Can you get caught for tethering?

[chmcke01]

I know that you can tether by deleting the tethering manager file, but can you get caught this way? I just saw a youtube video of a guy today who was ranting about having his unlimited data taken away because somehow they caught him tethering and told him that tethering was not allowed on that plan...so they automatically switched him to the $45 4GB plan that allows tethering.

He even called and said he wouldn't tether if they switched him back and they said no.

I don't have an unlimited plan anyway but I would hate to have my $15 data plan automatically "upgraded" to a $45 plan just because I tether every now and then.

Is there anything you can do to prevent AT&T from being able to tell that you are tethering?

 

[sailador]

if you just tether like 500 megs or so a month I dont think they would catch you

 

[moosc]

This isn't new there are proticals in phone and there network that tells if your tethering. Att has been really going after tethering espicialy the iPhone crowd. Vzw has stated they will switch your plan if they thank your ublimtrd uasage is to high. T-Mobile just slows your speeds.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[gray21t]

I know that you can tether by deleting the tethering manager file, but can you get caught this way? I just saw a youtube video of a guy today who was ranting about having his unlimited data taken away because somehow they caught him tethering and told him that tethering was not allowed on that plan...so they automatically switched him to the $45 4GB plan that allows tethering.

He even called and said he wouldn't tether if they switched him back and they said no.

I don't have an unlimited plan anyway but I would hate to have my $15 data plan automatically "upgraded" to a $45 plan just because I tether every now and then.

Is there anything you can do to prevent AT&T from being able to tell that you are tethering?

What tethering manager file?

 

[chmcke01]

What tethering manager file?

tetheringmanager2 file.

 

[dmcincubus]

Ha. Glad he got busted.

 

[chmcke01]

Ha. Glad he got busted.

Why? It is outrageous for a phone company to have any control over what you use the data for. I only have a 200 MB plan but if I want to tether that should be my business not theirs.

It is a little different if you have an unlimited plan but the guy said he didn't tether much at all.

Either way, for people who pay based on how much they use it shouldn't matter if you tether or not.

 

[dmcincubus]

why is it outrageous? It's their data. Their towers. Their rules. Pretty simple. Yeah, I don't like being limited to 2gigs, but it is what it is. I use my wifi a lot and can rack up the gigabytes I want.

 

[dmcincubus]

If att didn't force tethering rules, people would be dropping broadband Internet like crazy. I know I would. It's bad for business. Att is in it to make money. They'd be stupid if they let anyone with an unlimited plan to tether.

 

[chmcke01]

why is it outrageous? It's their data. Their towers. Their rules. Pretty simple. Yeah, I don't like being limited to 2gigs, but it is what it is. I use my wifi a lot and can rack up the gigabytes I want.

So, you have a 2 GB plan. If you use 1.9 GB in a month why should it matter whether it was all on the phone or if some was by tethering to your laptop? If you are paying for 2GB per month for data it shouldn't be relevant how it is used.

 

[chmcke01]

If att didn't force tethering rules, people would be dropping broadband Internet like crazy. I know I would. It's bad for business. Att is in it to make money. They'd be stupid if they let anyone with an unlimited plan to tether.

With an unlimited plan I agree, however what is the point of being grandfathered in then? There was no rule against using the plan to tether at the time most people signed up for unlimited plans.

 

[dmcincubus]

Because att is a business. If you want to use your computer or laptop to get on the Internet, they hope you use their dsl or uverse. And yeah, unlimited is unlimited, but there is always a handful of people who abuse such privileges and take advantage of unlimited. And that's all it takes.

 

[dmcincubus]

So, you have a 2 GB plan. If you use 1.9 GB in a month why should it matter whether it was all on the phone or if some was by tethering to your laptop? If you are paying for 2GB per month for data it shouldn't be relevant how it is used.

I get what you're saying, but let's go about another extreme: what if someone does nothing but stream movies off Netflix while tethering and racks up over 100gigs of data in a month? And really, it's not hard to do. If people could get away with it, they would be doing it. I would, you would, we all would. Att can't allow people with unlimited data to tether. Too many people would abuse it. Simple.

 

[chmcke01]

Because att is a business. If you want to use your computer or laptop to get on the Internet, they hope you use their dsl or uverse. And yeah, unlimited is unlimited, but there is always a handful of people who abuse such privileges and take advantage of unlimited. And that's all it takes.

Time Warner is a business and I can still use a splitter on my cable to run cable to my bedroom TV as well as the one in the living room. In addition to that I have 8 devices hooked to my cable internet. I don't have to pay more to let a friend use my wifi when they come over (and I rightfully shouldn't).

If AT&T can tell me how I use my allotted data, whats next? Are they going to start telling me I can only put ringtones on my phone that I purchased from them?

 

[chmcke01]

I get what you're saying, but let's go about another extreme: what if someone does nothing but stream movies off Netflix while tethering and racks up over 100gigs of data in a month? And really, it's not hard to do. If people could get away with it, they would be doing it. I would, you would, we all would. Att can't allow people with unlimited data to tether. Too many people would abuse it. Simple.

I have already said I completely agree with you when it comes to unlimited plans. I am talking about the limited plans. When you are paying for X amount of data it should not matter how it is used.

 

[dmcincubus]

Using data over the air is a little different than using data through a cable. Att and Verizon have issues in major cities with dropped calls and interference. Ever try calling during a major sporting event with 60000 people around you? It's tough. And that's just making a call. Imagine if people are streaming movies and such while tethering and clogging up the network.

As far as tethering with a 2GB plan.... Yeah, I get what you're saying. I don't see anything wrong with tethering if you stay within your 2 gigs.

 

[chmcke01]

Using data over the air is a little different than using data through a cable. Att and Verizon have issues in major cities with dropped calls and interference. Ever try calling during a major sporting event with 60000 people around you? It's tough. And that's just making a call. Imagine if people are streaming movies and such while tethering and clogging up the network.

As far as tethering with a 2GB plan.... Yeah, I get what you're saying. I don't see anything wrong with tethering if you stay within your 2 gigs.

I couldn't imagine, I live in a rural area in Kentucky (although big enough to have our own university) and I can tell a noticeable increase in the difficulty of making calls on move in day when all students and their families come to town.

Now that we are on the same page, is there a way to keep AT&T from knowing that I am tethering if I do? I know it is unlikely that they will catch me if I am just tethering a little but I would like to do everything I can to ensure it.

I was reading that there used to be an app that somehow kept them from finding out but AT&T had it removed from the Market. Anyone know what it is called or where I can find it?

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

No way that I've heard of. They just choose to ignore the "small time" offenders.

I agree that your 2gbs should be able to be used however you want (I'm not on an unlimited plan), but AT&T will do whatever they can to make money until they are forced to change.

Also, it's worth noting that I can connect as many devices to my cable internet, but I still have a 250gb limit. Maybe (fingers crossed and hopefully) when LTE or LTE Advanced rolls out in a big way across multiple carriers we'll see the return of unlimited data. It's not likely but a guy can dream right?

Sent from my SGS II

 

[tunie]

I have unlimited data for my phone. Because tethering involves another device, they want to charge for that. Data plans used to be by account. Now data plans are linked to each device on an account. I think it's rude. Maybe I wouldn't feel so used, abused and misused if their network connectivity was better. In the end, they lose out on getting any more money out of me because I will not buy a tablet and I will not tether. I can live without both. I'd like to have botb, of course, but I'm not paying the ridiculous amount of money they want for it. We need more providers to leverage some competition against the big 3.

 

[derande]

The problem is the companies definition of "unlimited". Its false advertising to sell an unlimited plan when in reality they do limit a user's bandwidth usage. Transparency goes a long way in a user/provider relationship.