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Eris Tethering

Directly from VZW.com, number (2) deals with tethering:



I also talked to a co-worker of mine who worked with Verizon about a year and a half ago, he said they can tell when you tether your phone with a computer. He is unsure how often they check and never had to deal with it while employed there ... but that would not be something a sales agent would ever deal with. I would say tether at your own risk, they could terminate your contract if they catch you.
I did this with my old Omnia One, and VZW charged me. They knew.
 
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Ive been tethering on Verizon for years. NEVER have I got data overage charges. All data usage goes under the unlimited plan tethered or not.

Please stop posting.
No, it does not. Why don't you read your contract again.

I'm pretty sure the general consensus says YOU should stop posting.
That's why your ass is on "Probation".
Hell, stop living while you're at it.
 
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No, it does not. Why don't you read your contract again.

I'm pretty sure the general consensus says YOU should stop posting.
That's why your ass is on "Probation".
Hell, stop living while you're at it.
I have worked at Verizon Wireless in the Network Repair Bueru Its 100% clear you have never even tethered a phone in your life. Another issue is that its clear you dont understand the contract and what it states. All data usage (tethered or not) goes under your $30 unlimited plan. If Verizon catches you (they wont) all they can do is cancel your contract. Verizon has already been sued and lost big time with thier 5gb cap on the "unlimited mobile broadband" plan a few years ago.

As stated before, all data tethered or not goes under your phones unlimited plan and Verizon does not care if you tether.

Yes, I know more than you do.
 
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I have worked at Verizon Wireless in the Network Repair Bueru Its 100% clear you have never even tethered a phone in your life. Another issue is that its clear you dont understand the contract and what it states. All data usage (tethered or not) goes under your $30 unlimited plan. If Verizon catches you (they wont) all they can do is cancel your contract. Verizon has already been sued and lost big time with thier 5gb cap on the "unlimited mobile broadband" plan a few years ago.

As stated before, all data tethered or not goes under your phones unlimited plan and Verizon does not care if you tether.

Yes, I know more than you do.
Verizon DOES care if you tether. And if they catch you, they WILL cancel your account and charge you. A LOT.
Go ahead, keep tethering your phone. I hope you get caught and then you'll look even more like an idiot.
They're going to allow people to tether their DROIDs soon, and when they do it'll have a 5GB cap. It doesn't matter if you're paying for unlimited or not.
 
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Regardless of what onion thinks he knows, I don't think he knows how much of a tool he comes off as.

That being said, I used to tether on several of my AT&T phones (even Torrented several movies at work), it was very specifically written that it was not allowed (just as it is not allowed with Verizon), and they never ever said anything to me. My friend that worked at AT&T reminded me they would charge me data overage if they caught me, but would probably never notice unless I went way overboard. I can only assume it will be the same thing with VZW. As long as your data usage is reasonable, no one is going to care if it's tethered or regular usage on the phone.
 
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Regardless of what onion thinks he knows, I don't think he knows how much of a tool he comes off as.

That being said, I used to tether on several of my AT&T phones (even Torrented several movies at work), it was very specifically written that it was not allowed (just as it is not allowed with Verizon), and they never ever said anything to me. My friend that worked at AT&T reminded me they would charge me data overage if they caught me, but would probably never notice unless I went way overboard. I can only assume it will be the same thing with VZW. As long as your data usage is reasonable, no one is going to care if it's tethered or regular usage on the phone.
That's what I'm trying to tell the self-proclaimed genius.
It's not that they don't CARE if you tether, it's as long as you don't use a shitload of data doing it so as not to raise a flag.
If they CATCH you doing it, which would HAVE to mean you're using too much data (thus leading them to know you're not using just your phone), they will cancel your contract.
 
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This has all already been discussed in many other threads, including experiences of people actually calling Verizon and asking. Their official responses included it actually being JUST FINE. Until they sell an official solution for tethering, you can do what you want.

And others who have worked at Verizon have also stated that they don't pay that much attention. The time/resources required to pay attention who uses too much data are better spent on customer service, network maintenance, and investment. If you go over 5gb significantly, you may get noticed. But they did get sued, and lose in a case involving this. You probably will not get your contract cancelled. No one has been able to, even once, come up with an example of this happening.

Just as a side note, I'm tethered right this second. And will remain so until I get internet in my new apartment.
 
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This has all already been discussed in many other threads, including experiences of people actually calling Verizon and asking. Their official responses included it actually being JUST FINE. Until they sell an official solution for tethering, you can do what you want.

And others who have worked at Verizon have also stated that they don't pay that much attention. The time/resources required to pay attention who uses too much data are better spent on customer service, network maintenance, and investment. If you go over 5gb significantly, you may get noticed. But they did get sued, and lose in a case involving this. You probably will not get your contract cancelled. No one has been able to, even once, come up with an example of this happening.

Just as a side note, I'm tethered right this second. And will remain so until I get internet in my new apartment.
Tell you what, get yourself a torrent program and go to town, while you're tethering. Get back to us in a couple of months.
 
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Oh heck, I downloaded PDANet. The app is pretty much awesome. Speed was WAY better than I expected. Which proves ComCast throttles our usage. I always thought it was my computer. Did a straight hour or so of surfing the web and played a game of spades on yahoo. One of the things I did was disable scripting. Figured that would keep my usage down a bit. All those moving images in the background probably uses bandwith. But it is a pain because you lose some clicking functionality on half the sites. I will check my usage in the next day or so. Personally, I believe you will be fine if you're just surfing the web. Maybe do some small downloads and uplaods here and there. For me it would be my online school homework. The problem comes with those people downloading a movie a day or 800 songs an hour.I would hate to be the one who downloads something through that satellite and give it a virus or something. That would be pretty bad for you I think. Probably a national security issue.
 
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The only way they can tell is by looking through your packets being transmitted over their server. IMO, it probably works something like this.

1. You hook up the tethering to your computer.

2 You send an email from your computer via tethering through your phone to a friend. Or just simply web browse.

Well, your computer will include it's mac address or local IP address in the packet that WILL be sent. Which will be different than your phone's IP address. Therefore, they can tell the mail or browsing wasn't originated from your phone. So basically, your phone won't be the originator of the packet being sent over their net. It will be your computer because the commands are coming from your computer and not the phone. Your phone is basically acting like a router.

NOW, I wonder if they care as long as you keep it under 5GBs a month? Cause if you go over then that would raise a red flag for them to take a look at your usage. If you think about it, I can use 5GB a month using my phone legally. So why would they care if I tethered as long as I kept it under 5GB's a month?
If the phone is "acting like a router", you are mistaken.

Neither your computer's MAC address nor its IP address will be sent out over the Internet. Your phone's MAC address would be visible for the first hop, and its IP address would travel the whole way, but your computer's MAC and IP addresses would never make it past the phone.

Or are you saying that a tethered phone doesn't act like a router, but uses some other technology? I'm no TCP/IP expert, so I sure won't rule that out.

Regarding whether Verizon "cares" about tethering, I have no inside knowledge. I can only report that I used a piece of freeware (wModem) to tether my XV6600 PDA/phone for a couple years. My wife and I used it as our primary Intenet connection, just as we currently use a USB data card. Verizon never complained.
 
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There is much nonsense that has been posted here...

Your phone acts as a regular MODEM not a router or anything else. It is clear people here have zero experience in modems and the PPP protocol. Verizon does not know nor do they care if another device creates the packets. You computer does not transmit its internal NIC MAC address, thats just crazy.

You have to understand that people who are against me here have zero experience on this topic yet they persist to think they are correct because they believe reality is how they think it is. I mean they have not even tethered a device ever.

Stating to the contrary to what I have said is like stating 2+2= 3 in mathematical terms. I have used mathematics to display in simple terms the scope of error.

Lets get real people. Reality only works one way and in this situation it is how I stated. Its time for my coffee now and I must go.
 
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I'm calling BS on it's not a acting like a router. A modem modulates and demodulates. A router does not. A router ROUTES. YOUR droid eris does not modulate and demodulate. Your droid eris ROUTES when you tether. Internet explorer (on your computer) sends information all the time to microsoft. Every time you open IE it sends something. This is how Verizon would know the signal didn't originate from your phone. They will check the packets. The packets will show your mac or your local which will be different than your phone. Use a personal information filter (LIKE I DO) and you will see how much IE sends over the internet from YOUR COMPUTER. PS...I tethered for a little over an hour and it cost me 82MB in data usage. No way are you people tethering like you say and Verizon isn't calling you out. So I'm calling you out. Post a verizon bill that shows you go over the 5 GB limit tethering.
 
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The Eris does the same thing tethering or not tethering. So if you're not tethering then I guess the phone is still acting like a modem huh? No it is not acting like a modem. It's acting like a client connecting to a router. Everyone with a Eris is a client connecting to a central server. Personally, I think you guys want people to tether. Maybe you are paid PDANet salesmen or something. I mean really, what do you care if someone get's popped using your software. You already got paid your 30 bucks right?
 
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