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are carriers blocking tether apps from the market?
- Thread starter EVO-DROID
- Start date
jefboyardee
Extreme Android User
UrsusVIIILXXXVII
Android Enthusiast
Yes. Carriers do block tethering apps on the market but you can still get those apps from their respective websites.
Well thats unfortunate. I still got the app. I'm not like most and just tether just to do it, or use it as my primary network. However like right now my ISP is down and I have no internet so I have to resort to it. If sprint would just offer the tethering for a one time fee, I'd gladly pay it and they would make money in the process.
John Redcorn
Android Enthusiast
How do they block? Something local on the phone saying "dont display these apps"?
Or blocking at a network level? (in which case you should be able to see them when connected to your own wifi)
My inspire shows pdanet in the market and I'm using ATT data right now but I am using cyanogenmod, not the stock os.
Or blocking at a network level? (in which case you should be able to see them when connected to your own wifi)
My inspire shows pdanet in the market and I'm using ATT data right now but I am using cyanogenmod, not the stock os.
The carriers can tell google to not allow certain apps to be able to be downloaded on to devices that are assigned to them. The market will display "This item is not available on your carrier".
You can get around this by rooting and installing https://market.android.com/details?id=com.notenking.mf
CM7 might have a defaulted market setting, so it shows all apps.
You can get around this by rooting and installing https://market.android.com/details?id=com.notenking.mf
CM7 might have a defaulted market setting, so it shows all apps.
tcat007
Android Expert
Can carriers tell if you're tethering? I've never tethered, but do plan on getting a tablet soon. Would be nice to check email while on vacation if not hear a hotspot. My phone supports it with any hotspot widget (I have Widgetsoid2 installed which has one). Just wondering if I check email and am tethered for 2-3 minutes, does the carrier know/care? I'm guessing they monitor large amounts of usage (like streaming a movie).
alostpacket
Over Macho Grande?
Yes, there are ways they can tell.
An obvious one would be if they saw your android phone connect to "windowsupdate.microsoft.com"
They have much more refined tools than that, but you get the idea.
As far as I know they usually will only chase you down if you are pulling huge amounts of bandwidth.
An obvious one would be if they saw your android phone connect to "windowsupdate.microsoft.com"
They have much more refined tools than that, but you get the idea.
As far as I know they usually will only chase you down if you are pulling huge amounts of bandwidth.
Verizon had installed spyware onto Droid X's that would monitor if the device was tethering or not and would check against the account to see if they had a tethering plan. Sprint/HTC installed CIQ onto a few of their handsets which seems to monitor a number of things, including tether usage.
A lot of the current strategies seem to revolve around putting the monitoring software on the device, itself, rather than look for it server side. I'd be willing to bet because Google doesn't distinguish tethering as something other than generic data use.
But I would imagine that ALP makes a very good point. If you started looking for windows update from your Android phone or anti-virus definitions, that would look suspicious. But you don't connect your windows laptop? I bet they would also be a little suspicious if your browser user agent said "iPad_2", "Android_Tablet", or a generic Linux user agent and you were pulling some pretty big webpages through your browser. Or connected to the Apple App Store through an Android device. Even the Android Market for tablets is slightly different.
Food for thought.
A lot of the current strategies seem to revolve around putting the monitoring software on the device, itself, rather than look for it server side. I'd be willing to bet because Google doesn't distinguish tethering as something other than generic data use.
But I would imagine that ALP makes a very good point. If you started looking for windows update from your Android phone or anti-virus definitions, that would look suspicious. But you don't connect your windows laptop? I bet they would also be a little suspicious if your browser user agent said "iPad_2", "Android_Tablet", or a generic Linux user agent and you were pulling some pretty big webpages through your browser. Or connected to the Apple App Store through an Android device. Even the Android Market for tablets is slightly different.
Food for thought.