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wifi tether use minutes?

iFrostyy

iFrostyy

Well-Known Member
I just installed a wireless tether for my droid earlier today and it works like a charm. After much use of it I was very pleased with it. There is something that I need to know though. After using it I decided to check my battery usage and it showed voice calls as #1. This is very peculier because I haven't used calling anywhere near as long as it claims.

I was wondering has any advice as to why that happened and shoould I be worried about minutes when using wireless tethering.

And btw I use the app called wireless tether for root users
 
Wireless tether uses only data. And despite what some might say, if you have an unlimited data plan, there is no cap. And no, Verizon can't tell what's using the data. So tether away. :)

As for the mystery voice usage ... umm ... what about texting? I am a bit uncertain about what category that actually falls under. Because on the CDMA network, we can text and talk at the same time. So ... I'm not sure how your phone perceives that "usage".
 
iFrostyy said:
I just installed a wireless tether for my droid earlier today and it works like a charm. After much use of it I was very pleased with it. There is something that I need to know though. After using it I decided to check my battery usage and it showed voice calls as #1. This is very peculier because I haven't used calling anywhere near as long as it claims.

I was wondering has any advice as to why that happened and shoould I be worried about minutes when using wireless tethering.

And btw I use the app called wireless tether for root users
Click to expand...

This is probably isnt the right place to ask but i have the wireless tether app in my app drawer, how do I get it to work? When i click start tether nothing happens says 0.00 kbps...
 
iFrostyy said:
No I mean when you have the tether running does you computer find the phones hot spot?
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Never mind i get how this works now... you have to choose android tether from the list of conections :D thanks for the help. This is great!!
 
nader2013 said:
Never mind i get how this works now... you have to choose android tether from the list of conections :D thanks for the help. This is great!!
Click to expand...

Remember, you can set it up to run as a secure connection spot. Always an ideal way to go about tethering (or setting up a wifi server at home).
Once in the app, menu - setup - check enable wifi-encryption - create a password (must be exactly 13 characters), then when you try to connect again from your computer you'll have to put in that passcode to connect.
Enjoy!
 
dreadnatty08 said:
Remember, you can set it up to run as a secure connection spot. Always an ideal way to go about tethering (or setting up a wifi server at home).
Once in the app, menu - setup - check enable wifi-encryption - create a password (must be exactly 13 characters), then when you try to connect again from your computer you'll have to put in that passcode to connect.
Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Definitely good advice. The range for tethering is crazy, I had neighbors connecting to mine before I setup security.
 
messenger13 said:
And no, Verizon can't tell what's using the data. So tether away. :)
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When & how was this finally concluded? (-& where the hell was I & why wasn't I notified?!! lol)
There were so many squabbles over this that now a search turns up a waste-deep muck of nonsense, BS, and "I'm pretty sure"s!
How do you know this info to be true, Joe. I've been stressing about Big Brother Verizon catching me.
 
There is no "easy" way for them to tell your tethering, but if they audit your account it will become very obvious at what times you tethered. Personally I don't think anyone should tether just 'because' they can, or do any insane downloading when tethered. If your out and there is no WiFi available then go ahead and do it, but only if you actually need a real PC to do whatever it is you need to, as most simple tasks can be done right on the Droid.

I know most of you don't feel the same way, and that's fine. I just don't want to see Verizon's network get slammed and strained like AT&T's and then we all end up suffering because of it, or for Verizon to start charging more for data because they figured out that people are tethering. I look at it like this, say you run a restaurant that has a buffet.....now you charge a certain amount for each customer right? Most people will have maybe 2 or 3 plates, and some might even have 4. Then you will get people who come in and eat ungodly amounts of food, they will even try and sneak more food out or give some to friends that didn't pay extra for the buffet. Now you have to raise your prices or become stricter in how much food customers are allowed.

Do we want that to happen? Do you wanna pay $40 or $50 a month for data because a select few decided to hog up way more bandwidth then they needed. Do you want Verizon to start monitoring what you do with your data and how much of it you used. Do you want them to start enforcing a monthly cap on data? I know I don't.
 
Do you really use that much more data when tethering compared to web browsing directly on the phone? Let's say you are tethering to this very website. Is the amount of data required to render this page on a PC via tether more than you would be taxing the network if you navigated to this page on the phone? I understand that if a page has a mobile version it would be much less data on the phone, but for those where the phone version and the computer version are the same, what would the difference be?
 
Canefan said:
Do you really use that much more data when tethering compared to web browsing directly on the phone? Let's say you are tethering to this very website. Is the amount of data required to render this page on a PC via tether more than you would be taxing the network if you navigated to this page on the phone? I understand that if a page has a mobile version it would be much less data on the phone, but for those where the phone version and the computer version are the same, what would the difference be?
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I don't see any reason why it would be different. I think the major thing is that tethering is more conducive to data usage than browsing on the phone itself, i.e. one is more inclined to demand more data while on a computer.
 
They could easily just do packet inspection to tell if you are tethering. Every HTTP request sent by your browser includes the OS and browser you are using.

The question is more about how much they care/enforce. I know for Fios they absolutely dont bandwidth throttle. However Verizon and Verizon Wireless are two different companies (VZW is half owned by VZ and half by Vodafone). They may take entirely different approaches to how they enforce their regulations.
 
CRPercodani said:
There is no "easy" way for them to tell your tethering, but if they audit your account it will become very obvious at what times you tethered. Personally I don't think anyone should tether just 'because' they can, or do any insane downloading when tethered. If your out and there is no WiFi available then go ahead and do it, but only if you actually need a real PC to do whatever it is you need to, as most simple tasks can be done right on the Droid.

I know most of you don't feel the same way, and that's fine. I just don't want to see Verizon's network get slammed and strained like AT&T's and then we all end up suffering because of it, or for Verizon to start charging more for data because they figured out that people are tethering. I look at it like this, say you run a restaurant that has a buffet.....now you charge a certain amount for each customer right? Most people will have maybe 2 or 3 plates, and some might even have 4. Then you will get people who come in and eat ungodly amounts of food, they will even try and sneak more food out or give some to friends that didn't pay extra for the buffet. Now you have to raise your prices or become stricter in how much food customers are allowed.

Do we want that to happen? Do you wanna pay $40 or $50 a month for data because a select few decided to hog up way more bandwidth then they needed. Do you want Verizon to start monitoring what you do with your data and how much of it you used. Do you want them to start enforcing a monthly cap on data? I know I don't.
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Except that VZ isn't charging fair prices for all the data products across the board. Just look at the cost of text messages. Your restaurant is charging $2 for each napkin.

Not only that but where do they get the right to tell me how to use my unlimited data? In your analogy that would be the restaurant telling you that you have to pay more if you eat with a fork rather than a spoon.

Don't even get me started on how unlimited means 5GB a month.
 
OK, everybody hop off their little high-ponies for a second, and let's all get back on track.
I don't give a rat's ass about the People for the Ethical Treatment of Buffets. I'm not asking because I'm looking to hose Verizon, for Kryst's Sake! Every damned time this comes up someone has to chime in with some "Here's why that sucks for us all..." BS diatribe, in an assumption that anyone who reads the "Yup, g'ahead" message will immediately start download crazy volumes of data via the Verizon 3G network, and dim the power grid. Could that suck for everyone? Maybe. But what's probably a far more accurate assessment regarding people who download huge amounts of data is that anyone that's into doing that ...wouldn't need to be asking how!

Where the hell's Joe?
 
People have been asking this when I had a Tour and was on Crackberry, and people ask here, and people will keep asking forever.

My guidelines have always been that tethering in moderation is fine, and that Verizon doesn't really care. I pulled down about 2GB a month on my Tour, and surprisingly, I do it a lot less on my Droid, but I've never been 'audited'.

But like others said, if you give Verizon a reason to be suspicious, it's pretty damn easy to tell if you've been tethering. Like, what the hell is your phone connecting to Windows Updates for, you know?
 
alostpacket said:
Except that VZ isn't charging fair prices for all the data products across the board. Just look at the cost of text messages. Your restaurant is charging $2 for each napkin.

Not only that but where do they get the right to tell me how to use my unlimited data? In your analogy that would be the restaurant telling you that you have to pay more if you eat with a fork rather than a spoon.

Don't even get me started on how unlimited means 5GB a month.
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I don't agree with the cost for text messages either, but I knew what they cost when I signed the contract and so did everyone else. They get the right to tell us how we use our unlimited data because it is on THEIR network, and in the ToS it clearly states that tethering is NOT ALLOWED. My analogy wasn't perfect, just trying to make a simple example so people understand.

If anyone here keeps up on tech news then you know that VZW recently stated they will eventually be charging more for data and will start having tier plans. They mentioned that cutomers don't understand that bandwidth is very limited, just because it is "in the air" doesn't mean it is unlimited. Grandma down the road just wants to call her grandchildren but your 3 houses up from her and tethering to your PC so you can download the newest season of LOST and now her call keeps getting dropped. We have no more right to hog extra bandwidth just because our phones have the ability to tether.

I guess I just have a different POV on this, hate me for it if you want. Do what you wish with your unlimited data....
 
CRPercodani said:
I don't agree with the cost for text messages either, but I knew what they cost when I signed the contract and so did everyone else. They get the right to tell us how we use our unlimited data because it is on THEIR network, and in the ToS it clearly states that tethering is NOT ALLOWED. My analogy wasn't perfect, just trying to make a simple example so people understand.

If anyone here keeps up on tech news then you know that VZW recently stated they will eventually be charging more for data and will start having tier plans. They mentioned that cutomers don't understand that bandwidth is very limited, just because it is "in the air" doesn't mean it is unlimited. Grandma down the road just wants to call her grandchildren but your 3 houses up from her and tethering to your PC so you can download the newest season of LOST and now her call keeps getting dropped. We have no more right to hog extra bandwidth just because our phones have the ability to tether.

I guess I just have a different POV on this, hate me for it if you want. Do what you wish with your unlimited data....
Click to expand...

I don't hate you by any means, I just disagree. I think that all these cell complies abuse their customers with regards to the prices of text messaging and TOS agreements that change the meaning of the word unlimited. I don't think there is a cell company out there that doesn't do this. So I don't see any ethical dilemma in getting some money back because there are no alternatives. And while congestion could theoretically be a problem, I don't think in reality they are cash strapped. I mean heck, they are building LTE right now.

For whatever it's worth I don't personally tether, don't even own a laptop. :) I just dont think the ethics are as clear cut as they seem.
 
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