Got my notice from AT&T that I'm not allowed to use Bluetooth to my car stereo

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bookmonke

Senior Member
Dec 12, 2011
137
32
I think you will start seeing AT&T nitpicking the unlimited plans and attempt to force people off of them, how ever they can.
 

cjranucci

Senior Member
Nov 7, 2007
347
71
Dallas, TX
I think that you guys are giving AT&T a lot more credit than they deserve.

There is no way that they can detect an A2DP connection on their end. All they look for are anomalies. You normally use X amount of data and that day you exceeded you normal usage by some factor. They assume it is tethering as they do, indeed, want you on a tiered plan.

We are all fairly technically savvy here. Could you imagine if that notice goes to someone with only a rudimentary knowledge of how phones work? Chances are that they agree and give up their unlimited data plan. It is a shady business driven by the bottom line.

Call them on their crap and make them prove that you tethered your phone. That is the only way that they can hold you in breach of your contract and force you off of your unlimited data plan.
 
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steezee

Senior Member
Aug 5, 2008
166
61
I wonder if the head unit itself is trying to send a request to the phone to access your mobile connection or something ridiculous like that where AT&T is actually detecting something that would send a tethering warning. You may laugh at me for saying that, but stranger things have happened. Personally, If I got the warning I would probably consider just going old school and using a 3.5mm cable to listen to streaming music and see if heard anything after that.
 
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Alexandre-P

Senior Member
Aug 8, 2012
165
58
Montreal
I am on stock rom and Blue Tooth Tethering is available.

And that's what Krakerx suggests: disable Bluetooth tethering. This should not be needed at all for redirecting audio output from your phone to a Bluetooth audio device like your car stereo.

Go to Settings -> More settings -> Tethering and portable hotspot, and uncheck the Bluetooth tethering option.


Personally, If I got the warning I would probably consider just going old school and using a 3.5mm cable to listen to streaming music and see if heard anything after that.
That can be an interesting test to do, just to see if you will get bothered again by AT&T. Though it would make you lose the ability to control your music player using the steering wheel buttons or the car stereo buttons.
 

magius

Senior Member
Aug 8, 2007
77
4
Re: Got my notice from AT&T that I'm not allowed to use Bluetooth to my car stereoGot

He is not doing anything wrong. This just AT&T looking for excuses. He should call them, ask for a manager and call them on their BS.

He is NOT tethering, he is streaming his phone audio via Bluetooth. The stereo is not connecting to Pandora the phone is.

You get a bonus if there are laws forcing you to use a bluetooth headset where you live. Your car is your headset.

Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
 

jimrusling

Member
Sep 5, 2010
16
0
Are you running Pandora on the car or on the phone? If you are running it on the phone and just using the speakers on the car, then I don't see a problem. If you are running Pandora on the car and using the phone for internet access, then technically you are tethering. Not that agree with AT&T stance on tethering.
 

Nexii

Senior Member
Aug 9, 2012
509
106
Houston,TX
Re: Got my notice from AT&T that I'm not allowed to use Bluetooth to my car stereo

Also according to att using the micro USB to HDMI they provided with the Samsung infuse to your TV is also tethering. Just tossing that out there along with all the other bull****tery

Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
 
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crystalstylez

Senior Member
Aug 3, 2008
432
123
Atlanta, GA
Re: Got my notice from AT&T that I'm not allowed to use Bluetooth to my car stereo

I do this everyday with music apps like rhapsody in my sonata since forever and has never been warned. It has to be more to this

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
 

altitude909

Senior Member
Apr 13, 2011
270
45
Walled Lake, Michigan
Are you running Pandora on the car or on the phone? If you are running it on the phone and just using the speakers on the car, then I don't see a problem. If you are running Pandora on the car and using the phone for internet access, then technically you are tethering. Not that agree with AT&T stance on tethering.

^
This

There is a big difference using the bluetooth to stream music vs. using it as a data connection for some other device to use the phone as modem
 

biggem001

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2010
499
199
FYI

They actually have VERY little ability to detect tethering (especially if using https) yeah they may be able to detect headers n such, but still, one can change their own headers to get the full page naturally (instead of the baby mobile page)

What has happened is they see that you're using a lot of data. I've seen this a lot. Us with the grandfathered unlimited. I stream pandora/spotify all day to my car and I got a call once. Saying I was tethering. I laughed on the phone and asked for a date. Then i asked for the header information that proves i was tethering. They couldn't provide. Then i asked what kind of device was I tethering (something you can easily detect), they couldn't tell me. I said to them "I dont appreciate you lying to me. I know you do this to people whom use a lot of their unlimited data plan. It's all over the internet. If you call me about this lie again, I can assure you, I will transfer to verizon. If we have a problem, transfer me to your boss and I'll make sure he or she knows that too"

The rep quickly apologized and said I wouldn't hear about this again.

I'm not kidding at all. It's just their way of intimidation to get you out of unlimited and into the tiered plans. WATCH OUT, I have seen people automatically pushed into a tiered plan. A few straight up canceled (with no penalty) because technically AT&T had no proof they violated their contract, so they pretty much had to let them go for free.

---------- Post added at 10:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:11 PM ----------

Also according to att using the micro USB to HDMI they provided with the Samsung infuse to your TV is also tethering. Just tossing that out there along with all the other bull****tery

Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium

lol they must not know what tethering is

What you should say to them

"Well my phone is plugged into the power outlet. **** my house is stealing my 4g. You know what, just give me the tethering plan"
 

The Internet

Member
Sep 11, 2012
33
14
AT&T stretches the definition of "tethering" in order to move customers to tiered data plans. I received one notice from them for tethering last year. I was tethering with my jailbroken iPhone and they obviously didn't like that.

I got really shook when I finally got the GS3 and used 10GB data in a month. I really thought they'd come up with some lousy excuse to accuse me of tethering, but fortunately nothing happened and I continue to enjoy my unlimited plan.
 

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    I think that you guys are giving AT&T a lot more credit than they deserve.

    There is no way that they can detect an A2DP connection on their end. All they look for are anomalies. You normally use X amount of data and that day you exceeded you normal usage by some factor. They assume it is tethering as they do, indeed, want you on a tiered plan.

    We are all fairly technically savvy here. Could you imagine if that notice goes to someone with only a rudimentary knowledge of how phones work? Chances are that they agree and give up their unlimited data plan. It is a shady business driven by the bottom line.

    Call them on their crap and make them prove that you tethered your phone. That is the only way that they can hold you in breach of your contract and force you off of your unlimited data plan.
    1
    Re: Got my notice from AT&T that I'm not allowed to use Bluetooth to my car stereo

    Also according to att using the micro USB to HDMI they provided with the Samsung infuse to your TV is also tethering. Just tossing that out there along with all the other bull****tery

    Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium