Good idea to cancel my internet connection and just tether with evo?

[jonathanzx10]

I have time warner right now and pay 55 a month. I have 4g coverage in my area and I think this would be the only way I can afford this phone. Is tethering reliable enough to be my only internet source?

 

[ImmaSlave4U]

I'd say it depends on how much time you're going to spend being online...phone use I limited when tethering.

 

[neodorian]

Only if you just occasionally browse the web on your laptop at home. It's doable, but the device isn't geared toward being a full time router and it would mean your connection leaves home with you. It means you would need all computers to be on Wifi which isn't good for gaming or even sometimes streaming computers. Most of all, it's kind of overkill. You can get Wimax service at home for something like $25-35/month and use a dedicated Wimax router optimized for reception and constant uptime whereas the Evo is designed to be a phone capable of accessing a Wimax network when you are out and about.

Still, your call

 

[lyons238]

I have time warner right now and pay 55 a month. I have 4g coverage in my area and I think this would be the only way I can afford this phone. Is tethering reliable enough to be my only internet source?

i wouldnt dude. i know that if any carrier notices high data they can limit you on data and your evo will be slow. also if ur constantly tethering with it your going to kill your battery fast. if you keep it plugged in you risk the chance of constantly putting too much heat to the phone.

imo tethering is nice when you need internet while on the go, but its no substitute for your home internet service.

 

[mrk]

There are no caps on the Evo, lyons238. But I wouldn't use the phone as a full-time internet service replacement, either.

 

[sagedil]

I thought briefly of doing same. Then realized that wife would have no internet if I was not home.

 

[blake247]

I thought briefly of doing same. Then realized that wife would have no internet if I was not home.

Sounds like a good excuse to pick an evo up for her..hah

 

[Deleted User]

imo tethering is nice when you need internet while on the go, but its no substitute for your home internet service.

Agreed. I wouldn't rely on it as my home internet connection.

 

[Bek]

This has been discussed in several other threads already.

Unless you don't use the 'net very heavily or very often, I would not recommend this. Do you really want to beat up your phone, keeping it on and hot, for hours at a time, days at a time? It's a smartphone, not necessarily a dedicated internet access point.

 

[Rob_A]

Get rid of Cable modem and get Fios. I have 20mbit upload and it kicks everything elses ass... but that's for another messageboard.

 

[mx7]

I would use it as long as I have 4G and am not downloading heavy data files continously. Sprint does leave the option of tethering and you're paying $10 extra for unlimited data.

 

[Aridon]

Do you game? Wireless isn't conducive to gaming because of the inherent latency. If you aren't gaming I'd say you should be fine.

 

[SprintFun]

My time warner would crush even the best 4G could offer, so I'd never consider it

 

[mx7]

My time warner would crush even the best 4G could offer, so I'd never consider it

Ok dickweed. No one asked you about your service.

 

[Bek]

My time warner would crush even the best 4G could offer, so I'd never consider it

Dude, your upload SUCKS!

 

[SprintFun]

If you're going to insult me at least use the best result.


The evo 4g =/= home internet for many reasons, such as speed, dependability, permanent uptime, allowing access when the phone isn't home, etc. Now if you live home alone and never surf, then sure. But even downloading songs would take quite a while.

 

[mrk]

SprintFun: You dirty son of a bitch. :|

 

[neodorian]

But even downloading songs would take quite a while.

Not so sure about that. I used to go nuts for the fastest ISP available but honestly, I switched to home Wimax for service just because it was so cheap and even with just my usual 5-6Mb/sec downloads I have no problem downloading songs. 500MB tv episodes still only take like 20 minutes and downloading albums from Amazon takes like 4 minutes. I used to go nuts with torrenting and stuff back in my younger days but now that I basically just need to be able to stream video and download the occasional album or TV episode, I'm going for cheap. I will probably stick with this for the time being and then maybe get fiber if Google picks our city for their project or the city puts out a less expensive alternative to Fios. Obviously YMMV but long story short, 5MB/sec is perfectly fine for average downloading.

I just don't think turning a $500 smartphone into an always-on router is the best way to do it if you are trying to save a buck.

 

[Alchematron]

My time warner would crush even the best 4G could offer, so I'd never consider it

I use to have Road Runner cable

I don't remember the speed being fast as yours

Is this now common???

Thanx

 

[Thefoodman52]

Bad idea to drop your home service in exchange for relying on your phone. It's still just a really good phone.

 

[stroths]

Even with dedicated 4g services, they aren't going to be as reliable as a wired connection (DSL, Cable, Fiber, etc). I looked at setting my wife's office up with Clear 4g as it was a higher speed than her DSL provider could handle. However, I read cases where people had 4g outages for days sometimes as well as other issues which made me drop that idea.

 

[drksilenc]

you can download like no other but ur upload is worse than mine on my hero lol

 

[jam4775]

I think people are kidding themselves if they think they're going to use the hotspot as their primary internet service... the only exception is maybe a college student staying in the dorms. This is why I think the $30 charge for it is absurd and sprint is just being greedy. I would have considered adding it if it was only $10.

 

[Tre Lawrence]

I think using it as a dedicated service may be a bit underwhelming too.

 

[willyallthewei]

I absolutely would not do this. Regardless of speed, there's a reliability problem with switching to a Wimax network for your permanent internet connection. You don't want your internet to be down when you badly need to get something sent out on your home computer.