No Tethering Option for iPhone 3G

[moniker]

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).

It depends on where you live. I find it disturbing that Apple listens very carefully to AT&T and implement the restrictions that they ask for for all operators, while many operators may not have such a problem with data-intensive mobile apps (as an example) that AT&T has. One of my two current mobile operators has two data plans; one 1 GB transfer limit and one unlimited that is really unlimited (no "fair use" clauses in the fine print) and the speed is currently at 7.2 Mbps to be increased to 14.4 Mbps by the end of the year.

They also actively flog 3G USB modem dongles as a competitive alternative to ADSL broadband. They have a music store and download service that operates on 3G and even a music streaming service on 3G.

I'm sure their network would cope with the occasional use of a tethered iPhone.

 

[moniker]

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.

I do care about thethering. There's no AT&T in my part of the world and WiFi at Starbucks isn't free (EVERYTHING costs money in the UK). And besides, I prefer Costa or Caffe Nero over Starbucks.

 

[moniker]

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

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

It doesn't suck as bad if you connect over USB rather than BT, tho. It's great to have for the occasional use but it drains the phone batteries very quickly.

 

[spaceballl]

I was going to not be a part of the hack installs anymore - but i'm hoping someone hacks a tethering program now - this is so lame.

 

[twoodcc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

not a dealbreaker for me, but I'd still love to see this available

 

[nagromme]

You would think, if Apple added the feature, AT&T would love to sell it to you.

Unfortunately, even if they did, tethering is outside my price range. I'd rarely need it since the phone itself has web and email. I'd often LIKE it... if it were free!

 

[randomrazor]

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

I can't agree more!!!

 

[jahsavi]

I can't believe people are not reading my other post..

Purchase a used/refurbished usb or express internet card for your macbook or pro. Pop your sim out and put it in the internet card.. or if your really smart copy your sim card.

I've talked to a few people and they all said this would work. You pay for 3G.. doesn't matter what the card is in. As long as the 3G service is paid for on that sim.

I'll be purchasing the USB card for my macbook and the new iphone 3G.

 

[chadaw]

Wow, would that work or would that breech some fine print in At&t?

To me alot of the posters are selling themself short. Even if they don't need to tether, they should see the principle involved. We should be able to use the data connection however we want. (Well except for illegal matters.)

Tethering has always been one of my hopes. I am a freelance web designer and sometimes do work away from the home or wifi connection. Thankfully, I can go to Corner Bakery or now Starbucks to use their wifi, but honestly it would be nice to us the phone tethering.

Think about this:

I already spend $30 bucks a month through AT&T for fast Dsl. If I get the Iphone, I will be spending $30-45 bucks a month for unlimited data. And if I purchased something like Verizon's usb modem then thats another $30+ a month. Come on. Sheesh. Give us freaking Tethering as most of us already have high broadband costs already. And if not for the principle think about this? Since alot of people on here said they won't even use it, those that will use it won't eat too terrible much more data.

It should be seen as the classic buffet. You have those that won't hardly eat much and those that will eat a ton, but they balance it out. Come on At&t give use the buffet, you already charging outrageous for it.

I can't believe people are not reading my other post..

Purchase a used/refurbished usb or express internet card for your macbook or pro. Pop your sim out and put it in the internet card.. or if your really smart copy your sim card.

I've talked to a few people and they all said this would work. You pay for 3G.. doesn't matter what the card is in. As long as the 3G service is paid for on that sim.

I'll be purchasing the USB card for my macbook and the new iphone 3G.

 

[Van Wildonher]

Like other people have been saying, there isn't free wifi everywhere in the world. Tethering is good for them, plus the iPhone isn't even great for web browsing. Sure it get's the job done, and it is better than the rest but it's still no laptop.

 

[question fear]

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.

AFAIK ATT does allow it for regular phones and smartphones as long as it isn't abused. They'll let you tether, but if you pull down several gb a month they might get testy.

For people who consistently need an always-on laptop connection, that's what HSDPA and EV-DO pc cards are designed for, and tethering is for the occasional "let me just grab this while I'm waiting for the train" type use.

 

[Stike]

Its simple as that: No tethering for iPhone, no iPhone for me.

*hugs my phone that supports it*

 

[kjs862]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

I think if Apple wants to be taken seriously in the business market they should work on making tethering an option.

 

[Some_Big_Spoon]

you have to think that if anyone could make tethering work, and make the experience great, it would be Apple. I'd expect 3g laptop to come out from them in 12 months or less. That way, you have to buy 2 devices, and 2 plans. Everyone wins! (but you)

 

[Tosser]

you have to think that if anyone could make tethering work, and make the experience great, it would be Apple. I'd expect 3g laptop to come out from them in 12 months or less. That way, you have to buy 2 devices, and 2 plans. Everyone wins! (but you)

Haha, indeed.

Now, that 3G laptop won't be just any laptop. It will be called "Airpro", or for them café latte drinking people: "Prair(e)".
It will feature a 2GB harddisk, because as Steve said at the Stevenote, "The future is online-storage!"
Therefore Apple introduces a new service targeted at pros with a price of a measly 400 US$/year.
The idea is that, as Steve said at the Stevenote, "Why use precious hard disk space on your computer when you can store and use - not only your documents - but also all your apps* online?"

The new pro service which features an astounding 2GB (yes, you heard right) of storage you can store all of your apps, write you report, yes, even edit your audio and video**/***/****
The online servic will be called MobileYou, or as it will be known among the consumers: F...You.


*Apps to purchased through the new App-store in iTunes.
** 3G service depending. Unlimited, with a maximum of 500MB download/month.
*** Apps only to be use online.
****All content created using these applications cannot be used commercially, unless Apple agrees to such matters in writing, and the customer have paid a license fee for each commercial use and/or session (size of which is to be determined).

P.S. "praire" in french: Hard shell clam.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Way to add to the suck-level, AT&T. Provide 3g, but keep it slow, and now attempt to retard the data usage to boot.

This is not hundred dollar a month service.

Apple's got a great potential product, held back by a handful of issues they refuse to address, and about the crappiest service provider in the nation.

Looking forward to the competition catching up, and lighting the fire under Apples ass, both to add the glaring omissions to the OS, and to demand a better companion service from their providers. Market share isn't forever.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I was going to not be a part of the hack installs anymore - but i'm hoping someone hacks a tethering program now - this is so lame.

They did. Once you've jailbroken, you can tether to your hearts content.

Sort of. As with everything on this thing, there's a catch.

It's based on your local wireless lan. You need to set up your phone and your computer on a wireless network with a router, & then enable internut sharing. They apparently can't run it ad hoc.

Not very practical when you're out in the field and you don't have a router handy. The iPhone is still the one phone that does everything halfway.

But it sure looks pretty.

 

[jahsavi]

Wow, would that work or would that breech some fine print in At&t?

To me alot of the posters are selling themself short. Even if they don't need to tether, they should see the principle involved. We should be able to use the data connection however we want. (Well except for illegal matters.)

Tethering has always been one of my hopes. I am a freelance web designer and sometimes do work away from the home or wifi connection. Thankfully, I can go to Corner Bakery or now Starbucks to use their wifi, but honestly it would be nice to us the phone tethering.

Think about this:

I already spend $30 bucks a month through AT&T for fast Dsl. If I get the Iphone, I will be spending $30-45 bucks a month for unlimited data. And if I purchased something like Verizon's usb modem then thats another $30+ a month. Come on. Sheesh. Give us freaking Tethering as most of us already have high broadband costs already. And if not for the principle think about this? Since alot of people on here said they won't even use it, those that will use it won't eat too terrible much more data.

It should be seen as the classic buffet. You have those that won't hardly eat much and those that will eat a ton, but they balance it out. Come on At&t give use the buffet, you already charging outrageous for it.

Well of course I want to stay legal and I recommend that everyone does. I still need to research a little more. I would say that putting your sim in a internet card would be o.k. but duplicating it would not.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Well of course I want to stay legal and I recommend that everyone does. I still need to research a little more. I would say that putting your sim in a internet card would be o.k. but duplicating it would not.

Oh no, there's nothing illegal about it, but there's a little bit in there that says if they see your account downloading more data than whatever they deem average, they can decide to bill you for it, at whatever rate they decide.

So downloading a hundred torrents is probably not what you want to do. Downloading your email or using Apollo is the same amount of data that'd be going to your phone anyway.

"Unlimited" doesn't really mean unlimited.

 

[gnasher729]

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?

Why would you insist on "unrestricted, unlimited" tethering?

The data plan that you get with your iPhone is priced based on the expectation how much data an average iPhone user would download every month. The amount of data that I would download on a phone for phone use is much much less that what I would download in an average month on my computer. Tethering is needed for the times when I'm away from home.

In the UK, you can buy USB sticks that are basically a phone-tethering unit to plug into your laptop, with prices from £10 for 1GB, I think £20 for 3 GB and £35 for 7 GB, valid for one month. I think that is quite reasonable for its purpose, and having that as an option for the iPhone would be nice. There is no need to download a Linux distribution (5 GB), seven different versions of the iPhone SDK (> 1 GB each), or HD movies (>> 1 GB each) using your mobile phone, you can do that at home. But being able to do web browsing on my MacBook _anywhere_, that would be useful.

 

[iJon]

Why would you insist on "unrestricted, unlimited" tethering?

The data plan that you get with your iPhone is priced based on the expectation how much data an average iPhone user would download every month. The amount of data that I would download on a phone for phone use is much much less that what I would download in an average month on my computer. Tethering is needed for the times when I'm away from home.

In the UK, you can buy USB sticks that are basically a phone-tethering unit to plug into your laptop, with prices from £10 for 1GB, I think £20 for 3 GB and £35 for 7 GB, valid for one month. I think that is quite reasonable for its purpose, and having that as an option for the iPhone would be nice. There is no need to download a Linux distribution (5 GB), seven different versions of the iPhone SDK (> 1 GB each), or HD movies (>> 1 GB each) using your mobile phone, you can do that at home. But being able to do web browsing on my MacBook _anywhere_, that would be useful.

Look, it's very simple. People are complaining about it because you can tether on other phones that are offered by cell companies worldwide. I used to do it with my Sony Ericsson. My friend does it with his BlackBerry.

ATT can handle the bandwidth, they just want people to pay another monthly fee for an Expresscard or USB dongle to get online.

jon

 

[savar]

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

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

Actually, I tether to my dumb device all the time. I have a motorola flip phone that allows bluetooth tethering. I think it's great for things like SSH (remote shell) where I want quick access to something on a server. It's much easier to do on a laptop than it would be on an iphone screen, but the bandwidth is negligible compared to what the iphone is downloading from the web.

Of course, neither my phone nor my provider (Verizon) supports this option officially, but I made it work anyway Hopefully there are similar workarounds for the iphone. There's no way for AT&T to tell if traffic is tunneled through the iphone or not. As long as you're doing low bandwidth stuff, why would they even care?

 

[sunfast]

Disappointing but hardly unexpected. It would be awesome if it was allowed though, maybe one day...

 

[wildmilne]

As others mentioned, totally lame but not surprising...apple sold their soul to AT&T on this one...if only they could have come out with an unlocked, uncrippled phone to be used on any network...even for the premium $

 

[Dontdothat317]

For heavy broadband use via a laptop, I'm just going to wait for a WiFi station. But if I decide to get the Iphone over the Tilt, it will definately get hacked but I would only tether when absolutely necessary (IE, not the unlimited freedom you would have accessing 3G from just th Iphone) like when I'm on the road or camping somewhere I have reception or on the beach.

Its a real bummer and the fact that the Iphone has to be hacked to enable a feature that EVERY OTHER 3G PHONE HAS, kind of irks me, although it really doesn't matter in the long run.