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Tethering or no tethering

A

AbjectEvolution

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 14, 2009
286
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I just bought a MBP and am highly considering paying for tethering. I called up AT&T and of course found out that you have to downgrade your data plan to 2g. I was hoping to keep it at unlimited but I guess it makes sense.

I was just curious... how many of you are going to go ahead with the tethering plan, and why? Do you think you'll have trouble keeping within the 2g limit?
 
AbjectEvolution said:
I just bought a MBP and am highly considering paying for tethering. I called up AT&T and of course found out that you have to downgrade your data plan to 2g. I was hoping to keep it at unlimited but I guess it makes sense.

I was just curious... how many of you are going to go ahead with the tethering plan, and why? Do you think you'll have trouble keeping within the 2g limit?
Click to expand...

Easy. Just wait for a jailbreak and get it for free.
 
I was considering going with ATT tethering, but there's no way to use it with my iPad, so I am sticking with jb and MyWi.
 
i agree with everyone, keep your unlimited plan and jb it and use mywi.
 
I jailbroke my iPhone for about 6 months and eventually went back to being legit. At the time, it made the phone sluggish and glitchy... and I lost all of my saved games more than once. Everything seems more reliable and stable when you go legit. But to save $20 and get unlimited data... hmm...
 
There is no additional data provided with the tethering. You are basically paying $20/mo for the ability to access your data plan from a different device. You are still bound to the 2GB data cap. I think it's BS you don't even get an extra gig or anything. What a ripoff. :rolleyes:
 
MikePA said:
I was considering going with ATT tethering, but there's no way to use it with my iPad, so I am sticking with jb and MyWi.
Click to expand...

seriously? Att tethering doesn't work with ipad? that would be the only reason i would get it that is lame. oh well.....
 
If you don't plan to use tethering frequently, why not add/remove it only when you need it? I posted this in another thread:

jkozlow3 said:
Tethering is a feature and can be added and removed via the AT&T My Wireless app on your iPhone as needed. If you have the 2GB data plan already, the only thing that should be prorated is the $20 tethering feature if you delete the feature when you're done.

I tether (very) infrequently with all the free hotspots available these days and plan on adding it on an as-needed basis directly from my phone. It'll cost $.67/day and you're still bound by your 2GB limits, so no data usage should be prorated.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this is my plan and I don't see why it wouldn't work like any other features which can be added/removed at will.
Click to expand...
 
I guess my main issue is losing my unlimited data plan... but it's not like I hit even 1g of data right now. That will change with tethering though.
 
frunkis54 said:
seriously? Att tethering doesn't work with ipad? that would be the only reason i would get it that is lame. oh well.....
Click to expand...

Unless Apple comes out with a new firmware for the iPad that allows bluetooth to see the iPhone or allows some kind of tethering using the docking port, it's not possible. I'm not sure an iPhone with a tethering plan would work via BT. :(

The Verizon MiFi solution, which works with any WiFi capable device, is $39.99 for 250 megs, $59.99 for 5 gigs.
 
i dont understand how jailbreaking your phone made it sluggish and why you lost your games, but ive never heard of that before. maybe it was bad luck. if i were you, consider jailbreaking again and use mywi. good luck.
 
AbjectEvolution said:
I guess my main issue is losing my unlimited data plan... but it's not like I hit even 1g of data right now. That will change with tethering though.
Click to expand...

Depends on how much you tether I guess. An hour here or there shouldn't add much data usage if you're not downloading large files over a 3G connection.

Seriously, how often do people need to tether these days? Most coffeeshops have free wifi and Starbucks is adding free wifi soon. Same with hotels - I can't remember the last time I stayed in one without free wifi.

The only times I've personally thought tethering would be useful is while waiting around at the airport. In those instances, I've just paid to use the Boingo wireless connection which is available at pretty much all airports these days. Now I'll just add tethering on my phone via the AT&T My Wireless app and pay the $.67 prorated amount for that day and remove the feature when I'm done. That'll save the $7.95/day fee that Boingo charges ($9.95/mo unlimited, but I don't need it that often).

I suppose tethering could also come in handy if you wanted to go sit and use your laptop in a park or other remote area, but I've personally never done that.

What other scenarios do people need to tether in which they could go over 2GB on AT&T's network with so many free wifi hotspots available these days? I must be overlooking some, but it just seems like the need to tether would be few and far between for most people.
 
No tethering until AT&T has a competitor and is actually forced to compete. I had an aircard from AT&T a few months ago, and they give you the 5gb limit. I was so scared while browsing the web on the go. I had to avoid videos, and all interactive websites. Using it only an hour per day got me to 4gb, and that's being really careful.

There's no way 2gb is enough.
 
callmemike20 said:
No tethering until AT&T has a competitor and is actually forced to compete. I had an aircard from AT&T a few months ago, and they give you the 5gb limit. I was so scared while browsing the web on the go. I had to avoid videos, and all interactive websites. Using it only an hour per day got me to 4gb, and that's being really careful.

There's no way 2gb is enough.
Click to expand...

But...

If you had made a conscious decision to use wifi hotspots instead (where available), I bet you'd have stayed well under 4GB. This obviously depends on where you were and if hotspots were available (you could have been out in the woods for all I know). But if using wifi in hotels, coffeeshops, etc I would think the need to tether (or use an aircard) should be minimal for most.

I agree that 2GB wouldn't be nearly enough if you used your laptop every day with AT&T's network as your primary means of connectivity. But I'm just trying to understand what situations people could be in where they don't have free wifi available most of the time.
 
if you already have an iphone, why don't you just get a microsim converter (http://www.microsim-shop.com) and put your sim card into your jailbroken old 3G/3GS when you need to tether? i plan on wiping my 3G clean and jailbreaking it with MyWi as its only application
 
callmemike20 said:
I was so scared while browsing the web on the go. I had to avoid videos, and all interactive websites. Using it only an hour per day got me to 4gb, and that's being really careful.

There's no way 2gb is enough.
Click to expand...

I call this BS.
There's no way to download/use up 4GB's of data on an average of 30hours of internet use with just browsing websites. With no videos or big downloads.
 
jkozlow3 said:
But...

If you had made a conscious decision to use wifi hotspots instead (where available), I bet you'd have stayed well under 4GB. This obviously depends on where you were and if hotspots were available (you could have been out in the woods for all I know). But if using wifi in hotels, coffeeshops, etc I would think the need to tether should be minimal for most.

I agree that 2GB wouldn't be nearly enough if you used your laptop every day with AT&T's network as your primary means of connectivity. But I'm just trying to understand what situations people could be in where they don't have free wifi available most of the time.
Click to expand...


Train ride to and from Chicago.
 
Applejuiced said:
I call this BS.
There's no way to download/use up 4GB's of data on an average of 30hours of internet use with just browsing websites. With no videos or big downloads.
Click to expand...

I should have been slightly more specific. It wasn't that I didn't watch any videos. I was simply scared when using the internet everyday. Every time I clicked on a link, or downloaded a file, I always had the same thing going through my mind: "how much data is this going to use up?" Thus, it wasn't that I didn't use them, but I was scared every time I did and I would avoid them at times.

I even broke it down to the amount of data I could use per day. So, if I was over the daily limit, I would slow down my usage for a while.
 
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