Database Develop

ATT Tilt Connection Sharing/Tethering Question

I used a downloaded CAB to enable Internet Connection Sharing on my Tilt.
I selected "MEdiaNet", turned off USB Connections in ActiveSync, and it's working as a modem. Congrats right?
Well, I'm worried that if I use it I'm going to get a monster bill from ATT.
I already use the browser on the phone all the time. Sometimes for hours at a time when I'm on the road, so I already have an unlimited PDA data package. I'm pretty sure there's some rule where I have to add laptop connect, but I'm wondering if anyone else has done this without having laptop connect and what the result was, billing wise.
I don't want to pay $60 just to use my PC to logon to non-mobile/flash sites, but it sure would be handy.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Yeah others have done this and we have talked about it in previous threads.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=24147543

yea this has been discused many times.
My good friend works direct for ATT corporate, att doesnt care how you use the data as long as you dont go over 5gigs in a month, once you hit the 5 gig limit you are put on a watch list to see if you do it again, if you do it again then they send you a letter saying hey your using to much data, if you do it again after the letter they make you upgrade or discontinue your service. they have no way to check if you are tethered.

Bell Users: Tethering Charge?

Just wanted an update. One user said he was charged for tethering however that has never happened with me before, but I haven't tether in awhile. I have never been charged before.
Is anyone regularly tethering, and have you done it lately?
Please let me know as I'm going on a trip soon and being able to tether would be helpful, thanks!.

it is a risk
I tethered many many times over the course of about a full year, so I was shocked to see my tethering charge when it appeared. I had already tethered after that, before getting my bill for the month. I was only charged for it once, in one specific session. Don't think I did anything different. So, even if someone tells you they have never been charged, keep in mind that until it happened to me after a year, I would have told you don't worry about it. Now I NEVER EVER risk tethering.
The risk of being charged may be very small, but the charge you incur could be huge!
You can buy a 500MB monthly data plan for $25. I was charged 100 times that much for 1/3 the data!!!!
mfpreach said:
Just wanted an update. One user said he was charged for tethering however that has never happened with me before, but I haven't tether in awhile. I have never been charged before.
Is anyone regularly tethering, and have you done it lately?
Please let me know as I'm going on a trip soon and being able to tether would be helpful, thanks!.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks for the update.

When you have the Vogue connected and charging off a usb on a pc, it it automatically tethered when using Android?
I know that on WM, you actually specify that the phone will be used as a modem.
I downloaded some free apps on the Android market, so I hope I won't get dinged........

And what if you have unlimited data?

My package includes Unlimited mobile browsing. Does that change when I go from WM to Android?

guitar_pic said:
My package includes Unlimited mobile browsing. Does that change when I go from WM to Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope I have that unlimited mobile browsing from bell and it works fine with android no additional costs (not sure about tethering I did it awhile ago and it was ok but have not done it lately)

Whew! Thanks for the quick reply. I was downloading some apps from the android store for the past 2 days, and I was playing around with the google map voice nav. All of a sudden, it occurred to me that I might get charged for this!

does anyone still tether with there vogue?
is it still undetectable? i know i used to tether with NFSFANS ROM and had no real problems
is there anything with android that could even report tethering?
i remember NFSFAN had to remove stuff from WM so bell couldnt detect it
also if tethering still good is pdanet a decent choice to do it with?
thanks

dude4 said:
does anyone still tether with there vogue?
is it still undetectable? i know i used to tether with NFSFANS ROM and had no real problems
is there anything with android that could even report tethering?
i remember NFSFAN had to remove stuff from WM so bell couldnt detect it
also if tethering still good is pdanet a decent choice to do it with?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing about PDAnet(the software component that's part of NFSFAN ROM) was that it was designed to mimic browsing through the phone even if you were actually tethering. That's why the providers can't charge you for tethering since bill you for tethering if all the data incurred was through your phone's browser.
The problem here with Android ROMs is no one has come forward to claim there is a PDAnet equivalent software available. If there isn't one then you have to assume that the providers can catch you when you try to tether. Don't take the risk until there's an official way of hiding tethering activity.

You can use PDAnet for Android...it works fine.

I've been tethering using the stock wireless tether app that's in most Android ROMS. No charges... yet.

No problems
I use Pay as you Go for my vogue, with $10/month unlimited browsing.
This only applies to CDMA devices.
I have tethered a lot with no charges yet.
I use about 500 meg - 1 gig per month on my phone. (streaming radio)
So for $120/year I have unlimited use of my Vogue Android anywhere and can tether my laptop on the road.

dude4 said:
does anyone still tether with there vogue?
is it still undetectable? i know i used to tether with NFSFANS ROM and had no real problems
is there anything with android that could even report tethering?
i remember NFSFAN had to remove stuff from WM so bell couldnt detect it
also if tethering still good is pdanet a decent choice to do it with?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is pretty much why I am still using NFSFAN's rom. Tethering with the unlimited browser plan is key for me, and NFSFAN went through the trouble to encrypt the data. I was hoping after all these years, the same could be said about Android.
nbrennan said:
I use Pay as you Go for my vogue, with $10/month unlimited browsing.
This only applies to CDMA devices.
I have tethered a lot with no charges yet.
I use about 500 meg - 1 gig per month on my phone. (streaming radio)
So for $120/year I have unlimited use of my Vogue Android anywhere and can tether my laptop on the road.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you with Bell? Do you use any apps to encrypt the data?

Tmobile blocking tether now. Anyone else?

I'm running chromatic and as of 3 this morning tmobile is blocking my tether. Has this happened to anyone else yet? They want to upsell me to add tethering for 15 more a month and it still has the 5gb cap (Total BS) The built in wired tether and pdanet both aren't working, don't know about wifi tether yet but I'm assuming its blocked too. I found some posts by some g2 users this has happened to. Any one else? I'm glad im paying $30 for "unlimited" data. Aholes.
Thanks!
Sent from my Chromatic Dream using XDA App

Wireless tether aka wifi tether for rooted phones from code.google.com should still work. I've seen other reports of such blocks with market programs.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

They popped me last night. G1 rooted running wifi tether for root users and pdanet. This sucks REALLY bad.

im using tether now to be on xda and facebook. im in new mexico and the only message ive gotten from tmoblie was there were slowing my download speeds for hitting my cap with unlimited data plan lol.

I have a rooted G1, and I usually use wifi-tether or Barnacle. Tried PDANet as well.
I've received 8 text-messages from Tmobile regarding my tethering being blocked. Odd thing was, I was streaming pandora-radio on the phone during a long car drive (~5 hours) while these things beeped away at me. I had tethered earlier for a few minutes to check my gmail.
Later when I tried to tether to check my email, any http requests direct me to an upsell message. However, Remote-desktop still works, FTP still works, and most everything except plain webpages work. Tmobile is asking $15/mo for 200MB of data, with $0.10/MB overage charges ontop of your 10GB "unlimited" plan.
I'm unsure of how they detect tethering. It seems to be based off of bandwidth usage, as there's no way for them to discern whether this is phone traffic or laptop traffic. The other thing that could be a possible giveaway is the number of connections that are open. I'd imagine the laptop has a few things open for windows update, msn messenger and who knows what, whereas the phone has Browser and Lattitude.
Regardless, this is balls.

user agent string
If they are blocking web browser traffic, but not other TCP/IP services like FTP or remote desktop, there's a chance they are fingerprinting non-phone web requests by looking at the user agent string. An interesting test would be whether or not you're able to still make HTTPS-only requests with the web browser on your desktop or laptop. It would take some evil hackery for them to be able to retrieve the user agent string from an HTTPS request.
See 14.43 of the HTTP 1.1 spec for a description of the user agent string.

Got around it by setting up an openvpn on cyanogen 6.1.0. Even if im not using tethering, im still gonna use openvpn for my data traffic, as they are probably using deep packet inspection, which means we no longer have any privacy on tmobiles network.
Im thinking about changing the default port to 443 so as far as they are concerned, im just browsing ssl sites on my phone (port 443 is the default ssl port for web browsing and openvpn uses ssl for encryption).
If you use this method, just be sure to reset you dns to to googles (8.8.8.8) otherwise they can still tell whether or not your tethering based on my experience.
Im seriously considering switching to sprint as i would actually be willing to pay for their tethering, i get 4g in my area and i have a lot of respect for sprint for not capping their 4g.
Maybe if tmobile offered more bandwidth or other features for their 15 bucks a month I would actually be willing to pay for it, but i AM NOT paying for data that I allready paid for. Data is data to them, my cap isnt changing, why should i pay more to pipe my data to my computer.

Correct me if I'm wrong but tethering for $15 essentially removes the 5gb throttled cap. Its the same as Sprint and their $10 fee. The 200mb plan is just a lower tier.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

JustinTArthur said:
An interesting test would be whether or not you're able to still make HTTPS-only requests with the web browser on your desktop or laptop. It would take some evil hackery for them to be able to retrieve the user agent string from an HTTPS request.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Https to mail.google.com works just fine!
funkeee said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but tethering for $15 essentially removes the 5gb throttled cap. Its the same as Sprint and their $10 fee. The 200mb plan is just a lower tier.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
last time I was working the tmobile call-center for T3DS (spring 2010), the cap was 10GB. Although, that was nearly a year ago now. Samson had a lil' checkbox for "throttled" that was enabled at 10GB. perhaps a year and a half ago, maybe two now, they had disabled tethering previousy system-wide. Although back then I had a Motorola Krzr with no data, so I really had no clue what was affected.
The $15 thing is to enable tethering. two days ago it was offering me something around 40-50 dollars for "unlimited" (atop the $30 i pay for unlimited data), and $15 for 200MB (atop of the $30 i play for unlimited data). Of course, you must have a data-plan already in place. Looking at it again today, the page is different. It presents me with a mini terms of service, a button to add this package to my plan to enable tethering. No mention or word of cost.
And, visiting my.tmobile.com like it suggests... there's nothing on the official Tmobile website that I can find for the tethering package.
So, being the typical t-mo customer that I am, I called up the 1-800 number to whine and complain. I mostly want these annoying text-messages to stop. The rep said he could add on the tethering package for me, but I declined. He also offered to hand this over to his buisness group to see if these messages are being sent out in error.
TLDR: If I have to pay $85/mo minimum for smartphone with tethering abilities, i'd rather just give Verizon a call.

starnostar said:
Got around it by setting up an openvpn on cyanogen 6.1.0. Even if im not using tethering, im still gonna use openvpn for my data traffic, as they are probably using deep packet inspection, which means we no longer have any privacy on tmobiles network.
Im thinking about changing the default port to 443 so as far as they are concerned, im just browsing ssl sites on my phone (port 443 is the default ssl port for web browsing and openvpn uses ssl for encryption).
If you use this method, just be sure to reset you dns to to googles (8.8.8.8) otherwise they can still tell whether or not your tethering based on my experience.
Im seriously considering switching to sprint as i would actually be willing to pay for their tethering, i get 4g in my area and i have a lot of respect for sprint for not capping their 4g.
Maybe if tmobile offered more bandwidth or other features for their 15 bucks a month I would actually be willing to pay for it, but i AM NOT paying for data that I allready paid for. Data is data to them, my cap isnt changing, why should i pay more to pipe my data to my computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never successfully set up openvpn before, could you assist with this? Or is there a guide you recommend for beginners?

work around
was cut off last night.
tried the "user agent switcher" plugin for firefox to see if they are blocking browsers rather than the tethering itself.
With limited testing, i found several agents that work. iphone 3.0 to name one... Now to figure a way to keep the web looking nice using these agents.

I just received my first text warning and was cut off immediately....the 5gig throttle was already a huge kick to my nuts...now they want me to pay to tether and still be under the same cap?! I hit 5gigs WITHOUT tether...I really don't know how tmo expects to keep any smartphone customers like this...
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

The solution to this is very easy;
EVERYBODY needs to call up tmobile and tell them that you were NOT tethering, but changed the USER AGENT ON YOUR PHONE in order to make websites actually work since douchebag websites read that the user agent is for MOBILE and send you to their crippled mobile websites.

dhkr123 said:
The solution to this is very easy;
EVERYBODY needs to call up tmobile and tell them that you were NOT tethering, but changed the USER AGENT ON YOUR PHONE in order to make websites actually work since douchebag websites read that the user agent is for MOBILE and send you to their crippled mobile websites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... You can call them all you like. Previously working for a tmobile call-center, I can assure you little will be done. If I received the call, I would be opening up samson and checking your usage history. The billing system logs just about every bit of data transfered, although I cant remember if it lists URL's anymore. I would suggest telling them that you were tethering, decline on the upsell offer of the tethering package because you feel your "unlimited data" package actually means unlimited, then you can also tell them that it is interfering with the phones operation by itself even when you arnt tethering, and request some sort of further troubleshooting/ticket creation.
If you say you arnt tethering, but DID tether, we could usually see judging by how many connections were initiated over a period of time... There's only so much an android phone can do at once. Regardless, as a data/tech rep, the next step would be filing a network trouble-ticket and putting in your information for an "engineer" to review over. Theres little (if not nothing) for the follow-up/callback process. At this point I would be telling you an engineer/tech would review over it, and try to end the call by up-selling you a newer phone.
TLDR: Unless things have changed in the past year, You will only talk to customer-care rep's, and have no chance of getting your concerns to those who have any power over these decisions. However if you do call in, please be polite and patient with the rep. I've called in and informed them that these are being erroneously generated, and they've taken the time to make a ticket for me. (they were, I got 8 of the damned things while listening to pandora on my phone)

hauppage said:
Well... You can call them all you like. Previously working for a tmobile call-center, I can assure you little will be done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not for a single call, but if EVERYBODY called and complained about it, it WOULD be dealt with.
If I received the call, I would be opening up samson and checking your usage history. The billing system logs just about every bit of data transfered, although I cant remember if it lists URL's anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go ahead and check the usage history. A smartphone is capable of generating EXACTLY the same data use as a tethered computer.
I would suggest telling them that you were tethering, decline on the upsell offer of the tethering package because you feel your "unlimited data" package actually means unlimited, then you can also tell them that it is interfering with the phones operation by itself even when you arnt tethering, and request some sort of further troubleshooting/ticket creation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And that is EXACTLY what you do NOT want to do, because as soon as you do that, all discussion is over.
If you say you arnt tethering, but DID tether, we could usually see judging by how many connections were initiated over a period of time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might have been the case in years gone by, but no longer.
There's only so much an android phone can do at once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh? The limiting factor here is the NETWORK, not the hardware. It is TRIVIAL to open up dozens of connections for lots of different services on lots of different servers. Just because it is beyond YOU does not mean that **I** can't do it.
Regardless, as a data/tech rep, the next step would be filing a network trouble-ticket and putting in your information for an "engineer" to review over. Theres little (if not nothing) for the follow-up/callback process. At this point I would be telling you an engineer/tech would review over it, and try to end the call by up-selling you a newer phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And once that request has been filed, you don't think that statistics will be run on the nature of the various requests? 200 thousand complaints about this nonsense knocking out normal phone data traffic, you don't think that would be noticed?
TLDR: Unless things have changed in the past year, You will only talk to customer-care rep's, and have no chance of getting your concerns to those who have any power over these decisions. However if you do call in, please be polite and patient with the rep. I've called in and informed them that these are being erroneously generated, and they've taken the time to make a ticket for me. (they were, I got 8 of the damned things while listening to pandora on my phone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I've said, numbers talk. I certainly don't advocate calling up and threatening anyone, but if the numbers are overwhelming, then corrective actions MUST be taken.

Please look at my post regarding T-mobile tethering
[/COLOR]I'm pretty sure I know what T-Mobile did.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=26649587#post26649587

Internet Sharing Question

I've ran into a small issue with internet sharing on my HD7. Everything works fine, however, I'll get a message t-mobile to enable my phone as a mobile hotspot, $15 a month. Before this I've never had an issue with internet sharing, probably used it for 5/6 months (ever since mango has been out.) The internet isn't blocked, it just keeps redirecting. Lately I've had to teamviewer my home computer to get around this, which is extremely inconvenient.
Anyone know a fix to this? Or is a new policy with t-mobile to pay for the service?

Vaibe said:
I've ran into a small issue with internet sharing on my HD7. Everything works fine, however, I'll get a message t-mobile to enable my phone as a mobile hotspot, $15 a month. Before this I've never had an issue with internet sharing, probably used it for 5/6 months (ever since mango has been out.) The internet isn't blocked, it just keeps redirecting. Lately I've had to teamviewer my home computer to get around this, which is extremely inconvenient.
Anyone know a fix to this? Or is a new policy with t-mobile to pay for the service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, with all cell providers, tethering/hotspot has always cost as an add-on to the plan... with that said, I am T-Mobile with my HD7, and with the deepshining rom, I have never been charged (knock on wood). if you have the stock ROM, maybe it flags the data as tethered so they can track it...

Found something interesting today. While using my internet sharing, I only get the t-mobile redirect while using chrome. However, in firefox, I can browse freely. A bit interesting.

Vaibe said:
Found something interesting today. While using my internet sharing, I only get the t-mobile redirect while using chrome. However, in firefox, I can browse freely. A bit interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its because they are "blocking" tethering based on browser UAstring, and nothing else. For this reason, you can extremely simply spoof your UAstring as early Firefox or Safari versions (or just use FF or Safari) and not get redirects. There are addons and extentions for FF and Chrome to easily spoof the browser UAstring to anything you want.
Try this UA spoofer for chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/djflhoibgkdhkhhcedjiklpkjnoahfmg
I've been using the "Firefox 4" UAstring. I've tried some Safari strings also but some pages don't load properly (mainly GMail and Google+).
Its a horrible policy that many people have been fighting with for a long time now. Not only does it not work stopping any moderately sophisticated user on their desktop (because spoofing is SO easy), but it inadvertently "blocks" anyone trying to request desktop sites on their phones. Many browsers (especially Chrome Beta for Android 4.0) by default browse in desktop mode (or let you easily request desktop sites), and get redirected inadvertently.
You can call and complain all you want and the CS reps will either play dumb, or are actually unaware of the process of how they're sending out these messages. I've yet to make any headway on them.

[Q] Switch from htc arrive wp7 to Samsung Ativ wp8

Gotta switch but, I was wondering if 2 things are available in wp8 for sprint. 1- Is there any restriction for downloads and is there free Internet sharing. I realize this question is redundant but I keep getting different answers.

I can't speak for Sprint specifically, but in general...
The restrictions for downloads (I assume you mean things like "apps over 20MB must be downloaded over WiFi" or some such thing) should be the same as on WP7. In theory it's possible for us to override those restrictions, although I don't think anybody has yet written an app to do it.
The built-in "Internet Sharing" feature works exactly like it does on WP7. If your Arrive is allowed to do it, your Ativ S Neo will be too.

thanks
Let me explain. Sprint charges for WiFi hot spot usage. With Leads rom on my arrive I am able to use internet sharing for free. I guess my main concern about a switch is whether I can do this still for free. Thanks

If you don't see anything here, its because it hasn't been found yet. I'm trying to find the same for Verizon, but LTE has made a mess of things. The Android gurus won't help either...

I hope a internet sharing/hotspot solution is available for Sprint.
I'm eligible for upgrade March 1st, and was going to get the Ativ S Neo just for a change of pace. Been using Android for 3 or 4 years now, the last windows phone I had was a Touch Pro 2.
Not a deal breaker, but I do use hotspot fairly regularly to get around works firewall...

Some people are experimenting with partially-customized ROMs for the Ativ S (no idea if they've gotten to the Neo yet; it's relatively new). Those *might* support the kinds of changes needed for free tethering.
Alternatively, you may be able to use wired tethering for free via the Diagnosis app. I can (my plan includes tethering at no extra cost, but it is capped; when I use wired tethering it doesn't report any tethered data usage).

GoodDayToDie said:
Some people are experimenting with partially-customized ROMs for the Ativ S (no idea if they've gotten to the Neo yet; it's relatively new). Those *might* support the kinds of changes needed for free tethering.
Alternatively, you may be able to use wired tethering for free via the Diagnosis app. I can (my plan includes tethering at no extra cost, but it is capped; when I use wired tethering it doesn't report any tethered data usage).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CDMA Tethering has changed these days. They have built in "entitlement checks" to see if your eligible for tethering. I went to one of the Verizon device threads and asked but no luck.
The device username is the only thing listed. On another note, Verizon's USB modems seem to talk directly through a Networking Adapter instead of a normal modem. Their VZManager might need looked at more.
Sprint might be different OTOH.
Sent from my Lumia 928 (RM-860) using Tapatalk