iPhone Tethering and MMS Hacks Surface

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/18/iphone-tethering-and-mms-hacks-surface/)

Many AT&T iPhone customers have been disappointed by the carrier's lack of support for both Internet tethering and MMS at launch for iPhone OS 3.0. A pair of new reports today highlight a couple of iPhone hacks for enabling tethering and/or MMS without requiring jailbreaking. Readers should note, however, that such hacks violate the terms of service for many carriers and should therefore proceed at their own risk.

The first hack (http://richardlai.xanga.com/704930537/enable-tethering-on-iphone-30---too-easy-worldwide-carriers/), brought to our attention by Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/18/how-to-tether-your-iphone-running-os-3-0-without-jailbreaking/), activates tethering by modifying a user's carrier settings file. The hack utilizes specific carrier settings files from a wide range of carriers around the globe, opening up the method to a large number of users.Essentially, you use your iPhone to browse to a site that you've never heard of (help.benm.at), download a file that promises to reconfigure your local carrier profile, and then switch on tethering as you would had you tithed a monthly tethering fee to your carrier. We've confirmed that it works on T-Mobile NL and on O2 UK. There's obvious risk here so be careful and backup your iPhone first before giving this a shot. And don't go nuts either -- remember, your unlimited data plan likely contains a "fair use" clause and you can bet that carriers won't be happy to see their bandwidth diminish without compensation.Carrier settings files for all carriers (not just AT&T) are also available through iPhone-notes.de (http://www.iphone-notes.de/mobileconfig/). Some users have reported that the hack disables MMS and visual voicemail on their carriers, so users should be aware of the possible trade-off.

Gizmodo offers up (http://gizmodo.com/5295053/how-to-enable-tethering-and-mms-on-iphone-30-a-duet) a second hack (http://www.krillr.com/blog/3DPQHBZ3/i-have-tethering-and-mms-on-my-iphone-and-yes-im-on-att) that can enable both tethering and MMS.Our first method comes from Giz reader Aaron Krill, who has posted a comprehensive guide -- a sort of super-powered update to our old 3.0 tethering hack -- to enabling both tethering and MMS specifically on AT&T. It's not the simplest procedure, but it's approachable, and doesn't require jailbreaking like before. The gist:

- Enable IPCC updates on iTunes 8.2
- Update IPCC files
- Spoof AT&T's website into thinking you have an other phoneThe MMS portion of the hack requires another non-Apple phone running on AT&T's network, swapping the iPhone's SIM card into the non-Apple phone, and changing messaging plans.

You should proceed with caution with any of these potential changes as they are unofficial and unsupported.

Article Link: iPhone Tethering and MMS Hacks Surface (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/18/iphone-tethering-and-mms-hacks-surface/)

[brownieguy19]

I really hope AT&T wakes up and understands;

We (:apple:) will WIN.

[noTe on iPhone]

AT&T getting pwned, haha. I wonder when they'll do something to all of the customers doing this.

[wilycoder]

haha SUCK IT AT&T!!!

[Snide]

Enjoy it while you can, folks - 'cause there's no way this will last very long.

As for me, I'll be using PdaNet again soon enough.

[Romanesq]

The AT&T Deathstar has already shut others down.

You will be logged, billed and pwned.

Thank you for using AT&T. :eek:

[cryonicjim]

anybody know if it works on non-3g iphones?

[brownieguy19]

Front page of MacRumors = doom for cool hacks

Enjoy it while you can, folks - 'cause there's no way this will last very long.

Alas the fate of ThinkSecret.

[amac4me]

It's only a matter of time before AT&T takes action.

[Xavier]

Just another reason why I hate cellular companies but must comply because I need a cell phone. Thats why I went with Verizon, which I believe is the lesser of two evils.

[Rodimus Prime]

AT&T getting pwned, haha. I wonder when they'll do something to all of the customers doing this.

Oh they will and they rightful should. Tethering uses a lot more data than just the iPhone.

As for picking it up. it is not that hard when they start watching the usage or how often the data is requested. Every person they catch will make it easier for them to catch more.

People want something for nothing. As for cost the best argument I have is look to what those data cards cost to us a month. Then the tethering seems to fall more in line.

[duke49er]

Dude, I'm dying to try this, but seems to me there's huge potential for disaster. I'm not brave enough to take one for the team.

Guess I'll just wait like a loser.

SUCK IT AT&T!!

[NinjaHERO]

It would be really nice if Tethering was just something AT&T offered as part of our already unlimited data plan. But since they won't, bring on the hacks.

[mike105]

I'm wondering when this thread and articles will be removed haha ... I downloaded all the necessary files and created PDFs just in case :)

[Farani]

Oh they will and they rightful should. Tethering uses a lot more data than just the iPhone.

As for picking it up. it is not that hard when they start watching the usage or how often the data is requested. Every person they catch will make it easier for them to catch more.

People want something for nothing. As for cost the best argument I have is look to what those data cards cost to us a month. Then the tethering seems to fall more in line.

Except that people have been tethering for a long, long time now with pdaNet and other programs available to jailbroken phones via cydia. And what has happened? Nothing.

[BornAgainMac]

I wonder who at AT&T got fired for making the company look bad again this year. Every year AT&T has some major issue.

[ghostface147]

I waited two years for MMS support, what's a couple of more months? I don't need tethering, my company supplies me a mobile broadband card.

[wilycoder]

Tethering uses a lot more data than just the iPhone.

[citation needed]

[ajrandall]

I'm curious how 'block-able' this loophole is - here's to hoping that AT&T can't do anything about it and simply has to deal with us.

[optophobia]

Enjoy it while you can, folks - 'cause there's no way this will last very long.

As for me, I'll be using PdaNet again soon enough.

Agreed. The fact that Mac Rumors has posted this on the front page is pretty much ASKING for AT&T to correct it.

Way to ruin it sooner than it was going to be anyway Mac rumors....

[yaroldb]

anybody know if it works on non-3g iphones?

I did it on my 2g Iphone. No dice. I did it with my wifes 3g and it worked great. Even the speeds were not so bad. I can't wait to try it tomorrow with my new 3gs:D

[jav6454]

Lol, Front page, AT&T will soon take matters into their hands

[Ampidire]

I used both in Beta with no ill effects and have been using Tethering via jailbreak for quite some time also, I use it rarely, maybe once a month so I'm not too worried, MMS though, it's enabled by my plan and my whole family will have iPhones so unless they put an opt-out code in the family messaging plan we use, then I'll be fine :P

It's nice having all the features I'm supposed to have.

[Ori]

Anyone tried the first option on o2? Any side affects?

[Snide]

anybody know if it works on non-3g iphones?

Most definitely not. Believe me, I've tried (I have a iPhone 2G).

[cmendill]

I don't understand why MMS on an iPhone is special? AT&T offers MMS on other phones right? Is there something special about how iPhone will do MMS? Is there some infrastructure that AT&T hasn't finished yet. Why the wait? What switch is AT&T going to flip at the end of the summer? Is it just going to be the "we say its ok" switch, or is there actually some technical reason that MMS on an iPhone is different? Are they worried about a surge in data usage?

[DELLsFan]

I hold no love for AT&T, but the hacks here are beyond the ethics of jailbreaking. It seems to me that they do more than they should - and why? So folks can bog down the bandwidth even more just to connect to their laptop (which very likely has alternate access to the internet)? No, AT&T is right to pursue every legal means to prevent the pirating of bandwidth so that those who aren't can enjoy the service they're paying for.

Now as far as the pricing (of SMS in particular) and the service itself, yes, AT&T can just suck it. :D

[Enuratique]

Realize that a lot of iPhone users don't live in 3G coverage nor do they use that much bandwidth in the first place - like your's truly - yet they pay the same amount of money a lower-level DSL broadband account costs. I don't plan on using my newfound tethering capabilities unless I'm in a pinch and even then it would be for emergency purposes. The odds of me having both my work laptop, my iPhone, and lack of accessible wi-fi is pretty slim. In fact the only time I can think of needing this is at airports. So, please show some leniency here... You make plenty of extra profit from me - let a sleeping dog lie and just worry about the people who torrent while tethered and not paying for the tethering.

kthxbai

[Enuratique]

I don't understand why MMS on an iPhone is special? AT&T offers MMS on other phones right? Is there something special about how iPhone will do MMS? Is there some infrastructure that AT&T hasn't finished yet. Why the wait? What switch is AT&T going to flip at the end of the summer? Is it just going to be the "we say its ok" switch, or is there actually some technical reason that MMS on an iPhone is different? Are they worried about a surge in data usage?

I think it has something to do with the viewmymessage nonsense they make iPhone users go through. They need to manage that transition somehow / mandate users upgrade to 3.0?

[Snide]

Oh they will and they rightful should. Tethering uses a lot more data than just the iPhone.

I respectfully call BS.

My mom uses PdaNet through the iPhone as her sole internet connection at home.
I had her reset her Usage stats a couple months ago, and after one month, she had
used a whopping 900 MB. As we all know, there's an unofficial 5 GB "soft cap",
so she's using less than 1/5th of that. Her use includes normal browsing with
the occasional video here and there. Since AT&T calls the $30 data plan "unlimited",
this hardly seems excessive by any measure...

[cmendill]

I think it has something to do with the viewmymessage nonsense they make iPhone users go through. They need to manage that transition somehow / mandate users upgrade to 3.0?

Maybe, but they'll have to keep that running for people who don't upgrade. And they can't force you to upgrade. And if that were the case, wouldn't a 3.0 iPhone just act like any other MMS enabled phone.

[amac4me]

One concern that I have is that AT&T is likely to get very ticked about these hacks.

So it begs the question ... will they get so ticked as to price tethering high or offer it at a fair price given the pent up demand from a large number of the user base? :confused:

[Ipimpjuice]

End of summer? Go fly a kite AT&T

[Hattig]

Would it be a good idea to get your desktop web browser to spoof as the iPhone web browser?

So when the phone company comes a bitching about your use, you can say "but it was all from my phone, you can check your logs". I am assuming that the phone companies have an invisible proxy or otherwise log website accesses of course.

[Enuratique]

One concern that I have is that AT&T is likely to get very ticked about these hacks.

So it begs the question ... will they get so ticked as to price tethering high or offer it at a fair price given the pent up demand from a large number of the user base? :confused:

If they had any business sense - they'd make it affordable... You attract more flies with honey than vinegar, or something like that.

[pilonog]

I don't understand why MMS on an iPhone is special? AT&T offers MMS on other phones right? Is there something special about how iPhone will do MMS? Is there some infrastructure that AT&T hasn't finished yet. Why the wait? What switch is AT&T going to flip at the end of the summer? Is it just going to be the "we say its ok" switch, or is there actually some technical reason that MMS on an iPhone is different? Are they worried about a surge in data usage?


From my understanding, when all of the iPhone users were setup in the AT&T switches, the soc codes for MMS were not added to their accounts which tell the system to allow MMS on their ANI. Now they have to go back and add this for millions of accounts and that is the reason for the delay.

[Enuratique]

Would it be a good idea to get your desktop web browser to spoof as the iPhone web browser?

So when the phone company comes a bitching about your use, you can say "but it was all from my phone, you can check your logs". I am assuming that the phone companies have an invisible proxy or otherwise log website accesses of course.

There are many, many ways they can tell you're tethered outside of the UserAgent string... When tethered, your iPhone acts like a router, so the TTL value of TCP packets being sent through it will be one less than if they had come direct from the iPhone... Now if Apple had set the TTL to some non-standard starting value (default is 128) they could tell that way too... Also, they could tell what kind of ports you were connecting to... If you were only tethering for the purposes of web browsing, you'd be fine but doing stuff on strange ports (like BitTorrent, for example) that'd be a red flag too. Perhaps even the servers you connect to (like MSN Messenger's servers for example)

Long story short, don't think AT&T doesn't have the resources to do this kind of inspection - there are articles about how they let the CIA tap into their backbone for the purposes of spying internet traffic.

[ghostface147]

From my understanding, when all of the iPhone users were setup in the AT&T switches, the soc codes for MMS were not added to their accounts which tell the system to allow MMS on their ANI. Now they have to go back and add this for millions of accounts and that is the reason for the delay.

So they should be able to create a script that can mass enable it. I am very sure that the issue is their infrastructure is already weak enough with iPhone users using their data freely, now add multimedia and it will get only weaker.

[optophobia]

I respectfully call BS.

My mom uses PdaNet through the iPhone as her sole internet connection at home.
I had her reset her Usage stats a couple months ago, and after one month, she had
used a whopping 900 MB. As we all know, there's an unofficial 5 GB "soft cap",
so she's using less than 1/5th of that. Her use includes normal browsing with
the occasional video here and there. Since AT&T calls the $30 data plan "unlimited",
this hardly seems excessive by any measure...

That is a specific instance. It is not true in all cases. Your mom uses less on tethering than I do on my phone ( I use about 3GB/month)
If I were to use my iPhone for all my internet use then I would expect it to use over 20GB / month

[zombitronic]

Tethering uses a lot more data than just the iPhone.

[citation needed]

Yes, please. My understanding is that tethering just allows you to access your 3G connection via a computer. I'm not sure why you think tethering would use any more data than what's available from your iPhone, unless you mean that a user on a computer would likely use the connection more than a user on an iPhone. Still, you're limited by the speed of the 3G connectivity. It is an unlimited data plan and I don't see the difference between constantly downloading video on the 3G network via the iTunes app on an iPhone or downloading video via iTunes on a computer.

[Stargaze]

[seeing as this post has been hijacked by MMS]

Why do you need MMS on a phone that has full access to the internet??

i dont understand this overall cry for hte ability to text message someone a picture that i can email them

[DipDog3]

I guess no love for the iPhone 2G!

[DipDog3]

[seeing as this post has been hijacked by MMS]

Why do you need MMS on a phone that has full access to the internet??

i dont understand this overall cry for hte ability to text message someone a picture that i can email them

Cause a lot of people don't have email on their phone but they all have picture messaging.

[TheKrillr]

I'm wondering when this thread and articles will be removed haha ... I downloaded all the necessary files and created PDFs just in case :)

apple and at&t can drag my ass to court if they want, im never taking down my tutorial.

[Azrel]

Does anyone understand the technicalities of how this hack works, is it possible for O2 to track this particular hack down and begin charging the tethering 'bolt-on' charge.? :apple:

[BrownManUPS]

For those of you who have been watching the iPhone threads, I have been trying hard to get the MMS working, but I couldn't get it to work.

I just want to warn everyone that: group texting will not work if you don't get mms fully working and tethering may be an additional charge, as it shows up differently in your bill.

If you want to reverse anything you have done, you'll need to fully restore the phone by:

1) If you entered any terminal commands, you will need to make that command be "FALSE" instead of "TRUE".
2) Clicking restore
3) Restore as a NEW iPhone -- This is important, as the carrier file will be changed for a new one, the 4.0 version.

This is a pain in the ass to wait for the sync, but it is the most effective way.

Anyone who says to "call AT&T" to set up MMS is either a liar or a lucky individual, because I have tried 5 times and had no luck everytime (a supervisor tells them that MMS is available "later this summer).

Have fun.

[Snide]

Also, they could tell what kind of ports you were connecting to... If you were only tethering for the purposes of web browsing, you'd be fine but doing stuff on strange ports (like BitTorrent, for example) that'd be a red flag too. Perhaps even the servers you connect to (like MSN Messenger's servers for example)

Very good point. Anyone stupid enough to run a Bit Torrent client deserves to made an example of...
I have used FTP occasionally while tethered, but since my monthly usage is so low (well below 5 GB),
I haven't worried too much about it.

[jfw18338]

[seeing as this post has been hijacked by MMS]

Why do you need MMS on a phone that has full access to the internet??

i dont understand this overall cry for hte ability to text message someone a picture that i can email them

Because not everyone you want to send the picture to has an iPhone or constant access to their email...

[cocky jeremy]

**** At&t.

[stevenshizzle]

I got it to work by browsing to the website I never heard of and downloading the profile. Then I enabled tethering and paired it with my MacBook Pro via bluetooth. Tethering works.

[TheKrillr]

For those of you who have been watching the iPhone threads, I have been trying hard to get the MMS working, but I couldn't get it to work.

I just want to warn everyone that: group texting will not work if you don't get mms fully working and tethering may be an additional charge, as it shows up differently in your bill.

If you want to reverse anything you have done, you'll need to fully restore the phone by:

1) If you entered any terminal commands, you will need to make that command be "FALSE" instead of "TRUE".
2) Clicking restore
3) Restore as a NEW iPhone -- This is important, as the carrier file will be changed for a new one, the 4.0 version.

This is a pain in the ass to wait for the sync, but it is the most effective way.

Anyone who says to "call AT&T" to set up MMS is either a liar or a lucky individual, because I have tried 5 times and had no luck everytime (a supervisor tells them that MMS is available "later this summer).

Have fun.

Actually, my hack (on krillr.com) can be reversed simply by downloading and reinstalling the IPCC from http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/content.info.apple.com/iPhone/CarrierBundles/061-4732.20090203.gj3ef/ATT_US.ipcc

No restore needed.

[Rodimus Prime]

Yes, please. My understanding is that tethering just allows you to access your 3G connection via a computer. I'm not sure why you think tethering would use any more data than what's available from your iPhone, unless you mean that a user on a computer would likely use the connection more than a user on an iPhone. Still, you're limited by the speed of the 3G connectivity. It is an unlimited data plan and I don't see the difference between constantly downloading video on the 3G network via the iTunes app on an iPhone or downloading video via iTunes on a computer.


Better way to explain it is there is no arguing a computer rendering speed is faster than an iPhone. Plus it is easier to navigate on a computer than the iPhone.

Well the max bandwithe the 2 connection can pull the same. The speed which data can and will be requested is going to be much higher with a tethered computer. A standard iPhone user is not going to pull 900 megs of data in a month. Hell I would argue that they might pull 200 in an average month.

Problem with tethered computers is it spikes the data useage in burst because while surfing the user will be navigating fast and clicking more links. For example I have 5-6 tabs open in my Firefox browser right now and I tend to jump between them. On an iPhone alone I would only really be using one and moving is slower.

[optophobia]

why bother with the hack when you can just pay AT7T $55 a month !!!!! :eek:

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/06/18/atandt-iphone-customers-tethering-is-coming-for-a-price/

[martianzero]

Got this working on my desktop (PPC) instantly, but doesn't work on my Intel Macbook? The Macbook is 10.5.4, the Desktop is up-to-date with 10.5.7. I'll try that first.... anyone else try this?

BTW I have a 3G phone.

UPDATED!!!

Updating my Macbook to 10.5.7 worked!!

FYI, Wife has my old 2G iPhone and that definitely does not work at all.

[Anaxarxes]

ANd yet we see that AT&T decides to charge $55 for this. And How much for Blackberries? $30.

THis is bullshxt! Tethering hack works and I'm writing this from my iPhone 3G

Now what are they going to do about it, since jailbroken phones already had this and back in the day Netshare offered this!

[CrackedButter]

I hold no love for AT&T, but the hacks here are beyond the ethics of jailbreaking. It seems to me that they do more than they should - and why? So folks can bog down the bandwidth even more just to connect to their laptop (which very likely has alternate access to the internet)? No, AT&T is right to pursue every legal means to prevent the pirating of bandwidth so that those who aren't can enjoy the service they're paying for.

Now as far as the pricing (of SMS in particular) and the service itself, yes, AT&T can just suck it. :D

It is like somebody else pointed out, why do we have to pay twice just to output the internet to a larger screen?

With O2 you're paying £35 for unlimited internet access and then if you want to tether you have to pay £15 more to get it on your laptop screen. It isn't like you're using the internet twice either.

Aside from that, I agree with you on the fact that, MR should not be posting these hacks here, otherwise they should allow the forums to discuss serial codes and key generators for cracked software.

[Azrel]

Got this working on my desktop (PPC) instantly, but doesn't work on my Intel Macbook? The Macbook is 10.5.4, the Desktop is up-to-date with 10.5.7. I'll try that first.... anyone else try this?

BTW I have a 3G phone.

^ mine works on 10.5.6 :cool:

[dagamer34]

Yes, please. My understanding is that tethering just allows you to access your 3G connection via a computer. I'm not sure why you think tethering would use any more data than what's available from your iPhone, unless you mean that a user on a computer would likely use the connection more than a user on an iPhone. Still, you're limited by the speed of the 3G connectivity. It is an unlimited data plan and I don't see the difference between constantly downloading video on the 3G network via the iTunes app on an iPhone or downloading video via iTunes on a computer.

People like YouTube which uses a lot more bandwidth than people realize.

And tethering isn't cheaper to deter people from using it. It's there for people who really need it (and are willing to pay), but they're network can't handle it. Economies of scale won't work in AT&T's favor until they put a whole lot of money into building their network. It's similar to how Ferrari could sell a whole lot more cars if they made them cheaper, but that would defeat the purpose of owning a Ferrari, to show off to other people! It's expensive for a reason.

As much as we'd like to claim that a company like AT&T is f#($ing stupid, I'd prefer people back up that claim with actual reasons than just spouting crap.

And in case you are confused, yes I think AT&T sucks. Good day.

[dopeytree]

I have tethering working on my iphone 3g on O2 (UK) but only via usb I can't get the bluetooth to work as my iPhone won't stay connected to my macbook pro :( but still it works!

[orson3g]

I am running 3.0 on a 3G, installed the modified ipcc file and tethering shows up. However, neither USB nor Bluetooth tethering works. Connect to network is grayed out via Bluetooth, and System Preferences never detects the phone in the Network Preferences. Running a 17" unibody MBP (first version) with OS X 10.5.7 fwiw. Any suggestions or fixes are appreciated. Thanks.

Also have the SDK installed (3.0 version)

[phalewhale]

O2 are charging an additional £15 for users to have this functionality. Personally, I think it's a total rip off so I say good luck to those getting round this rip off system.

Didn't Jobs and Woz do something similar when they were young? Blue boxes anyone...

[Snide]

One thing to keep in mind that the majority of Tetherers™ will be tethering only occasionally,
especially since free Wi-Fi is so ubiquitous these days. Most of us already have ISP's at home.

And what about people using legit apps like Pandora many hours a day?
That's gotta use WAY more bandwidth than any amount of web-browsing...

[Snide]

Didn't Jobs and Woz do something similar when they were young? Blue boxes anyone...

Indeed. They called it Phone Phreaking - or something like that...

[Iphtashu Fitz]

So they should be able to create a script that can mass enable it.

Don't be so sure about it. I used to work for a company that provided services to wireless customers. We had VPN's from our equipment directly into AT&T with which we could send data directly to wireless users. Any time we had to make any changes it was an absolute nightmare to deal with AT&T. Despite the fact that it's only one company there's still a pretty big distinction between "classic" AT&T and Cingular (or at least there was when I worked for this company). Virtually every discussion I ever had with them started with them discussing the impact of any changes on the "Orange" vs. "Blue" side of their networks. I once had to redirect our VPN to a new IP address at AT&T and the process took a few weeks. It was just me and our firewall on our side but about half a dozen people on their side dealing with the whole orange vs. blue issue and whatever other politics, logistics, etc. were involved.

[martianzero]

I am running 3.0 on a 3G, installed the modified ipcc file and tethering shows up. However, neither USB nor Bluetooth tethering works. Connect to network is grayed out via Bluetooth, and System Preferences never detects the phone in the Network Preferences. Running a 17" unibody MBP (first version) with OS X 10.5.7 fwiw. Any suggestions or fixes are appreciated. Thanks.

Also have the SDK installed (3.0 version)

I am having same issue on my intel macbook with 10.5.4, but works fine on PPC 10.5.7. I am updating now, and will report back.

UPDATED!

Installing 10.5.7 worked! Perhaps there is some other component required? I let software update install everything it wanted to.

[seanooi]

using this tethering hack breaks the iphone's voicemail function. You won't get notified if you have a voicemail and for those who has visual voicemail, it wouldn't work too. I've tried to find of ways to get the both of them to work but to no avail.

Maybe it's just me or maybe someone could point out on how to fix this.

[Westin]

There are no side effects, you do not get charged. Just dont go crazy and hit 10gb of bandwith

[bossxii]

People here believe they are in the majority of iPhone users, were not, not even close. If Apple has 40+ million iPhones out here, probably less then 1% even visit sites like these, and less then that ever try anything technical such as adding code to make Tethering work.

Tech site forum followers should go outside and realize the world is alot bigger than their basement :) AT&T hasn't done anything about the people using PDAnet, they have shut down the masses.... because their simply isn't that many people doing it.

These topics of "OMG the sky is falling" are entertaining at least, amazed how people buy into the drama and fail to see how small the issue really is.

AT&T has far bigger problems then a few thousand people tethering their laptops via some hack.

[Rodimus Prime]

On thing that should be pointed out that people are COMPLETELY pass over is ATT cost JUST for the data card is $60.
Why should the data for tethering be any less than the cost for the data card.

I have yet to see some one even attempt to debate that topic. ATT is viewing the tethering as just using the phone as a data card. ATT is in the right. Not the other way around.

[macintouch]

Hmm. I would NEVER want to try something like this.

[ilfn143]

Anyone tried the first option on o2? Any side affects?

Rare but serious skin reactions and allergic reactions have been reported. Stop tethering and call your mobil provider if you experience any of these reactions, as they could be very serious.

[BLACK MAC]

Heres to hope that it stays alive!! :)

[Iphtashu Fitz]

using this tethering hack breaks the iphone's voicemail function. You won't get notified if you have a voicemail and for those who has visual voicemail, it wouldn't work too. I've tried to find of ways to get the both of them to work but to no avail.

Maybe it's just me or maybe someone could point out on how to fix this.

I just implemented the Gizmodo tethering hack on my iPhone (just the tethering, not the MMS) and tried calling myself from another phone. Visual voicemail works fine for me, as does getting notified of voicemails.

[mixel]

I cant understand why people dont "get" how tethering would use up more bandwidth than just the phone!

When I connect to the internet with my laptop its commonly and automatically constantly pinging twitter, checking emails much more frequently, connected to MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, (via adium) on Skype and IRC.. I generally have a lot of tabs open.. Sometimes an FTP client, etc. Multitasking gives you a lot more bandwidth hogging ability.

Most people's internet usage on laptops is very different to their internet usage on phones. Most sites have a low bandwidth mobile version that loads when you check on the iphone, eg; I routinely visit DeviantArt and Facebook. If I visit with my laptop it causes a lot more strain just by loading the non-mobile versions of these pages.

[danielsan26]

using this tethering hack breaks the iphone's voicemail function. You won't get notified if you have a voicemail and for those who has visual voicemail, it wouldn't work too. I've tried to find of ways to get the both of them to work but to no avail.

Maybe it's just me or maybe someone could point out on how to fix this.

Anytime your visual voicemail breaks use the voicemail tab to dial the voicemail system, listen to the message and go through the prompts, then use star to exit, and after it hangs up it will return.

I've been fooling around with the tethering/MMS stuff for a few days and this worked every time.

[wingsabr]

using this tethering hack breaks the iphone's voicemail function. You won't get notified if you have a voicemail and for those who has visual voicemail, it wouldn't work too. I've tried to find of ways to get the both of them to work but to no avail.

Maybe it's just me or maybe someone could point out on how to fix this.

My VVM and notifications work fine with the tethering hack... :D

[Enuratique]

using this tethering hack breaks the iphone's voicemail function. You won't get notified if you have a voicemail and for those who has visual voicemail, it wouldn't work too. I've tried to find of ways to get the both of them to work but to no avail.

Maybe it's just me or maybe someone could point out on how to fix this.

Really? My Visual Voicemail appears to function... Atleast I can access the ones I haven't listened to yet and view my deleted ones... Don't know if I've received any new ones yet though...

[Coroe]

Honestly, if AT&T or any other provider were to charge or punish you for using tethering with the iPhone, you could contest that and bitchslap them around any courtroom on this planet.

[flowd]

Before you use your tethered iPhone to start downloading BitTorrents, you may want to read the fine print in your AT&T contract. You'll find your "unlimited" data plan is actually capped at 5GB per month. Each additional 1GB over that limit will set you back $480. If you download say 300GB in one month you'll find yourself staring at a bill for $140,000 from AT&T the next. Watch your cornhole!

See more bandwidth pricing tips here:
http://www.stepthreeprofit.com/2009/04/truth-about-consume-bandwidth-pricing.html

[wingsabr]

People here believe they are in the majority of iPhone users, were not, not even close. If Apple has 40+ million iPhones out here, probably less then 1% even visit sites like these, and less then that ever try anything technical such as adding code to make Tethering work.

Tech site forum followers should go outside and realize the world is alot bigger than their basement :) AT&T hasn't done anything about the people using PDAnet, they have shut down the masses.... because their simply isn't that many people doing it.

These topics of "OMG the sky is falling" are entertaining at least, amazed how people buy into the drama and fail to see how small the issue really is.

AT&T has far bigger problems then a few thousand people tethering their laptops via some hack.DING DING DING!!!! Someone give this man a prize. :D I have older friends who have iPhones and don't even know how to use half of the features on it including the iPod. I doubt AT&T really cares unless you do something really stupid like torrents through the iPhone.

[DELLsFan]

It is like somebody else pointed out, why do we have to pay twice just to output the internet to a larger screen?

This is an excellent point - a perspective I hadn't really considered. We're already paying for the bandwidth for a smaller screen, sure.

I guess the counter argument is that AT&T is concerned that laptop tethering has the effect of significantly increasing bandwidth used just by using the laptop - more bandwidth than would otherwise be utilized via the iPhone. To which one could argue - so what?

Does the increased bandwidth really bog down the 3G network, or does the company simply want to sell a different service? Based on current data plan, voice, and a la carte and package text messaging plans vs. expense, I'd say AT&T would be more likely to exaggerate bandwidth limits so as to receive a few extra bucks.

[Enuratique]

I cant understand why people dont "get" how tethering would use up more bandwidth than just the phone!

When I connect to the internet with my laptop its commonly and automatically constantly pinging twitter, checking emails much more frequently, connected to MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, (via adium) on Skype and IRC.. I generally have a lot of tabs open.. Sometimes an FTP client, etc. Multitasking gives you a lot more bandwidth hogging ability.

Most people's internet usage on laptops is very different to their internet usage on phones. Most sites have a low bandwidth mobile version that loads when you check on the iphone, eg; I routinely visit DeviantArt and Facebook. If I visit with my laptop it causes a lot more strain just by loading the non-mobile versions of these pages.

+1 thanks for saving me the typing... I was going to post almost the same thing verbatim.

[2contagious]

Option 1 worked perfectly on my O2 (UK) iPhone 3G and Visual Voicemail (edit: and MMS) still work.
The site will give you two options "O2 Contract" and "O2 Vertigo". I chose "O2 Vertigo", as it is the same config. data as the official one on my iPhone.

[Aldaris]

At&t knew that iPhone OS 3.0 was coming as we all did since March. Do you honestly not think Apple would be talking to its "exclusive" carrier behind the scenes...

I'm honestly not buying the propaganda- At&t has messed up and messed up bad. I at one time felt guilty about using the NetShare App, but hey, not anymore...

When At&t shows loyalty to it's customers, then I'll show loyalty in return. Until then I'm sure glad I have their v.5 carrier file.

So to reiterate and quote "eff At&t".

[Iphtashu Fitz]

The easiest by far was the 3 step process that 9to5mac wrote up last week:
http://9to5mac.com/iPhone-3G-tethering

Those are the exact same steps mentioned in the article, just posted on another website.

[orson3g]

I am having same issue on my intel macbook with 10.5.4, but works fine on PPC 10.5.7. I am updating now, and will report back.

NM, found the answer in Google:

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE BLUE BAR OR ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH THIS:

1.) Go to HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration

2.) Delete the "preferences.plist"

3.) Restart your Mac.

Doing this will set all of your network settings back to default, thereby enabling the two connections the iPhone sets up the first time you connect it to tether to be recreated.
You will also lose all of your wireless and wired network settings so you'll have to log back in to those, but that's a small price to pay for such great functionality from your iPhone.


This worked for me, and I am writing this while tethered.

[iPhoneNYC]

These hacks sound rather funky to me...

[orson3g]

Can someone post a screenshot of a successfully sent MMS message on AT&T with an iPhone? I keep seeing these hack sites that claim they have MMS capabilities, but it never seems to work for anyone else. I have a FamilyTalk messaging plan, not an iPhone specific one, and there are no blocks or disabling for MMS on that plan, yet it still doesn't work for me.

[brywalker]

Can someone post a screenshot of a successfully sent MMS message on AT&T with an iPhone? I keep seeing these hack sites that claim they have MMS capabilities, but it never seems to work for anyone else. I have a FamilyTalk messaging plan, not an iPhone specific one, and there are no blocks or disabling for MMS on that plan, yet it still doesn't work for me.

I have had it working for days. Just update the carrier file and use your sim in another phone for about a half hour. When you van send a mms there, just put it back in the iPhone and reboot. Done. You are just doing what AT&T is going to do. Provision it for mms.

I haven't tried tethering, but will when it is officially available. $60/mo like every other smartphone. I don't believe I'm entitled
to it like everyone else. Bandwidth costs money.

[Soundcage]

If I utilize these hacks - do I need to reset the phone before bringing it into a Genius. Obviously I would never bring a jailbroken phone into the Apple store, but does this void the warranty? - it certainly does void my cell contract, but thats not through Apple.

[eastercat]

In fact the only time I can think of needing this is at airports. So, please show some leniency here... You make plenty of extra profit from me - let a sleeping dog lie and just worry about the people who torrent while tethered and not paying for the tethering.
You're kidding, right? Corporations are not charity groups. They aren't here to give a damn about you. The only people they serve are their shareholders. You can bet the shareholders would pitch a fit if AT&T gave away tethering--especially when they can charge for it.

[jw12345678]

http://www.iphone-notes.de/mobileconfig/ worked for me on Vodafone in the UK, but then I used to use the sim card in a Nokia to tether before iphones so data was already activated with this contract. Is there difference between wap data (used by MMS) and data used to tether. I seem to remember when these things started to appear on phones you had to activate data, or wap or both but they were definitely different things to charge for over and above the voice bit.

[Trexznl]

Just tried on Dutch T-mobile (NL).. works :D

T-Mobile NL announced like a week ago that they wouldn't be supporting tethering for a while, and when they would, they'd be charging for it. Needles to say, I was REALLY bummed out by this, as Tethering was THE most important thing of 3.0 for me.

Oh well, if they won't let me use it by default, I'll do it this way. Or if they'll disable this way, I'll find another way..

Freaking carriers ruining everything..

[martianzero]

using this tethering hack breaks the iphone's voicemail function. You won't get notified if you have a voicemail and for those who has visual voicemail, it wouldn't work too. I've tried to find of ways to get the both of them to work but to no avail.

Maybe it's just me or maybe someone could point out on how to fix this.


I just implemented the Gizmodo tethering hack on my iPhone (just the tethering, not the MMS) and tried calling myself from another phone. Visual voicemail works fine for me, as does getting notified of voicemails.

I used:

http://help.benm.at/

and Visual voicemail works fine for me

[Willis]

O2 are charging an additional £15 for users to have this functionality. Personally, I think it's a total rip off so I say good luck to those getting round this rip off system.

Didn't Jobs and Woz do something similar when they were young? Blue boxes anyone...

It is a Rip off. For as long as I'm able to get round it, I will.

And yes, the Blue Boxes were a nice little international call hack... and what was the company who they were hacking? AT&T :cool:

[dkh587]

I have a kind of silly question.. I know when I set my Bold up to tether, I had to program it to use wap@cingular or whatever. Will the carrier file we download, already be programmed to use the right settings? I know that if you use isp@cingular or whatever it is, that's when you get charged..

[chukronos]

Before you use your tethered iPhone to start downloading BitTorrents, you may want to read the fine print in your AT&T contract. You'll find your "unlimited" data plan is actually capped at 5GB per month. Each additional 1GB over that limit will set you back $480. If you download say 300GB in one month you'll find yourself staring at a bill for $140,000 from AT&T the next. Watch your cornhole!

See more bandwidth pricing tips here:
http://www.stepthreeprofit.com/2009/04/truth-about-consume-bandwidth-pricing.html

That would be hilarious! Can you imagine the look on someone's face when they open up the bill and see the cost of trying to steal? Haha!

We've waited this long for tethering, I can wait another couple of months.

[Riemann Zeta]

I think people are being a bit overly paranoid thinking that carriers will start to use deep packet inspection to analyze and deactivate every single user that might have enabled tethering. The key is not to be an ass about it--the contract (well, at least in the US) says that the absolute maximum for an 'unlimited' data plan is 5GB per month, which is quite fair. So stay under that limit and don't suddenly ramp up use from ~10 MB/day to 2.1GB the next day. If you are dumb enough think that this hack gives you the ability to download a BluRay over bittorrent, then you are going to get what you deserve: sh*tcanned.

[hoptown]

Quite ironic that I'm reading this article's warnings on a tethered iPhone/Macbook.

[topmounter]

I pay for "Unlimited Data" with the "5GB soft cap"...

As long as I stay under the "soft cap", why do they care whether I look at a web page on my iPhone or on my laptop?


I've tethered with EDGE with my Nokia E50 phone and no one came to arrest me.

[windywoo]

Such trouble just for tethering. My LG Viewty doesn't have apps, but it tethers like a mofo, USB or Bluetooth. I'm on O2 and my data plan means I can never go over 98p a day. Of course I only use it for maybe half an hour a day, usually less.

[Enuratique]

I pay for "Unlimited Data" with the "5GB soft cap"...

As long as I stay under the "soft cap", why do they care whether I look at a web page on my iPhone or on my laptop?


I've tethered with EDGE with my Nokia E50 phone and no one came to arrest me.

Don't get me wrong, I completely agree - your logic is sound... However, AT&T has sold a crapload of unlimited plans assuming the average user would never hit those caps... I certainly don't... So for now, the network can handle it... But if alot of people just casually started tethering then the network as a whole would suffer for it... The extra cost on top is more to deter people from wanting to tether... I don't think 3G was really designed for that kind of use.

[knewsom]

...what on earth makes you think they have it together enough to do deep-packet inspection and "bust" people who hacked their **** to get the service they SHOULD ALREADY BE GETTING?

I'm doing this. And I'm not doing it out of necessity. I'm doing it to stick it to the man. SUCK IT, ATT. :p

[orson3g]

I've tethered with EDGE with my Nokia E50 phone and no one came to arrest me.

If you downloaded more than 5 GB over EDGE, someone SHOULD come after you. And give you a certificate for all your patience ;-)

[DELLsFan]

Don't get me wrong, I completely agree - your logic is sound... However, AT&T has sold a crapload of unlimited plans assuming the average user would never hit those caps... I certainly don't... So for now, the network can handle it... But if alot of people just casually started tethering then the network as a whole would suffer for it... The extra cost on top is more to deter people from wanting to tether... I don't think 3G was really designed for that kind of use.

So then when can we expect the infrastructure to improve to the point where your concerns are moot? I suspect that day may NEVER come, because there is no profit in a truly unlimited pricing plan, is there? Just ask AOL.

[Willis]

*snip*.. I don't think 3G was really designed for that kind of use.

So why are there hundreds of 3G dongles on the market then?

even if 02 said £5 a month to tether or a £7.50 bolt on, I would agree and pay it. £15 is just greedy and completely unfair to their customers

[sbrhwkp3]

[seeing as this post has been hijacked by MMS]

Why do you need MMS on a phone that has full access to the internet??

i dont understand this overall cry for hte ability to text message someone a picture that i can email them

Because emailing is a pain in the ass. Not everyone has a smart phone to view their email with.

And even if they did, I want to be able to use 1 code (the person's phone number) to send texts, make calls, and send multimedia. I don't feel like collecting every single one of my friends' email addresses.

In the younger generation, email has already become obsolete, except for business.

[jointsmoking]

If I were ATT I would sue Macrumors.

I'm sorry to see this move from a serious website to this kiddie hackorz garbage on the front page.

Stealing is wrong.

Your parents brought you up wrong.

[sishaw]

[seeing as this post has been hijacked by MMS]

Why do you need MMS on a phone that has full access to the internet??

i dont understand this overall cry for hte ability to text message someone a picture that i can email them

Well, you don't have a strong need for it for the iPhone per se, but it's nice because of OTHER cellphone users. To take myself as an example. I have one friend who can only send her cellphone pictures via MMS (she sends them to me to Photoshop them). She's not technologically naive or anything, she just has an inexpensive phone and that's how it works. I use MMSbuddy as a workaround for now, but receiving her messages will be much easier when MMS goes live.

[starflyer]

If I were ATT I would sue Macrumors.

I'm sorry to see this move from a serious website to this kiddie hackorz garbage on the front page.

Stealing is wrong.

Your parents brought you up wrong.

If ATT is giving Text plan members free MMS when they get their act together, how exactly is this stealing?

Do you even have an iPhone?

[orson3g]

If I were ATT I would sue Macrumors.

I'm sorry to see this move from a serious website to this kiddie hackorz garbage on the front page.

Stealing is wrong.

Your parents brought you up wrong.

Yea, I'm really gonna listen to someone named "jointsmoking" about legal matters...

[sbrhwkp3]

If I were ATT I would sue Macrumors.

I'm sorry to see this move from a serious website to this kiddie hackorz garbage on the front page.

Stealing is wrong.

Your parents brought you up wrong.

So is joint smoking.

And that doesn't stop me, or apparently, you. :p

[knewsom]

If I were ATT I would sue Macrumors.

I'm sorry to see this move from a serious website to this kiddie hackorz garbage on the front page.

Stealing is wrong.

Your parents brought you up wrong.

If you think "just obey" is the right kind of philosophy to be brought up on, that's YOUR parents' shortcoming, not mine.

I was raised to believe I shouldn't follow rules that are not right, and that I have the power to make those decisions myself. Sometimes there are consequences involved, and I'm well aware of that fact.

ATT is taking advantage of a large and loyal customer base, FORCED into loyalty by immoral exclusivity deals. This is not free market. This is BS, and they're gonna have to deal with the consequences of that.

[sbrhwkp3]

If you think "just obey" is the right kind of philosophy to be brought up on, that's YOUR shortcoming, not mine.

I was raised to believe I shouldn't follow rules that are not right, and that I have the power to make those decisions myself. Sometimes there are consequences involved, and I'm well aware of that fact.

ATT is taking advantage of a large and loyal customer base, FORCED into loyalty by immoral exclusivity deals. This is not free market. This is BS, and they're gonna have to deal with the consequences of that.

WOOOOOO! REBEL! EVERYBODY!

As soon as I find another ATT phone, I'm going to enable MMS on my iPhone.

[jointsmoking]

If you think "just obey" is the right kind of philosophy to be brought up on, that's YOUR shortcoming, not mine.

I was raised to believe I shouldn't follow rules that are not right, .

STEALING IS WRONG. PERIOD. you might think the rules are wrong, but it's not your bandwidth.

[knewsom]

WOOOOOO! REBEL! EVERYBODY!

As soon as I find another ATT phone, I'm going to enable MMS on my iPhone.

Hell yea, that's what I'm talkin' about! :D

[knewsom]

STEALING IS WRONG. PERIOD. you might think the rules are wrong, but it's not your bandwidth.

Sure it is - I'm paying for up to 5 GB of it a month, how I use that should be entirely up to me.

[overcast]

I waited two years for MMS support, what's a couple of more months? I don't need tethering, my company supplies me a mobile broadband card.

Congratulations, now for the rest of us.

[sbrhwkp3]

STEALING IS WRONG. PERIOD. you might think the rules are wrong, but it's not your bandwidth.

Hypocrite. :rolleyes:

[sarno]

Here's a visual guide to enable tethering

http://www.blogsdna.com/3720/enable-3g-internet-tethering-on-iphone-3g-30-with-iphone-safari.htm

[redkamel]

Oh they will and they rightful should. Tethering uses a lot more data than just the iPhone.

As for picking it up. it is not that hard when they start watching the usage or how often the data is requested. Every person they catch will make it easier for them to catch more.

People want something for nothing. As for cost the best argument I have is look to what those data cards cost to us a month. Then the tethering seems to fall more in line.

something for nothing? they are already paying for an unlimited data plan. Using your phone to send and receive data is not "something for nothing".

I kind of see your point, but the REAL point is that ATT needs to sell it for what it is: cell phone internet only. Selling as unlimited data is disingenious. An MMS is also data.

[vrillusions]

On thing that should be pointed out that people are COMPLETELY pass over is ATT cost JUST for the data card is $60.
Why should the data for tethering be any less than the cost for the data card.

I have yet to see some one even attempt to debate that topic. ATT is viewing the tethering as just using the phone as a data card. ATT is in the right. Not the other way around.

We pay $199 (or $299, or $99, whatever) for the iphone, that IS our data card. so that part doesn't matter.

[Dan1990]

Even if the carriers are able to notice tethering over regular iPhone internet usage, I will just turn around and say I'm using NetShare, which I downloaded legitimately.

Therefore, I think we will have to see Stevey boy push the big red 'App Kill' button before the carriers can become hostile against people using unauthorised tethering.

I also reckon it will be a similar amount of people who use the tethering hack method as those who have been using NetShare or similar methods, meaning it's not enough of a problem for the carriers to kick up a media sandstorm over.

I think we're safe for now.

[Rodimus Prime]

We pay $199 (or $299, or $99, whatever) for the iphone, that IS our data card. so that part doesn't matter.

Read it again.

Use a data card on ATT network cost $60 a month. That is not for voice just for data.

The data card and an Iphone Tethered are basicly the same thing. So why should the monthly cost for a tethering part of the iPhone being any less than the data card month cost.
You did not answer the question. Please try again.

[PRIMECHUCK]

Does AT&T have legal rights to stop this? Well sure. It seems that most of you defending AT&T and demonizing those wanting to enable tethering and MMS are missing the point tho. iPhone users are already paying a premium price for the phone itself (and gladly because of its innovation as a smartphone) and also paying a premium price for the service plan that has been raised for unknown reasons as no other smartphone plans cost as much as the iPhones. Yet, with all that we still dont get to use our phones like the other smartphones that AT&T sells. Why? There has been no response to this and it seems to me that the customers that have been forced to live by AT&Ts policies are fed up. In the eyes of the law, these hacks are considered at the least violating the AT&T agreement. So I say this. Those of you complaining about this being so wrong need to put down your Starbucks coffee (If it hadnt been for the illegal tea party you would be drinking tea right now) or put down that beer (if it wasnt for the illegal trade of alcohol, prohibition would still be in place). My point is, sometimes to create changes people need to band together and do things that, at the time, would be considered illegal. Just because something is "legal" doesnt necessarily make it "right".

I'm off my soapbox, you guys should probably get off yours now too.

[knewsom]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkNsEH1GD7Q

[Willis]

Even if the carriers are able to notice tethering over regular iPhone internet usage, I will just turn around and say I'm using NetShare, which I downloaded legitimately.

Therefore, I think we will have to see Stevey boy push the big red 'App Kill' button before the carriers can become hostile against people using unauthorised tethering.

I also reckon it will be a similar amount of people who use the tethering hack method as those who have been using NetShare or similar methods, meaning it's not enough of a problem for the carriers to kick up a media sandstorm over.

I think we're safe for now.

True, NetShare is a good scapegoat here...

[richard4339]

I respectfully call BS.

My mom uses PdaNet through the iPhone as her sole internet connection at home.
I had her reset her Usage stats a couple months ago, and after one month, she had
used a whopping 900 MB. As we all know, there's an unofficial 5 GB "soft cap",
so she's using less than 1/5th of that. Her use includes normal browsing with
the occasional video here and there. Since AT&T calls the $30 data plan "unlimited",
this hardly seems excessive by any measure...

That is a specific instance. It is not true in all cases. Your mom uses less on tethering than I do on my phone ( I use about 3GB/month)
If I were to use my iPhone for all my internet use then I would expect it to use over 20GB / month

I did a test for two weeks a few months ago... I disabled wifi on my phone and streamed Pandora on my phone every minute I was at work for 2 weeks. I had used 50mb of data before I started this, and had used 950mb afterwards. I still used my phone regularly during this period too, accessing website, IMing, etc.

Yes, please. My understanding is that tethering just allows you to access your 3G connection via a computer. I'm not sure why you think tethering would use any more data than what's available from your iPhone, unless you mean that a user on a computer would likely use the connection more than a user on an iPhone. Still, you're limited by the speed of the 3G connectivity. It is an unlimited data plan and I don't see the difference between constantly downloading video on the 3G network via the iTunes app on an iPhone or downloading video via iTunes on a computer.

That's why I played with this. Users who tether are given more of an ability to use more data, but most probably won't.

[topmounter]

Don't get me wrong, I completely agree - your logic is sound... However, AT&T has sold a crapload of unlimited plans assuming the average user would never hit those caps... I certainly don't... So for now, the network can handle it... But if alot of people just casually started tethering then the network as a whole would suffer for it... The extra cost on top is more to deter people from wanting to tether... I don't think 3G was really designed for that kind of use.


That's why they have the 5GB soft-cap and "unlimited" is a misnomer... they even raised my monthly data rate to $30/month when I bought a 3G phone, increasing my speed, but not my soft-cap.

If the soft cap is at 5GB, i.e. the # that doesn't send up any red flags, why would they care whether I use my phone or my laptop to view <=5GB of data / month?

The HSDPA technology is fully capable of handling IP traffic at some data rate for some number of simultaneous connections, that's what it is designed and deployed to do... I assume that the 5GB soft-cap isn't just some random number pulled out of the air, but was put in place so they had something to use for bandwidth and capacity modeling, while reigning in users that exceeded it (at least that is what that number should mean, if their network can't support that model, then that's their own fault for making up a BS # in the first place).

Broadband ISP's tried to do something similar by limiting or charging for the # of computers that you had hooked up to the connection, but that proved to be completely unmanageable and they reverted to speed tiers and usage caps. Comcast doesn't give one whit how many and what kind of computers I have hooked up, but what they care about is that 250GB/month usage cap (same w/ AT&T and their 20-150GB caps depending upon which speed tier you sign up for).

I understand why ATT would "like" to charge more for that <=5GB/month of data when consumed on a laptop rather than on the phone, but it doesn't make any sense from a consumer's point of view since AT&T is providing no additional "value" by charging more for it. If it is $30 for the iPhone and $60 for a laptop, then using their pricing logic, they should charge $45/month for access when using a netbook.

In my opinion, what they need to do is keep "tethering" as a feature to up-sell you to a more expensive phone that supports tethering and offer higher tiers of service (e.g. 5GB for $30/month, 15GB for $50/month, 30GB for $60/month or some such sliding scale). That way their data business model starts to look a lot more like their voice business model where they can more easily justify charging you for overages and up-sell you into the next tier when you call to complain.

[Jmodamagicmofo]

Couldn't a 2g phone do this and get mms if a 3g specific firmware was able to be installed on a 2g phone. 2g phones are simply missing the camera icon next to the texting field. Right, or am I missing something bigger here?

[mthwsms]

A buddy of mine just sent this to me. It's been the easiest that I've seen to set up tethering on new 3.0 Firmware for the 3G. You can actually visit this site on THE SAFARI BROWSER ON YOUR IPHONE and activate it immediately.

http://help.benm.at/help.php

[Dragonlance1561]

I canada it looks like we are going to get free tethering, as long as your data plan is over 1Gb per month. (https://www.fido.ca/web/content/faq/iphone_qa09#q16)

but this may be incorrect because closer to the top of the page it says the old 8Gb iPhone 3G will be $199 which is the same price as the 16Gb iPhone 3GS (Obviously a typo unless they plan on selling zero 8Gb iPhone 3G's and tones of 16Gb iPhone 3GS's)

[PabloGS]

Apple is being ridiculous here!

Instead of implementing a carrier whitelist they should have implemented a blacklist instead! :mad:

I bought an iPhone 3G without contract from O2 and with no SIM Lock! Yet I have to hack it using one of the mentioned methods to enable tethering on O2! This is NOT OK! :mad:

I pay my 8€/Month for my data tariff and it's not bound to any specific device type or fair use iPod stuff! So let me use it, damn it! :mad:

[dkh587]

I have a kind of silly question.. I know when I set my Bold up to tether, I had to program it to use wap@cingular or whatever. Will the carrier file we download, already be programmed to use the right settings? I know that if you use isp@cingular or whatever it is, that's when you get charged..

Any answers?:(

[manu chao]

Sure it is - I'm paying for up to 5 GB of it a month, how I use that should be entirely up to me.
When AT&T offered you your 5 GB contract, it did this knowing that one average people would use maybe 200 MB. If they have reason to believe that the average will be much higher, they will start offering much different contracts. Such as lowering the limit to maybe 1 GB and offering higher-cost plans with higher limits.

[aarcarr]

Any answers?:(

All the ones I have seen are wap@cingular

[MrMartyn]

Been following the steps for this to get it working for pay and go on o2. Can any other pay and go customers confirm its worked for them? The tethering option just disappears or still displays the prompt to go to the o2 website

[manu chao]

Comcast doesn't give one whit how many and what kind of computers I have hooked up, but what they care about is that 250GB/month usage cap (same w/ AT&T and their 20-150GB caps depending upon which speed tier you sign up for).

I understand why ATT would "like" to charge more for that <=5GB/month of data when consumed on a laptop rather than on the phone, but it doesn't make any sense from a consumer's point of view since AT&T is providing no additional "value" by charging more for it.
Surfing with a laptop is providing additional value compared to surfing on an iPhone.

[teknishn]

using this tethering hack breaks the iphone's voicemail function. You won't get notified if you have a voicemail and for those who has visual voicemail, it wouldn't work too. I've tried to find of ways to get the both of them to work but to no avail.

Maybe it's just me or maybe someone could point out on how to fix this.

Just change the Visual Voicemail apn to acds.voicemail in settings>general>network>cellular data network and reboot the phone

[PabloGS]

Been following the steps for this to get it working for pay and go on o2. Can any other pay and go customers confirm its worked for them? The tethering option just disappears or still displays the prompt to go to the o2 website

I use "O2 de". Be more specific! It works fine for me both using APN: "internet" and "surfo2". But sometimes I have to reinstall the IPCC because the tethering disappears from the menu.

[ddTaylor]

I did it on my 2g Iphone. No dice. I did it with my wifes 3g and it worked great. Even the speeds were not so bad. I can't wait to try it tomorrow with my new 3gs:D

I have done these steps on my 8GB 3G iPhone and EACH TIME it does not work - no tethering option under networking...

Any ideas? I am a technical person as this is super easy to install and run but it is NOT WORKING (for me, that is). PDAnet here I come - again, Friday.

D

[yaroldb]

Just change the Visual Voicemail apn to acds.voicemail in settings>general>network>cellular data network and reboot the phone

Sweet that worked, Thank you very much....

[knewsom]

When AT&T offered you your 5 GB contract, it did this knowing that one average people would use maybe 200 MB. If they have reason to believe that the average will be much higher, they will start offering much different contracts. Such as lowering the limit to maybe 1 GB and offering higher-cost plans with higher limits.

And I fully respect their right to do so. I use well under a gig of data a month on my current plan, and even with tethering, I'll use well under a gig a month, and probably closer to the customer average - 3G is painfully slow compared to wifi, which is why I usually use wifi.

[TecnoMuzik]

This idea of charging extra for tethering is a JOKE! Before I got the iPhone I was using a Windows Mobile HTC phone that had an app builtin to Windows Mobile called Internet Sharing. I used this to tether and there was never any problem. It always worked and I was never charged anything extra. Now they add the tethering to the iPhone and we're suppose to pay extra for it when other phones can do it for no extra charge... ****** off AT&T!

[MrMartyn]

I use "O2 de". Be more specific! It works fine for me both using APN: "internet" and "surfo2". But sometimes I have to reinstall the IPCC because the tethering disappears from the menu.

Sorry, I meant o2 UK. I've tried both profiles (http://help.benm.at/uk.php) and change the APN to payandgo.o2.co.uk as directed but with no luck! So wondered if any other o2 UK pay and go customers have done it and what their exact steps were...

[carbon14]

I canada it looks like we are going to get free tethering, as long as your data plan is over 1Gb per month. (https://www.fido.ca/web/content/faq/iphone_qa09#q16)

but this may be incorrect because closer to the top of the page it says the old 8Gb iPhone 3G will be $199 which is the same price as the 16Gb iPhone 3GS (Obviously a typo unless they plan on selling zero 8Gb iPhone 3G's and tones of 16Gb iPhone 3GS's)

Good find!
I actually tethered on Fido yesterday. Not sure why the page says it won't be set up until Friday.

[tbertran]

Dude, this is so fast and easy, I'm almost ashamed... ;)
Got up and running in less than a minute.

A buddy of mine just sent this to me. It's been the easiest that I've seen to set up tethering on new 3.0 Firmware for the 3G. You can actually visit this site on THE SAFARI BROWSER ON YOUR IPHONE and activate it immediately.

http://help.benm.at/help.php

[Dopeyman]

Actually, my hack (on krillr.com) can be reversed simply by downloading and reinstalling the IPCC from http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/content.info.apple.com/iPhone/CarrierBundles/061-4732.20090203.gj3ef/ATT_US.ipcc

No restore needed.

Thanks to your tutorial... MMS is now working on my iPhone 3G!! Thanks!!!

[Dopeyman]

using this tethering hack breaks the iphone's voicemail function. You won't get notified if you have a voicemail and for those who has visual voicemail, it wouldn't work too. I've tried to find of ways to get the both of them to work but to no avail.

Maybe it's just me or maybe someone could point out on how to fix this.

That's true.... For the heck of it I went into my voicemail this morning and I had 12 unheard messages!!! And the phone icon didn't report this... Hope to find a fix soon!!

[teknishn]

That's true.... For the heck of it I went into my voicemail this morning and I had 12 unheard messages!!! And the phone icon didn't report this... Hope to find a fix soon!!

See my post above.... change apn for visual voicemail to acds.voicemail in settings>general>network>cellular data network then reboot the phone. :cool:

[tbertran]

Not true here. I used the disgustingly simple hack for tethering at http://help.benm.at/help.php and my voicemail works just fine, thank you very much. :D


That's true.... For the heck of it I went into my voicemail this morning and I had 12 unheard messages!!! And the phone icon didn't report this... Hope to find a fix soon!!

[sab165]

So I got the simple hack for tethering to work, but have been unsuccessful with the MMS. I put the carrier settings in, and have restarted both the 3G's im messing with but have yet get it to work. Any ideas?

[GuidedByVOIP]

I am running 3.0 on a 3G, installed the modified ipcc file and tethering shows up. However, neither USB nor Bluetooth tethering works. Connect to network is grayed out via Bluetooth, and System Preferences never detects the phone in the Network Preferences. Running a 17" unibody MBP (first version) with OS X 10.5.7 fwiw. Any suggestions or fixes are appreciated. Thanks.

Also have the SDK installed (3.0 version)

Disable Airport and set Network Pref to Automatic. I hear that works.

[GuidedByVOIP]

Does AT&T have legal rights to stop this? Well sure. It seems that most of you defending AT&T and demonizing those wanting to enable tethering and MMS are missing the point tho. iPhone users are already paying a premium price for the phone itself (and gladly because of its innovation as a smartphone) and also paying a premium price for the service plan that has been raised for unknown reasons as no other smartphone plans cost as much as the iPhones. Yet, with all that we still dont get to use our phones like the other smartphones that AT&T sells. Why? There has been no response to this and it seems to me that the customers that have been forced to live by AT&Ts policies are fed up. In the eyes of the law, these hacks are considered at the least violating the AT&T agreement. So I say this. Those of you complaining about this being so wrong need to put down your Starbucks coffee (If it hadnt been for the illegal tea party you would be drinking tea right now) or put down that beer (if it wasnt for the illegal trade of alcohol, prohibition would still be in place). My point is, sometimes to create changes people need to band together and do things that, at the time, would be considered illegal. Just because something is "legal" doesnt necessarily make it "right".

I'm off my soapbox, you guys should probably get off yours now too.

Well said.

[phalewhale]

It is a Rip off. For as long as I'm able to get round it, I will.

And yes, the Blue Boxes were a nice little international call hack... and what was the company who they were hacking? AT&T :cool:

Yep, and they were selling them too! No probs from my point of view -- long distance call charges were (and remain) extortionate! AT&T were the enemy back in those days, along with IBM of course.

[brywalker]

Does AT&T have legal rights to stop this? Well sure. It seems that most of you defending AT&T and demonizing those wanting to enable tethering and MMS are missing the point tho. iPhone users are already paying a premium price for the phone itself (and gladly because of its innovation as a smartphone) and also paying a premium price for the service plan that has been raised for unknown reasons as no other smartphone plans cost as much as the iPhones. Yet, with all that we still dont get to use our phones like the other smartphones that AT&T sells. Why? There has been no response to this and it seems to me that the customers that have been forced to live by AT&Ts policies are fed up. In the eyes of the law, these hacks are considered at the least violating the AT&T agreement. So I say this. Those of you complaining about this being so wrong need to put down your Starbucks coffee (If it hadnt been for the illegal tea party you would be drinking tea right now) or put down that beer (if it wasnt for the illegal trade of alcohol, prohibition would still be in place). My point is, sometimes to create changes people need to band together and do things that, at the time, would be considered illegal. Just because something is "legal" doesnt necessarily make it "right".

I'm off my soapbox, you guys should probably get off yours now too.

I like how you put this but the fact of the matter is that AT&T is the same as every other carrier. Check out how much Verizon's tethering package are. WOW!! THE SAME! Also, you are misinformed about the cost per month of the iPhone. $30 for the data service. Same as any Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm, or any other smartphone AT&T sells.

No one here is forced to live by AT&T's policies. You can take your business elsewhere. But before you do, look at the policies of your alternative, because they aren't so different at all...

Best part is, if it was Verizon here with the iPhone you would hear all of the same things.

People who tether are more of a burden on the network than the average smartphone user. So, the networks have to be improved. That improvement costs money. So the data plans for tethering are higher. This is simple math here, folks.

[twoodcc]

not surprised by this. i really hope at&t realizes how bad they messed up with this one

[mkstevenskm]

Just change the Visual Voicemail apn to acds.voicemail in settings>general>network>cellular data network and reboot the phone

Hi teknishn and other members,

Perhaps I'm missing something (or we are in different countries with different settings) but when I follow settings>general>network there is no "cellular data network" option. Furthermore, where do I input the appropriate MMS settings? Is it also under this option that I cannot see for some reason...

I am in the US and used the AT&T profile from the Engadget method (http://help.benm.at/help.php)

Thanks!

[hypnos58]

I talked to 2 different ATT reps and they said by the weekend MMS will be available on the iphone with os 3 firmware upgrade. They will send a txt msg to activate.

[cocky jeremy]

I talked to 2 different ATT reps and they said by the weekend MMS will be available on the iphone with os 3 firmware upgrade. They will send a txt msg to activate.

By the weekend.. which one? lol. AT&T is as slow as ****. :mad:

[andyplace]

Someone else's post at AT&T's forums.

"I could go buy a $30 dollar phone from ATT and get picture messaging....just to spite them im gonna get on 3g and download a gig of data"

Does this give anyone any ideas?

[mrbrown]

Couldn't a 2g phone do this and get mms if a 3g specific firmware was able to be installed on a 2g phone. 2g phones are simply missing the camera icon next to the texting field. Right, or am I missing something bigger here?

No - the radio in the 3G is different from the radio in the 2G; the 2G radio is not capable of receiving or sending MMS messages... at least according to Apple. I'm pretty sure there is an unauthorized app that will provide MMS functionality to a 2G phone.

[cocky jeremy]

No - the radio in the 3G is different from the radio in the 2G; the 2G radio is not capable of receiving or sending MMS messages... at least according to Apple. I'm pretty sure there is an unauthorized app that will provide MMS functionality to a 2G phone.

There has been an unauthorized app that does MMS for over a year. SwirlyMMS. Works perfectly fine on 3G.. and I'm thinking i had it working on my original iPhone as well. I can't remember for sure though.

[teknishn]

Hi teknishn and other members,

Perhaps I'm missing something (or we are in different countries with different settings) but when I follow settings>general>network there is no "cellular data network" option. Furthermore, where do I input the appropriate MMS settings? Is it also under this option that I cannot see for some reason...

I am in the US and used the AT&T profile from the Engadget method (http://help.benm.at/help.php)

Thanks!

If you go to setting>general>about scroll down and see if it says AT&T 4.0 or 5.0 for carrier. It sounds to me like you have the wrong ipcc file and it may still say 4.0. Also, not to state the obvious, but after you did things via the engadget method I trust you rebooted the phone.

[orson3g]

Tethering works, MMS does not, and VVM is down with the 5.0 ipcc file. I changed the VVM settings to "acds.voicemail", which restores VVM, but then tethering disappears once you enable it. Seems like one or the other. Anyone else getting this, and have you found a workaround/fix? Thanks.

[crazyitalian198]

Tethering works, MMS does not, and VVM is down with the 5.0 ipcc file. I changed the VVM settings to "acds.voicemail", which restores VVM, but then tethering disappears once you enable it. Seems like one or the other. Anyone else getting this, and have you found a workaround/fix? Thanks.

I've had the same issue, one or the other.

Similarly, I can't get MMS to work. I spoke to three reps at AT&T and got the same wait until the end of the summer response.

I am on a family plan, with unlimited family text. I put my sim in one picture enabled phone, eventually it could receive calls and texts. However, I couldn't send or receive MMS....even on THAT phone.

Suffice to say I've given up.

[ZGXtreme]

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee266/zgxtreme_photos/SuckitATT.jpg

[Airforcekid]

Hope its like the smiley faces and carries over with updates going to wait a few days see what apple/att response is.:apple:

[iberroa]

Here's my speed tests.

iPhone 3G tether over Bluetooth:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39043289@N05/3638620895/

iPhone 3G tether over USB:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39043289@N05/3638620853/

Enjoy!

Oh yeah, suck it AT&T :D :apple:

[iberroa]

Tethering works, MMS does not, and VVM is down with the 5.0 ipcc file. I changed the VVM settings to "acds.voicemail", which restores VVM, but then tethering disappears once you enable it. Seems like one or the other. Anyone else getting this, and have you found a workaround/fix? Thanks.

Which IPCC file did you use? My VVM is still working with tethering enabled.

[deannnnn]

[seeing as this post has been hijacked by MMS]

Why do you need MMS on a phone that has full access to the internet??

i dont understand this overall cry for hte ability to text message someone a picture that i can email them

It really bothers me when people say this.
There are obvious reasons for it.

[pale9]

...that just cannot think out of the box. the telco equivalent of General Motors, with the exception that due to their chummy relationship with the government (read: NSA & friends), ATT manages to make money.

how can they get away with charging me minutes on my iphone pay as you go plan after 4 RINGS, no actual connection! is congress asleep? nope, in the pocket of corporate big wigs...

[mkstevenskm]

If you go to setting>general>about scroll down and see if it says AT&T 4.0 or 5.0 for carrier. It sounds to me like you have the wrong ipcc file and it may still say 4.0. Also, not to state the obvious, but after you did things via the engadget method I trust you rebooted the phone.

Nothing is obvious for me ha, but I did restart the device--no luck. And you are correct, mine says "AT&T 4.0". But where is the 5.0 IPCC?

Just to recover my steps, I just restored the phone and redid the steps with still no luck! Here are my steps:

1) Go to: http://help.benm.at/usa.php
2) Select AT&T
3) Install confirm
4) Hit Done
5) Restart

Still no luck... any ideas? And finally, I don't know how to change the 4.0 to 5.0, are those additional steps?

[richmonddjs]

:( ATT already shut it down. Can't get in with Safari on IP3G.

[ilfn143]

Nothing is obvious for me ha, but I did restart the device--no luck. And you are correct, mine says "AT&T 4.0". But where is the 5.0 IPCC?

Just to recover my steps, I just restored the phone and redid the steps with still no luck! Here are my steps:

1) Go to: http://help.benm.at/usa.php
2) Select AT&T
3) Install confirm
4) Hit Done
5) Restart

Still no luck... any ideas? And finally, I don't know how to change the 4.0 to 5.0, are those additional steps?

try network reset, works for me

[Jmodamagicmofo]

No - the radio in the 3G is different from the radio in the 2G; the 2G radio is not capable of receiving or sending MMS messages... at least according to Apple. I'm pretty sure there is an unauthorized app that will provide MMS functionality to a 2G phone.

See that doesn't make sense to me. If there are unauthorized apps that allow mms for 2g then it's certainly not a radio issue. So, back to my my other thought, does anyone see a problem in installing a 3g specific firmware on my 2g to get functionality for mms software, then use the aforementioned hack?

[Braindead360]

To anyone who is proclaiming how wrong this is, you should all just shut up while your ahead. What's wrong is that AT&T is forcing iPhone customers to pay more than any other smartphone users while giving them less features. And while some of you keep making the point that AT&T charges $60 a month for the air card services and that iPhone owners should pay the same thing if they want to use their phones data on their computers, here is what I say to you. People who pay $60 a month for air cards with 5gb caps are stupid for paying those prices in the first place. The bottom line is this, as long as iPhone owners are not exceeding 5 gigs a month, there should be no penalization for tethering. (And yes I would make the same argument for and other smartphone customer as well.)

[knewsom]

amazingly, this worked. Then I tried to fix my voicemail by resetting the server name. That worked.

...then I tried to tether again. Nope. It was there one minute, then another it was GONE from my settings. sigh.

[DELLsFan]

When AT&T offered you your 5 GB contract, it did this knowing that one average people would use maybe 200 MB. If they have reason to believe that the average will be much higher, they will start offering much different contracts. Such as lowering the limit to maybe 1 GB and offering higher-cost plans with higher limits.

All this demonstrates is an overall poor choice in the soft cap. Really, if they have actual evidence most people don't exceed 1GB, then why did they stick with 5GB? Why not 2GB? 3GB?

And I fully respect their right to do so. I use well under a gig of data a month on my current plan, and even with tethering, I'll use well under a gig a month, and probably closer to the customer average - 3G is painfully slow compared to wifi, which is why I usually use wifi.

Me too, but I don't respect AT&T's right to do ANYTHING correctly. Especially when it comes to billing.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee266/zgxtreme_photos/SuckitATT.jpg

OMG! LOL!

[Dopeyman]

See my post above.... change apn for visual voicemail to acds.voicemail in settings>general>network>cellular data network then reboot the phone. :cool:

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Hey!!! My cellular data network option disappeared!!! And I already re-booted my phone...

But I'm still able to send and receive MMS messages!

[rjohnstone]

...the 2G radio is not capable of receiving or sending MMS messages... at least according to Apple.
That is the biggest load of BS I've ever heard.
The crappy radio in my 4 year old RAZR can do MMS just fine.
The radio in the 2G iPhone is more than capable. Apple just wants you to buy another phone from them.
There is no technical reason why the 2G iPhone doesn't have MMS. It's all about Apple selling more phones... period.

[crazyitalian198]

Earlier today I tried calling AT&T and having them change from link to send/receive. All three times I failed at getting them to do it. Then I tried the swap with another phone on my family text plan. It was an LG shine. After a half hour of usage and no change on the AT&T site....I still couldn't send a MMS picture message.


So tonight I said.....why don't I just swap it out and leave it around for a couple hours, using it on and off in the LG shine. It kept failing and failing. Until after about two hours.....the picture went through. I sent a few more, and then swapped it back.

BOOM! MMS on the iphone. Perhaps it will switch back by tomorrow? I'll just have to wait and see I guess.

[Primejimbo]

Actually, my hack (on krillr.com) can be reversed simply by downloading and reinstalling the IPCC from http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/content.info.apple.com/iPhone/CarrierBundles/061-4732.20090203.gj3ef/ATT_US.ipcc

No restore needed.

I just restored my iPhone (it didn't have everything back on anyways) and all was fixed. All the tethering stuff was gone.
Do I need to do anything else?

[Yaboze]

I used this and Tethering was available but I didn't try it.

http://help.benm.at/usa.php

Anyway, how do you take it off?

I did a restore and it's still in the Network options? :confused:

I also did a Network reset.....still there.

[AidenShaw]

I used this and Tethering was available but I didn't try it.

http://help.benm.at/usa.php

Anyway, how do you take it off?

I did a restore and it's still in the Network options? :confused:

I also did a Network reset.....still there.

Buy a Windows Mobile, Palm or Symbian phone? That should remove the problem.... :D

[vlj9r]

not surprised by this. i really hope at&t realizes how bad they messed up with this one

They won't! It's AT&T.:eek:

[Enuratique]

I used this and Tethering was available but I didn't try it.

http://help.benm.at/usa.php

Anyway, how do you take it off?

I did a restore and it's still in the Network options? :confused:

I also did a Network reset.....still there.

Do you not see a Profiles menu option under General at the bottom? I'm an iPhone Dev and when I installed the profile off that link (which borked my visual voicemail, btw) it said I had two profiles (the one installed from that link and the other being my provisioning profile)... You can remove it from there if you get the Profiles option... Consequently following the directions here allowed me tethering and visual voicemail:

http://macmegasite.com/node/7173

Though it doesn't show up in Profiles - since it's installed via iTunes.

[Yaboze]

I removed the Profile, Tethering is still there.

[ZGXtreme]

OMG! LOL!

Here's the other one I just did...

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee266/zgxtreme_photos/SuckItBallAndChain.jpg

[Enuratique]

I removed the Profile, Tethering is still there.

Oh, you want to remove it entirely? Krillr I think posted a link to the original IPCC file on page 3 of this thread near the top, though you'll need to futz with iTunes to install it.

I haven't tried that to see if it'd work.

[Yaboze]

Yeah, I tried that. I did a terminal command posted on the recent link that allows 8.2 to update the carrier file. I downloaded that default one (It's an Apple link, too) and Tethering is still there. I'll just leave it off.

I hope it doesn't mess up anything else.

There's tons of blogs and sites like this posting how to turn it on, but nobody is really showing a way to reverse it completely.

[starflyer]

Everytime I try to send a MMS it fails. It may be because I am on Edge right now. Is a 3G connection required? I have the 16GB 3G iPhone.

[Slim02]

Because emailing is a pain in the ass. Not everyone has a smart phone to view their email with.

And even if they did, I want to be able to use 1 code (the person's phone number) to send texts, make calls, and send multimedia. I don't feel like collecting every single one of my friends' email addresses.

In the younger generation, email has already become obsolete, except for business.

Well you do not need your friends email addresses.. If you know what their Cell server is then you already know their email.. See when some one send a text to your email it show their number @vzwpix.com (Verizon one. Every carries have one).. So when you send a email to them using that it goes to their phone as a text. Then they send a text to you but it send it to your email on the iPhone.. I know because I have send pic's to my wife phone that is on Verizon and she has send to my iPhone.. It is not as hard to do as you make it sound.. By added number @vzwpix.com (Other carries have a different one but do have one) in the contact is not that hard.

[danielcroft]

Tethering - check
MMS - check
VVM - check

It's like I have the phone I always wanted with the features I always had now.

[teknishn]

Nothing is obvious for me ha, but I did restart the device--no luck. And you are correct, mine says "AT&T 4.0". But where is the 5.0 IPCC?

Just to recover my steps, I just restored the phone and redid the steps with still no luck! Here are my steps:

1) Go to: http://help.benm.at/usa.php
2) Select AT&T
3) Install confirm
4) Hit Done
5) Restart

Still no luck... any ideas? And finally, I don't know how to change the 4.0 to 5.0, are those additional steps?

I can help you get this done in a matter of moments, but Im not doing it in a public forum. I tried to PM you but it doesnt seem to let me for some reason. If you can PM me with IM info or something I can get you rolling.

[TecnoMuzik]

If you go to setting>general>about scroll down and see if it says AT&T 4.0 or 5.0 for carrier. It sounds to me like you have the wrong ipcc file and it may still say 4.0. Also, not to state the obvious, but after you did things via the engadget method I trust you rebooted the phone.

Just a question about the 5.0 carrier file... There is a 5.0 file on these forums that I've tried to load a few times now. Each time it appears to load - I don't get any errors but every time I go into the settings it still shows carrier 4.0. Is there anything special I have to do?? Any tips? Thanks!

[jb510]

@TheKrillr - I know tethering this way doesn't work right now for 2G iPhones, because the IPCC files are for 3G phones, but do you think there is anyway to get it to? that is to make an ipcc for the Original iPhone (2G/EDGE).

BTW, I could care less about MMS personally, but I fully support all you people that want it :)

Finally, I'm glad a bunch of people said this but I have to say it too. I pay AT&T for "unlimited data", which I accept isn't really unlimited. Totally deceptive advertising and I wish someone would take them to court on it, but whatever I knew going in it was really a soft cap. However that is a VOLUME cap, not a bandwidth cap. Please tell me you actually know the difference. To the point however, how much of that volume I use and what I do with it is my business.

Now that said, all I really want to tether for is that when I'm at the airport I can check send/receive email from my laptop without paying through the nose for airport WiFi...

Now if AT&T wants to offer an "unlimited" tethering plan with a higher volume cap then I'll consider the value of such a plan. For $60/Month though I'm going to want 7Mbps and the abilty to use it 24/7 from home to replace my DSL line (ie. download streaming video and torrents 24/7)

[AdiGital]

I did the trick yesterday and tested it with my laptop. Today I looked at my O2 UK online account. Usage shows new apn sessions (they changed it with OS 3.0 form mobile.o2.co.uk to idata.o2.co.uk) since yesterday. The costs of all of them is ZERO.

[PaulieORF]

I can confirm that the MMS workaround with the IPCC file works on the 3G S as well.

[manu chao]

All this demonstrates is an overall poor choice in the soft cap. Really, if they have actual evidence most people don't exceed 1GB, then why did they stick with 5GB? Why not 2GB? 3GB?

Because it was better publicity (particularly if they had charged those, admittedly small number of people, using more than 1 GB an arm and a leg or reduced their access speeds).

In my country we have plans with a 100, 250 and 1000 MB cap. I have always stayed below 200 MB, thus I have the 250 MB plan.

[zigziggityzoo]

Mine stopped working overnight....

[mkstevenskm]

I can help you get this done in a matter of moments, but Im not doing it in a public forum. I tried to PM you but it doesnt seem to let me for some reason. If you can PM me with IM info or something I can get you rolling.

@ teknishn, thank you so much for your continued help. I went through my preferences and enabled a setting to let "users email me" so try that. I tried looking for a way to personal message you but didn't find one (maybe you also have it disabled). Looking forward to hearing from you and thanks again!

[synystergates]

I got the MMS and tethering to work, but the MMS stopped working after a few hours. Maybe AT&T detected the SIM card was back into my iPhone 3G.

[PaulieORF]

My MMS also stopped working roughly after an hour. Oh well, I've gone years without MMS on iPhone, I can wait another month or two.

[Braindead360]

Mine stopped working overnight....

That's weird, mine is working just fine. I'm on a tethered computer right now actually. I did notice however that when I log into my AT&T account online, the only Data usage is that of my texting. Oh well, if AT&T tries to pull any **** over on me, I'll just tell them that there is nothing in my contract stating that I cannot tether my iPhone, and that if they want me to stop browsing the web using the only decent form of high speed internet that is available to me (I live in a rural neighborhood) then they need to get off their asses and get some sort of broadband service (excluding their overpriced 5gb capped air card service) out where I live. It's not like I'm downloading gigs of torrents or any sort of P2P, I just find that it is much more comfortable to browse the web on my actual computer while I'm at home.:rolleyes:

[Rodimus Prime]

That's weird, mine is working just fine. I'm on a tethered computer right now actually. I did notice however that when I log into my AT&T account online, the only Data usage is that of my texting. Oh well, if AT&T tries to pull any **** over on me, I'll just tell them that there is nothing in my contract stating that I cannot tether my iPhone, and that if they want me to stop browsing the web using the only decent form of high speed internet that is available to me (I live in a rural neighborhood) then they need to get off their asses and get some sort of broadband service (excluding their overpriced 5gb capped air card service) out where I live. It's not like I'm downloading gigs of torrents or any sort of P2P, I just find that it is much more comfortable to browse the web on my actual computer while I'm at home.:rolleyes:

Umm tell you the truth THERE IS something in your contract about not tethering. It is in your fine print.

As for the tethering guess what it cost the same as getting the air card as to get that added on to your phone that should tell you something.

[keenan wolf]

i have a 3Gs and i dont know how to get mms. i have tethering but no mms. i dont know how to do it help! asap!

[aarcarr]

For those of you that can't get this stuff working right and want to reset everything back to normal settings. If you want to remove the tethering that you got from help.BenM.at and doesn't go away even after a reboot. Go to Settings> General> Network click on the tethering and enable. It will disappear after a few seconds.

To go back to carrier file 4.0, you need to do the same thing you did for loading 5.0

If you download the carrier file with Safari and it opens as 'ATT Bundle' and has that lego looking icon, you need to go to Safari Preferences and uncheck "Open 'safe' files after downloading" then it should download in '.zip' format. Right click file> Get info and remove the '.zip' extension and click 'use .ipcc"
Now it should be ready to use in iTunes

[keenan wolf]

can you please help me get mms on my 3gs? i have no clue how to do it. i have tethering but i have no clue how to get mms. i used the http://help.benm.at/usa.php method

[aarcarr]

can you please help me get mms on my 3gs? i have no clue how to do it. i have tethering but i have no clue how to get mms. i used the http://help.benm.at/usa.php method


That only enables tethering. To get the mms settings you need to load carrier file 5.0

[keenan wolf]

That only enables tethering. To get the mms settings you need to load carrier file 5.0

how do i do that? i cant get a clear guide on how to do it.

[aarcarr]

how do i do that? i cant get a clear guide on how to do it.

Same way I said to install 4.0. Except with this one instead;





To open in iTunes; Option + Click "Check for updates"
Find carrier file 5.0
Install and reboot

[4D4M]

I did the trick yesterday and tested it with my laptop. Today I looked at my O2 UK online account. Usage shows new apn sessions (they changed it with OS 3.0 form mobile.o2.co.uk to idata.o2.co.uk) since yesterday. The costs of all of them is ZERO.

This is excellent news, it sounds like they can't distinguish between the two types of internet usage.

I'm disappointed in O2 for trying to charge 15 quid a month for this, I thought they were better than that. In addition to decent coverage on their mobile network I've read they're one of the better Mac-friendly ISPs.

Lets hope they don't find a way to block this hack, I'll need to use it fairly infrequently (i.e. not enough to pay extra for) and when I do I'll be glad its there.

[keenan wolf]

To open in iTunes; Option + Click "Check for updates"


when i optiion click in in itunes it doesnt let me choose the 5.0 file... what should i do. i changed it to .ipcc and i have no clue what else to do.

[aarcarr]

when i optiion click in in itunes it doesnt let me choose the 5.0 file... what should i do. i changed it to .ipcc and i have no clue what else to do.
Oh. Type this into Terminal.

defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE


That will let you see the .ipcc in iTunes

[BLACK MAC]

Oh. Type this into Terminal.

defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE


That will let you see the .ipcc in iTunes

If you enter FALSE instead of TRUE, does it reverse it back to the default way?

[aarcarr]

If you enter FALSE instead of TRUE, does it reverse it back to the default way?

Yes

[keenan wolf]

Yes

i cant get the terminal to go... what is the exact command?

[topology]

Same way I said to install 4.0. Except with this one instead;

To open in iTunes; Option + Click "Check for updates"
Find carrier file 5.0
Install and reboot

I changed the extension. But when I tried to update my 3GS to 5.0, I got "The iPhone xxx could not be updated. An unknown error occurred (0xE8000051). "

And same thing when I try 4.0 :(:(:(:(

[aarcarr]

i cant get the terminal to go... what is the exact command?

The one I gave you is the exact command

[aarcarr]

I changed the extension. But when I tried to update my 3GS to 5.0, I got "The iPhone xxx could not be updated. An unknown error occurred (0xE8000051). "

And same thing when I try 4.0 :(:(:(:(




I dont know if the 3Gs files are the same as 3G files

[PRSplayer]

Thanks for all the information here. I went to http://help.benm.at/usa.php and followed the directions, and am tethered over USB without any problems. Haven't tried Bluetooth, but I assume it should work. On speakeasy.net's speedtest, my d/l speed was 2492 kbps, and u/l was 323 kbps.

[keenan wolf]

The one I gave you is the exact command

okay well it says it worked but it still doesnt recognize the file... i dont understand.

[D-Love]

Tethering - check
MMS - check
VVM - check

It's like I have the phone I always wanted with the features I always had now.
Has it stayed like that?

I can only get tethering to work, if I enable VVM it disables tethering after a few seconds.

If that works what method did you use? I have AT&T.

[andyplace]

Has it stayed like that?

I can only get tethering to work, if I enable VVM it disables tethering after a few seconds.

If that works what method did you use? I have AT&T.

The ipcc that is floating around sets the type mask to -2. This sets data, tether, mms, voicemail all to cingular.wap

Tether, MMS, Data, all seem to coöperate with cingular.wap as the APN. Voicemail does not. Editing voicemail changes the type mask to one that disables tethering, even though the carrier bundle sets voicemail to acds.voicemail.

Solution: Use a different type mask , (-3 or -4), so voicemail can be set correctly by the carrier bundle and keep MMS + tethering + data support all intact.

Pre-Prepared IPCC: http://bit.ly/15EQv0

[Braindead360]

I have to wonder how AT&T plans to stop this. From what I can tell, they have no way of knowing who's tethering and who's not. Something tells me that even when their tethering service is officially released, people are still going to figure out how to bypass it since the functionality is built into the Os. I think the only way that they could stop this is by having Apple remove it from the Os, and then have Apple develop a version of the Os that can only be downloaded by authorized tethering subscribers. However, even that is a stretch. I personally think AT&T should just lower their prices of their Air Card service to $30 a month, and allow anyone with a data plan and tethering abilities to tether at a 5gb cap. Apparently Rogers up in Canada does this, and you don't see their network falling off into the ocean. :p

[keenan wolf]

so now that i have the cellular data network setting what are the apn, username ... etc. i did the wap cingular one and still no mms. idk what to do!:mad:

[xendofnothing]

ATT is taking advantage of a large and loyal customer base, FORCED into loyalty by immoral exclusivity deals. .

You should really have called the cops when those dudes shoved a gun to your head and FORCED you into a contract you knew you were signing. Or maybe they used a special magical potion that made you blind, deaf and dumb when you were buying the phone - not conscious of the deal you were signing.

I am a happy and loyal iPhone user but am sick of the complaining over not having the full subsidy or having to pay for tethering. When I bought my iPhone 3G, I was definitely aware it was a two year contract and that I wouldn't be eligibile for an upgrade for at least 18 months. It would be the same if you bought an iPhone 3G and some cool non-iPhone came out and would be forced to pay the non-subsidized price. Honestly, I feel that AT&T and Apple were kind with the early upgrade price - they didn't HAVE to. It's nice that they did but they didn't HAVE to.

Listen, I'm annoyed by the MMS and I'm not the biggest fan of AT&T but some people just like complaining just for complaining.

[D-Love]

The ipcc that is floating around sets the type mask to -2. This sets data, tether, mms, voicemail all to cingular.wap

Tether, MMS, Data, all seem to coöperate with cingular.wap as the APN. Voicemail does not. Editing voicemail changes the type mask to one that disables tethering, even though the carrier bundle sets voicemail to acds.voicemail.

Solution: Use a different type mask , (-3 or -4), so voicemail can be set correctly by the carrier bundle and keep MMS + tethering + data support all intact.

Pre-Prepared IPCC: http://bit.ly/15EQv0
That download gave me a folder labeled "Payload" with ATT_us.bundle in it. What do I do with this, just use the option/restore click and set the carrier settings with that?

[jb510]

I am a happy and loyal iPhone user but am sick of the complaining over not having the full subsidy or having to pay for tethering. When I bought my iPhone 3G, I was definitely aware it was a two year contract and that I wouldn't be eligibile for an upgrade for at least 18 months. It would be the same if you bought an iPhone 3G and some cool non-iPhone came out and would be forced to pay the non-subsidized price. Honestly, I feel that AT&T and Apple were kind with the early upgrade price - they didn't HAVE to. It's nice that they did but they didn't HAVE to.

Listen, I'm annoyed by the MMS and I'm not the biggest fan of AT&T but some people just like complaining just for complaining.

Well I'm with you on half of that... I too think the bitching and moaning about not being able to upgrade for the subsidized price is ridiculous. You people signed a 2 year contract, you got a subsidized phone for doing so... Do you think if Apple announce the iPhone Pro next month that you should get to upgrade to that at a subsidized price even though they just subsidized your 3GS?

...but further here is why AT&T's plans are BS. IF in fact you are getting a subsidized phone for signing a 2year contract at whatever those rates are, then IF you aren't getting a subsidy shouldn't you get a cheaper rate plan? If I bring my own phone (say I buy an unlocked iPhone from Italy/HK) should I get a better monthly rate plan since they aren't trying to make up for the subsidy the would have otherwise given me?

No... they don't... they don't offer ANY cheaper options if you bring your own phone, or even if you buy a no-commit phone from them at full price.. YOU STILL HAVE TO SIGN A CONTRACT FOR SERVICE ON A 3GS. That's utter complete total cow feces.


However regarding the tethering I totally disagree. AT&T's terms of service are ridiculous (yes I've read them and why I'm not on a contract), basically they say you can do email and basic web browsing, and that's it... no streaming, no P2P, no ftp, no file transferring, no... no... no... While the ToS may say this, there sales people and advertising suggest the opposite. They suggest it's unlimited internet to do everything you can on your home computer. I adamantly believe in net neutrality and that data service needs to be separated from the hardware layer to achieve it, not just in regards to mobile data but with wired broadband as well. Yes I'm saying I actually think not only should you be able to do WTF you want with your allotment of 5GB at 3/7Mbps, but that you ought to be able to get the actual data serviced by any ISP you want... even on mobile.

[TrEyHoLyO]

That download gave me a folder labeled "Payload" with ATT_us.bundle in it. What do I do with this, just use the option/restore click and set the carrier settings with that?

Go to your Trash folder and take out the zip file. Open the get info button. and delete the zip off the end of it. That will do it for you. You can delete the payload folder

[D-Love]

Go to your Trash folder and take out the zip file. Open the get info button. and delete the zip off the end of it. That will do it for you. You can delete the payload folder
Cool, has anyone else used this method and can confirm it works? What I have now works, and all I'm missing is visual voicemail - which I didn't set up for a while anyway. But if this is a confirmed fix that enables VV and even MMS along with tethering I'll consider giving it a go.

[TrEyHoLyO]

Cool, has anyone else used this method and can confirm it works? What I have now works, and all I'm missing is visual voicemail - which I didn't set up for a while anyway. But if this is a confirmed fix that enables VV and even MMS along with tethering I'll consider giving it a go.

This is what i did on mine. To fix VV just call your phone from another line and leave the iphone a message. Let it download to the phone to tell you that you have a voice message. That fixed mine hopefully it works for you

[Mlrollin91]

Question...

Once AT&T does release MMS and everything, if you already have 5.0 on your phone, does anyone think that will conflict in the future?

[eastercat]

Since I hate text messages, I only used the tethering instructions. It works like a charm and was embarrassingly easy to set up. If this isn't shut down by AT&T or Apple, I'm going to feel sorry for the PDAnet people.
Considering how hard AT&T is going to probably clamp down, I'll be using this sparingly until I know the repercussions.

[AdamO79PL]

If I was an ******* I would ROFL away... I'm from Poland and we have MMS and tethering right from the start (3.0 soft) and it's for free. It's very difficult for me to understand why Apple isn't showing the AT&T the finger or why AT&T isn't providing you guys with these services. Wired I tell you...

Anyway... Good luck.

[BIG BOSS]

I can't believe you've done this. :D

[PRSplayer]

Does anyone know exactly how to restore completely to factory settings, so that the tethering option is not available anymore?

I have a 3GS, and used the automated method at http://help.benm.at/usa.php. I then used the terminal command with "FALSE" and re-installed the normal 4.0 carrier file. Rebooted, still have the tethering option. Reset network settings, still have the tethering option.

My phone has a rattle, and I am exchanging it for a new phone today. Just don't want any issues in the event they look for tethering (highly doubtful). I'm trying a restore to original settings now, hopefully that will fix it.

Any thoughts?

UPDATE - see post #241

[mkstevenskm]

Does anyone know exactly how to restore completely to factory settings, so that the tethering option is not available anymore?

I have a 3GS, and used the automated method at http://help.benm.at/usa.php. I then used the terminal command with "FALSE" and re-installed the normal 4.0 carrier file. Rebooted, still have the tethering option. Reset network settings, still have the tethering option.

My phone has a rattle, and I am exchanging it for a new phone today. Just don't want any issues in the even they look for tethering (highly doubtful). I'm trying a restore to original settings now, hopefully that will fix it.

Any thoughts?

Did the full restore work?

[PRSplayer]

Did the full restore work?

The full restore worked, and removed the tethering option. I checked settings while iTunes asked me which backup I wanted to restore my data from (after the firmware factory restore), and the tethering option was gone, and looked normal. But then, I foolishly selected my latest backup to get my data back, and the stupid tethering option was back after that.

So, if you restore to factory settings, either setup as a new phone, or from a pre-tethering hack backup if you want the true original settings.

[SFStateStudent]

Tethering is going fine on this end. A bit slower than my WiFi or Cable, but nice for on the go: (Also have MMS that works like a charm.....)

[aarcarr]

The full restore worked, and removed the tethering option. I checked settings while iTunes asked me which backup I wanted to restore my data from (after the firmware factory restore), and the tethering option was gone, and looked normal. But then, I foolishly selected my latest backup to get my data back, and the stupid tethering option was back after that.

So, if you restore to factory settings, either setup as a new phone, or from a pre-tethering hack backup if you want the true original settings.

No, you dont have to restore at all. If you deleted that profile from that site and still have the tethering option "available". Click it and enable it, it will disappear after a few seconds.

[ericksgotmac]

Um.. So I tried both the iTunes .ipcc on my PC and the automated one from the help.benm.at site and Tethering works PERFECTLY but MMS doesn't work =\ This is what I did--

After all the .ipcc upgrade I

1. Turned my iPhone off and removed the SIM
2. Put my SIM into a RAZRV3 and made a few calls with it
3. After my phone registered on my AT&T online account I chose the non-iPhone texting

I put my SIM back into my iPhone 3G and tried to tether and it worked fine. I then tried to send MMS to people and none would send... They sent me some MMS and I didn't receive it =\ Does anyone have any ideas? I even put all the MMS info in the settings.

[SFStateStudent]

For those of you that can't get this stuff working right and want to reset everything back to normal settings. If you want to remove the tethering that you got from help.BenM.at and doesn't go away even after a reboot. Go to Settings> General> Network click on the tethering and enable. It will disappear after a few seconds.

To go back to carrier file 4.0, you need to do the same thing you did for loading 5.0

If you download the carrier file with Safari and it opens as 'ATT Bundle' and has that lego looking icon, you need to go to Safari Preferences and uncheck "Open 'safe' files after downloading" then it should download in '.zip' format. Right click file> Get info and remove the '.zip' extension and click 'use .ipcc"
Now it should be ready to use in iTunes

[QUOTE=ericksgotmac;7895343]Um.. So I tried both the iTunes .ipcc on my PC and the automated one from the help.benm.at site and Tethering works PERFECTLY but MMS doesn't work =\ This is what I did--

I followed the post listed above you: Just locate that post and select that AT&T 5 file....

Downloaded the ATT 5 and went to my library and opened up iTunes and then clicked on iPhone Carrier and placed that ATT 5 file in the iPhone Carrier file, then went to iTunes and did click option and clicked on that file, then clicked on open, then turned off my iPhone and turned it back on and everything was good to go.....

[ericksgotmac]

Yea, thats what I did and rebooted my iPhone and it still gives me a little exclamation point in a read circle and a message saying that it failed to send and I should try again later?

[PRSplayer]

No, you dont have to restore at all. If you deleted that profile from that site and still have the tethering option "available". Click it and enable it, it will disappear after a few seconds.

Hi, I saw your post about that earlier, and it didn't work for me. Dunno why, but I tried everything people posted, multiple times. The only thing that worked and removed the tethering option was to restore to original settings and to a backup that was done prior to making the ipcc changes in the first place.

Oh well, the whole point of me doing it was that I had to exchange the phone for a new one, which I've done. Now I can go back to tethering. :)

[sschwar4]

I'm curious how 'block-able' this loophole is - here's to hoping that AT&T can't do anything about it and simply has to deal with us.

The will figure a way to push a provider profile to overwrite what is there. It seems they have done that with a few already. Earlier in the week, tethering was working, then it changed and the button now said Enable Tethering, then contact AT&T for the appropriate plan. One of the others is still working.

As for the tethering as a whole. I was one of the lucky ones to get Netshare before it was removed from iTunes. I have been using for tethering for more than a year now. Looking at the history, I don't see a huge increase in data usage, maybe 10%. That will be hard for AT&T to track.

Now, for those that plan on using 100% for data, they will catch that.

[D-Love]

[QUOTE=ericksgotmac;7895343]Um.. So I tried both the iTunes .ipcc on my PC and the automated one from the help.benm.at site and Tethering works PERFECTLY but MMS doesn't work =\ This is what I did--

I followed the post listed above you: Just locate that post and select that AT&T 5 file....

Downloaded the ATT 5 and went to my library and opened up iTunes and then clicked on iPhone Carrier and placed that ATT 5 file in the iPhone Carrier file, then went to iTunes and did click option and clicked on that file, then clicked on open, then turned off my iPhone and turned it back on and everything was good to go.....
Is the ATT 5 the ATT_US.ipcc file? It came in a folder labeled "Payload".

[mrbrown]

@TheKrillr - I know tethering this way doesn't work right now for 2G iPhones, because the IPCC files are for 3G phones, but do you think there is anyway to get it to? that is to make an ipcc for the Original iPhone (2G/EDGE).


While Apple has not come out and explicitly said it, according to their online "iPhone How-To Guide", tethering is only available with "the 3G and later (http://www.apple.com/iphone/how-to/#basics.using-iphone-as-a-modem)".

[cocky jeremy]

Tethering is going fine on this end. A bit slower than my WiFi or Cable, but nice for on the go: (Also have MMS that works like a charm.....)

Nice! Just curious.. what are your MMS settings? I can send MMS, but the person never receives the image.