robbed of USB tethering?

[REMilk]

EasyTether and 2.2 - Works Fine for Me

So i had used Easytether since i had updated to stock 2.2, and it worked just fine.

i went to use it today, and not only did it not work, but the official tethering now redirects to inform me to pay for an extra service....

i could see this if i was "able" to make a wifi hotspot, but i feel as though my phone was just robbed of one of the features i loved about it.

I manually updated to 2.2. I am stock 2.2. I, have no problem using EasyTether, in fact I am using EasyTether to do this.

I suggest you uninstall, then reinstall and make sure that USB is checked in the EasyTether settings.

Good Luck,
Bob

 

[mcatdtDroid]

Five responses: 1) You should have read your contract before you signed it; 2) When you have your cell phone provider service, you can charge your customer's any way you like. 3) Move to one of the providers that provides free tethering. 4) You know it is not a matter of which device you use to view the data. It's the quantity of data that will be used. 5) It is their service and they are free to charge for it's use in any manner they decide.

All that said, I'm not looking forward to the fee increase, but I do not feel entitled to free tethering either. (Let the flaming begin!!):icon_ banana:

1) i bought this phone based on "features" it would be no different if they started charging me to play music on it. although as everyone is well aware of most of us were duped by the advertised "features" that lured us in under false pretenses seeing as though we have been denied plenty. and concerning the actual contract, it is the same one for every phone they have on their service, so covering with broad generalizations and enough legal jargon to choke a judge with isn't exactly going to address any specific application of said device such as this.

2) any they can root on do as they will on your service if you are a poor provider, conveniently made legal recently.

3) the only good point you gave. although not enough from one issue, a compounding effect of poor business decisions is exactly why you lose customers and new companies emerge.

4) and it is indeed a matter of what device and not quantity; my PC is not going to push my 3G data connection any faster than my phone would.

5) i'll just use this one to correct you and point out you should have said "four responses" because your fifth point is the exact same one you made in your second.

that said, i absolutely feel entitled to what my phone is capable of and not some gimped version of software to push new hardware (i.e. droid x, droid 2). and as i stated, i would be more than willing to pay for the tethering if we had been given wifi. which we are "able" to use.

From the Verizon TOS: "Customers who do not have dedicated Mobile Broadband devices cannot tether other devices to laptops or personal computers for use as wireless modems unless they subscribe to Mobile Broadband Connect." You might think that this is complicated legal jargon, but I find it quite easy to understand.

Nowhere does it say that you are not permitted to play music on it. It does say, however, that you are not allowed to tether. Perhaps you should learn to read the TOS before you sign the contract. While I do agree that a certain amount of tethering should be allowed, you were told up front that it is not permitted. All you had to do was read.

I read it... I ignored it....

 

[Vulcan1600]

1) i bought this phone based on "features" it would be no different if they started charging me to play music on it. although as everyone is well aware of most of us were duped by the advertised "features" that lured us in under false pretenses seeing as though we have been denied plenty. and concerning the actual contract, it is the same one for every phone they have on their service, so covering with broad generalizations and enough legal jargon to choke a judge with isn't exactly going to address any specific application of said device such as this.

2) any they can root on do as they will on your service if you are a poor provider, conveniently made legal recently.

3) the only good point you gave. although not enough from one issue, a compounding effect of poor business decisions is exactly why you lose customers and new companies emerge.

4) and it is indeed a matter of what device and not quantity; my PC is not going to push my 3G data connection any faster than my phone would.

5) i'll just use this one to correct you and point out you should have said "four responses" because your fifth point is the exact same one you made in your second.

that said, i absolutely feel entitled to what my phone is capable of and not some gimped version of software to push new hardware (i.e. droid x, droid 2). and as i stated, i would be more than willing to pay for the tethering if we had been given wifi. which we are "able" to use.

From the Verizon TOS: "Customers who do not have dedicated Mobile Broadband devices cannot tether other devices to laptops or personal computers for use as wireless modems unless they subscribe to Mobile Broadband Connect." You might think that this is complicated legal jargon, but I find it quite easy to understand.

Nowhere does it say that you are not permitted to play music on it. It does say, however, that you are not allowed to tether. Perhaps you should learn to read the TOS before you sign the contract. While I do agree that a certain amount of tethering should be allowed, you were told up front that it is not permitted. All you had to do was read.

I read it... I ignored it....

I agree with the post by Old Fart too. Who robbed who? Android phone users found a loophole that no other PDA or smartphone is capable of doing and not being charged for tethering on the VZW network. We have to consider ourselves fortunate we've had the luxury of doing this for as long as we have.

 

[vatothe0]

I read it... I ignored it....

Good job making it easier for carriers to justify tiered pricing....

 

[Vulcan1600]

I read it... I ignored it....

Good job making it easier for carriers to justify tiered pricing....

True that!

 

[Azmordean]

i've already paid for the damn 3G, the phone, and the computer! on what device i view my data should be my choice!

I'm gonna don my flame retardant suit here and make the point that Verizon's pricing for tethering is actually somewhat FAIR. Note I am not saying it is a good value, just that it is fair. Here's why:

A mobile broadband card costs $60 per month. Smartphone data is only $30 per month. The reason for the cost difference is that, in typical use cases, computers will use more data, by a MASSIVE margin, than a smartphone. Accordingly, data plans for devices designed to be used by PCs (broadband cards) cost more than smartphone data plans (as an aside, this is also why smartphone data is unlimited, but mobile broadband is limited to 5GB a month, whether accessed by card or tether).

Enter tethering. Now you are using your phone to access the internet via a computer. Verizon thus assumes (and rightly so in most cases) that if you do this regularly your data usage will be MUCH higher than if you didn't tether.

Rather than charge you the $60 you'd pay for the broadband card, they make you pay the difference: $30 for your smartphone plan, and another $30 to make up the difference because you are using a PC.

This is completely fair. Now, whether or not mobile broadband is WORTH $60/mo in the first place is another question entirely. Personally I'd say that's a resounding "hell no" as in most cases I find it to be slow, quirky, and unreliable.

One note: You can prorate tethering. So if you go on vacation, you can call them up and say "turn it on August 11 and turn it off August 18" and they will honor that and charge you $7.

 

[TuBitMittens]

I'm using pdanet cuz apparently the usb tether that comes on my rooted phone doesn't work with windows xp -_-. but the pdanet app with the program on my pc seems to be doing ok. I recommend people try it. Perhaps it's slightly slower but it's when the rest of the wifi in your house isn't working where you really appreciate having it. Like right now my main house wifi connection is down and I created my own router outta nowhere. LOL tech is such a wonderful thing(when it works)

 

[huskerkate]

From the Verizon TOS: "Customers who do not have dedicated Mobile Broadband devices cannot tether other devices to laptops or personal computers for use as wireless modems unless they subscribe to Mobile Broadband Connect." You might think that this is complicated legal jargon, but I find it quite easy to understand.

Nowhere does it say that you are not permitted to play music on it. It does say, however, that you are not allowed to tether. Perhaps you should learn to read the TOS before you sign the contract. While I do agree that a certain amount of tethering should be allowed, you were told up front that it is not permitted. All you had to do was read.[/quote]

I read it... I ignored it....[/quote]
I agree with the post by Old Fart too. Who robbed who? Android phone users found a loophole that no other PDA or smartphone is capable of doing and not being charged for tethering on the VZW network. We have to consider ourselves fortunate we've had the luxury of doing this for as long as we have.[/QUOTE]

I read it... I ignored it....

Good job making it easier for carriers to justify tiered pricing....

True that!

Saying that people who are tethering caused tiered pricing is silly, IMO. VZW allows Palm Pre users to tether w/o any additional charges. And, according to VZW and Moto, the D1 is incapable of tethering. With the tethering apps out there, VZW has no way of knowing who is tethering, and who isn't. So, to say that people who are "incapable" of tethering have caused tiered data plans, as opposed to people who are allowed to tether w/o additional cost, just doesn't make sense. people who surf the web from their phone take more time to do so than on the computer, simply because it's more difficult to navigate.

VZW is introducing tiered data plans because they can - it's what the mkt is allowing. tiered plans are coming about because, like at&t, smartphones are dominating the market, and people are consuming more bandwidth.

i don't necessarily believe that we should be "entitled" to tether without cost. but tetherers didn't "cause" the additional cost - that's being a little sanctimonious.

 

[Vulcan1600]

Saying that people who are tethering caused tiered pricing is silly, IMO. VZW allows Palm Pre users to tether w/o any additional charges. And, according to VZW and Moto, the D1 is incapable of tethering. With the tethering apps out there, VZW has no way of knowing who is tethering, and who isn't. So, to say that people who are "incapable" of tethering have caused tiered data plans, as opposed to people who are allowed to tether w/o additional cost, just doesn't make sense. people who surf the web from their phone take more time to do so than on the computer, simply because it's more difficult to navigate.

VZW is introducing tiered data plans because they can - it's what the mkt is allowing. tiered plans are coming about because, like at&t, smartphones are dominating the market, and people are consuming more bandwidth.

i don't necessarily believe that we should be "entitled" to tether without cost. but tetherers didn't "cause" the additional cost - that's being a little sanctimonious.

Vatothe0 said "Good job making it easier for carriers to justify tiered pricing". He didn't say that tethering is the reason for the tiered pricing.

 

[czerdrill]

From the Verizon TOS: "Customers who do not have dedicated Mobile Broadband devices cannot tether other devices to laptops or personal computers for use as wireless modems unless they subscribe to Mobile Broadband Connect." You might think that this is complicated legal jargon, but I find it quite easy to understand.

Nowhere does it say that you are not permitted to play music on it. It does say, however, that you are not allowed to tether. Perhaps you should learn to read the TOS before you sign the contract. While I do agree that a certain amount of tethering should be allowed, you were told up front that it is not permitted. All you had to do was read.

I read it... I ignored it....

I agree with the post by Old Fart too. Who robbed who? Android phone users found a loophole that no other PDA or smartphone is capable of doing and not being charged for tethering on the VZW network. We have to consider ourselves fortunate we've had the luxury of doing this for as long as we have.

+1...it's funny how people justify breaking their tos and how verizon is being blamed...


Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[vatothe0]

Palm users get tethering for free WITH THE APPROPRIATE FEATURE. If that is something you wanted, you should have bought that.

The Droid is incapable of mobile hotspot, not tethering. Mobile hotspot is the future of tethering with verizon.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[huskerkate]

ok then: suggesting/implying/theorizing/positing that tethering is in any way related to, serves as a justification for, has any causal nexus to, or is correlated to VZW's decision to go to tiered plans is unsubstantiated.

in order to say this, you would have to know why VZW went to tiered plans. they won't tell you. so, before anyone infers that tethering is part of the reason, you would have to know the number/percentage of people who tether and their average data usage, and then compare that to non-tethered users. according to the market, Easy Tether and PdaNet have a total of 500K downloads. considering that there are now 200K android units sold per day, it would certainly seem that tethered users comprise a small percentage of people who are using the 3g network.

Vatothe0 said "Good job making it easier for carriers to justify tiered pricing". He didn't say that tethering is the reason for the tiered pricing.

i didn't say that Droid was incapable of tethering. i know it's capable. but according to VZW and Moto, it isn't. therefore, it's hard for someone to say that VZW may be justifying its tiered data plans on no-permissible tethering when their official position is that you aren't capable of tethering.

Palm users get tethering for free WITH THE APPROPRIATE FEATURE. If that is something you wanted, you should have bought that.

The Droid is incapable of mobile hotspot, not tethering. Mobile hotspot is the future of tethering with verizon.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[vatothe0]

ok then: suggesting/implying/theorizing/positing that tethering is in any way related to, serves as a justification for, has any causal nexus to, or is correlated to VZW's decision to go to tiered plans is unsubstantiated.

in order to say this, you would have to know why VZW went to tiered plans. they won't tell you. so, before anyone infers that tethering is part of the reason, you would have to know the number/percentage of people who tether and their average data usage, and then compare that to non-tethered users. according to the market, Easy Tether and PdaNet have a total of 500K downloads. considering that there are now 200K android units sold per day, it would certainly seem that tethered users comprise a small percentage of people who are using the 3g network.

Vatothe0 said "Good job making it easier for carriers to justify tiered pricing". He didn't say that tethering is the reason for the tiered pricing.

i didn't say that Droid was incapable of tethering. i know it's capable. but according to VZW and Moto, it isn't. therefore, it's hard for someone to say that VZW may be justifying its tiered data plans on no-permissible tethering when their official position is that you aren't capable of tethering.

Palm users get tethering for free WITH THE APPROPRIATE FEATURE. If that is something you wanted, you should have bought that.

The Droid is incapable of mobile hotspot, not tethering. Mobile hotspot is the future of tethering with verizon.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Actually, we do know why they are looking at changing to tiered pricing because they said so in a press conference. Offering unlimited data for a fixed price is not a sustainable business model anymore.

Do you really think PDAnet and easy tether are the only options? I would think most tethering users are utilizing a solution that isn't through the market at all so download counts are only a portion of the people actually doing it.

Again, I said the Droid cannot support Mobile Hotspot. I did not say it couldn't be tethered and neither did Verizon or Motorola.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[czerdrill]

i'm still wondering if people actually think that if verizon does decide to charge people who tether that the argument "but you said mobile hotspot is not possible" will actually work? some of the people who post here are funny.

 

[huskerkate]

"not a sustainable business model" - that tells us nothing as to the "why".

you're engaging in pure speculation as to tethering numbers. that's exactly my point - until you can go beyond pure speculation, there is no basis for saying that tetherers played any role in the move to tiered data.

you need to check your facts. up until froyo, it has been VZW's position that D1 was incapable of tethering. i know they're wrong, i'm just pointing out their position.

[Actually, we do know why they are looking at changing to tiered pricing because they said so in a press conference. Offering unlimited data for a fixed price is not a sustainable business model anymore.

Do you really think PDAnet and easy tether are the only options? I would think most tethering users are utilizing a solution that isn't through the market at all so download counts are only a portion of the people actually doing it.

Again, I said the Droid cannot support Mobile Hotspot. I did not say it couldn't be tethered and neither did Verizon or Motorola.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk