ST Tethering Stopped Working

[Rob Stinson]

I've been on ST for about a year with my Nexus 5 (currently running KitKat). I've been tethering very lightly (0 - 50meg per month) for about 8 months. Outside of tethering, my data usage is also very light (about 300mg per month). In that sense, I'd like to think that I'm a great customer for them.

About a week ago the tethering stopped working. I can connect, and it appears to 'see' the web pages, but it downloads just a few bytes (literally) and then stops. Previous download speeds have been useable, and as long as it is even remotely useable, I don't really care too much about speed.

The devices I'm working on (two different laptops) both connect to my home wi-fi without problem.

I've tried temporarily disabling my anti-virus to see if there was a conflict there and it did not appear to make a difference.

I know that tethering is technically against their TOS, but others seemed to make it work, and I also used it successfully for about eight months. With my extremely light data usage, I hope they won't complain. I've never received any warnings.

 

[Rob Stinson]

Any insight into what setting on my phone/laptop I could check to verify if the problem is on my end or if ST just shut off the pipe on their end?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[jefboyardee]

or if ST just shut off the pipe on their end?

Well I found out by inattention that they allow any activity, but the second you go past 3 gigs, you get crippled until the end of the billing period. I won't even know if that last part is true for another week.

 

[Rob Stinson]

Tethering actually started working again about three weeks after my original post.

I've never even come close to exceeding any data limits, so they should not have crippled me solely for that reason.

Anyway, it's working like a charm now. Thanks.

 

[jefboyardee]

I've never even come close to exceeding any data limits

Curiosity kilt my cat. Had to see what my rejuvenated tether was capable, so I downloaded a couple Linux iso's and found out. It even warned me when it got close, but I just pushed the warning bar higher and secured my demise.

 

[jefboyardee]

And just now, out of curiosity again, I tethered a 1GB ISO and was thrown in the limited pool, with no warning at all. Just a text saying I blew it and will have to wait until the end of my billing cycle to get the 4G speeds back. Fortunately, the cycle ends in a few days and I now use wifi when I'm at home. But what I don't understand is that according to My Data Manager, which tracks my usage quite well, I've only used a bit over 1GB this month, not even close to the 3GB I've been promised.

 

[jefboyardee]

Oh well, he muttered to himself, guess I'll have to try that again at the end of the next cycle.