VZW disabling tethering apps from market

[gsdreams]

So since gsdreams was saying that this method is the reason why they aren't charging customers the method is meaningless. They are currently not charing customers because according to you, they can't.

What we are saying here is that they are going the least costly route to prevent tethering which is to take away some of the tethering apps on the market and eventually pushing out updates to all phones that will break some of the tethering apps and pop up a paywall. This is a good cheap way to stop a bunch of tethering without offending a customer and automatically posting a tethering charge on people's accounts or accusing them of stealing. They don't want to lose you as a customer, they just want you to stop tethering or pay for it.

And exactly how are they going to push updates to those who have root and use a custom rom? What about the Droid1 last I heard there is no more support for that device. Didn't Motorola stop with gingerbread?

Sent from my Droid

Motorola isn't even releasing Gingerbread for the Droid 1 as far as anything I have heard.

And it won't stop those with a custom rom who don't get stock updates, but if it keeps up they could lock the OS on future phones so you can't root it or edit it.

Each step Verizon takes isn't expected to be an immediate fix. Let's see, remove tethering apps from Marketplace probably cost them less than $200 to implement. It probably will stop anywhere from 5% to 10% of those that are using it. Out of that 5% to 10% if 10 of them switch to hotspot verizon just made there money back in one month.

Throttling of customers in the top 5%, if that lowers verizon's bandwidth cost in a large city by 1% it paid for the cost to implement plus some.

You have to see this from a Business Perspective, not an end user perspective.

 

[kodiak799]

That is what I am doing so next month ill have an answer.

That would only prove, potentially, that they aren't tracking currently or at least don't link it with their official tethering monitor. Wouldn't prove they can't or won't track tethering.

They can see the MAC address in the packets, if they want to analyze packets. So there is absolutely no question they can track it. Sure, maybe people can take extraordinary steps to circumvent that, but if not VZW is capable of tracking.

I find it interesting that PDA.net has added a beta feature to hide tether usage. So PDA.net, at least, believes the carriers have the ability to track this.

 

[cynnar]

And if vzw is so worried about customers why is it that when I call about my data card loosing signal when I hit the connect button always end with it's foliage?

I mean -62db before connection and not even 1x when I connect!
Only 1 mile from tower what gives?

Sent from my Droid

 

[gsdreams]

And if vzw is so worried about customers why is it that when I call about my data card loosing signal when I hit the connect button always end with it's foliage?

I mean -62db before connection and not even 1x when I connect!
Only 1 mile from tower what gives?

Sent from my Droid

Get to tech and get a CLNR. If that doesn't fix it ask them to open an NRB ticket.

It could literally be you are too close to the tower.

 

[cynnar]

What we are saying here is that they are going the least costly route to prevent tethering which is to take away some of the tethering apps on the market and eventually pushing out updates to all phones that will break some of the tethering apps and pop up a paywall. This is a good cheap way to stop a bunch of tethering without offending a customer and automatically posting a tethering charge on people's accounts or accusing them of stealing. They don't want to lose you as a customer, they just want you to stop tethering or pay for it.

And exactly how are they going to push updates to those who have root and use a custom rom? What about the Droid1 last I heard there is no more support for that device. Didn't Motorola stop with gingerbread?

Sent from my Droid

Motorola isn't even releasing Gingerbread for the Droid 1 as far as anything I have heard.

And it won't stop those with a custom rom who don't get stock updates, but if it keeps up they could lock the OS on future phones so you can't root it or edit it.

Each step Verizon takes isn't expected to be an immediate fix. Let's see, remove tethering apps from Marketplace probably cost them less than $200 to implement. It probably will stop anywhere from 5% to 10% of those that are using it. Out of that 5% to 10% if 10 of them switch to hotspot verizon just made there money back in one month.

Throttling of customers in the top 5%, if that lowers verizon's bandwidth cost in a large city by 1% it paid for the cost to implement plus some.

You have to see this from a Business Perspective, not an end user perspective.

From my understanding vzw already has phones locked. Last I checked root is not offered by vzw. Seems nobody realizes that those measures have already been defeated. Making it harder doesn't make it stop.

Sent from my Droid

 

[cynnar]

And if vzw is so worried about customers why is it that when I call about my data card loosing signal when I hit the connect button always end with it's foliage?

I mean -62db before connection and not even 1x when I connect!
Only 1 mile from tower what gives?

Sent from my Droid

Get to tech and get a CLNR. If that doesn't fix it ask them to open an NRB ticket.

It could literally be you are too close to the tower.

Done that. They even said they was sending someone into the field. Guess what same answer. What is even funnier is my phone doesn't loose connection.

Sent from my Droid

 

[rebaf]

Please do not discuss, or post a link about pirated app markets .

sent from droidforums app

it was relative to the discussion and offered the FREE app in question from a source.
please if you are gonna delete my post; delete post 350 as i accidently refered people to the wrong site (stating appbrain and not $@##$)

by not deleting that post but deleting my other posts you have sent people on a wild goose chase (since they can no longer see the post i made with the correct name of the place to find the app).

thank you.

Deleted .......

sent from droidforums app

thnk you sir.

 

[cynnar]

That is what I am doing so next month ill have an answer.

That would only prove, potentially, that they aren't tracking currently or at least don't link it with their official tethering monitor. Wouldn't prove they can't or won't track tethering.

They can see the MAC address in the packets, if they want to analyze packets. So there is absolutely no question they can track it. Sure, maybe people can take extraordinary steps to circumvent that, but if not VZW is capable of tracking.

I find it interesting that PDA.net has added a beta feature to hide tether usage. So PDA.net, at least, believes the carriers have the ability to track this.

And from what I gathered reading on Mac address is vzw sends a packet with their Mac the phone then changes it to its Mac. The phone sends to tethered device it changes the Mac to that device.
Then the phone changes Mac back to phones Mac. Then vzw receives packet and Mac is changed to vzw.
As the packet can only have one Mac address which is the last device it was on, and remains there until it is changed and that would be the next device to get it.

Sent from my Droid

 

[kodiak799]

Not saying you're wrong, but I think it's interesting that they would start using this "smarter method" now. Verizon has never hesitated historically to tack on charges when they could. Also, using this logic, wouldn't it be "smarter" for them to prevent people from making calls once they run out of minutes and prevent people from sending texts once they run out of texts?

True, but the flipside is a little tether here and there doesn't cost them anything and they just ignore it as a little known "perk". Obviously unlimited data vs. AT&T was a way to differentiate themselves.

LTE changes the dynamic, though. This is probably much less of a problem when they move to caps, but if they do intend to grandfather people with unlimited then the same problem re-emerges, and much more of an issue not that speeds make dropping home broadband more realistic.

Also, about the lower tier for tethering (i.e. $5 for 500megs)...One person mentioned you can pro-rate, but this can be tricky (i.e. if you shut it off after running up 200megs on day 1, you're prorated for 6gigs in the month, so you would be prorated @70megs and hit with an overage on 130 megs). Now you talk about prorating a $5 plan, or even just driving more people to prorate when they need tether for a day, and your call center volume spikes with people getting overages (or even just to turn it on and off all the time) because that system is simply not very user friendly.

As others have mentioned, if you only use a gig or two a month, I don't think VZW cares if you're tethering. Their main concern is most likely stopping abusers racking up gigs and gigs of tether and also to protect their mobile broadband revenue stream. I can't see VZW expending the resources to look at people using <3gigs just to make a few bucks off a tether charge (and pissing off a lot of customers in the process).

 

[gsdreams]

Who says they have to stop it completely? Its all a figures game. They just have to force it back far enough to put it in an acceptable loss category.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk

 

[cynnar]

Who says they have to stop it completely? Its all a figures game. They just have to force it back far enough to put it in an acceptable loss category.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk

Why vzw does. Didn't you say they are trying to do away with illegal tether?

Sent from my Droid

 

[gsdreams]

No, I only said they could and probably should and gave concepts on how and reasons why and steps they are taking/could take.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk

 

[cynnar]

Each step Verizon takes isn't expected to be an immediate fix.

Forgive me if I misunderstood, but sounds like the end result is to fix the tether problem.

Sent from my Droid

 

[Beardface]

What I don't get is the amount of people (well... one person who has been doing it for a very long time on here in particular) are so adamant towards whining that tethering is being eliminated. It explicitly states in your contract that you cannot do it. No gray area. Don't do it anymore. Its that simple. I don't care if you're tethering a little or tethering a lot. I don't care if you have unlimited data, DON'T DO IT.

Just because you have unlimited data, you are not allowed to tether to whatever you want. In fact, you are strictly forbidden from it. I don't care if we don't have verification that Verizon right now doesn't have the ability to tell. Don't freaking do it anymore.

And lets not rationalize this. Technically, you're stealing their bandwidth by tethering to a laptop. The phone's data plan is not there to power your other devices. So just stop it.

 

[Vulcan1600]

And if vzw is so worried about customers why is it that when I call about my data card loosing signal when I hit the connect button always end with it's foliage?

I mean -62db before connection and not even 1x when I connect!
Only 1 mile from tower what gives?

Sent from my Droid

Get to tech and get a CLNR. If that doesn't fix it ask them to open an NRB ticket.

It could literally be you are too close to the tower.

Done that. They even said they was sending someone into the field. Guess what same answer. What is even funnier is my phone doesn't loose connection.

Sent from my Droid

Please stay on topic.