Update: 2.1 OS upgrade for Rogers HTC Magic+

[thor124]

same goes for me with my magic 2.1
it's getting quite annoying, hopefully this new 2.1 uses a new radio that greatbigdog can use for cyanogenmod.
also thor124, how did you revert to the magic post-E911 RUU? i'm thinking about doing this because its getting quite annoying

If I recall correctly I just ran the RRU. It will wipe your phone, and unroot it, leave you with 1.5 and sense UI

I'm kind of surpised no one else finds it funny that the dreams still have potential 911 issues(i've never tried dialing 911 when the phones connection is FUBAR'd, but phone calls in gernal don't complete) after that forced update BS. In an emergency having to reboot your phone and wait for it to reaquire a signal could be life and death.

 

[myth0s]

The free version of PDAnet isn't very usefull since it blocks most sites.

I still think Rogers, HTC, Google, or whomever, should find a way to offer tether without paying for it or rooting phone. I have a CRAPberry, for work and can tether with that for free from Rogers. If it's on BB, it should be on other phones too.

That's what I think too.

The websites I use the most (gmail, my university website and multiple websites to research papers) are all using https.... I would like an "official" alternative from Rogers.

Even if we can buy the tethering program from the market, isn't tethering prohibited at the moment in the terms of use/agreement?

 

[mpg187]

I have a question about the OTA means of updating.
I live in an area where the signal (Reception) is terrible and I'm worried that an OTA update will not complete before I lose the signal.
Will I be able to do the update through Wi-Fi instead or do I have to go some place where I get full signal.

Thanks

Well we should hope it will download all the update data and not apply it until the download it done. So that way if you lose signal when you get it back it will download again and it will install after it's downloaded so even if you lose signal once it's downloaded it won't matter.

Does anyone know if it will download the update completely before attempting to apply it? Also if you can't use Wifi and use 3G will users not be charged for the data (Like how we are not charged for data used by the my account app as that's in the "Rogers Zone" and sites in that zone do not consume data plans...)

 

[davidelewis]

Even if we can buy the tethering program from the market, isn't tethering prohibited at the moment in the terms of use/agreement?

If you data plan is >= 1 GB per month, then tethering with Rogers Wireless is allowed: http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-products/tethering

 

[mjschmidt]

Even if we can buy the tethering program from the market, isn't tethering prohibited at the moment in the terms of use/agreement?

Perhaps someone can correct me if I am wrong, but if I have understood correctly, when using an app like PDAnet, Rogers would have no way of knowing that you are tethering.

 

[thor124]

Perhaps someone can correct me if I am wrong, but if I have understood correctly, when using an app like PDAnet, Rogers would have no way of knowing that you are tethering.

I think that entirely depends on how nosy Rogers feels like being... Basic packet snooping would probably give it away. But as mentioned earlier, only people with data plans under 1g/mnt would have this concern.

 

[KyleB]

Perhaps someone can correct me if I am wrong, but if I have understood correctly, when using an app like PDAnet, Rogers would have no way of knowing that you are tethering.

I have been wondering this for a long time myself. I think this question came up in another thread but was never really answered. This is one other reason I hesitate to pay for PDAnet for use with my unrooted phone. I don't think they can tell when you are tethering and wonder if you'd get hit with a large bill if you tether over the 1 GB which they allow under their policy. I wonder if this policy was meant for the Blackberry masses and they didn't think it through for Android.

With Blackberry Desktop Application, you can just use your USB cable to hook up BB to laptop, then select the "Rogers" profile to use the BB to tether. I don't know enough about how Rogers indentifies when you are tethering or not, but I assumed that with the BB when you use the Rogers profile, they know you are tethering. I have no idea how they could possible tell if you are tethering when using a program such as PDAnet or if you are just using the phone.

I'm not sure why they could not have built a Rogers android app for tether and put in market place for download or added it as one of the applications in the 2.1 upgrade. I think 2.2 is supposed to have wireless tether is it not?

Be great to hear from someone that knows the technical specifics of this better than me to help explain!

 

[Silvertag]

I don't think Rogers can (for the time being) detect if you are tethering or not. They could always check your bandwith usage and see if you have larger then "normal" bandwith usage for a smartphone but currently i don't think it is the case.

Froyo does have wireless tethering** and it works very well. My girlfriend use it alot when we need to go online and are not in a proximity of a wired or wireless connection. I just start Tethering for Root and her netbook detects the Androidtether connection and presto we have internet. We even used it on the highway and it worked like a charm, i was doing the driving and her the typing .

It is slower then our home cable highspeed but it does the job. It is also a good battery drainer be aware of it. A full battery can go flat within the first hour if your not carefull of your usage.

By the way DO enable the mac filtering security in tethering or you could get some leechers sucking your data. You cannot boot people off tethering, turning the wifi or tethering off/on won't do the trick either so mac filtering will save you data and alot of headaches.

** "Wireless tether for root" app does require root. PDANet & EasyTether lite does not.

 

[myth0s]

Thank you Silvertag & davidelewis for your answers!

 

[Silvertag]

If you data plan is >= 1 GB per month, then tethering with Rogers Wireless is allowed: http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-products/tethering

For now the Android is excluded from this policy. It may be added in the future when 2.1 is released. I'm tethering via wireless on a 500megs/month plan and I have no issue.

 

[thor124]

For now the Android is excluded from this policy. It may be added in the future when 2.1 is released. I'm tethering via wireless on a 500megs/month plan and I have no issue.

No where on that page is Android excluded, it simply states that those are examples of SOME phones that support tethering, and explicitly includes all plans over 1gb.

 

[KyleB]

RogersMary, it would be great if you could help address our tethering questions.
Specifically:
-Will tethering be included in 2.1? If not, will it be available later as an update to 2.1? Or is this something that will not be included for the current Magic phone?
-Does Rogers tethering policy include Android? If not, why not?
-How can Rogers tell when you are tethering vs. using your phone?

I really think it would be great if we could have a tethering solution offered by Rogers. If we can't get Froyo/2.2 to take advantage of wireless tether, it would be nice to see another alternative.

At this point in time, it seems like tethering is almost the norm for a smart phone. By not offering it, it is definately going to push more users to want to root their phone. I don't think we should have to root to take advantage of 2.2 and wireless tether.
Thank you

 

[kaput]

What i think of this update? C'est looooooooooooong

I just went back to the magic with Sense UI because i screwed up my Dream with 2.1 (I fiddled a lot in it, and will do some more later) What i realized is, Sense IS cool looking and smooth, so i hope all that waiting for 2.1 will be worth it. I bought the Dream to do remote servicing on linux boxes, so the magic is almost useless to me, but my wife will enjoy it when her Bell contract ends. So, do not kill the battery as the last update and let the door open for rooting for uber geeks (or just don't shut it tighter),and I might let go my grievance with Rogers and get to the end of my contract.
If it sucks again, well Videotron is coming in the 3G arena, i got all my other services from them and customer service is great. They might give nice rebates to new customers with two phones to hookup...

 

[Silvertag]

No where on that page is Android excluded, it simply states that those are examples of SOME phones that support tethering, and explicitly includes all plans over 1gb.

It may not be excluded in general terms but if a policy does not state it in black and white for me i am in my rights to think that it refers only to BB and iphone like it is stated in its current form. Plus if you translate the page to french this info is now in the Iphone 3G Section ??&!!. It's a grey area around Android and it can still go both ways. Even after 1y of offering Android phones Rogers does not grasp all its potential.

Brock says: March 24, 2010 at 10:25 am
Why are plans less than 1GB excluded?

• 
  
  RogersMiranda says: March 24, 2010 at 11:31 am
  Hi Brock.
  Valid question.
  The original tethering promotion never included plans below 1GB and we really didn’t hear many concerns from our customers about this. I think that’s because our customers understand that to benefit from tethering, it is necessary to have a sufficiently large data bucket.
  However, I’d suggest customers call Rogers Customer Care if they have specific questions about plans. Reps are trained to help identify which products and plans are best suited to meet their needs.

http://redboard.rogers.com/2010/we-...-tethering-policy/comment-page-1/#comment-616

• 
  

Only 5% of Rogers smartphone customers currently use more than 500 MB of data/month. Customers that use more than 500 MB of data/month tend to be customers that heavily stream and download content with their device.

http://www.rogers.com/web/Rogers.po...ls=true&setLanguage=en&template=wp-data-guide

Talk about contradiction!

I did not see any charge on my bill for tethering for the past 4 months with my 500MB plan. I only have been charged once for a extra 10 MB i used on my plan and that's a $0.05/MB price tag so no biggy.

 

[ace862]

It may not be excluded in general terms but if a policy does not state it in black and white for me i am in my rights to think that it refers only to BB and iphone like it is stated in its current form. Plus if you translate the page to french this info is now in the Iphone 3G Section ??&!!. It's a grey area around Android and it can still go both ways. Even after 1y of offering Android phones Rogers does not grasp all its potential.

It only lists Blackberry and iPhone as examples of devices that can tether. It is not an exclusive list. The last line of the Rogers info page on tethering states:

For all other devices, check your device manual to see if tethering is supported and for tethering instructions for your device.

The thing I'm surprised that no one has mentioned yet is apps2sd. I know it is a function of 2.2 although I can't remember if it was part of 2.1 or not. Apps2sd is a huge plus. If it's not in 2.1 then that is just another reason to root your phone. Cyanogen and team have made sure that the Magic and the Dream get all the Froyo goodies. Honestly, I rooted my Magic months ago. (Thanks GBD!) I got too tired of waiting for Rogers to release their 2.1, which, will already be behind the curve when it comes out. I'm not going to back to a Rogers stock ROM. There is no upside to that.
Cheers!

 

[Silvertag]

I think Android is just not mentionned in clear text because tethering was not part of it when Rogers launched them.

I don't use apps2sd and don't need too once you have JIT enabled i found no reason to dump all the apps on the sd. It's only part of 2.2 but was included in CM 2.1 i believe.

 

[Zeroexe43]

They sent me a text saying my plans supports tethering and they know I'm android but who cares I did it before

Ps... Umm how long is it going to take to do this update? Logically it would take a day or two at most... I mean really it just seems like Rogers and HTC doesn't care about us at all.. I feel like I'm waiting to talk to someone in a store and they keep answering a phone to talk to other customers... They know I'm there but they don't care

 

[RogersMary]

RogersMary, it would be great if you could help address our tethering questions.

Hi Kyle. I don't have further information on specifics of the OS but I will have those available in time for roll out. I'll be better able to answer your questions then. I've written it down.... I won't forget!

 

[Silvertag]

Hi Kyle. I don't have further information on specifics of the OS but I will have those available in time for roll out. I'll be better able to answer your questions then. I've written it down.... I won't forget!

Hi Mary,

Could you also check on the reason why the tethering plans start from 1GB and not 500MB ?

We should all be able to use our data limit with or without tethering. 500MB is not too small for tethering you just don't use it the same way.

I don't stream podcast, music or movies on my android. I use my data to feed my widgets, update/download my apps and check my emails. If i want to tether within the boundaries of my plan what could stop me... it still data transfer for Rogers.

If i download a 2MB app from Android Market or tether for 2MB of data. It still is just data, the same 2MB just not in the same way but via the same connection media 3G.

Thanks

 

[vikingisson]

Please don't get Rogers to analyze the tethering too much or they might act like the U.S. where you're charged extra for the ability. With all the screwed up nonsense in the industry we have a few things better up here such as tethering being allowed which only makes sense since we're paying for the data. 1G minimum plan isn't a terrible thing, +5$ to get 1G is reasonable considering how expensive things are in general.

For those that want to tether then if you need a paid app to do it right then buy it. A one time charge is much better than paying every month like the suckers down south have to do. Support your developers who do a lot more for the tech than paying the providers who do very little to advance tech.

Tethering works great and saved me a long drive every day when I moved and didn't have internet for a week. Even my VPN apps worked normally. And I never went over the 1G limit of my plan.

 

[mjschmidt]

What I'd still like to know is how they could tell you were tethering, regardless of which app you use?

 

[thor124]

What I'd still like to know is how they could tell you were tethering, regardless of which app you use?

The same way they know if your using lots of peer-to-peer file sharing, packet sniffing/analyzing, Packet analyzer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That or they could just look at the URL's you pull (mobile sites vs full sites).

 

[MagicAndroid]

I'm another person beating the "I hate Rogers" drum.

Why do I blame Rogers and not HTC. Because why can HTC publish for other companies (same phone) but not Rogers.

It's a blame game between Rogers and HTC and I'm pretty sure the lie comes from Rogers who has to pay HTC for the updates. Why would the constantly shell out money for updates if they already have your money and you're locked in for 3 years.

Personally I bought the phone straight up and brought it to Fido. Happy as a pig in shit there until I realized 1.6 came out, 2.0/2.1 came out and now 2.2 with Rogers not giving a crap and taking their sweet time.

You know at least have the decency of keeping a phone updated for 3 years if you want to lock people in for that long, or you could offer people to pay more for a 1 or 2 year contract(but still give them that option) or offer an open phone if somebody pays for it out right.

All I know is I'm not even with Rogers and they piss me off and I don't understand how their sister company Fido is like black and white difference.
If only Fido had the phones Rogers had I think they'd take over the Canadian market.

So I'm going to continue waiting for that vaporware known as Rogers Android 2.1. Hopefully you'll release it before this Christmas when 3.0/Gingerbread comes out.

All I know is that right now I have the capability to root and go CM6 with 2.2 but I don't want to. I payed for a device and I want it to be serviced. Never again will I go with a Rogers Android device. I feel bad for all the Galaxy S suckers going with Rogers, but hey maybe Samsung will be a little more proactive.

 

[vikingisson]

Dude, didn't you say that you bought the phone outright? So did I. Put your own ROM on it, that's how we do it here because the carriers won't and the manufacturers won't either because of their "special sauce UI" and the carrier corruption.

I know it isn't for everyone but that's our choice here. Root and rom it, 2.2 works nicely on that phone.

And to Thor, torrents over a tether? That would be an insane way to use tethering. But if you can afford it go ahead. But simply put, we are allowed to tether so I don't understand the argument. It can't be about the 500MB plan cause you mentioned torrents and I'd like to see someone do that on a 500MB plan....

 

[MagicAndroid]

Dude, didn't you say that you bought the phone outright? So did I. Put your own ROM on it, that's how we do it here because the carriers won't and the manufacturers won't either because of their "special sauce UI" and the carrier corruption.

I know it isn't for everyone but that's our choice here. Root and rom it, 2.2 works nicely on that phone.

I know, I pretty much just wanted to blow off some steam and let RogersMary know how unsatisfied and negative an image we have of Rogers. I try and steer everybody I know away from them.

As soon as CM6 comes out of RC i'm on it a fat kid on a Cupcake, I mean Frozen Yoghurt .