Droid 2 or 3 BOGO with Verizon

[fishacura]

I am still using an old phone and FINALLY going to venture into the smart phone world. I'm completely off of Apple as an option as I am tired of the way they lock everything down. (Anyone realize the reason they have so many aps is because no web sites work with apple due to lack of flash so they need to build their own stupid aps lol)

Anyway, Verizon now has a BOGO deal on the droid 2 and droid 3. My question is this...Is it possible to hack the droid 3 to use as a wireless hotspot with Verizon? I had heard it was locked down as opposed to the 2 but was not 100% sure this was correct.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thanks for helping the noob/old man!

 

[bdsullivan76]

As much as I hate to say this, if you are coming into a smartphone plan for the first time and want to use your phone as a hotspot you may be better off paying for it. There is no more unlimited data unless you were grandfathered in before the tiering tyranny occurred and depending on how much data you will use may find that 2gb goes fast.




Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using DroidForums

 

[tcrews]

Yes, very easy to hack the radio to use the Hotspot feature, doesn't even require root to do so.

The Droid 3 is a much better phone than the Droid 2. Larger screen, better keyboard, much faster CPU (dual core)......

 

[fishacura]

Thanks! Just wanted to be sure....appreciate the response!

 

[JohnnyS101]

There's an app on the droid3 called mobile hotspot, its the easiest thing in the world, noroot no hack just set it to on

Sent from my DROID3 using DroidForums

 

[fishacura]

OK this is terrific info. But of course now it leads me to another question. Why then would anyone want to root the phone? I assume there are other fun thigns that are locked down that this will allow access to. If so, then I was wondering if you could point me to anything that would be a great into article on rooting. I started with the root forum here but the sticky articles are already way more advanced than I can handle and I need to get more familiar first. Any suggested reading?

 

[tcrews]

Root is just having (like a PC) administrator access to the filesystem. It allows you to remove bloatware (pre-installed crap from Verizon), change out system apps for more full featured apps, etc..

It's not needed by most, but some like to own the phone they pay for.....root gives you "more" ownership since you have control of the entire filesystem on the device (either making things better or screwing everything up and bricking your device).

For the Droid 3, around 55 crapware/bloatware apps are installed that can be removed once you have root access. Some are services that run, polling over the network (even if you don't use them) that will use system resources and eat at the battery. Removing these can make the phone run smoother, faster and last longer between charges....

As for the mobile Hotspot app on the Droid 3....that requires you to have the paid tethering service plan in addition to your data plan. Hacking the radio allows you to use it without having the tethering plan. This does not require root.

 

[REMilk]

Using the BOGO plan, My wife and I upgraded to the Droid 3; I went from OG Droid and she went from an LG ENV 3). We ordered these through VerizonWireless.com and it was $149.00 for both and free shipping. In 36-hours we had the new phones. Yesterday, my wife received the text message for the $100.00 Verizon gift card since she upgraded to a smart phone. She loves not having to boot up her laptop or PC to get her email (not Gmail and uses MailDroid for POP3 access).

The dual-core sold me on the Droid 3. We have had no problems with either phone. Very fast. I have no redraw problems. I also rooted mine, and froze the bloatware.

 

[fishacura]

Interesting on the upgrade. My issue is her phone is not due until 10/19 and I think the BOGO expires 9/30 so I can do one of two things:

1. Get 2 BOGO phones in my name as a new customer (won't get $100 rebate)

2. Wait and hope the offer extends.

Either way is a risk I suppose....

 

[tcrews]

Drop by a Verizon store and ask. Her upgrade date is very close. Mine wasn't until September 28 (early upgrade, real upgrade February 2012) but I was able to early early upgrade in July.