Is Verizon targeting the remaining unlimited plans?...

[Rdjr74]

The last phone that people were able to get and still use the subsidized pricing was the Galaxy S3. After the recent 4.3 update (which I have not done yet but today received a notification) and reading several comments in regards to foxfi not working, wifi issues, battery drain, etc, there is one that stands out and that is the capability of using the hotspot feature. Although I rarely use this I still like having it available. My question is, do you think Verizon is somehow targeting those remaining unlimited customers in an attempt to find ways to force them to move to a tiered data plan? Pure speculation but I feel it's worthy of a discussion.

Is there anyone that has updated to 4.3 and still have hotspot capability? Are you on an unlimited plan?
Is there anyone that has a phone newer then the S3 that had the hotspot taken away also? If so are you still on an unlimited plan?
I've always used Hot spot toggle instead of foxfi. Can anyone that has done the update confirm it also does not work?

 

[funkylogik]

I dont know much about US carriers but i dont think Verizon ever wanted you tethering.
Most people have built in wifi hotspot capability in the phones settings and dont need an app. Even after 4.3 on the s3.
I know it doesnt answer your question but just wanted to clarify :thumbup:

 

[Rdjr74]

I dont know much about US carriers but i dont think Verizon ever wanted you tethering.
Most people have built in wifi hotspot capability in the phones settings and dont need an app. Even after 4.3 on the s3.
I know it doesnt answer your question but just wanted to clarify :thumbup:

They've always allowed tethering but I don't think they liked the fact that back in 2012 the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered them to stop charging users an additional fee for using their 4G smartphones and tablets as Wi-Fi hotspots.

Yes the phones have a built in Verizon app that when clicked on requires you to call and subscribe for an additional 30 dollars a month, that is only if you are still on an unlimited plan. To get around that pop up screen people would use said apps from the market. People that have moved to the tiered data plans I'm assuming don't get the pop up that tells them to call your provider.

And to comment specifically about Verizon not wanting people to tether, well I'll have to disagree. Based on their data plans now they would LOVE people to tether. Eats up peoples allowed data, people go beyond their data plan, more money in the blood sucking networks pocket.

 

[funkylogik]

yeah i should have worded that differently lol. They dont want you to tether unlimited.
Its greed really. If you look at european prices, data really doesnt cost the carrier much to provide. And a smartphone can chew through just as much data as a tethered laptop.
Data seems to be the latest cash-cow like sms then mms used to be :thumbdown:

 

[jhawkkw]

If I remember correctly, foxfi was broken when google pushed out 4.3 this summer and it hasn't been fixed since. It didn't matter which device or carrier you were on, it broke on every device across the board.

 

[Growler48]

That's discouraging to hear. I was hoping Foxfi would be able to fix this pretty quickly. I've sent 3 emails to the folks at Foxfi and haven't heard back from them - and it's been almost a month.

I'm currently paying the $30/month for tethering until Foxfi can sort this out. If not, I'll probably root the phone for the capability. I use waaaaaay too much data to live on a limited/shared plan!

 

[funkylogik]

Ditto lol

 

[Growler48]

Ditto lol View attachment 66572

What app are you using in your screenshot?

 

[funkylogik]

113GB?!?! lol!
Its just the stock android data counter but with a framework changing the colours mate

 

[Rdjr74]

What app are you using in your screenshot?
View attachment 66586

You know you can get pretty much the same screen in your settings; data usage

 

[funkylogik]

Id love if google did something like somehow give android users free or profit-free unlimited data. Now that would be a game changer and a kick in the plums for greedy carriers

 

[Rdjr74]

Last I heard Google was talking with Dish Network. I'm afraid those talks have since diminished.

 

[Rdjr74]

SO, you guys think I should just do the damn update and hope that these secondary apps update and find a way to work on 4.3? UUGGHHHH!!!

 

[Frostypawz]

Foxfi on your phone with Pdanet tablet installed on a tablet works on Verizon s3 with the new android 4.3 if that helps.

 

[funkylogik]

Cool frosty. Whats the thing about you have to pin lock the phone to use it or something?

 

[Frostypawz]

Yes, you have to enable pin lock on your lock screen for some reason(actually I'm using the pattern lock option). I don't know why.Sounds odd. Anyway, I just did it and it works. When turning on foxfi after installing it,I got a message on the program about downloading some type of certificate. I just accepted and now the hotspot works with unlimited data. I guess for whatever reason foxfi detects my phone and provider,sees what I need,and then downloads the appropriate fix. All I know is that it now works.

 

[funkylogik]

+1 to foxfi. I love how google didnt remove it from Play

 

[Rdjr74]

Yes, you have to enable pin lock on your lock screen for some reason(actually I'm using the pattern lock option). I don't know why.Sounds odd. Anyway, I just did it and it works. When turning on foxfi after installing it,I got a message on the program about downloading some type of certificate. I just accepted and now the hotspot works with unlimited data. I guess for whatever reason foxfi detects my phone and provider,sees what I need,and then downloads the appropriate fix. All I know is that it now works.

Thanks frostypawz! That helps in my decision. Although I went away from foxfi and started using "hot spot toggle" (when I do use it). Any chance you could download that app and let me know if it works? I would really appreciate it. thx

One other thing, does foxfi limit you to how much you can use it? I remember somtime ago that they changed how it worked in a previous update and limited you to like 5 minutes. I suppose it was an attempt to buy their app for full usability.

 

[javamann]

SO, you guys think I should just do the damn update and hope that these secondary apps update and find a way to work on 4.3? UUGGHHHH!!!

I'm with you...ugh! I'm afraid to do the update since it might stop me from tethering...that's the only way for me to get the internet when I spend my six months in the Pocs during the summer. I'm gonna keep waiting until I'm sure it okay to do.

JM

 

[funkylogik]

frostypawz says it works mate and ive read others say it. Maybe the peeps who cant get it to work arent following the new instructions or something :thumbup:

 

[Frostypawz]

I have to amend my post.Actually its simpler than I thought. My tablet is receiving tethered internet from my phones Verizon hotspot natively by simply using the WiFi antenna in the tablet. Pdanet tablet is unnecessary. Its a program I had been messing with previously to find a solution.In fact I uninstalled it to prove it has nothing to do with the connection. This should have been obvious to me from the start.

As for Hotspot toggle,I can't get that one working. Foxfi does limit you with the unpaid version but I seem to remember it as being a 2 minute timeout. Before I got the paid version,I was able to buffer 10 minutes of YouTube video in that 2 minutes I was connected with my LTE connection.

 

[LizMac]

The last phone that people were able to get and still use the subsidized pricing was the Galaxy S3. After the recent 4.3 update (which I have not done yet but today received a notification) and reading several comments in regards to foxfi not working, wifi issues, battery drain, etc, there is one that stands out and that is the capability of using the hotspot feature. Although I rarely use this I still like having it available. My question is, do you think Verizon is somehow targeting those remaining unlimited customers in an attempt to find ways to force them to move to a tiered data plan? Pure speculation but I feel it's worthy of a discussion.

Is there anyone that has updated to 4.3 and still have hotspot capability? Are you on an unlimited plan?
Is there anyone that has a phone newer then the S3 that had the hotspot taken away also? If so are you still on an unlimited plan?
I've always used Hot spot toggle instead of foxfi. Can anyone that has done the update confirm it also does not work?

YES. I do think they are targeting the last of the unlimited plans. Maybe I'm paranoid... yes, I am paranoid. I checked.

 

[robertjm]

Have you tried the tethering app from CyanogenMod? You DON'T need to be on CM to use it. Don't remember whether you have to be rooted, or not, though.

 

[cybertec69]

FoxFi works for me after the 4.3 update, and I am on the unlimited data plan, no issues here.

 

[Growler48]

I don't know what changed, but I just uninstalled and re-installed FoxFi again after a month of paying for wifi tether and it's working now! )