US Carriers blocking Tethering Apps. - Atrix 4G General

http://www.gsmarena.com/big_us_carriers_are_blocking_android_tethering_apps-news-2600.php
Android owners in the US won’t be happy about this – carriers have started blocking the apps that enable tethering on their phones. It’s a service they charge $15-$20 a month after all, you can’t expect them to let you have it for free.
Reports from all over the Internet are coming in saying that AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are all blocking the tethering apps from the Market (both free and paid ones). Sprint seems to be the one operator that hasn’t blocked the tethering apps.
People who live outside the US might be scratching their heads wondering why you’d need an app to do what the OS can do on its own – well, US carriers usually disable that functionality, until you pay of course. AT&T goes as far as locking out the option to install third-party apps from sources other than the Market.
Finding the apps from other sources is much harder that way. And even if you manage to install those, you might get an email from the carrier – AT&T for one, has been sending out messages to those who use tethering without paying for it first.
It's the very reason why the latest 3.0 version of the popular tethering application PDA Net now features cloaking to mask the tethering activity from your carrier.
If you’re in the US, drop us a comment to say if tethering apps have been blocked for you.

All the more reason the enter the tethering info. / mobile hotspot info. manually and don't use an app at all.

Well they can't stop me from sideloading!!!!

Yup, I use the manual tethering!
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

Manual...
s'plain that, please.

They can see that you are doing that manually through custom APN anyway. Safer to use Barnacle, WiFi Tether, etc.
Sent from WinBorg 4G using XDA Premium App

apn
I have been tethering thanks to my modified apn. Thus far no issues from Att. I check my plan weekly; Still locked into smartphone unlimited. Just wait until we get hulu (officially) then Netflix. I will use an extra 5 gb a month.

There's an easy way to get around this.
Just take your SIM out, turn on, use wifi and go to market. ALL THE APPS are there now!
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Just get the plan...you wont be happy when it automatically gets added to your att account bc you did it manually
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

roharia said:
Just get the plan...you wont be happy when it automatically gets added to your att account bc you did it manually
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What plan? AT&T doesn't have an unlimited tethering plan do they? Plus I should be able to use my data how I want being that I am paying for it.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

Gvndeb60 said:
I should be able to use my data how I want being that I am paying for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you should be able to do and what your service agreement says you can do are two different things.

GoodFoot said:
What you should be able to do and what your service agreement says you can do are two different things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, and that is so wrong in itself, that the service providers would force us to pay for something that was already being done, with minimal if any impact to their network. greed. Sad thing is there is virtually nothing that the consumer can do to stop them.
RANT: sorry couldn't help myself

CaelanT said:
They can see that you are doing that manually through custom APN anyway. Safer to use Barnacle, WiFi Tether, etc.
Sent from WinBorg 4G using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At&t Cannot see that you manually added a custom APN, however what they can do is see that someone has used 6gb on the WAP.CINGULAR APN in a 2 day session. Were they are using the "scare tactic" is when the billing system knows you have a smartphone and used 12gb in 1 billing cycle is when you get the threat letter, other than that all the APN does is allow you to connect to whatever server your are trying to connect to from the respective APN you set. They CANNOT see the actual type of traffic you are viewing or how you are using that.
I'm sure most will say "how do you know" or bash me for this statement. But when it comes to At&t, the At&t network in general from a technical standpoint, i can answer these questions with 100% certainty, just ask some of your more "veteran" XDA Forum Moderators.

ekerbuddyeker said:
There's an easy way to get around this.
Just take your SIM out, turn on, use wifi and go to market. ALL THE APPS are there now!
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even easier way, turn on airplane mode then turn wifi back on.

mrphil101 said:
True, and that is so wrong in itself, that the service providers would force us to pay for something that was already being done, with minimal if any impact to their network. greed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are not forcing you to do anything.
They offer a service that has conditions for use.
I personally don't like their terms and conditions, but I don't like Sprint even more, so I pick the lesser of the two evils.
mrphil101 said:
Sad thing is there is virtually nothing that the consumer can do to stop them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure you can... go to a provider that doesn't have the restrictions.

rjohnstone said:
They are not forcing you to do anything.
They offer a service that has conditions for use.
I personally don't like their terms and conditions, but I don't like Sprint even more, so I pick the lesser of the two evils.
Sure you can... go to a provider that doesn't have the restrictions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to go offtopic but quick q, why do u think att is the lesser of the two evils? I almost switched for the evo 4g when it came out.

rjohnstone said:
They are not forcing you to do anything.
They offer a service that has conditions for use.
I personally don't like their terms and conditions, but I don't like Sprint even more, so I pick the lesser of the two evils.
Sure you can... go to a provider that doesn't have the restrictions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure I can, but that still doesn't stop them. I didn't write it in the singular, I said WE, as consumers can do nothing to stop them. That went out the window when congress said we can only fix our disputes via arbritration. We don't have leverage, so you will probably see this no tethering without paying crap become standard for all the providers. They are apparently already blocking the apps on the market, right?

Related

Is tethering free?

I have T-Mobile, and they just put that tethering plan, however does that apply to the Nexus One and Nexus S? I hope not... please, need to know.
Sent from my Nexus S
Smokexz said:
I have T-Mobile, and they just put that tethering plan, however does that apply to the Nexus One and Nexus S? I hope not... please, need to know.
Sent from my Nexus S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it does not, technically it doesnt apply to any device, you could theoretically just get an app and use it for wired tethering and they cant stop you
I am talking about the native Android tethering.
Sent from my Nexus S
Smokexz said:
I am talking about the native Android tethering.
Sent from my Nexus S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again no it doesnt, it would be illegal for them to stop you, because that would require them to snoop on your data and thats illegal without a warrant, so tether away, its just data your already paying for
Alrighty, thanks
Sent from my Nexus S
slowz3r said:
Again no it doesnt, it would be illegal for them to stop you, because that would require them to snoop on your data and thats illegal without a warrant, so tether away, its just data your already paying for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Answer is right, logic is way off...
In the olden days of long distance, it was not illegal for your phone company to track your usage for billing purposes. They don't have to monitor or snoop, but track.
Data use would be viewed the same way. they are within their rights to track usage for billing purposes, and that doesn't require monitoring or snooping.
Hope this helps.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I asked the T-Mobile representative directly this very question when I activated my Nexus-S. She told me that the phone supports tethering, and that my unlimited data plan would not be affected at all if my laptop or other device shared the tethering connection. I pressed further, pointing out that Sprint charges an extra $29 for turning on tethering for the device, and she said that T-Mobile would not do that. I confirmed AGAIN that "unlimited" truly meant unlimited, and she replied that, yes, there is no hidden limit, that unlimited really mean there was no limit.
What T-Mobile seems to monitor is the User Agent of the web browser you are using on their data connection. You can modify your desktop's browser's user agent(there's a great thread on this in the MT4G forums, but I can't recall where it is at the moment) to mimic that of Android and they wouldn't know any the wiser.
As far as your question goes, the answer is yes and no. Tethering is not free. They charge money for that service. Can you tether and get away with it? Yes. I have tethered just fine, including torrenting a 1gb file without any issue. T-Mobile can, and has, blocked folks from tethering by redirecting you to their website. You usually receive a TXT message as well.
As far as unlimited data goes, and this might just be for HSPA+ devices, there is a 5GB cap. After 5GBs your connection may be throttled.
More info on Tethering: http://www.bgr.com/2010/10/26/t-mobile-to-debut-tethering-plan-on-november-3rd-14-99/
More info on 5GB cap: http://www.tmonews.com/2010/10/t-mobile-reducing-data-cap-will-throttle-speeds-after-5gb-of-usage/
slowz3r said:
Again no it doesnt, it would be illegal for them to stop you, because that would require them to snoop on your data and thats illegal without a warrant, so tether away, its just data your already paying for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only the government requires a warrant. Unless there are specific laws against DPI (I'm sure there aren't - yet) tmo can snoop all it wants since its a private entity.
tommyz2kool said:
Only the government requires a warrant. Unless there are specific laws against DPI (I'm sure there aren't - yet) tmo can snoop all it wants since its a private entity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im a private entity, does that mean that me snooping on my neighbors internet is legal, no
not like ive ever done that
slowz3r said:
Im a private entity, does that mean that me snooping on my neighbors internet is legal, no
not like ive ever done that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is if they're using your internet!
This whole thing about warrants or what have you is pointless because the data connection isn't your personal property. You don't own it. T-Mobile owns it. It's theirs and they can do what they want with it. You are leasing/renting/being a guest on their network. Same logic is behind why your landlord, or his appointed representatives, can enter your residence at will or why moderators on forums such as these can censor you if they so choose without worrying about "freedom of speech" issues. This is their property, not yours.
Also it's in the terms & conditions of your service contract lol.

[Q] Wifi tether uses what kind of sprint data?

I've seen the other similar threads but I couldn't find anywhere, anyone who has asked these questions specifically:
Sprint recently added a 5GB data cap to their "tethering" services that comes with the Sprint Hotspot. I understand that "handset" data however, is still to remain unlimited...
1.) So when using the Wifi tethering app from the market, which data does it use on Sprint's network? Tethering, or handset?
2.) If you're using Sprint's hotspot app - the hacked/modded versions devs have been making- which does it use?
3.) And finally, if you have a rom like SRF1.2 that bypasses proxies and does other network tweaks, which does it use with them?
My phones are below if you need to know what I'm running.
ArchangelRenzoku said:
I've seen the other similar threads but I couldn't find anywhere, anyone who has asked these questions specifically:
Sprint recently added a 5GB data cap to their "tethering" services that comes with the Sprint Hotspot. I understand that "handset" data however, is still to remain unlimited...
1.) So when using the Wifi tethering app from the market, which data does it use on Sprint's network? Tethering, or handset?
2.) If you're using Sprint's hotspot app - the hacked/modded versions devs have been making- which does it use?
3.) And finally, if you have a rom like SRF1.2 that bypasses proxies and does other network tweaks, which does it use with them?
My phones are below if you need to know what I'm running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your using handset data which is unlimited and this only works if you are rooted and have wifi tether enabled,
sapperpipo said:
your using handset data which is unlimited and this only works if you are rooted and have wifi tether enabled,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay good, that is my setup.
Short of torrenting pirated movies or other bandwidth-heavy activities, I don't have to worry about getting a nasty letter from them about using too much traffic then?
I normally just stream Netflix all day, check for updates on SRF1.3, and check G+ 3 or 4 times daily.
They all use the same data. Sprint just doesn't believe that a phone by itself will ever reach the 5 gb mark, and for the most part, they're right. Normal use of a phone should fall well below that mark, although video streaming could push it...
But try downloading 6 gigs on your phone each month, legitimately exceeding the 5 gig threshold without violating the new terms of service (in other words, without using any form of tethering), and I'd be willing to bet that your speed will still be throttled. You may even receive a letter about a violation, or about purchasing theory tethering plan. (Paying for their tethering doesn't count for this experiment, since it has already been established that that plan does get throttled, and it involves supplying a data connection to a device other than your phone)
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
styles420 said:
They all use the same data. Sprint just doesn't believe that a phone by itself will ever reach the 5 gb mark, and for the most part, they're right. Normal use of a phone should fall well below that mark, although video streaming could push it...
But try downloading 6 gigs on your phone each month, legitimately exceeding the 5 gig threshold without violating the new terms of service (in other words, without using any form of tethering), and I'd be willing to bet that your speed will still be throttled. You may even receive a letter about a violation, or about purchasing theory tethering plan. (Paying for their tethering doesn't count for this experiment, since it has already been established that that plan does get throttled, and it involves supplying a data connection to a device other than your phone)
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I thought Sprint was the only provider that doesn't have a fair-usage policy limiting users to 5GB a month. They are truly unlimited... (insert question mark here?)
styles420 said:
They all use the same data. Sprint just doesn't believe that a phone by itself will ever reach the 5 gb mark, and for the most part, they're right. Normal use of a phone should fall well below that mark, although video streaming could push it...
But try downloading 6 gigs on your phone each month, legitimately exceeding the 5 gig threshold without violating the new terms of service (in other words, without using any form of tethering), and I'd be willing to bet that your speed will still be throttled. You may even receive a letter about a violation, or about purchasing theory tethering plan. (Paying for their tethering doesn't count for this experiment, since it has already been established that that plan does get throttled, and it involves supplying a data connection to a device other than your phone)
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm interesting,,
g l w t
sapperpipo said:
I use on average of 11 million Kbs of service each month for the past almost 2 years and I have yet to recieve any such letter,,,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...that f**king shut me up...
As long as you arent abusing tethering like downloading huge torrents and using it as your main internet on 3g, you should be fine... i mean i know tons of people that posted in other threads that always go over the 5gb limit and sprint doesnt throttle or charge u.. just dont use it for torrents or online gaming via ps3 or xbox.
You should be fine if you do go over
davidrules7778 said:
As long as you arent abusing tethering like downloading huge torrents and using it as your main internet on 3g, you should be fine... i mean i know tons of people that posted in other threads that always go over the 5gb limit and sprint doesnt throttle or charge u.. just dont use it for torrents or online gaming via ps3 or xbox.
You should be fine if you do go over
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully it stays that way - they *just* changed the terms of service within the past month, so only time will tell.
If you pay for their tethering package, then the app checks in with their network when you start it (this was the part that needed to be hacked to get the native hotspot working for free, essentially) - that would be the only way Sprint would know which data is used for tethering, and it could end up being inflated by any data use on your phone while the tether app is running (unless the app actually reports when data is being pulled for a connected device instead of the phone - but that's more bandwidth wasted...)
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I really don't think Sprint cares. I had no home internet for about 2 weeks recently, so I used the tethering hack. During tha time I torrented over 30 GB of tv over 4g and never got a warning or throttling.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
I had been reading from the sprint website about their unlimited plans and sprint's customer support responses to people. The results are promising, for now.
They basically said as long as network usage remains balanced between light and heavy users, everything will remain unlimited forever. (We obviously know forever means 1 or 2 years at the rate people are jumping over to the unlimited bandwagon).
Even with the iPhone users coming over, they say it's going to remain unlimited as long as not EVERYONE is being a heavy user. If everyone becomes heavy, the CEO said they will think about tackling a different approach to tiered-usage once that boat comes along, but I guess we're all okay for now.
ArchangelRenzoku said:
I've seen the other similar threads but I couldn't find anywhere, anyone who has asked these questions specifically:
Sprint recently added a 5GB data cap to their "tethering" services that comes with the Sprint Hotspot. I understand that "handset" data however, is still to remain unlimited...
1.) So when using the Wifi tethering app from the market, which data does it use on Sprint's network? Tethering, or handset?
2.) If you're using Sprint's hotspot app - the hacked/modded versions devs have been making- which does it use?
3.) And finally, if you have a rom like SRF1.2 that bypasses proxies and does other network tweaks, which does it use with them?
My phones are below if you need to know what I'm running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont really know but i think that it just uses android's driver and permission from SU (superuser) to form itself into a wifi hotspot. For number two, if you hack you're phone, you're still going to pay for SPRINT hotspot app. However, wifi hotspot(from market) is free. I don't know number 3.. sorry :/
jemajun000 said:
I dont really know but i think that it just uses android's driver and permission from SU (superuser) to form itself into a wifi hotspot. For number two, if you hack you're phone, you're still going to pay for SPRINT hotspot app. However, wifi hotspot(from market) is free. I don't know number 3.. sorry :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
False. I don't pay them $30/month and I use the hacked version of the hotspot app albeit not very much. That's the whole point of hacking it, so you don't have to pay the extra $30/month.
dtugg said:
False. I don't pay them $30/month and I use the hacked version of the hotspot app albeit not very much. That's the whole point of hacking it, so you don't have to pay the extra $30/month.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seriously, thanks for being the voice of reason here - that guy must have forgotten to toggle basic logic back on before engaging the typing mechanism
"We hacked the native hotspot app - now, it functions EXACTLY the same way as it did before we hacked it... don't forget to hit that THANKS button!"
Sent from my CyanogenMODed Epic
I'm glad you guys answered before I did. My answer would have been petty hurtful because that reply was not helpful whatsoever.
If you don't know, guessing doesn't contribute unless the post has to do with theory!
Sent from my Samsung Epic 4G using XDA Premium
didnt' really want to start a new thread.... i'm on SRF 1.2 with the fixed tether. for a couple of months i had no internet in the house so i was tethering without any issue off of 4g. got my internet back up at home and stopped using it. today i tried to go on with 4g and i could only go to google.com. turned off 4g and can surf on 3g on my laptop without issue. anyone know what's going on?
murso74 said:
didnt' really want to start a new thread.... i'm on SRF 1.2 with the fixed tether. for a couple of months i had no internet in the house so i was tethering without any issue off of 4g. got my internet back up at home and stopped using it. today i tried to go on with 4g and i could only go to google.com. turned off 4g and can surf on 3g on my laptop without issue. anyone know what's going on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the future, starting a new thread instead of hijacking mine is suggested... but I'm feeling generous before I go to bed the A.M.
You simply don't start 4G until after your device is connected via wifi on 3G.
*Start wifi tether
*connect device
*Turn on 4G
In that order and it should work fine.
Try that and report your results please.
ArchangelRenzoku said:
In the future, starting a new thread instead of hijacking mine is suggested... but I'm feeling generous before I go to bed the A.M.
You simply don't start 4G until after your device is connected via wifi on 3G.
*Start wifi tether
*connect device
*Turn on 4G
In that order and it should work fine.
Try that and report your results please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunatly that didnt' work. wonder if it has anything to do with my location. going to have to try it again when i get back home and see if that makes a difference. thanks for letting me thread jack
murso74 said:
unfortunatly that didnt' work. wonder if it has anything to do with my location. going to have to try it again when i get back home and see if that makes a difference. thanks for letting me thread jack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm, sorry that didn't work. Please let me know your findings then so I have another solution to add for future peeps with such an issue.

Sprint tethering

I've been tethering for a while now with my phone and I noticed that lately it seems like my internet stops working after a while. Sometimes it will let me download as much as 2GBs then it starts kicking me off minutes after I begin tethering.
Is Sprint able to see if I'm tethering now? I don't care to much either way I'm fine using my phone to download the things I need. It's just sometimes my downloads fail after reaching 100% so I like to use my PC more.
I have noticed that I've used 50GB this month .
method115 said:
I've been tethering for a while now with my phone and I noticed that lately it seems like my internet stops working after a while. Sometimes it will let me download as much as 2GBs then it starts kicking me off minutes after I begin tethering.
Is Sprint able to see if I'm tethering now? I don't care to much either way I'm fine using my phone to download the things I need. It's just sometimes my downloads fail after reaching 100% so I like to use my PC more.
I have noticed that I've used 50GB this month .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So its because of people like you I get slow connections whenever I try to open any website on my phone if I can't use a wifi.
Ever heard of cable internet?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
obsanity said:
So its because of people like you I get slow connections whenever I try to open any website on my phone if I can't use a wifi.
Ever heard of cable internet?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's BS. Don't throw claims around no one knows are true. I tether and the other sprint 4g phones in my household don't take a hit in bandwidth. The amount of people that tether alot or a small minority compared to people that don't. Blame sprint for not giving you a good connection, not us. Anywho, back to this torrent...
sent from my Touchwiz'd Nexus S 4g
Sprint told me to root my phone and tether.
I don't think they check.
RushAOZ said:
That's BS. Don't throw claims around no one knows are true. I tether and the other sprint 4g phones in my household don't take a hit in bandwidth. The amount of people that tether alot or a small minority compared to people that don't. Blame sprint for not giving you a good connection, not us. Anywho, back to this torrent...
sent from my Touchwiz'd Nexus S 4g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actualy they can tell and torrent downloaders are so easy spot, and im pretty sure torrent downloading might be in the fine print somewhere.
Oh also your so cool bro replacing home internet with sprints weak 3g/4g service that does not have any net neatrilty laws lol you will be gone sooner or later
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
I read recently sprint was pulling tethering apps from the market so they may be trying to weed out some in addition the recent 5GB cap on hotspot, i'm sure they are fine tuning their system to track data in different manners. Currently they cant even separate hotspot and phone data, that should serve interesting to how they implement overages.
Yeah. Eventually when all the unlimited plans are gone at least we'll know why.
Also, sprint can tell your tethering, they're just not actively doing anything about it yet. After all when you are on 3G or 4G you go through their IP gateway and they can control what you see and can tell what you're using to see it. The only way to prevent that would be through vpn and maybe some https but headers still have to go through clean.
P2P is probably the easiest to detect even if encrypted so good luck trying to get your number back after they close your account.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
True, i would hope the systems are able to track it with all the tracking a smartphone is capable of especially just knowing the browser type they should be able to see who's tethering. I'm really curious to see how this plays out over the next year or two with data usage.
RushAOZ said:
That's BS. Don't throw claims around no one knows are true. I tether and the other sprint 4g phones in my household don't take a hit in bandwidth. The amount of people that tether alot or a small minority compared to people that don't. Blame sprint for not giving you a good connection, not us. Anywho, back to this torrent...
sent from my Touchwiz'd Nexus S 4g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No definitely you guys
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
searchfirst said:
I read recently sprint was pulling tethering apps from the market so they may be trying to weed out some in addition the recent 5GB cap on hotspot, i'm sure they are fine tuning their system to track data in different manners. Currently they cant even separate hotspot and phone data, that should serve interesting to how they implement overages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually they can
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
Don't believe anyone who says they cannot tell if your tethering. All they have to do is check what the source and destination mac address using a program such as wireshark to sniff the IP of your phone.
Also don't believe anyone who says your phone is affecting their bandwidth. Bandwidth depends on signal strength and how much bandwidth they are using on their 3g 4g frequencies they use. Its different everywhere for every tower and has to do with the type of license they were able to obtain from the fcc for the tower you are using.
As far as your question regarding sprint killing your downloads, you would need to find a way to sniff you phone's 3g/4g connection to find out whats killing the packets. i would guess that its probably an issue with the connection(s) timing out for high ping times. i don't know if there is a way to manually adjust the ttl in android.
obsanity said:
So its because of people like you I get slow connections whenever I try to open any website on my phone if I can't use a wifi.
Ever heard of cable internet?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess what jackass not everyone has cable availability. I live in the county and I don't have cable, or DSL available. In fact as of this year I can no longer get a phone line to my home. The only options some of us have are satellite internet or tethering.
They may be able to on a backend but sprint.com and their billing system doesn't show the difference. Currently if you call sprint and ask for your hotspots usage they cannot provide an answer.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
cteneyck said:
Don't believe anyone who says they cannot tell if your tethering. All they have to do is check what the source and destination mac address using a program such as wireshark to sniff the IP of your phone.
Also don't believe anyone who says your phone is affecting their bandwidth. Bandwidth depends on signal strength and how much bandwidth they are using on their 3g 4g frequencies they use. Its different everywhere for every tower and has to do with the type of license they were able to obtain from the fcc for the tower you are using.
As far as your question regarding sprint killing your downloads, you would need to find a way to sniff you phone's 3g/4g connection to find out whats killing the packets. i would guess that its probably an issue with the connection(s) timing out for high ping times. i don't know if there is a way to manually adjust the ttl in android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but torenting is easy to spot due the way it downloads parts of bytes from different spots
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
Windst said:
Sprint told me to root my phone and tether.
I don't think they check.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really????
My wife hates XDA
dowmace said:
Guess what jackass not everyone has cable availability. I live in the county and I don't have cable, or DSL available. In fact as of this year I can no longer get a phone line to my home. The only options some of us have are satellite internet or tethering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are means to tether when you have no options. I was pointing out the ops ignorant approach to data usage since he clearly has a different internet connection but still chooses to use the phone.
Keep your jackass to yourself.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
obsanity said:
There are means to tether when you have no options. I was pointing out the ops ignorant approach to data usage since he clearly has a different internet connection but still chooses to use the phone.
Keep your jackass to yourself.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You blamed him for your data speeds. If he is causing low data speeds, then how do the people legitimately tethering not effect your speeds?
obsanity said:
There are means to tether when you have no options. I was pointing out the ops ignorant approach to data usage since he clearly has a different internet connection but still chooses to use the phone.
Keep your jackass to yourself.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never said I have another internet connection. I said I could simply just download the files with my phone. I preferred to use my PC instead because I can avoid having to transfer files.
Thanks for the help everyone.
dowmace said:
You blamed him for your data speeds. If he is causing low data speeds, then how do the people legitimately tethering not effect your speeds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint would accommodate for that. But because people abuse the otherwise would be fair use type of tether system, soon people such as yourself, who can't have any other access will be either limited to a ridiculous 5GB per month or not have the ability at all.
For people like myself who ocasonally use tether without tether plan (because of root access) to check some emails/web when stranded without wifi access, Sprint may disable that all together and we'll be forced to pay the $30 per month fee for the 1 or 2 times a year of 100-200MB of data used.
That's why I can't stand people abusing it. And for the op... if you truly do not have any other means of getting a wired data line, I hope you are at least paying for it even though it may no longer be unlimited.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
obsanity said:
Sprint would accommodate for that. But because people abuse the otherwise would be fair use type of tether system, soon people such as yourself, who can't have any other access will be either limited to a ridiculous 5GB per month or not have the ability at all.
For people like myself who ocasonally use tether without tether plan (because of root access) to check some emails/web when stranded without wifi access, Sprint may disable that all together and we'll be forced to pay the $30 per month fee for the 1 or 2 times a year of 100-200MB of data used.
That's why I can't stand people abusing it. And for the op... if you truly do not have any other means of getting a wired data line, I hope you are at least paying for it even though it may no longer be unlimited.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obsanity, Were I can definitely understand your frustration with sprints slow network (I feel the same way), Sprint advertises unlimited data on smartphones. regardless of him paying for tethering (which he should pay for), data is data, and its all 1's and 0's and therefor is a mute point. People that tether without paying for it are not cause of slow data, however they will be the cause of tiered data plans. Until that happens chill out and relax. If you have a signal , -60db or better, then call sprint and have them take a look at the tower. if they insist its your phone, have them replace it. if they won't look at the tower, thank them for their time and file a complaint with the fcc.

Is MetroPCS unlocking phones?

Hey guys, I was searching the interwebs for some general unlocking info and I found this from a couple years ago. Pretty interesting I think, what happened to this? Are they actually reflashing phones in-store? As far as the "gradual opening of the US wireless market"...it's gradual indeed
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/2541615...ss/t/metropcs-customers-bring-your-own-phone/
.
Thread moved. Would advise you to read forum rules and post in correct section.
Failure to comply with forum rules will result in an infraction and/or ban depending on severity of rule break.
MetroPCS will allow you to use some CDMA handsets from other providers, yes. But you don't get data; you'll have to figure out how to do that yourself. I know plenty of folks who put OG Droids and EVOs on Ghettro, though I don't know why... 1xRTT is pretty miserable, way too slow for a real smartphone... and their LTE isn't compatible with Verizon LTE handsets afaik.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Interesting. So are GSM data standards are more inter-compatible between carriers than with CDMA? (I had to look up what 1xRTT is =) )
shadowguy1 said:
Interesting. So are GSM data standards are more inter-compatible between carriers than with CDMA? (I had to look up what 1xRTT is =) )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same principle, each carrier runs their network on different frequencies, except most who use the same technology also use the same texting/phone frequencies.
If Metro had the same 3G bands as Verizon, a Verizon phone would work fine.
MetroPCS doesn't have EV-DO at all.
Yes they do. if you are using their latest .prl (3025) and your phone is 3G capable, you will get 3G in the rare places where it is available. i live in nyc and did not get 3g on metro unless i went to Brooklyn . i used the speedtest app and it got 300ish kbps on an evdo network. not bad speed for metropcs, but very slow compared to what im using now.
Check here if you don't believe me:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-admire/413237-3g-samsung-admire-here-3022-prl.html
Sent from my Samsung Hercules
shadowguy1 said:
Hey guys, I was searching the interwebs for some general unlocking info and I found this from a couple years ago. Pretty interesting I think, what happened to this? Are they actually reflashing phones in-store? As far as the "gradual opening of the US wireless market"...it's gradual indeed
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/2541615...ss/t/metropcs-customers-bring-your-own-phone/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are two stores around me that do it. $50 to get your phone on there network. Only one of them does the data. Not sure how much they charge. But it's not officially done by metro. It's individuals who work in the store and the money goes to them.
sent from my ppc through win97 servers bypassing exchange security
Speaking of bringing your own phone....anybody know anything about simplesim. I've thought about going to them from att.
sent from my ppc through win97 servers bypassing exchange security
simplesim? Do you mean Simple Mobile?
shadowguy1 said:
simplesim? Do you mean Simple Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's it. Know anything about em
sent from my ppc through win97 servers bypassing exchange security
boborone said:
Yeah that's it. Know anything about em
sent from my ppc through win97 servers bypassing exchange security
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are an MVNO of T-Mobile. To be honest, I would just go with T-Mobile's monthly 4G plans instead of Simple but to each his own. Some people swear by them.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Babydoll25 said:
They are an MVNO of T-Mobile. To be honest, I would just go with T-Mobile's monthly 4G plans instead of Simple but to each his own. Some people swear by them.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm about to go to sprint for the unlimited data. Att is going to start throttling me on mine. I've just all these GSM phones laying around and would like to use them.
sent from my ppc through win97 servers bypassing exchange security
boborone said:
I'm about to go to sprint for the unlimited data. Att is going to start throttling me on mine. I've just all these GSM phones laying around and would like to use them.
sent from my ppc through win97 servers bypassing exchange security
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't be unlimited for long...WImax sucks too....but whatever makes you happy.
I'd say take Verizon up on their double data promo if your going CDMA
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
Babydoll25 said:
It won't be unlimited for long...WImax sucks too....but whatever makes you happy.
I'd say take Verizon up on their double data promo if your going CDMA
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's double data. I typically use around 150 gb a month. That's why I like unlimited.
I met a guy recently on Simple Mobile and he seemed happy, I'm thinking of switching soon. I mean, unlimited 3G data, text and talk for $40 a month including international texting? Considering my phone only does 3G (Vibrant) anyways...
But, I also don't use that much data.
boborone said:
What's double data. I typically use around 150 gb a month. That's why I like unlimited.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have a promo where if you order 2GB for 30$ you automatically get 4GB and, pay for 5GB ($50) get 10GB, and so on....
ALSO: To anyone thinking of Simple mobile go with the higher priced option. The 40$ dollar option doesn't give you access to 4G speeds (T-Mobile's HSPA+ in this case) even if your phone is only 3G capable you will see a speed boost.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
Babydoll25 said:
They have a promo where if you order 2GB for 30$ you automatically get 4GB and, pay for 5GB ($50) get 10GB, and so on....
ALSO: To anyone thinking of Simple mobile go with the higher priced option. The 40$ dollar option doesn't give you access to 4G speeds (T-Mobile's HSPA+ in this case) even if your phone is only 3G capable you will see a speed boost.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh I see. Still too little for me. I hook my phone to my tv and watch Netflix, the news. Play games and such. I'm a data hog I know.
sent from my ppc through win97 servers bypassing exchange security

Since T-Mo is carrying the Nexus 4...no tethering without the proper plan?

Right now I have no problem tethering off my Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile with an unlimited plan, whether on my tablet, laptop, or desktop. The Nexus 4 looks pretty nice, but my concern - since T-Mobile is also carrying it, does that mean it'll have the capability to block tethering without the proper plan, even using the Play unlocked version? Does the T-Mobile one even have anything confirmed other than a higher price? Apparently 42Mbps speeds are confirmed on the Play version through the Google press release and the Play Store specs are wrong.
I know its all speculation at this point since nobody has the phone, but that'd be a huge factor as to whether I sell my Galaxy Nexus now and go back to my HTC G2 until I get the Nexus 4 (while I can still get a decent amount for it), or just get my high-performance fix with the Nexus 10 (which I'd be planning to get regardless after selling my Toshiba Thrive).
If you can root it, you can tether w/o being charged a fee. True story.
WiredPirate said:
If you can root it, you can tether w/o being charged a fee. True story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you buy it from T-Mobile, they will have the IMEI and can track it. Better get it from the PlayStore.
WiredPirate said:
If you can root it, you can tether w/o being charged a fee. True story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except I've had issues tethering with a rooted/ROM'd G2 occasionally, and have had friends having issues with tethering on rooted devices, so I can't say that's entirely true.
eksasol said:
If you buy it from T-Mobile, they will have the IMEI and can track it. Better get it from the PlayStore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if T-Mobile ends up carrying the same unlocked version (just upcharging for whatever reason), then wouldn't they be able to track the IMEI or whatever of the unlocked version too?
magus57 said:
Except I've had issues tethering with a rooted/ROM'd G2 occasionally, and have had friends having issues with tethering on rooted devices, so I can't say that's entirely true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can say it's entirely true. No problems tethering with root on ATT or VZW with my Captivate, Atrix or Gnex using either WiFi Tether free app or built in AP via AOKP or CM for 3+ years in at least 2 states. So if you are having problems, you are doing it wrong.
magus57 said:
But if T-Mobile ends up carrying the same unlocked version (just upcharging for whatever reason), then wouldn't they be able to track the IMEI or whatever of the unlocked version too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile only knows the imei of the phones they sell. They can't and don't have access (unless it's currently connected to their network) of any other imei.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
WiredPirate said:
I can say it's entirely true. No problems tethering with root on ATT or VZW with my Captivate, Atrix or Gnex using either WiFi Tether free app or built in AP via AOKP or CM for 3+ years in at least 2 states. So if you are having problems, you are doing it wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How exactly can you root "wrong" like you're saying? Fact is, I've gotten the "get a hotspot plan" pages when tethering to my laptop/desktop numerous times while I had my G2, running both CM7 and CM9. Maybe T-Mobile is just more stringent about sniffing out tethering?
magus57 said:
How exactly can you root "wrong" like you're saying? Fact is, I've gotten the "get a hotspot plan" pages when tethering to my laptop/desktop numerous times while I had my G2, running both CM7 and CM9. Maybe T-Mobile is just more stringent about sniffing out tethering?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one said you were rooting wrong, they said if you're having tethering issues then you're tethering wrong. But it just depends on the current tower you're on as well as traffic at the time, as well as luck.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
geoffcorey said:
No one said you were rooting wrong, they said if you're having tethering issues then you're tethering wrong. But it just depends on the current tower you're on as well as traffic at the time, as well as luck.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. So while tethering is possible on rooted devices, its not guaranteed to work 100% of the time, which is what I'm trying to get at.
magus57 said:
Exactly. So while tethering is possible on rooted devices, its not guaranteed to work 100% of the time, which is what I'm trying to get at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, no. My VZW LTE tethered from my Gnex is more reliable than my Charter cable internet, in fact I use it as a backup when Charter goes out. (which is a few time a month.) If you don't have data it is because of your carrier. And when I said doing it wrong I meant tethering not rooting. There are many many threads on how to properly tether. When done properly tethering works 100% of the time, not having data to tether is a different issue altogether.
WiredPirate said:
No, no. My VZW LTE tethered from my Gnex is more reliable than my Charter cable internet, in fact I use it as a backup when Charter goes out. (which is a few time a month.) If you don't have data it is because of your carrier. And when I said doing it wrong I meant tethering not rooting. There are many many threads on how to properly tether. When done properly tethering works 100% of the time, not having data to tether is a different issue altogether.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I'll have to look into it then, thanks.
If you have any specific questions or errors tell me. I'm not sure why you've had a less than stable experience with tethering, but if you can note specific issues we can try and help you troubleshoot to get it working properly.:good:
I wonder how much they will sell it at a T-Mobile store off contract 350$ I hope
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Jasonhunterx said:
I wonder how much they will sell it at a T-Mobile store off contract 350$ I hope
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Way more than what Google selling it for
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
raymond4 said:
Way more than what Google selling it for
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I'm thinking just don't like using me credit card and shipping charges
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
It seems to be pretty well established that T-Mobile is packet-sniffing to detect unauthorized tethering. It appears that they detect the User Agent string if you are using Internet Explorer or Chrome (but apparently not Firefox, I imagine because Android Firefox is able to pretend to be the desktop version with one tap). Changing the User Agent string for your browser or using a VPN tunnel circumvents the detection, and non-browser access (SSH, SMTP, etc.) is not checked, either. All that's independent of whether you are rooted or not.
just install a user agent add on or extention on your laptop. Firefox and chrome both have them, i set mine to nexus 7 user agent and the tether blocking pages go away for good.
FREEE
basementalism said:
just install a user agent add on or extention on your laptop. Firefox and chrome both have them, i set mine to nexus 7 user agent and the tether blocking pages go away for good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it works with out root or any app im using it right now on my comp with my nexus 4 free i have tmobile truly unlimited plan
mrot978 said:
it works with out root or any app im using it right now on my comp with my nexus 4 free i have tmobile truly unlimited plan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good to know. Thanks
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
geoffcorey said:
T-Mobile only knows the imei of the phones they sell. They can't and don't have access (unless it's currently connected to their network) of any other imei.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMEIs are assigned in blocks. Even if they don't have access to the info from the manufacturer, (they almost certainly do), they can still figure it out. If, for example, they've sold Nexus 4s with IMEIs 1001 and 1003, and you log onto their network with 1002, they can draw a pretty solid conclusion.
The hard part is figuring out if you're tethering or not, which requires invasive packet sniffing if the phone itself doesn't report tethering (that's how they track tethering with branded devices). I don't believe, based on my quick research, that T-Mo is sniffing everyone's packets. Which means they probably aren't watching you unless you are streaming 20GB a month. They are tracking user agents on branded phones, it seems.

Categories

Resources