Another crackpot theory on AT&T Tethering notices

[DirtySocks85]

So I've been reading several of the threads in regards to AT&T tethering notices going out since they first began in March. There seems to be no apparent rhyme or reason to who is and isn't getting the notices. We've seen it span across various methods of tethering (MyWi, TetherMe, PDAnet), and even in a variety of data usage (as few as 200MB, and more than 7-8GB), one pattern that I haven't seen anyone discuss is geographic location. It's possible that AT&T hasn't rolled out their detection system to the whole country yet, or that they're specifically targeting areas with heavy network use in order to reduce congestion.

I for one use between 1.5-2GB every month, and tether with MyWi and haven't gotten a notice yet (although I scaled back my tethering usage quite a bit for about 2-3 weeks after I heard about the initial notices being sent out). I live in Wichita, KS and while we have decent 3G coverage here, AT&T tends to be very slow at expanding 3G coverage outside of the immediate Wichita metro. Clearly I live in a low priority region for AT&T, and I'm wondering if this is the reason that I haven't gotten the notice. I propose that we have people (who tether unauthorized) post their city and whether or not they have received a notice. Maybe we'll see some patterns emerge, or maybe my crackpot theory is just that... crazy.

For simplicities sake:

Wichita, KS - about 2GB of usage per month, MyWi, no notice.

 

[h1r0ll3r]

DC. No notice. Use MyWi and TetherMe sparingly though.

 

[ihonda]

northeast ohio here, got notice on 2 seperate lines, use mywi

 

[hidefguy]

San Diego, California. Received notice. Used Tethere Me.

 

[appleguy123]

St. Louis, Missouri. MyWi, no notice here, use 4gb a month.

 

[scirica]

Suburb of Dallas, no notices yet. 1 - 2gb per month usage on unlimited plan. Usually it's TetherMe with native hotspotting.

 

[erayser]

San Diego, California. Received notice. Used Tethere Me.

From San Diego also, but no notice. I used MyWi, but only used it moderately.

 

[ryguy2303]

San Diego, California. Received notice. Used Tethere Me.

Same for me, but no notice.

 

[eastercat]

I use it sparingly, usually on vacation. Live in Dallas. No notice.

 

[ZipZap]

Is there any truth to the statements that later versions of iOS make it easier to detect tethering?

I am on 4.2.1 and tether occasionally...no text, not email.

 

[Moyank24]

Houston, Texas
MyWi, but pretty sparingly as well. Probably at or a little less than 1GB/month. No notice.

 

[kuebby]

MD/DC, PDANet very rarely, no notice

 

[The Tos]

I am in Buffalo, NY. I use Tethere Me/MyWi. I have not received any email/text or notice from ATT. Usuaully around 1-2 gigs a month.

 

[psywzrd]

I don't know how much truth there is to it but here's an article that was posted this morning. I believe people using PDANet have received notices tough so unless there's a brand-new version of PDANet that somehow prevents detection, I guess the article is wrong.

http://www.maclife.com/article/news/how_tracks_unauthorized_tethering_jailbroken_iphones

 

[Thedeathbear]

Southern NJ. 3-4 GB month. MyWi. Use it rarely. No notice

 

[QuarterSwede]

I don't know how much truth there is to it but here's an article that was posted this morning. I believe people using PDANet have received notices tough so unless there's a brand-new version of PDANet that somehow prevents detection, I guess the article is wrong.

http://www.maclife.com/article/news/how_tracks_unauthorized_tethering_jailbroken_iphones

People on MR have already said that the PDANet hide function doesn't work as they got notices after they used it without having used tethering before or in quite a while.

Personally, I think at&t is using multiple methods of detection. It may be done by area as well.

Colorado Springs, TetherMe very sparingly, No notice
I used it while traveling in Northern VA 2 weeks ago, No notice.