By 
I always knew this day was coming… Today, we have been receiving a flood of reports from Verizon users that their days of “illegal” tethering have finally caught up with them. That’s right. The Verizon data police are cracking down and dishing out warnings for users attempting to tether devices like Xooms and laptops on their network without paying for Verizon’s optional tethering data plans. Users are reporting that they’re seeing a Verizon warning page instead of their favorite website with a number to call if they would like to upgrade their plan (example below).
Carriers have always taken their data network very seriously and we’ve already seen similar cases like AT&T coming down hard on illegal tethering by sending out text messages to those they suspect of using an unauthorized devices on their network. Still unknown is how these carriers are determining if a user is say, just watching a lot of YouTube videos on their handsets or actually using a tethered device.
The thing that worries me is I can see this possibly happening in the future where carriers completely shut out rooted users from their network altogether. To me, this as just the beginning.
Can anyone on Verizon report back if you are seeing this warning message or not and are currently “illegally” tethering? Also provide as much detail as possible (ROM, tethering app, device, etc.).
Not yet. Steeldroid, OG Droid, Wired Tether, Android 2.3.4
My choice in phones FTW.
T-mobile ftw.
I’m still able to tether my WiFi Xoom with my Incredible Running the latest cyanogen (2.3.3 base).
The FCC auction of the 700mhz block of spectrum mandated “any app, any device” so this should all be okay on 4G networks.
Tethering isn’t illegal, it’s (typically) forbidden by the terms of your contract. Breaking a contract isn’t the same thing as breaking the law.
A contract is a legally binding document and breaching it can put you on the wrong side of the law.
So, you are wrong.
actually, a breach of contract isn’t illegal where you would be criminally fined, or thrown in jail. however, verizon can seek other civil remedies such as filing suit for damages or injunctions.
for example. whistleblowers can breach a confidentiality agreement with their employers, and yet, the gov’t may still use confidential information given by the whistleblowers, as long as the gov’t remains a passive recipient.
So, Jose is wrong. You just got lawyered!
Eh, sorta, you can breach a contract without breaking any laws. So, you’re probably wrong, too.
Sprint FTW!
You do realize, that even on Sprint, your contract forbids it. Unless you have the Nexus of course. It is only a matter of time, they cant keep losing money forever you know.
Are they really losing money? How much does a little extra data cost them? Many people I know that tether would not pay extra even if that was the ONLY way to do it. They would just make do without.
And I know a lot of people that would pay for it. I think they would rather have paying customers than freeloaders.
On average it costs carriers $1.63 per gb.
Usually, bussiness’s charge more than it costs them. Unless your Sprint appearantly
And they charge a minimum of 20$ a month… usually more.. a profit of $10 a month from each data customer should be plenty. Not many people do 5+ GB. Greedy bastards.
I call bs on figures like this that assign a dollar per gig figure. It’s bogus business math. Given an operational infrastructure, the cost is the same for sending no data as it is for saturating that link with data, except for a marginal difference in electric use.
Granted, it would cost to add more capacity if you do saturate capacity, but that is another matter.
That is nonsense. Where on Earth would that number come from? Verizon’s stock would do a lot better if they were making that type of profit. The company profit is public. They are not making that much money.
Verizon made 4.6 billion dollars in profit last quarter. They do make that much money
That figure came from a verizon data solutions expert. I have no way to validate it. Not sure why he would make that up though.
I’d be glad to pay for a mobile hotspot if it were a fixed cost for unlimited data. Currently i have the promotional hotspot (free until June 15th) and i manage to blow through 2 GB in less than half an hour when i get a 4G LTE signal by teathering my phone to my laptop. I use this as a reference since its $20 per month for 2 GB of data useage without taking advantage of th promotion VW is currently running. I’m on day 11 of my billing cycle; I’ve used 18GBs already. So when you break that number down lets say 4GBs were used up by my phone, take off 2 GBs for the allotted mobile hotspot at that aready costs an extra 20 bucks anyway, my bill would still cost an extra $120 and I’m only one thrid of the way through my billing cycle.
Good thing Verizon isn’t charging you yet…Sprint never will. Or if you get the $30 a month HotSpot they won’t.
So you cant replace you home internet with what is suppose to be a convenience feature. Cry me a river. Do a bulk of you dl’ing at home, or starbucks. The tethering plan is NOT suppose to replace your home internet.
@Korey, Sprint will eventually, or they will file for bankruptcy. And do you realize that you just said Sprint never will, as long as you sign up to pay more?
Sorry, I forgot to leave my phone information. I’ve yet to receive a notification about this issue via logging onto my Verizon account. Although it could be due to the fact that the hot spot promotion is currently on my account.
Phone: HTC Thunderbolt
ROM: Das BAMF 1.6.3 nte
Hot spot: Wifi teather v3_0-pre11 apk
In order to get it to work for the Thunderbolt a few of the settings needed to be changes:
Change device profile: EVO 4g
MSS Clamping: Enabled
Freeloaders are people who pay nothing to get something. The last time I checked people are paying for their data plans and, even using this, they’re not going over their usage (or they’d pay if not on unlimited). The difference here is that carriers are double-dipping for the same data I already paid for. This, for those who think long-term, is just a temporary money grab that will vanish as time moves on. No doubt in my mind. Just as land lines have gotten to $20 a year (MagicJack) so too will all these ridiculous money-grabs stop.
No you “payed for” mobile data. It is in the contract YOU signed, when YOU signed up for it. When you buy a car, you buy the car you signed up for, not the one next to it. “MagicJack” really?
I would say that expecting to replace your home internet(something), without an increase in your bill (nothing) is freeloading.
Nlsme, I’m using it as mobile data. As I pointed out I’m not using it as a replacement for my Internet service. I still pay that bill too. (something and something)
Why is it that it’s okay to use the service for map data, for game data, for e-mail from work or my desktop (none of which is covered in the specifics of the plan) that’s okay but this isn’t? You know why it’s different? Because they see a window to charge suckers for something they know the masses will simply accept because, well, they say so. Sorry, as a consumer it’s my job to get the most out of the service I pay for. Why are you suddenly working for the phone company is my question. I think it’s time you wake up from that dream you’re in and realize you’ve been sold a bill of goods so well that you’ve now sold your own soul to the company.
A man is only worth his word, pretty sad you cant cant keep your word over $20.
And ALL of the things you mention ARE covered in the specifics of the plan. When it says mobile data to your mobile device.
Clearly
Nlsme is under an AT&T contract. He can’t stand the fact that he’s paying
the same prices Verizon customers pay but he never has service with his phone.
In regards to your
reply about how it’s suppose to be a convenience, not my primary means of
internet usage, you’re absolutely right. However, your pure hate ridge towards
the rest of the world because your either too stupid to follow a set of step by
step instructions to root your phone allowing you access to a “free”
mobile hot spot, or you’re a representative for one of the mobile carriers
trying to shamelessly hide behind the curtain called the internet as you try
and justify a clause in the contract we all sign.
Either way you
managed to miss out on the fact that the 2GB mobile hotspot plan isn’t feasible
since that data is used up in less than half an hour. Now that we finally have
a somewhat prevalent but really fast wireless data connection people are going people
actually paying cell phone carriers for a mobile hot spot via their cell phone
are going to continue to get raped with overages.
So let’s take a look
at the past with BS “legalities” in the mobile industry and see where
they are today.
Phone number: Phone
industry claimed it was there number not the customer that is paying for it,
yeah that long gone since it was unconstitutional.
Early termination
fee: Throughout the entirety of your contract it will cost you the
full amount of the early termination fee mentioned in your
contract, that since been changed to a diminishing termination fee because it
was unconstitutional.
Rooting a phone:
Wireless carriers claimed you were not allowed to root your phone, but we see that
not the case anymore now all they can do is deny you warranty or tech support
because? That’s right; it was unconstitutional since you physically own the
phone.
Just some food for
thought…
Umm, I am a verizon customer. I just beleive when you sign a contract, you cant then claim you own something that is expressly forbidden IN THE CONTRACT. Too stupid to root? Are you kidding me? Its one click root with an app from the market (or did you actually develop the method yourself?). I guess you feel it is okay to steal a pack of gum, when you buy a nickel candy from the store. Considering you have to be “smart enough” to do that? Let me guess, when you bought a house that had 3 bedrooms, you pissed and moaned that it is your house, and THEY should have incured the cost of turning it into a mansion? People like you are the reason tiered data is coming to verizon. As for “raped in overage fees”, it is $10 bucks a gig in overage fees. Yeah, gonna break the bank of all those people that barely use 10 gigs a month on their home line. Dont like it, dont sign the contract. My guess is, you use all your data on torrents. Go ahead and try to justify your inability to read a contract before signing it.
As for your incorrect claim that all they can do is deny your warranty, or tech support, they have every right to cancel your service. I would think that is coming too. And when it does, you will be the first one crying. Even though, it says it right in the contract YOU SIGNED.
Just an FYI, it is “hatred”, and you say I am stupid. Piss off.
Wow! Nlsme
“Just an FYI, it is “hatred”, and you say I am stupid. Piss off.”
Hmm, from the same exact posting:
“steel a pack of gum”, “cant”, “Its one click root”, “Dont”, “dont”.
And that doesn’t include the sentence where you keep changing tenses. You of all people shouldn’t be calling anyone out for getting words wrong. You’re one of the worst here. You barely put together a single post without sounding like you’re having a stroke.
You are trying to justify stealing. You don’t get to decide what Verizon should do with their network. You get to decide what you do with your network. But since you, like most others, are not capable of developing a network, you will need to pay whatever Verizon wants to charge.
@chimp, wow, I didnt punctuate, at least I didnt turn one word into two, while claiming someone else was stupid. I get you dont like me, because I called you an idiot for not knowing the differance between a “disposable” item, and a “durable” good. Dont expect me to go into depth with your trolling, that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the conversation at hand. As proven below.
Nlsme – I see you’re still living in your own little fantasy world, ignoring all of the other facts I point out as usual because they don’t fit in with the “your reality”. Oh, and reading through your comments in this blog post as well as others, I think it is very clear who the troll is. Calling me a troll doesn’t make what I say any less factual.
You just keep shooting your self in the foot time after time again. $10 per GB will rape people as they can add another 10 bucks of overage charges every 15 minutes of use (40 buck per hour). Clearly your not that good in math so i’ll forgive you for that one. Next we need to visit the fact that the only way you can root your phone is via the one click app. You shouldn’t even mention that, it just makes you look like you don’t know what your talking about. Especially since its no longer in the market.
Now on to the fact that you seem to be a stickler for contracts…READ YOUR OWN CONTRACT before dictating your ignorance to everyone else on here. No where in your contract does it state one is not allowed to root their phone. The government as passed a federal law allowing owners to root their phone if they choose to do so (however that still does not give rooted users the right to use tethering apps). Go a head and review your contract, display the exact clause in it that states we are not allowed to root our phones.
Also, as i mentioned earlier, i already have a 4G LTE phone with an unlimited data plan. So to refer you back to your own ignorance on contracts; Verizon can not take away my unlimited data plan. Even after they switch over to a tiered plan, i will still be grandfathered into my unlimited 4G LTE data plan. Even when i purchase a new phone and renew my contract I will still be on an unlimited 4G LTE data plan – that my friend is a renewal not a new contract or a change in my plan. So keep on preaching how we signed this and we signed that how can we be mad when we signed the contract bla bla bla…You just proved to the rest of the people in this thread that you have no clue what your talking about since you dont even know what your contract does and does not state.
Umm, There are more than one “one click root apps” in the market, STILL. The federal ruling (not a law) was only to allow you to use it on another network(not that I even mentioned rooting, you did). Show me where I said the contract states you cant root? Only way you use 4 gigs an hour is through torrents(pretty much), the average user ON A LANDLINE doesnt use data at that rate. As far as them taking your service, read what I wrote, before you claim I am ignorant. I said “They have every right to terminate your service”, when you violate the contract, at ANY TIME. Again, the contract YOU signed SPECIFICALLY addresses tethering. And by doing it, without their approved method, you violate the contract YOU SIGNED.
SInce you say I dont know what is in the contract..
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/globalText?textName=CUSTOMER_AGREEMENT&jspName=footer/customerAgreement.jsp
What Are Verizon Wireless’ Rights to Limit or End Service or End this Agreement?
(d) modify your device from its manufacturer’s specifications; or (e) use your Service in a way that negatively affects our network or other customers.
(d) install, deploy or use any regeneration equipment or similar mechanism (for example, a repeater) to originate, amplify, enhance, retransmit or regenerate an RF signal without our permission; (e) steal from or lie to us
That covers rooting, and tethering.
Sprint is less likely to enforce it. They don’t even charge for data usage overseas. I’ve traveled to Central and S America using data roaming and Sprint never billed me, even though technically it is in the contract.
Sounds like one of the many reasons Sprint has been unable to turn a profit in a very long time.
Ha
There are many companies that exist not making a profit, which you probably use. That’s an issue for shareholders, not the users. If Sprint weren’t a usable service, I would then switch, not because they are not profitable – which is due to Nextel screwup, not the Sprint side, which continues to improve with network upgrades.
And there are even more that fail without profits. And, when did Sprint udgrade its network? Last I heard was December. In fact, I recently heard that their roaming agreements, wich account for half of “their” network, are drying up.
@Xorg Kc, that roaming is for voice. Yeah, big win there. Thing is, with Verizons network, they really dont need to rely on another companies network.
And those roaming agreements are in fact drying up, I just looked into it yesterday. Sprints own map over the last year confirms it.
Sprint “isnt for me” because they have horrible coverage. In fact, where I live, I would be stuck roaming on Verizons network.
To foreseen response below… Actually Sprint has the best roaming agreements and VZW is now forced to allow Sprint to roam on them at better rates. Win win for Sprint users. Sounds like Sprint isn’t for you… move along. Many will go to Sprint over this.
just be happy over paying the blood sucking that is verizon, good for you.
You mean, being able to accept that a business is there to make money? Sure, I can do that.
Why do you demonize a business for providing you a service you are willing to pay for? If you are a customer, then obviously the service is worth more to you than the money. If you hate Verizon, then you should hate yourself for making a stupid decision to give up money that is more important to you than the service Verizon offers.
A carrier only bills you for international usage if the carrier overseas bills your carrier for those services. If no bill is sent, then Sprint or whomever has no idea how much data, if any, you had used.
Stupid of them really. I’m tethering for free, and the data is part of my unlimited data plan. It makes no difference to them really, except I’ll be using a bit more of my ‘unlimited’ plan. T-Mobile’s cheap shot was capping ‘unlimited’ data at 5GB and throttling down speeds after that.
That unlimited plan you are already paying for is outlined in a contract, of wich you agreed to upon getting the phone. Nowhere in that contract does it allow you to tether, in fact it expressely forbids it. No matter what carrier you are on. Unless it is a Nexus device.
You keep mentioning everybody’s contract like you know what we signed. Guess what – I still have an Alltel plan with unlimited data from BEFORE wifi tethering was even around. There’s absolutely nothing in my contract that even mentions “3g mobile hotspot.”
Pretty sure, Alltel contracts state data usage is for “approved devices”. And, even if I was wrong, you are a very small percentage of the people on Verizons network. You MIGHT have a case, to almost everyone else, your case doesnt fit.
It makes a difference to them as some percentage of people who currently tether illegally will pay for the service. That will make them more money. That is what businesses do. I am sure whoever you work for does this as well.
In actuality, if they make more money from tethering, the price of all their services “might” come down in an effort to lure in more customers.
This is just like the fluctuating cost vending machine that reads the outside temp and adjusts the price accordingly. Everyone immediately acts outraged that they would raise the price when it is hot. But they also lower the price when it is cold outside.
Oh please. Will you please look at their financials before you spew garbage?
The fact is other then one HUGE *one time* debt they had to pay off they would have been profitable last year.
That one time debt was a cost of them doing business. Pretty simple really, they havent made ANY profits in a LONG time. Their “one time” debt, that they still have more of (over$16b in long term debt). Let alone the fact that their LAST “one time payment” ($1.6b) was nowhere near the $3.45b they lost last year. How about YOU check their financials.
Sprint is adding customers, cutting losses (by half), and has some of the best phones in the US.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/28/sprint-halves-its-quarterly-customer-loss-increases-revenue-for/
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/29/sprint-reports-q1-2011-results-adds-1-1-million-subscribers/Meanwhile their taking customers from T-Mobile currently by the handful, and in June will have the most powerful phone in the US (again). Meanwhile the EVO 4G more then held it’s own for a year.Sprint’s relationship with the top tier manufactures is becoming much better (if not the best in the US), and they seem to be ready to add Motorola to that lineup much sooner rather then later. Which is great because when you have great manufactures you get great prices.Google is already making strong indications that Sprint is the new home of the Nexus line of phones.And last but not least Sprint is lead by a proven telecom genius – Dan Hesse.The future only looks bright for Sprint.
Cutting losses is still losing money. Most powerful phone? That is the GS2, and hopefully it will get a formal announcement for the US in 2 days. How is that GB upgrade coming for the EVO? How abolut that network? It is TINY, unless you count where they roam on Verizons network.
Forbids WHAT? Rooting? Don’t think so, unless you are unawares, recent COURT rulings have declared gaining ROOT access to the file structure of your device which you OWN to be within FAIR USE doctrine. If the Networks want to retain complete control over the devices, they should lease them, not SELL them. Also, TETHERING is not the ONLY reason why people ROOT their devices. How about the networks allow you to remove software they place onto your device? Could you imagine a PC or Mac that had software you could NOT uninstall??? Of course not. So tell me where exactly in their contract it states that they retain complete control over the device and software installed upon it? It doesn’t…
found this on sprints website. They just are not mean like verizon. (vi) for an activity that connects any device to Personal Computers (including without limitation, laptops), or other equipment for the purpose of transmitting wireless data over the network (unless customer is using a plan designated for such usage);
VZW=LOOSERS
WTF is a “looser”?
Learn to spell, loser. Oh the irony.
lmao!!
Well technically, they may be looser. As in their anuses? Maybe.
Get a live loser
Lol! Greatest comeback of the year! Especially since “life” is spelled wrong. More illiteracy or is it cleverness? Perhaps we’ll never know – but I’m pretty sure it’s more illiteracy.
I must have misread the story… I thought Verizon was getting tighter with their restrictions, not looser.
The only thing getting “Looser” on Verizon’s end is their customer’s assholes, wallet, and logic.
What, precisely, are they loosing? Herds of animals? The hounds? Cops loosening handcuffs? Have they opened the Ark of the Covenant?
Nothing for me yet, CM7 OG Droid, wireless tether
if they give you X amount of gb’s a month then it should be up to you how to use that data allowance…
Not when the X=unlimited. For teired data, I couldnt agree with you more.
You nitpicker! If we are truly paying for unlimited than we should use the unlimited data however we damn well please.
No, you are paying for unlimited “mobile” data. Pay attention to the contract that you sign.
Yes, I am using the mobile network to access the data. Your point?
My point is, you didnt read the contract YOU SIGNED. You failed to realize what you SIGNED UP FOR. Cant blame them you are not bright enough to educate yourself BEFORE signing the contract. Dont take the MY DATA route, when you fail to realize what that data entails. The contract is for “mobile data”, not “data for use on any device”.
The contract does expressly forbid tethering. However, what is the technical difference between data requested via a tether connection versus from the phone? Does it cost the carrier more to serve packets sent to a tethered device to justify the increased cost versus the phone? No, it doesn’t. So it does come down to the carriers are the gatekeepers and it’ll cost more because they say so.
Yes, they want to be the gatekeeper of THEIR network. A company has every right to determine the price of THEIR product. Just as every customer has the right not to indulge in said product.
I’m not saying they’re not allowed to manage their network. The question is whether that is a justifiable position given the technology. It’s a far great question than the simply legal arguments over property.
It’s also disingenuous to advertise unlimited “mobile” data and then use a definition of mobile that fits your own needs. The carriers need to get rid of that altogether, despite that fact that it sounds oh so good. When as a business you pay for bandwidth you don’t pay for a fixed amount of data. You pay for a certain amount of kb/s or mb/s. This may be expensive, but it’s honest and measurable. Saying you get X amount of data a month is fantastic as a provider because then you get to charge overage. Same bits, now suddenly worth more. If I were a carrier I’d fight tooth and nail for it, which as you’ve noticed they’re doing.
I can’t get your point, tethering means your mobile is linked somehow to your PC/Tablet/Whatever but traffic pass through your phone so there’s really no difference at all between tethering and usual data access …
Why won’t you people get it. It doesn’t matter. If you tell someone “I’ll let you rent my car, but I only want you to drive it on the roads, stay in the speed limit, and over all drive safely” they can’t just say “well I’m paying for the gas, I’m paying for the car, if it get’s broken I’ll fix it, so I’m going to do anything I want with it”. It is still your car, your right to tell them how they can or cannot use it. I don’t like what carriers are doing with their data network, but so what, its THEIR network. They have every right to tell you how you are allowed to use your data, because it’s not yours, its theirs. You just buy the right to use it.
Sticking to your example: the car is your mobile, the road is their network, still I can’t see the point; using thethering data (which is neither yours or theirs by the way, since you pay them for the band not for the content) go through the net to your mobile, exactly in the same way it does in usual way…. If I download data on my phone and than copy them on my laptop, should I call Verizon and ask their permission? Cause that is the point, they are regulating not the way you pull data from their net, but from your phone, and that’s a completely different matter! Your argument is pointless as much as those rates!
Maybe they should charge more to beigin with. That way, you can use it as your home internet, and they wouldnt be at risk of losing money.
More than they do? Are you crazy? And by the way that’s not the point! It would be like your home provider is preventing you from connecting a WiFi router to your modem, how does it sound?
“mo·bile:
Able to move or be moved freely or easily.”A tablet is considered a mobile device and so is a notetop/netbook; isn’t that way the carriers themselves sell these products?
Semantics. It all comes down to the CONTRACT. In said contract it says you are not allowed to alter the device from the manufacturers specification. That would be rooting. Fortunately for you, you have a Nexus. there must have been a reason for you to go that route? Because it allowed you to tether without altering the device, maybe?
My Wireless Device
Your wireless device must comply with Federal Communications Commission regulations, be certified for use on our network, and be compatible with your Service.
What Are Verizon Wireless’ Rights to Limit or End Service or End this Agreement?
(d) modify your device from its manufacturer’s specifications
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/globalText?textName=CUSTOMER_AGREEMENT&jspName=footer/customerAgreement.jsp
Dont like it? Dont sign the contract.
Sammy got in trouble with his abusive stepdad.
Im Verizon. Used over 3GB and have over 10 days left in the cycle. I tether almost 24/7 because I live out in the country, and my 3G is honestly faster than any real internet I can get…
I can tell Verizon slowed me down, but I haven’t got a warning… yet. Im switching to Sprint the minute I do.
3 gbs and tethering 24/7? I have 3Gbs not even tethering at all. I still have 15 days left on this cycle…
I agree. I am 2 weeks into my cycle and I have used 3.95 GB’s without tethering anything. When you are downloading games such as angry birds, plants vs zombies, or worms, that can exhaust roughly 50-100 MB right there. Say your playing with different ROMs and need to redownload these files once a month (not an avg user, i know, but its happened to me)…. Then there is streaming video on netflix or downloading podcasts (which I do all the time) and some of my episodes of TWIG or other video podcasts that are over an hour can easily be 200-300MB. I also use remote services such as Logmein or some kind of VNC…. When i’m controlling my computer at home through my phone, especially for longer periods of time, that data really racks up.
So basically, for those of you who are claiming that high bandwidth usage can only be due to people using torrents, be aware that there are several bandwidth intensive programs on these devices. Besides, there are torrent clients that you can install them right on the phone, which im sure anyone who torrents regularly would probably use instead of tethering to a pc and keeping the connection alive for hours upon end.
In summary…. high bandwidth does not mean tethered torrenters:
-Remote Desktop Access programs (Logmein/VNC)
-Large game files and updates
-Podcasts downloads/Video streaming
Maybe if the tethering plans Verizon offered were worth paying for, this wouldn’t be a problem.
How much is a 2gig mifi plan at Sprint? They dont have one. How much for 3 gigs? $45, for $40 as a tethering plan, you get 4 gigs, and save $5.
$35 dollars for 3gb on 3g access and unlimited 4g if your a sprint customer.
2 gigs on Verizon $20, 3 gigs on Sprint $35.I still see a better value. Unless, you are in the minority that actually has Wimax, then its a better deal on Sprint. But, that is a pretty big IF.
CLEAR might be a better alternative :D
Again, to a limited amount of people, sure.
I’m sorry, I thought we were talking about mobile broadband cards. With sprint you can add a $30 mobile hotspot with unlimited 3g/4g access. Not to bad.
So, one EVO, with unlimited data and hotspot is $140/month. definately a good deal. However not all peaches.”Sprint reserves the right to limit throughput speeds or amount of 3G data transferred.”, and their tiny network makes it not an option for a lot of people.
For $140, on Verizon, you can get unlimited mobile data, and up to 2 gigs on the hotspot for the same price. While enjoying a far larger service area. Most people could get this for $110 on Verizon as well.
It is no secret that Sprint is the cheaper carrier. You get what you pay for. The network is where verizon shines, not the price. But it isnt like Sprint blows them out the water in price. Verizon, however does blow Sprint out the water in both size and speed of the network.
Yes, Verizon retains the right to throttle, the differance is, Verizon only retains that right for the top 5% of users, Sprint just retains the right. They can throttle anybody on a whim. Now, how about that network?
Verizon does it to. And for most people sprint would only cost $110 a month with the unlimited mobile hotspot feature. To help achieve this, if you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand. Our proactive management of the Verizon Wireless network is designed to ensure that the remaining 95% of data customers aren’t negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users.
idiot saying Verizon=looser? You realize your the “looser” loser. All networks are doing this and if they aren’t they will be, and the 1 person saying tmo doesn’t, well that’s moot because tmo isn’t going to exist in a few months. Then WTF are you gonna say?
Then I’ll say screw them all I have a Nexus One and carriers have ZERO control over my device! Mua ha ha.
And it isn’t 100% that AT&T is going to be able to buy out T-Mobile.
I’ll tell ya what I’m gonna say. You mad bro?
Chill.
It should have been “you’re the “looser” loser”
Yeah I see it, I wanted to use it to upload a homework assignment when I was out of town around Easter and couldn’t even get to the schools website. Only time I ever tried it too.
Haven’t been able to get tethering to work reliably due to CM7’s hotspot feature being very limited with no ability to use 3rd party dns.
Don’t know exactly what your talking about… but I run CM7 and WiFi tethering I believe is built into the stock Android OS and not an additional feature of CM7….
EDIT: scratch that, I recently learned that phones on Verizon/Sprint with the 2.2 update get the Android tethering feature stripped out. Sorry.
Looks like I switch to Sprint.
Mine’s fine for now. Droid Incredible AMOLED running MIUI w/ Gingerbread and Wireless Tether.
Was able to tether this weekend using PdaNet since my hotel’s “free WIFI” was a joke. I connected to my laptop with a USB cable… wonder if that’s why I didn’t get blocked? Didn’t do much surfing though… I will be really bummed if I eventually see that page!
Sorry, stock Droid2
ditto. as a result of this article, i tethered my unrooted d2 using PdaNet. seems to be working just fine…
Charging twice for the same data should be illegal.
I agree! I am paying monthly for “unlimited” data, when I tether it to my computer it’s the same data plan. I don’t see why I need to pay to share stuff with myself.
No, you are paying for “unlimited MOBILE data”.
No really? I know it’s “mobile” data especially since my laptop isn’t bolted down. I honestly didn’t read crap I bought a Nexus One and it came tied to a two year contract. I could care less what anyone thinks I should properly do I will always tether and download for free. My point is that they shouldn’t be so greedy with bandwidth.
Greedy with the bandwith. Last I checked cable internet was a lot more expensive. And as long as you have that Nexus, you are not violating the TOS to use it.
Not really.. I pay $30 for mobile unlimited and $50 at home for 20Mbps
Question Nlsme (not here to be sarcastic today folks)…..the iPhone, thru a service called AirPlay, allows you to stream movies and music to and thru other devices….should there be an extra charge for that? Legitimate question….
@iKing, I hate to answer a question with a question. Are you “altering the device from the manufacturers specifications” or”using a mechanism to transmit rf signals”? Btw, the Nexus line allows tethering without violating the TOS.
Well obviously I’m not altering the device when I’m using AirPlay, but the reason why I asked that is this: I have a jailbroken iPhone that used MyWi (have since deleted it). When I asked the AT&T rep the same question that most here want to know (I’m paying for unlimited data; why can’t I use it the way I want?) her response was, “when you go to an all-u-can-eat restaurant, you can eat as much as want, but you cant share your food with someone who hasn’t paid”….
For those that say it’s “my data”, does this example make sense to you???
Not really? Yet you give an example of nearly DOUBLE the cost, for (in some cases) HALF the speed?
What do you mean by double the cost and half the speed?
If you keep referring the fact you are paying for “unlimited data”, then you are the reason when the carrier decides to create tiers for data instead. You know what you are doing is against the t&cs. Go to another carrier and live your dream there.
As Nlsme keeps saying, you are paying for data that is streamed directly to the device that you pay service on. If you want features/services other than what you pay for, than add them. The data pulled from a mobile phone to itself is less taxing than from a mobile device to a computer. Maybe not to the regular consumer, but if you knew how the tech part works, then you would understand.
With that said, I agree it’s a way to make more money, but it’s always part of the contract you sign. This action from VZW or any other carrier now or in the future (yes, Sprint will get you over to them for a 2yr and then change the service…you will see) was foreseeable and justified.
>>>>The data pulled from a mobile phone to itself is less taxing than from a mobile device to a computer.
What kind of nonsense is that? Data is data and the phone can’t tell the difference. It might be taxing on the phone cpu but not to Verizon. It’s ok to have your opinion that tethering without paying for the feature is wrong, but don’t make up nonsense.
Instead of using getting into the technical parts of it, think of it like this;I will use a simple example. Did you that companies design websites just for mobile phones such as m.ebay.com or m.yahoo.com etc. They were designed with cell phones in mind. You are not experiencing the full site. Most sites allow you to view the sites as they were intended, but then again, many are designing apps to replace that idea instead. So of course visiting those sites on a computer with the mobile internet connection without actually visiting them on the phone, means you will not visit the mobile designed sites, you will not use widgets to buy something (amazon.com is a good ex as well). That is why mobile sites were designed in the first place. Plus, now that many have internet access via mobile, it means it is more work even for the sites you visit since there are more people on at a time. But anyway, I am not trying to start a argument here. As I agreed already, it is also a way to make extra money…but for someone to say it is the SAMETHING, is wrong.
we aren’t talking about those other companies, we are talking about verizon. It’s not like Verizon has this limited pool of data. They want to monetize data usage as it benefits them and not us. That path leads to bad news: paying more for streaming video data, etc. data consumed by a phone and data consumed by a computer tethered to a phone is the same thing..data. viewing a full site on a phone will consume the same amount of data as viewing it while tethered.
I just need to throw in that I NEVER view mobile versions of websites. If web designers spent more time ensuring that the functionality of the full site was included with the mobile site – it might be different. But I have come to learn that I’d rather deal with scrolling around a desktop version of a site than use a watered down mobile version.
You do realize, people tether to more than one device at a time. They are also willing to spend more time browsing the web on a computer, over what they would on a phone. Verizon has priced the plan accordingly. That is why it is cheaper than a landline connection, while being far more convenient. Should they Charge for the perception that people are going to replace their landline with their mobile? Because that is what you want to be able to do. So, $70 bucks a month? Considering you cant take your landline with you wherever you go, it is a justifiable increase over the cost of a landline. So, would you rather the millions who dont want to replace their landlines have to pay $70, or would you think it makes more sense to have the people that do want to, pay more?
How is me referring to what I’m paying for a reason to create tiered plans? Am I supposed to assume that unlimited is meant to be “unlimited as long as I don’t use it too much”? I understand the tech part of it but I don’t see how a PC is more “taxing” if I’m downloading the same files and viewing the same websites. Just because my screen is smaller doesn’t mean my data is smaller. And they are not justified… don’t let your carrier bend you over backwards. Its people like you that encourage random service charges because “oh they warned me so its ok foe them to charge me for no reason “
They arent “charging you for no reason”, they are expecting you to abide by the TOS that you signed.
Well, in this case you are right. I actually have been a victim of random charges from Verizon, though. I’ve received more than a few $300 phone bills in the past that required me calling in and disputing for about an hour or so – for them to credit me back the false charges. They kept giving me excuses but in the end there was no reason for extra charges, just sort of a “slip up” on their end. Had I not caught it on my phone bill and assumed that the charges were valid – I am almost positive Verizon would not catch the mistake and credit me themselves. This is why I have a horrible view of Verizon as a money hungry company. I am currently with T-Mobile hoping that AT&T isn’t allowed to buy them out because T-Mobile is waaaay cheaper.
Justify your stealing however you like.
I don’t understand this… if you are paying for data, and you don’t go over what you are paying for (e.g. 2 gb or whatever) what the hell difference does it make if you use it on the phone or tether except to verizon and afee&fee who want to charge you more for using the same data?
If they were smart, they would say they are charging you for the feature, not the data. But, if they said that, you would be able to get that feature by other means, which you already are. It’s all just a scam.
Is it possible to have a conversation that isn’t verizon people ragging sprint and sprint ragging verizon?
Working on my xoom tethered to Droid X which is running .596
deodexed using wireless tether …..tbh patch is applied….I always put
that on whenever I switch to a new rom.
Tried it next with nook
color, first with the existing connection then DC and reconnect …now keep in mind the above conditions and also the fact
that I hardly tether….I’d estimate maybe 50-100mb total for the life
of my android experience (since October 2010).
no problems either way tethered to
the droid x under the above conditions… perhaps it’s the tbh patch or
my limited tethering or other factors… just sharing my findings
Presently, I pay for the $15 5GB Wired Tethering plan. I use it wirelessly however. I wonder if they’d still nail me
I have a rooted t bolt running das bamf 1.6. I use wifi tether very infrequently. I had no trouble tonight. Hoping this continues.
You do realize you have the HOTSPOT for free right now?
Lmfao!!!!
Yet another reason Verizon will NEVER be my wireless carrier.
If you set your user-agent string to that of your mobile browser, I wonder if you stil get the redirect?
Or is it doing something more sinister like looking at the default TTL of your packets?
Sprint is awsome
Verizon sucks
Never had a problem on T-mobile with tethering
Maybe that is why they are capped?
Don’t get me started on that, lol. I think it’s complete bull that all-of-a-sudden my “unlimited data” plan is now “unlimited data at reduced speeds after 5GBs downloaded” and don’t put the blame on me because I tether.
It doesn’t affect me much because I get bad HSPA+ reception in the house I’m living in now. My phone now switches to WiFi when I am near my home.
I just hate that they tack on limitations. I feel as if they are saying, “OK you were paying for unlimited talk minutes, but due to high volume we are going to go ahead and change that to unlimited talk minutes so long as you do not make any calls during peak hours” I bet they would if they could – too bad for them they can’t “throttle” talk minutes.
Pocket the profit Verizon. Don’t upgrade the system to handle the load. Just hammer your customers with threats. Take away my unlimited data plan…whatever…I will switch providers and you will rot in hell. Another POS utility company B’effing the customer..
Daheq is going on over here? o_O
Oh, Nlsme seems to be a Verizon fanboy that makes yarrelray look like he hates Sprint. Whatever you do, don’t mention anything that might deal with reality. He doesn’t understand it. I suspect he is institutionally OCD.
I can list the cons of Verizon, just as easy as I can list their pros. Now, you actually have anything to say that pertains to the topic at hand, or are you just wanting to troll?
Chris asked, I answered. It was about as topic as one can get really. I just state facts. Sorry if they rain on your little world of make believe.
Really, cause the topic pertains to Verizons actions regarding tethering. You have yet to even address the topic. Nothing but more trolling from you. As usual.
As usual, you can’t read very simple sentences. My reply was to Chris’ question. So what was that again? Yeah, thought so.
Oh well Ill just pay for tether
Hmmmm, so I should be able to charge Verizon for running THEIR data over MY home wireless network when I am connected to my WiFi. But since they want to double charge me for data solely because I want to view the same web pages I already go to on a larger screen I won’t charge them, they won’t charge me and we’re square.
So happy I live in the land of the un-free…
You mean where a company is free to do whatever they want, and you are free not to do business with them?
I am just wondering if “Nlsme” works for VZW legal department or VZW in general. Why do you keep bringing up the contract. While I understand your point and respect the contract you have left the same message for everyone and you repeat it over and over again. Its just a bit odd. I don’t think you get people’s point.
Because people keep saying “they pay for it”, while not even looking at the contract that states WHAT THEY PAY FOR.
I’m not seeing it and I’m on VZW. Using a D2 Global, 2.2 / Sys Ver: 2.4.330.A956.Verizon.en.US / Latest version of PDANet with Level 1 of hiding Tethering usage.
I tethered for 20 minutes, browsed the forums at mobilism.org, downloaded a few items and had no problems.
I agree with many on here that I’ve been paying $29.99 / month for unlimited data. Even if it is listed as “mobile” data, I am still using it in that sense. I may need to grab a file from email while on a train or sitting in the airport or where ever I am. I should be allowed without fear to tether my phone and get what I need via the phone. All tethering allows you to do is look at the internet on a larger screen.
fwiw OG droid on CM 7.0.3 on wireless tether 2.0.7 works just fine
Wow, lots of heated debate here. First of all, for all the haters shouting “read the contract,” I know full well that Verizon intends for “mobile data” to be used only by the devices they sell, and only in the way they want. I don’t dispute for one minute that free wireless tethering goes against the contracts people sign.
HOWEVER, that DOES NOT justify what Verizon is doing. They are, in fact, charging twice for the same data, and lying to their customers about it, which in my opinion invalidates any contracts they have on file. What they are trying to do is charge you for a service that does not exist. Wireless tethering is a feature of your phone’s hardware and software, and you own the hardware (not the carrier). The only service they provide is sending data packets to your phone. What happens to the data packets from there should be none of their concern, as long as you aren’t using excessive amounts of data. What they are doing is the equivalent of charging you to use your car’s stereo to listen to the radio. All you’re doing is using a device you already own to utilize a service that’s already paid for.
Now, I also understand the economic side of things, and know full well that “unlimited data” is a concept that is not sustainable in the long run. It’s largely been a sales gimmick, and they’ve been banking on the hope that the actual data usage doesn’t drive their cost higher than their revenue. With the massive increase of data usage as of late, they can’t keep doing it. Even Sprint’s CEO has said that while they are going to keep an unlimited data plan as long as they can, they can’t keep it up forever.
I recall seeing statistics stating that the majority of mobile data consumed is consumed by a mere single percentage point of users on the network, so they have to deal with that somehow. Unfortunately, the carriers are choosing to deal with it in a very anti-consumer way. Instead of properly tiering their data plans, they choose to continue lying to us, and charging for non-existent services, such as wireless tethering. AT&T has at least finally added 2 GB of additional data usage if you add on wireless tethering, so there’s at least some true value there, but that doesn’t do anything to help the casual tetherer. I myself am in a situation where I very rarely ever have a need or desire to tether my phone to my laptop, and as such, would never even dream of paying $20/month for that “service.” However, it is very nice to have in a pinch, and I have needed it once or twice. In the one-size-fits-none approach they’re taking, I either have to pay excessive fees for something I use once or twice a year, or be left out in the cold. I believe I’m being wrongfully punished for the actions of the few data monsters out there. Even when I have used tethering, I don’t think I’ve ever gone over 1 GB of data usage per month.
What the carriers need to do is stop lying to us, stop charging for non-existent services, stop whining about their poor networks, and create plans that show they actually give a rip about their customers’ needs. Wireless tethering should be a no-fee sales talking point for smartphones. Data fees should be based only on how much data you use, not what you do with it once it reaches your phone. I did not like the idea of tiered data plans at first, but I’m okay with it now, providing that they are priced fairly, and that there are tiers for all needs. I think $10 for 1 GB, $20 for 2.5 GB $30 for 5 GB, and maybe even $50 for 10 GB (I just made those up, not trying to start any rumors here) are very reasonable rates, along with $10/GB overage fee on any given plan. Or better yet, if anyone goes over their rate plan’s limit, instead of being billed for an overage (because everybody hates that word), you will simply be billed for the next data tier, and then dropped back to your original tier the next month. But in any case, as long as they create multiple usage tiers that cater to people’s different needs, actually make sense (remember the stupid $10 for a whopping 25 MB data plan they used to have?), and are priced fairly, they shouldn’t need to worry about tethering. In fact, the first carrier to offer free tethering on top of all data plan tiers will probably make a killing in sales. When the carriers finally figure out that they need to stop treating their customers like criminals, and start promoting what they CAN do, instead of what they CAN’T do, then everybody wins. Just because you can legally do something doesn’t mean it’s right to do it. Verizon and other carriers need to learn that lesson, and fast.
This man speaks the truth.
What irks me most about this is the precedent that already exists with other technology (like DVR). If you want to use the carrier-supplied tethering app (like Verizon’s 3G Mobile Hotspot) then they should be free to charge you whatever they want… but in the world of Android, you have many options, and if you choose to use something that offers access to you phone’s tethering ability for free, then they shouldn’t be charging you for it. Same goes for ringtones – if you use your carrier’s method of paying for ringtones at $1 a piece, then that’s fine – BUT you can also just load up MP3s on your own for free. Same goes for Google Voice – I can pay Verizon $X for a text messaging plan, or I can use GV for free. Is Verizon going to start charging me for a text messaging plan because I’m using my data for the same purpose?
You have to alter the device specs from the manufacturer to be able to use those 3rd party apps. Do you have to root to add ringtones? Lets compare apples to apples here.
Actually, you DON’T have to root to tether, so you lose this point as well.
Pretty sure this is for wireless tethering, wich you do have to root.
Lying to their customers? It is all outlined, in pretty simple language, IN THE CONTRACT. For one, the only device that it is a native feature are the Nexus line. They are the only one, that you dont have to alter the device specs, from the manufacturer. The radio arguement holds no weight. Sorry.
Two, they will pro rate the tether service just like Vcast video, wich is suppose to be $10 a month, they will give you 24Hrs for $1.99(on a daily/usage basis). So the occasional tetherer will be able to enjoy it on a tiered basis without automatically being billed $20. The regular tether plan is tiered to begin with. $20 a month for 2 gigs, plus $10 per each additional gig. Sounds about what you want. Except you just want less data to begin with.
NIsme you have got to be the biggest pawn for these corporations! Its in “the contract” blah blah. AT&T, which is one of the more outspoken critics of tethering, has 98% of its customers using 2gb or less for data. Now even if the remaining 2% used truly unlimited data..there is no way their going broke because of tethering. They just see an avenue to charge more and are frustrated that people are using their phones to their potential. Your already paying for a 4g phone(Sprint for example charges an extra 10 bucks a month just to have a 4g device), 4g data plan, and a 2 year contract to top it off…and dont think about cancelling early, that will cost and extra couple hundred bucks. But it doesnt stop there, carriers make a killing from text messages too. It costs carriers about .3 cents per message but charge about 20 cents if you dont have a plan or go over. But dont worry, once tmobile and At&t merge, At&t and Verizon will have a stranglehold on the market. Most likely the prices will rise across the board. With less competition, there’s little reason to lower prices. So your obsessive concern for these companies balance sheet will be put to ease…except now the balance sheets of millions of Americans are another concern.
@NIsme We all get your point that the Carriers hold the right to charge for whatever service they would like to, but on the other hand they are taking it to extremes for something very simple and that’s not invasive. Supposedly the reason Verizon is moving to Tiered Data is because of Illegal Tethering sounds very fishy to me. I was working for AT&T when they moved to tiered data and their explanation was that only 2% of customers on their wireless network use over 2GB of Data monthly. So 98% of their customers were not even using 2GB, and most of that 98% were really not even using 1GB. Their usage was in the MB, so it’s a hard pill to swallow that the phone companies are trying to cut losses when they are making profits hand over fist every year. Now here is the kicker, the Rooted community using tethering applications is a very small amount of the 2% using over 2GB a month. A lot of that 2% is customers streaming Pandora all day and watching Netflix on their phones and other music and video services. So how could a very miniscule amount of customers be bringing down the network? It’s all a means to collect on popular feature, people want to stream data to their Laptop, Tablet, other devices. So we will charge them for that ability. Do they have the right to do that? Of course. Is it kind of morally wrong? Absolutely. Data is Data no matter where it is being used, the phone is the conductor for said data and it is not changed in any shape, form or fashion when sent to the phone. How the phone sees fit to use, share, tether is totally up to the phone once it reaches it’s Snapdragon, Hummingbird, Tegra, and OMAP laden shores. I understand both sides on the argument but it seems the Carriers are pulling a Winnie the Pooh and double-dipping in the Honey Pot if you catch my drift. There needs to be a compromise here on both sides. I would propose on tiered data that if you tether you get charged the same overages as the non tethering customers. That’s only fair. If you’re on an Unlimited Data Plan you pay maybe like an extra $5 bucks a month for the ability to tether. The $30 they charge currently is pretty outrageous, but the customers and carriers need to meet in the middle.
I get that arguement too, however $30 dollars for unlimited data to any device you want is a little unreasonable of the consumer to expect, No? I mean, cable internet is $50 bucks a month, and you are tied to a single location. How is it excessive on the companies behalf to ask for margianally more money for a far better product over cable? Maybe they should assume everyone will replace their home internet with their cell data, and charge accordingly? Say $70 bucks a month. Would that be more consumer friendly?
Big Red (Government lap dog) is pissing and shitting in your cherrios yet again, eat up spineless Verizon customers!
Phase 1 – Lure in new subs/re-subs with 4G LTE, and saturate network until it bottlenecks, then provision tiered services and tethering restrictions in hopes of mitigating and maximizing profit margin because they know Verizon customers are gullible, Republicans, and/or Iphone users who do not care about money and customer centric services.
Phase 2 – Change said services and contract agreements after hooking in the sorry saps. Ass-rape w/o ky-jelly FTW
Change services and contracts? It is all the SAME contract you sign on day one. They will always honor that same contract, even after it expires, and you go to month to month.
Looks like someone DIDN’T carefully read through the CONTACT they love to regurgitate so lovingly when trying to contradict my point. You Sir are a EPIC FAIL with your “refer to contract agreement” quotes. Please see the above statement made by Phil Bassist over your reply for reference as evidence for your FAIL.
Thanks have a ragging day =)
You see, it isnt an ass rape if you have the ability to leave because of it. So, you sir fail. Now, I would like you to point to ONE instance of it happening. You cant, they still honor contracts they got through mergers.Just because they reserve the right to, doesnt mean they will. They also reserve the right to throttle the top 5% of users, have yet to hear an instance of that happening either. What was your point again? All i saw was a childish post.
Quoted by “Nlsme” ” I would like you to point to ONE instance of it happening”
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1117154-Verizon-Canceling-High-Data-Usage
See above for one of the many examples of Verizon terminating it’s customers without any prior warning. Matter of fact, Verizon lost a class action law suit due to this fact.
But i digress, my point is and I quote you ” It is all the SAME contract you sign on day one. They will always honor
that same contract, even after it expires, and you go to month to
month.” this is misinformation on your part, as proof by the reference link I provided. Yet again your Verizon fanboyness is hilarious, you must be seriously convoluted my friend.
FYI, i’d rather have true “unlimited mobile data” rather than be on Verizon’s tiered, throttled, overages up the ass so called “unlimited data”.
Really, you point to one instance of someone using napster, wich violates another part of the TOS and say that is them “changing the contract”?
FYI, Verizon is no more tiered than Sprint, Sprint does retain the right to throttle, and I have never been hit with overages. Although EVERY carrier has overage charges. Sprint is $0.45/min.
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1664135-Excessive-Usage
Another example of Verizon terminating customers for excessive data usage without for warning.
In terms of what you claim that EVERY carrier overage charges, that is more misinformation and generalizing on your part. I can guarantee you in a apple to apples comparison on smartphone 3g/4g excessive data usage debate. Sprint has never throttled, tiered, and/or charged for overages for their “unlimited” data package plans. That $0.45 you pulled out your ass does NOT apply to Sprint’s unlimited smartphone 3g/4g plans. Same can’t be said for Verizon’s 5GB cap per month with $10 per GB overage charge.
check this out. Can Verizon Wireless Change This Agreement or My Service?
We may change prices or any other term of your Service or this agreement at any time,but we’ll provide notice first, including written notice if you have Postpay Service. If you use your Service after the change takes effect, that means you’re accepting the change. If you’re a Postpay customer and a change to your Plan or this agreement has a material adverse effect on you, you can cancel the line of Service that has been affected within 60 days of receiving the notice with no early termination fee.
Im still able to tether. OG Droid running GPA15, Android 2.3.3, using wireless tether.
Nlsme: how exactly is the owner of a nexus somehow not violating the tos? They may not be under contract to retain service but they still have to agree to the tos. And I’m going out on a limb here but you sound like a 2L. Am I wrong?
Because the Nexus phones dont have to be altered from the manufacturers specification.
WHAT WHAT?!
I had assumed that every phone that got the Android 2.2 OTA update was allowed to tether because it was a feature of Android, not specifically the Nexus. Did Verizon and Sprint manually pull that out of the update? If so, that sucks. Then it is definitely not only a question of violating the TOS – they are altering the Android OS themselves so that they can disable features and charge you for them separately.
Pdanet doesn’t require root access. Why’s that violate the tos?
Saw that this past weekend. Frankly, after all the crap out of Verizon lately and the (so far) subpar looks of the Droid 3 (“you don’t want a princess phone” so the third version of our anti-iPhone is going to look pretty much like an iPhone with a keyboard slapped on), it’s time to move on. Sprint, here I come.
I havent tethered in a long time, but I can tell you this with using doggcatcher on a regular basis I am using well over 12gb a month if not more between audio and video podcast, were going to have an issue if i end up with one of these warnings based on usage alone.
Can’t read all the noise… but let me tell those who seem to be unaware. First off, signing a contract does not VOID certain RIGHTS a consumer has, it does not give the network unilateral control over the hardware that operates on their network. The line the networks walk with the manufacturers is close to anti-trust and collusion, how they’ve gotten away with it for so long is amazing. FACT is I purchase a handset and they then get control over where it works (their network ONLY) and what software can run on it (BLOATWARE uninstallable!) and then the assumption that ROOTING is used for illicit purposes is just not correct. Not all ROOTERS tether. Anyway… Verizon is on steroids lately attacking their own customer base. Thank GOD for Sprint, lmao… Best Plans around and will probably stay that way for a long time.
Regards
Tethering should just count towards your data, regardless of what it is or isn’t connected to.
It’s my data and I need it now!
If not that it would at least be nice to give users like a 50mb emergency allotment or something. When those 3am Comcast updates knock me offline for an hour every week I need to get my fix somehow.
Nlsme works for Verizon. That’s my theory.
What if you previously had a contract, but instead of doing the usual upgrade you jumped the gun and payed 600 dollars for a new phone off contract continuing on the old contract? I have now completely altered my device, however they allow it…