I'm on the pay as you go, all you can eat data and I don't have any problems except that it is very slow between 3PM and 12PM.
I do use a VPN on my PC though.
I use 2 phones as hot spots-
A Note 2 with a custom Rom - Jellybean 4.12 WanamLite Rom
A S3 with a custom Rom - Lolipop 5.1 Cyanogen Mod 12.1
The reason why it's throttling you between 3pm and midnight is because traffic sense is in operation during these times find out more here ....
www.three.co.uk/traffic
and the actual traffic management policy
http://support.three.co.uk/mobiledo...e/our_network/TrafficSense_facts_document.pdf
It's worth adding about traffic sense also.... It isn't JUST running during 3pm till midnight it's running 24/7 we all just notice it because of P2P most people don't even notice it but then again it depends on how many users are on your mast in other words how congested it is, capacity, bandwidth going through the mast, and how many users are demanding data from the mast it all adds up and will all effect how traffic sense works.
Three will detect you through loads of ways here's just some methods they can use;
- IMEI's
- BIA ID's such as MAC ID's / Serial numbers
- Techniques such as DPI (Deep packet inspection - incase you didn't know Three UK uses layer 7)
- User agent/strings
- Protocol and ports
- IP - NSlookups, geolocations etc... (I.E If you're connected to microsoft update servers from a android device it's a little obvious)
- IP's assigned..... Remember each device has a internal IP address - you're connected to the same network as the mast think about it for a second..... Oh wait.... Network Discovery
The above was just a short list as I couldn't be bothered to write anymore but you get the point there's many ways... But unfortunately for the 'normal users' they can ALL BE BYPASSED.
I say unfortunately because it's people who like are on this thread who abuse the 'Unlimited' data and unlimited tethering plans for everyone. This is the reason Three UK had to stop the unlimited tethering because people like you all was hammering the network and making it more congested than it already is... and you'll eventually grind it to a halt for everyone else in your area.
Don't get me wrong i've tethered 100's of GB's on Three but I do it once in a blue moon not every single day (and i do it past midnight) so less users are going to be effected.
and yes I know how to bypass any tethering restriction on any UK network but will I tell anyone? No.
A Three user.