Develop Bugs

Windows update not working- 'make sure date and time are correct' - and 80072ee7

Yes I've tried searching.
I've tried to update with and without the data box checked. Wifi on and off. Is it disabled and ROMs and radios are done by htc? I'm so confused. I was born yesterday so I'm new to technology.
Connection to the update server is not available. Check your data connection settings and ensure the device date and time are correct.
Result Code:
80072ee7 (seems to be an error used by windows in general and not just mobile - mentions some static ip stuff for vista but I don't think you need that kinda stuff with a phone)
USA, T-Mobile, dunked-in-coffee color
Help please

Windows update not working is normal. I think carriers must support it for it to work and I don't know of any carriers that do.

toadlife said:
Windows update not working is normal. I think carriers must support it for it to work and I don't know of any carriers that do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That means I have to figure out how to manually update through HTC's website or are there OTA updates like with android?

steveyos said:
Thanks. That means I have to figure out how to manually update through HTC's website or are there OTA updates like with android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Traditionally, updates to Windows mobile devices are done via ROMs that you download to your computer and flash via a USB connection.I think some kind of OTA updating is possible, but I doubt of t-mobile will support that.

toadlife said:
Traditionally, updates to Windows mobile devices are done via ROMs that you download to your computer and flash via a USB connection.I think some kind of OTA updating is possible, but I doubt of t-mobile will support that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I also have the G1 from t-mobile and that has OTA updates, but that also doesn't allow tethering while for some reason winmo phones are apparently allowed to tether 24/7, so who knows.
I forgot to mention that my phone seems to be going abnormally slow and not reacting at a reasonable speed. I have no idea how I left that little nugget of info out since it's the reason I'm trying to update. I saw the MMS +international and a ROM update on HTC's site, but my versions are newer, so I'm not sure what's up (and I'm also horrible at navigating to info I need). I always go through all the settings when I get a new piece of plastic and I can't seem to speed this baby up no matter what I do. It seems to be at its worst in IE, with or without lots of stuff on the page, and besdies that it just doesn't seem as fast as it should be. The phone's only new-to-america, right (as in it's been out in other countries)? And winmo's been out for decades, so I don't think that's blamable on it being "new".
Man I'm horrible at finding stuff. I had that page with the updates on htc's site and now I can't find it again. I checked the online manual and it talks about windows update like it works too, but maybe that part is just part of the default windows mobile manual. I'M SO CONFUSED

Posting from my phone now, it took about three minutes to get down to this phone from the main forum page, and when it locks up I can't click menu or anything and yes the page was done loading and no I don't know why at 5AM I remember details I shoulda posted back at 5PM. Instant messages and texts also don't show up in order and some take literally hours to show up at all. My G1 and my cousin's sidekick both work in this location so I don't think it's a connection problem although I do get errors about not being able to connect to certain things but I have no idea what it means. One is like 'can't dial blah blah' but I'm not calling anyone.
I've never really had a good experience with windows mobile but I doubt this phone is actually really THIS bad. But, there's also nothing really pointing out a direct relation to this being a software or hardware fault.
Actually I'll post this then I'll post my version info maybe I'm not up to date

I can't copy paste this stuff? This is gonna suck
ROM ver.........1.20.531.4 (51986) WWE (this a limited edition wrestling phone or something?)
ROM date.......06/08/09
Radio.............3.45.25.14
Protocol..........61.27T.25.23U
I think I typed that all right. Is that up to date? I can't quite figure out htc.com, hell I can't even navigate my own site

I also can't seem to switch to transcriber or anything other than the default on screen keyboard

[Q] Why hasnt USB tether been hacked?

just curious, is there any particular reason why USB tethering hasn't been hacked yet?
i know there are app's but is there something at the core of the Android OS or HTC part of the OS that is completely blocking USB tethering without the hotspot function.
one would like to believe that, if a programmer wanted to, they could simply do a dump of their current system, then call Sprint and sign up for the hotspot, let it get initialized on the phone, then do a dump of the phone again and do a comparison.
and then shut off the service as soon as you are done using it.
Sprint will prorate the monthly fee if you dont use it all month.
Sprint sends something to the phone to say "Hotspot initialized, Hotspot Authorized" and there has to be something in the OS that is either altered or added that can then be emulated or spoofed in a rooted rom.
thats my thoughts on it.
is there anyone with the knowledge and not just b.s. talk who can actually answer this properly?
3rd party apps are fine but not when they have to be installed on the client side of the link (the pc)
the flipside is that you can simply keep it on your memory card and just pull it off the memory card and install it on whatever pc/laptop you want to tether to.
but again, a 3rd party application to do this i do not believe is needed.
Windows sees the phone as a internet device to be used, so whatever PDANet is doing, should be able to be done on the phone alone, right?

Google Tetherbot... Free, no software on host PC.

v_lestat said:
just curious, is there any particular reason why USB tethering hasn't been hacked yet?
i know there are app's but is there something at the core of the Android OS or HTC part of the OS that is completely blocking USB tethering without the hotspot function.
one would like to believe that, if a programmer wanted to, they could simply do a dump of their current system, then call Sprint and sign up for the hotspot, let it get initialized on the phone, then do a dump of the phone again and do a comparison.
and then shut off the service as soon as you are done using it.
Sprint will prorate the monthly fee if you dont use it all month.
Sprint sends something to the phone to say "Hotspot initialized, Hotspot Authorized" and there has to be something in the OS that is either altered or added that can then be emulated or spoofed in a rooted rom.
thats my thoughts on it.
is there anyone with the knowledge and not just b.s. talk who can actually answer this properly?
3rd party apps are fine but not when they have to be installed on the client side of the link (the pc)
the flipside is that you can simply keep it on your memory card and just pull it off the memory card and install it on whatever pc/laptop you want to tether to.
but again, a 3rd party application to do this i do not believe is needed.
Windows sees the phone as a internet device to be used, so whatever PDANet is doing, should be able to be done on the phone alone, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does the hotspot feature have to do with USB tethering?

you have to pay the $30/mth for the hotspot feature in order to enable USB tethering, it is part of the feature set and says so right in the description of the package.
that is why you get the Error 67 if you try to usb tether and have not paid for the hotspot feature.
tetherbot seems interesting but truth be told, again you are using a 3rd party app to initilize the connection, ADB.
i guess the next question would be, do you have to do the proxy setup everytime you usb tether? or just once?
it would only take 10sec to write a .bat file with the instructions, but i guess it comes down to why hasnt it been hacked to just run ... without all the other stuff.
again, Tetherbot is doing something that is opening the door to a final solution.
if its an app on the phone thats cool and i completely understand but having to alter the communction system between your pc and phone (by using adb to set a proxy port) seems wierd.
why the proxy settings. is port 1080 the only open port on the phone side of the link when usb is plugged in?
i could see that, but if 1 port is open, then they all can be openen, its just a matter of letting it.
i guess i dont see the need for the whole proxy system. shouldnt there be some command to just open everything up like it normally would be and not just one port?

v_lestat said:
just curious, is there any particular reason why USB tethering hasn't been hacked yet?
i know there are app's but is there something at the core of the Android OS or HTC part of the OS that is completely blocking USB tethering without the hotspot function.
one would like to believe that, if a programmer wanted to, they could simply do a dump of their current system, then call Sprint and sign up for the hotspot, let it get initialized on the phone, then do a dump of the phone again and do a comparison.
and then shut off the service as soon as you are done using it.
Sprint will prorate the monthly fee if you dont use it all month.
Sprint sends something to the phone to say "Hotspot initialized, Hotspot Authorized" and there has to be something in the OS that is either altered or added that can then be emulated or spoofed in a rooted rom.
thats my thoughts on it.
is there anyone with the knowledge and not just b.s. talk who can actually answer this properly?
3rd party apps are fine but not when they have to be installed on the client side of the link (the pc)
the flipside is that you can simply keep it on your memory card and just pull it off the memory card and install it on whatever pc/laptop you want to tether to.
but again, a 3rd party application to do this i do not believe is needed.
Windows sees the phone as a internet device to be used, so whatever PDANet is doing, should be able to be done on the phone alone, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just download PDAnet from the Market. USB tether no monthly charges.

v_lestat said:
you have to pay the $30/mth for the hotspot feature in order to enable USB tethering, it is part of the feature set and says so right in the description of the package.
that is why you get the Error 67 if you try to usb tether and have not paid for the hotspot feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not to be a pita - but I've never seen usb tethering in any description of the hotspot feature from Sprint, can you point it out? I've never had the need for either the hotspot or usb tethering, so I probably just glossed right over it.

I don't really see the need for him to point it out. If you are that curious, just go look... what he is telling you is correct. You cannot ICS without the $30 fee... hotspot OR tethering. (Unless it is hacked). I am pretty sure there is no confusion on the hack though. This is widely done with rooted phones. So it isn't a matter of people not knowing how... it is a matter of having the priv on the phone to do it. Without root, other 3rd party options are the only way.

edufur said:
I don't really see the need for him to point it out. If you are that curious, just go look... what he is telling you is correct. You cannot ICS without the $30 fee... hotspot OR tethering. (Unless it is hacked). I am pretty sure there is no confusion on the hack though. This is widely done with rooted phones. So it isn't a matter of people not knowing how... it is a matter of having the priv on the phone to do it. Without root, other 3rd party options are the only way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fair enough - the way he described it, I thought it was a sprint thing and not a hack. I was looking, but I was looking in all of the Sprint materials (website, user guide, etc) about the hotspot feature and wasn't able to find anything about it also allowing usb tethering - only the wireless tethering. I wasn't doubting him or anything. Like I said in my other post, I thought I just missed it since I never really looked into the hotspot feature before.

fachadick said:
fair enough - the way he described it, I thought it was a sprint thing and not a hack. I was looking, but I was looking in all of the Sprint materials (website, user guide, etc) about the hotspot feature and wasn't able to find anything about it also allowing usb tethering - only the wireless tethering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
technically it is a sprint thing and the phone has to be hacked to make it work.
the hack being rooting the phone.
Sprint locks the phones, so when you enable USB tethering on the phone, your PC sees it, calls it an internet connection at something like 460mbps (because its usb) and expects internet traffic in and out of that connection.
BUT
the phone checks itself and sprint, then says, oh wait, i dont have the hotspot feature enabled because i dont have the authorization key,,, so... no USB tethering, and here is your Error 67.
now the authorization key is just a theory but a legitimate one and one that is used daily on thousands of devices.
if it is all surrounding the hotspot feature, which it very well may be, then i guess finding a hack for the hotspot would be next. and not wifi tethering for root users, but a legit hack to the HTC/Sprint program.
usb tethering is available for paid app's or free apps that just make a proxy.
i guess my whole point is to just ask what is it about the usb tethering that isnt hacked to NOT give the error 67....
there is something there that can be bypassed or otherwise....

Instead of complaining that something hasnt been done or done fast enough for you, do a search!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=712706
Quite active thread with the dev themselves posting often. It is close to being finished with a few kinks needing to be worked out.

superevilllama said:
Instead of complaining that something hasnt been done or done fast enough for you, do a search!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=712706
Quite active thread with the dev themselves posting often. It is close to being finished with a few kinks needing to be worked out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where was i complaining? i think i clearly asked aplain and simple question.
i was aware of that thread until it was broken and not working (the tether function) then i moved on...
i am not sure why its in apps and themes where it should be more into the development section even though it clearly is an app
but either way i will investigate it more as i see there is more chatter about it working.

superevilllama said:
Instead of complaining that something hasnt been done or done fast enough for you, do a search!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=712706
Quite active thread with the dev themselves posting often. It is close to being finished with a few kinks needing to be worked out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this doesn't work on froyo kernels ATM
and what he is asking for isn't a freaking APP READ he is asking about making a rewrite to the core of the phone to allow NATIVE tether without adding some kind of app to work around the issue.

Hey guys.... so
I've personally wanted this myself, yes there are other 3rd party apps, then you have to install their software on your machine...petty of me I know, but what can I say.
So after rooting with a bunch of ROMS on my EVO, I moved to FreshEVO which so far is my favorite.
Today I upgraded to v 3.4.0.1, according to the release notes, this has just what the original poster is after:
Changes from Fresh Evo 3.3.0.1 to 3.4.0.1:
* Based on a new Sprint OTA (3.30.651.2)
* New kernel by HTC (g0f673ed)
o Modified slightly to allow apps2sd and remount to work
o Has fps unlocked by default, straight from HTC's source!
* Upped MMS size limit to 5mb (thanks to calkulin)
* Added mod to prevent MMS from compressing image unless it's over 5mb limit (thanks to calkulin)
* Added mod to unlock Sprint wired tether so that you can tether straight through the normal USB menu when you plug in your phone (thanks to calkulin. If it's not working for you then you are probably missing drivers on your computer. Check device manager. Works on 3g or wifi only)
* Updated Wireless Tether to 2.0.5-pre-11
* Updated DarkTremor apps2sd to 2.7.5.2
* Updated Google Maps to 4.5.1
* Updated Google Search to 1.1.2
* Updated YouTube to 2.0.26
* Updated busybox to 1.16.0
* There were no radio updates or updates to any system apks or jars in this OTA.
* 3.4.0.0-3.4.0.1: Fixed a browser bug. Find the small patch in Fresh Updater if you were on 3.4.0.0 already
Just thought this may be useful for those who have not come across it as yet.
Cheers
Sheldon

Why is stealing 30$ a month from sprint OK, but movies/tv warez stuff is off limits?
I get that our phones have unlimited plans, but when your tetherd to a computer there is a huge difference in usage. If they dont have the 30$ tethering charge, then they cant make enough money to keep internet unlimited. If they cant do that then we just wont have unlimited data in the future.
Also how can this forum justify not allowing info on streaming movies, which would add up to the cost of a netflix subscription (9$), while at the same time allowing a practice that costs 3 times that AND will lead to the crippling of our data plans?????
Sorry to play devils advocate but this has bothered me for a while.

um, excuse me for being a party pooper, but it has been hacked. Look for caulkin's evo fixes. One of these is the usb and wifi authorization fix. It still can't work with 4g because the authorization is somewhere else with that, but it works both ways perfectly on 3g just as fast as without. U r welcome
dk

scev5 said:
Why is stealing 30$ a month from sprint OK, but movies/tv warez stuff is off limits?
I get that our phones have unlimited plans, but when your tetherd to a computer there is a huge difference in usage. If they dont have the 30$ tethering charge, then they cant make enough money to keep internet unlimited. If they cant do that then we just wont have unlimited data in the future.
Also how can this forum justify not allowing info on streaming movies, which would add up to the cost of a netflix subscription (9$), while at the same time allowing a practice that costs 3 times that AND will lead to the crippling of our data plans?????
Sorry to play devils advocate but this has bothered me for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've only used tethering to see how it worked once, when the device was still on 2.1, and then, 4G had that bug which allows it to run for free.....
Personally, I dont think that allowing tethering on the device would put much of a dent in Sprint's profit margin at all.
Wifi tethering allows you up to 8 devices, but split this on 3g or even 4g and your speeds are going to be anything but spectacular.......
Usb tethering limits to 1 device, but at higher speeds yes....still the bandwidth coming through to the phone I have found to be only for use in emergencies, since its by no means near my cable connection (even on 4g, since indoors my 4g strength is 1/5 bars).
Now if I'm travelling with a laptop, the first thing I'm going to do is go to a coffee shop, pay 4 or 5 bucks for some coffee and get a real connection, not rely on tethering off my phone.
If I was out in the middle of no where, the battery usage alone of the phone and/or laptop would not exactly have me sitting around for hours downloading gigs of data.
With as much as I use this phone (and I use it a lot), streaming, downloading roms, music, market apps, browsing, email....I still have yet to see my data usage exceed 300Mb per month.
Downloading on 4G for large files is acceptable, but the dent to my battery is such that it is not worth the effort, 3g is painful enough for large files that I feel like I'm still living in Africa (yes I'm from there with the good ol 56k modem).
I'm not supporting stealing at all, but if anything would hurt Sprints finances, it would probably be the ginormous amount of dollars they sponsor to things like nascar, not the small portion of subscribers that are technically literate enough to root their phones and get free tethering, let alone how much they would actually use it.

I could really use some advice from a technical standpoint please

Hi everyone. I recently got a T989 from Telus, to which I used an Ebay unlocked. Now first things first....I have never had my email account or any account hacked. My computers in my home are virus free, so I have eliminated them. Within a week of using my T989 with Mobilicity, my gmail account (which my phone knows the password to) was hacked and logged in by someone in the U.S (Gmail shows IP logins) and they spammed my entire contact list. Now I am trying to think of ways this could have happened, but I honestly think the phone may have a keylogger or something on it.
Here are the steps they had me carry out (and it did unlock the phone immediately).
Download and install necessary files
http://www.UnlockClient.com/SAMSUNG_USB_Driver.exe
http://www.UnlockClient.com/dotNetFx40_Full_setup.exe
Very simple procedure:
1. Enter your paypal email or start in demo mode
2. Type *#7284# and select USB - Modem
3. Type *#9090# and select [1] USB
4. Exit service menu and reboot the phone
5. Once phone rebooted connect the phone and computer
6. Wait until all drivers are installed
7. Click "Unlock" button
8. Enter 00000000
Here is the auction for this unlock I got. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/280852210909?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Is there anything there that I should worry about? Or is there any possibility they have someone routed everything I do on my phone through them? I am seriously worried about my online banking information and such. Thank you very much in advance.

not sure if serious?
- taz b.

Why wouldn't I be serious? Isn't this a legitimate conclusion? I don't have a lot of posts but I have been lurking for years. I am serious however.

Unlocking phone is really a matter of entering a simple code in one step. All your steps there including entering your PayPal account, connecting USB?? and installing drivers are unneccesary and sketchy at best.
I've seen some reputable phone unlocking sites but definitely never seen something like that from eBay.
If I were you I would try a darkside full wipe and go back to whatever was at a safe state before.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using XDA

Oh I have wiped many times. The problem is that I don't think any of that wipe stuff will go back to factory settings in those *# menus or for the modem settings etc.
I know an unlock code is all that is needed, but I bought from a website that couldn't find the code. This one offered and instant unlock by a program (like the ones shops use) to unlock.
I am also not dumb, the paypal account doesn't require a password or anything it is just a way to identify your keys.

wy2sl0 said:
Oh I have wiped many times. The problem is that I don't think any of that wipe stuff will go back to factory settings in those *# menus or for the modem settings etc.
I know an unlock code is all that is needed, but I bought from a website that couldn't find the code. This one offered and instant unlock by a program (like the ones shops use) to unlock.
I am also not dumb, the paypal account doesn't require a password or anything it is just a way to identify your keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And did you test your phone with a different sim card? Everything is functional?
As far as I know, the legitimate way and the only way to unlock a phone is through the codes generated by the datebase. All the reputable sites that unlock phones that I know of, all use codes to unlock. When I had bought my telus g2sx the store unlocked it using the code.

Something like a keylogger would be app level, not modem info or hardware level. Also, something transmitting every keystroke would use a LOT of data and battery.
First thing I would do, personally, is check my battery stats to see if any app was using a suspicious amount of battery.
In my opinion, it wouldn't make sense for a company who already got your money for an unlock service to install a key logger to spam your Gmail contacts.
Just my two cents. It would take a tremendous amount of technology to track everyone who used the service. Not to mention man hours in sifting through collected data.
Check the battery stats. Settings>About Phone>Battery Use.
Hope this helps in any way. Hacked accounts are always a bummer man.

Wierd, I used that site a week or two ago and nothing like that happened to me. Makes me worried now.
I didn't use ebay though, I did it directly from the site. You could always re-flash your phone to stock then update it, that would eliminate any possibility of odd software.

In step 1, did you run a program on your computer, on the phone or both?

anomy13 said:
Unlocking phone is really a matter of entering a simple code in one step. All your steps there including entering your PayPal account, connecting USB?? and installing drivers are unneccesary and sketchy at best.
I've seen some reputable phone unlocking sites but definitely never seen something like that from eBay.
If I were you I would try a darkside full wipe and go back to whatever was at a safe state before.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want your phone as clean as possible then do this in recovery
go to mounts and storage format /data format /system format /cache format/emmc. Then flash the super wipe followed by the rom but remember doing it this way deletes everything from your phone.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

probably had nothing to do with the unlock, but more likely you had soem one arp attack your wifi on an open hotspot and they just nabbed your password.
I fiddle with this in coffee shops all the time and i always leave with a list of facebook, youtube, gmail hotmail and other passwords.
I'm not a spammer, i just like to see how insecure things are and if any one is intelligent to use ssl... even though ssl can be stripped from a packet now lol

-Mr. X- said:
probably had nothing to do with the unlock, but more likely you had soem one arp attack your wifi on an open hotspot and they just nabbed your password.
I fiddle with this in coffee shops all the time and i always leave with a list of facebook, youtube, gmail hotmail and other passwords.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't GMail SSL now?

Joe USer said:
Isn't GMail SSL now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and ssl can be stripped from packets now. Intercept the packet and then use it to sign in. then profit.
an app to play with if you want to try it out for your self is faceniff for andorid.

-Mr. X- said:
probably had nothing to do with the unlock, but more likely you had soem one arp attack your wifi on an open hotspot and they just nabbed your password.
I fiddle with this in coffee shops all the time and i always leave with a list of facebook, youtube, gmail hotmail and other passwords.
I'm not a spammer, i just like to see how insecure things are and if any one is intelligent to use ssl... even though ssl can be stripped from a packet now lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any recommendations to protect yourself then?
sent from the darkside of the galaxy

Z-Man™ said:
Any recommendations to protect yourself then?
sent from the darkside of the galaxy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dont use open hotspots at coffee shops and stuff like that. look for the shady nerd in the corner, and i think there is an app that can detect if your wifi is being arp spoofed.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gurkedev.wifiprotector&hl=en
i think there may be free ones too, i dont know. but that app will detect if your being attack by a man in the middle/arp spoofing

I don't use Wi-Fi hotspots since I have unlimited data on my phone. I really don't understand how this could've happened.

wy2sl0 said:
I don't use Wi-Fi hotspots since I have unlimited data on my phone. I really don't understand how this could've happened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its not just your phone that is at risk for these attacks. anything you sign on with is if some one does the man in the middle attack, among other attacks.
Other reasons besides your phone unlocking are the root cause of your issue. It's unfortunate none the less but man in the middle password sniffing and fishing are the leading causes i see at work for your spamming hijacking. i work with this stuff daily.

wy2sl0 said:
I don't use Wi-Fi hotspots since I have unlimited data on my phone. I really don't understand how this could've happened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever figured out if unlockclient.com had injected some malware in your device.
Has anyone on this site had problem with them or any developper had a chance to check what they are doing ?

will tmobile ends "free" tethering policy affects us SGN owners?

I just read the article here: http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...e-tethering-if-you-ever-had-it-to-begin-with/
I am on tmobile prepaid plan and use the tether once in a while. But I absolutely would not pay extra to pay for tethering my own data that I already paid for.

it shouldn't unless you decide to install their version of ics

I'm going to quote my own G+ post on these one:
All phones that T-Mobile has released since the Amaze 4G and the Galaxy S II have had a separate APN built in to their tethering that automatically flags your device as tethering. This includes the new LG MyTouch devices, the HTC Radar, etc. ALL phones released for the last 6 months. This has been the status quo for a long time, and for some reason everyone is throwing a fit now that the new software for the Sensation is doing exactly the same thing that all of these other phones have been doing since they were released.
Also, several of these articles state that T-Mobile is using some kind of sinister monitoring methods on your data traffic in order to determine that you are tethering. This is not true. It is being done in a very similar way to how I understand the iPhone has reported tethering to carriers for a long time, by using a completely separate tethering APN instead of the customary data APN typically used for T-Mobile handsets. This is why on some newer devices if you enabled tethering and then tried to browse on your handset it would either fail or send you to a upsell that would ask you to purchase tethering, because it is flagged as completely different traffic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a software change handled on each device. It has little to do with the network outside of the network authorizing the tethering APN from the newer handsets when the tethering option has been enabled. It is possible that T-Mobile may be passively monitoring user agent strings to 'detect' tethering, however, this is a very unreliable method for them to use as using the desktop user agent option in your browser would trigger that. AT&T appears to do this, but to my knowledge, T-Mobile does not. At least not presently. However, some users have reported they are being given the tethering upsell when using desktop user agents, so I could easily be wrong.
Personally, I don't believe that this is the correct thing for carriers to do, as long as you aren't going over you data limit. I believe that you should be able to use your data limit how you see fit, whether the traffic is coming from your phone or through tethering. For me, this kind of nonsense is exactly the same as ISPs using QOS to throttle bandwidth for competing services, such as, theoretically, if Comcast were to throttle Netflix traffic. Unfortunately, my voice alone isn't going to change the status quo, and carriers in the US have decided that charging for tethering is the new way to make a profit.
TL;DR
No. This will not affect the GN in any way, nor is this a new development. This policy for new devices / software for T-Mobile phones has been in place for around for 6 months and is a software 'feature'. Also, that article is poorly written and researched in general, as well as the horde of other bad articles in the past couple of days over this so-called 'revelation'.

lettcco said:
I just read the article here: http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...e-tethering-if-you-ever-had-it-to-begin-with/
I am on tmobile prepaid plan and use the tether once in a while. But I absolutely would not pay extra to pay for tethering my own data that I already paid for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only reason they can block it on their own devices is because they control the final software. T-Mobile doesn't control the software on the Galaxy Nexus.
That being said, T-Mobile attempts to "block" tethering on unlocked/unbranded devices by sniffing UAstring of your browser and redirecting you to their tethering upsell page if they notice you're on a desktop browser (they're assuming you're tethered to a desktop). I'm going to save myself some time and not elaborate on this. It's how they do it and it's all over the internet in XDA and other places.
Its a horrible policy that many people have been fighting with for a long time now. Not only does it not work stopping any moderately sophisticated user on their desktop (because spoofing is SO easy), but it inadvertently "blocks" anyone trying to request desktop sites on their phones. Many browsers (especially Chrome Beta for Android) by default browse in desktop mode (or let you easily request desktop sites), and get redirected inadvertently.
Long story short, the UAstring sniffing method is starting to redirect Chrome Beta for Android users (including myself), as it has nearly an identical UAstring to desktop Chrome. They're currently "working to resolve this issue" which may mean a change in the way they try to detect tethering. More than likely they'll keep doing it they way they are and will come up with a workaround for Chrome for Android. Either way they have to figure it out, as they're selling ICS 4.0 devices that use Chrome for Android now.
---------- Post added at 09:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:27 PM ----------
cade80 said:
it shouldn't unless you decide to install their version of ics
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile doesn't have a "version" of ICS. Especially not for the GNex

Thanks all for the insightful comments.

Same of custom GB breads, or any custom on phones in general. Tethered on my G2x all the time on CM7 with no problems at all.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus running AOKP+Franco on Tapatalk 2

http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/

martonikaj said:
The only reason they can block it on their own devices is because they control the final software. T-Mobile doesn't control the software on the Galaxy Nexus.
That being said, T-Mobile attempts to "block" tethering on unlocked/unbranded devices by sniffing UAstring of your browser and redirecting you to their tethering upsell page if they notice you're on a desktop browser (they're assuming you're tethered to a desktop). I'm going to save myself some time and not elaborate on this. It's how they do it and it's all over the internet in XDA and other places.
Its a horrible policy that many people have been fighting with for a long time now. Not only does it not work stopping any moderately sophisticated user on their desktop (because spoofing is SO easy), but it inadvertently "blocks" anyone trying to request desktop sites on their phones. Many browsers (especially Chrome Beta for Android) by default browse in desktop mode (or let you easily request desktop sites), and get redirected inadvertently.
Long story short, the UAstring sniffing method is starting to redirect Chrome Beta for Android users (including myself), as it has nearly an identical UAstring to desktop Chrome. They're currently "working to resolve this issue" which may mean a change in the way they try to detect tethering. More than likely they'll keep doing it they way they are and will come up with a workaround for Chrome for Android. Either way they have to figure it out, as they're selling ICS 4.0 devices that use Chrome for Android now.
---------- Post added at 09:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:27 PM ----------
T-Mobile doesn't have a "version" of ICS. Especially not for the GNex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
overriding the user agent in chrome doesn't seem to help. strange.
i was tethering for about an hour just now and the redirect page just popped up.

I ran into the same problem today. After coming really close to paying the $12/month to use the data I'm already paying for, I decided to come here and ask for help. I got 2 solutions.
1. Change the user agent for my browser. Once I did this it was surfing as usual with the built in tethering app. Only problem is Netflix isn't supported by android2.2 browser.
2. PDA net, I read somewhere that a it hides what type of traffic. It seems to work. No restrictions, no redirects.
I'm going to stick with the second alternative because it behaves the way I'm used to.

turbosix said:
overriding the user agent in chrome doesn't seem to help. strange.
i was tethering for about an hour just now and the redirect page just popped up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah once they've flagged you it's hard to get around it on the phone.
Ironzey said:
I ran into the same problem today. After coming really close to paying the $12/month to use the data I'm already paying for, I decided to come here and ask for help. I got 2 solutions.
1. Change the user agent for my browser. Once I did this it was surfing as usual with the built in tethering app. Only problem is Netflix isn't supported by android2.2 browser.
2. PDA net, I read somewhere that a it hides what type of traffic. It seems to work. No restrictions, no redirects.
I'm going to stick with the second alternative because it behaves the way I'm used to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PDAnet should work, but T-Mobile filtering and checking for UAstring can potentially get around this. Depending on how PDAnet tries to "hide" or change your final connection you may be successful.

It happened to me as well. I was using Chrome on OSX but after the redirect page started manifesting itself, I wondered if it would be the same with all browsers. I tested Safari and no redirect page
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Q] AT&T Detected Tether Apps?

So today I got the letter in the mail from AT&T telling me that I need to stop tethering or that I'll lose my old grandfathered in unlimited data plan and be moved to plan that supports tethering and a data cap.
I called the number they gave me to get some info on what they were going to say they told me very generally that they have detected tethering and that if I don't stop by the end of the month, they will bump my plan. She gave me a laundry list of things that are considered tethering, from wifi hotspots to getting internet access for a gaming console.
I pressed very hard to find out what exactly I have done that they register as tethering more than anything I wanted specifics. She told me several times that they couldn't give out specifics as that is proprietary information. When I suggested that this might just them trying to force me onto a more expensive plan since they were unable to give me any proof that I had been tethering, she paused and said that she's wait while I look in my phone for tethering apps. I told her I don't have any tethering apps and she told me to look again. After some back and forth, she told me that the mere existence of a tethering app on the phone was considered tethering.
Beyond the issue of tethering at the moment I'm bothered that they even know what apps are on my phone and that they might use the existence of an app as justification to alter my service.
Has anyone heard of the carrier looking at apps like this before? From a privacy standpoint, I'd like to see if there is some way to keep their nose out of my business. Anyone know of a way to keep AT&T out of my phone?

If you were to have a tethering app on your phone (and of course, you don't), what would it be? i.e., if AT&T can detect certain apps, what, do you suppose (without admitting anything incriminating), are the apps they're talking about?
I can't imagine they'd be crazy enough to surreptitiously audit the content of a subscriber's phone, and then tacitly admit to it with this sort of inquiry. But I could imagine that they can detect tethering "signatures" via snooping network traffic. For example, if you tether to a PC and use that to browse the internet, the user agent will look different than when the phone's browser is being used. Or if you left a tethering session running and they saw your phone pulling down updates for Microsoft Windows, that'd sure be a dead giveaway. There's little if any reason to pull anything off Windows Update with a phone. They could maybe get away with detecting that sort of thing since they wouldn't be looking at data content, just whether or not the data source was consistent with a smartphone or not...

willp2 said:
So today I got the letter in the mail from AT&T telling me that I need to stop tethering or that I'll lose my old grandfathered in unlimited data plan and be moved to plan that supports tethering and a data cap.
I called the number they gave me to get some info on what they were going to say they told me very generally that they have detected tethering and that if I don't stop by the end of the month, they will bump my plan. She gave me a laundry list of things that are considered tethering, from wifi hotspots to getting internet access for a gaming console.
I pressed very hard to find out what exactly I have done that they register as tethering more than anything I wanted specifics. She told me several times that they couldn't give out specifics as that is proprietary information. When I suggested that this might just them trying to force me onto a more expensive plan since they were unable to give me any proof that I had been tethering, she paused and said that she's wait while I look in my phone for tethering apps. I told her I don't have any tethering apps and she told me to look again. After some back and forth, she told me that the mere existence of a tethering app on the phone was considered tethering.
Beyond the issue of tethering at the moment I'm bothered that they even know what apps are on my phone and that they might use the existence of an app as justification to alter my service.
Has anyone heard of the carrier looking at apps like this before? From a privacy standpoint, I'd like to see if there is some way to keep their nose out of my business. Anyone know of a way to keep AT&T out of my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you on stock AT&T rom?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using XDA Premium HD app

While I hope for their own sake that they aren't auditing software on the devices, I suppose they could be watching what people download. For instance, some tethering apps are just not available in the Play store if you are coming from AT&T or Sprint. I could see that perhaps in one of the many TOS agreements I clicked OK on without reading there was something that said they could sniff around my phone.
I assumed they would be looking at traffic, but after being quite vague over and over again, she was very specific about a tethering app. Agreed that as soon as a PC goes online it creates all kinds of traffic that wouldn't look like a smart phone.
I am using the stock / not rooted AT&T ROM at this point. I normally root right away, but I haven't really had a need on this one.
I would root and use a different ROM if I felt like it would keep their noses out of my junk. Even if I was tethering, I'm not using a crazy amount of data so I find the whole thing pretty silly.
Now I am thinking that if they do change my tethering plan without my permission, I have to assume that I can break my contract if I want and move elsewhere. Just not sure where I could get another Note II with unlimited data at a decent price.

willp2 said:
While I hope for their own sake that they aren't auditing software on the devices, I suppose they could be watching what people download. For instance, some tethering apps are just not available in the Play store if you are coming from AT&T or Sprint. I could see that perhaps in one of the many TOS agreements I clicked OK on without reading there was something that said they could sniff around my phone.
I assumed they would be looking at traffic, but after being quite vague over and over again, she was very specific about a tethering app. Agreed that as soon as a PC goes online it creates all kinds of traffic that wouldn't look like a smart phone.
I am using the stock / not rooted AT&T ROM at this point. I normally root right away, but I haven't really had a need on this one.
I would root and use a different ROM if I felt like it would keep their noses out of my junk. Even if I was tethering, I'm not using a crazy amount of data so I find the whole thing pretty silly.
Now I am thinking that if they do change my tethering plan without my permission, I have to assume that I can break my contract if I want and move elsewhere. Just not sure where I could get another Note II with unlimited data at a decent price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also make sure you DONT use internet explorer that is a NO NO for tethering with AT&T they see the browser agent and KNOW that`s not possible without tethering.

hyelton said:
Also make sure you DONT use internet explorer that is a NO NO for tethering with AT&T they see the browser agent and KNOW that`s not possible without tethering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Prove I haven't just changed my agent string to make the stupid app server think I'm on a windows desktop and using IE.
One of my friends pinged me 2 days ago. He got the friendly text stating tethering isn't allowed without a tether plan. No tethering on his part, just a lot of vevo traffic.
-----
I would love to help you, but help yourself first: ask a better question
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You could setup a linux machine at home and keep that running. Setup an SSH tunnel from your phone to your home linux box and tunnel all the tethering traffic through that. To AT&T that would just look like an encrypted ssh connection.

You could also run a Windows virtual machine on your phone. It's already been done.

Darkshado said:
You could also run a Windows virtual machine on your phone. It's already been done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That wouldn't help. FIrst, I don't think there are any hardware network drivers for windows for the Note II, so it wouldn't be able to get internet. Second, If he did have internet, he would still run into the same issue of unencrypted traffic being sniffed by at&t. Sure he could setup an ssh tunnel from windows, but at that point it's just silly to run windows on the note just to encrypt traffic.

I assume one could use any VPN like the SSH tunnel or something like hotspot shield or similar as long as all traffic is forced through the tunnel and there really would be no way for anyone to tell what you are doing.

willp2 said:
I assume one could use any VPN like the SSH tunnel or something like hotspot shield or similar as long as all traffic is forced through the tunnel and there really would be no way for anyone to tell what you are doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YA, thats the idea. As long as traffic is encrypted somehow there is little that AT&T can sniff.

DeMiNe0 said:
That wouldn't help. FIrst, I don't think there are any hardware network drivers for windows for the Note II, so it wouldn't be able to get internet. Second, If he did have internet, he would still run into the same issue of unencrypted traffic being sniffed by at&t. Sure he could setup an ssh tunnel from windows, but at that point it's just silly to run windows on the note just to encrypt traffic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he was perhaps referring to why there was traffic that looks like it originated from a PC coming from my phone. So if someone was running a VM on the phone itself it would produce some PC looking traffic. If that was the idea there, I assume tethering to a VM is still tethering?

Yeah: Provided you can run Qemu or Virtualbox you can run Windows in it, and it will have network access just like any VM would from a full sized computer. My point is that you can make a non-tethered phone generate the very same sort of IP traffic a computer would.
Heck, if the Fujitsu LOOX F-07C can run on AT&T, you don't even need a VM to generate connections to Windows Update and a desktop IE user agent!

I got the same message last week. I don't tether at all. I'm on cleanrom 4.5. Tried to request what apps they suspect me of using but wouldn't tell me either. I know all the apps I have on my phone as I keep things very simple. I will admit I do use a lot of data (4-4.5 gigs in 2 weeks lol)
I use Pandora and tunein app to stream music all the time. Only thing that I recently did out of the normal routine was use the desktop view on Google chrome. Would that give a different browser signature?

pyo said:
I got the same message last week. I don't tether at all. I'm on cleanrom 4.5. Tried to request what apps they suspect me of using but wouldn't tell me either. I know all the apps I have on my phone as I keep things very simple. I will admit I do use a lot of data (4-4.5 gigs in 2 weeks lol)
I use Pandora and tunein app to stream music all the time. Only thing that I recently did out of the normal routine was use the desktop view on Google chrome. Would that give a different browser signature?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it would show a user-agent string without indicating mobile. But not likely something to trigger a tether notice, as I use desktop view all the time. It's likely the high data usage that makes them think tether.
-----
I would love to help you, but help yourself first: ask a better question
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

willp2 said:
So today I got the letter in the mail from AT&T telling me that I need to stop tethering or that I'll lose my old grandfathered in unlimited data plan and be moved to plan that supports tethering and a data cap.
I called the number they gave me to get some info on what they were going to say they told me very generally that they have detected tethering and that if I don't stop by the end of the month, they will bump my plan. She gave me a laundry list of things that are considered tethering, from wifi hotspots to getting internet access for a gaming console.
I pressed very hard to find out what exactly I have done that they register as tethering more than anything I wanted specifics. She told me several times that they couldn't give out specifics as that is proprietary information. When I suggested that this might just them trying to force me onto a more expensive plan since they were unable to give me any proof that I had been tethering, she paused and said that she's wait while I look in my phone for tethering apps. I told her I don't have any tethering apps and she told me to look again. After some back and forth, she told me that the mere existence of a tethering app on the phone was considered tethering.
Beyond the issue of tethering at the moment I'm bothered that they even know what apps are on my phone and that they might use the existence of an app as justification to alter my service.
Has anyone heard of the carrier looking at apps like this before? From a privacy standpoint, I'd like to see if there is some way to keep their nose out of my business. Anyone know of a way to keep AT&T out of my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To the OP, did you tether ever?
I am worried that innocent people will lose their unlmtd plan? We need to find out if their detection system is wrong?

Wait, I signed up for 2 lines around 3 or 4 months sgo and they said because I got the max 6gigs of data a month I could tether all I want. I haven't for more than 10 minutes but I have noticed that AT&T sales reps speak in half truths. I was told if I paid the 10 a month for insurance I could break it by throwing it at someone" Well I added my 2nd line 10 days later and only then found out about a $200 deductible. I was definitely never told about a high deductible upon signing with them. I dont hold back though. I had all prorated charges waived.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2

DeMiNe0 said:
You could setup a linux machine at home and keep that running. Setup an SSH tunnel from your phone to your home linux box and tunnel all the tethering traffic through that. To AT&T that would just look like an encrypted ssh connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what I do and no problems thus far

Tethering detection has been discussed many times. The consensus is that they detect tethering by examining the TTL (Time-To-Live) value in the packet. When you tether a device, it shows a different TTL value than the one used in data packets sent by the phone and that's what they look for. There are other tricky things they can examine in the packet headers that can be used to detect tethering, but those are more complicated and take more effort on the part of the the wireless provider.
From what I read, it looks like SSH tunneling over a VPN would allow you to tether without detection, but I haven't heard of any definitive test on this. The biggest problem I see with that approach is that it really slows down your connection.
Here's a very technical paper that discusses tethering and methods to defeat it: Tethering Camouflage
These guys created a test app that rewrites packet data to hide tethering. In the article, they compare their method to using a VPN, which they imply will do the trick. Their opinion is that wireless providers will eventually give up on trying to enforce tethering restrictions because people will find ways to defeat it and it will cost them more than it's worth.

cyrano821 said:
That's exactly what I do and no problems thus far
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here got an ipcop firewall with open VPN Created certs for my mac and Android devices and no issues as of yet.