Carriers cracking down on tethering apps.

[fluidj]

So now that carriers are cracking down on tethering apps in the market, is there anything that we can/should do to ensure that we retain the apps we already own and are able to continue using them? I use Wireless Tether. How do I go about extracting the .apk in order to always have it available to sideload since it won't be available in the market anymore?

 

[anon(94115)]

Not sure about the APK, but mybackup and Ti backup should keep you in business. Someone else will have to let you in on the APK end of things. I imagine if you paid for the app, that the developer will keep up on it to keep selling it, but I really have no idea on that one, just a thought

 

[motoprof]

I was pondering your question so I opened my Titanium Backup copy of Barnacle and long pressed on it. It gave me the option of moving it to the sdcard.

Then I opened Root Explorer, and did a search for Barnacle WiFi. Once I found the apk file, I long held it and up came a whole lot of options. Not sure which one to choose but there are many and maybe someone else knows more about which one to choose.

Then again, very soon someone will post a link to them and we will be thanking all our community friends. I hope I helped in some way.

 

[willenium_1217]

Someone will always have the APK somewhere. I mean, Wireless tether is on a code.google.com site. If you go there from your phone or your computer you can get it. No one can stop anyone from making the apps. Unless they stop allowing third party apps to be installed! That would totally suck. The question is now, what happens to the people and companies who are making these apps? Are they going to be sued or are they just going to be left alone? Tether has a lot of customers. This will be interesting.

 

[Clak]

How can Verizon even do this? I didn't know carriers had the right to limit what we can download from the market. And for that matter, how are they even able to do it?

 

[Mikeric]

Here is the link to wireless Tether from Google code.

http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/downloads/list

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

 

[anon(94115)]

How can Verizon even do this? I didn't know carriers had the right to limit what we can download from the market. And for that matter, how are they even able to do it?

check your contract....or, and i am really being serious, this could go against the DCMA. Using a minor application to circumvent the bigger picture...

Just a thought on that one

 

[anon(94115)]

I told you the tethering police were coming, and now they are here | ZDNet

 

[fluidj]

How can Verizon even do this? I didn't know carriers had the right to limit what we can download from the market. And for that matter, how are they even able to do it?

Well somehow they are blocking it from populating in the market search results. Not sure how they are pulling it off though.

 

[JeremytheIndian]

Well somehow they are blocking it from populating in the market search results. Not sure how they are pulling it off though.

They did the same thing with Google Earth when we were on Eclair...

 

[Chrisy]

The tethering app I like, simply called "Tether" is still available in the Market. It's the same price as it is in BlackBerry App World when I got it there.

http://market.android.com/details?id=tether.android.premium

 

[joebob2000]

It seems pretty simple that verizon (in our case) would go to google and insist that for any tethering app that the fascinate (again in our case) not show up on the device compatibility list. Lather, rinse, repeat for any carrier/device combo with a contract to stick to.

All that really means is that tether app devs cant collect money from the market for selling their apps to verizon customers. You can always get the apk from the dev's site and install it after unchecking the third party app restriction; none of the free ones (that i have tried) are exclusive to the market. Long live barnacle!

 

[Clak]

If that's the case and Google is doing it for them I'll be really pissed at Google. Not because I even use these apps much, but I don't like the idea of any carrier deciding what we can or can't download and install to our phones.

 

[fluidj]

I just hope that with enough pressure, the carriers will see how silly it is. I'd almost rather just see a usage cap rather than restricting tethering all together. We already pay a hefty sum for 3G data as it is, no reason we should have to pay another premium to consume the same data we're already consuming....

 

[wyllic]

I just hope that with enough pressure, the carriers will see how silly it is. I'd almost rather just see a usage cap rather than restricting tethering all together. We already pay a hefty sum for 3G data as it is, no reason we should have to pay another premium to consume the same data we're already consuming....

It's not really the same data, it's a lot more. And it puts a larger strain on the network, so understandably verizon doesn't want you doing it for free.

 

[MrSmith317]

So all the devs need to do is emulate an android phone running on T-mobile or sprint to get the tether apps back in our market? With all the market hacks for unauthorized tablets out there, that sounds pretty easy(not that I'd know how to do it)

 

[wyllic]

They could, but honestly, just google the name of the tethering app download the apk, place it on your SD card and install via Root Explorer or whatever. There's also a workaround for the market, I think I saw it here in this thread but I'm not sure so I'll repost.

Turn on Airplane mode (Turn off Network Data) and turn on Wifi, use your Wifi connection to browse the market, it should show up now since the market can't tell what carrier you're on. I know I found barnacle on there yesterday this way, and downloaded it just to have it in case I ever needed it.

 

[nugiene]

it actually is the same data, it doesnt change devices when you tether.the data is routed theough your phone. the carriers pay for bandwidth not data packets, we pay for bandwidth and not data packets as well. when they charge us for data they make more profit. that is all this is about. profit.

 

[joebob2000]

It's not really the same data, it's a lot more. And it puts a larger strain on the network, so understandably verizon doesn't want you doing it for free.

I try to stay out of flame wars but the idea that tethering automagically causes usage to go up exponentially is quite silly. The usage *might* go up. Just like a meteor *might* hit my car in the parking lot. They don't have anything but top-tier pricing for 3g on the handset (30/mo for unlimited) and they dont have anything but top-tier pricing for 3g via tether/BBC (20/mo for 2GB) and it burns up at the end of the month.

The bottom line is, it's a money grab. They could offer ala carte tethering (pay per MB) and people would love it (unless it was something outrageous like 5 bucks per meg). Instead they want you to commit to at least a month and a hefty price. Why?

The popularity of tether apps demonstrate a serious failure in the verizon marketing strategy. Just like with movies/cds/tv/etc., if you don't give people what they want at a price they want, they wont' just cringe and pay more because you forced them... They will find some other way to get it for free.

Verizon is at a crossroads: come up with a better way to sell tethering, or start cracking down on people because they don't like the (wrong) way it's being done today. And we are now witnessing which side they want to take.

 

[wyllic]

The popularity of tether apps demonstrate a serious failure in the verizon marketing strategy. Just like with movies/cds/tv/etc., if you don't give people what they want at a price they want, they wont' just cringe and pay more because you forced them... They will find some other way to get it for free.

I'm sorry but your logic is deeply flawed. You're basically saying theft is ok if you don't agree with their pricing. People will continue to pirate movies, music, etc up until it's all free just because people can be cheap. That doesn't make it ok, that doesn't mean that the companies shouldn't be allowed to charge what they feel is fair. If you don't like it, don't pay for it, but stealing is stealing, whether it's a movie, a CD or bandwidth.