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BiffWebster

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 11, 2008
19
0
I was just wondering if any users of the aforementioned apps can tell me how their data usage shows up in their AT&T account when tethering. I am currently contemplating jailbreaking my iPhone 4, and briefly enabled tethering via the carrier preferences modification way back when iOS 3.0 was released. I noticed that after doing so, when I looked at my data usage in my AT&T account, any tethering showed up as "internet" with the associated data usage (i.e. xx KB). Likewise, any data access directly from my phone showed up as "phone." I realize that there are a large number of users of these apps that have seemingly done so without issues, but I'm paranoid.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

So can you verify that with both these apps tethering usage does indeed show up differently in the account. I realize that I would probably be ok if I didn't go overboard. But, I'm looking or a verification of this for both.
 
Dont be so paranoid.
Many many people have been tethering thru MyWi and many other tethering hacks for years and some even using 10-20GB per month and noone ever had any issues.
You'll be ok....
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I hate to sound ungrateful and I appreciate the replies, but I'm really not interested in the "don't worry, you'll be ok" messages. I want to be able to make my own informed decision on what to do...and info on how it show up in the account would be most appreciated. Any users that wouldn't mind sharing this info?
 
In other words, dont tell me not to worry cause I like to worry and get all worked up and anxious over nothing:D
It just shows up as data used. That's all.
And on the actual PDF bill DATA ACCESS KB/MB Used 252,259 $0.00/KB 0.00
That's with both surfing and tethering off the i4.
 
Last edited:
I use mywi and its never shown up on my bill for anything except Internet/MEdia Net... All from phone... so take it however but its the best probably any of us can offer.
 
I use MyWi 4.0 to tether. And on mt AT&T bill just categorizes it as data.

Here's a line taken straight from my AT&T online statement.

1216 SAT 02/05/2011 10:50PM Data Transfer Data 200,282 KB CMB1 AT GPRR Out $ 0.00
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Cool...thank you all for the info!
 
MikePA, please see my original post. As I pointed out, in the past I had noticed when tethering using the carrier preference mod from iOS 3.0, it showed up as "internet" when tethering and "phone" for normal data access. From what people have indicated, access from these apps does not show up any different that access from normal phone data usage. In the future, before making insulting comments, please try reading the entire thread first.
 
All the info? People said it shows up as data. Duh. How did you think it'd show up on your bill. 'Illegal tethering charges'?

Usually when someone goes out of their way to belittle others, they end up making themselves look like childish fools. Case in point...

Had you known enough about technology to provide a genuine response to his question you would know that there are ways to inspect packets and extract enough key header information to know that the data didn't originate from the mobile device itself but was, say browser traffic from a full version of a PC browser, for example. They could then build rules to alert on this type of traffic coming from mobile devices.

That said, I seriously doubt they've done this or would go to the level of commitment it would take to make it happen (takes quite a bit of horsepower to inspect that amount of traffic and then put the resources towards taking action on the findings). They know about it and like many other things, it would probably require a significant financial impact to them before they'd consider doing something about it.
 
Usually when someone goes out of their way to belittle others, they end up making themselves look like childish fools. Case in point...

Had you known enough about technology to provide a genuine response to his question you would know that there are ways to inspect packets and extract enough key header information to know that the data didn't originate from the mobile device itself but was, say browser traffic from a full version of a PC browser, for example. They could then build rules to alert on this type of traffic coming from mobile devices.

That said, I seriously doubt they've done this or would go to the level of commitment it would take to make it happen (takes quite a bit of horsepower to inspect that amount of traffic and then put the resources towards taking action on the findings). They know about it and like many other things, it would probably require a significant financial impact to them before they'd consider doing something about it.

Thanks for the lecture. I can recognize a fool as well.

I know all about packets, sniffers, traces, packet headers, etc. The simple fact is this topic has been beaten to death and every person who installs MyWi or TehterMe asks the same question, because they never search or even look at the first page on the iPad Hacks forum.

Can ATT do this yes.
Do they?
No and they have not since PDAnet was born.

So, your ramblings are irrelevant minutiae whose purpose is not to inform but are a feeble attempt to impress.
 
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

MikePA said:
Usually when someone goes out of their way to belittle others, they end up making themselves look like childish fools. Case in point...

Had you known enough about technology to provide a genuine response to his question you would know that there are ways to inspect packets and extract enough key header information to know that the data didn't originate from the mobile device itself but was, say browser traffic from a full version of a PC browser, for example. They could then build rules to alert on this type of traffic coming from mobile devices.

That said, I seriously doubt they've done this or would go to the level of commitment it would take to make it happen (takes quite a bit of horsepower to inspect that amount of traffic and then put the resources towards taking action on the findings). They know about it and like many other things, it would probably require a significant financial impact to them before they'd consider doing something about it.

Thanks for the lecture. I can recognize a fool as well.

I know all about packets, sniffers, traces, packet headers, etc. The simple fact is this topic has been beaten to death and every person who installs MyWi or TehterMe asks the same question, because they never search or even look at the first page on the iPad Hacks forum.

Can ATT do this yes.
Do they?
No and they have not since PDAnet was born.

So, your ramblings are irrelevant minutiae whose purpose is not to inform but are a feeble attempt to impress.

MikePA, just so you know, I did search and I had a specific question regarding how it shows up in the account regarding a past experience that I have had. I never found anything like that specific question addressed. What I did see a lot of was the philosophical "don't worry responses.". I asked that specific question for a reason. If that irritates you, that is your right, but it is also my right to pose the question to begin with. I realize that regulars hate when the same topic is beaten to death with multiple new threads of the same topic. However, if you look at my original post, my question was very specific...and wasn't of the nature of whether they would catch me or be able to tell, etc. I just was curious how it showed up in the account...that's all.
 
However, if you look at my original post, my question was very specific...and wasn't of the nature of whether they would catch me or be able to tell, etc. I just was curious how it showed up in the account...that's all.

There are 2 major sections of every ATT bill; Voice and Data. Since tethering is simply a specific example of Data, that's where it'd get reported. This seems logical to me, but not to everyone.

With idiots using 105 GB of data in a month, my opinion is 'unofficial tethering' will soon appear on ATT's radar. At least unusual usage will cause them to investigate for the simple reason that they are losing revenue.
 
There are 2 major sections of every ATT bill; Voice and Data. Since tethering is simply a specific example of Data, that's where it'd get reported. This seems logical to me, but not to everyone.

With idiots using 105 GB of data in a month, my opinion is 'unofficial tethering' will soon appear on ATT's radar. At least unusual usage will cause them to investigate for the simple reason that they are losing revenue.

It's amazing that I have to keep explaining this to you, but let's try one more time. If I log into my AT&T account and look at data details, I can see data access such as:

03/09 07:11 AM phone Internet/MEdia Net Sent 7061KB

In my past experience, when using tethering using the carrier preferences hack, if this data occurred as a result of tethering it showed up as:

03/09 07:11 AM internet Internet/MEdia Net Sent 7061KB

Notice, it says internet instead of phone. Thus, it's already been detected as being different than normal phone access. Whether they chose to do anything about it (or will in the future) is a different story (in this case, I had no issues). Again, I don't want to get into the debate over whether I would get caught. I simply wanted to know if the means through which these apps access data gets reported differently than normal phone data access.
 
According to the TetherMe dev:

Source: TetherMe on Bigboss repo
TetherMe has been tested to work on all iOS versions from 3.0 to 4.0.1 [now up to 4.3] and works by telling the iPhone to allow tethering on any APN that is used for iPhone data. As a result, you should not be charged extra from your phone company as all tethering data appears to come from the phone itself.

Of course he puts a CYA disclaimer in there as well. So you never really know.
 
Perhaps you have it figured out by now, but mywi tethering is not reported any differently on my ATT account. All my data usage is reported as one lump sum.
 
i went on vacation for two weeks and used 20gb for one month. Nothing happened and no cap. I regularly use 5gb of data a month and had 12 gb previous to the 20gb usage. There is no cap.
 
At&t emailed on tethering hack

I do have the Mywi hack but I never use it. I watch a lot of netflix on 3g and my data use is like 5-6gb per month. So read below, this is bs....

We've noticed your service plan may need updating.

Many AT&T customers use their smartphones as a broadband connection for other devices, like laptops, netbooks or other smartphones– a practice commonly known as tethering. Tethering can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T's mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with important people and information. To take advantage of this feature, we require that in addition to a data plan, you also have a tethering plan.

Our records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our tethering plan. If you would like to continue tethering, please log into your account online at www.wireless.att.com, or call us at 1-877-446-5250, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by April 16, 2011 to sign up for the DataPro 4GB for Smartphone Tethering plan or the DataPro Enterprise 4GB for Smartphone Tethering plan.

Here are details on the plans:
DataPro 4GB for Smartphone Tethering
• $45 per month
(this gives you 4GB in total, combining both your smartphone data plan for $25 and the tethering feature, $20)
• $10 per each additional GB thereafter, added automatically as needed
• Mobile Hotspot capabilities are included for compatible Smartphones

DataPro Enterprise 4GB for Smartphone Tethering
This Enterprise data plan is required to access corporate email, company intranet sites and/or other business applications. (Access to personal email is also supported.)
• $60 per month
(this gives you 4GB in total, combining both your smartphone data plan for $40 and the tethering feature, $20)
• $10 per each additional GB thereafter, added automatically as needed
• Mobile Hotspot capabilities are included for compatible Smartphones

If we don't hear from you, we'll plan to automatically enroll you into one of the above DataPro 4GB plans after April 16, 2011. The specific plan selected for you will depend on your current smartphone data plan; if you are currently subscribed to another Enterprise data plan, you will automatically be enrolled in the DataPro Enterprise 4GB for Smartphone Tethering Plan so that you can continue to access corporate email and applications. Your new DataPro 4GB plan – whether you sign up on your own or we automatically enroll you – will replace your current smartphone data plan, including if you are on an unlimited data plan.

If you discontinue tethering, no changes to your current plan will be required.

It's easy to track your usage throughout the month so there are no bill surprises. For example, we send you free text messages when you reach 65, 90, and 100 percent of your plan's threshold. If you would like to monitor your account more closely, go to www.att.com/dataplans
to learn about other ways to track your data usage.

As a reminder, our smartphone data plans also include unlimited usage of Wi-Fi at no additional charge. AT&T smartphone customers can use Wi-Fi at home or on-the-go at any one of our more than 23,000 U.S. hotspots already included in your data plan.

Thank you for bringing your account up to date. We appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve your mobile broadband needs.

Sincerely,

AT&T
 
I do have the Mywi hack but I never use it. I watch a lot of netflix on 3g and my data use is like 5-6gb per month. So read below, this is bs....

Deleted often posted letter/email from ATT.

If you think it's bs, then fight it.
 
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