Galaxy Nexus - Wifi Tethering without the need for root

[czerdrill]

czerdrill -

I understand your point, and I agree. I was just getting a little "heated", and as a result I was typing faster than I was thinking

I will agree that substituting a phone's data for a household internet connection is beyond what was ever intended, no doubt about that. Where I have an issue is with the circumstances I mentioned, in particular:
1) using my phone's 3G data to stream Netflix (both of which I am paying for) and/or Pandora to the touchscreen headunit I have in my car; I do not see how that makes a difference to Verizon, as I am using the same exact data for the same exact purpose, I'm simply watching the movie on a slightly bigger screen

I'm not sure if that qualifies as "tethering", as I'm using a physical cable to connect the phone to the head-unit and the phone's OS/screen is actually controlled via the 7.x" touchscreen, which I also use to make hands-free calls and such, but the fact that this is "frowned upon" bothers me...

Hey man I agree with you, I find it unfair to those who tether in emergencies or so little that their regular usage is more then their tether usage. But unfortunately, we don't live in a world where Verizon can just "trust" us to be responsible. Like I said, I don't get why they have tiers and still have tether packages for tiered users, but for unlimited i think it makes total sense from a business perspective. There's no reason for them to allow you to have unlimited data for all your devices wherever you go. People saying "they should upgrade their infrastructure" don't know what they're talking about honestly. If every user was allowed unlimited tethering and every user took advantage of that, the network would slow to a halt immediately and then we'd have people complaining about how verizon has a horrible network. its a never ending cycle.

While I'm sure people like you won't and have no intention to abuse the network, the same can't be said about everyone. Essentially you'd have a $30/month mobile ISP (albeit slow speeds, but its $30/month for everywhere you go with a signal) and that's simply not a sustainable model no matter how good the infrastructure is. Its been in the contracts for years, its never changed and when/if they do make amendments to the TOS the user can opt out penalty free.

As for "streaming vs tethering" there's a difference but that might just be arguing semantics haha

 

[Tuktanuk]

Bottom line here is:

Data is data does not make a hill of beans difference if it's via tether or through the phone. IF a person is on the "unlimited" plan (via being Grandfathered in); then Verizon has the ability to throttle the speeds if they go over the Magic # that Verizon sets. IF a person is on a 2-4GB data plan then Verizon needs to back the heck off and leave people alone to use the data which they are paying for as they see fit. I use my OGD to tehter when I am at my in-laws house that does not have any phone or internet. Now, I'll grant you; I do not use tether all that often but, when I do; that data is still the same as if I was using it on my OGD's s small screen. I do not stream movies but I need to be "connected" in some way when I'm out in the sticks.

 

[shaggykid]

It's highly unlikely all 3 of you use nearly 10GB of data. I'm a heavy user and I barely reach 5GB every month.

I've used 6.3GB myself since tge beginning of tge month.

Sent from your mom's house using my Droid X

 

[akhenax]

Yes you are very mistaken. Pure Google does not imply tethering is unlocked. Google's stance on the matter is that the carrier determines whether the tethering is unlocked or not. It is a privilege that was granted on froyo and no phone advertises tethering as a standard feature because of these reasons. Again your beliefs are incorrect and several pages of misleading and pointless discussion was derived.

I know its wrong to charge people extra for this feature but considering its not illegal for vzw to do so.

Also I have an of Droid and I can wireless tether just fine and most applications work just fine with it. I can even play wow using it with a ping below 200. That's 3g though.

Sent from my DROID using DroidForums

Whether or not the ICS tethering option is OS related or carrier related is a wait and see issue. You cannot say for sure that it is, and I cannot say for sure that it is not.
You are the one who seems misguided into thinking your opinion is correct without any proof. Please post your findings, or an article stating otherwise. Your opinions do not make my statements not true.

Free Tethering with the Galaxy Nexus? Yes! | The Verge Forums (self explanatory)

https://plus.google.com/117220625678034723010/posts/hyWFQZVz2ZU (Brent M, states that you would need to be rooted to not get extra charges, take that with a grain of salt)

Editorial: Is the Verizon Galaxy Nexus really a Nexus? You betcha | Android Central (there are comments stating that Tethering was blocked in the past by other Carriers, so Verizon may also)

So we can go back and forth, but no one will know until they get a GNex and try to tether it, without root.

My Droid cannot communicate with my Amazon Kindle. It also cannot communicate with my HP Touchpad. About a year ago, I was able to tether an IBM T60 with it, but when I tried to tether an HP 6565, I could not. Ad-Hoc limitations of my Droid.

Now, as for the Phone data vs. Tethering data debate, these things have a way of evolving. Just roll with it.

 

[yakitori]

Hey man I agree with you, I find it unfair to those who tether in emergencies or so little that their regular usage is more then their tether usage. But unfortunately, we don't live in a world where Verizon can just "trust" us to be responsible. Like I said, I don't get why they have tiers and still have tether packages for tiered users, but for unlimited i think it makes total sense from a business perspective. There's no reason for them to allow you to have unlimited data for all your devices wherever you go. People saying "they should upgrade their infrastructure" don't know what they're talking about honestly. If every user was allowed unlimited tethering and every user took advantage of that, the network would slow to a halt immediately and then we'd have people complaining about how verizon has a horrible network. its a never ending cycle.

While I'm sure people like you won't and have no intention to abuse the network, the same can't be said about everyone. Essentially you'd have a $30/month mobile ISP (albeit slow speeds, but its $30/month for everywhere you go with a signal) and that's simply not a sustainable model no matter how good the infrastructure is. Its been in the contracts for years, its never changed and when/if they do make amendments to the TOS the user can opt out penalty free.

As for "streaming vs tethering" there's a difference but that might just be arguing semantics haha

Actually folks who think that a provider can get more and more new customers and not increase their infrastructure don't know what they are talking about.

Perfect example would be the usps. Look how many years behind their business systems are....hence they are soon filing bankruptcy.

You cannot cram more new users and keep infrastructure the same....that is common sense. Blaming folks that tether as the reason for underdeveloped infrastructure is pretty ignorant. If you look at the big picture of users...2 new users with a 4g phone will more than likely use more data than a person on a rooted 3g phone. Especially with the relatively recent apps like Google music..and Netflix. Yeah...I know they aren't necessarily "new" apps but they haven't worked on all devices...Xoom is pretty recent. I'm sure it takes more than a few months to establish some tangible data usage to analyze. I think the case of folks using tether as an ISP and gobbling up tons of data is not as common as many here are suggesting.

If your customer base grows and your infrastructure design not....there is only one entity at fault ...and its not groups of folks who tether.

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using DroidForums

 

[czerdrill]

Actually folks who think that a provider can get more and more new customers and not increase their infrastructure don't know what they are talking about.

Perfect example would be the usps. Look how many years behind their business systems are....hence they are soon filing bankruptcy.

You cannot cram more new users and keep infrastructure the same....that is common sense. Blaming folks that tether as the reason for underdeveloped infrastructure is pretty ignorant. If you look at the big picture of users...2 new users with a 4g phone will more than likely use more data than a person on a rooted 3g phone. I think the case of folks using tether as an ISP and gobbling up tons of data is not as common as many here are suggesting.

If your customer base grows and your infrastructure design not....there is only one entity at fault ...and its not groups of folks who tether.

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using DroidForums

Where did I say Verizon does not need to upgrade their infrastructure? Where did I say that it is the tetherers fault for underdeveloped infrastructure? What I did say was, the people who think Verizon should allow free-for-all tethering for everyone on their network and just "upgrade their infrastructure" don't know what they're talking about. It doesn't work like that. Allowing unlimited tethering for all your customers would lead to immense problems, regardless of how much infrastructure is in place (providing all the customers take advantage of it).

The reason the case of people using their phones as ISP is not common is because you have to pay to tether. If verizon included unlimited tethering or tiered tethering and advertised it as such more people would be using it as their ISP. I would to! If I had a way to pay $30/month and have unlimited data for all my devices wherever I go, why in the world wouldn't I take advantage of that?

People are misinformed when they say "oh verizon just has to upgrade infrastructure"...unlimited tethering is not a sustainable model for a mobile carrier, it never was and it wont ever be no matter what changes they make to their network. Like i said, if everyone had unlimited tethering and everyone was using it that way to provide data for every device in their home, the network would slow to a halt and then people would complain about how poor verizon's network is.

 

[yakitori]

Where did I say Verizon does not need to upgrade their infrastructure? Where did I say that it is the tetherers fault for underdeveloped infrastructure? What I did say was, the people who think Verizon should allow free-for-all tethering for everyone on their network and just "upgrade their infrastructure" don't know what they're talking about. It doesn't work like that. (providing all the customers take advantage of it).

The reason the case of people using their phones as ISP is not common is because you have to pay to tether. If verizon included unlimited tethering or tiered tethering and advertised it as such more people would be using it as their ISP. I would to! If I had a way to pay $30/month and have unlimited data for all my devices wherever I go, why in the world wouldn't I take advantage of that?

People are misinformed when they say "oh verizon just has to upgrade infrastructure"...unlimited tethering is not a sustainable model for a mobile carrier, it never was and it wont ever be no matter what changes they make to their network. Like i said, if everyone had unlimited tethering and everyone was using it that way to provide data for every device in their home, the network would slow to a halt and then people would complain about how poor verizon's network is.

Ok...this is taking too long. I guess you did not read or understand my stance. I noted that Verizon should mulberry more aggressive with lines using 15+ gb in a billing cycle. And that someone like me who uses tethering for other devices (albeit very very seldom) shouldn't have to pay fees for a hotspots service. This allows folks who tether reasonably the freedom to do so....and those who abuse it face a consequence.

And yes...by your first paragraph it is you are inferring that tetherers are the problem...." Allowing unlimited tethering for all your customers would lead to immense problems, regardless of how much infrastructure is in place" those are your words...this implies that the people with unlimited data who tether are the cause of a congested network ....which is not the case. Looking at the growth of a network having a greater impact on data usage rather than blaming folks with unlimited data that tether ...and get throttled anyway....how does that mess up infrastructure?

I'm not advocating use of tether as ISP. Never did. Yet I'm the only person who mentioned infrastructure ...so who exactly was your "don't know what they are talking about" comment aimed at?

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using DroidForums

 

[czerdrill]

Ok...this is taking too long. I guess you did not read or understand my stance. I noted that Verizon should mulberry more aggressive with lines using 15+ gb in a billing cycle. And that someone like me who uses tethering for other devices (albeit very very seldom) shouldn't have to pay fees for a hotspots service. This allows folks who tether reasonably the freedom to do so....and those who abuse it face a consequence.

And yes...by your first paragraph it is you are inferring that tetherers are the problem...." Allowing unlimited tethering for all your customers would lead to immense problems, regardless of how much infrastructure is in place" those are your words...this implies that the people with unlimited data who tether are the cause of a congested network ....which is not the case. Looking at the growth of a network having a greater impact on data usage rather than blaming folks with unlimited data that tether ...and get throttled anyway....how does that mess up infrastructure?

I'm not advocating use of tether as ISP. Never did. Yet I'm the only person who mentioned infrastructure ...so who exactly was your "don't know what they are talking about" comment aimed at?

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using DroidForums

You're making this into an argument that doesn't exist. Like I said people have been saying the same thing you've been saying for years (about infrastructure, about data being data, about this that and the other thing). This is not a new argument. Tethering is not some new amazing thing that android introduced. I also stated that it is unfair for people like yourself who don't use it a lot to be forced to pay $20/month to use it "legally". None of these things that you're getting upset about are my point.

My point, and you haven't disproved it, in fact you agree with it, is that allowing unlimited tethering (in essence, a mobile ISP) won't work. Like I said in my previous post, and I thought it was clear, if Verizon allowed unlimited tethering and advertised it as a feature of their network, it wouldn't matter how much "infrastructure" they build, their network would suffer. I don't see how you could possibly argue otherwise. The tether-ers now who use 150GB a month are few and far between and that's why you don't see any rampant problems to VZWs network. But if Verizon advertises "use your mobile data for all your devices anywhere you go" and sells it for $30/month they simply would not be able to keep up with the demand. They'd essentially be providing you with an unlimited ISP for all your devices, in any location where they have a signal for $30/month. Saying "upgrade your infrastructure" is a misinformed statement (and its not just you who's said that, even if you're the only one who's said it in this thread).

So again, yes its unfair that you would have to pay to legally use it if you barely ever use it. Yes, there is no problem with the network now with people who tether because there's not enough to make it a problem. And yes, if Verizon did just give everyone unlimited tethering for free, the network would suffer because people would start replacing their traditional ISP with VZW...i mean wouldn't you? I would. How can you argue with those points? I don't get it :blink:

 

[yakitori]

You're making this into an argument that doesn't exist. Like I said people have been saying the same thing you've been saying for years (about infrastructure, about data being data, about this that and the other thing). This is not a new argument. Tethering is not some new amazing thing that android introduced. I also stated that it is unfair for people like yourself who don't use it a lot to be forced to pay $20/month to use it "legally". None of these things that you're getting upset about are my point.

My point, and you haven't disproved it, in fact you agree with it, is that allowing unlimited tethering (in essence, a mobile ISP) won't work. Like I said in my previous post, and I thought it was clear, if Verizon allowed unlimited tethering and advertised it as a feature of their network, it wouldn't matter how much "infrastructure" they build, their network would suffer. I don't see how you could possibly argue otherwise. The tether-ers now who use 150GB a month are few and far between and that's why you don't see any rampant problems to VZWs network. But if Verizon advertises "use your mobile data for all your devices anywhere you go" and sells it for $30/month they simply would not be able to keep up with the demand. They'd essentially be providing you with an unlimited ISP for all your devices, in any location where they have a signal for $30/month. Saying "upgrade your infrastructure" is a misinformed statement (and its not just you who's said that, even if you're the only one who's said it in this thread).

So again, yes its unfair that you would have to pay to legally use it if you barely ever use it. Yes, there is no problem with the network now with people who tether because there's not enough to make it a problem. And yes, if Verizon did just give everyone unlimited tethering for free, the network would suffer because people would start replacing their traditional ISP with VZW...i mean wouldn't you? I would. How can you argue with those points? I don't get it :blink:

I agree with that ...but you missed the point about being aggressive to those whose data usage reflect obvious tethering as an ISP replacement....while not charging folks who use tether excessively extra fees. How about this scenario.

We will allow you to tether free of charge so long as your data usage is not flagrant. Those who wish to replace their ISP with tethering will face steep charges or termination and fees. Period ...they don't do this. Instead they charge ALL of us a fee for tethering while the folks abusing it in the first place suffer zero consequence because...they could always just root and use it free.

Do you really believe folks that are abusing tethering are those that are on stock phones using stock supplied hotspot and paying extra for the service? Not a chance. Verizon's current policy doesn't penalize those who abuse data. It charges folks who follow the rules a fee for a service that doesn't adversely effect their network.

And for the record I NEVER said data is data. And I'm not making an argument that doesn't exist.

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using DroidForums

 

[yakitori]

You're making this into an argument that doesn't exist. Like I said people have been saying the same thing you've been saying for years (about infrastructure, about data being data, about this that and the other thing). This is not a new argument. Tethering is not some new amazing thing that android introduced. I also stated that it is unfair for people like yourself who don't use it a lot to be forced to pay $20/month to use it "legally". None of these things that you're getting upset about are my point.

My point, and you haven't disproved it, in fact you agree with it, is that allowing unlimited tethering (in essence, a mobile ISP) won't work. Like I said in my previous post, and I thought it was clear, if Verizon allowed unlimited tethering and advertised it as a feature of their network, it wouldn't matter how much "infrastructure" they build, their network would suffer. I don't see how you could possibly argue otherwise. The tether-ers now who use 150GB a month are few and far between and that's why you don't see any rampant problems to VZWs network. But if Verizon advertises "use your mobile data for all your devices anywhere you go" and sells it for $30/month they simply would not be able to keep up with the demand. They'd essentially be providing you with an unlimited ISP for all your devices, in any location where they have a signal for $30/month. Saying "upgrade your infrastructure" is a misinformed statement (and its not just you who's said that, even if you're the only one who's said it in this thread).

So again, yes its unfair that you would have to pay to legally use it if you barely ever use it. Yes, there is no problem with the network now with people who tether because there's not enough to make it a problem. And yes, if Verizon did just give everyone unlimited tethering for free, the network would suffer because people would start replacing their traditional ISP with VZW...i mean wouldn't you? I would. How can you argue with those points? I don't get it :blink:

As a matter of fact Verizon DID give people tethering for free before they went to tiered data plans....so apparently it doesn't have that big of an impact on the network. Likely due to throttling data for people who use too much.



Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using DroidForums

 

[oddllama]

It's highly unlikely all 3 of you use nearly 10GB of data. I'm a heavy user and I barely reach 5GB every month.

Seriously? I used 40gb last month. have never been throttled though.

 

[Detonation]

FYI, since this discussion was before the phone actually came out, when you attempt to check the Portable Wifi Hotspot option, it checks to see if you have Hotspot on your plan and says you need to subscribe first if you dont.

 

[rubiksc00p]

Seriously? I used 40gb last month. have never been throttled though.

Holy Cow... What do you do??? I'm on my phone every day, always connected and I've never used more than 10 gigs and that was just because our home internet was down and I had to download some large files that week...

This wants to be sent from my Samsung Galaxy Nexus

 

[Liderc]

No kidding, do you stream netflix 24 hours a day lol.

 

[oddllama]

all my torrents go through my phone. I have a verizon aircard at home (either that or dial-up) and get crap reception, so while I'm at work I do all my downloading. everything from the latest ubuntu, movies, games, music, etc. And yes, LOTS of netflix.