is rooting the only way to tether to a computer?

[dbrunell47]

i am new to android and i was wondering what are the benefits of rooting?
and do i need to root my device in order to tether to a computer?
or is there an app that will do it without rooting?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tmn72tx]

You can tether without rooting the phone. When you connect to the PC, it will show the connection on the Notifications. If you pull down the notifications and select PC connection, you can change it to disk drive, charge only, and so on. One of the options will be tether.
AT&T has a data plan for tethering. I don't know what will happen if you try to tether without having the plan set up (as in charges to your bill). One reason that some people will root the phone to tether is to avoid the extra charges imposed by AT&T.

 

[pazzo02]

You can tether without rooting the phone. When you connect to the PC, it will show the connection on the Notifications. If you pull down the notifications and select PC connection, you can change it to disk drive, charge only, and so on. One of the options will be tether.
AT&T has a data plan for tethering. I don't know what will happen if you try to tether without having the plan set up (as in charges to your bill). One reason that some people will root the phone to tether is to avoid the extra charges imposed by AT&T.

What will happen is that you'll get a nasty letter/message from AT&T warning you that if you continue to tether without the tethering plan, that they will switch you automatically. If you have unlimited data, you will lose it forever.

 

[ddiehl]

What will happen is that you'll get a nasty letter/message from AT&T warning you that if you continue to tether without the tethering plan, that they will switch you automatically. If you have unlimited data, you will lose it forever.

Clockwork Tether does not require root..

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.koushikdutta.tether

It used state that it was undetectable, but I believe the developer had to change the wording to keep it from getting removed from the Market.. It should be noted that AT&T has removed it but there is a link to the APK..

Good luck..

 

[ghostryder12]

What will happen is that you'll get a nasty letter/message from AT&T warning you that if you continue to tether without the tethering plan, that they will switch you automatically. If you have unlimited data, you will lose it forever.

And, AT&T will NOT let you go back to your plan before they switched you to the new plan which will include a tethering charge, and as pazzo02 advised, if you have an unlimited data plan, it will be gone forever.
A friend at work was streaming music via Pandora in his iPhone and he received the nasty letter from AT&T, even when he explained that he was streaming music and not tethering. They decided that he was tethering because of the amount of data used while he was streaming music. AT&T didn't care for his excuse, they said that he had to have been tethered to use that much data in one day. Go figure.

 

[oldescript]

I use PdaNet 3.0...works without a hitch and you don't have to root...warning...it's not free but it's a dead useful app!

 

[ddiehl]

I use PdaNet 3.0...works without a hitch and you don't have to root...warning...it's not free but it's a dead useful app!

...But it is detectable.. Clockwork Teather claims to be undetectable.. And it's only 5.00

 

[oldescript]

PdaNet 3.02 allows you to hide tethering!

 

[ddiehl]

There's a pretty big thread on the Atrix forum over at XDA about AT&T cracking down on those who are tethering. Apparently AT&T is sending out nasty text messages to those who are "illegally" tethering, and switching them to a tethering plan. Including folks using PDA..

AT&T Tethering Crackdown - Have you been served? - xda-developers

Guess I wanted to see if any Inspire users have been "served".. And if so, what method they were using..

 

[chris mart]

Rooting is not a essential thing. If you need to tether without rooting, there are free apps for that.