Trying to find someone who......

[motomech10]

has been caught by vw with an “unauthorized” hotspot. Curious to know how it got handled.

TIA​

 

[garrett]

i don't know of anyone that has actually been caught. The number of people that use wifi-tethering is so minuscule Verizon doesn't even bother to enforce the issue.

 

[dezymond]

unless the user is consistently doing this and there is a trend in their use, I don't think Verizon would notice it.

 

[frostthejack]

Lol there is no way for them to know. On top of that they couldn't legally do anything about it.

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[garrett]

. On top of that they couldn't legally do anything about it.

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not exactly... While i don't think they can take any legal action against you they can cancel your contract due to a breach of contract on your part and slap you with an early termination fee of 350 or whatever it is plus the cost per MB of data that you used.

remember when you signed up you agree'd to a contract and part of that contract is using the device as intended which includes a theft of services clause.

Like i said before i have never heard of anyone getting caught but this does not mean they wont one day enforce the rules.

 

[jbdow]

what garrett said... (as if no one reads their contract)

 

[hemorrdroid]

They won't even admit the D1 has the capability, so at least those users will always have a get out of jail free card lol.

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[motomech10]

I do appreciate all the responses, which was the reason for my question.

Does anyone actually know someone who has had to deal with getting caught?


I’m just thinking if it were an issue for vw, perhaps someone has had to deal with it by now?


Especially given the amount of posts I have read where users openly admit to heavy unauthorized use with no apparent repercussions. Not to mention the length of time it has been out and the ease with which it is to do.


Just hoping that if anyone had been caught, perhaps they might be willing to share their experience.


Thanks.​

 

[iPirate]

if im not mistaken verizon has blocked the default IRC port

if they didnt want you to use the phone for something, they could block the port. easy solution for them and they keep you as a paying customer.

"World of Warcraft communicates on port 3724" so if they saw a lot of data over port 3724, they could block traffic on that port

 

[dezymond]

I do appreciate all the responses, which was the reason for my question.

Does anyone actually know someone who has had to deal with getting caught?


I’m just thinking if it were an issue for vw, perhaps someone has had to deal with it by now?


Especially given the amount of posts I have read where users openly admit to heavy unauthorized use with no apparent repercussions. Not to mention the length of time it has been out and the ease with which it is to do.


Just hoping that if anyone had been caught, perhaps they might be willing to share their experience.


Thanks.​

Haven't heard of anyone getting caught here and I've been here since pretty much the beginning.

My best guess is Verizon gives you a call or give you a letter with the next bill? Wouldn't be surprised if they shut down the line too if they are aware of the case.

 

[motomech10]

Haven't heard of anyone getting caught here and I've been here since pretty much the beginning.

Thank You, that is my suspicion and the point of my question. Despite all the speculation I have read on this forum and others about what might happen or how vw might handle someone caught using “unauthorized” bandwidth, I would tend to think that if unauthorized use of hotspots was such a big problem for vw we likely would have heard about it at this point. (Additionally would vw have the ability to close that loophole as someone else suggested?)

Not to say there is no one who has had to deal with getting caught, I just find it interesting that no one on all the Droid and Verizon forums has heard of one case to date.​

Thanks​

 

[Threeball]

Has anyone tried calling vzw and putting the question to them directly?

Now that I think of it, I know a guy who knows a guy... I'll ask someone who works for them and post an answer.

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[motomech10]

Has anyone tried calling vzw and putting the question to them directly?

Now that I think of it, I know a guy who knows a guy... I'll ask someone who works for them and post an answer.

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Thanks, never hurts to hear from a vw “source”. The question I posed to vw was not directly framed as “do you have a problem if I root my phone then use an app to create a hotspot to avoid paying for your feature?”. I simply confirmed that my plan has unlimited data usage. I have read many posts where users say vw told them the same thing, if their plan is for unlimited data then that means they don’t have to worry about how much data they use, period.

I have also read posts where some users say they were told by some vw reps that they watch usage. If that is true, and so many people are forgoing the hotspot option for $20/month through vw in favor of a free app, (like vw doesn’t know this already) then I would surely think someone has been busted by now. The longer it goes without hearing any “official” word from vw, or someone who has been caught, the more I tend to believe they currently aren’t stopping users from doing it.​

Thanks​

 

[motomech10]

UPDATE:

Figure I’d give it another try. I just spoke to another vw sales rep and posed this question “Can you tell me what the official vw position is on customers who choose to use a free app to aquire their hotspot?"​

His response was “we are not permitted to discuss that with customers”​

I responded “you can’t tell me what the vw official position is on customers who use a free app to attain their free hotspot?”​

“No, that is a fire-able offense” He went on to tell me that corporate does have a position on it.​

He did say he knows they can terminate your contract.​

Which brings me back to my original question; who has been caught? It would be good to have some idea the usage amounts that lead to them getting caught.​

Like dear old dad use to tell me; if you go looking for trouble, your likely to find it. Be nice to have some idea how much usage gets their attention before finding out on my own. :icon_eek:​

 

[Threeball]

My source is an in-store rep. I don't know how much they really know. He said it would take way more 10 gb for vzw to notice. He said that lots of people watch lots of hd vids and dl music all day thru perfectly legal channels and its nearly impossible to tell the difference. He said that vzw does track but that ud basically have to be downloading hd movies every night to get caught. This coupled w what u just said, tells me that vzw is not really policing at all, but just tracking for the sake of streamlining its services and pricing schemes. I'll be surprised to see unlimited data for much longer. Its just too hard for them to control it.

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