Sprint pushed a mandatory firmware update which while stating it a performance and reliability update had a more serious mission in mind.
Given how popular the phone is with Sprint customers. (The day I'd registered mine, they hadn't been signing up any other phone for days) It was inevitable that the free hotspot avenue would prove popular. It was also inevitable that eventually the Sprint engineers would take notice.
They did. And today they nailed the backdoor shut on the free Hotspot. None of the applications like Quickset are going to be giving you that feature unless you either pony up to Sprint or root your phone.
If you're going to root your phone keep the following in mind.
1. Don't do this if you don't have full ownership of the service. If you're on a family plan or on one through the generosity of a friend, it's the height of irresponsibility and downright unethical behavior to root your phone without the goahead of the person who's paying the main bill for you. As they're going to be the ones to catch the heat if you're found out. Thing again also on the ethical issues in trying to essentially "steal" a service they want you to pay for.
2. Remember that you may be pretty much on your own if you root your phone, especially if you brick it while trying to root it.
3. Sprint's aware of this little trick, they had nailed the backdoor on the EVO phones, probably before they shipped out because they were running an older Android, I suspect that since Optimus had shipped with a then brand new OS is the main reason we got the free ride for as long as we did. Well that's pretty much over.
Given how popular the phone is with Sprint customers. (The day I'd registered mine, they hadn't been signing up any other phone for days) It was inevitable that the free hotspot avenue would prove popular. It was also inevitable that eventually the Sprint engineers would take notice.
They did. And today they nailed the backdoor shut on the free Hotspot. None of the applications like Quickset are going to be giving you that feature unless you either pony up to Sprint or root your phone.
If you're going to root your phone keep the following in mind.
1. Don't do this if you don't have full ownership of the service. If you're on a family plan or on one through the generosity of a friend, it's the height of irresponsibility and downright unethical behavior to root your phone without the goahead of the person who's paying the main bill for you. As they're going to be the ones to catch the heat if you're found out. Thing again also on the ethical issues in trying to essentially "steal" a service they want you to pay for.
2. Remember that you may be pretty much on your own if you root your phone, especially if you brick it while trying to root it.
3. Sprint's aware of this little trick, they had nailed the backdoor on the EVO phones, probably before they shipped out because they were running an older Android, I suspect that since Optimus had shipped with a then brand new OS is the main reason we got the free ride for as long as we did. Well that's pretty much over.
