Tethering - Here's why I wouldn't do it...

[tamlin42]

I wouldn't put it past verizon to charge you the ETF and cut off your service. After all, ETF is essentially buying out the rest of your contract at full value. banning you from signing up for another line? very doubtful. you'd probably buy another phone, another contract, etc. on another carrier? maybe, but you were with verizon for a reason the first time, they probably assume you'll come crawling back for that same reason.

 

[SpykeZ]

Rooting isnt required to tether I thought?

It isn't, theres ways to do it without, just a lil more steps

I wouldn't put it past verizon to charge you the ETF and cut off your service. After all, ETF is essentially buying out the rest of your contract at full value. banning you from signing up for another line? very doubtful. you'd probably buy another phone, another contract, etc. on another carrier? maybe, but you were with verizon for a reason the first time, they probably assume you'll come crawling back for that same reason.

I'm with Verizon cause they weren't going to charge me a 500 dollar fee to get a plan from them like Cingular was, 6 years ago lol

 

[daggah]

It doesn't matter a whit whether VZW can or cannot prove that you are tethering your Droid. If they determine from the amount of data traffic to/from your phone that you probably are tethering they can simply slap you with an additional $30 per month charge which is the difference between your "unlimited" data plan and a "broadband" plan.

The latter IS limited to 5 gigabytes per month. So they can simply charge you additional per megabyte charges above that limit if they like.

If that happens it is up to the customer to either "prove" they are not tethering the Droid or pay the additional charges. If you refuse to pay the additional charges they can terminate your service for non-payment.

Where do you get your information? The way you're describing it, if I rack up a lot of traffic I'll get pegged as a tetherer, even if I'm using the device as intended, say to view hi quality movies. Can that be right?

The way some people are describing it, VZ informs customers that they KNOW tethering is taking place. I think they might just be analyzing the data of heavy bandwidth users. I'm just speculating, but these things make me think that tethering software that encrypts and proxies may be the future.

If you "rack up a lot of traffic" Verizon can decide you are you have violated the terms of your ToS and charge you for the overage. Period. If you don't like it, you can (a) not pay your bill and/or (b) take legal action.

If you're prepared to (a) ruin your credit and/or (b) test your attorney's skills against the army of attorneys VZW has retained, go for it.

If you read your service agreement you'll see that it was written to provide Verizon with presumptive power to prevent "abuse" of their network with the phone they have purchased for you. You don't own your phone free and clear until your service agreement is over and Verizon is perfectly free to decide how their network will be used and to determine if you have used it in the way they license.

I realize that few people understand the nature of the contract they sign when they commit themselves to a two year "lease to buy" a phone, but virtually all contract law places the burden of proof on the customer and the power to redefine or terminate the contract on the part of Verizon.

That's why the entire issue of whether VZW "knows" that tethering is taking place is irrelevant. They don't have to prove anything.

P.S. Where my information comes from is having been married to an attorney and having taught constitutional law.

As someone who does tether, occasionally, when traveling (to avoid paying connection fees for airport/hotel wi-fi hotspots that are ridiculously slow), I have to ask: all of what you say is assuming that I have a two year contract to go with my phone purchase. I had a two year contract with my Blackberry Storm...but like many Storm owners, I got sick of how crappy the phone was and upgraded to a Droid. I bought my Droid for full price (and worth every penny.) So how does your post above apply to me?

My data usage this month is abnormally high...at just over a gig for the month. And most of that was because I was rooted/had a custom ROM and had a week or so where my phone was downloading the official 2.1 OTA without my knowledge (at least, I suspect it was, because that would explain the high data usage + crappy battery life.) I've tethered a lot this weekend because I've been traveling, and by a lot I mean I've used maybe 250 MB of data on it. I don't travel THAT much, and I <3 my 20 MBit connection at my apartment far too much to want to surf the net on the 3G Verizon network all the time (although I have been very impressed with just how good the tethered connection has been for me.)

 

[Droid101]

They cant cancel your account just because of you tethering on a free app. Especially since VZW DOESN'T support tethering on the droid so they are out of luck on that end and I know here in NY they cant just cancel your account for any reason there has to be a 30 day notice of some sort and then VZW has to offer you an alternate option.

 

[Riddick]

You people actually believe this story? By coincidence his internet is out and he has to tether and his family member had a meeting on tethering on that exact same day? Are you guys really buying this?

I'm not saying that the OP is lying but what makes you think that this family member isn't just trying to scare him away from tethering?

You guys realize that non-root tethering apps are available from the marketplace? Verizon is banning people from their service and cancelling your contracts for using apps that the phones built-in service supplies?

And since when does verizon ban you from their service for rooting your phone? You void your warranty and they refuse to give you tech support, they don't cancel your account, ban you for life, and demand you pay for the phone, etc. This is just a load of misinformation designed to scare people away from using the service that they pay for.

 

[adrynalyne]

Apps being available on the android marketplace does not allow a loophole to bypass Verizon's TOS. Obviously, its unlikley anything will happen if people tether unless they are excessive with it, but the liability and possibility of penalty still remains.

 

[Riddick]

I don't know how to read.

You replied to one minor issue with an insignificant comment and ignored the actual point behind the post. Why bother replying to me when you know I hold your opinion in such low regard? You're a troll, nothing more.

 

[adrynalyne]

You wouldn't know a point if you were stabbed with it. Nothing I said was false. Sorry you can't handle the truth. FWIW, I too think the original story is a bunch of bunk.

 

[Riddick]

You wouldn't know a point if you were stabbed with it.

Why do you need to resort to violent imagery?

FWIW, I too think the original story is a bunch of bunk.

Which means you agree with me, hence proving my point.

 

[adrynalyne]

I never disagreed with you, other than you thinking that anything on the android market would ever have bearing on Verizon's TOS.

 

[Riddick]

I never disagreed with you

Good. Though you didn't answer my question, why do you feel the need to use violent imagery and talk about someone being stabbed? Is that necessary? Did it add to the discussion in anyway?

 

[jsh1120]

As someone who does tether, occasionally, when traveling (to avoid paying connection fees for airport/hotel wi-fi hotspots that are ridiculously slow), I have to ask: all of what you say is assuming that I have a two year contract to go with my phone purchase. I had a two year contract with my Blackberry Storm...but like many Storm owners, I got sick of how crappy the phone was and upgraded to a Droid. I bought my Droid for full price (and worth every penny.) So how does your post above apply to me?

My data usage this month is abnormally high...at just over a gig for the month. And most of that was because I was rooted/had a custom ROM and had a week or so where my phone was downloading the official 2.1 OTA without my knowledge (at least, I suspect it was, because that would explain the high data usage + crappy battery life.) I've tethered a lot this weekend because I've been traveling, and by a lot I mean I've used maybe 250 MB of data on it. I don't travel THAT much, and I <3 my 20 MBit connection at my apartment far too much to want to surf the net on the 3G Verizon network all the time (although I have been very impressed with just how good the tethered connection has been for me.)

Although you technically violated your ToS by tethering your dorid, I doubt very seriously your use would ever even show up on a report, much less lead to any retaliatory action on VZW's part.

All carriers and ISP providers face a similar set of pressures. On one hand they face competitive pressures from other providers willing to give potential customers a better deal for data plans. (e.g Verizon's recent cancellation of tethering charges for Palm Pre Plus customers.) On the other hand, they can see that a small proportion of users are utilizing their 3G networks at a rate 100 times or more than others and paying the same price for access. And on still a third hand is the political dispute over "net neutrality" encourages carriers and ISP's to avoid making waves and giving their opponents (who want to block tier pricing) ammunition.

In all of this, the occasional use of a Droid as a modem by a small slice of the customer base is a nit. On the other hand, a customer who would otherwise be a prime candidate for Verizon's $60 per month 5 gigabyte "broadband access" plan might well expect to hear from VZW if they consistently appear in the top tier of users. That is of course, if VZW decides it's in their interest to press the issue. And that assumes they believe such short term revenue trumps the other issues cited above.

 

[shooter_454]

After reading most of this thread it makes me lol...I know they can tell what your doing with your droid as far as tethering(not rooting),but I don't belive they are going to do what OP says in this thread...Thats all I'm saying....

 

[mikehal38]

My fiancée is an employee at VZW and she has personally seen the outrageous charges that tethering people get. And yes they can find out anyone who tethers.

 

[mikehal38]

Oh and as far as my fiancée said they wont terminate your contract but you wont want to pay the charges they give you...