Develop Bugs

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
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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
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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

t mobile hot spot redirect in stock ics brower

i've started getting this annoying t mobile hot spot offer when i select to open websites in the stock browser in desktop view. it does it for some sites and not all and only in the desktop view. when i open the mobile version, it opens fine. this only happens in stock ics browser, when i do the same thing in chrome, it works and no annoying t mobile redirect. anyone else been getting this on Tmobile? how do i get rid of it?

wasya152 said:
i've started getting this annoying t mobile hot spot offer when i select to open websites in the stock browser in desktop view. it does it for some sites and not all and only in the desktop view. when i open the mobile version, it opens fine. this only happens in stock ics browser, when i do the same thing in chrome, it works and no annoying t mobile redirect. anyone else been getting this on Tmobile? how do i get rid of it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had that happen on my nexus s for about a month. change your user agent to android. browser settings, advanced, user agent, android.

I'll post here again quickly to tell you to search a bit if you want more info.
T-Mobile currently uses the browser UAstring (User Agent String) to "stop" tethering. Their thinking is that if your browser reports a "desktop" UAstring that you must be using a desktop computer tethered to your phone. As you and I know, this obviously isn't the case, and you're simply trying to view desktop pages on your phone.
Seemingly the way they choose to start redirecting you is once you've used a decent amount of data on a certain browser. After that, they "flag" your account as tethering, and you start getting redirects for that browser. Usually it's around 200mb for me, but this month I've used ~130mb in Chrome Beta and I'm getting it. I'm nowhere near my data throttle either (~790mb of 5gb).
Since Chrome Beta for Android came out, I've been having this issue, because Chrome Beta reports a UAstring that is very similar to desktop Chrome. I've read many support threads and spoken with T-Mobile directly. They're aware of the issue and are currently working on a fix. What that entails, who knows. They're surely going to have to figure something out because they're currently selling ICS devices that have access to the Chrome Beta. Surely they're getting inundated with CS calls about this.
Their official stance to me was "... in the mean time, use another browser. Thank you for your patience." Which is pretty much BS. Im very surprised it's taken them this long to be forced to change their policies. "Detecting" tethering based on UAstring is stupidly simple to bypass on the desktop, and is an inconvenience to normal users on the phone who aren't even tethering.

martonikaj said:
I'll post here again quickly to tell you to search a bit if you want more info.
T-Mobile currently uses the browser UAstring (User Agent String) to "stop" tethering. Their thinking is that if your browser reports a "desktop" UAstring that you must be using a desktop computer tethered to your phone. As you and I know, this obviously isn't the case, and you're simply trying to view desktop pages on your phone.
Seemingly the way they choose to start redirecting you is once you've used a decent amount of data on a certain browser. After that, they "flag" your account as tethering, and you start getting redirects for that browser. Usually it's around 200mb for me, but this month I've used ~130mb in Chrome Beta and I'm getting it. I'm nowhere near my data throttle either (~790mb of 5gb).
Since Chrome Beta for Android came out, I've been having this issue, because Chrome Beta reports a UAstring that is very similar to desktop Chrome. I've read many support threads and spoken with T-Mobile directly. They're aware of the issue and are currently working on a fix. What that entails, who knows. They're surely going to have to figure something out because they're currently selling ICS devices that have access to the Chrome Beta. Surely they're getting inundated with CS calls about this.
Their official stance to me was "... in the mean time, use another browser. Thank you for your patience." Which is pretty much BS. Im very surprised it's taken them this long to be forced to change their policies. "Detecting" tethering based on UAstring is stupidly simple to bypass on the desktop, and is an inconvenience to normal users on the phone who aren't even tethering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
simms22 said:
i had that happen on my nexus s for about a month. change your user agent to android. browser settings, advanced, user agent, android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wasya152 said:
i've started getting this annoying t mobile hot spot offer when i select to open websites in the stock browser in desktop view. it does it for some sites and not all and only in the desktop view. when i open the mobile version, it opens fine. this only happens in stock ics browser, when i do the same thing in chrome, it works and no annoying t mobile redirect. anyone else been getting this on Tmobile? how do i get rid of it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a bunch of bull. This is the basis of a massive thread I started with many people who share this very complaint among others.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1677490

Wi-Fi Tethering Workaround

There seems to be threads around about bypassing the tethering without actually adding it to your plan. Some seems to work, some doesn't. So I'm just gonna post here what works for me. If mods find that it is inappropriate to be posted or what not, you may delete this post. Anyways I'm running a CM10 nightly ROM and I was tethering fine for awhile. It wasn't until recently at Starbucks I was hit with a ADD HOTSPOT TO YOUR PLAN blah blah blah page and I'm like WTF?! Anyways I recently swapped from the 5GB plan to the Unlimited 4G plan so I lost the native tethering from the plan itself. After some searching online I came across a solution (not sure where I saw it anymore but credits to whomever it was).
Step one: Use chrome as browser for device. (Tablet, PC, Laptop, whatever it may be)
Step two: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/user-agent-switcher-for-c/djflhoibgkdhkhhcedjiklpkjnoahfmg Go there and download User Agent Switcher for Chrome. It should install right into Chrome and have a little sign on the top right.
Step three: You could pick the default Android user agent that comes with the application and pages SHOULD load up fine. (Works for me) Unfortunately pages load up in mobile mode, sure you could request desktop mode at the bottom of most pages but that gets annoying. Then there is step four which is optional.
Optional
Step four: You go to settings of the User Agent Switcher, and under the Custom User Agent tab start creating a new User Agent. Fill in the blanks with the first box on the left with what you want to name it. I just named mine Android 4.1. In the second box, enter "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/535.19 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/18.0.1025.45 Safari/535.19" without the quotes. The third box should autofill to Chrome, if not put Chrome in there. I picked the option Append for the next box (not sure if it really matters which you pick). Finally for the last box under Indicator Flag, I put AND. Now click Add, and start using this newly created User Agent to browse pages. This way pages seem to load automatically as desktop mode and doesn't seem to flag the T-mobile hotspot message.
This seems to be working fine for me as of the time being. For how much longer I cannot guarantee. I cannot guarantee if it'll start working for everyone either, but I figured I'll share the information. Hopefully this doesn't go too main stream and T-mobile some how fixes it. That's the downside of TOO many people knowing eh? Enjoy!

jayr415 said:
T After some searching online I came across a solution (not sure where I saw it anymore but credits to whomever it was).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol yeah the workaround was probably spread around since... the sensation days? maybe even mytouch 4g days? it's also found in this pretty large thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1883483.. probably mentioned about 30 times in there.
btw i prefer this user agent switcher https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/user-agent-switcher/lkmofgnohbedopheiphabfhfjgkhfcgf
another note: all the "mac" ones work so you can run CHROME on MAC and it'll work flawlessly.
Another funny thing. Rockmelt, although is based off chrome works completely fine without running user agents.
Windows Chrome and Firefox are blocked by t-mobile.
Heck since I already been mentioning all this...
If you're stuck without a user agent switcher and want to use chrome the manual way to switch it for the page that you're on is
right click > inspect element > settings button (gear icon) (bottom right corner) > overrides tab > check and enable user agent.
You can now download an user agent switcher for chrome on that page... and that page alone

[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.
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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...
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Same here got an ipcop firewall with open VPN Created certs for my mac and Android devices and no issues as of yet.

[Q] T-Mo's tether block

T-Mo blocks access to web pages if they see a certain UA string, its pretty easy to get around, but my question is,
Isn't how they are blocking us illegal? For them to be able to block this would they not need to do deep packet inspections?
Which is not legal to do to your customers in the U.S. unless you have government permission?
Or am I wrong, did we allow this somewhere when we signed the contract?

ThaDSman said:
T-Mo blocks access to web pages if they see a certain UA string, its pretty easy to get around, but my question is,
Isn't how they are blocking us illegal? For them to be able to block this would they not need to do deep packet inspections?
Which is not legal to do to your customers in the U.S. unless you have government permission?
Or am I wrong, did we allow this somewhere when we signed the contract?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is in the TOS and in the end it is their network not public airwaves. If you tether and do not follow the TOS they have every right to cancel you. They also have every right to see what kinds of packets are passing through and where they are going to and coming from
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy on the internet. It is a common misconception
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RonnieRuff said:
It is in the TOS and in the end it is their network not public airwaves. If you tether and do not follow the TOS they have every right to cancel you. They also have every right to see what kinds of packets are passing through and where they are going to and coming from
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy on the internet. It is a common misconception
CARBON NIGHTLIES. | KROZ BROWN Theme | Crack Flasher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, so it is in the TOS.
Now do you think I can argue them into removing this block?
I already tried it and it seemed to be working but they never called me back.
My argument was that I want to be able to use Chrome for desktop 28 UA strings to always have a desktop view, and by them not allowing me that liberty I can not load certain websites to get the full experience on my Note 2.
"Your limiting my Note 2 not a tether!".
Think if I keep going they'll give me what I want? Or should I just give up and drop it?

ThaDSman said:
Thank you, so it is in the TOS.
Now do you think I can argue them into removing this block?
I already tried it and it seemed to be working but they never called me back.
My argument was that I want to be able to use Chrome for desktop 28 UA strings to always have a desktop view, and by them not allowing me that liberty I can not load certain websites to get the full experience on my Note 2.
"Your limiting my Note 2 not a tether!".
Think if I keep going they'll give me what I want? Or should I just give up and drop it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not see them changing their business model concerning tethering based on that argument.
Background on DPI
Service providers obligated by the service-level agreement with their customers to provide a certain level of service and at the same time, enforce an acceptable use policy, may make use of DPI to implement certain policies that cover copyright infringements, illegal materials, and unfair use of bandwidth. In some countries the ISPs are required to perform filtering, depending on the country's laws. DPI allows service providers to "readily know the packets of information you are receiving online—from e-mail, to websites, to sharing of music, video and software downloads".[8] Policies can be defined that allow or disallow connection to or from an IP address, certain protocols, or even heuristics that identify a certain application or behavior.
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Ok, thanks for that info, so no threatening to sue (not that I would do that.) And I did indeed agree to this....damn.
I was going to try to give them some BS about being a website designer needing to test my sites with different UA to test for compatibility.
You know, any bullocks someone who isn't tech savy would believe. I mean I was getting somewhere in the store until the manager (he was so confused) decided to call support and they put me off for 3 days. Today is Day 3. If I cant convince them today, I will give up and continue to use the stupid Opera UA.
Thanks again, now I know what I'm working with.

Isn't it true that you can tether/hotspot if you root? I have no block.
Also, with reference to the "desktop experience", have you tried Puffin?

ThaDSman said:
T-Mo blocks access to web pages if they see a certain UA string, its pretty easy to get around, but my question is,
Isn't how they are blocking us illegal? For them to be able to block this would they not need to do deep packet inspections?
Which is not legal to do to your customers in the U.S. unless you have government permission?
Or am I wrong, did we allow this somewhere when we signed the contract?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not necessarily that they are just watching packets, but when your IP is sent out over certain channels it sets off a flag. Simple programming stuff:
Code:
("If UA=X, then Run "UpgradeService.Script")
It's because when you tether the traffic by default (it's in framework-res.apk) is pc.tmobile.com and that is not the main APN that is used by the phone itself. Strings need to be modified so that APN is replaced with the regular data APNs for it to be undetectable.

KillaHurtz said:
It's not necessarily that they are just watching packets, but when your IP is sent out over certain channels it sets off a flag. Simple programming stuff:
Code:
("If UA=X, then Run "UpgradeService.Script")
It's because when you tether the traffic by default (it's in framework-res.apk) is pc.tmobile.com and that is not the main APN that is used by the phone itself. Strings need to be modified so that APN is replaced with the regular data APNs for it to be undetectable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I' on a AOSP rom, RootBox, would it still be in my framework?

RonnieRuff said:
I do not see them changing their business model concerning tethering based on that argument.
Background on DPI
Service providers obligated by the service-level agreement with their customers to provide a certain level of service and at the same time, enforce an acceptable use policy, may make use of DPI to implement certain policies that cover copyright infringements, illegal materials, and unfair use of bandwidth. In some countries the ISPs are required to perform filtering, depending on the country's laws. DPI allows service providers to "readily know the packets of information you are receiving online—from e-mail, to websites, to sharing of music, video and software downloads".[8] Policies can be defined that allow or disallow connection to or from an IP address, certain protocols, or even heuristics that identify a certain application or behavior.
CARBON NIGHTLIES. | KROZ BROWN Theme | Crack Flasher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As much as I hate to agree with him on anything he's right on his tmobile policy stuff I think he's one of their lawyers
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 2

What worries me is that I use firefox ua on boat browser...
Can they think I am tethering because of this?
If I do tether I use ssh tunnel, so its undetectable.

dima202 said:
What worries me is that I use firefox ua on boat browser...
Can they think I am tetherithe store or call their supportng because of this?
If I do tether I use ssh tunnel, so its undetectable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you successfully connect to the internet on your tethered device without the Upsell redirect I think your good. It seems like that's the only block. I found a UA that isn't blocked and gives a desktop view all the time, I can pm it to you if you like. I've been using it for about 4 days now with no issues also I've pulled 53GB so far with no limiting or throttling. I never did go back to the store or call their support.

ThaDSman said:
If you successfully connect to the internet on your tethered device without the Upsell redirect I think your good. It seems like that's the only block. I found a UA that isn't blocked and gives a desktop view all the time, I can pm it to you if you like. I've been using it for about 4 days now with no issues also I've pulled 53GB so far with no limiting or throttling. I never did go back to the store or call their support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to know what you're using to get tethering to work pm me or post away thanks!
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