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Android mobile and tethering

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palimmo

Newbie
I would just like to ask:
is tethering possible with any mobile phone equipped with Android 2.2+ easily and without necessarily rooting it?

I have a tablet without 3g connection. In order to surf the web when I'm around, I would like to understand if it makes sense to buy a new (and cheap) android mobile or a (more expensive) portable hotspot 3g to create a wifi connection and use it with the tablet.

Thanks a lot!
 
Really depends on the device and carrier/plan. Some allow it, others don't. Some require root, others don't. Can you give us a better idea on the plan and phone you're looking at?
 
breadnatty08 said:
Really depends on the device and carrier/plan. Some allow it, others don't. Some require root, others don't. Can you give us a better idea on the plan and phone you're looking at?
Click to expand...


Hi breadnatty!
At the moment I really don't know which device I'm going to buy...Any suggestion?
I thought tethering was possible with any android 2.2+ device....

I'd buy a cheap android mobile that I'll use sometimes here in Italy and sometimes in Germany.
Carrier? In Italy probably Coopvoce. In Germany Congstar or Maxxim.

P.S. Why does it depend from the carrier???
 
Some carriers sell separate tethering plans, others don't. I'm really not familiar with either of those in Europe. Are you from the US and just looking to pick up a local SIM while you're there, or do you live there?
I'd look into those carriers and see if they offer a small data plan you can temporarily use.
As far as phones, virtually any that are 2.2 and above should work (if they even sell phones on Froyo!). If you don't care about the phone part, you can also look at mifi devices that basically just create a wifi hotspot for you.
 
breadnatty08 said:
Some carriers sell separate tethering plans, others don't. I'm really not familiar with either of those in Europe. Are you from the US and just looking to pick up a local SIM while you're there, or do you live there?
I'd look into those carriers and see if they offer a small data plan you can temporarily use.
As far as phones, virtually any that are 2.2 and above should work (if they even sell phones on Froyo!). If you don't care about the phone part, you can also look at mifi devices that basically just create a wifi hotspot for you.
Click to expand...

yes.. but these mifi devices cost more or less like a entry-level android phone....

Looking back to android, the question is:
how can a carrier knows that i'm using the 3G Broadband for tethering (producing a wifi signal) and not for the mobile itself alone? :confused:
 
You really just need to look over what types of plans each carrier offers. If you're able to tether with an entry level phone, go for it. But, if the phone part isn't necessary, a mifi device might be best. And, there's always used phones/devices to consider you can find on Swappa.com and Amazon.
 
palimmo said:
yhow can a carrier knows that i'm using the 3G Broadband for tethering (producing a wifi signal) and not for the mobile itself alone? :confused:
Click to expand...

The packet data traffic differs, and by looking at that the carrier can tell the type of device requesting it.

I'm pretty sure that any Android 2.3 (and later) device should have tethering ability, but if bought via a carrier this may be disabled. The safest bet is to buy an unlocked device.
 
Slug said:
The packet data traffic differs, and by looking at that the carrier can tell the type of device requesting it.

I'm pretty sure that any Android 2.3 (and later) device should have tethering ability, but if bought via a carrier this may be disabled. The safest bet is to buy an unlocked device.
Click to expand...

oh yes, of course I'll buy an unbranded and unlock mobile! ;)
 
My wifes 2.3 phone had native wifi hotspot tethering for what its worth.
As the others have said, its down to the carrier i think. My UK carrier offers mega cheap pre-pay unlimited data in a package (i use an unlocked/unbranded phone) and although tethering isnt part of the package, ive tetethered around 60gb in a month with nothing said and by no draconian means, just the native hotspot option :thumbup:
 
Thanks!

The carrier or the data plan isn't a problem for me. I'll check if the carrier will charge me for tethering.
I'd just want to know if the device can easily produce a wifi signal.
 
Yes yes yes. It should be anyways. Check out the app "easytether pro" its 9.99 and a fantastic investment. I use it all the time as my WiFi card for my laptop, even tho I almost never use my laptop anymore lol
 
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