All of these stories of evading charges from the carriers and we still wonder why base rates are so high.
Spare me your boyscout outrage: I have an unlimited plan on my iphone4: why should I pay for the same, exact data that I happen to choose to port through my ipad2 ? I am not using both at the same time, so it costs ATT or Verizon NOTHING extra to port through one or the other. It is, plain and simple, greed on the part of the carriers - nothing more. That is why MyWi, TetherMe, and others, came into being in the first place, and costs ATT/Verizon nothing extra for those folks who choose to decide where the data is displayed.
The carriers are racing to do away with unlimited plans altogether, so you will see the tethering charges disappear also, since the carriers will at that time care less where you port your data. Where will your outrage be directed then?
Spare me your boyscout outrage: I have an unlimited plan on my iphone4: why should I pay for the same, exact data that I happen to choose to port through my ipad2 ? I am not using both at the same time, so it costs ATT or Verizon NOTHING extra to port through one or the other. It is, plain and simple, greed - nothing more. That is why MyWi, TetherMe, and others, came into being in the first place, and costs ATT/Verizon nothing extra for these users.
Because it's not part of your agreement. You it's not unlimited date for an unlimited amount of time for an unlimited number of devices for unlimited number of people. It specifically you can use unlimited data provided you use it on that device. That's the way it works.
We've chosen to violate our contracts ? and that's fine! ? but we are not no legally entitled to anything except what our license agreement states. I certainly don't feel AT&T did me wrong by finally cracking down. I wish i could have gotten away with for longer but 4 years is a pretty good run.
Will AT&T be able to detect that you are tethering an iPad to your iPhone using MyWi?
Yes, that is how they find out, and start emailing those who seem to be excessive data downloaders. Don't know if they detect more tablet users, vs laptops, but I suspect it is the former.
Because it's not part of your agreement. You it's not unlimited date for an unlimited amount of time for an unlimited number of devices for unlimited number of people. It specifically you can use unlimited data provided you use it on that device. That's the way it works.
We've chosen to violate our contracts — and that's fine! — but we are not no legally entitled to anything except what our license agreement states. I certainly don't feel AT&T did me wrong by finally cracking down. I wish i could have gotten away with for longer but 4 years is a pretty good run.
Yeah, I understand the wording of the contract, I just bristle at the idea that it somehow costs ATT/Verizon more for one device or the other. I can see charging for multiple devices if it did, but it clearly doesn't. The only reason they have kept their unlimited plans this long is merely due to competition for new and renewal business, but hopefully, Sprint (and perhaps T-Mobile, if they get the iphone5) will keep unlimited plans in the mix of choices for the consumer. Moot point once they all do away with unlimited data, which is coming sooner than we like.
Yeah, I understand the wording of the contract, I just bristle at the idea that it somehow costs ATT/Verizon more for one device or the other. I can see charging for multiple devices if it did, but it clearly doesn't. Moot point once they do away with unlimited data, which is coming sooner than we like.
1) I have a feeling they might not be allowing contracts to continued to be grandfathered in if you wish to upgrade to the iPhone 5 if you by it under contract.
2) At least for the additional charge of tethering they now give you an additional 2GB which offsets the cost exactly. Note they initially just charged you an extra $20 but still left you at 2GB, not 4GB.
3) I think there are bigger fish to fry, so to speak. Data is more costly than talk time and SMS yet SMS costs more per kilobyte than getting information to and from Hubble, and I am required to not only pay for talk time but also pay for 450 minutes which is about 400 more than I need per month. Those bother me a lot more.
Seeing as how AT&T finally put the kibosh on my contract-breaking tethering and now charge me an extra $20/month for a total of 4GB I will consider a jump to Sprint if they have unlimited.
It's like a restaurant offering all-you-can-eat, except that you are not allowed to eat everything.
Except that it is all-you-can-eat, as long as it is your phone eating it and not something else.
Sprint's documented 5GB cap is only for mobile broadband and has been that way since at least the evo 4g was released. I pretty consistently use 15+ GB of data on my sprint phone.
This should be good news for everyone. Hopefully this will be the added competition needed to drop the ridiculous 2GB cap on att/vzw. Even getting it back up to 5GB (which was the soft cap used in att's "unlimited" data plan) would be nice.
Except that it is all-you-can-eat, as long as it is your phone eating it and not something else.
Sprint's documented 5GB cap is only for mobile broadband and has been that way since at least the evo 4g was released. I pretty consistently use 15+ GB of data on my sprint phone.
This should be good news for everyone. Hopefully this will be the added competition needed to drop the ridiculous 2GB cap on att/vzw. Even getting it back up to 5GB (which was the soft cap used in att's "unlimited" data plan) would be nice.
more likely i think it will send the heaviest users to Sprint and will make them kill the unlimited. it only works if a small minority of people use it
i bet VZW and the deathstar are actually hoping to drive away those users to AT&T
i looked at sprint and it's not worth switching. 4 line family plan is the same or more than what i pay at AT&T. i don't really use the ipod app anymore, i have spotify premium. for android i can just buy a 32GB sd card for my music instead of streaming
I had been using MyWi for about 1.5 years. First I received an email which required me to contact AT&T within a specific time frame or I'd lose my Unlimited plan. I called, they explained the situation? I played dumb.
I then switched to the much cheaper TetherMe app with apparently keeps AT&T from knowing the data is being tethered and uses the Personal Hotspot settings within iOS, which I liked. That worked for about 6 months then this past month my bill was charged an addition $15 +tax and had been moved to the 4GB+tethering plan.
I tried to keep my tethering down to a minimum in these last 6 months from 50-100GB to 2-4GB but that apparently wasn't good enough.
No worries. I took a risk against the contract I signed and got away with it since 2007-ish.
I don't understand why you go through all this trouble to cheat the system. From what we have learned from you is that you retired in your thirties, do a lot of traveling, never wear the same socks twice, not to mention the more than we need to know hygiene products you use, all of which leads us to believe you have plenty of disposable income yet you are nickel and dime-ing the phone company. Sheesh... I don't even read my phone bills, I just have the bookkeeper pay them.
Will AT&T be able to detect that you are tethering an iPad to your iPhone using MyWi?
Apparently, since several of my friends were doing exactly and got their unlimited plans switched on them. When they tried to complain, they were referred to the terms for the iPhone which said ATT can adjust charges for tethering, not having a data plan etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by al_bundy
more likely i think it will send the heaviest users to Sprint and will make them kill the unlimited. it only works if a small minority of people use it
Perhaps. But I also thick they will pull a T-Mobile and it will turn out that after the first xGB you will be speed throttled, perhaps again after another xGB and so on
Spare me your boyscout outrage: I have an unlimited plan on my iphone4: why should I pay for the same, exact data that I happen to choose to port through my ipad2 ? I am not using both at the same time, so it costs ATT or Verizon NOTHING extra to port through one or the other. It is, plain and simple, greed on the part of the carriers - nothing more. That is why MyWi, TetherMe, and others, came into being in the first place, and costs ATT/Verizon nothing extra for those folks who choose to decide where the data is displayed.
The carriers are racing to do away with unlimited plans altogether, so you will see the tethering charges disappear also, since the carriers will at that time care less where you port your data. Where will your outrage be directed then?
Rather strong reaction there. The price is what it is because it's based on tethering not being allowed. If we insist on the "free" option of tethering, the base price is going to be higher. It only makes sense as total usage is going to be higher one way or the other if multiple devices are allowed under the same fee.
Also, many Americans spend most of their time in a compact geographical area. If you're not a long-haul truck driver, your daily commute is probably 10 minutes and you're spending most of your time at home and work (or school).
Thus, if you already have good Sprint network coverage where you live, then the Sprint iPhone would be a fine handset to consider.
Users of other cellular networks will have to do their research in terms of local (insert mobile operator name here) network coverage if they want to switch, but that's the same sort of due diligence that they would have to do, regardless of the handset.
Rather strong reaction there. The price is what it is because it's based on tethering not being allowed. If we insist on the "free" option of tethering, the base price is going to be higher. It only makes sense as total usage is going to be higher one way or the other if multiple devices are allowed under the same fee.
Fallacious assumption: you assume that just because I choose to have my data ported to my ipad that I will use more data - wrong. You also assume (perhaps not) that it costs more to tether (it doesn't, and only uses a bit more battery life from the tethering device, so I'm told). I use MyWi tethering exclusively to get weather nexrad images just before flights. I can get the same weather updates on my iphone4 that I do on my ipad2, but it is more convenient to use the ipad, due to the larger display. On those occasional times when I want it to display on the ipad, why should I pay more than I do on the iphone for data that is merely re-routed from the iphone to the ipad? Now, if I was downloading movies or a data hog on the larger format device (a valid point), it would make sense, and that supposedly is why ATT and Verizon want separate contracts on each device.
However, ATT does not provide a pay-as-you-go option for tethering. It is a capped monthly plan that is too expensive for the occasional user like myself, and too expensive for the intensive data downloader, who would easily exceed the plan limits, so its only reason for being it to extract as much money from as many folks as possible). Really...who is nickel and diming here.
It is really no trouble to jailbreak your phone and use MyWi (the only reason I need to jailbreak it), so why criticize those who do it for a legitimate reason, primarly based on principal and convenience. Don't get me started on how ATT has tried to screw us over time and time again over the years. No contest here, I have spent too many hours on the phone getting fraudulent charges reversed from ATT over the years to ever feel the slightest pang of guilt or shed a tear over my inconsequential tethering.
T-Mobile's approach is better then AT&T and Verizon's approach. With T-Mobile after a certain amount of data, the speed is slowed from 3G to 2G speeds. I'd rather have that then a strict cap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
Perhaps. But I also thick they will pull a T-Mobile and it will turn out that after the first xGB you will be speed throttled, perhaps again after another xGB and so on
That is because you are a pussified american consumer who doesn't mind being raped just for the sake of being raped.
That's awfully strong language from you, TBell. The difference between me and others is that I don't feel a sense of entitlement. I made an agreement, I broke an agreement and got away with it as long as I possibly could. Same thing with driving over the speed limit or parking longer than your meter is paid for. You weigh the risks and take a chance.
What other options are there for users in the US? To force carriers over the space of the contiguous US plus Hawaii to act as if they are a small and dense country like the Netherlands? That's just ridiculous!
Fallacious assumption: you assume that just because I choose to have my data ported to my ipad that I will use more data - wrong. You also assume (perhaps not) that it costs more to tether (it doesn't, and only uses a bit more battery life from the tethering device, so I'm told). I use MyWi tethering exclusively to get weather nexrad images just before flights. I can get the same weather updates on my iphone4 that I do on my ipad2, but it is more convenient to use the ipad, due to the larger display. On those occasional times when I want it to display on the ipad, why should I pay more than I do on the iphone for data that is merely re-routed from the iphone to the ipad? Now, if I was downloading movies or a data hog on the larger format device (a valid point), it would make sense, and that supposedly is why ATT and Verizon want separate contracts on each device.
However, ATT does not provide a pay-as-you-go option for tethering. It is a capped monthly plan that is too expensive for the occasional user like myself, and too expensive for the intensive data downloader, who would easily exceed the plan limits, so its only reason for being it to extract as much money from as many folks as possible). Really...who is nickel and diming here.
It is really no trouble to jailbreak your phone and use MyWi (the only reason I need to jailbreak it), so why criticize those who do it for a legitimate reason, primarly based on principal and convenience. Don't get me started on how ATT has tried to screw us over time and time again over the years. No contest here, I have spent many hours on the phone getting fraudulent charges reversed from ATT over the years to shed a tear over my inconsequential tethering.
I'm not making any assumptions about what you do with tethering. OTOH, I can tell you with high probability that the overall data usage across all users is going to be higher as you add devices to a plan which, in aggragate, is happening when tethering is enabled. Short of a true pay-per-megabyte plan (there have been huge outcries in this forum over such an idea), I can tell you AT&T isn't going to make you or anyone else a custom plan.
Most important, you identified the major reason why this unlimited tethering in a plan would raise rates.... people are much more likely to watch data-intense movies on an iPad as opposed to an iPhone. Ultimately, more data costs more.
Comments
All of these stories of evading charges from the carriers and we still wonder why base rates are so high.
Spare me your boyscout outrage: I have an unlimited plan on my iphone4: why should I pay for the same, exact data that I happen to choose to port through my ipad2 ? I am not using both at the same time, so it costs ATT or Verizon NOTHING extra to port through one or the other. It is, plain and simple, greed on the part of the carriers - nothing more. That is why MyWi, TetherMe, and others, came into being in the first place, and costs ATT/Verizon nothing extra for those folks who choose to decide where the data is displayed.
The carriers are racing to do away with unlimited plans altogether, so you will see the tethering charges disappear also, since the carriers will at that time care less where you port your data. Where will your outrage be directed then?
Spare me your boyscout outrage: I have an unlimited plan on my iphone4: why should I pay for the same, exact data that I happen to choose to port through my ipad2 ? I am not using both at the same time, so it costs ATT or Verizon NOTHING extra to port through one or the other. It is, plain and simple, greed - nothing more. That is why MyWi, TetherMe, and others, came into being in the first place, and costs ATT/Verizon nothing extra for these users.
Because it's not part of your agreement. You it's not unlimited date for an unlimited amount of time for an unlimited number of devices for unlimited number of people. It specifically you can use unlimited data provided you use it on that device. That's the way it works.
We've chosen to violate our contracts ? and that's fine! ? but we are not no legally entitled to anything except what our license agreement states. I certainly don't feel AT&T did me wrong by finally cracking down. I wish i could have gotten away with for longer but 4 years is a pretty good run.
Will AT&T be able to detect that you are tethering an iPad to your iPhone using MyWi?
Yes, that is how they find out, and start emailing those who seem to be excessive data downloaders. Don't know if they detect more tablet users, vs laptops, but I suspect it is the former.
Will AT&T be able to detect that you are tethering an iPad to your iPhone using MyWi?
I'm certain that they will.
Because it's not part of your agreement. You it's not unlimited date for an unlimited amount of time for an unlimited number of devices for unlimited number of people. It specifically you can use unlimited data provided you use it on that device. That's the way it works.
We've chosen to violate our contracts — and that's fine! — but we are not no legally entitled to anything except what our license agreement states. I certainly don't feel AT&T did me wrong by finally cracking down. I wish i could have gotten away with for longer but 4 years is a pretty good run.
Yeah, I understand the wording of the contract, I just bristle at the idea that it somehow costs ATT/Verizon more for one device or the other. I can see charging for multiple devices if it did, but it clearly doesn't. The only reason they have kept their unlimited plans this long is merely due to competition for new and renewal business, but hopefully, Sprint (and perhaps T-Mobile, if they get the iphone5) will keep unlimited plans in the mix of choices for the consumer. Moot point once they all do away with unlimited data, which is coming sooner than we like.
Yeah, I understand the wording of the contract, I just bristle at the idea that it somehow costs ATT/Verizon more for one device or the other. I can see charging for multiple devices if it did, but it clearly doesn't. Moot point once they do away with unlimited data, which is coming sooner than we like.
1) I have a feeling they might not be allowing contracts to continued to be grandfathered in if you wish to upgrade to the iPhone 5 if you by it under contract.
2) At least for the additional charge of tethering they now give you an additional 2GB which offsets the cost exactly. Note they initially just charged you an extra $20 but still left you at 2GB, not 4GB.
3) I think there are bigger fish to fry, so to speak. Data is more costly than talk time and SMS yet SMS costs more per kilobyte than getting information to and from Hubble, and I am required to not only pay for talk time but also pay for 450 minutes which is about 400 more than I need per month. Those bother me a lot more.
Seeing as how AT&T finally put the kibosh on my contract-breaking tethering and now charge me an extra $20/month for a total of 4GB I will consider a jump to Sprint if they have unlimited.
Me too.
It's like a restaurant offering all-you-can-eat, except that you are not allowed to eat everything.
Except that it is all-you-can-eat, as long as it is your phone eating it and not something else.
Sprint's documented 5GB cap is only for mobile broadband and has been that way since at least the evo 4g was released. I pretty consistently use 15+ GB of data on my sprint phone.
This should be good news for everyone. Hopefully this will be the added competition needed to drop the ridiculous 2GB cap on att/vzw. Even getting it back up to 5GB (which was the soft cap used in att's "unlimited" data plan) would be nice.
Except that it is all-you-can-eat, as long as it is your phone eating it and not something else.
Sprint's documented 5GB cap is only for mobile broadband and has been that way since at least the evo 4g was released. I pretty consistently use 15+ GB of data on my sprint phone.
This should be good news for everyone. Hopefully this will be the added competition needed to drop the ridiculous 2GB cap on att/vzw. Even getting it back up to 5GB (which was the soft cap used in att's "unlimited" data plan) would be nice.
more likely i think it will send the heaviest users to Sprint and will make them kill the unlimited. it only works if a small minority of people use it
i bet VZW and the deathstar are actually hoping to drive away those users to AT&T
i looked at sprint and it's not worth switching. 4 line family plan is the same or more than what i pay at AT&T. i don't really use the ipod app anymore, i have spotify premium. for android i can just buy a 32GB sd card for my music instead of streaming
I had been using MyWi for about 1.5 years. First I received an email which required me to contact AT&T within a specific time frame or I'd lose my Unlimited plan. I called, they explained the situation? I played dumb.
I then switched to the much cheaper TetherMe app with apparently keeps AT&T from knowing the data is being tethered and uses the Personal Hotspot settings within iOS, which I liked. That worked for about 6 months then this past month my bill was charged an addition $15 +tax and had been moved to the 4GB+tethering plan.
I tried to keep my tethering down to a minimum in these last 6 months from 50-100GB to 2-4GB but that apparently wasn't good enough.
No worries. I took a risk against the contract I signed and got away with it since 2007-ish.
I don't understand why you go through all this trouble to cheat the system. From what we have learned from you is that you retired in your thirties, do a lot of traveling, never wear the same socks twice, not to mention the more than we need to know hygiene products you use, all of which leads us to believe you have plenty of disposable income yet you are nickel and dime-ing the phone company. Sheesh... I don't even read my phone bills, I just have the bookkeeper pay them.
Will AT&T be able to detect that you are tethering an iPad to your iPhone using MyWi?
Apparently, since several of my friends were doing exactly and got their unlimited plans switched on them. When they tried to complain, they were referred to the terms for the iPhone which said ATT can adjust charges for tethering, not having a data plan etc.
more likely i think it will send the heaviest users to Sprint and will make them kill the unlimited. it only works if a small minority of people use it
Perhaps. But I also thick they will pull a T-Mobile and it will turn out that after the first xGB you will be speed throttled, perhaps again after another xGB and so on
Spare me your boyscout outrage: I have an unlimited plan on my iphone4: why should I pay for the same, exact data that I happen to choose to port through my ipad2 ? I am not using both at the same time, so it costs ATT or Verizon NOTHING extra to port through one or the other. It is, plain and simple, greed on the part of the carriers - nothing more. That is why MyWi, TetherMe, and others, came into being in the first place, and costs ATT/Verizon nothing extra for those folks who choose to decide where the data is displayed.
The carriers are racing to do away with unlimited plans altogether, so you will see the tethering charges disappear also, since the carriers will at that time care less where you port your data. Where will your outrage be directed then?
Rather strong reaction there. The price is what it is because it's based on tethering not being allowed. If we insist on the "free" option of tethering, the base price is going to be higher. It only makes sense as total usage is going to be higher one way or the other if multiple devices are allowed under the same fee.
Because most Americans live in urbanized areas.
Also, many Americans spend most of their time in a compact geographical area. If you're not a long-haul truck driver, your daily commute is probably 10 minutes and you're spending most of your time at home and work (or school).
Thus, if you already have good Sprint network coverage where you live, then the Sprint iPhone would be a fine handset to consider.
Users of other cellular networks will have to do their research in terms of local (insert mobile operator name here) network coverage if they want to switch, but that's the same sort of due diligence that they would have to do, regardless of the handset.
I certainly don't feel AT&T did me wrong by finally cracking down. I wish i could have gotten away with for longer but 4 years is a pretty good run.
Rather strong reaction there. The price is what it is because it's based on tethering not being allowed. If we insist on the "free" option of tethering, the base price is going to be higher. It only makes sense as total usage is going to be higher one way or the other if multiple devices are allowed under the same fee.
Fallacious assumption: you assume that just because I choose to have my data ported to my ipad that I will use more data - wrong. You also assume (perhaps not) that it costs more to tether (it doesn't, and only uses a bit more battery life from the tethering device, so I'm told). I use MyWi tethering exclusively to get weather nexrad images just before flights. I can get the same weather updates on my iphone4 that I do on my ipad2, but it is more convenient to use the ipad, due to the larger display. On those occasional times when I want it to display on the ipad, why should I pay more than I do on the iphone for data that is merely re-routed from the iphone to the ipad? Now, if I was downloading movies or a data hog on the larger format device (a valid point), it would make sense, and that supposedly is why ATT and Verizon want separate contracts on each device.
However, ATT does not provide a pay-as-you-go option for tethering. It is a capped monthly plan that is too expensive for the occasional user like myself, and too expensive for the intensive data downloader, who would easily exceed the plan limits, so its only reason for being it to extract as much money from as many folks as possible). Really...who is nickel and diming here.
It is really no trouble to jailbreak your phone and use MyWi (the only reason I need to jailbreak it), so why criticize those who do it for a legitimate reason, primarly based on principal and convenience. Don't get me started on how ATT has tried to screw us over time and time again over the years. No contest here, I have spent too many hours on the phone getting fraudulent charges reversed from ATT over the years to ever feel the slightest pang of guilt or shed a tear over my inconsequential tethering.
Perhaps. But I also thick they will pull a T-Mobile and it will turn out that after the first xGB you will be speed throttled, perhaps again after another xGB and so on
That is because you are a pussified american consumer who doesn't mind being raped just for the sake of being raped.
As though we can do anything about it.
That is because you are a pussified american consumer who doesn't mind being raped just for the sake of being raped.
That's awfully strong language from you, TBell. The difference between me and others is that I don't feel a sense of entitlement. I made an agreement, I broke an agreement and got away with it as long as I possibly could. Same thing with driving over the speed limit or parking longer than your meter is paid for. You weigh the risks and take a chance.
What other options are there for users in the US? To force carriers over the space of the contiguous US plus Hawaii to act as if they are a small and dense country like the Netherlands? That's just ridiculous!
Fallacious assumption: you assume that just because I choose to have my data ported to my ipad that I will use more data - wrong. You also assume (perhaps not) that it costs more to tether (it doesn't, and only uses a bit more battery life from the tethering device, so I'm told). I use MyWi tethering exclusively to get weather nexrad images just before flights. I can get the same weather updates on my iphone4 that I do on my ipad2, but it is more convenient to use the ipad, due to the larger display. On those occasional times when I want it to display on the ipad, why should I pay more than I do on the iphone for data that is merely re-routed from the iphone to the ipad? Now, if I was downloading movies or a data hog on the larger format device (a valid point), it would make sense, and that supposedly is why ATT and Verizon want separate contracts on each device.
However, ATT does not provide a pay-as-you-go option for tethering. It is a capped monthly plan that is too expensive for the occasional user like myself, and too expensive for the intensive data downloader, who would easily exceed the plan limits, so its only reason for being it to extract as much money from as many folks as possible). Really...who is nickel and diming here.
It is really no trouble to jailbreak your phone and use MyWi (the only reason I need to jailbreak it), so why criticize those who do it for a legitimate reason, primarly based on principal and convenience. Don't get me started on how ATT has tried to screw us over time and time again over the years. No contest here, I have spent many hours on the phone getting fraudulent charges reversed from ATT over the years to shed a tear over my inconsequential tethering.
I'm not making any assumptions about what you do with tethering. OTOH, I can tell you with high probability that the overall data usage across all users is going to be higher as you add devices to a plan which, in aggragate, is happening when tethering is enabled. Short of a true pay-per-megabyte plan (there have been huge outcries in this forum over such an idea), I can tell you AT&T isn't going to make you or anyone else a custom plan.
Most important, you identified the major reason why this unlimited tethering in a plan would raise rates.... people are much more likely to watch data-intense movies on an iPad as opposed to an iPhone. Ultimately, more data costs more.