Related
I'm sorry if this has been asked already.
I'm very interested in getting a Samsung Vibrant. I wasn't a big fan of Android at first, but it's really growing on me. However, I have absolutely no interest in getting a data plan -- Everywhere I frequent has open wi-fi. If I got the phone, I know no carrier would let me leave the store without a data plan, so I'd just get one on eBay.
Is it possible to completely disable data, contact/email syncing, cloud connection, etc. and still use the full capabilities of an Android phone through wi-fi without screwing anything up? I've heard that if you don't have a data connection it's possible that your contacts will delete themselves when the phone tries to sync -- Is this true? Is there anything I should know about using Android without data, or are there any apps I should get to help with the whole process?
I have no data plan at all, G1 on T-Mobile. Vibrant shouldn't give you any problems, but if you're worried about contacts deleting (which has never happened to me), you can turn sync on and off, so just toggle it when you connect to wi-fi. Glad to see more interest in Android, hope you can make some contributions to the community.
Thanks for the info -- I didn't know you could actually toggle the syncing!
I hope I get more into Android, too. I'm a huge Windows Mobile person right now, but after looking at the Vibrant, I think I've been converted.
I also hope I can help in the community a bit, too -- I've been coming here for a long time, and I think you guys are amazing at what you do.
guitargler said:
I have no data plan at all, G1 on T-Mobile. Vibrant shouldn't give you any problems, but if you're worried about contacts deleting (which has never happened to me), you can turn sync on and off, so just toggle it when you connect to wi-fi. Glad to see more interest in Android, hope you can make some contributions to the community.
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I'm sorry, I've got one more thing to ask: So can you disable ALL data, except for the phone data (calls, texts, etc.)? I can actually still get apps and do pretty much everything data allows all through wi-fi without any issues?
You can do syncing/cloud connection over WiFi too.
Thee other say my wife forgot to pay her bill.they shut her phone off.. Connected phone to wifi in the house and was able to use google talk email market... No text or calls though
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
well i had a first gen my touch 3g, i unlocked it and put it on att. what i endened up doing was i set up a different apn and since the settings were wrong i couldnt get on the internet. i could be wrong, but i think thats what kept me from getting on the net with it. and then i realized i had a data plan on my contract so i put the correct info for the apn and got data.
U can delete all your APN Info so that your phone will not be able to connect via 3G or Edge only with WIFI ;-)
Have fun with this great os!
There is literally an option in the network settings to disable the "mobile network". This disables internet/3g data traffic but does not affect call/text (that is not considered "data").
Also, Android actually disables the mobile network connection when Wifi is active (at least on CDMA devices)
Awesome, this is exactly what I was looking for. I have no idea why I was told it wasn't worth using Android without data - This all sounds like just what I had planned to do. Thanks, everyone! :-D
deathsled said:
Also, Android actually disables the mobile network connection when Wifi is active (at least on CDMA devices)
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Relying on that alone won't work as soon as you get in the car with the phone...when it loses the wifi connection, it looks for a cell data connection again. You are right though, so long as it has a wifi connection, it doesn't look for 3G data at all.
People say it's no use having Android without data because there's literally TONS of awesome stuff you can do with data (Google Maps walking turn-by-turn, for example. And Zombie, Run!, which is the best game ever made). But if you're like me and are cheap/broke, or you just don't see yourself using data much, you'll be golden. But I think as you get into Android more and discover what you *could* be doing, you'll want to add data. I intend to put data on when I upgrade
i dn't have a data plan and when i attempt to use a data connection w/o wifi i get an msg from my provider (asking if i really want to and telling me how much it will cost). If your provider allows you access to their data network without you agreeing and then charges you that's pretty bull**** and i would definitely switch providers.
Hi guys,
I am loving the Nexus 5. I've ordered it, and should be here in 2 days. Only issue is, I need the program android-wifi-tether https://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/ to be working on this phone.
You see, I have a data plan from my carrier which DOES NOT ALLOW you to tether = (. However, the program wifi tether works great to get around this. Previously I used to use an App called Fox-Fi which did something similar.
Currently I'm running a TW based Samsung S3, because WiFi Tether will only work on TW-based roms, not AOSP-based roms.
Do you think there is any chance to get WiFi Tether, (or similar) App that will work on the Google Nexus 5?
Thoughts?
It looks like the biggest requirement is Netfilter, which is essentially IP tables. Try installing IP tables, and see if the program will run. Otherwise, you can always use another tethering app like easytether, or another program (I know that there are loads out there). If you are rooted, it should not be much of a hassle to install.
Es Filexplorer will do it for you once rooted and a great file management app also
Thanks guys. I'll give it a shot once device is in my hands. Thanks.
Another method for this I use that sometimes works is to tether using the default app and just use a User Agent switch in google chrome for HTML traffic. My video games as well as spotify ETC work like normal I only need the UA switcher for traffic within the browser.
Wait, am I missing something here? OP, tethering is a standard feature in Nexus phones, esp now that Verizon is out of the equation.
Why can't you just use the built-in tethering? If it's an issue of your provider being able to track that, then I don't think any of the 3rd party tools are going to help. Typically, just a user-agent switcher can take care of the problem on the device that you're tethered to.
I'm dealing with this issue right now. I had a note 2 running macks rom on my sprint note 2 that let you hotspot free. The N5 tether/hotspot does not work. We need a work around..
Engineer4life said:
I'm dealing with this issue right now. I had a note 2 running macks rom on my sprint note 2 that let you hotspot free. The N5 tether/hotspot does not work. We need a work around..
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My carrier has 2 data plans. 6gb for $30 gives you LTE and tether/hotspot. Or Unlimited LTE for $45 -but tether/hotspot is disabled/not allowed.
I'm on the $45 plan and built-in tether does not work. But the app "wifi-tether" gets around this and works Great!
The issue isn't user-agent. With built-in tether I can't even get a data signal. It will create the a dud Wi-Fi hotspot.
Let's hope IPTables works! I'm sure Bluetooth tether and USB tether may still work, but is much more annoying.
prettyha8 said:
My carrier has 2 data plans. 6gb for $30 gives you LTE and tether/hotspot. Or Unlimited LTE for $45 -but tether/hotspot is disabled/not allowed.
I'm on the $45 plan and built-in tether does not work. But the app "wifi-tether" gets around this and works Great!
The issue isn't user-agent. With built-in tether I can't even get a data signal. It will create the a dud Wi-Fi hotspot.
Let's hope IPTables works! I'm sure Bluetooth tether and USB tether may still work, but is much more annoying.
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which version of the wifi tether app did you use that works? It seems some versions are picky about some phones I just want to get everything I need for when my Nexus 5 arrives
orthonovum said:
which version of the wifi tether app did you use that works? It seems some versions are picky about some phones I just want to get everything I need for when my Nexus 5 arrives
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For my TW-based Samsung Galaxy S3, I used the file "wifi_tether_v3_4-experimental1.apk", then I changed the SSID and changed the WPA2-PSK phasephrase.
*** I think the trick was, if you did NOT change the default SSID or added a WPA2 password the App did not work. After you set a WPA2 password, you can then turn off encryption or change the SSID back to default.
But I don't think know if this will work for the Nexus 5. **Fingers-crossed!
bump
There is another thread with more discussion on this matter here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2512674
prettyha8 said:
The issue isn't user-agent. With built-in tether I can't even get a data signal. It will create the a dud Wi-Fi hotspot.
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Is that the case on a Nexus device or something else? In theory my plan doesn't allow tethering, but I've never had an issue with the built-in hotspot. I'm just trying to figure out how your carrier would even know you were using a hotspot versus having data requests come from the phone itself. The traffic should look the same, for the most part.
bobalias said:
Is that the case on a Nexus device or something else? In theory my plan doesn't allow tethering, but I've never had an issue with the built-in hotspot. I'm just trying to figure out how your carrier would even know you were using a hotspot versus having data requests come from the phone itself. The traffic should look the same, for the most part.
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I believe when you tether, your phone creates a secondary data connection pipe for tethering data. Apps like WiFi-Tether spoof this, and can even create an internal proxy server, such that all tethered data will look like on-device mobile browsing data.
My carrier let's me only create one data connection, thus tether is not allowed. However if I insert my SIM into a "MiFi device", then I can "share" the data connection, as only 1 data connection is being established.
I MIGHT BE WRONG, but this is what it looks like is happening in my findings. Hence the use of IPTABLES to re-route.
I'm not sure why AOSP-based custom Roms could never get WiFi tether working, but TouchWiz (TW) based roms could. I assume something in the kernel. However, I need this working badly.
Interesting, I'd never really given the process a detailed consideration but that sounds like a plausible explanation for both how they detect it, how they block it, and how software modifications let you get around it.
I am currently using wifi tether on evo lte on sprint, fine. Thinking of getting nexus 5. Will this app work on it? that link to the other thread was about tmobile and data plans and stock hotspot app. I am interested in wifi tether app with root. What are the settings to make this work on N5?
Thanks
Dungeon47 said:
There is another thread with more discussion on this matter here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2512674
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Dig through this thread. Somewhere there's a post explaining what to do to stop your carrier from checking if you are tethering. It requires editing a database and changing the proxy to ipv4 instead of ipv6.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
This is for everyone who has been pulling their hair out trying to figure out how to wifi- tether on T-Mobile LG-G2, without getting blocked by T-Mobile. I have tried multiple methods and this is the only one that seems to work perfectly every time. this method uses the native hot-spot and NOT wifi-tether. I was only able to get Wi-Fi tether to wok on ASOP rom. (cm10.2) This method works great on the stock rom. Keep in mind I do have the unlimited data plan.
I actually just called T-Mobile yesterday and had them upgrade my plan to the 2.5 GB of free hotspot data (was 500MB previously) that is included in the unlimited $70 plan.
need to be rooted (not sure if custom recovery is needed by I do have one)
have HOTSPOT SHIELD VPN installed on your phone
Turn on hotspot shield vpn and let it connect and secure your connection. once you see the key in the top left corner you are good.
Then you turn on the native hotspot on the phone, configure your SSID and password if you like. the native hotspot should now be detected by other devices, simply connect and you should be good to go without using your hotspot data or receiving the blocked site page from T-Mobile, just as long as the vpn is still connected.
trust when I say I have spent hours and hours and days and days trying to find a method that worked, and this one does seem to do the trick (at least for the past few days lol) I have used it to connect to my kindle fire, other android phones, and my ps3.
Test it out and see how it works for you. let me know if you have success or not.
**Now I do believe you must have some amount of hotspot data remaining in order to use this method or it wont connect. otherwise you will have to wait until your hotspot data allotment refreshes at the beginning of your new billing cycle**
The way I do mine is by changing the user agent on chrome to something else and it works. Now i have a d802 rom so im not sure about stock rom,
Before there was tether in the plan it used to tell you right away to add it when you turn on tethering on the samsung devices but by doing some mods with framework-res.apk to change the tethering apns it would let you use it without that pop up. But always have a user agent
gypsy214 said:
The way I do mine is by changing the user agent on chrome to something else and it works. Now i have a d802 rom so im not sure about stock rom,
Before there was tether in the plan it used to tell you right away to add it when you turn on tethering on the samsung devices but by doing some mods with framework-res.apk to change the tethering apns it would let you use it without that pop up. But always have a user agent
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You know i have tried using a user agent but i didnt work for me for some reason. Im running Buckeye V2.1 rom which is a stock rom but its super fast over the stock out of the box rom. I seem to like the lg g2 rom over asop which judt seems a bit boring now. I will have to try the user agent method again and see whats happens. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of support or love for the d801 right now so i was banging my head against the wall trying to get it to work but this seemed to work for me. I always check my hotspot data via the t mobile app just to make sure no hot spot data is being used and so far so good using vpn. Just wanted to share in case it works for others.
JKLIMES1 said:
You know i have tried using a user agent but i didnt work for me for some reason. Im running Buckeye V2.1 rom which is a stock rom but its super fast over the stock out of the box rom. I seem to like the lg g2 rom over asop which judt seems a bit boring now. I will have to try the user agent method again and see whats happens. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of support or love for the d801 right now so i was banging my head against the wall trying to get it to work but this seemed to work for me. I always check my hotspot data via the t mobile app just to make sure no hot spot data is being used and so far so good using vpn. Just wanted to share in case it works for others.
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I use Chrome and I change my user agent to safari on mac. It seems to work. I reached the 2.5GB of hotspot for tmobile but changing the user agent i dont get that tmobile screen. Also tried it on stock out of box rom and it works
i tried this with the Hotspot shield but it was a no go for meit still counted towards my hotspot data. is there a more detailed way?
Doesn't work for me either.
Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk
I have unlimited high speed data with T-Mobile but only 5GB mobile hotspot.
I want to use USB tether to my PC without the carrier knowing. I don't want carrier to know or else it will use up my 5GB hotspot. Is it possible to tether without the carrier knowing and using up my 5GB hotspot?
What is the difference between the built in tethering method of my BlissPop ROM vs. the ClockworkMod Tether app? Will the ClockworkMod Tether app prevent the carrier from knowing?
I use PdaNet+ with my phones and unlimited T-Mobile highspeed plan. I haven't tried ClockworkMod Tether, so I can't speak for it, but it sounds like it works the same way. Both use a companion program on the PC. With PdaNet there is an option in PC application to "hide tether usage", which creates a sort of VPN that blocks the carrier from knowing what your data is being used for. I don't know how this option is set up in CWM Tether, but by its description it has the same function. No obnoxious user agent masking plug-ins to mess with
Both have a trial version, so give them a try before deciding which one you prefer. PdaNet's trial works for ~10 minutes before turning off (you can turn it on again), CWM's works for 14 days before limiting you to 20MB/day. You might have only have one installed at any given time though, as having both might cause complications.
I use about 300GB/month with my T-Mobile high speed plan. Saves me hundreds of dollars a year not needing home internet (I live alone). I browse, stream Amazon Prime, view risque pictures of attractive females, download torrents, etc. Never been throttled, cut off, gotten angry emails, or anything.
Even more fun is that you can run WiFi Tether Router (by Fabio Grasso) at the same time and give your other devices (if you have any) at the same time. However, this is murder on your battery. Wifi tethering takes a ton of juice, so your devices is constantly charging while discharging (sometimes not fast enough, and it discharges faster than it charges). Because of this, I'd recommend using a cheap phone with a removable battery (I use a Galaxy Light). I've already blown up (not quite literally) 2 batteries on my Galaxy Light doing this, so I wouldn't recommend doing this with a phone like the OnePlus One where the battery isn't easily replaceable. Not for an extended period of time, anyway. You don't need to worry about this if you're only USB tethering. It takes extremely little juice and doesn't create any heat other than typical charger and data use.
The one caveat I've found with using PdaNet is that Netflix won't load while you're USB tethered. Whatever the PC program does to mask your data messes with Microsoft Silverlight, and you'll get taken to the page about minimum required specs and browser versions. The way around this is to disable the "hide tether usage" option, load the video, then once it starts loading (the red ring), hide the tether usage again. It's a PITA, and you have to remain vigilant about re-hiding the usage, or you'll obliviously and quickly use up your tethering allotment. Small price to pay though, right? I don't know if the ClockWorkMod Tether app has this problem. I don't have Netflix anymore, so I can't check. Amazon Prime doesn't have this issue.
I can't speak for the tethering method within BlissPop, or any other ROM. I know carriers often disable and/or hijack the tethering that is natively built into Android. But without a companion program PC side, like PdaNet and CWM Tether offer, I'd expect that it'd count against the tethering allotment.
Planterz said:
I use PdaNet+ with my phones and unlimited T-Mobile highspeed plan. I haven't tried ClockworkMod Tether, so I can't speak for it, but it sounds like it works the same way. Both use a companion program on the PC. With PdaNet there is an option in PC application to "hide tether usage", which creates a sort of VPN that blocks the carrier from knowing what your data is being used for. I don't know how this option is set up in CWM Tether, but by its description it has the same function. No obnoxious user agent masking plug-ins to mess with
Both have a trial version, so give them a try before deciding which one you prefer. PdaNet's trial works for ~10 minutes before turning off (you can turn it on again), CWM's works for 14 days before limiting you to 20MB/day. You might have only have one installed at any given time though, as having both might cause complications.
I use about 300GB/month with my T-Mobile high speed plan. Saves me hundreds of dollars a year not needing home internet (I live alone). I browse, stream Amazon Prime, view risque pictures of attractive females, download torrents, etc. Never been throttled, cut off, gotten angry emails, or anything.
Even more fun is that you can run WiFi Tether Router (by Fabio Grasso) at the same time and give your other devices (if you have any) at the same time. However, this is murder on your battery. Wifi tethering takes a ton of juice, so your devices is constantly charging while discharging (sometimes not fast enough, and it discharges faster than it charges). Because of this, I'd recommend using a cheap phone with a removable battery (I use a Galaxy Light). I've already blown up (not quite literally) 2 batteries on my Galaxy Light doing this, so I wouldn't recommend doing this with a phone like the OnePlus One where the battery isn't easily replaceable. Not for an extended period of time, anyway. You don't need to worry about this if you're only USB tethering. It takes extremely little juice and doesn't create any heat other than typical charger and data use.
The one caveat I've found with using PdaNet is that Netflix won't load while you're USB tethered. Whatever the PC program does to mask your data messes with Microsoft Silverlight, and you'll get taken to the page about minimum required specs and browser versions. The way around this is to disable the "hide tether usage" option, load the video, then once it starts loading (the red ring), hide the tether usage again. It's a PITA, and you have to remain vigilant about re-hiding the usage, or you'll obliviously and quickly use up your tethering allotment. Small price to pay though, right? I don't know if the ClockWorkMod Tether app has this problem. I don't have Netflix anymore, so I can't check. Amazon Prime doesn't have this issue.
I can't speak for the tethering method within BlissPop, or any other ROM. I know carriers often disable and/or hijack the tethering that is natively built into Android. But without a companion program PC side, like PdaNet and CWM Tether offer, I'd expect that it'd count against the tethering allotment.
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Thanks for the great detailed insight! I'll give pdanet+ a try. Btw, do you know if T-mobile allows you to track how much of the mobile hotspot data you have used?
I am curious to know if custom ROMS such as BlissPop prevent the carrier from knowing when using the native Android tethering. What if I use a VPN on my phone or on my PC along with the native Android tethering. Will the carrier find out?
Zythyr said:
Thanks for the great detailed insight! I'll give pdanet+ a try. Btw, do you know if T-mobile allows you to track how much of the mobile hotspot data you have used?
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As long as there's a T-Mobile SIM card in the phone, you can download their account app. It tells you your minutes, messages, data usage (including tethering), when your bill is due, etc. You can pay your bill through it too. I find it to be very useful. Just make sure you turn off all the diagnostics and notifications. Not because they'll learn anything you don't want them to know, but because they're obnoxious and useless.
I know it's an old question but I'll post a response for those who arrive here via a Google search. It's incredibly simply to get around the carrier limitation. Follow the instructions in this link below which, while very detailed because they want to reach a wide audience, explains how to solve the problem. You just need to add a record to a database file. It's that simple. If you're an expert then just skip to the end of the tutorial for the database that needs to be edited and for the record that needs to be added. I tried this on my Note 4 on T-Mobile. I was throttled and after making this edit I'm back to full speed.
http://nexus5.wonderhowto.com/how-to/tether-your-nexus-5-without-your-carrier-knowing-0155546/
Quick edit: the battery drain is an issue but is easily solved with either additional batteries or with a phone/charger combo that allows for fast charging. With a fast charger on my Note 4 I easily stay ahead of the battery drain.
I use and am currently using clockwork tether in conjunction with nord vpn Most of the vpn servers are very stable I always link up with them for several days to make sure it is not killing the connection before I link it on my phone but it works great. All the traffic going through the isp is encrypted so they cant tell that I am hooked up to the xbox servers on my phone there is no way to tell that it is not regular phone traffic. If you are going to do this I would deffinitely reccomend spending the money fo a good vpn service. You will not be able to game over this connection but download speeds are good. I get nord vpn servvice for less than 3 dollars a month when I buy their 2 year plan for like 71 bucks. They havve servers all over the world and it also protects me from any backlash I might see due to my heavy p2p dowloading. Clockwork tether is great because it will utilize lte networks not just the 3g networks and it does not require any root access. I am currently on lg g6 through sprint so root will be a while out if ever (encrypted bootloader) but I can still utilize my unlimited lte data. I also have a grandfathered data line with them that is unlimited but they will not let me upgrade to lte. When they let 4g wimax die i was downgraded to nothing but 3g on that line but I cant give it up because I use 250 to 300 gigs a month on just it. I had a lot of problems with the wifi air cards because of the high discharge rates and heat problems but have solved that by going to the old 3g computer dongles now and running them directly into openwrt router. Good enough to play call of duty on but not good for download speeds and if my wife is looking up a recipe for dinner it lags out. Thus I use the tethering for all downloads and the data only line for regular traffic that is permitted. (Not pirating vvideos because i dont want to give them a reason to kick me off my unlimited plan) n0sec
I'm a long-time user of Wi-tether Treve mod on Android 4.x with no problems. I just switched to a rooted Sprint Galaxy S5 and have tried MANY tethering methods, all with varying degree of stability (it seems like every 15 minutes or so connection must be reset by re-running app). As a result, I was thinking of reverting to Android 4.x, but I logged into MySprint website and looked at my account under "Analyze my plan". I'd post photos of the graphs, but can't post image links as I'm a new member. Data usage shows it had been tracking/counting my hotspot usage on the S3 (as high as 12GB in June!) Now I'm not so sure what to do with my current phone. Is there any foolproof tethering solution that's under the radar on S5?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2980905
Requires root, but works wonderfully.
Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
False - native hotspot hack is intermittant at best
elesbb said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2980905
Requires root, but works wonderfully.
Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
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No. The native hotspot hack works at best for about 10-15 minutes before needing restarting and DOES not work on 3G. And likely is tracked as it uses the native hotspot.
In fact, this is mentioned on the link you posted... "I have had mixed reports about the tether packet counter being disabled, some people reported the hotspot goes down after 10-30 mins when you disable the packet counter."
quaternium42 said:
In fact, this is mentioned on the link you posted... "I have had mixed reports about the tether packet counter being disabled, some people reported the hotspot goes down after 10-30 mins when you disable the packet counter."
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Dude I have been using it for the entire time I have owned my S5 on Sprint. My Hotspot never drops, I can play hours of COD BO3 with my PS3 tethered to the phone, I use it as my main source of internet when out. I have never had any issues with this. If you use my modded version that I posted there, the packet counter gets removed when you reboot. Also, updating your profile, or doing anything like that will reset everything.
I just checked my data usage, and for the past 3 months it shows 0 gigs used of 3G/4G while on hotspot. There are some months that show hotspot data, I may have missed something on it, like resetting the packet counter.
Or, they may have implemented another method of detecting the usage. I know the "ItsOn" has some tether things in it.
The native hotspot definitely works in terms of getting you on the internet. And I never have been disconnected.
About your account showing hotspot usage, that could be a huge array of things that may or may not be possible to remove.