Tethering: How your phone connects and facts and myths about it debate...

[jjdrisco]

Read this chat with a Verizon Rep. This sounds like they are telling you to get a 3rd party app like PDAnet.


Please wait for a Verizon Wireless sales representative to assist you with your order.
Thank you for your patience!
A Verizon Wireless online pre-sales specialist has joined the chat. You are now
chatting with Cecilia
Cecilia: Hello. Thank you for visiting our chat service. May I help you with your order today?
John: John
Cecilia: In an effort to better assist you, are you an existing Verizon Wireless customer?
John: Hi Cecilia
John: I hav e devour with the unlimeted data plan. I would like to tether my phone to use
my laptop for ease of use. Can you help with this?
Cecilia: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Cecilia: As a presales specialist I only have access to the order information.
Cecilia: For information on how to tether or set it up on your phone, I can give you the
number to Customer Care.
Cecilia: How does that sound?
John: I don't need that info. I need to know how to access it.Is there a charge?:
Cecilia: There are applications within the application market you can download to the phone.
However the pricing varies based on those companies within the Market.
John: Where do I find these applications?
Cecilia: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Cecilia: I will be right with you.
Cecilia: You search for them within the Android Market on your phone as well.
John: OK. I'll try that
Cecilia: Wonderful! Just search Tethering, that should help as well.
John: Will do. Thanks
Cecilia: No problem! Any other questions or concerns? Have you looked at our accessory
online only deals for the Devour?
John: Not at this time. Thanks
Cecilia: Thank you for visiting Verizon Wireless, I look forward to speaking with you again.
Have a great day!
Your chat session has been ended by your Verizon Wireless online agent.
C

 

[czerdrill]

I just go to VerizonWireless' website and go to data usage on the first screen. There is a #text that you can do to get it texted to you as well but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

Thanks! And you're right I forgot about the #DATA, that does the trick.

 

[czerdrill]

Read this chat with a Verizon Rep. This sounds like they are telling you to get a 3rd party app like PDAnet.


Please wait for a Verizon Wireless sales representative to assist you with your order.
Thank you for your patience!
A Verizon Wireless online pre-sales specialist has joined the chat. You are now
chatting with Cecilia
Cecilia: Hello. Thank you for visiting our chat service. May I help you with your order today?
John: John
Cecilia: In an effort to better assist you, are you an existing Verizon Wireless customer?
John: Hi Cecilia
John: I hav e devour with the unlimeted data plan. I would like to tether my phone to use
my laptop for ease of use. Can you help with this?
Cecilia: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Cecilia: As a presales specialist I only have access to the order information.
Cecilia: For information on how to tether or set it up on your phone, I can give you the
number to Customer Care.
Cecilia: How does that sound?
John: I don't need that info. I need to know how to access it.Is there a charge?:
Cecilia: There are applications within the application market you can download to the phone.
However the pricing varies based on those companies within the Market.
John: Where do I find these applications?
Cecilia: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Cecilia: I will be right with you.
Cecilia: You search for them within the Android Market on your phone as well.
John: OK. I'll try that
Cecilia: Wonderful! Just search Tethering, that should help as well.
John: Will do. Thanks
Cecilia: No problem! Any other questions or concerns? Have you looked at our accessory
online only deals for the Devour?
John: Not at this time. Thanks
Cecilia: Thank you for visiting Verizon Wireless, I look forward to speaking with you again.
Have a great day!
Your chat session has been ended by your Verizon Wireless online agent.
C

This just sounds like a sales rep who doesn't know what she's talking about and was forced to answer because you cornered her haha....

 

[mcatdtDroid]

that's how it's always explained.....


"Verizon will charge you and cancel you"

(yet people keep posting transcripts, and conversations with reps, call techs, etc, proving they don't care)

"oh, well it must have been someone who didn't know, got cornered, guessed...."

yet still no scanned copies of bill or cancellation.....

 

[czerdrill]

that's how it's always explained.....


"Verizon will charge you and cancel you"

(yet people keep posting transcripts, and conversations with reps, call techs, etc, proving they don't care)

"oh, well it must have been someone who didn't know, got cornered, guessed...."

yet still no scanned copies of bill or cancellation.....

ok we get it, you want proof haha...how many times are you going to say the same thing? :icon_eek:

 

[BigMcGuire]

If Verizon really cared - they'd offer us a way to pay legally for tethering. So far they haven't. So, they really don't care. My guess is because only an extremely small % of the droid population actually tethers, and the small % that does barely uses any bandwidth.

Seeing as how they put a tethering plan for the Droid Incredible - it is only a matter of time before they do the same for the Motorola Droid. They're probably just waiting for VzAccess to develop a version that works with the Droid.

 

[aminaked]

One thing I don't get the logic of is the connection has a set in speed so how is tethering on a laptop much different than simply using the full html that comes with the phone? With the capability to both download/upload/stream on Android phones, it's not like doing the exact same thing on a laptop is burning through that much more data, unless Verizon's internet speed is too fast for their phones to process as quickly as a laptop using the same connection, the multitasking is crippled, or something.

Yeah, but I guess the idea is that most people aren't going to sit on their droid all day every day. It is small and doesn't have all of the capabilities of a PC. The PC can peg the bandwidth needle constantly by watching netflix streams, using bit torrent, playing online games. I think this is why tethering is taboo. It has the potential to use a lot more bandwidth. Just imagine everyone canceled their DSL/cable internet and just used the droid. This would crush verizon's network and profitability.

do you have some sort of numbers, article, or other proof of this, or are you merely trying to pass speculation off as fact?

Here's a hint: when someone starts off by saying "Yeah, but I guess the idea is" then it's called an "opinion".

You're the one spreading your opinion as fact. "I don't see a bill so tether all you want." That doesn't prove anything.

Lastly, I'm not telling people what to do. I'm just saying tethering is against VZ's policies, VZ can catch you unless you encrypt and proxy, VZ has sent at least one family bills for $18,000 for tethering. See, that didn't start with "I guess."

 

[mcatdtDroid]

Yeah, but I guess the idea is that most people aren't going to sit on their droid all day every day. It is small and doesn't have all of the capabilities of a PC. The PC can peg the bandwidth needle constantly by watching netflix streams, using bit torrent, playing online games. I think this is why tethering is taboo. It has the potential to use a lot more bandwidth. Just imagine everyone canceled their DSL/cable internet and just used the droid. This would crush verizon's network and profitability.

do you have some sort of numbers, article, or other proof of this, or are you merely trying to pass speculation off as fact?

Here's a hint: when someone starts off by saying "Yeah, but I guess the idea is" then it's called an "opinion".

You're the one spreading your opinion as fact. "I don't see a bill so tether all you want." That doesn't prove anything.

Lastly, I'm not telling people what to do. I'm just saying tethering is against VZ's policies, VZ can catch you unless you encrypt and proxy, VZ has sent at least one family bills for $18,000 for tethering. See, that didn't start with "I guess."

you want opinion.... you mean like this......

Yeah, but I guess the idea is that most people aren't going to sit on their droid all day every day. It is small and doesn't have all of the capabilities of a PC. The PC can peg the bandwidth needle constantly by watching netflix streams, using bit torrent, playing online games. I think this is why tethering is taboo. It has the potential to use a lot more bandwidth. Just imagine everyone canceled their DSL/cable internet and just used the droid. This would crush verizon's network and profitability.

that last sentence is opinion unless you can back that up with some sort of documentation....


I am asking for hard proof, not, "I think", like your posts are full of.... I'm not the one spreading opinion as fact, like you are.... simply post up a scanned copy of a bill from ANYONE who has had huge bills from tethering their droid (not the 4 year old $18K bill on another phone under different circumstances) because I'm sure, if someone had been billed huge amounts or was cancelled, there would be some sort of documentation somewhere online.... an article... something


But you never do, you keep posting your "I think" and "Yeah but I guess"

 

[czerdrill]

do you have some sort of numbers, article, or other proof of this, or are you merely trying to pass speculation off as fact?

Here's a hint: when someone starts off by saying "Yeah, but I guess the idea is" then it's called an "opinion".

You're the one spreading your opinion as fact. "I don't see a bill so tether all you want." That doesn't prove anything.

Lastly, I'm not telling people what to do. I'm just saying tethering is against VZ's policies, VZ can catch you unless you encrypt and proxy, VZ has sent at least one family bills for $18,000 for tethering. See, that didn't start with "I guess."

you want opinion.... you mean like this......

Yeah, but I guess the idea is that most people aren't going to sit on their droid all day every day. It is small and doesn't have all of the capabilities of a PC. The PC can peg the bandwidth needle constantly by watching netflix streams, using bit torrent, playing online games. I think this is why tethering is taboo. It has the potential to use a lot more bandwidth. Just imagine everyone canceled their DSL/cable internet and just used the droid. This would crush verizon's network and profitability.

that last sentence is opinion unless you can back that up with some sort of documentation....


I am asking for hard proof, not, "I think", like your posts are full of.... I'm not the one spreading opinion as fact, like you are.... simply post up a scanned copy of a bill from ANYONE who has had huge bills from tethering their droid (not the 4 year old $18K bill on another phone under different circumstances) because I'm sure, if someone had been billed huge amounts or was cancelled, there would be some sort of documentation somewhere online.... an article... something


But you never do, you keep posting your "I think" and "Yeah but I guess"

 

[LtKen]

Pot, meet Kettle.

Yes, everything here is opinion, EXCEPT for the part where it CLEARLY states in your TOS that they can charge you and terminate your contract for tethering. It also is not opinion, but FACT, that they can monitor your traffic for compliance.

So, it's my opinion that VZW will eventually crack down on this, and they will come after the heavy users first (that's called logic).

It's other users opinions that they are above the rules, and since no one has been punished, that this will never happen. It's my opinion that this is like speeding, just because you havent been caught yet, doesnt mean you never will.

Have fun.

 

[czerdrill]

Pot, meet Kettle.

Yes, everything here is opinion, EXCEPT for the part where it CLEARLY states in your TOS that they can charge you and terminate your contract for tethering. It also is not opinion, but FACT, that they can monitor your traffic for compliance.

So, it's my opinion that VZW will eventually crack down on this, and they will come after the heavy users first (that's called logic).

It's other users opinions that they are above the rules, and since no one has been punished, that this will never happen. It's my opinion that this is like speeding, just because you havent been caught yet, doesnt mean you never will.

Have fun.

I agree. It's not a matter of opinion. It's a fact that tethering is against the TOS. I am baffled that people are arguing that this is an opinion. Speaks to the foolishness of today's generation. That being said, just because you haven't been caught doesn't mean you won't get caught, and just because no one has been caught yet, doesn't mean that tethering is allowed. It's ridiculous how people try to justify their foolishness and lack of knowledge

 

[aminaked]

do you have some sort of numbers, article, or other proof of this, or are you merely trying to pass speculation off as fact?

Here's a hint: when someone starts off by saying "Yeah, but I guess the idea is" then it's called an "opinion".

You're the one spreading your opinion as fact. "I don't see a bill so tether all you want." That doesn't prove anything.

Lastly, I'm not telling people what to do. I'm just saying tethering is against VZ's policies, VZ can catch you unless you encrypt and proxy, VZ has sent at least one family bills for $18,000 for tethering. See, that didn't start with "I guess."

you want opinion.... you mean like this......

Yeah, but I guess the idea is that most people aren't going to sit on their droid all day every day. It is small and doesn't have all of the capabilities of a PC. The PC can peg the bandwidth needle constantly by watching netflix streams, using bit torrent, playing online games. I think this is why tethering is taboo. It has the potential to use a lot more bandwidth. Just imagine everyone canceled their DSL/cable internet and just used the droid. This would crush verizon's network and profitability.

that last sentence is opinion unless you can back that up with some sort of documentation....


I am asking for hard proof, not, "I think", like your posts are full of.... I'm not the one spreading opinion as fact, like you are.... simply post up a scanned copy of a bill from ANYONE who has had huge bills from tethering their droid (not the 4 year old $18K bill on another phone under different circumstances) because I'm sure, if someone had been billed huge amounts or was cancelled, there would be some sort of documentation somewhere online.... an article... something


But you never do, you keep posting your "I think" and "Yeah but I guess"

We're not seeing eye to eye. Yes, I try to admit when I'm just giving an opinion or speculating. You seem to think that's a bad thing, which I don't get. What do you think a discussion board is, The Inquisition?

I am pointing out facts. I won't go over all of them here, but if you'd calm down you might realize that I don't have any agenda but to tell people that Verizon could potentially crack down on tetherers. I've suggested some factual ways to not be found out. I've pointed to an article where Verizon has charged a tetherer a lot of money.

You're doing yourself and the community a disservice by telling everyone that tethering can't now and will never get you in trouble. WHAT IS YOUR PROOF OF THAT? There's no scanned bill. Absence of proof is not proof of anything.

To anyone willing to listen, enjoy tethering, but know that you might get caught. I suggest that you shouldn't use a lot of bandwidth because this cuts into Verizon's profitability and IF/WHEN they crack down you'll be first.

 

[aminaked]

LOL, that should shut him up.

 

[JCo352]

Pot, meet Kettle.

Yes, everything here is opinion, EXCEPT for the part where it CLEARLY states in your TOS that they can charge you and terminate your contract for tethering. It also is not opinion, but FACT, that they can monitor your traffic for compliance.

So, it's my opinion that VZW will eventually crack down on this, and they will come after the heavy users first (that's called logic).

It's other users opinions that they are above the rules, and since no one has been punished, that this will never happen. It's my opinion that this is like speeding, just because you havent been caught yet, doesnt mean you never will.

Have fun.

I agree. It's not a matter of opinion. It's a fact that tethering is against the TOS. I am baffled that people are arguing that this is an opinion. Speaks to the foolishness of today's generation. That being said, just because you haven't been caught doesn't mean you won't get caught, and just because no one has been caught yet, doesn't mean that tethering is allowed. It's ridiculous how people try to justify their foolishness and lack of knowledge

Hey, I'm from "today's generation" and I couldn't agree more. But you know as well as I, there is always going to be the ones that push it...Sad really.

 

[iPirate]

My "theory" to what will happen. Verizon can make a good guess at if you are tethering and it isn't based on the amount of data you use.

They know what ports you are using and if they look at a chart similar to what is available here:

Answer

they can see that people using port 23978 with 10GB of data transferred are probably playing [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Age of Empires II. So, put the tethering fee on their bill and let them explain themselves.
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