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ethical to use MyWi now on AT&T?

T

TimSS

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 4, 2009
45
0
This isn't a troll, but rather I'm hoping to get some intelligent discussion regarding the continued use of unpaid tethering now that AT&T is charging for it.

I know that discussion of cracked applications isn't allowed here. Now that AT&T says you have to pay for tethering, doesn't the use of MyWi fall into that category? Or are people (on the unlimited data plan) rationalizing the fact that they pay for 'unlimited' data, they should be able to use it however they want?

FWIW, I don't have a need for tethering and don't use MyWi. At a minimum, I think it's unethical to use it on a data plan that charges for tethering. For a grandfathered 'unlimited' user though, it appears to be a little more grey. Just wondering what others think. And I'm curious to see how/if AT&T starts addressing the issue.
 
How is this discussion going to be intelligent? YOU don't think people should tether with miwi or any other tethering "trick" now that at&t charges for tether. I and many others like me say that's bunk. I pay for my service, I pay for unlimited data (if I didn't I would be paying for all the data I use on data du jour) and I will tether if I wish. You won't convince me you are right, and I certainly won't convince you I'm right..... so this will self destruct into you guys vs the rest of us, and nothing good ever comes from these types of posts. Miwi is not a hacked app, it is an app that you can buy.

How is unethical to not pay to tether even if you're not on an unlimited data plan? You will pay for all the data used..... Not sure I follow you.

Why do you think it's un-ethical to tether just because at&t says so? When did you get your ethics badge? Who are you to judge any one that chooses to tether rogue style? Just a few questions that may come up. You opened the box, now Pandora is coming to play.
 
I get it that MyWi is not a cracked app. I'm just wondering if the ethics of using it now has changed now that AT&T has formalized the use of and now charges for tethering.

I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other--it really, really doesn't matter to me. And I'm not looking to be convinced that it's OK to use it now either (again, I have no need). I'm just interested in knowing what people think, if they're thinking on this has changed, and why.
 
TimSS said:
...it appears to be a little more grey.
Click to expand...

There's nothing gray about it at all.

1. Terms and Conditions - Tethering has always violated the T's and C's.
2. Legal - It's never been illegal.
3. Ethical - For people who believe violating Item 1 is unethical, then, yes, it's unethical...for them. The 11th Commandment was not, "Thou shall not tether."

Unlike ISPs which charge more for faster speeds, cellular carriers, for all intents and purposes, have a constant speed network, so the only variable is how much data is transferred. IMO, the carriers have not matched their rate structures with the Smartphone technology even though they know what people are using. IMO, all data plans should be based on data usage regardless of the device used. ATT has always 'complained' a few (relatively speaking) users are hogging up the network. I have no doubt this is true. Therefore they should charge accordingly whether the person has a SmartPhone, a cell phone or is tethering. IMO, they won't get many people to sign up for tethering and in 6 months change their plans again.
 
I'm not condoning mywi, but let's flip the question --

Now that ATT is selling data in defined buckets (200mb or 2GB) is it ethical for them to charge extra just for the "right" to use that data on a different device? Is your using your paid 2GB of data on your laptop different that using it on your iPhone? Does it put additional strain on ATT's network, or cost it more money to operate? No. They are charging $20 b/c it's pure gravy.

So if you want to discuss ethics that really should be part of the equation. I do not use mywi, but I think people do use it b/c, right or wrong, they feel ATT isn't giving them a reasonable choice. Companies need to understand that as long as they try to rip customers off customers are going to try to rip them off. I think the majority of consumers would be happy to pay a fair rate w/ balanced terms for all parties.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
.....So if you want to discuss ethics that really should be part of the equation.....
Click to expand...

I agree with what you said, and I also understand the OP's points of discussion. I don't take the new data rates into it when I tether because I really don't care about the changes (even if I had to switch It would only be about $5 more with my data usage) I fall in the group that thinks it's my freakin data, it's not really at&t's decision how I use that data.... even though THEY think it is. I pay for a service that they provide, I refuse to pay more to use that same service.
Same with iPhone. I will jailbreak as long as the brilliant people keep coming up with ways to do so. I know apple says I shouldn't but F them, it's my phone and I'll do with it as I please. I'm really not some kind of rebel, I just think what you pay for is yours to use how you see fit.
 
WiiDSmoker said:
I bet you use a router at home. What's the difference?
Click to expand...

C'mon you know that wireless bandwidth costs more to product than DSL or even FiOS. Cell Towers are a lot more expensive to build out and maintain and also have lower capacity than landline or fiber.
 
WiiDSmoker said:
I don't believe it.
Click to expand...

You don't believe what? Are you saying ATT is submitting phony shareholder reports and 10Ks to the gov't. If you have proof there it would be interesting but I doubt ATT's independent auditors would overlook book cooking, esp. after Enron and seeing Arthur Andersen go down.
 
army91c said:
How is unethical to not pay to tether even if you're not on an unlimited data plan? You will pay for all the data used..... Not sure I follow you.
Click to expand...

You paid for unlimited data for your iPhone. You did not pay for every other device you're tethering your iPhone to.
 
mywi uses att's tethering and just puts it into wifi so you have to pay anyway.

if you are on unlimited data it dosnt matter.
 
It doesn't matter to me since I never use it anyway. I do however, feel if you pay for data they should not tack on an extra fee just to turn it on each month. They don't have to maintainence it or do anything else that cost them money. They are doing NOTHING to enable it outside of updating a simple file update that people have been doing for themselves for years. They could care less and will ride the iPhone gravy train until the wheels fall off. This just makes AT&T look petty to me.

To the people who JB and do it, I say good for you. AT&T are a bunch of greedy vultures anyway who knows there time will be up soon and just want to cash out there chips

To the people who pay for it each month, I say good for you. Your standing by your moral principals and plan to do the right thing.
 
goobot said:
mywi uses att's tethering and just puts it into wifi so you have to pay anyway.

if you are on unlimited data it dosnt matter.
Click to expand...

It does matter. Tethering is explicitly prohibited in the terms and conditions you signed when you agreed to a contract with ATT.
 
goobot said:
mywi uses att's tethering and just puts it into wifi so you have to pay anyway.

if you are on unlimited data it dosnt matter.
Click to expand...

Again, you paid for unlimited data for your iPhone, not the devices you tether your iPhone to.
 
This is a matter of AT&T just wanting more $$$$

army91c said:
I agree with what you said, and I also understand the OP's points of discussion. I don't take the new data rates into it when I tether because I really don't care about the changes (even if I had to switch It would only be about $5 more with my data usage) I fall in the group that thinks it's my freakin data, it's not really at&t's decision how I use that data.... even though THEY think it is. I pay for a service that they provide, I refuse to pay more to use that same service.
Same with iPhone. I will jailbreak as long as the brilliant people keep coming up with ways to do so. I know apple says I shouldn't but F them, it's my phone and I'll do with it as I please. I'm really not some kind of rebel, I just think what you pay for is yours to use how you see fit.
Click to expand...

They as many other businesses like credit card companies and banks want as much of our money as they can get.

Whether it's paying for bags on a flight or tethering, companies will push the envelope on what they can get away with in extra fees.

Other carriers charge for tethering and until some one doesn't and is able to get people to switch carriers because they don't they will continue to charge for it.

I fall on the side that if you keep your old unlimited account you should pay for tethering and if you get the new 2gig you SHOULDNT HAVE TO PAY.

My two cents
 
goobot said:
and i have been doing it since agu 2008. i really dont care.
Click to expand...

You said it didn't matter ethically. You just have no ethics. You signed a contract that said you wouldn't tether. Whether you want to break that contract is your choice, but make no mistake, going back on your promises (the contract you signed) is unethical.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
I'm not condoning mywi, but let's flip the question --

Now that ATT is selling data in defined buckets (200mb or 2GB) is it ethical for them to charge extra just for the "right" to use that data on a different device? Is your using your paid 2GB of data on your laptop different that using it on your iPhone? Does it put additional strain on ATT's network, or cost it more money to operate? No. They are charging $20 b/c it's pure gravy.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. How can they reasonably justify the extra cost for tethering when you're just using the same amount of data you've already paid for? Data is data, no matter how it's used. If they were offering another 2 or 3 GB for tethering on top of your existing plan, then I'd see the point. But as it currently exists, it's nothing more than robbing the stupid.
 
I think that common sense needs to be at work here. There are people that use upwards or 25GB/month tethering to their iphone on the current unlimited data plan. Do we think this is fine? If you say yes, you need your head examined. AT&T states the unlimited plan is for the phone and the phone only, not to use the phone as a connection to your computer(s) at your residence because you are too cheap (or poor) to have a proper connection. I personally think that AT&T is going about the new data plans wrong - as do most of us. First and foremost, AT&T should kick all bandwidth hogs off the unlimited plan and force them to the 2GB plan, period end of story. Second, the most fair way for AT&T to charge for data would be on a per use scale. Up to 1GB/month $15, 1-2GB/month $20, 2-3GB/month $25, etc. They should charge what you use and let anyone and everyone tether to their hearts content. I do not tether at all and my data usage has never gone above 300MB ever, since June of 2007. I think AT&T is totally out of line to charge for a tethering fee when the data is capped. This is outrageous - it is things like this that make people abuse the system even more. If AT&T were more fair more people would be apt to play above the line.
 
Big corporations have no ethics - just turn on the news - so why should we? Data is data regardless of how you use it. Why should you have to pay extra for a tethering plan when you already have a data plan for the iPhone? Does it cost AT&T extra for you to route the data to your laptop rather than keeping it on the iPhone? NO. Okay, so then we have to do it just because it's in the contract? BAH!

When was the last time you as a consumer had the opportunity to negotiate one of those AT&T contracts? Everyone says "it's in the terms of service, it's in the contract" blah blah. I would understand that point if we actually had an opportunity to negotiate the terms of those contracts. But the terms are dictated to us and cannot be negotiated. Our only option is to go elsewhere, but then we cannot use the iPhone.

AT&T will still make billions of dollars whether you tether ethically or not. Just like B of A, Chase, and Wells Fargo keep raking in the dough whether you walk away from your house or not. Look out for your own interests, not the corporations. Do you think BP cares about the animals it's killed or the people whose livelihoods they've robbed? Let's watch and see how BP's "ethics" play out in all of this.

AT&T will sell you dog crap if it could make money on it. By the same token, they are perfectly happy to charge you for tethering even though they already deliver the data connection to your iPhone as part of your iPhone's data plan. It's simply another avenue for AT&T to rape the consumer and rake in more money to not only bolster its bottom line, but boost its stock value and increase their executive compensation and bonuses.

AT&T can take care of itself. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are quick to look out for the interests of a huge corporation over their own interests as "the little guy". What if AT&T disabled the iPhone's built-in GPS unit and then wanted you to pay an extra $5/mo. to turn it back on and force you to use their proprietary software? Would that be fair? That's just a different scenario, but the basics are the same. And it's also what Verizon did to its customers for years, and continues to do so.

Worry about yourselves and what you want and need, not about what's best for AT&T.
 
it always was ethical to use Mywii or any tether hacks as these providors make us pay thorugh out noses with the hefty prices and crap service they offer.

I have used mywii on my phone for a month now (had a alternative before) and will use a compatible one for the iOS4.:cool:

:apple:
 
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