I currently have AT&T 5GB plan with USB modem on Cradlepoint to LAN at house, and the plan is up.
Other day bro-in-law came over, he gets 13Mbps on his SIII on t-mobile .
I am planning on going with the T-Mobile unlimited $70 monthly if I can get some help on the best way to go.
I have been reading the forums and see that it is possible to get custom ROM and enable tethering.
I don't, however, care about features of the phone itself since it will be sitting in a closet all the time.
Since I am only doing data, what would be the best device to get me at least 6Mbps for Netflix (full 13Mbps or so preferred).
I don't care about things like screen size etc, just ease of installation, stability, and availability of a ROM that will fit my needs.
I need something not super expensive but spending a few hundred is ok.
Thanks!
Tethering on a phone plan costs an extra 20 bucks per month. If you need OTA data only for tethering a couple of pc's, tablets and/or wifi phones, you should go with a hotspot modem - supports up to 5 devices. Speed is dependent on the coverage in your area and your specific location (environmental factors). The modem also gives you flexibility to choose between a monthly subscription for full-time use or a pre-pay option (7- or 30-day expiration) for occasional use.
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/?shape=mblhsp
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/mobile-broadband-plans.aspx
For a single laptop or PC a USB stick might be better (but won't work with tablets, only iOS or Windows)
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx?pkgcatid=InternetDevices&line=1
Coverage:
http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/pcc.aspx/
My opinion would be to buy a grandfathered unlimited data plan for Verizon, choose the $35 voice plan, it'll cost $30 for the data, and if you work at any major corporation can get around 20% off your monthly bill. I did exactly this. I use FoxFi to tether for free. Just have to stay on Gingerbread or root. I get around 20mbs down and average 10mbs everywhere I go. I love it.
Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD using xda app-developers app
I agree with SaurusM3 about getting a USB stick type device instead. My router that is on 24/7 has heat issues sometimes and it has much better cooling than a typical smartphone. If I tried this with my S3 to have it tethering my computer all the time I was using it, I would probably overheat it or just kill the battery (S3 is especially a poor choice since you can't plug it in and run it without the battery - so if it *has* to be a phone, pick carefully) - and even if it could keep it charged, then you run the risk of having the overcharging protection fail and your closet lighting on fire because your device became toast.
I would also not go for a phone because even if you bypassed tethering controls, they might still yank you for excessive use. And there's the possibility that some services just won't work since they'll realise you're tethering.
Can you not get some other kind of Internet service where you live ? Not even some kind of DSL ? If you're getting such great speeds with T-Mobile there it would surprise me that no DSL/et cetera service is covering the area.
Our ISP offers unlimited 15-20Mbps for $30/mo. Why would anyone pay $70/mo for that ? They have a 5-10Mbps for like $25/mo, too. Either way, you could then have a phone plan AND home internet for less than $70/mo.
Phones don't really have the heat management to be on and routing 24/7. It would be best to get one that can have the battery removed and be run off AC power directly and have a cooler - but you're still risking that you'll pay for that and then get cut off by the carrier for excessive / improper use (the contract pretty much states that they can cut you off for whatever they feel like if they think you're abusing the service in any way as dictated by them).
If you really don't have access to a "real" internet service, then consider how 5Gb was working for you - did you always get close / get cut off ?
The key here is 'month to month unlimited for $70' from T-moblie IE 'no contract'. What device will work easily and reliably with a new ROM, works with month to month, will allow tethering, does not cost a fortune.
To answer all very much appreciated, but a little off-topic responses:
I am trying to get a device that will work with the Month to Month plan, ie no commitment, so if it does not work out I am not stuck with any additional fees.
There is no DSL, fiber or cable. I have 1 WISP in my area the is terrible and I won't deal with again.
The 5GB plan is a PITA, I want more data so I can watch the occasional movie or Youtube without worrying about bumping up against the cap.
I am not concerned about it spontaneously combusting in my closet, and will probably just turn it off at night since I do that currently anyway.
As far as over-useage, my understanding is that with a non-commercial ROM, there would be no way for them to track, if I have to I will run it thru a proxy and modify the headers to a mobile browser, if the ROM does not do this already.
I don't see where I can use a non-smart phone device except on the T-mobile 'Mobile Broadband', which is capped and would not do me any good.
Are you saying I can get a Month to Month SIM and use it in a USB modem?
ds
The plan you're looking at is for a phone (only). To add tethering, they offer 500min. talk/no text, & 10GB data w/tethering for $90. The sim is free when you sign up for the plan, but you'll need a T-Mo phone that's capable of the HSPA+/42 UMTS like your bro's SIII.
I'm guessing your live in an area recently upgraded to dual carrier -
From their Internet Services page:
Based on our internal testing and testing commissioned from third-party vendors, T-Mobile expects customers with broadband-capable devices will experience the following speeds on our network:
4G (HSPA+ Dual Carrier/42 UMTS) network: typical download speeds of 4-11 Mbps and upload speeds of 500-1800 Kbps.
4G (HSPA+ 21 UMTS) network: typical download speeds of 2 - 6 Mbps and upload speeds of 500– 1800 Kbps.
3G (HSPA UMTS) network: typical download speeds of 400 – 700 Kbps and upload speeds of 100 - 250 Kbps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And something to look forward to is traffic congestion as more subscribers upgrade, slowing service.
Data sims are used in the internet devices and don't work in phones - probably vice versa as well. But you can buy as many refills as you need each month - so the same 10 GB would cost $100 in refills. Just log in to T-mo to add to your account. For a laptop stick, you'd have to get the T-mobile Jet 3.0 for $175, Also a refurb T-Mobile Sonic Hotspot (not the earlier 4G Hotspot) can be had for $125, and is more versatile. Either is cheaper than any of the newer phones. (Stay away from eBay - they can be reported lost or stolen after you buy them, and subsequently disabled by the carrier - and hacking won't revive them.)
Whatever you do, call them and verify the data speed capability of whatever you decide to buy. (Disclaimer )
Related
I've just pulled my laptop out of storage, and was playing around with tethering it to my iPAQ 910c. Using WinMo's built in internet sharing was a breeze. However, I'm a bit concerned over whether or not I'll be charged anything additional fees for tethering this way (as I've read the data traffic looks different via tether to a wireless provider, and some may charge extra for it).
I'm with Rogers Wireless on their 500 MB smartphone data plan, and couldn't find any solid info (though I did come across this CBC article - http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/08/28/tech-iphone.html - from last fall mentioning that Rogers was changing their data plans to allow tethering as part of your data plan). I called Rogers and they didn't really know (I spoke with both CS and a "Data Department" person, neither of which instilled me with confidence in their knowledge). All they said was that it could cost alot and they don't support (ie: technical support) tethering, but they wouldn't elaborate on whether the "cost alot" would be from extra charges specifically for tethering, or simply from exceeding my data bucket.
So I'm looking for any input from people here who are on Rogers and use tethering, as to whether the traffic is indeed part of my data bucket, or if there's an extra charge (and what that might be). Any comments are greatly appreciated.
Tethering policy
I found this the other night.
http://www.androidincanada.ca/news/new-tethering-policy-for-rogers-and-fido/
It looks like you may have to upgrade to at least a 1GB package or higher in order to "legally" tether.
I am going to see about my plan as I signed up for the $30/6GB plan on June 5th. If I just lost out on "legally" tethering due to adopting a phone a few days early I am going to be right pissed.
Here is the page where they allow tethering on the iPhone.
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wi...09-_-tethering
So I called up and had the "tethering" feature added to my plan at no charge as it is available "free" for all smart phone accounts with data plans one GB or higher. She could not help me with the fact that my phone can not tether, but that will be fixed when I root it. From what she said, this is free until December 31st.
No word yet as to how much this feture will cost after the interm perioud is up. At least this will allow us to test and see how much we really use it, though it sounds like a cash grab to me. I won't mind if it is like an extra $5, but any more would be pushing it if you ask me. Glad to hear they are at least willing to charge us for it rather than prohibiting and penalizing us.
Tethering test
r4nd0mn4me said:
Ok so I just had to see what this tethering is all about.
I just ran a speed test from speakeasy and here are the results.
Last Result:
Download Speed: 197 kbps (24.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 45 kbps (5.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
This was with signal strength of three out of seven bars from my house. I must say page loading seems much faster than on my phone...though not nearly fast enough to watch Youtube with.
And before I get mass mails about how I did it....well, I cheated
I popped my Rogers sim into my Nokia N95-8GB and used the built in USB tethering app.
I can't wait for ze roots!Oh and apparently this wont help
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Click to collapse
Thought I would copy this bit here as it pertains to this thread as well.
I'm new to Android and picked up a G Tablet have a question on if you can use the USB for a Verizon Wirelss card.
I was wondering this also. Does anyone know if this is possible? I have to admint that I have not searched too much as I just took my G tablet out of the box and my Verizon card is sitting here and I was thinking 'wonder if I can make that work"???
I remember seeing in a few other threads that people weren't able to get a 3G card to work. Not sure about this particular Verizon card though.
The usb wireless dongle wont work. You would need something like mifi.
There is a thread in development on this I think. He was working on it but put it on hold.
Found the thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=935810
ketjr81 is correct. Unless you have a Huawei card you have almost no chance of it working at the moment. I have discontinued development as I mentioned in the thread referenced. If you want, you can spend 70 dollars or so and get a wireless hotspot that uses the USB dongle and a battery for 5+ devices.
I picked up a Verizon MiFi Hotspot today... figured that it was a good investment, that way I can use it for my laptop, GTab, and anything else I find myself in need of connecting. It will connect up to 5 devices at a time. I looked at the Sprint and Virgin Mobile models too.
The Sprint model actually has 4G and GPS capability, and the plan looked good on paper; the same price as the Verizon for 5GB ($60/month), plus unlimited 4G downloading. However, when I looked at the coverage map, Sprint doesn't have anywhere near the coverage area that Verizon does, and there are only a handfull of 4G towers out there.
Then I looked at Virgin Mobile. Seemed like a great deal; they use the same hotspot device that Verizon does (and Sprint used to), and you don't have to commit to a contract. You buy the device for something like $160, and for $40/month you get unlimited 3G downloading through the Sprint network. I headed out today to get one, only to find out that as of next week, Virgin will be capping monthly downloads to 5GB like the rest of them. After 5GB, data will slow to a crawl.
Then I found out that Verizon is offering new data plan options for a limited time, starting this weekend I think. There are monthly plans for 1GB ($20) , 3GB ($35), 5GB ($50), and 10GB ($80). For every GB you go over your plan, you pay an extra $10. The hotspot is free with a 2-year plan, or $70 with a 1-year plan. I went with a 3GB plan, even it I get up to 5GB one month that's still gonna run me less than the Sprint plan.
So I brought one home, had it set up pretty quick (it took longer to run the updates than to set it up), and it works great. The hotspot is smaller than I thought it would be, even after looking at the pictures. About as wide as a business card, a little taller, and a bit over 1/4" thick. Best thing is, I'll be able to use it with any tablet I get my hands on as long as it has WiFi, plus my laptop and even my iPhone if find myself in the boondocks again where AT&T doesn't reach.
MiFi is the way to go with a GTab; just turn it on, put it back in your pocket or bag, and surf away.
I'm surprised more people don't just tether their G-Tabs from their cell phone data plans. I've got a Verizon Eris (about a year old) and it's modded, with wireless tether. I pay $30 a month for unlimited data (on the phone, of course, but they don't know I'm tethering, nor do they probably care since I don't actually download much data).
It's fast and cheap.
lostpilot28 said:
I'm surprised more people don't just tether their G-Tabs from their cell phone data plans. I've got a Verizon Eris (about a year old) and it's modded, with wireless tether. I pay $30 a month for unlimited data (on the phone, of course, but they don't know I'm tethering, nor do they probably care since I don't actually download much data).
It's fast and cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Wireless hotspot on my Rooted Sprint Evo
Just a comment....
Most of us don't take the wireless mifis, etc. serious because of the limits.
My tablets, laptops and computers -- yes, I have a bunch -- usually result in my downloading a month's worth of wireless limits in a night. I have several programs that the updates run in the GBs just for one program.
I'm happy for people that can use them, but I always warn them to watch the usage and avoid the overages.
Good luck!!!
Rev
Cradlepoint
I am using my Virgin Mobile USB (Walmart special) plugged into the Cradlepoint. Lasts about 2 hours and warms the pocket...
****
lostpilot28 said:
I'm surprised more people don't just tether their G-Tabs from their cell phone data plans. I've got a Verizon Eris (about a year old) and it's modded, with wireless tether. I pay $30 a month for unlimited data (on the phone, of course, but they don't know I'm tethering, nor do they probably care since I don't actually download much data).
It's fast and cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You and many other people say that. I personally don't want to kill my phone's battery and its just more work to turn the hotspot on and off every time I want access on the tab. Its surely cheaper, but not faster.
I just moved into a new place and my phone died. It was a talk/text plan on verizon - contract expired - I paid around 23/m.
My budget it super limited right now.
I'm considering buying a used smart phone for around 100-150 to tether my desktop/tablet...I could end up paying like 45-50 for voice/text and internet...right?
The other option would be to get a smart phone on contract for like less money or free but then there's the whole contract thing.
The other other option would be to get another talk/text plan on a simple phone and try to find an ISP that serves at $30/m...hard to find...
My location in Downtown Seattle.
What would you do?
What are speeds like for 3G/4G/tethered devices?
I like to game but it's not a necessity. I could wait until I have enough cashflow to get a dedicated cable connection. Unfortunately, Comcast wants 46/month - that's kind of steep!
i would recommend researching here is an idea of what to look go here http://smartphones.findthebest.com/d/e/Mobile-Hotspot-Tethering and also i think you will need to do a bluetooth tethere
hope this helps
NoOdLePoOdLe
ThunderFucdk said:
i would recommend researching here is an idea of what to look go here http://smartphones.findthebest.com/d/e/Mobile-Hotspot-Tethering and also i think you will need to do a bluetooth tethere
hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that is helpful, thanks.
Question; why do I need bluetooth tether? The idea is to broadcast a wifi signal from the phone that my desktop can receive...or is that not a thing that is possible?
Any comments on the differences between GSM data speeds and "4G" data speeds?
I was looking at the unlimited data plans from StraightTalk for $45/m but it's only available through GSM; Would that limit my speed potential as compared to a "4G" based service?
well here is what i belive the difference's are GSM and CDMA are just different types of cell phone technology used.
Differences:
GSM is used by att and tmobile and what you are thinking of getting straight talk and that means that they use a SIM cars, which is that little chip that gets inserted behind the battery. GSM also is used worldwide so it lets you use the line (Roaming) anywhere you go in the world.
CDMA: does not use a SIM card (chip). this is most widely used by verizon and is not compatible in other countries. But now they have phone like the iphone 4s at verizon that uses both GSM and CDMA so people can use it here and also outside of the country.
as a consumer that is the difference you need to know.
3g and 4g: is simply the name given to the network that a cellphone company has that determines the speed. for example, 4g is just simply faster than 3g because it has a bigger capacity, which makes it faster. The g stands for generation so 3g is third generation and 4g is fourth generation as technology advances and network capacities increase they will advance in the future to the 5fifth generation and so forth.
Wi-Fi
Connecting to your Personal Hotspot via Wi-Fi is the default option provided by Apple, since you have to specifically accept if you also want to enable the Bluetooth connection. A Wi-Fi connection provides:
Pros
High throughput: Throughput via Wi-Fi Personal Hotspot can be of around 30 Mbps between two devices and even more.
Faster: Connecting via Wi-Fi tends to be quite faster than connecting via Bluetooth.
Cons
Might need you to reconnect every time: Wi-Fi tends to be unstable and to turn itself off every time you put your iPhone to sleep. This means that you have to take out your iPhone and re-enable the Personal Hotspot if you want to connect.
Time limit: Perhaps the biggest drawback of using a Wi-Fi Personal Hotspot with your iPhone is that in order to minimize power consumption, your iPhone only gives you a short while (90 seconds reportedly) to connect a device to it after you enable Wi-Fi Personal Hotspot. If you take longer than that, you are forced to enable the option again.
More power consumption: The Wi-Fi Personal Hotspot consumes more power than its Bluetooth counterpart, which is also part of the reason it only gives you a short while to connect a device.
A bit more complex: The iPhone’s Wi-Fi Personal Hotspot requires you to enter a password and to configure your own security options.
Bluetooth
Contrary to the Wi-Fi connection, using your Personal Hotspot via Bluetooth offers some key advantages and one huge drawback:
Pros
No time limit: Once you enable Bluetooth Personal Hotspot, there is no time limit for you to connect your device to your iPhone.
Automatic pairing: Bluetooth remains dormant and ready to connect to your devices the moment you wake them up. Additionally, Bluetooth is more power-efficient than Wi-Fi.
Security handled automatically: The security level of a Bluetooth Personal Hotspot is equivalent to Wi-Fi’s WPA2, and it is all handled transparently from the moment you connect to it.
Cons
Very limited throughput: Without a doubt the biggest drawback of using a Bluetooth Personal Hotspot is its limited throughput, which can be of just 3 Mbps at the most, making it 10 times less than what your Wi-Fi Personal Hotspot can i personly would try all 3 because there is a usb option as well find what is best suited for your service your location ect. then you will have your perfect transfer also i think tmobile would be your best option for were your living ok lets see my lady works for sprint and i tried out there mobile hotspot when 4g first came out and i was able to run black ops on my ps3 and play online but it was pretty laggy but not to bad so basically what i am saying is i think it was just regular 2g or 3g back then and it was able to run my monster ps3 so straight talk gsn are cdma should be fine hope this was helpful
Okay, cool - so I can use GSM and 4G if I have a 4G phone and it's with a carrier that supports 4G in that region...
I assume that most carriers would cover Downtown Seattle (and most other metropolis') with 4G...
I just realized that StraightTalk doesn't allow tethering in their $45/M unlimited plan...I suppose I could always cheat and just try to keep my usage below the radar...what other carrier options are there? - one's that might allow tethering as part of package? Ideally under the $50/M price range.
prepaid is good for minimal data use net10 has a data cap of 1.5 gigs and straight talk claims unlimited but if you go over 2 gigs they shut off ur data...... the best unlimited is sprint by far because there is no data cap
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
So i was in a sprint store yesterday, upgrading my wife's phone to the S5. I was looking at the demo phones on display and i know those are on the new Spark Network.
So i did a speed test on both of the s5s and they were showing between 55 and 60mb down, and about 5-8 mb up
I went to the s3 that was on demo display and did a speed test on that phone, since they aren't on the spark network i would expect it to be lower.
It showed me 3-4 mb down and less than 1mb up
When my wife just bought her GS5, after all the activations and setup, we immediately did a speed test on the phone in the store, and it was abysmal
less than 1mb down, and even less than 1 mb up
So i am wondering, is there a difference in the Store phones Vs what's bought out of the box.
Were there any configuration changes done in the secret menus that aren't widely advertised? or am i missing something?
The phones are usually connected to a in-store wifi network, so the speed of the actual network is inaccurate. The main problem with Sprint's network is that they have the slowest internet speeds, thats the reason why they offer 100% unlimited data. If your not fortunate to live in a LTE market, your probably gonna be relying on open wifi networks to keep yourself sane. If you want fast and reliable, go with Verizon, but your gonna be paying a premium price. But, you might want to think about a prepaid phone, and use blank phone on wifi as a media device if you want to be cheap. The only guarantee you get with Sprint is unlimited everytthing, but speed is never promised.
JollyGrnReefer said:
The phones are usually connected to a in-store wifi network, so the speed of the actual network is inaccurate. The main problem with Sprint's network is that they have the slowest internet speeds, thats the reason why they offer 100% unlimited data. If your not fortunate to live in a LTE market, your probably gonna be relying on open wifi networks to keep yourself sane. If you want fast and reliable, go with Verizon, but your gonna be paying a premium price. But, you might want to think about a prepaid phone, and use blank phone on wifi as a media device if you want to be cheap. The only guarantee you get with Sprint is unlimited everytthing, but speed is never promised.
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Click to collapse
The phone he is displaying is not on WIFI. The Store could have it's own AIRAVE though.
The stores I've visited appear to be on the public cell network.
I did a search and couldn't find a good spot to ask about plans so hopefully this fits here.
Recently upgraded from N4 to N5, since I now have have access to LTE (and T-Mobile has recently rolled out Band 2 coverage just about state wide in my state) it has opened up my service provider options. Currently on ST (AT&T) $45 a month, was hoping to be able to switch to something else and gain LTE speed (I have an early sim card and no LTE speed) and maybe save $5 or so a month.
Came across an ad for MetroPCS (MVNO for T-Mobile) offering a free LTE phone with porting of a non T-Mobile # (since I'm on AT&T right now I should be eligible). Figured I could pick up a free phone, drop the sim card into my N5 and keep the phone has a spare/give it to my son/sell it.
I have 2 questions:
1. If I were to give it to my son, would I have to use MetroPCS for service or could I use it on T-Mobile or any of its MVNOs (eyeing the $30 text/data plan). From what I have read I think it would be stuck on MetroPCS unless I unlock it, which is apparently a little difficult for their GSM devices.
2. Not sure if anyone would know the answer for sure, but the large majority of my data is used streaming music on pandora to my car radio (Android headunit running pandora app that connects to my phone via wireless tether). The appeal of MetroPCS vs. other MVNOs was even tho I lose 2GB of data (3 vs. 5) I save $5 a month and if my pandora steaming doesn't count then my monthly usage goes from about 4.5GB down to 2GB. I assume that MetroPCS just looks at the servers on the web the data is coming from and then flags anything from Pandora has not to be against my quota, it doesn't care if my phone then shares that data via wifi to another Android device.
Anyway thanks for any answers or feedback.
Well I have working tether now, I'll report back about the answer to 2. And I will steal a t-mo sim from another phone and check 1. but I believe the answer is it will only work with metropcs sims and not any t-mobile mvno.
OK to answer #2 it appears that A. MetroPCS is lying just streaming pandora on my phone seems to eat up data (or something is eating it up at an alarming rate with my phone idle and just playing pandora) and it most certainly is counted towards my data cap when its on a tethered device, in fact their whole data usage seems to be a big scam. According to the MyMetro app I have used 800mb in 3 days, this is with playing about 2 hours of pandora (which shouldn't count) 3 short trips of navigation, about 20 emails (none with attachments, just short text only emails) and about 10 minutes of web browsing. On ST that wouldn't have been more than a few hundred MB.
And lastly their coverage map isn't even remotely close, 3 separate times I have been outdoors on a main road in an area that is solid dark purple even at the most zoomed in level and I can travel a good mile in every direction before I get any kind of signal, let alone a 4G LTE signal.
/Rant