Since T-Mo is carrying the Nexus 4...no tethering without the proper plan?

[magus57]

Right now I have no problem tethering off my Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile with an unlimited plan, whether on my tablet, laptop, or desktop. The Nexus 4 looks pretty nice, but my concern - since T-Mobile is also carrying it, does that mean it'll have the capability to block tethering without the proper plan, even using the Play unlocked version? Does the T-Mobile one even have anything confirmed other than a higher price? Apparently 42Mbps speeds are confirmed on the Play version through the Google press release and the Play Store specs are wrong.

I know its all speculation at this point since nobody has the phone, but that'd be a huge factor as to whether I sell my Galaxy Nexus now and go back to my HTC G2 until I get the Nexus 4 (while I can still get a decent amount for it), or just get my high-performance fix with the Nexus 10 (which I'd be planning to get regardless after selling my Toshiba Thrive).

 

[WiredPirate]

If you can root it, you can tether w/o being charged a fee. True story.

 

[eksasol]

If you can root it, you can tether w/o being charged a fee. True story.

If you buy it from T-Mobile, they will have the IMEI and can track it. Better get it from the PlayStore.

 

[magus57]

If you can root it, you can tether w/o being charged a fee. True story.

Except I've had issues tethering with a rooted/ROM'd G2 occasionally, and have had friends having issues with tethering on rooted devices, so I can't say that's entirely true.

If you buy it from T-Mobile, they will have the IMEI and can track it. Better get it from the PlayStore.

But if T-Mobile ends up carrying the same unlocked version (just upcharging for whatever reason), then wouldn't they be able to track the IMEI or whatever of the unlocked version too?

 

[WiredPirate]

Except I've had issues tethering with a rooted/ROM'd G2 occasionally, and have had friends having issues with tethering on rooted devices, so I can't say that's entirely true.

I can say it's entirely true. No problems tethering with root on ATT or VZW with my Captivate, Atrix or Gnex using either WiFi Tether free app or built in AP via AOKP or CM for 3+ years in at least 2 states. So if you are having problems, you are doing it wrong.

 

[geoffcorey]

But if T-Mobile ends up carrying the same unlocked version (just upcharging for whatever reason), then wouldn't they be able to track the IMEI or whatever of the unlocked version too?

T-Mobile only knows the imei of the phones they sell. They can't and don't have access (unless it's currently connected to their network) of any other imei.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[magus57]

I can say it's entirely true. No problems tethering with root on ATT or VZW with my Captivate, Atrix or Gnex using either WiFi Tether free app or built in AP via AOKP or CM for 3+ years in at least 2 states. So if you are having problems, you are doing it wrong.

How exactly can you root "wrong" like you're saying? Fact is, I've gotten the "get a hotspot plan" pages when tethering to my laptop/desktop numerous times while I had my G2, running both CM7 and CM9. Maybe T-Mobile is just more stringent about sniffing out tethering?

 

[geoffcorey]

How exactly can you root "wrong" like you're saying? Fact is, I've gotten the "get a hotspot plan" pages when tethering to my laptop/desktop numerous times while I had my G2, running both CM7 and CM9. Maybe T-Mobile is just more stringent about sniffing out tethering?

No one said you were rooting wrong, they said if you're having tethering issues then you're tethering wrong. But it just depends on the current tower you're on as well as traffic at the time, as well as luck.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[magus57]

No one said you were rooting wrong, they said if you're having tethering issues then you're tethering wrong. But it just depends on the current tower you're on as well as traffic at the time, as well as luck.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Exactly. So while tethering is possible on rooted devices, its not guaranteed to work 100% of the time, which is what I'm trying to get at.

 

[WiredPirate]

Exactly. So while tethering is possible on rooted devices, its not guaranteed to work 100% of the time, which is what I'm trying to get at.

No, no. My VZW LTE tethered from my Gnex is more reliable than my Charter cable internet, in fact I use it as a backup when Charter goes out. (which is a few time a month.) If you don't have data it is because of your carrier. And when I said doing it wrong I meant tethering not rooting. There are many many threads on how to properly tether. When done properly tethering works 100% of the time, not having data to tether is a different issue altogether.

 

[magus57]

No, no. My VZW LTE tethered from my Gnex is more reliable than my Charter cable internet, in fact I use it as a backup when Charter goes out. (which is a few time a month.) If you don't have data it is because of your carrier. And when I said doing it wrong I meant tethering not rooting. There are many many threads on how to properly tether. When done properly tethering works 100% of the time, not having data to tether is a different issue altogether.

Ah, I'll have to look into it then, thanks.

 

[WiredPirate]

If you have any specific questions or errors tell me. I'm not sure why you've had a less than stable experience with tethering, but if you can note specific issues we can try and help you troubleshoot to get it working properly.:good:

 

[Jasonhunterx]

I wonder how much they will sell it at a T-Mobile store off contract 350$ I hope

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

 

[raymond4]

I wonder how much they will sell it at a T-Mobile store off contract 350$ I hope

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

Way more than what Google selling it for

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

 

[Jasonhunterx]

Way more than what Google selling it for

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

That's what I'm thinking just don't like using me credit card and shipping charges

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

 

[wmm]

It seems to be pretty well established that T-Mobile is packet-sniffing to detect unauthorized tethering. It appears that they detect the User Agent string if you are using Internet Explorer or Chrome (but apparently not Firefox, I imagine because Android Firefox is able to pretend to be the desktop version with one tap). Changing the User Agent string for your browser or using a VPN tunnel circumvents the detection, and non-browser access (SSH, SMTP, etc.) is not checked, either. All that's independent of whether you are rooted or not.

 

[Basementalism]

just install a user agent add on or extention on your laptop. Firefox and chrome both have them, i set mine to nexus 7 user agent and the tether blocking pages go away for good.

 

[mrot978]

FREEE

just install a user agent add on or extention on your laptop. Firefox and chrome both have them, i set mine to nexus 7 user agent and the tether blocking pages go away for good.

it works with out root or any app im using it right now on my comp with my nexus 4 free i have tmobile truly unlimited plan

 

[agtitan]

it works with out root or any app im using it right now on my comp with my nexus 4 free i have tmobile truly unlimited plan

Very good to know. Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

 

[ATnTdude]

T-Mobile only knows the imei of the phones they sell. They can't and don't have access (unless it's currently connected to their network) of any other imei.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

IMEIs are assigned in blocks. Even if they don't have access to the info from the manufacturer, (they almost certainly do), they can still figure it out. If, for example, they've sold Nexus 4s with IMEIs 1001 and 1003, and you log onto their network with 1002, they can draw a pretty solid conclusion.

The hard part is figuring out if you're tethering or not, which requires invasive packet sniffing if the phone itself doesn't report tethering (that's how they track tethering with branded devices). I don't believe, based on my quick research, that T-Mo is sniffing everyone's packets. Which means they probably aren't watching you unless you are streaming 20GB a month. They are tracking user agents on branded phones, it seems.