FWIW, I used 17gb last month, maybe 100mb of that tethered with TetherMe, and nothing so far from AT&T.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Has anyone tried PDAnet 3.0 "hide tethering usage" feature? Does it work???
- Thread starter ap3604
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
FWIW, I used 17gb last month, maybe 100mb of that tethered with TetherMe, and nothing so far from AT&T.
I think the main question is this:
Has anyone been forcefully switched for tethering even after they got the notice?
Has anyone been forcefully switched for tethering even after they got the notice?
muckymucky
macrumors member
got this text this morning after deleting mywi and using pdanet with level 2 usage hide.
sorry for double post. thought this was relavant here.
Using TetherMe (not often, maybe four hours per month), I finally got this warning from AT&T.
What the frack does "PLANNING TO UPDATE YOUR LINE WITH THE REQUIRED PLAN SOON" mean?😡
It means that the party is over. I am reasonably certain that Apple is helping AT&T figure out how to tell when iphones are tethering.
It is probably built into stock iOS and Apple probably hates jailbreakers, so they might even have helped AT&T figure out workarounds to find those tetherers too.
The problem is that tethering makes you use more data. Period. AT&T was perfectly happy to sell unlimited plans because most people were using less than 200 MB a month. Now with tethering, if everyone doubles their usage to ~400MB a month then it is a LOT more traffic for AT&T to deal with.
This is why they are on the warpath to stop tetherers... there is only so much data that you will be able to pump through your the apps on your iPhone because you'll run out of space or the battery will go out or you'll have to actually take your phone and use it.
Not so with a computer... it can go all night long
It is probably built into stock iOS and Apple probably hates jailbreakers, so they might even have helped AT&T figure out workarounds to find those tetherers too.
The problem is that tethering makes you use more data. Period. AT&T was perfectly happy to sell unlimited plans because most people were using less than 200 MB a month. Now with tethering, if everyone doubles their usage to ~400MB a month then it is a LOT more traffic for AT&T to deal with.
This is why they are on the warpath to stop tetherers... there is only so much data that you will be able to pump through your the apps on your iPhone because you'll run out of space or the battery will go out or you'll have to actually take your phone and use it.
Not so with a computer... it can go all night long
They plan to force you to change your data plan in a week if you don't call them.
I am still not sure if they actually have done this to anyone yet....
rjohnstone
macrumors 68040
Yes, AT&T blocked side loading, but it is so easy to re-enable.
As for restricting tethering, AT&T has specific APN's just for tethering.
All the built in hotspot features on AT&T Android phones go to this APN whenever they are activated.
It then verifies that your account is authorized to use the feature.
If you fail the authorization, the hotspot will not activate.
There are ways around this, but AT&T can detect them as well.
Attachments
Rascol
macrumors newbie
It's not apple.....
I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how they do it. Then I followed the Corporate trail as to who's software or services they would be using to do this... and lo and behold - I found the answer.
The have picked up Ciscos Openet - Orange France - and using FusionWorks DPI to detect tethering. I don't know exactly how this works - so if you get this post - there is your answer. How do you conceal tethering through Deep Packet Inspection? And is this even legal for AT&T to do because of some of the Privacy acts from 1988 to now.
So - anyone who can figure out how to hide tethering through DPI is going to be a hero.
I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how they do it. Then I followed the Corporate trail as to who's software or services they would be using to do this... and lo and behold - I found the answer.
The have picked up Ciscos Openet - Orange France - and using FusionWorks DPI to detect tethering. I don't know exactly how this works - so if you get this post - there is your answer. How do you conceal tethering through Deep Packet Inspection? And is this even legal for AT&T to do because of some of the Privacy acts from 1988 to now.
So - anyone who can figure out how to hide tethering through DPI is going to be a hero.
Well they have to know what packets are from tethering since the tether plan has a 4GB limit.
We have to wait for planet and mywi to figure out how they detect.
We have to wait for planet and mywi to figure out how they detect.
It means that by May 13, 2011, if you DO NOT call them, they WILL add a 4GB tethering plan to your account. 😱
This does NOT affect your phone's data plan, it only adds 4gb of tethering data. If you go over the 4gb, they charge you more on a per gigabyte rate, though I don't know what that rate is.😕
I got the same text message after I ignored the first one that politely "offered" tethering as an option:
AT&T Free Msg: Did you know tethering your Smartphone to a computer requires a tethering plan? Pls call 877-446-5250 for details or visit att.com/dataplans😡
i removed my "broadband" apn and have done all of my tethering thru "phone" and yet i still got the text message this week.
How does this not affect your phones data plan? They remove your current data plan and add the 4gb w/tethering. Many of the people who are getting these messages are on grandfathered unlimited plans, which is removed permanently.
rjohnstone
macrumors 68040
And that's how they got you. The Phone APN is setup to catch unauthorized tethering.
You need to create a new custom APN using WAP.CINGULAR and set it's APN type to tether.
Don't use AT&T US wap.cingular APN, it's not setup properly for tethering, It's the EDGE fallback APN for phone data.
You can go to the XDA forums to get the exact settings.
This is only for light tethering. Heavy users will still get snagged on this APN if it gets abused.
The AT&T reps were wrong when I talked to them yesterday. Two separate phone called resulted in the same answer:
Unlimited Data plan I currently have is for data access for your phone ONLY.
IF I add tethering, then the 4GB is ONLY for TETHERING. Both reps stated They are completely separate plans and one doesn't affect the other.
This is completely wrong. Figures AT&T is trying to screw the customer.
I confirmed the reps being wrong (and me, by extension) by going the the AT&T site. It gives you a combined package. My bill states I use over 2gb of data just from my phone alone... without any tethering. I can't believe that. I think they have a screwed up way of measuring the data...
Sorry.
Chocolatemilty
macrumors 6502a
It is quite interesting that some folks are getting the message from at&t and some aren't. I've used tethering, although not a lot since I have wifi at home and on campus as well as hotspots all over the city, but I've definitely used it. I even used about 2.5 GBs of tethering to my laptop last month to stream the Lakers game while on a road trip. Received absolutely nothing from AT&T. What could be the kicker, though, is that I'm using an VPN to "mask" my tethering packets. I suppose it works since I haven't gotten any message. perhaps that is the solution?
Rascol
macrumors newbie
Tethering
Jailbroken iPhones typically use the same tethering technique as a standard iPhone, the one thats already present in iOS. This method exposes tethering activity quite readily, because the iPhone, when in tethering mode, sends traffic through an alternate APN (AT&T access point/router) for the express purpose of identifying the traffic as tethered data. This makes it extremely easy for AT&T to identify whether or not an iOS device is utilizing tethering, and just how much of their data is consumed via tethering.
Some tethering applications for iOS make use of alternative methods and route tethered traffic through the phones normal data APN, but by and large, most jailbreakers stick with the stock application because its easy to use and doesnt require any complicated setup. In fact, many iPhone users jailbreak for the sole purpose of avoiding AT&Ts tethering fees (for why, see next section). These are the people AT&Ts is going after.
So it appears, apps that use the special data APN get noticed by AT&Ts systems, hence the strong-arm tactics. Popular jailbreak app MyWi works just as described by AndroidPolice using the tethering APN. What we need is an app that uses the same APN as your iPhone does for its own data. According to the iPhoneDownloadBlog, that app is PdaNet.
Jailbroken iPhones typically use the same tethering technique as a standard iPhone, the one thats already present in iOS. This method exposes tethering activity quite readily, because the iPhone, when in tethering mode, sends traffic through an alternate APN (AT&T access point/router) for the express purpose of identifying the traffic as tethered data. This makes it extremely easy for AT&T to identify whether or not an iOS device is utilizing tethering, and just how much of their data is consumed via tethering.
Some tethering applications for iOS make use of alternative methods and route tethered traffic through the phones normal data APN, but by and large, most jailbreakers stick with the stock application because its easy to use and doesnt require any complicated setup. In fact, many iPhone users jailbreak for the sole purpose of avoiding AT&Ts tethering fees (for why, see next section). These are the people AT&Ts is going after.
So it appears, apps that use the special data APN get noticed by AT&Ts systems, hence the strong-arm tactics. Popular jailbreak app MyWi works just as described by AndroidPolice using the tethering APN. What we need is an app that uses the same APN as your iPhone does for its own data. According to the iPhoneDownloadBlog, that app is PdaNet.
Haven't used tethering in at least 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Just got a text today from AT&T saying "did you know tethering requires an email plan...?" Last time I used tethering was with PDANet for a few hours when I found out about the AT&T notices. Prior to that it was all MyWi.
Have not received any email messages.
Known facts:
1. No thethering activity for at least 1 1/2 weeks. Therefore:
2. They've looked at historical tethering in the past few weeks to determine if you are tethering or not. That is, lack of recent tethering activity does prevent you form getting a notice.
Unknown at this point:
3. Was it PDANet or MyWi (or both) that gave it away. I suspect MyWi since I only used PDANet for a few hours. Versus, I used MyWi exclusively prior to that.
Edited to add:
Using iOS 4.2.1
PDANet turned on to Level 2. (But only used for a few hours. I highly doubt it was PDANet.)
I guess I'll go a month without tethering. Use PDANet for several weeks and see if I get another notice. If I do, I'll switch to VZW before their unlimited data plans go away this summer.
Have not received any email messages.
Known facts:
1. No thethering activity for at least 1 1/2 weeks. Therefore:
2. They've looked at historical tethering in the past few weeks to determine if you are tethering or not. That is, lack of recent tethering activity does prevent you form getting a notice.
Unknown at this point:
3. Was it PDANet or MyWi (or both) that gave it away. I suspect MyWi since I only used PDANet for a few hours. Versus, I used MyWi exclusively prior to that.
Edited to add:
Using iOS 4.2.1
PDANet turned on to Level 2. (But only used for a few hours. I highly doubt it was PDANet.)
I guess I'll go a month without tethering. Use PDANet for several weeks and see if I get another notice. If I do, I'll switch to VZW before their unlimited data plans go away this summer.
MotleyGrrl
macrumors 6502
SO wasn't the deadline to upgrade to a tethering plan May 13th? Anyone get charged? Anyone still tethering?
iphone1105
macrumors 68020
No deadline your info is wrong, plus read the thread people are still getting these notices past the 13th....
If ATT is gonna change my plan on the "assumption" that I am tethering, I am gonna ask for proof. They will need to show me some kind of logging to prove that my data traffic came from a source other than my iphone.
I think we should all ask for such proof.
And who is to say your phone did not get some kind of hack or virus that enabled someone to make it appear that traffic was coming from your iphone's ID?
This seems like a very difficult assumption for ATT to really "prove".
I think we should all ask for such proof.
And who is to say your phone did not get some kind of hack or virus that enabled someone to make it appear that traffic was coming from your iphone's ID?
This seems like a very difficult assumption for ATT to really "prove".
Hi Everybody!
Want to get back to the actual subject of this thread.
Has anybody been able to confirm that PDANET with its
HIDE feature does indeed hide your tethering from AT&T?
I have been using MyWi with iOS 4.2.1 and to date no
message from AT&T. Something tells me it has more to
do with iOS 4.2.1 as many who upgraded got notices.
In any event, has enough evidence been gathered by
users to say that PDANET is actually hiding tethering
as advertised by the company?
Want to get back to the actual subject of this thread.
Has anybody been able to confirm that PDANET with its
HIDE feature does indeed hide your tethering from AT&T?
I have been using MyWi with iOS 4.2.1 and to date no
message from AT&T. Something tells me it has more to
do with iOS 4.2.1 as many who upgraded got notices.
In any event, has enough evidence been gathered by
users to say that PDANET is actually hiding tethering
as advertised by the company?
Got the text, email, and letter from ATT
I'm running 4.2.1 with MyWi and got nailed. I used around 7gigs and they were sure to email me, text me, and send a letter about not tethering anymore. I hope swithing to PDANet (HideMode) and keeping my usage to a minimum will keep me off the radar! Sure would be nice to hear if PDANet really does work!
I'm running 4.2.1 with MyWi and got nailed. I used around 7gigs and they were sure to email me, text me, and send a letter about not tethering anymore. I hope swithing to PDANet (HideMode) and keeping my usage to a minimum will keep me off the radar! Sure would be nice to hear if PDANet really does work!
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)
The only way to know is to actually purchase the 4GB DataPro plan for a month. Then only use PdaNet to tether and see if you actually use any of the 4GB.
ngpeters78 said:
The only way to know is to actually purchase the 4GB DataPro plan for a month. Then only use PdaNet to tether and see if you actually use any of the 4GB.