droid 2.2 tethering?

[mps623]

S Verizon gonna charge me if I use the USB tethering feature on the phone? Or should I stick with pdanet and wifi wireless tether? What are your thoughts on this topic.thanks

 

[terpitude71]

unknown so far. carriers will likely have the option to lock this feature out if they choose when the official release happens, but unless they decide to change their rate plans a la AT&T, it would appear they wont charge you additional for it.

 

[corydunbar]

this is essentially the same thing as using the wireless tether root application. so yes, verizon does have the ability to know that you are using it. But, no if you don't go over 5GB. They likely wont even confront you.

 

[dagostin]

yeah, whether usb tethering via froyo or pdanet or wireless tether for root, it's more or less the same end game. if verizon can detect the difference in the packets being sent over the network, they can detect it. I wouldn't worry about it, but as it goes,these things should not be abused imo.

In terms of 5GB limit, for me at least, this is an artificial number, as my plan is definitely unlimited. When I upgraded my contract I specifically asked whether there were caveats attached (i.e. its unlimited but capped at 5GB what???) and they said no, its unlimited. However, tethering is considered a feature/upgrade and often carriers will charge extra solely to use this. Verizon did have plans to offer tethering for an extra 30 bucks a month for 5GB, but this was exclusively for the tethering addition and WHEN it became available. This had nothing to do with your 30 bucks a month unlimited data... Sounds contradictory i know, but thats what they told me. All this said, this was back in nov when I first got my droid, so who knows now.

 

[PJnc284]

The term "unlimited" is a little vague. For all intents and purposes, it covers the average person's usage. I doubt you'll get charged overages, but Verizon does have the right to terminate you if you're using a ridiculous amount of bandwidth and are possibly harming their network in the TOS. How much they'll allow and whether or not they've actually used that clause is something no one seems to know. They could also easily assume that you're tethering by going over a certain number. I've found it very hard to exceed 5GB of data unless your streaming constantly or tethering. And it's not a question of if verizon will go to tiered data plans like AT&T but when so the point will likely be moot in a matter of years.

 

[corydunbar]

Just dont use your Droid as your torrent, hulu, and youtube source and you'll never really have to worry about it. not to mention all of those would be quite hindered by 3G anyway.

 

[asdr24]

I use my Droid to tether a fair amount and only go to around 3 to 3.5 gigabits a month. I have yet to hear anything from Verizon but I keep my fingers crossed lol

 

[takeshi]

Gigabits? It's rare that anyone tracks usage in bits...

 

[gpf2ez]

I just tried using the USB tether and was brought to a proxy page asking me to sign up for a $25/month tether fee. I have had no issues using the wifi tether for root.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UK5Yxnmsst5Mb5hbqo5raP1FEYQ-SZabVB9Ku4xweOY?feat=directlink

 

[pstinger]

@gpf2ez, what ROM / kernel are you using... I can't get wifi tethering to work for me.

 

[gpf2ez]

Bugless Beast V0.4 / 2.6.32-medV-1.2Ghz the kernel is from Chevy
Baseband is C_01.3E.03P

 

[watersrules]

Gigabits? It's rare that anyone tracks usage in bits...

good stuff!

 

[Melon Bread]

@gpf2ez, what ROM / kernel are you using... I can't get wifi tethering to work for me.

I think he is using the app
android-wifi-tether - Project Hosting on Google Code