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iPhone So, do tethering apps work or do carriers block it?
- Thread starter ntegra
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Tethering apps work but they cannot hide that you are tethering from your carrier, so you may get a warning letter, or get charged.
Many threads here about this already.
Slightly confusing = A "non Wifi iPad" - all iPads have wifi plus you can get an iPad that uses a sim card in addition.
So if the phone and iPad both have a sim, why tether.
Many threads here about this already.
Slightly confusing = A "non Wifi iPad" - all iPads have wifi plus you can get an iPad that uses a sim card in addition.
So if the phone and iPad both have a sim, why tether.
Lots of people CLAIM certain packages hide or don't hide usage.
They don't *know*.
I used MyWi for years with my AT&T "Unlimited" plan without so much as a peep from them.
But then I've seen people swear MyWi will instantly get you caught.
They don't *know*.
I used MyWi for years with my AT&T "Unlimited" plan without so much as a peep from them.
But then I've seen people swear MyWi will instantly get you caught.
If they look (and look hard enough) they will know. The question is do they care enough to look hard. I am sure there are human factors invloved, how the person feels who is looking at the report that day.
If you tether without a tether plan you run the risk of being caught. I say go for it, use whichever app you want (i use tetherme).
I suggest you stay within 10% of your average monthly usuage (without tethering) and hop for the best.
I have Verizon (currently) they are not as anal about it as AT&T
If you tether without a tether plan you run the risk of being caught. I say go for it, use whichever app you want (i use tetherme).
I suggest you stay within 10% of your average monthly usuage (without tethering) and hop for the best.
I have Verizon (currently) they are not as anal about it as AT&T
Ive used Tetherme on Verizon, and ive reached 28gb last month. No warning of tethering yet
It is too bad there's not a Jailbreak FAQ on MR. (maybe there is and I missed it).
This has to be one of the most asked questions.
Q: Have people without a tethering plan been caught by their carrier?
A: Yes. However, it was years ago when ATT had an unlimited data plan and their tethering plan was stupidly expensive.
Q: Do the various jb tethering apps block or hide tethering really work?
A: The only app that claim this, AFAIK, is PDANet. However, the lack of reports from a PDANet user getting caught doesn't prove anything since you can't prove a negative, e.g., I used TetherMe and used xx gigs of data and wasn't caught. Proves nothing.
Q: Can tethering really be masked?
A: No. If the carrier really wants to dig into their network logs, they can find you. The question is not can they find you, the question is "Is it worth the trouble and cost to find you?"
Q: Do we know what criteria carriers would use to find you?
A: No.
Q: Does not using more data than you typically use mean you wont get caught?
A: No.
Q: Then what will ensure I don't get caught?
A: Buying a tethering plan.
Q: Will I go crazy if I have to track all my tethering usage?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the argument that data is data and carriers should not distinguish how you use data a new argument?
A: No.
Q: Then why do carriers distinguish data from your phone and data from tethering and charge for it?
A: Because they can. Get over it.
Q: Does complaining on a discussion forum help?
A: No.
Q: What can we do about it?
A: Switch carriers.
Q: Are there any new arguments about tethering and carriers?
A: No.
My Conclusions
1. The carriers have addressed this in other ways. They've lowered the price of their tethering plans, throttling old unlimited plans when certain data thresholds are reached are just two examples.
2. Before asking questions related to tethering they need to ask themselves a simple question:
Q: What's the worst that can happen?
A: The carrier discovers it and sends you an email/letter to stop or buy a tethering plan.
Even ATT gave people a warning before automatically adding the tethering option to someones account and this was years ago.
This has to be one of the most asked questions.
Q: Have people without a tethering plan been caught by their carrier?
A: Yes. However, it was years ago when ATT had an unlimited data plan and their tethering plan was stupidly expensive.
Q: Do the various jb tethering apps block or hide tethering really work?
A: The only app that claim this, AFAIK, is PDANet. However, the lack of reports from a PDANet user getting caught doesn't prove anything since you can't prove a negative, e.g., I used TetherMe and used xx gigs of data and wasn't caught. Proves nothing.
Q: Can tethering really be masked?
A: No. If the carrier really wants to dig into their network logs, they can find you. The question is not can they find you, the question is "Is it worth the trouble and cost to find you?"
Q: Do we know what criteria carriers would use to find you?
A: No.
Q: Does not using more data than you typically use mean you wont get caught?
A: No.
Q: Then what will ensure I don't get caught?
A: Buying a tethering plan.
Q: Will I go crazy if I have to track all my tethering usage?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the argument that data is data and carriers should not distinguish how you use data a new argument?
A: No.
Q: Then why do carriers distinguish data from your phone and data from tethering and charge for it?
A: Because they can. Get over it.
Q: Does complaining on a discussion forum help?
A: No.
Q: What can we do about it?
A: Switch carriers.
Q: Are there any new arguments about tethering and carriers?
A: No.
My Conclusions
1. The carriers have addressed this in other ways. They've lowered the price of their tethering plans, throttling old unlimited plans when certain data thresholds are reached are just two examples.
2. Before asking questions related to tethering they need to ask themselves a simple question:
Q: What's the worst that can happen?
A: The carrier discovers it and sends you an email/letter to stop or buy a tethering plan.
Even ATT gave people a warning before automatically adding the tethering option to someones account and this was years ago.
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IMO, it's easy to see why. I think it's because of what they've implemented, specifically, throttling the grandfathered unlimited data plans above a certain usage.
And Verizon may appear better, but remember they made a big deal about unlimited data plans then stopped them after a relatively short period of time. Carriers who offer unlimited data are not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. They are doing it to gain market share from the other carriers.
If people would take the emotion out of it, it is easy to see why no business can offer permanent, unlimited anything. Why? Because their infrastructure (cellular, towers, etc.) is not unlimited. This is not rocket science.
If it were your business, with a capacity of 10 gigs, would you rather give 10 people a 1 gig plan or 1 person an unlimited plan? A simplistic example, but accurate I think.
I have AT&T and used to use MyWi back in 2011 to tether to my iPad, nothing heavy, I got text messages saying they were going to take away my unlimited plan.
I've been scared to try PDANet
I've been scared to try PDANet
Just FYI I was recently in the US put myself on the 50 unlimited plan including data, tethered it with my laptop as well as my friends iPhone, I don't remb if I needed an app to tether but I do have jb tetherme either way I didn't use it to download movies or anything and I used it for close to 2 weeks with no issues.
I emailed the author of PDANet and he said he has no idea how AT&T are detecting it since his app uses the same APN as any other data stream on the phone. They must be using some kind of deep packet inspection.
I have a weak theory that if I only tether my wifi iPad through PDANet on my iPhone that I won't be caught as opposed to tethering the laptop but alas
So now I just run iTransmission on the iPhone and pull down 650MB Linux distros and never a peep from AT&T about it.
So 35GB download via PDANet is bad but 35 GB through pandora/Netflix is ok.
They dont block the app, they block you
In other words if they notice it they can switch your data plan to a tiered data plan with tethering.
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Nope, that's a myth.
Plenty got caught before by AT&T using PdaNet.
I think you only get caught when you download huge files etc, I tethered for regular browsing and had no issues. Just a guess tho.