EVDO Tethering (Discuss in this Thread Only!)

[BFEINZIMER]

********. Until VZW offers me an unlimited data plan that I can legitimately tether on, I'll be doing all the tethering I want. And since I've tried calling and adding such a plan (to no avail), I can do so with a clean conscience. If they don't want my money, fine by me. And if they try to hit me with big charges, they wont be getting a cent from me. (And their customer service department will be sick of me from calling 10 times a day if they EVER try to shut off my data access).

Seriously.

I say fight them. Call vzw and ask for broadband access on your e815. If enough people call, they might just "have" to add it (and if they don't, they wont be hearing the last of me )

It's cases like this that makes me wonder who put the morons in charge at verizon....

dont think that will be happening, i have a friend in a local vzw store, he is perfectly straightforward with me, he called into data and told me bluntly that someone is pissed at me...enough to take my authorization off our account, i dont plan to push my luck as i havent been slammed with charges, and my account has not been deleted...the easiest way i see is to gain a new phone #

my contract runs till nov of next year so i will try to benifit off of the ETF waiver from the v710 suit...we'll see

[appleguru]

dont think that will be happening, i have a friend in a local vzw store, he is perfectly straightforward with me, he called into data and told me bluntly that someone is pissed at me...enough to take my authorization off our account, i dont plan to push my luck as i havent been slammed with charges, and my account has not been deleted...the easiest way i see is to gain a new phone #

my contract runs till nov of next year so i will try to benifit off of the ETF waiver from the v710 suit...we'll see

There's no sense in not trying.. if they cancel your account, fine, get a new number and you wont have to worry about the ETF. If they refuse to re-enable data, ask them why and tell them, kindly, that you wish to use mobile web and GIN again.. If they tell you that you broke the TOS for tethering, remind them that if they offered a broadband access plan on the e815 that you would have bought it (not sure if it's true or not in your case, but it certainly is for me..). The worst they can do is say no.

[kempokaraterulz]

For what its worth I used my old LG Vx4400 (in 1x mode) tethered to my laptop during hte summer.

I would on average burn up about 400 anytime minutes per month and about 5000 Night/Weekend Minutes per month using my laptop.


Before trying that I had called verizon to inquire if i needed a data plan in order to tether to my laptop. They told me that with the phone that i had i would not not need a data plan but warned me that going online used minutes, and that If i was worried about using up all my minutes they could set me up with an 80$/month unlimited data plan. I told them no thanks, i will just be careful with the minutes.

I plan to tether my e815 in the same manner, i already disabled EVDO because its weak in this area.

Hopefully it works the same way as my old phone.

[BFEINZIMER]

There's no sense in not trying.. if they cancel your account, fine, get a new number and you wont have to worry about the ETF. If they refuse to re-enable data, ask them why and tell them, kindly, that you wish to use mobile web and GIN again.. If they tell you that you broke the TOS for tethering, remind them that if they offered a broadband access plan on the e815 that you would have bought it (not sure if it's true or not in your case, but it certainly is for me..). The worst they can do is say no.

if they terminated my account back a few months ago, i would be slapped with an etf, thats a fact...

ive been through countless phone calls and support reps, my acces will not be re-enabled...

ill try again but i have to take action by dec 9th...

[patcat88]

if they terminated my account back a few months ago, i would be slapped with an etf, thats a fact...

ive been through countless phone calls and support reps, my acces will not be re-enabled...

ill try again but i have to take action by dec 9th...

Did u ever get a series of questions which CSRs dont understand themselves such as "we have a few questions to ask you about how u use ur NA service" "what kind of device u use?" "do u connect your device to laptop?" "do u download or stream movies, games or music?" "do you use antivirus software on your device?" (yes, they want to know if you e815 has a antivirus program, thye only take yes or no), "do u spend a extended period of time connected to NA?"

Also did you ever answer one of those questions with a answer that is against the TOS?

I am on $45 PDA unlimited data and ive been asked twice so far. I only use 150mbytes a month +/- 20 mb. Some websites, AIM, and 128K internet radio. The calls only began after I exchanged my XV6600. I think the tech was pissed at me because of a semi-BS reason i gave for replacing my phone (a power supply circut was making a non-speaker loud buzz). I totally dont understand why I am being gone after for 150mb? does this make any sense? or does VZ seriously expect people to look at 10 web pages a month and connect to my BES/Exchange for email updates for the time of the next board meeting and any more bandwidth is abuse?

If they turn off my internet (they cant actually, a XV6600 HAS to have a data plan according to VZ's policies, I2K requires one AFAIK) and ETF me, small claims court and atorney general over the word "unlimited", simple as that.

I am seriously considering Cingular EDGE at this point, NYC aint getting UTMS anytime soon lol. Atleast with EDGE i can stream 128K internet radio and not get harrased.

I am wondering how fast VZ will change their policies when Cingular UTMS comes out seriously, unless Cingular will have the exact same TOS, which these days i would expect since VZ and Cingular change prices together.

[mobile_dan]

I have read this thread several times, but I still need to ask to make sure I didn't misread something. Legally, I am allowed to tether my PDA or laptop if I purchase the BroadbandAccess plan, correct? I plan on getting the E815 or VX8100, depending on which does a better job. Thanks!

[patcat88]

I have read this thread several times, but I still need to ask to make sure I didn't misread something. Legally, I am allowed to tether my PDA or laptop if I purchase the BroadbandAccess plan, correct? I plan on getting the E815 or VX8100, depending on which does a better job. Thanks!

Not IMO, I have the $45 a month and my account is under investigation. Just annoying suverys [almost all questions ask about things banned in TOS, VZW doesnt tell you the survey questions are basically asking, are you breaking the TOS?].

[BFEINZIMER]

Did u ever get a series of questions which CSRs dont understand themselves such as "we have a few questions to ask you about how u use ur NA service" "what kind of device u use?" "do u connect your device to laptop?" "do u download or stream movies, games or music?" "do you use antivirus software on your device?" (yes, they want to know if you e815 has a antivirus program, thye only take yes or no), "do u spend a extended period of time connected to NA?"

Also did you ever answer one of those questions with a answer that is against the TOS?

I am on $45 PDA unlimited data and ive been asked twice so far. I only use 150mbytes a month +/- 20 mb. Some websites, AIM, and 128K internet radio. The calls only began after I exchanged my XV6600. I think the tech was pissed at me because of a semi-BS reason i gave for replacing my phone (a power supply circut was making a non-speaker loud buzz). I totally dont understand why I am being gone after for 150mb? does this make any sense? or does VZ seriously expect people to look at 10 web pages a month and connect to my BES/Exchange for email updates for the time of the next board meeting and any more bandwidth is abuse?

If they turn off my internet (they cant actually, a XV6600 HAS to have a data plan according to VZ's policies, I2K requires one AFAIK) and ETF me, small claims court and atorney general over the word "unlimited", simple as that.

I am seriously considering Cingular EDGE at this point, NYC aint getting UTMS anytime soon lol. Atleast with EDGE i can stream 128K internet radio and not get harrased.

I am wondering how fast VZ will change their policies when Cingular UTMS comes out seriously, unless Cingular will have the exact same TOS, which these days i would expect since VZ and Cingular change prices together.

i never answered against the tos, i fully denied everything though they have a system set up to where they can obviously tell

from the vzw store standpoint, my account is marked with no changes to any data and not to add any data services...

although i love my #, which for example has a 345 prefix, it has made me consider switchingt o cingular, but i want to avoid an etf, i have to further research my claim posobilities with the v710 lawsuit, but on the other hand cingular doesent have any good phones now and i might have to turn in my e815 because i got it as a result of an fru. and i hear the cingular service sucks so i have to deal with that issue. all in all i might just end up waiting till my contract is over and decide on something else, liek porting to cinglar and then porting back to verizon? i wonder how that would work out since vzw has my number in a way "blacklisted"...hmmmm?

[compltly wrls]

i just spent 3 hours analyzing this thread to determine whether or not to attemp to use my 8100 as a modem. what a mess. anyway if you cancel and reactivate service, verizon will deny your activation because they won't let you reactivate within 6 months of canceling service (according to a CC rep over the phone). so what i would do to avoid that conflict is
1. add a line to your vrzn account
2. port your number out of verizon into cingular or t-mobile
3. port you number back into vrzn over the previously added line

i'd say this dun fix sounds reasonably safe if the worse that could happen is a warning and possibly data blocks. its seems to me the only way you can get called out on it is if your data history is through the roof. sorry to hear about your bad luck bud.

[Marshrout]

Is there some reasonable summary somewhere of how
specifically to tether a laptop through a mobile phone?
I was thinking of getting a Samsung i730 or Audiovox 6670 -
what features does a phone need to be tetherable?
Can you control the access speed (EVDO vs. RTT) via the
tethered device (laptop) in case EVDO is available?
(curious for testing response at lower rates).

Thanks,
M

[BFEINZIMER]

well i have to make a choice within sevral days...

i refuse to give up my current phone #, and im caling people at vzw to find out different stuff

i cant port to cingular becaue id have to agree to a 1 yr contract min.

[patcat88]

well i have to make a choice within sevral days...

i refuse to give up my current phone #, and im caling people at vzw to find out different stuff

i cant port to cingular becaue id have to agree to a 1 yr contract min.

Port to prepaid, like Page Plus (VZ MVNO) (free QNC). Problem solved. I think STI (sprint) has unlimted 1x for like a dollar a day. When AMPed (VZ) comes out you'll probably have VZ EVDO prepaid tethering like Boost except EVDO speeds. Also I think ESPN MObile prepaid (sprint) will have EVDO.

[Kognyto]

Why hasn't there been a poll of data usage over EVDO to get a sense of when one's account might be flagged for possible tethering?

A poll would give a sense of approximately how much data usage would attract the attention of VZW.

In this forum
wtfm8 was flagged for 200 GB of usage.
macmandan tetherd for ~27 hrs / 56 MB without any problems.
OSU45 has used gigabytes worth.


TBarCYa and BFEINZIMER have also been flagged by VZW, but for unknown amounts of data (please let us know how much you've used!). Encouragingly, it seems that no one on HF has been slapped with charges for such usage, but others have posted they have firsthand knowledge of up to $5,000 in charges levied against those who have been caught.

BFEINZIMER-- let us know what happened to you!

[Kognyto]

I would also like to propose a possible argument against such exorbitant fines. While I am not familiar with civil or criminal law in theft, in patent law damages are calculated not by what the accused has gained, but by what the accuser has lost. So what would be the real damage to VZW for data usage that would not exceed that typically used by a VCAST subscriber? Say, maybe 400MB as someone proposed? Hence, if (as I believe most) people have used EVDO tethering for small(er) data usage, then perhaps VZW may not legally assess those damages. However, this does not speak to the fact that the VCAST TOS clearly prohibits tethering and accessing the internet, nor does it address the fact that VZW offers data services specifically for accessing the internet (but we all know that those rates are VERY high for what you get). So perhaps they were damaged by someone not paying for the data services.

Additionally, as has been pointed out earlier: How could someone be accused of stealing services when--through no action on their part--they were automatically routed through the EVDO network (due to VZW automatically routing data through this higher speed network when available when accessed through an EVDO capable phone, such as the E815) rather than through the 1xRTT network for legitimate tethering? Moreover, VZW will not tell its customers how to force EVDO capable hardware into using only 1xRTT.

I agree with robrecht that the best solution is to talk with X-number of reps until you hear what you want to hear--and then document that conversation. Perhaps recording such conversations would be the best method, since every time you call VZW they are likely recording the conversation anyway (remember the little disclaimer right before you get to talk with someone?). Then use tethering (RESPONSIBLY) with peace of mind!

[PPCMD]

But you can d/l quite alot of data without tethering on EV-DO its just the amount of storage card space you have. So I have a 2GB card, whats to stop my from d/l video clips, music etc. on m Treo 700w but NOT being tethered to a laptop, desktop etc. Is this a violation, is there some arbitrary limit that Vzw does not disclose. My intent is to d/l files on my Treo 700w that I cannot or do not have the time to do at home. I have satelite internet with a FAP limit and frankly its a pita at times. Podcasts eat up too much of my FAP limit. So enter the Treo 700w with EV-DO I can d/l my podcasts and move on.