agent string and that requires someone actually looking, which isn't usually being done...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Wrong.
Not just the user-agent string, but the entire HTTP headers. You can examine the packets also and learn a lot (is it a TCP or UDP? Is it FTP or HTTP?)
These things are done automatically by monitoring software.
Stop making **** up.

Warning! Using hotspot on at&t

I've been using mobile hotspot on my inspire for about 4-5 months after rooting the phone. All was well... I was using my laptop and speed was decent to check emails, youTube, general browsing.
But I just a mail from at&t saying that "we noticed that you have been using the hotspot feature but you don't have the feature addon on your account. If you continue to use the hotspot feature, your account will be billed $45 automatically on your next billing cycle. If don't use the hotspot, you will not be billed". Hmmm... Anyone using hotspot on at&t get something similar notification from at&t?
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App

I have never heard of this before. Can they do that? Being Sarcastic

Got that back in October. Yes they can do that. I just stopped tethering.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App

Yeah. I stopped tethering now. It was kinda weird that at&t sent the letter now.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App

This has been covered all ready. ATT is cracking down on all teathering.

Yep, I posted something about this like a month or so ago.. I got the same letter. I just stopped tethering and have yet to hear anything about my data usage since. And I haven't noticed any throttling either except when they were threatening me about the tethering and such

I also got the same message. I'm actually guessing it was because I jumped from light tethering to a temporary massive download session with it. Gonna lay off for a while and see what comes of it.
Do any of the apps out there (like WiFi Tether for Root Users) actually allow you to tether without them noticing?

voyagerfan99 said:
I also got the same message. I'm actually guessing it was because I jumped from light tethering to a temporary massive download session with it. Gonna lay off for a while and see what comes of it.
Do any of the apps out there (like WiFi Tether for Root Users) actually allow you to tether without them noticing?
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No. There are some that are saying ATT is watching the packets that are being sent. Unless there is a way to make your PC send packets like a mobile device then there is nothing that can be done short of getting a tethering plan.

zelendel said:
No. There are some that are saying ATT is watching the packets that are being sent. Unless there is a way to make your PC send packets like a mobile device then there is nothing that can be done short of getting a tethering plan.
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Adding a tethering plan when you already have an unlimited data plan is really stupid to be honest. But I guess that's American greed for you.

voyagerfan99 said:
Adding a tethering plan when you already have an unlimited data plan is really stupid to be honest. But I guess that's American greed for you.
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Does nobody read the TOS? This has been gone offer alot as of late.
But you are right. The standard of society is motivated by greed.

voyagerfan99 said:
Adding a tethering plan when you already have an unlimited data plan is really stupid to be honest. But I guess that's American greed for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
American greed? Maybe you better look at non-American cellular plans before you jump on that wagon. You are fortunate to be on a so called unlimited plan. Second your plan was technically never unlimited. 5GB fair use clause in the TOS that you never took the time to read.
ATT has let users slide for years with tethering and I can't remember ever being allowed to tether on an ATT plan without a tethering plan. It is one thing to use it for occassional email or browsing, but it is another to use it for streaming or online video games. It is that abuse that ruins it for everyone. So where is the greed? Is it the US cellular companies which are trying to keep it fair for everyone to enjoy fast and reliable service or is it in the consumer that is given an inch and takes a mile and then calls foul.
There is nothing wierd that anyone tethering, whether small amounts or massive amounts, is getting a letter. How many threads like this have been started? It is well known. ATT and the other major carriers have made it clear. No tethering without a plan. And they are cracking down and they mean it.

Agoattamer said:
American greed? Maybe you better look at non-American cellular plans before you jump on that wagon. You are fortunate to be on a so called unlimited plan. Second your plan was technically never unlimited. 5GB fair use clause in the TOS that you never took the time to read.
ATT has let users slide for years with tethering and I can't remember ever being allowed to tether on an ATT plan without a tethering plan. It is one thing to use it for occassional email or browsing, but it is another to use it for streaming or online video games. It is that abuse that ruins it for everyone. So where is the greed? Is it the US cellular companies which are trying to keep it fair for everyone to enjoy fast and reliable service or is it in the consumer that is given an inch and takes a mile and then calls foul.
There is nothing wierd that anyone tethering, whether small amounts or massive amounts, is getting a letter. How many threads like this have been started? It is well known. ATT and the other major carriers have made it clear. No tethering without a plan. And they are cracking down and they mean it.
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I totally agree. 10chars

Only thing that gets me is everyone releasing all this new online crap, cloud storage, music/video streaming etc and now they're capping you on data usage. It's almost like its 1997 again and we're paying for AOL by the hour lol... At least having a 5gb package instead of the normal 2gb would be a bit more reasonable
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

I've been warned before for something from AT&T I had hacked facetime on my iPhone 3gs they sent me a text saying that my phone wasn't registered for a facetime plan and then after that I guess there were characters my phone didn't recognize and half the message was in squares. The first day I had my iPhone though I had gotten a text and email pretty much telling me to stop tethering even though my iPhone wasn't even "set" up -.- it got me worried but I never got a price change
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

PDANET hides the fact that you are tethering and you do not need root. It only works with bluetooth or USB cable, you can not use hotspot.
Sent from my:
Inspire 4G
w/ Energy Blue Rom
& 4EXT Recovery

If you think that's bad, I got booted off my unlimited plan today for tethering when I havent tethered since October and got the warning text in November :/ The lady at at&t said something about third-party apps using tethering without my knowing and to delete all of them off my phone. Don't know who they are trying to fool

ATT is removing the unlimited plans by any means they can. This is not surprising as they stated publicly that this was the plan. They use the tethering ploy as in common use there is no reason one should be using that much data to be honest with work, family and personal lives. Then add in the fact that wifi is just about everywhere.

AT&T is rubbish.
ATT and sprint belong in the rubbish bin.

Rasa11 said:
AT&T is rubbish.
ATT and sprint belong in the rubbish bin.
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And you think big red is any better or T-Mobile? They are all doing it. It is about money plain and simple. This is nothing new or surprising

Donate me a few million and I will build us a satellite and we can have all our own service running 15g jkjk I'm tired of restrictions is all... I mean the new T-Mobile commercial says hey you get unlimited everything for 50$ a month then in fine print it says " after 100mb of 4g you're speeds get dropped to 2g" like wtf really? What's the point of having unlimited 2g? I mean I am on a plan with 2gigs of data but only have edge where I'm at I'm glad to have wifi where ever I'm at so it doesn't bother me too much but for companies to say they give us the best and then only give us a taste and tease us with it should be illegal -.-
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

So AT&T is up to their tricks again....

I come home today and find a letter from AT&T and open it up (thinking this outta be good)...Apparently they finally figured out the way they're gonna force us (those in grandfathered unlimited data plans) off. Their letter goes as following:
"Dear (My Name)
We've noticed your service plan may need updating.
Many AT&T customers use their smartphones as a broadband connection for other devices, like laptops, netbooks or other smartphones- a practice commonly known as tethering. Tethering can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T's mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with important people and information. To take advantage of this feature, we require that you have a tethering plan.
Our records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our tethering plan.
If you would like to continue tethering, please log into your account online at www.wireless.att.com, or call us 866-975-0003, Mon-Fri, 6am-midnight or Sat-Sun, 8am-9pm CT, by the end of this month sign up for a plan that allows tethering. Viable plans include the DataPro 5GB for Smartphone plan, the DataPro Enterprise plan, or any of our AT&T Mobile Share plans."
They then go on to list both plans priced $50 and $65 then go on to say "If we don't hear from you, we'll plan to automatically enroll you in one of the above individual Smartphone DataPro 5GB plans in an upcoming bill cycle........If you discontinue tethering by the end of the month, no changes to your current plan will be required."
Funny thing is I don't tether and any usage has been me watching netflix, youtube videos, downloading files from threads here and browsing the web. I wanna complete listing of these alleged "records" they speak of because I'll be damned if they get me off my unlimited data plan!

I got the same letter today. Also got a text
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It's based strictly on usage. I routinely use my phone as a mobile hot spot for my laptop, but only when absolutely necessary and only for a few MB at a time. I've never once heard from AT&T. Meanwhile, I know someone who never tethers to their phone (why would they when they have a mobile wifi router FROM AT&T?). They do, however, smoke through 3-4GB of data per month, as they use their phone in lieu of a laptop when on the road. Now, not that I would ever piece together what I've learned through casual conversation with an AT&T employee or two, but they've both suggested that something like this might resolve the situation if you're ever presented with it:
1. Call AT&T. Ask for supervisor right away--don't waste time with the peons.
2. Ask for the supervisor's name and number. Write them down. Inform supervisor that you received the letter, but do not tether and never have. Ask what "records" they're pulling from. You'll probably get a "usage" reply. If so:
3. Ask them how simple data usage can indicate whether you're tethering or not. They'll most likely say that the amount of data you're using is indicative of tethering.
4. Ask whether your plan contains unlimited data. The answer, of course, is yes. State once again that you do not tether, and as your plan has unlimited data linked to it, they cannot use the amount of data you consume as evidence of tethering.
5. Without giving the supervisor a chance to talk, quickly state that unless they can produce for you documentary evidence of cell data traffic being generated by a device tethered to your phone (here's a hint--they can only see your phone's data, they can't see anything connected to it), you expect them to honor the unlimited data agreement you have with them, and any attempt on their part to move you onto a different plan will be seen as a breach of that agreement and handled as such. Tell the supervisor that you expect a call from the call center's manager within 24 hours to acknowledge that your plan will not be changed absent documentary evidence of tethering, which you are not engaged in in the first place. Confirm the supervisor's name and number with them, "just in case we have any discrepancies when I talk to the center manager".
Not that I would've ever relied upon friends in the right places to detail such an approach for me or anything, but I have heard through the grapevine that the tethering letter consistently goes out to unlimited data users in certain "usage brackets", and they're banking on us not knowing that their towers can't tell whether the data is coming from our phone or from a laptop tethered to it.

Att did the same thing with Iphone users but it wasn't a bluff.. They knew in fact you were tethering...
I wouldn't be so quick to assume they are going only on data usage..
I'm willing to bet they know the second you tether...
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T.J. Bender said:
It's based strictly on usage. I routinely use my phone as a mobile hot spot for my laptop, but only when absolutely necessary and only for a few MB at a time. I've never once heard from AT&T. Meanwhile, I know someone who never tethers to their phone (why would they when they have a mobile wifi router FROM AT&T?). They do, however, smoke through 3-4GB of data per month, as they use their phone in lieu of a laptop when on the road. Now, not that I would ever piece together what I've learned through casual conversation with an AT&T employee or two, but they've both suggested that something like this might resolve the situation if you're ever presented with it:
1. Call AT&T. Ask for supervisor right away--don't waste time with the peons.
2. Ask for the supervisor's name and number. Write them down. Inform supervisor that you received the letter, but do not tether and never have. Ask what "records" they're pulling from. You'll probably get a "usage" reply. If so:
3. Ask them how simple data usage can indicate whether you're tethering or not. They'll most likely say that the amount of data you're using is indicative of tethering.
4. Ask whether your plan contains unlimited data. The answer, of course, is yes. State once again that you do not tether, and as your plan has unlimited data linked to it, they cannot use the amount of data you consume as evidence of tethering.
5. Without giving the supervisor a chance to talk, quickly state that unless they can produce for you documentary evidence of cell data traffic being generated by a device tethered to your phone (here's a hint--they can only see your phone's data, they can't see anything connected to it), you expect them to honor the unlimited data agreement you have with them, and any attempt on their part to move you onto a different plan will be seen as a breach of that agreement and handled as such. Tell the supervisor that you expect a call from the call center's manager within 24 hours to acknowledge that your plan will not be changed absent documentary evidence of tethering, which you are not engaged in in the first place. Confirm the supervisor's name and number with them, "just in case we have any discrepancies when I talk to the center manager".
Not that I would've ever relied upon friends in the right places to detail such an approach for me or anything, but I have heard through the grapevine that the tethering letter consistently goes out to unlimited data users in certain "usage brackets", and they're banking on us not knowing that their towers can't tell whether the data is coming from our phone or from a laptop tethered to it.
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Exactly! I literally haven't tethered and my data usage did surpass 5GB last month ( I got the infamous text the very last day literally minutes before my billing cycle resets) but is around 3.5 this month....this is a pathetic move on their part to bank on people not opening that letter and change their plan without notice. Once the subscriber notices the call will go something along the lines of "Oh I'm sorry there's nothing we can do as it's a system change and we can not reverse or restore that previous plan." As if I don't pay enough for my monthly plan as it is......corporate greed at its best.

waiters said:
Att did the same thing with Iphone users but it wasn't a bluff.. They knew in fact you were tethering...
I wouldn't be so quick to assume they are going only on data usage..
I'm willing to bet they know the second you tether...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on what those in the know have told me, they have no way of knowing and go solely by usage on Android platforms.
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T.J. Bender said:
Based on what those in the know have told me, they have no way of knowing and go solely by usage on Android platforms.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either that is 100% false or I'm very lucky.. I get throttled from att every month still and in my protest have reached 30gb+..
The only time I got a letter from att I was on an Iphone and was in fact tethering.
I do believe att knew this whole time about tethering but didn't care because they had bigger fish to go after.. Android will eventually level the playing field and att will be concerned with our data usage also.. That might be what you see going on now.. Att trying to go after tethering android users before it becomes a bigger problem...
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T.J. Bender said:
Based on what those in the know have told me, they have no way of knowing and go solely by usage on Android platforms.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
They don't. They just rely on usage patterns to determine if you're a "data hog" and look for backhanded ways to penalize you based on that data ( really only applicable to those remaining unlimited data folks ) If I was on a tiered data plan they could give two ****s what and how I use up data they'd encourage me to rack up all the GB of data I can and smile at the end the billing cycle cause they know I got ****ed good and hard.

Not the first time I have received the letter, all times I had in fact tethered in the month prior.
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Part of me hopes they pull this with me so I can get out of my contract...I used 16 GB a few months ago and no letter though. Oh and I never tether.
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They know if you tether. That's why certain tethering apps have spoof capabilities to mask your ID.
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It's all in HOW the tethering is done. If the app or ROM just simply says to use the built in tethering, then it's very trackable. If the tethering is spoofed to look like the normal data connection, then it can't be tracked.

dakpluto said:
It's all in HOW the tethering is done. If the app or ROM just simply says to use the built in tethering, then it's very trackable. If the tethering is spoofed to look like the normal data connection, then it can't be tracked.
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Click to collapse
All I use is foxfi and got the letter FWIW
And no, you can't get put of your contract with att on something like this ....its in the fine print that they can change pretty much whatever they want.
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00mred00 said:
All I use is foxfi and got the letter FWIW
And no, you can't get put of your contract with att on something like this ....its in the fine print that they can change pretty much whatever they want.
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Click to collapse
Fine print isn't automatically legally binding. That guy sued AT&T for throttling and won.
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Sheolrock said:
Fine print isn't automatically legally binding. That guy sued AT&T for throttling and won.
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That guy won simply because it was proven they were throttling him at a lower usage than an equally priced capped plan.

00mred00 said:
And no, you can't get put of your contract with att on something like this ....its in the fine print that they can change pretty much whatever they want.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Legally, you are correct.
However, if you speak to the right people, anything is possible; ESPECIALLY if you've been a customer in good standing for a long time.
Not saying it could happen, just saying it's possible. I missed out on unlimited data, but I do agree with the person on page 1 who numbered out the steps. That is definitely the right way to go.

liquidzoo said:
Legally, you are correct.
However, if you speak to the right people, anything is possible; ESPECIALLY if you've been a customer in good standing for a long time.
Not saying it could happen, just saying it's possible. I missed out on unlimited data, but I do agree with the person on page 1 who numbered out the steps. That is definitely the right way to go.
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Click to collapse
I agree with post on page 1 for sure. I wouldn't be very optimistic on being released from contract obligations though
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00mred00 said:
All I use is foxfi and got the letter FWIW
And no, you can't get put of your contract with att on something like this ....its in the fine print that they can change pretty much whatever they want.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used foxfi too... first time this month. Probably around 30mb only, decided to try it to see if it works. I received the exact same mail.
Wonder if I should call or not because it says if you stop they will not switch you over. Now, I'm thinking maybe I should. I spent 3gb last month (our area is not LTE but my phone is LTE). What's the best advice on how to go about calling them? SHould I admit to using it or pretend I didn't.

droidbabyxda said:
I used foxfi too... first time this month. Probably around 30mb only, decided to try it to see if it works. I received the exact same mail.
Wonder if I should call or not because it says if you stop they will not switch you over. Now, I'm thinking maybe I should. I spent 3gb last month (our area is not LTE but my phone is LTE). What's the best advice on how to go about calling them? SHould I admit to using it or pretend I didn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last time I got the letter I just told them I downloaded some app , was unaware of it being an issue, thanked them for the warning and let them know I wpuldnt do it again
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Att probably targets high usage customers for data profiling. When your WoW user agent pops up... bam, they send the letter.
Replace "WoW" with your favorite easily-profiled bandwidth-sapping client, Windows time request, etc.
And that's ignoring any differences between Windows/Linux/android networking stacks that can be finger printed...
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