Database Info

[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...
Click to collapse
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"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+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.

AT&T cracking down on unauthorized Tethering.

http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/18/att-cracks-down-on-tethering-cheaters/
how do they know? think it's purely based on how much data you are using at once time?
Think they are really doing this or just trying to scare people out of tethering?

There's a big thread on this on another iPhone site, but I'm curious how many android users have gotten this email.

Hmmm I could see a class action lawsuit coming from this. Along the same lines as when Apple tried to make jailbreaking illeagal. Personally I don't see a problem we are using the data we pay for. It should be up to us how we use it.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

what about a class action lawsuit about att 4G BS??
on att map, it shows i have 4G coverage in bayarea, CA but my speedtest never go higher than 4mb! speedtest on inspire 4G is the same as any 3G phones!

I tether once in a while, usually while on vacation. I did not get any notice. I seem to think this is triggered by data usage. I only use about 1GB a month.
Those of you that got notified, how much data do you use in a typical month?

Wow. I too think it's a 5GB or so trigger.

It's more the gateway than anything else. MyWi enables the broadband or ISP.cingular gateway. If we ensure we are going through the wap.cingular gateway then it is less likely. In addition, I would suggest anyone running anything close to stock edit your database in /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/telephony.DB and ensure that anything in the area of 410310 doesn't say broadband or ISP.cingular, but wap.cingular or phone instead.

bedwa said:
It's more the gateway than anything else. MyWi enables the broadband or ISP.cingular gateway. If we ensure we are going through the wap.cingular gateway then it is less likely. In addition, I would suggest anyone running anything close to stock edit your database in /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/telephony.DB and ensure that anything in the area of 410310 doesn't say broadband or ISP.cingular, but wap.cingular or phone instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info, so if you changed your APN to wap.cingular would that do it?

The email in the link says AT&T sends text messages when we hit certain percentages of data used. I have never received such a message. Are they supposed to be automatic, or do I have to enable them?

gunnyman said:
http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/18/att-cracks-down-on-tethering-cheaters/
how do they know? think it's purely based on how much data you are using at once time?
Think they are really doing this or just trying to scare people out of tethering?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say it is a little of both. This is nothing new, not even for AT&T.
Ultimately what it comes down to is, the amount of data you move at one time, services requested and types of packets sent/received. Everything which can be monitored on an automated basis.
For thethering I try not to over-do it, but only use it when I need it.
As far as I am concerned, I already pay for data usage and I should not be restricted on how I use it.

I have read people using 20+ gb a month. Those people deserve to be capped. They are the reason why capped data plans came in the first place. With that said how At&t is detecting this through browser Id's or Ttl is a mystery for now.o
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App

I've consistently used more than 5 gigs a month the last few months and I don't even tether much at all. The vast majority of my data use occurs on my device.
*Haven't seen the aforementioned text or email btw
Via the XDA app for the HTC Inspire

Simba501 said:
I've consistently used more than 5 gigs a month the last few months and I don't even tether much at all. The vast majority of my data use occurs on my device.
*Haven't seen the aforementioned text or email btw
Via the XDA app for the HTC Inspire
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto what they said.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

Simba501 said:
I've consistently used more than 5 gigs a month the last few months and I don't even tether much at all. The vast majority of my data use occurs on my device.
*Haven't seen the aforementioned text or email btw
Via the XDA app for the HTC Inspire
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
7.5-8 for me, mostly Pandora.

I know this is the Inspire thread but I've been thethering with my HTC pure for months now (between 3-8gb) and have never heard anything... I wonder if it's because I'm directing my data through MediaNet or if I've been lucky so far.

Everything I'm reading says iPhone owners are the only ones getting notices.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

I wonder if they built something into the stock ROM that allows them to track and if by using custom ROMs we avoid detection.

$10 per GB is to much. I see if you upgrade your phone you can not keep your unlimited plan. 4GB is not enough if you do everything from your personal communication device.

I don't think it's unfair for AT&T to bump users off of unlimited plans if they are tethering with their device...the Smartphone data plan is for the phone...not for devices attached to the phone...they did have a 60 dollar tethering plan back in the day that was unlimited on the phone and 5GB for connected devices...I disagree more with AT&T capping DSL/Uverse more than I disagree with Mobile broadband caps...since a smartphone isn't supposed to be a person's primary source for internet

steezee said:
I don't think it's unfair for AT&T to bump users off of unlimited plans if they are tethering with their device...the Smartphone data plan is for the phone...not for devices attached to the phone...they did have a 60 dollar tethering plan back in the day that was unlimited on the phone and 5GB for connected devices...I disagree more with AT&T capping DSL/Uverse more than I disagree with Mobile broadband caps...since a smartphone isn't supposed to be a person's primary source for internet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree completely. That's like saying a loaf of bread is $3, but if you're going to use it for grilled cheese it's $10. Both loaves make sandwiches, who cares what kind it is. In the end, you'll eventually run out of bread (unless you were grandfathered in).

Tethering with out plan! Message from att

My friend and I added a new apn from the steps in forum to allow tethering without a plan, well I rarely use mine but he uses his a little more to pay bills and such online through his laptop. He received a message yesterday from ATT stating that this sim is not authorized for tethering and to stop. From what I read I thought they were only catching those with the cryphone. Are they starting to look for others too, what's the deal we r both grandfathered in on the unlimited plan, it shouldn't matter how I use my mobile internet its the same wether I use it in my phone or tether through our laptops.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

vwood2121 said:
but he uses his a little more to pay bills and such online through his laptop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can pay most bills with the smartphone browsers. i only tether for streaming stock quotes (java applets) when i'm away from home. can your ipad or ipad2 does that? haha
this is why i rather carry my sony 4.5" UMPC when i'm away from home.

vwood2121 said:
My friend and I added a new apn from the steps in forum to allow tethering without a plan, well I rarely use mine but he uses his a little more to pay bills and such online through his laptop. He received a message yesterday from ATT stating that this sim is not authorized for tethering and to stop. From what I read I thought they were only catching those with the cryphone. Are they starting to look for others too, what's the deal we r both grandfathered in on the unlimited plan, it shouldn't matter how I use my mobile internet its the same wether I use it in my phone or tether through our laptops.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nooo! This is very concerning....
I also agree that everyone should be able to use their monthly allotted amount of data however they please.
Via the XDA app for the HTC Inspire

It was going to happen eventually. It's the cell phone equivalent of stealing cable. Most companies don't take kindly to losing money on hacked features.

Divinedark said:
It was going to happen eventually. It's the cell phone equivalent of stealing cable. Most companies don't take kindly to losing money on hacked features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
huh??
i have the 2GB plan, does it really matter how i use that 2GB? (laptop or phone?)
if i have cable, i can hook it up any ways i want! (to 50" HDTV, desktop, or laptop)

It's bad enough they (at&t) screwed themselves with the ipads, but now you they really want to be like apple n charge you twice because of it. Why should you have to have 2 data plans to use 1 data feature anyway?

I think it was really more for people like me that have unlimited data plans. I can use an ass-load more data with my laptop than I could with my phone.
Either way, a feature is a feature is a feature. They aren't the first, and they won't be the last big company to charge for stuff like that. As much as you or I don't agree with it (I really hate stuff like this), it's not enough to justify theft. I refuse to pay for tethering, so I just don't do it...
Also, if you read some of the Android guru's talking about the handset manufacturers all starting to lock their bootloaders. This is the reason. Before, when it was just us goofing about with our own devices and hurting noone, especially not the carrier, they couldn't care less. As we start moving into LTE with a tethering option, you'll see almost every single Android handset maker locking their phones down. Just look at the Thunderbolt... HTC has always been a big proponent of the Android dev scene, but they signed that bootloader. If you think it was for any other reason than to stop people from tethering and flooding Verizon's LTE network, you're crazy. Verizon may have forced their hand, but it's still done. Neither AT&T or Verizon want to have to deal with what AT&T had to with the iPhone saturation killing their network speeds(and the crap reputation it's brought them) when it comes to their new LTE networks. They'll do whatever they have to in order to guarantee the majority of their customers get a pleasant network experience. Even if that means making "Suggestions" to handset makers. Motorola did it, HTC did it, Samsung is next, then LG. And ultimately, we're going to be the ones to blame. That's just the way I've been seeing things. I may be completely off base...
*NOTE* The thunderbold has been hacked. Maybe there's hope after all.

At this point I don't really care anymore. If AT&T ever delivers 4G speeds I won't have to tether. Charge me, don't charge me, whatever. Being an AT&T customer is exhausting.
Sent from Desire HD or Inspire 4G or whatever this thing is called via premium XDA app.

I had AT&T update my IMEI because I was going to be using a non-smartphone for "traveling" and had them put in an unlimited $10 data. Went ahead and popped my SIM into my Inspire, and I've only gotten two messages and an e-mail that they recognized I'm using a 4G SIM and that they've changed my plan accordingly. I called and checked my account online, and both show that I've still got the feature, so it's been working; plus, I've been using WiFi hotspot for my laptop this whole time.
Hope they don't catch on!

lrs421 said:
At this point I don't really care anymore. If AT&T ever delivers 4G speeds I won't have to tether. Charge me, don't charge me, whatever. Being an AT&T customer is exhausting.
Sent from Desire HD or Inspire 4G or whatever this thing is called via premium XDA app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not going to get 4G speeds with HSPA+. It's a 3.5G technology. The same thing that T-Mobile has been touting as 4G for the last year. They had great speed on their network because no one was using it... That's not being mean, it's just the way it is. If AT&T has this infrastructure and it was only 40% utilized, every current 4G phone (Atrix & Inspire) would be getting 10-14mb down.
I'm in Northern Atlanta (The home of AT&T wireless), and I get 5mb down and 2mb up late at night. During prime time, I pull 2.5mb down and 2mb up.
This will all change when AT&T starts rolling out their LTE network. It should be showing the exact same speeds as Verizon's. They're both similar in size, and running the exact same technology.

[Q] Tethering Police?

Has anyone actually been caught by the tethering police? I mean have they sent you a notice or anything?
Also, do you think I would be caught? I have used between 11 to 20 gigs a month for 6 months straight with my previous phone(Tilt2) and now I that I have the Infuse, would they even know If I was tethering or not since I would be using the same amount of data as I previously have?
Any input would be appreciated

Without trying to sound like a jerk, you do realize it's people like you that are the reason they have to police it in the first place?
20 gigs isn't off the charts outrageous, cause there are guys that say they've used up to 50 gigs in a month. Every time my bill goes up, I say a thank you to each one of you.

antuus said:
Without trying to sound like a jerk, you do realize it's people like you that are the reason they have to police it in the first place?
20 gigs isn't off the charts outrageous, cause there are guys that say they've used up to 50 gigs in a month. Every time my bill goes up, I say a thank you to each one of you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App

antuus said:
Without trying to sound like a jerk, you do realize it's people like you that are the reason they have to police it in the first place?
20 gigs isn't off the charts outrageous, cause there are guys that say they've used up to 50 gigs in a month. Every time my bill goes up, I say a thank you to each one of you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't really answer my question... but hey, thanks!!

antuus said:
Without trying to sound like a jerk, you do realize it's people like you that are the reason they have to police it in the first place?
20 gigs isn't off the charts outrageous, cause there are guys that say they've used up to 50 gigs in a month. Every time my bill goes up, I say a thank you to each one of you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
10characters

Thanks for the tiered data.
Hope you do get caught.
Sent from my Infuse 4G

antuus said:
Without trying to sound like a jerk, you do realize it's people like you that are the reason they have to police it in the first place?
20 gigs isn't off the charts outrageous, cause there are guys that say they've used up to 50 gigs in a month. Every time my bill goes up, I say a thank you to each one of you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well if he stops know, theyll suspect something!
tbh, i pay for unlimited data. ive tethered a few times but not more than checking that i can or to run speed tests. even though i dont really tether, i still use alot of data. thats why i have the unlimited data plan. att knows this. ive been paying them for years to know this.

The Jack of Clubs said:
well if he stops know, theyll suspect something!
tbh, i pay for unlimited data. ive tethered a few times but not more than checking that i can or to run speed tests. even though i dont really tether, i still use alot of data. thats why i have the unlimited data plan. att knows this. ive been paying them for years to know this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not going to get into the "well unlimited is unlimited and why does it matter how I use my unlimited." That's an argument that I feel both sides has a good argument for, so why waste the time.
I have no issues if you download gigs of porn to your phone, month after month. My issue is with the people that tether to excess just because they can. I can't tell you how thankful I am that ATT did lose a good amount of customers to VZW when the iP4 hit their shelves. Now those fanboys are bogging down the VZW network and not ours. Now I can only hope that more of these guys look for greener pastures so my bill stops inflating.

att prepared for the iphone originally with its separate apn and all that. it helped but you saw more iphones with down service than other phone users. really set up a bad name for att. has anybody even bought the iphone on verizon? i remember the launch day being a flop, havent really kept up with apple news since then.

antuus said:
I'm not going to get into the "well unlimited is unlimited and why does it matter how I use my unlimited." That's an argument that I feel both sides has a good argument for, so why waste the time.
I have no issues if you download gigs of porn to your phone, month after month. My issue is with the people that tether to excess just because they can. I can't tell you how thankful I am that ATT did lose a good amount of customers to VZW when the iP4 hit their shelves. Now those fanboys are bogging down the VZW network and not ours. Now I can only hope that more of these guys look for greener pastures so my bill stops inflating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not tether on excess just because I can. I do it because I have no other means to connect to the internet and It wouldn't be the same on my phone's browser. Yes it has a flash player plugin, but that doesn't mean I can do everything I can do in a computer environment. If I had access to internet by any other means, then I wouldn't tether from my phone. There was no need for you or anyone to be harsh to me without hearing my side of the story thank you very much.

MikeyMike01 said:
Thanks for the tiered data.
Hope you do get caught.
Sent from my Infuse 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree. If I tether a lot in a month, MAYBE I'll cross 2 gigs. I make a point of keeping my tethering light.
However with the new phone I suspect I'll come closer to that 2gig limit a lot more often. (Fortunately I don't have it, since I'm unlimited.)
But 11-20 gigs/month without paying for tethering is just plain irresponsible. With abuse like that I'm surprised you haven't gotten busted and I wouldn't feel sorry for you if you did.

I had a grandfather plan - $20/mo unlimited data.
I've changed 5 or 6 smartphones since I had it, now on Infuse 4G, I'm getting the sucky-ass AT&T 4G speeds, tether to laptop when needed - no tethering plan.
I don't use that much though, about 2GB/month max.
I asked AT&T rep directly about this - she said they'll never change the plan unless I specifically allow it. She said they can't switch me.

well, there is that tethermanager.apk on stock that seems to report back to AT&T if you're tethering.
then if they feel like it they will text you and say "don't keep doing it or we'll swap you to the tethering plan"
you can freeze that with titanium backup (well you need to be rooted too) and that reactivates the stock tethering stuff built into the phone (both mobile ap and usb tethering)

hwaters said:
well, there is that tethermanager.apk on stock that seems to report back to AT&T if you're tethering.
then if they feel like it they will text you and say "don't keep doing it or we'll swap you to the tethering plan"
you can freeze that with titanium backup (well you need to be rooted too) and that reactivates the stock tethering stuff built into the phone (both mobile ap and usb tethering)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that really isn't helpful(since I have already done all that) but thanks. I'm talking about AT&T's "Tether Police" that monitor data spikes and accuse you of tethering if your data seems different for any other month.

Earlier this year, a At&t added a tethering plan to thousands of accounts based on data usage. They also alerted many more they would do the same. I only know of three people to have this done to them
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

MikeyMike01 said:
Thanks for the tiered data.
Hope you do get caught.
Sent from my Infuse 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1++++++++++++

That's why att sucks ass...
Grapes

I've been unlimited for years now, i don't know nor care how much data I use. I can tether if I want, which means if my home internet goes down and I need my pc, guess what... I'm tethering. I give att $200 per month for my phone plan over the past 4 years at lest, I highly doubt they'll piss me off and attach a tether plan to my account.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App

Rldowney said:
Earlier this year, a At&t added a tethering plan to thousands of accounts based on data usage. They also alerted many more they would do the same. I only know of three people to have this done to them
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While what you say isn't exactly what happened they have been flagging a very large percentage iPhone users who have tethered even for a matter of 3 minutes.
I currently have an iPhone 4 (should finally have my INFUSE today) and only one time have tethered and probably for less than 30 seconds just to see if the Cydia app worked. All I did was go to speedtest.net and ran the test 2 or 3 times. That was it. About 2 weeks later I got the WARNING text. Plan was never changed. They only will change it if you ignore their warning(s) and do not call them to "discuss" it as they request in their text.
As for me, traveling in North, Central and South NJ, AT&T 3G is virtually useless. Speeds are terrible and the latency is horrendous. I have no idea how people can actually regularly use tethering. I guess it's better in other areas. Been that way through 3 iPhones over 4+ years so I have no desire to tether anyway.

I think the tethering and data caps are completely separate issues. ATT had a plan, or at least the idea, for tiered data plans long before the iPhone was even capable of tethering without being jailbroken. Tethering plans are complete bull****, and I'm sure the FCC will eventually make them illegal. If you pay for a data connection, you should be able to use it any way you want. It's like ATT trying to charge you for the separate phones in your house (or at least a premium to allow you to use more than just one phone). I also think the tethering police are a joke too. I'm sure (especially since they allow sideloading), that any kind of traffic that can be generating by a computer can be replicated in android.

T-Mobile now charging 14.99 for wifi sharing

This is bull****. Yesterday I was using my mobile ap on my computer and everything was going fine. Then a message popped up in my browser saying to continue using the mobile ap I need to add it to my plan for 14.99. Idk about all of you but I've had no problems since I got this phone at launch using the wifi sharing is there a way around this cuz T-Mobile is really starting to piss me off.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App

azcledel said:
This is bull****. Yesterday I was using my mobile ap on my computer and everything was going fine. Then a message popped up in my browser saying to continue using the mobile ap I need to add it to my plan for 14.99. Idk about all of you but I've had no problems since I got this phone at launch using the wifi sharing is there a way around this cuz T-Mobile is really starting to piss me off.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, don't use the t-mobile tether app download wifi tether for root users from the market and use that. I'm assuming you are rooted?

Yea I'm rooted lol I've tried 3 tethring apps off the market and they had the same result as the built in one. I can't find the one your talking about tho. All I'm finding is the ones I already tried.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App

I used pda net but u got to pay the pro to used https websites so no fb or gmail etc
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App

OP: have you gone over your high-speed data cap? i read somewhere that Tmo mainly charges for tethering if you use a LOT of data. but yeah, that would suck if they are now charging for the use of the data we have already purchased!

yogi2010 said:
OP: have you gone over your high-speed data cap? i read somewhere that Tmo mainly charges for tethering if you use a LOT of data. but yeah, that would suck if they are now charging for the use of the data we have already purchased!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No they changed it all its an added feature now. I got wifi tethering for root users tho. So I think everyone should get it maybe have it included in roms too seeing as tmobile are being cheap *****es now
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App

It sounds like it's not the wifi app that's doing it, but the t-mobile data servers. I imagine they're acting as a captive portal, redirecting pageloads from a browser with a desktop user agent to their nag screen or something along those lines. I use a Sidekick 4G with the stock firmware and wifi app up here in Canada on the Wind network and it's been working fine.
(BTW, Wind beats the crap out of any American carrier! Their plans include free tethering.)

Networks are greedy they suck.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

Jax184 said:
It sounds like it's not the wifi app that's doing it, but the t-mobile data servers. I imagine they're acting as a captive portal, redirecting pageloads from a browser with a desktop user agent to their nag screen or something along those lines. I use a Sidekick 4G with the stock firmware and wifi app up here in Canada on the Wind network and it's been working fine.
(BTW, Wind beats the crap out of any American carrier! Their plans include free tethering.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of the android browsers are able to set user agent as desktop so I doubt it's that. They have blocked the free tether apps from the market and only provide theirs so I think it's just them monitoring their app.
BTW I'm jealous of your free tethering, as soon as the carriers heard people were doing it here they were quick to monopolize on it

Well, if t-mobile is able to interfere with wifi tethering even when you use a third party wifi tethering app, then there must be something else at play. I can't say what though as I'm not on t-mobile.
<brag> Wind is even better than that. $40.00 after tax for unlimited calling, unlimited long distance to US/Can, unlimited text messaging to anywhere on earth, unlimited data with tethering. And I get that whenever I'm connect to a Wind tower, anywhere in Canada. It doesn't distinguish between my home city and another. And no contract. It's prepaid! </brag>

Jax184 said:
Well, if t-mobile is able to interfere with wifi tethering even when you use a third party wifi tethering app, then there must be something else at play. I can't say what though as I'm not on t-mobile.
<brag> Wind is even better than that. $40.00 after tax for unlimited calling, unlimited long distance to US/Can, unlimited text messaging to anywhere on earth, unlimited data with tethering. And I get that whenever I'm connect to a Wind tower, anywhere in Canada. It doesn't distinguish between my home city and another. And no contract. It's prepaid! </brag>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I mean is they block them in the actual market, like you can't download them. They have no way of monitoring 3rd party apps, that's why I think almost all US carriers have capped data so they can try and stop some.
Not fair man, US needs to get on bord with the contract free stuff. A cheap cell phone plan here for unlimitted is $80 a month and that comes with a 2 year contract, at&t and verizon charge around $120 for unlimitted

Have you tried sneaking one of the third party apps on to see how it works?
That's staggeringly awful. This is the most featureful cell phone plan available, and it's $40. I'm told that people in another province got the plan for $35 at one point.

Yeah we have to side load the apps, google search and download from the browser. I've had a copy in my sd card since the g1 days when things were good lol.
We also have at&t trying to buy out t-mobile which would more than likely drive prices up further. there are a few pay as you go carriers that offer cheaper plans for unlimitted data and text (around $40) but the minutes are rarely unlimited, the data is slower, and they are buying towers off the bigger companies so coverage is usually terrible

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but I've always gotten Wireless Tether straight from the Google Code site. It always has the very latest versions, but somtimes earlier ones are the more stable.
http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/downloads/list

xmeatizmurderx said:
What I mean is they block them in the actual market, like you can't download them. They have no way of monitoring 3rd party apps, that's why I think almost all US carriers have capped data so they can try and stop some.
Not fair man, US needs to get on bord with the contract free stuff. A cheap cell phone plan here for unlimitted is $80 a month and that comes with a 2 year contract, at&t and verizon charge around $120 for unlimitted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dunno man, I got 2 unlim calling lines and 2 lines with their own 500 minutes. All 4 lines have unlim SMS and data (throttled after 2gb), and I pay $132. BUT, I'm on contract. Shoot, for these prices I'd sign up for a 20yr contract lol.

farfromovin said:
I dunno man, I got 2 unlim calling lines and 2 lines with their own 500 minutes. All 4 lines have unlim SMS and data (throttled after 2gb), and I pay $132. BUT, I'm on contract. Shoot, for these prices I'd sign up for a 20yr contract lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's the only way you can get a good deal, if you have several lines on an account. Unfortunately us americans aren't into the whole "sharing" thing so finding people to sign up with you tends to be difficult ;P

What?
EDIT: Only post paid costumers have that issue... prepaid still doesn't have the tethering service available... so it is enabled by default. http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/addons...PAsset=InternetEmail&tp=Svc_Tab_TetheringWifi
I'm not sure what everyone is talking about... I'm wifi tethering and I've never seen that message. I only tether to a linux computer though. I'm also on the $30 5GB 4G prepaid plan, with unlimited text and 100 mins (I voip with grooVe).
Maybe they are attacking specific customers... I don't think wifi sharing is even an option for prepaid. Perhaps I should stop paying a month in advanced.

oldarney said:
EDIT: Only post paid costumers have that issue... prepaid still doesn't have the tethering service available... so it is enabled by default. http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/addons...PAsset=InternetEmail&tp=Svc_Tab_TetheringWifi
I'm not sure what everyone is talking about... I'm wifi tethering and I've never seen that message. I only tether to a linux computer though. I'm also on the $30 5GB 4G prepaid plan, with unlimited text and 100 mins (I voip with grooVe).
Maybe they are attacking specific customers... I don't think wifi sharing is even an option for prepaid. Perhaps I should stop paying a month in advanced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way tmobile explained it to me was they noticed ppl using it and changed their service if your using it and not getting the message its only a matter of time according to the reps I spoke to. I'm thinking the more data you use that gets picked up as being sent through mobile ap the quicker they catch on and slap you with the message and put a stop to it
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App

So I'm still getting the tmobile page when I tether to my computer even when using wif tether for root users... this sucks :-/
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App

oldarney said:
EDIT: Only post paid costumers have that issue... prepaid still doesn't have the tethering service available... so it is enabled by default.
I'm not sure what everyone is talking about... I'm wifi tethering and I've never seen that message. I only tether to a linux computer though. I'm also on the $30 5GB 4G prepaid plan, with unlimited text and 100 mins (I voip with grooVe).
Maybe they are attacking specific customers... I don't think wifi sharing is even an option for prepaid. Perhaps I should stop paying a month in advanced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on T-mobile prepaid monthly 4g plan, rooted running GingerClone ROM on my Sidekick 4g, and I've had no problem tethering. (mostly just testing it out to see if it works, running speed tests etc.)
I can see how T-mobile cracks down on post-paid plans running stock software, but with a prepaid plan on a wifi-sharing-capable phone with a custom ROM, I'm in the clear, right? T-mobile can't block tethering or charge me for it?
But ya, charging $14.99 to tether using data that you're already paying for is a complete scam. Seems like a class action suit waiting to happen.