Verizon Wireless Blocks The Updating Of Apps They Feel Are Unauthorized

[Malvado]

Some Verizon Wireless customers are reporting something rather strange today. In an effort to curb unauthorized tethering, it appears as if Verizon Wireless has begun blocking the updates of some apps in the Android Market. The app in question (and pictured above) is Easy Tether which allows a user to share their data connection via USB. Really, this comes as no surprise. We’ve played this cat and mouse game before with our carriers and however disgruntled you may become, policy is policy. Still, it’s rather unnerving to see that yellow caution banner strewn about our once free and open Android Market. How do you guys feel about this? Should we, as customers, be able to use our data however we want? Or did we sign a contract knowing full well we’d be subject to our carrier’s iron fists?

Oh and protip: You can always turn off your data and enable WiFi to update or download these “unauthorized” apps from the Market. Ha-ha, Verizon!

SOURCE: Is Verizon Wireless blocking apps from updating? | DroidMatters.com

[neilrl79]

I'm a little surprised it took them this long. It won't stop anyone from using the apps they wnt to use, it just make them go elsewhere to get them.

[silverfang77]

And what do they actually hope to accomplish? People can still get it from elsewhere.

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[SwiftLegend]

So stupid...starting to feel like I own an iPhone with all the restrictions Verizon is placing.

[WizardPrang]

You can trust Verizon to do what is in the best interest of... Verizon. Nothing to see here folks, move along...

[shizumie]

So stupid...starting to feel like I own an iPhone with all the restrictions Verizon is placing.

Exactly! While most may not agree, i owned the first i phone and loved it! However what i didnt love was the (o u think just because you paid full retail that makes it yours... Nope its still our phone.. not yours) and while vast, the limits of having to use itunes for everything. But if verizon is doing the same things now (locking bootloaders, not releasing sorce, and trying controll market) i see less n less people jumping ship from iphone to android... Even worse maybee a few going back to iphone. And while yes its true that the advanced user, and even a brave enough novice can walk around most of this and achieve their goals, i feel that it should be available to every user! I think android and verizon have pulled the trigger on a slow moving bullet.. heading strait for their foot.
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[idefiler6]

I'm not seeing this on my market. Just grabbed easy tether, barnacle and the paid versions I own with zero issues.

[bp328i]

Oh and protip: You can always turn off your data and enable WiFi to update or download these “unauthorized” apps from the Market. Ha-ha, Verizon!

This is priceless!!!

[Big Dawg 23]

This is whats nice about CM. Its built in so there is no App to block.

[leftspin]

I just use Wifi Tether for Root Users from google code... works better than Barnacle or anything else on the market anyway

but honestly, we own the phone and we pay for the data, why does it matter how we use it? Verizon's "unlimited" data plan will throttle your speeds if you go above 5GB and their new plans don't offer unlimited data, they'll charge you ridiculous overages for going above 2GB. It doesn't effect Verizon at all if we use our 2GB a month tethering wifi to our laptops or on our phones, other than that they don't get to charge us 10$ for something that shouldn't cost money anyway.

Screw 'em