Is there any way to get around the need for a tethering plan?

[Ninjames]

It's not "inexcusable"; it is simple economics. T-Mobile can charge as little as they do for up to 5 GB of data because they know full well most people won't use that much on their phones. They know what the average smart phone user actually uses, and that allows them to set a price accordingly. If you tether, you are likely to use much more data than if you don't, so their calculations of how much they can charge and still make a profit get thrown off. It's a scheme in which the light users pay more per MB than the heavy users, and hence the former subsidize costs for the latter - just as all plans with any sort of fixed monthly fees are. Again, not "inexcusable"; it is simply how the plans are structured. If they were were structured in a way where more people would use more, they'd have to charge more.

Only in a system in which you literally pay by the MB can you reasonably say "data is data" and have an expectation that you'll pay the same amount per MB whether accessed directly on the phone or via tethering. There *are* carriers that use such a plan, but I don't know that you'll find one where 5GB of data works out to less than what it is on the plan you are on currently. The ones I looked at all come out well over $100 for 5GB of data. I have no doubt someone somewhere might offer something cheaper, but again, it's not you're going to find T-Mobile's pricing out of line here.

Only on a T-Mobile forum is this kind of behavior excused lol

[Ninjames]

I helped you, quit your complaining, all carriers charge extra to tether from a phone..now knock it off.

You can argue all day that data is data is data...not gonna change the way things are, if one carrier decides to start charging extra for something eventually all of them follow suit. Use the advice given and be happy with what you got, it only gets worse with other carriers.

Knock it off? Sorry, but you came in here acting a douche when I was looking for help. I'm going to take the advice of some of the other people here but you yourself? You were most unhelpful. Have a good day.

[overdrive31]

Oh, the kids these days...will they ever learn...morons

I provided help, and you still continue to ignore it, and you wonder why I am being a jerk about it? The help provided is the answer to your problem, and I guarantee it will help others, stop complaining when you're receiving free advice. I believe you have an entirely different problem and should seek a therapist, sadly their advice is never free. By the way, what advice were you actually taking? You already shot down the other solutions. Hmm, someone who refuses to accept any solution to a problem, seems you're not here for help after all, just complaining like a child.

[digi7al ph0enix]

Isn't Pandora HTTPS?

Don't know, I typed it into Firefox and signed in just fine (and have before) and it worked, that's all I care about.

[msrhulot]

Sub'd

Third, T-Mobile's tethering detection mechanism is a simple one. All it does is detect what your browser agent is, hence the reason why one can tether their phone to a tablet without a problem.

Changing the browser agent to a mobile one on your computer's Web browser will take care of the problem.

Just curious but how do you know this is the mechanism they use? Experience or direct knowledge?

Thinking this might be the case, the one time I tested this, I used google's mobile proxy, and the Firefox plugin User Agent Switcher.

[aurora40]

Only on a T-Mobile forum is this kind of behavior excused lol

The behavior of explaining a clearly stated policy?? T-Mobile says right up front that you need to pay extra if you want to use your data on something other than the phone. For you to suggest that enforcing that extremely clear policy is "inexcusable" is ridiculous.

Most other carriers do the same thing, but it's sort of irrelevant, because T-Mobile does and that's who you paid for your 5GB of data. I think the answers you've gotten have been pretty clear, but you seem to prefer to complain about the policy.

[adam1991]

I really don't understand any of this thread, because I just spent five days tethering--about 2GB worth--with no hassle whatsoever, and not on t-mo's tethering plan.

[overdrive31]

I think we've already established that Tmo identifies tethering by way of non-mobile "browser" user-agents, if you tether and use anything but a non-mobile browser, it should continue to work. One other solution would be to use an SSH proxy server setup at home, then use Putty to connect to the SSH server, finally change proxy settings in your browser to point at the local proxy Putty creates. Not as simple as a VPN, but it's an option.

[adam1991]

I think we've already established that Tmo identifies tethering by way of non-mobile "browser" user-agents, if you tether and use anything but a non-mobile browser, it should continue to work.

Well, I was using Firefox/Mac with no special user agent setup (on three machines), and a Kindle, and a Vizio tablet. Nary a burp from t-mo.

[overdrive31]

Tablets are mobile... the block doesn't trigger immediately either. Some tethering apps try to obfuscate or hide the fact you're tethering as well.

[adam1991]

well, and that's my point--it looks like FoxFi is successful at hiding the fact.

It being a free Android app, I repeat: I don't understand all the hand-wringing going on in this thread. It's not as if this is actually an unsolved or unsolvable problem.

[overdrive31]

Not everyone has the option to use such an app...

[TheCellphoneGuy]

PdaNet works on pretty much every Android phone out there. Yes, I know that it's USB-only, but not once did T-Mobile bother me when I used it. There is no root required and it should download the necessary drivers automatically.

It should also be more stable, since it's a wired connection.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

[overdrive31]

The hiding features of these tethering apps also include disclaimers, stating "Some web pages or network applications may not work", or will force mobile-size pages in your browser.

[adam1991]

I can speak from experience: that's not an issue with FoxFi.