No Tethering Option for iPhone 3G

[MacRumors]

iPhoneAtlas received confirmation from AT&T that there will be no laptop tethering option for the iPhone 3G. With many existing Smartphones, customers can connect their phone to their laptop for use as a 3G modem. This is commonly described as "tethering" and allows individuals to use their phone's 3G connection from their laptop.

AT&T will not be supporting a [Phone-as-Modem] plan for the iPhone 3G. The only available data plan for the iPhone will be the new $30 consumer unlimited data and visual voice mail plan and the $45 business data plan.

Apple will be launching the iPhone 3G on July 11th.

Article Link

[italiano40]

This is a big disappointment
this one of the best options that a smartphone could have and for the iphone 3g not to have it will make it for me not to buy it

[clevin]

well, no hack available for this?

Anyway, +1 for others, -1 for iPhone.

[GenericUsername]

This is so significant, I find it strange that AT&T hasn't disclosed this to any other news outlets already.

[friekunater]

well tethering would be nice but I could care less... I don't even have a laptop and if I did I would have wi-fi nearly all the time.. definitely not a deal-breaker

[mashinhead]

i understand that they don't build it in, but i don't understand how they can prevent someone else from doing it, the phone clearly isn't crippled to send and recieve data, tethering would just be a matter of getting the phone and computer to communicate, which they don't have any control over

[.Andy]

Surely this is no surprise to anyone. Although a nice dream, the provision of unrestricted, unlimited, high-speed, tethered internet via 3G is still a long way off (if ever).

[iJon]

There are already hackjobs out there that allow you to do this. None of them are convenient but exists none the less.

jon

[Me1000]

well the ability to tether would have almost made the $10 price increase worth it...

[LVdustin]

I can't complain...AT&T is giving us free Wifi in their hotspot areas, So who cares about the tethering. I am excited to walk into starbucks and actually utilize their Wifi instead of bugging my friends for their login information. Never tethered before, and I don't really care in the first place.

[Metatron]

It does not matter is AT&T supports it or not. It will be an available option for anyone that wants it. Apple has tried to stop this by crippling the bluetooth stack for the iphone and only support headsets. But as long as there is WiFi, you will be able to hack it into being a sudo router.

You pay for a service, that service is yours to do with as you please. I bought this much service for MY use and I will use it on myself as I please. Of course all the laws of the land have tried to convience us that even though we own the movie, we can not make a backup to protect or investement. Though we own the song we can not put it on our iPod. Wireless providers sale unlimited service and then cut you off and try to redefine the term unlimited.

Everyday we let people take our rights one clause at a time.

[megfilmworks]

Originally Posted by Metatron

You pay for a service, that service is yours to do with as you please. I bought this much service for MY use and I will use it on myself as I please. Of course all the laws of the land have tried to convience us that even though we own the movie, we can not make a backup to protect or investement. Though we own the song we can not put it on our iPod. Wireless providers sale unlimited service and then cut you off and try to redefine the term unlimited.

Everyday we let people take our rights one clause at a time.

While I agree with your tethering comments, don't use fuzzy logic and comparisons to buying a tune. (or video)
You NEVER OWN the song that you have downloaded. You own a copy with certain user rights. Period. Only the copyright holder owns the song.
Copyright Law 101.

[cloudnine]

Originally Posted by italiano40

This is a big disappointment
this one of the best options that a smartphone could have and for the iphone 3g not to have it will make it for me not to buy it

I agree... there's no reason for them not to enable it now, except for the obvious: it doesn't make good business sense to them since they also sell 3G usb modems, and wifi "memberships" at coffee shops, book stores, etc. Ugh.

[moose.boy]

Has anyone actually tried to use tethering to a smart device ?

I have, on several devices, and it sucks, big time sucks.

Nokias, sony ericssons, windows mobile - all tried connecting to Mac OS, Windoze, Linux, and also Palm OS.

Intermittent ability to connect, lots of resetting needed (on all devices), and just generally an awful experience that can't be relied upon.

That's why i've gone down the route of a huawei dongle for mobile broadband. Got it for 49GBP and i use my 3 (three.co.uk) sim in in which i've got a 1gig surfing for ten quid per month (after initially getting the k850 with which to use as a thethering device and portable e-mail option and finding that the tethering still continued to be awful, and that the phone itself a underpowered, overbloated piece of crap)

Most of the time i only need to check and respond to e-mail while out, or to do a touch of light surfing - this is what the iphone is ideal for. The small amount of users who actually need their mac connected to the internet while out and about will have more success with a dongle like i've mentioned.

[bigmc6000]

Originally Posted by .Andy

Surely this is no surprise to anyone. Although a nice dream, the provision of unrestricted, unlimited, high-speed, tethered internet via 3G is still a long way off (if ever).

What are you talking about? This option is available on virtually ALL 3G phones. I know a buddy of mine will most certainly not buy an iPhone now because of this. He's got a crappy 3G phone and he tethers it.

And all those times I'm sitting around with my laptop this really annoys me. Hopefully they'll be an app or SOMETHING! This is crappy and is going to kill the crackberry conversion #'s single handedly...

[.Andy]

Originally Posted by bigmc6000

What are you talking about? This option is available on virtually ALL 3G phones. I know a buddy of mine will most certainly not buy an iPhone now because of this. He's got a crappy 3G phone and he tethers it.

I stand corrected then. How much does a plan cost and which one's offer unrestricted, unlimited tethering? Are they anywhere near the iPhone tariffs?

As for Australia we're fresh out of luck in having a plan that doesn't include a 'fair use' policy for data downloads and that doesn't shape/charge penalties per MB after a limit. Unless we pay a massive amount.

[superleccy]

The article says AT&T, but I presume it's the same for O2 and the rest of the world.

Whatever. It sucks, but I'm not surprised.

The network operators feel compelled to offer "unlimited data", but don't want to give customers so much rope that they take the pi$s, crippling their network and cannibalising their landline broadband sales.

Having Apple blocking tethering (BTW it's the first time I've heard it call that) on the iPhone was probably written into the contract between Apple and the networks.

Personally what sucks about this for me is that I won't be able to "tether" my iPhone to my TomTom to download traffic and speed camera updates.

SL

[taylorwilsdon]

No AT&T phones technically allow tethering without paying an additional $40...

This is not news at all. It will be hacked in days just like every Windows Mobile phone and Blackberry... Stop sensationalizing everything iphone, people.

Newsflash - the iphone might make calls!

[bigmc6000]

Originally Posted by .Andy

I stand corrected then. How much does a plan cost and which one's offer unrestricted, unlimited tethering? Are they anywhere near the iPhone tariffs?

As for Australia we're fresh out of luck in having a plan that doesn't include a 'fair use' policy for data downloads and that doesn't shape/charge penalties per MB after a limit. Unless we pay a massive amount.

Here in the states it's exactly the same. You pay $30 for unlimited 3G and get to tether. I know a number of people who do that - that sucks that you guys get shafted - seems like there's a lot of that going around these days...

[jon snow]

I had a Samsung Blackjack and tethered all the time. It worked great. I know have the Blackjack II and it took some more effort to get it to tether but I got it working and it's great. It's not quite as fast as being on a wifi network but pretty close. Even without tethering, I will still get the new iphone. While tethering is important, I think the ability to surf on the iphone will be good enough. Hopefully, someone will find a hack that will work with the iphone.

[Tom B.]

I hope this is down to AT&T rather than Apple, so other carriers may allow tethering if they want, as 9to5Mac seem to believe O2 will.

Originally Posted by 9to5Mac.com

The [O2] 3G iPhone WILL allow Bluetooth Tethering for laptops. We asked about Wifi tethering and got a blank stare. We'll take what we can get. They said that this was 99.9 percent certain and "Apple can always change their minds". Since O2 controls the network and costs involved the decision would largely be theirs.

http://9to5mac.com/o2-iphone

[jayducharme]

Originally Posted by friekunater

definitely not a deal-breaker

Well it probably will be for me. I can't see spending $30 a month for the iPhone's data plan, then have to plunk down another $30 a month for DSL for my home computer. Heck the iPhone plan provides unlimited data. If I'm tethering the iPhone, I can only use a single device at a time. (I won't be surfing the Net with my iPhone and my computer simultaneously.) I don't see what the big deal is. Why not allow it? Or why not give a discount for home data delivery with iPhone plans?

I guess I'll just stick with my Touch unless AT&T can present a more reasonable deal.

[rdrr]

I am surprised that anyone would think that AT&T would allow this... If you have followed the EVDO discussions you would know that unlimited doesn't mean unlimited. And primarily Verizon, whom btw offers a card for your laptop to use 3G, has suspended accounts of people who they feel are taken advantage of "unlimited".

[superleccy]

Originally Posted by Tom B.;5599328 The [O2

3G iPhone WILL allow Bluetooth Tethering for laptops. We asked about Wifi tethering and got a blank stare. We'll take what we can get. They said that this was 99.9 percent certain and "Apple can always change their minds". Since O2 controls the network and costs involved the decision would largely be theirs.

Wooooooo!

I hope this is true.

SL

EDIT: as for WiFi tethering, I'm not really fussed. 3G is fast, but not really so fast that WiFi is going to give you loads more speed that Bluetooth. Also none of my Nokia WiFi phones can do WiFi tethering either.

[billcd]

Originally Posted by taylorwilsdon

No AT&T phones technically allow tethering without paying an additional $40...

This is not news at all. It will be hacked in days just like every Windows Mobile phone and Blackberry... Stop sensationalizing everything iphone, people.

Newsflash - the iphone might make calls!

I've got a Treo 750 with an AT&T Unlimited Dataplan. I can tether via bluetooth to my MacBookPro with no problems. We're on EDGE here so I only use it when I really need to get an email or something, but other than that, it works great every time........

I think they are really making another big mistake if there is no way to get Internet access via their bluetooth, usb or wifi connections.