Database Develop

ATT, tethering and download limits

Hello all,
First of all I am new here and to hacking phones. Plenty of experience hacking everything else though. lol
I am a real estate agent. Finally, the ATT HTC Tilt is a device that will meet my needs! I do not want to pay for the tethering plan. The basic 20MB/$30 per month data plan may or may not be enough for me so I need some advice. For $10 more, I may just get the $40 unlimited PDA deal which does not include tethering.
1st - All I will need the device for is emails and checking the MLS websites. I can get an idea of my email amount but what is an average web page?
2nd - I know I can tether without paying them for it and I plan on doing so. I am not going to download huge files. I would just like to connect my laptop, cruise the Multiple Listing Service website and be able to show clients the data on a nice big laptop screen. Do you think that would send ATT any red flags?
3rd - If I use some of the hacks/ROMs here to get rid of the ATT garbage (as I have read this is a smart thing to do) will it effect my ability to tether?
Occasionally I may have to download a a 5 or 10 MB PDF form. Normally, I would already have that on my laptop ahead of time though.
Thanks for your opinions and guidance. I know some of these questions have been addressed but I just wanted to confirm this for my situation since I will be leaving Verizon for ATT and buying a new phone and cannot afford to screw up. lol
By the way, this website rocks!!! A true treasure!

1. Average website is about 2KB to 100KB, depending on the number of images. Things like flash animations, videos, sound, or very large images will make pages much bigger.
2. Make sure your bandwidth usage is not huge, and it will not set off any red flags, there is no way for them to know you are tethering besides guessing based on your bandwidth usage. With the $40 PDA plan, the "limit" is already pretty high, so you don't have much to worry about.
3. Won't affect you ability to tether, as long as the ROM you chose still has the internet sharing software still on it. The stock HTC ROM does have it, but some of the "light" ROMs may not. Many people actually seem to like the stock AT&T ROM, after tweaking it. Consider these tweaks instead of reflashing, as reflashing will void your warantee.

Jozer99 said:
3. Won't affect you ability to tether, as long as the ROM you chose still has the internet sharing software still on it. The stock HTC ROM does have it, but some of the "light" ROMs may not. Many people actually seem to like the stock AT&T ROM, after tweaking it. Consider these tweaks instead of reflashing, as reflashing will void your warantee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jozer is totally correct, DO NOT FLASH it, just tweak it. The AT&T ROM is fine after you stop the bloatware install. To do that, when you first get the device and boot it up you will have to go thru the normal OS prompts (time, screen alignemnt, password, etc) then you will see a dialog that says that it will customer the device in 3 seconds. Reboot the device before the 3 seconds are up and none ofthe bloatware will be installed.
Then, just tweak away will all the cool cabs here on this site (of course, I mean the cabs for the Kaiser).

WOW...good stuff and made crystal clear too. Thanks so much guys. I would like to just tweak as you both recommend since I have enough headaches and don't want to get radical in the first few months of a new plan any way.lol
Does anyone recommend dealing with ATT directly or can I find a better deal online without customer service headaches if help is needed down the road? I have never bought from online, I always went directly to the store.
I have seen some good prices on the http://www.letstalk.com/product/browse.htm?pgId=100 website.

New to the Dream, questions! (and yes i searched for these first!)

what up yall! My ATT tilt died a few weeks ago (flex cable went bad, decided it was time to move on) so i got a G1 from my buddy that had a broken digitizer and LCD. ordered the parts online and got it put back together today. few questions though.... it seems that about the bottom 1/4 inch of my touch screen dosent respond....its brand new and the rest of it works fin...just the small strip that seems to not work. any ideas? also t mobile are assholes...i cant get them to unlock it but i will work on that one...im quite sure that answer is on here. Also...do i really need to get a data package or can i choose to keep my phone from constantly connecting and updating my gmail and other apps? thats the reason i continue to get HTC is because i think data plans are silly when everywhere in america has WiFI....i think thats all for now...and ive been a member on here for quite sometime but this android mess is totally different. lol. thank yall!

That 1/4" at the bottoms sounds like a bad digitizer. =/ *Most* likely not software. But you can check by flashing a new ROM and if its a software problem, the new ROM will override whatever was causing it not to work before.
You can get it unlocked for $20 from one of many unlocking websites, just google it. You can't get it free anywhere other than T-Mobile sorry to say.
You don't *need* a data package, I don't have one. There are applications that can disable your data connection except for when you need it (i.e. MMS). Or its a built-in widget with the Hero ROMs.
Unless you have a rooted ROM, you will be required to use your data to even use your phone for the first time as it requires you to sign in to your Google account, but doesn't give you the option to use WiFi. But honestly, I think this phone is crippled without a data connection even if you don't use it all the time, I'm currently waiting for my current plan to end to sign another 2-year contract with data. But its up to you, its certainly still usable with enough WiFi connection points.

darn....its not very fun to take apart...plus i have to wait even longer...im currently using an old school , non color green screen nokia probably digitizer and not some random flex cable along the lines? maybe the black one? i guess there wouldnt be any way to check without replacing. and im not real addicted to any apps or anything, just mainly want it as phone/organizer. im a studennt and have wi fi at the house and at school, and every bar i go to has wi fi so i think im covered =) just making sure i could regulate it so it dosent pull and jack my bill up. if i were to flash a new rom, wouldnt that unlock it....and can you still downgrade it to rc29 when you dont have a t mobile sim card....or rather is there any other way besides adp or should i just go ahead and learn how to use it...seems a bit intimidating to anything ive done on a WMo phone.

you can use apndroid to block data from being used accidentally
flashing a rom will not unlock the phone.
Yes you can downgrade to RC29 without a tmo card

mmmk. so rooting and flashing a HTC rom wouldnt do it? if im correct i either have to go through t-mobile or i have to pay like 20 bucks so i can use it with ATT?

ztch10 said:
mmmk. so rooting and flashing a HTC rom wouldnt do it? if im correct i either have to go through t-mobile or i have to pay like 20 bucks so i can use it with ATT?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct.

h.nocturna said:
Unless you have a rooted ROM, you will be required to use your data to even use your phone for the first time as it requires you to sign in to your Google account, but doesn't give you the option to use WiFi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried it myself, but this thread tells you how to get around that.

note how that thread tells you to obtain root...

B-man007 said:
note how that thread tells you to obtain root...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant get around not having a Data connection. Rooting is obviously not optional.

Chahk said:
I meant get around not having a Data connection. Rooting is obviously not optional.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah ok i figured he already found that or would.
sorry

You can root without data. Just activate wifi at RC29 when trying to sign in

Chahk said:
I meant get around not having a Data connection. Rooting is obviously not optional.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooted ROMs usually have an option to just skip signing into Google don't they? I know they have that for Hero for sure, but I was pretty sure they implemented that to all the cupcake/Donut ROMs too no?
Basically, you'll only need to use that with RC29. And if you do need to sign in and don't wanna use the work around, I would just go ahead and use the data, its only a few KB of info I think (I've never actually measured it, but I very small amounts on my bill even if I do use it to sign in, also using ATT btw).

h.nocturna said:
Rooted ROMs usually have an option to just skip signing into Google don't they? I know they have that for Hero for sure, but I was pretty sure they implemented that to all the cupcake/Donut ROMs too no?
Basically, you'll only need to use that with RC29. And if you do need to sign in and don't wanna use the work around, I would just go ahead and use the data, its only a few KB of info I think (I've never actually measured it, but I very small amounts on my bill even if I do use it to sign in, also using ATT btw).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all ROM's based on adp (and most modded tmo) have the option to skip (at least im pretty sure)
He just wants to activate his phone without data, which would require him to get down to a root level rom (RC29)
after he logs in, he has the option to root or wait for the OTA update if he wants to stay stock
if he wants to try to use his data, he can try but it doesnt always work (it did for me at first, but not the next few times)

ok so update... believe it was a bad digitizer...sending it back monday for a replacement so a few more days without the new toy) I got it registered to my Gmail and everything, and im currently waiting on my unlock code, so that is squared away. now...new questions.....
1. can i not just uncheck the auto sync and all the other data options or do i have to run adp? to make sure it dosent stay connecting and updating my mail and apps?
2. what positives do i have with rooting/flashing? obviously most of you probably have gone that route, and i really enjoyed flashing with my Tilt and having the newest WinMo, but it was always at the cost of it either being buggy or somethings not working. i know this can be searched but i want the simple answer if yall dont mind
3. i also noticed that the only thing so far that dosent work, is the camera/camcorder. keep in mind i got this phone with a broken lcd/digi. so there may have been other problems but i couldnt tell untill the screen was replaced. could it be i put it back together and missed a cable/contact for the camera, or could it just be software related?
...for now i think thats all the problems i have stumbled across... Thanks you all you are making this very easy for a Android Newbie!

ztch10 said:
ok so update... believe it was a bad digitizer...sending it back monday for a replacement so a few more days without the new toy) I got it registered to my Gmail and everything, and im currently waiting on my unlock code, so that is squared away. now...new questions.....
1. can i not just uncheck the auto sync and all the other data options or do i have to run adp? to make sure it dosent stay connecting and updating my mail and apps?
2. what positives do i have with rooting/flashing? obviously most of you probably have gone that route, and i really enjoyed flashing with my Tilt and having the newest WinMo, but it was always at the cost of it either being buggy or somethings not working. i know this can be searched but i want the simple answer if yall dont mind
3. i also noticed that the only thing so far that dosent work, is the camera/camcorder. keep in mind i got this phone with a broken lcd/digi. so there may have been other problems but i couldnt tell untill the screen was replaced. could it be i put it back together and missed a cable/contact for the camera, or could it just be software related?
...for now i think thats all the problems i have stumbled across... Thanks you all you are making this very easy for a Android Newbie!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. That would stop just contacts, calendar, and gmail not all of the other apps that come with the phone
2. Rooting is definitely worth it, loving my hero rom
3. If your on RC29 there is no camcorder, but if not then it's definitely a hardware issue, when I was on stock everything worked fine

Just FYI: the unlock code is phone specific, so if your getting a replacement, the unlock code wont work on that one if the code you got was for the other.
1) If you want to disable data, download and run APNDroid. You can turn off autosync if you want but data will still be used.
2) Rooting has lots of advantages. Themes, faster updates (i.e youll get the latest android before its released OTA) more modifications, use of certain apps such as Ad-Free, etc. cooked android roms are more stable than winmo cooked roms, and you have the option between stable/experimental
3) if it was stock, its probably a hardware error

so could i potenitally not have any apps and not have a data pull problem? or it seems as though just rooting and flashing to hero (would you all go hero, or newer 1.6 stock rom, or custom 1.6?) and ill be taking it back apart to send the bad digitzer back, so ill check the ol camera out. still is stock T-mobile 1.5....no rc29 or anything....yet...

if you still have 1.5, you can use the 1 click root
im using hero right now, but i switch between hero and cyan using the switchrom script
the g1 on stock android will still use data even if you have everything disabled. the only way to completely disable it is by changing the apns, or by disabling mobile data on a hero rom
what was wrong with the camera? give a little more detail so we know if it really is a hardware or software problem

Quiccest way to get unlock code..just tellem you are goin to the uk or sum and you are in need of unlocking since u will be on there network for a while.. Usually that works!

Does IM suck on Android, or is it just me?

I'm leaning pretty strong towards the former, but let me just say I am a *BIG* fan of Android. I bought the ADP1, and gave that to my wife when I switched to T-Mo & bought the MT3G. Both are great devices, and I run cm on them. Overall I have a great experience with these phones & they're super fun & convenient.
But on both devices, both when I had the ADP1 on AT&T and with the MT3G with T-Mo, (where I live I have to roam off of AT&T, so it's using the same towers as before.) all IM apps stink because they cannot stay connected. This is including the built-in gtalk & sms-based IM apps and every other free one on the market that I've tried. IM+, Meebo, eBuddy, Aimer, Hi Aim/Yahoo, imov, Palringo, all fail to keep a session open. I'm almost certain it's something with Android, because it's the same on mobile networks as with wifi, and I've used BlackBerrys on the very same networks & locations and not had this problem. At all.
So what gives? I'm not gonna pay for a chat app, even if that would solve the problem. These apps are free on BlackBerry, and I have a spare BB that I can swap my sim card into if I have to & just use the MT3G as a MID where I have wifi available. I'd love to jump in and try to write a chat app for Android that fixes this problem, but I'm at best a n00b dev & don't know where to begin. If there's someone out there with some guidance on how to get started on that, or if the problem is specific to something with me/my devices, or can explain this so I can understand the problem if not solve it, or any other input at all I'd love to get your feedback.

Maybe it's you or something up with your service
Maybe it's you, something up with your service, or your particular phones. Where my parents live, nothing works but ATT. I've had two BB which I couldn't even receive a signal.
Then when I moved up to the Dash and then to the wing, I received one bar and I could get all of my services to work, even the IM services. When I moved to the G1, two bars.
Now, with the MyTouch, I get three bars and all of my apps which require the network work. IM, text, phone. The blackberry wouldn't even get a signal let alone IM.
So maybe it has something to do with the service and the phone.

wierd thing is, at the very same location & networks, both wap & wifi, i get a completely different result on the mt3g than i do on the bb. there has to be something wrong with the android network stack or how IM apps use it or something.

hopefully i'm not speaking too soon...
... but i may have fixed my problem. i was thinking about how Android puts applications to sleep if it's low on memory, so i changed my userinit.sh script to enable swap. been logged in all afternoon. we'll see how well this continues...

confirmed resolution
enabling swap fixed the problem. apparently Android system tells the chat apps to shut down to free up ram & they can no longer keep their sessions open.

thanks for the hint.
Thought about this a lot but didn't want to try.
Now I'll have to... Thanks

i used to use ebuddy on my htc magic.
and now i use the built in google voice/chat with my milestone.
both have been great for me...especially the latter. I dont even need to log on or anythnig. its just like recieving text messages

Now i have 256 megs of ram size. everything works just fine. more than that. minimal lag on switching apps and tabs(highest so far was 4 seconds)

Hello guiz. I am completely new with how to tweak the innards of my MyTouch.
What is this "swapping" you guys are talking about and how do you activate it?
Does it really help keep the AIM session connected despite being in the background?
I've always knew of the problem that causes AIM to constantly sign off when I try
using it, but never knew how to address the source issue.
Thanks for reply!

Rogers - Xperia X1

Hey guys,
For the longest time I've been on Fido with a unlocked (direct from sony X1a). I've never had any problems with it at all. Everything worked flawless.
Recently I setup a corporate plan with Rogers. Ended up getting a bunch of Xperia X1s at a discounted rate since I signed a 3 year on a swack of lines...
Anyways I got the Xperias, turns out Rogers like to charge for VPN access. I added it to all the devices.
After setting up the VPN.com apn on the new rogers (rogers firmware) Xperia X1s, I noticed that everything worked except simple web page browsing (in both browsers). No errors, just loaded completely blank pages. When changing apn back to internet.com everything worked fine.
From this behavior I went ahead and checked the config on the device, no proxies were configured anywhere.
I asked the Rogers guy, currently it's bumped up to Tier 2 support and noone knows anything, they denied any "hidden proxies".
I'm now waiting for a call back from Tier 2 to further troubleshoot the issue. While I've waiting, I went ahead and started fishing through the registry. I found a bunch of very odd registry entries pertaining to proxies...
After removing these "odd" proxy registry keys, all of a sudden I can now use web browsing without ANY issues.
Does anyone know exactly how many registry keys are affected? Isn't this a huge security hole? Who is looking at the proxy info?

I had posted about this very same matter about an year ago. No matter how much they deny hidden proxies, they are in place. Interestingly enough - they are not mandatory, but are enforced for Windows Mobile Rogers phones. After hitting the wall pretty much on everything I tried (and no responses here on XDA either), I ended up installing generic US rom (no need of HardSPL or anything), where you can bypass connection wizard and set connection settings manually (wizard is the thing that messes up things and makes VPN.com useless). On the stock Rogers rom there is no way you can bypass connection wizard.
Once you set everything manually, there is no problem whatsoever with using vpn.com except for rogers.mobi page not being able to recognize you and provide account information (not hugely important to me, at all..).
So what happens is you turn the Rogers branded X1a into unbranded X1a (like your original one) and viola - everything works (as long as you don't use connection wizard to setup the connections)

thanks for the response!
After removing those 4 registry keys it's working like a charm!
So I don't need to HardSPL the phone to install the latest X1a US rom? I do alot of crazy stuff with WM phones, but I never eff with the hardware (as I usually always buy unlocked phones).
By the way, with the auto-config, if you go into settings, then connections, and goto the auto-config program, the "menu" on the bottom right you can hit, and then uncheck "Enable auto config" and it stops it from populating the typical rogers settings on every boot.
I used it to configure MMS, and internet, then disable auto-config (left the existing settings), changed the apn from internet.com to vpn.com then removed the registry settings mentioned above, and all is good
I still am thinking about maybe going to the generic firmware though as it is slightly a newer version. Anyone know any differences?
One thing I want to mention is the interwebz (spelling is a joke) is WAY effin faster using rogers phone on rogers network. Fido was HORRIBLE compared to this.

Just curious, how would you install the Generic US firmware WITHOUT SPL?
Thanks
Stephen

bump bump!

hey i was just wondering, seeing that you have the Xperia x1 unlocked on Fido. Since Rogers Wireless owns Fido wouldn't that mean if i buy the Xperia x1 right now i can use it on fido without needing to unlock it?

DarkPotato said:
hey i was just wondering, seeing that you have the Xperia x1 unlocked on Fido. Since Rogers Wireless owns Fido wouldn't that mean if i buy the Xperia x1 right now i can use it on fido without needing to unlock it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Way way back after the acquisition I think I heard they would offer unlock codes if you switched, but I don't think that's the case anymore.
Even though they are owned by same company, they are still separate networks...

Zhariak said:
Just curious, how would you install the Generic US firmware WITHOUT SPL?
Thanks
Stephen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should be able to flash any stock rom when you are on stock spl, either via customruu or sd
never tried it but can't think of anything to hinder doing it
best

question: how to update android system on google g1 development phone

i have a google g1 development phone (NOT a T-Mobile google g1 but a phone from prior to that release) and I am not a developer. my phone is progressively losing functionality as i can't load new versions of applications presumably since it is a development phone and licensed applications won't download. i don't need the development capability but would like to restore functionality, like youtube access etc., and also other licensed, purchasable applications.
i am probably in the wrong forum (not being a developer) but it is hard to find anywhere to ask this question and get direction to 'where to go' ... so my apologies, if that is the case.

Nope, this is indeed the proper forum and place to ask
A couple of questions though, is there an android version you want? The newest official update would be 1.6 doughnut but there are custom ROMs that may be better for you and even 2.3 gingerbread runs fairly well on this phone (and has more app choices)
Also to know the best way to change the software we need to know current firmware, can you boot to bootloader and write down all on that screen? (Power on while holding camera button)

response to demkantor
thanks for responding!
if it is possible for me to update the android system, that is great and i don't know too much about the systems to specify my needs in terms of system capabilities. as a user, i am not sophisticated and my main mission was to stop my phone from its progressive decline due to, i think, its inability to update the applications that were initially installed on it [i bought it 'new and in the box', not knowing it was a developer's system].
the parameters that i can access directly from settings ('About Phone') are as follows;
Model number
Android Dev Phone 1
Firmware version
1.1
Baseband version
62.33.20.08H_1.22.12.29
Kernel version 2.6.25-01843-gfea26b0
[email protected] #6
Build number
dream_devphone-userdebug 1.1 UNLOCKED
121975 test-keys
IMEI
351676030141180
IMSI
00

OK, I would suggest a custom ROM which would allow you access to more apps and actually be more stable in many ways then current one
There are multiple methods to do so but in order to allow you to skip a lot of the steps (which I believe you can being a dev phone) I need you to tell me all on the bootloader screen

bootloader screen
demkantor said:
OK, I would suggest a custom ROM which would allow you access to more apps and actually be more stable in many ways then current one
There are multiple methods to do so but in order to allow you to skip a lot of the steps (which I believe you can being a dev phone) I need you to tell me all on the bootloader screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DREA100 PVT 32B
HBOOT-0.95.3000
CPLD-4
RADIO-1.22.12.29
Oct 20 2008
Serial0

Looks like tapatalk didn't let me respond.....
So basically you do have options to do oneclick root apps but in order to use the latest-stable custom ROMs you will need to update firmware anyway
So I would suggest going through the same steps as someone without dev phone
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1668524
See these old threads and we have walked people through this many times, but of course if you need a hand let me know where you get stuck
Best of luck!

demkantor said:
Looks like tapatalk didn't let me respond.....
So basically you do have options to do oneclick root apps but in order to use the latest-stable custom ROMs you will need to update firmware anyway
So I would suggest going through the same steps as someone without dev phone
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1668524
See these old threads and we have walked people through this many times, but of course if you need a hand let me know where you get stuck
Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
many thanks, ... have browsed those threads and see that i need to do some studying to get a view of the structure of these systems and understand the terminology. i guess the CyanogenMod website is the place to do that?
I notice the link that others used to for their pre-education is no longer viable;
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/HTC_Dream:_Rooting
and there is no HTC Dream listed on the cyanogenmod supported devices.
also, i do not have a dataplan on my service (Rogers), should i be looking for someone to loan me their sim? (i guess i should hold my questions until i have done some homework).
thanks for getting me launched into this!

No problem! It is possible to do things differently than what's laid out in those threads, but I would be most confident using the ol tried and true methods
I've played around with a countless number of these phones for many years and this method always works without hitch so its the way to go IMO
Even if it feels complicated it really isn't much but there can be a learning curve if you are new to this kind of stuff
But to answer your question it is easiest if you can use a sim (this is an unlocked dev phone so any gsm with data plan) but it is not needed as you can bypass the start screen
And I have all files needed on my server as well as other places so if you can't find the right ones let me know and I'll link you
Best of luck!

demkantor said:
No problem! It is possible to do things differently than what's laid out in those threads, but I would be most confident using the ol tried and true methods
I've played around with a countless number of these phones for many years and this method always works without hitch so its the way to go IMO
Even if it feels complicated it really isn't much but there can be a learning curve if you are new to this kind of stuff
But to answer your question it is easiest if you can use a sim (this is an unlocked dev phone so any gsm with data plan) but it is not needed as you can bypass the start screen
And I have all files needed on my server as well as other places so if you can't find the right ones let me know and I'll link you
Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rgr, thks! when i think i know what to do, i'll post my plan here for critique prior to implementing it.

emeeliano said:
rgr, thks! when i think i know what to do, i'll post my plan here for critique prior to implementing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read through this for a good idea on the whole process
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2189589