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Is it ethical to use tethering without paying for the "tethering service plan"? If I pay for xGb/month shouldn't I be able to use that bandwidth in anyway I see fit?
Ethical? Nope. It's part of your contract you agreed to when you signed up for a service plan. If you want to tether, you've got to pay.
Now as to whether or not you care, that's up to you.
omegafiler said:
Ethical? Nope. It's part of your contract you agreed to when you signed up for a service plan. If you want to tether, you've got to pay.
Now as to whether or not you care, that's up to you.
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Just because it's part of your contract doesn't mean it's ethical. That's like saying "Because you signed a contract saying you will give me your first born child in exchange for this Evo 3D, it must be ethical".
I agree with carriers that computers use data at a faster rate than phones (as in they are more capable), but they don't give us many choices. With carrier such as AT&T, without a doubt you should be able to use your 2GB as you see fit. It's not a lot to begin with and it's capped. With unlimited data carriers, we should be given a bucket of data for tethering each month. It's stupid to pay for tethering when you have unlimited data.
Product F(RED) said:
Just because it's part of your contract doesn't mean it's ethical. That's like saying "Because you signed a contract saying you will give me your first born child in exchange for this Evo 3D, it must be ethical".
I agree with carriers that computers use data at a faster rate than phones (as in they are more capable), but they don't give us many choices. With carrier such as AT&T, without a doubt you should be able to use your 2GB as you see fit. It's not a lot to begin with and it's capped. With unlimited data carriers, we should be given a bucket of data for tethering each month. It's stupid to pay for tethering when you have unlimited data.
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Agreed. The label "unlimited" is BS in general.
If $30 buys me unlimited data, then why does my family member (same house and account) have to pay another $30? Do you pay for each device you connect to DSL? Of course not. (Heard this argument on cnet...Molly Wood, I think.)
You are definitely breaking their arbitrary rules, but I wouldn't call it unethical. Assuming you're still limited to 2GB, how is it harming the carrier? Why are they entitled to the extra revenue? Are they doing anything to allow you to tether? How did consumers lose this argument?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
agreed.
ethics and contractual obligations are two different things in usa.
omegafiler said:
Ethical? Nope. It's part of your contract you agreed to when you signed up for a service plan. If you want to tether, you've got to pay.
Now as to whether or not you care, that's up to you.
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Just like how it's not ethical to charge people extra for the ways that they're using the data that they PAID for.
What's next? Internet service providers start charging people extra for using streaming services (ala netflix) or watching copious amount of youtube videos? I know XDA don't have the power compare to lobbyists, but don't be stupid enough to think that it's somehow illogical and unethical for using the data that you signed up for (be it on your phone or on your laptop). Bandwidth cap I can understand (because if you use more than 5gb a month on your phone, you need psychological help), but dictating HOW a user can use their data is absolutely not.
Product F(RED) said:
Just because it's part of your contract doesn't mean it's ethical. That's like saying "Because you signed a contract saying you will give me your first born child in exchange for this Evo 3D, it must be ethical".
I agree with carriers that computers use data at a faster rate than phones (as in they are more capable), but they don't give us many choices. With carrier such as AT&T, without a doubt you should be able to use your 2GB as you see fit. It's not a lot to begin with and it's capped. With unlimited data carriers, we should be given a bucket of data for tethering each month. It's stupid to pay for tethering when you have unlimited data.
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I suppose it just depends on your personal view point here. There isn't a right or wrong answer to the question. Some may feel it's wrong, some may not. Personally I think it's dumb. I'm just saying you agreed to a contract. So if you then decide some of the fine print was dumb and would rather disagree, that's up to you.
But it's pretty easy to make an argument for it being "unethical" to ignore portions of a contract you agreed to because you don't like it.
lude219 said:
Just like how it's not ethical to charge people extra for the ways that they're using the data that they PAID for.
What's next? Internet service providers start charging people extra for using streaming services (ala netflix) or watching copious amount of youtube videos? I know XDA don't have the power compare to lobbyists, but don't be stupid enough to think that it's somehow illogical and unethical for using the data that you signed up for (be it on your phone or on your laptop). Bandwidth cap I can understand (because if you use more than 5gb a month on your phone, you need psychological help), but dictating HOW a user can use their data is absolutely not.
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Net Neutrality prevents that but lately it's been losing to asshole lobbyists that are on ISP and Cell Phone network payrolls. Verizon and MetroPCS specifically voted against it. Verizon is officially going to start tiering and throttling data in the summer and MetroPCS already charges you $10 more for being able to visit YouTube and other sites.
If I am paying for unlimited data i deserve to get unlimited data and use it however I wish
Product F(RED) said:
Net Neutrality prevents that but lately it's been losing to asshole lobbyists that are on ISP and Cell Phone network payrolls. Verizon and MetroPCS specifically voted against it. Verizon is officially going to start tiering and throttling data in the summer and MetroPCS already charges you $10 more for being able to visit YouTube and other sites.
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I can't believe this is even a political issue...it's embarrassing. Just one more thing that causes the rest of the world to look at us and laugh.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
Is it ethical to use your home internet on 1 device or on a few trough a router?
I have seen a few ISPs who thought it wasn't, and can you imagine what happened to them?
Yes, they went bankrupt
It's a no-brainer...YES
All they are trying to do is preventing from using too much data and so they don't have to pay for it. And anyways the companies are out to make money and they find anyway possible to make consumers pay for things that at times doesn't cost them anything, why should you worry about your contract a lot of times they break the rules all the time. I remember I was in a two year contract and when sprint and nextel merged my unlimited text messages went from 5 dlls to 15 I went in to the store and called over the phone and they didn't do anything about it they just changed my plan without me knowing and their excuse was that "Now text messages are consider a feature and not part of the contract and my text are not part of my contract anymore" right there who cares what you do with with the amount of data usage. Don't think if it is ethical or not, they aren't always ethical either, to put it in another perspective to look at it! (sorry for the long story there)
johnston9234 said:
If I am paying for unlimited data i deserve to get unlimited data and use it however I wish
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I agree with you there, I had a problem with an ISP once that I was using too much bandwidth on an unlimited plan(Cable Internet). They felt the need to cap my dl speeds to 50kbs from 300kbs. There explanation was that they put me in the "dog house" and said I was using the network for things other than personal use to be consuming all that bandwidth. I ended up arguing with them and they disconnected my service and refused to provide me any. So in the end the ISP or the phone company can screw you over no matter what.
wow. it's ridiculous that they'd even think of charging someone for tethering a phone. it's always been about money, when a greedy moron runs a multi-billion dollar company all they want is money. money money money.
Unlimited data should mean Unlimited data. And this means texting should also be included since it is, in fact, data. It's all data! It all comes down to corporate greed, and nickle & diming the consumers. Why do you think so many people are switching to Vonage (and similar) these days.
Bandwidth cap I can understand (because if you use more than 5gb a month on your phone, you need psychological help), but dictating HOW a user can use their data is absolutely not.[/QUOTE]
How is using more than 5Gb on your phone indicative of psychological instability? I'm not talking about using 20 Gb per month (maybe not even 10). I will
say however that I like to listen to two podcasts a day. That, combined with a few emails,maybe downloading some apps and web surfing I hit the cap almost every month. Back when T-mobile had a 10 Gb cap it was much more comfortable for me and I didn't have to monitor every kilobyte. I'm definitely not talking about copious amounts of data here, and I'm not talking about using it for a replacement for my home broadband. That said, I do feel your remark is offensive.
Sent from either my Nexus S, N1 or telepathically using two tin cans and some string.
Well I'm an AT&T customer and I actually agree on them cracking down on people tethering without paying for it...if people weren't jail-breaking their iPhones to use tethering services without paying for them I think unlimited data might still have been an option for their customers today...I wish they would started doing it a couple years ago... Just because you have unlimited data the TOS that you agreed to has the fine print saying that Unlimited Data applies only to data used on the device by that device not any other connected devices
steezee said:
Well I'm an AT&T customer and I actually agree on them cracking down on people tethering without paying for it...if people weren't jail-breaking their iPhones to use tethering services without paying for them I think unlimited data might still have been an option for their customers today...I wish they would started doing it a couple years ago... Just because you have unlimited data the TOS that you agreed to has the fine print saying that Unlimited Data applies only to data used on the device by that device not any other connected devices
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Of course, that's your opinion, and your entitled to it, as everybody else is on this forum.
steezee said:
Well I'm an AT&T customer and I actually agree on them cracking down on people tethering without paying for it...if people weren't jail-breaking their iPhones to use tethering services without paying for them I think unlimited data might still have been an option for their customers today...I wish they would started doing it a couple years ago... Just because you have unlimited data the TOS that you agreed to has the fine print saying that Unlimited Data applies only to data used on the device by that device not any other connected devices
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Ugggghhhh. When was it ever truly unlimited? The iPhone data plan was 5GB when I got one in 2009. That's a set amount...people should have been allowed to use it in any way. Tethering didn't get you more data in this case (don't think anyway? Did they charge extra or throttle?)...it simply guaranteed that you'd probably use the ACTUAL AMOUNT that you paid for. 5GB is 5GB...they just didn't expect people to actually use it. And when people actually did get their money's worth, AT&T completely screwed everyone with the extra fees.
If you're going to blame anyone, blame AT&T shareholders for demanding outrageous profits.
Not trying to be a jerk, but embracing their viewpoint really doesn't help the consumer cause.
Edit: Assuming Unlimited means Unlimited, I think you're absolutely correct about tethering costing extra. But unlimited in the iPhone's case meant 5GB...they had no right to complain about people using something they already paid for. Isn't this thread addressing whether or not tethering within the cap is ethical?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
AT&T Says it will Move Unlimited Data Customers Who are Tethering to a Tiered Plan
http://androidcommunity.com/att-say...-who-are-tethering-to-a-tiered-plan-20110804/
AT&T has said that starting as soon as August 11th, it will start moving those customers whom they’ve contacted about tethering without a specific tethering plan on to one. Those customers in question will be moved onto AT&T’s Data Pro plus Tethering, giving them 4 GB of data to use for $45 a month.
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You mean they will actually enforce their terms of service all users agreed to?
Shocking. You don't like it, don't agree to it. Simple.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Hold your horses there hotrod and lose the holier than thou facade, I could care less since I don't tether, I just despise the fact that they rape you for the use of data transferring. Data is data is data no matter how you cut it.
I personally believe the carriers should be taken to the cleaners over this issue on principle alone.
/rant
Tx Redneck said:
Hold your horses there hotrod and lose the holier than thou facade, I could care less since I don't tether, I just despise the fact that they rape you for the use of data transferring. Data is data is data no matter how you cut it.
I personally believe the carriers should be taken to the cleaners over this issue on principle alone.
/rant
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Whoah Nellie, that wasn't directed at you at all. My fault. It was directed at those who are sure to complain. I'm with you 100% on this, but I did sign an agreement so i can't complain about it.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
..........
As i've said before in a thread somewhere...I definetly use wifi tether....when i absolutely need it. IE, i'm out of town and not around a wifi hotspot. I do not use it to download, like some others do. I've been using wifi hotspot since February, and not once have i been contacted by AT&T about "illegally" using the hotspot. The difference is...when you are doing something youre not supposed to, common sense says to stay low key and keep a low profile to stay under the radar. This decreases your chances of getting caught. So as far as I am concerned, for those who abuse this feature deserve to get caught and get sent to a tiered plan.
Corporate Greed
I also tether lightly occasionally and have not been contacted ...
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ThEiiNoCeNT said:
I also tether lightly occasionally and have not been contacted ...
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Same here...
Is this the same threat they were spouting about three months ago, when those mass emails went out?
i still have my grandfathered unlimited data plan, and honestly i will fight to keep it. i dont tether. but when the highest plan is $25 for what 2gb i think, and i pay 30 for unlimited i will keep it thank you. but dont really see a reason to tether anyway... where arent you nowadays that doesnt have a free wifi hotspot? hell the grocery store has one here because there is a starbucks inside...
Data is data is data is not correct. Data cost money no matter how u want to look at it. Yes u are paying for a plan with a certain amount of data, lets say 2gb. First they are a company for profit not a non profit company, Most people dont use all there data, not even close to it, and they factor this in before pricing it. Data isnt cheap, while u feel like your paying for 2gb of data, that u should beable to use it how u want, doesnt mean you can tether and increase the amount of data u use.
if everyone who has a 2gb plan for 25 dollars uses 90% of there data or more every month, u would be paying alot more than 25 dollars for internet.
Do u really think when they created unlimited plans they also can give unlimited amounts of data away and it doesnt cost them any extra? while u feel you are being cheated, the ones actually being cheated are the ones not tethering paying high prices for data.
What you are saying is the same thing as saying a bank can give everyone all there money back, or that a insurance company can afford to pay claims for every person that has insurance, its not feasable. If u truely want it that way they would probaly more than double the current price for data if everyone used there max but they count on alot not using it so there cost is down and so is yours.
A couple of things-first off I too have unlimited data and if they decide to alter my plan in any way I will leave and not look back. As far as unlimited data goes, I guess I don't know what it means. If I pay for unlimited I expect to have unlimated why does it matter how I use it. Is there a differnece from downloading something on my phone vs my pc, if not than who cares.
When I stopped at att today the chick was viewinf my account and noticed I don't use that much data on my 3 lines, she was begging me to switch to a 2gb plan, I laughed in her face. Side note- att has no idea of any attain coming.
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@jc,
I read an article a few weeks back that the average cost for an ISP to support 1GB of network traffic is $0.10. Let's say it's double that for a wireless provider even though it's all 1's and 0's, that would mean on average what we pay $25 per month for 2GB of traffic generation only cost the $0.40 to serve.
I agree that they're in it to make money and don't fault them for it, but their profit margin is GROSSLY disproportionate to the Co's most folk like to piss and moan about(Exxon Mobile..).
Tx
http://gigaom.com/broadband/mobile-data-costs-to-jump-7x-for-operators-to-370b-by-2016/
its not as cheap as u think.mobile data is alot more expensive than cable internet or dsl
Btw all major isp's have caps on there unlimited plans, mine is 450gb a month, comcast i think is 250gb. There was also a story recently of a guy that got suspended by cable isp for a few months after exceeding cap, and after he exceeded cap for a second time was suspended for 1 year.
It is your right to switch to a different mobile carrier, but fact is they all have caps. and with att buying tmobile who is left? not many choices.
I use tethering when I really need some Internet in the middle of nowhere where there is no free wifi or free with aircrackng. Att has never said anything because I use less than 400mb of data per month with occasional 1 to 3 gb spikes if I'm tethering or I look down and notice I have ridiculous reception and run a ****load of 200mb tests from testmy.net
If they do say anything about my infrequent tethering resulting in the loss of my unlimited I think I will give testmy.net money so I can have it run the huge test repeatedly for a month.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
I posted the same info in the other similiar thead. For those that don't know it or never read it, there was a 5GB fair use clause for your unlimited data plan. So that might be the magical number to watch.
Ok guys I am gonna close this up. On a side note if you look at the TOS everyone agreed to when then signed the contract it states that as long as ATT sends you an email or a text to notify you, they can change your account to the proper plans.
But no one will know for sure till it hits. Could be they are gonna bring this policy over from tmobile with the merger but till then no one knows for sure.
Thread closed
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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?
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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 -.-
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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...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
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
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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
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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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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.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
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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.
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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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