Sprint and free tethering

[Matthew Entrop]

Does Sprint really care if you tether without the add-on?

I've had Sprint for almost 2 years and have tethered the whole time as my primary source of internet (I live in the middle of nowhere with no good home internet services available). I've used as much as 30 gigs in a month with no problem (Constant Netflix streaming). However, I just got an upgrade and got a 4G phone. I've blown through 2.5 gigs (just tethering, another 2.5 gigs on phone) in 3 days since I got the phone. The only reason i'm worried now is due to the fact that on 4G you can blow through so much data, so fast.

Have any of you gotten the infamous letter from Sprint? I don't want to screw up my account because it's a family plan with the whole house on it. Should I be worried? I've been tethering 3G for 2 years with no problems but 4G uses way more data.

Edit: I remember seeing a thread on the Sprint Forums where a Sprint admin said to keep it on the down-low (Exact words, too), but 30 gigs isn't exactly on the down-low.
Edit2: Incase it matters it's LTE not WiMAX.

 

[Almeuit]

Do they care? Of course.. They want you to pay for it with the limit on it as well.

Now.. If your asking are they going to do anything about it? Most likely not.. They are very busy with NV and upgrading the towers to LTE.

Sent from my Sprint HTC One using AC forums.

 

[Matthew Entrop]

Do they care? Of course.. They want you to pay for it with the limit on it as well.

Now.. If your asking are they going to do anything about it? Most likely not.. They are very busy with NV and upgrading the towers to LTE.

Sent from my Sprint HTC One using AC forums.

That's a better way to say it I suppose.

 

[SenseMonkey]

I haven't necessarily been tethering but I've used a lot of data(38.71Gbs to be exact) and i haven't seen any slow down in data speeds nor received any letter from Sprint.

From my Sammy Galaxy S4

 

[Almeuit]

I haven't necessarily been tethering but I've used a lot of data(38.71Gbs to be exact) and i haven't seen any slow down in data speeds nor received any letter from Sprint.

From my Sammy Galaxy S4

Well he means if he tethers that much will they threaten to cut his service.. Such as ATT will force you to the appropriate plans if you are on a grandfathered plan and start tethering.

If he used 50GB non tether he isn't doing anything wrong since it's the device.. But tethering is not covered on that. So could they be mad? Sure.. But will they catch him at the moment? Highly unlikely.

Sent from my Sprint HTC One using AC forums.

 

[Mitri360]

I have a Motorola photon(home hotspot) and a gs4(primary) and an iPhone on my plan. On average my photon uses over 50gb WiMax per billing cycle. My s4/s3(just did upgrade) uses over 12gb per month 3g(lte isn't in Pittsburgh yet). I've only ever gotten a letter from them about my iPhone which is in a area that roams allot. And I've been with them doing this process for over a year.

 

[GiantJay]

Good luck with your guy's' roaming with the new Network plan. It states you get 100mb of roaming a month.

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Almeuit]

Good luck with your guy's' roaming with the new Network plan. It states you get 100mb of roaming a month.

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

This thread has nothing to do with roaming.. It has to do with tethering.

Good job reading the thread.. Valuable input!

Sent from my Sprint HTC One using AC forums.

 

[kg4icg]

The LTE in Pittsburgh is building out right now and is active in around the area.

So your might see your 4g indicator come on depending where you are at the time.

 

[Mitri360]

Yeah I know it's coming, I work in downtown and only get it on the 23rd floor. Ground level doesn't have it which I find weird. But the areas I'm in its not here and where I do have it is no better than ehrpd. Accept munhall which has full lte speeds.

 

[Restrepopr]

Hey guys im looking for a good tether i dont want get me this ppl u guys know what app use to make it work thanx :/

- - - Updated - - -

Hey guys im looking for a good tether i dont want get me this ppl u guys know what app use to make it work thanx :/

- - - Updated - - -

Hey guys im looking for a good tether i dont want get me this ppl u guys know what app use to make it work thanx :/

 

[Restrepopr]

Like some apps im noob in this

 

[Restrepopr]

Sorry for the replay

 

[cgardnervt]

I say if you have been doing it for 2 years then just keep going! They probably don't care currently. So it's win, win for you!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[Almeuit]

I say if you have been doing it for 2 years then just keep going! They probably don't care currently. So it's win, win for you!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

I think they are to busy with the network upgrades to police it at the moment. Just my opinion .

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

 

[cgardnervt]

I think they are to busy with the network upgrades to police it at the moment. Just my opinion .

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

I agree with you there. They do need to work on it. Sounds like they are. But then again by that time free tethering might just be free anyways! Not sure what Sprint sees in its future in that aspect.

 

[poorboyjeff]

I have a dilemma and I’m not sure what to do. I’m hoping a few of you more experienced folks can help me make an informed decision.

I currently have a HTC EVO 4G LTE with factory installed Android 4.0.4 and a mobile card with the old unlimited 3G plan.

I've been unemployed for a while and I have to cut my expenses so I’m seriously considering canceling the mobile card plan and start tethering to my phone to help make ends meet.

Can Sprint or will Sprint force users to move off of the unlimited mobile plan, anyway, or would I be grandfathered in till whenever? I’m also wondering if Sprint will start cracking down on “free” tethering and will I regret not keeping the unlimited mobile plan.

I have a USB cable and a HTC EVO 4G LTE with factory installed Android 4.0.4. Is any special phone app needed? Can tethering be done without rooting the phone? Does anything need to be installed on the laptop? Does tethering work with 3G and 4G?

Sorry for all of the questions but I just don’t know what to do at this point.

Thanks, Jeff

 

[prolongExistence]

I have a dilemma and I?m not sure what to do. I?m hoping a few of you more experienced folks can help me make an informed decision.

I currently have a HTC EVO 4G LTE with factory installed Android 4.0.4 and a mobile card with the old unlimited 3G plan.

I've been unemployed for a while and I have to cut my expenses so I?m seriously considering canceling the mobile card plan and start tethering to my phone to help make ends meet.

Can Sprint or will Sprint force users to move off of the unlimited mobile plan, anyway, or would I be grandfathered in till whenever? I?m also wondering if Sprint will start cracking down on ?free? tethering and will I regret not keeping the unlimited mobile plan.

I have a USB cable and a HTC EVO 4G LTE with factory installed Android 4.0.4. Is any special phone app needed? Can tethering be done without rooting the phone? Does anything need to be installed on the laptop? Does tethering work with 3G and 4G?

Sorry for all of the questions but I just don?t know what to do at this point.

Thanks, Jeff

Hi Jeff & welcome to A|C!

First thing I think you may be confused about... Sprint data is unlimited for smartphones and it seems they have no plans on changing that anytime soon. They only have a cap (I think its 5gig/month) on the mobile card plans.

Now, if you decided to tether using your phone (and eliminate your mobile card) then NO, Sprint will not say a word. In fact, there is another post on here where a guy says he tethers and used like 300gig in one month & Sprint didn't care. I wouldn't recommend pushing it that far but I'm just showing you. Personally speaking, my wife & I have both been tethering for about 5yrs now using an average of 2-3gig/mo each.

With a factory installed ROM which you say you have, Sprint has added in an entitlement check. Meaning that when you turn on the WiFi AP (tethering) built into Android it will check with your plan to see if you are allowed to tether. You have 2 options to get around that.
First, download PDAnet+ which used to be called FoxFi. Sprint hides it in Google Play so go to pdanet.co/bin or foxfi.com for a link to get it. The free version will kick you off every 30 minutes or so but the paid version is on sale for $8 right now. With this you can tether over WiFi, USB or Bluetooth. Try it out, if it works then Good for you! But, there are some devices that it won't work for.
Second option is to root your phone. Then you can try WiFi Tether for Root Users.
Third option is to root your phone & install a custom ROM. Any of the custom ROMs remove the entitlement check that Sprint shoved in there to screw us. Then you can use the native WiFi AP that is built into Android.

As far as installing anything on the laptop, it depends on how you plan to connect. Over WiFi, NO you don't need to install anything. Over USB or Bluetooth, you need to install the PDAnet+ desktop client which is free from their site.

I'm pretty certain you can tether over 4G but I have not had the pleasure yet. 4G is just getting to my area.

 

[poorboyjeff]

First thing I think you may be confused about... Sprint data is unlimited for smartphones and it seems they have no plans on changing that anytime soon. They only have a cap (I think its 5gig/month) on the mobile card plans...

Thanks for the info!

Sprint used to offer unlimited mobile card plans back before 4G was available. I've been with Sprint for around 15 years and I do actually have a mobile card plan with no cap but it's 3G only. I'm currently "grandfathered" in because I never let the plan lapse even though I've been out of contract for quite sometime. I hate to cancel but money is tight. Not to mention the speed has gotten horribly slow over the past couple of years and it's just not worth the monthly fee anymore. I've hung in there because they keep promising the bandwidth will improve.

I will try PDAnet+ and post back. I didn't want to root the phone because I've never done that and I am afraid of loosing all of my settings and data.

Have you rooted? Is it very difficult? I recall there being many different ROMs is there a "best" one and/or easy one to install?

Thanks again.

 

[poorboyjeff]

First, download PDAnet+ ...

Sweeeeeet!

Thank you so much for suggesting PDAnet+

A quick test of the free version proved to work so I went ahead and bought it. So far, so good. Later, I will try and find the ever elusive 4G network in my area and post my results.

I really appreciate you taking the time to type such a helpful post.