Help tethering?

[pippi2077]

Do you have to be signed up for tethering in order for any of the tethering programs to work? Was hoping you could do it without having to pay another $15.

 

[rasmith3530]

Yes, you do have to sign up for the tethering, as there are now codes set at the switch. Also, tethering added to the data plan comes to a total of $55, or, $25 to tether. Yes, it went up with the data rate increase.

 

[mtwalther]

The prior reply is actually incorrect. The cost to tether is $45...Guaranteed.Who the hell is gonna root this beast? I'm dying for it...

 

[rasmith3530]

The prior reply is actually incorrect. The cost to tether is $45...Guaranteed.Who the hell is gonna root this beast? I'm dying for it...

Sorry mtwalther, but my prior reply is quite correct. As of July 9th, coinciding with the launch of the Acclaim, smartphone data plans have increased to $30 (from the previous $24.95), and smartphone tethering (including the data plan) is now $55, up from the previous amount of $39.95. The exception to this is BlackBerry BES service and tethering.

 

[rasmith3530]

Thought that I would add this...

Android | Android Phone | U.S. Cellular

Note on the right side of the web page where it says, "Android Email & Web + Modem Service." As I said, $55!

 

[rasmith3530]

For those interested in tethering their phones to a computer, here's the US Cellular page on the subject. Note that you need to add tethering to your account.

USCC Android Tethering

 

[rasmith3530]

Tethering in Ubuntu GNU/Linux could not be much simpler. First, on the phone, go to Settings > Wireless & networks, and place a checkmark in Dial Up Networking.

Now, with Ubuntu up and running connect your phone to your laptop. Click on the Network Manager icon in the top taskbar and select the entry for a new CDMA Mobile Broadband connection. When the wizard comes up, scroll down and select US Cellular from the list. Connect and enjoy!

Linux ROCKS! Android and Ubuntu, Linux cousins.

 

[Xandersmommy]

Use the easy tether app. it's awesome.

 

[Mr312]

Use the easy tether app. it's awesome.

Yeah just search the market... I have been using it for the past two weeks with no problems at all. Just be concise of your bandwidth consumption

 

[Meg618]

I am confused, because i have heard about this tethering fee, and have seen it displayed on uscellular.com for android tethering "Additional $25/month". I have an unlimited android plan "Android Email & Web" is how it is displayed on bill, for $30/month. I did the 2.2 manual update on my HTC Desire, and heard that with this update it allows carriers to then monitor usb tetherinw/wifi sharing usage. i am not sure how true this is, because i work for tmobile and know that they do not monitor data usage, and also have a plan for it now which i have heard stops ppl from having tethering capabilities without the plan (extra $14.99/month), however i have talked to many customers that are tethering android phones on 2.2 without any kind of tethering plan....i also am able to usb tether my htc desire with bo problem (havent tried wifi sharing yet), but i have also looked at my last 3 bills and see no charge for tethering and have not received any kind of notification from them regarding tethering without a plan....so my question is will i be able to tether without worrying about data charges for this or being slapped with this "tethering plan" as they call it? can they monitor tethering? when i asked us cell, one rep told me that i will not be able to tether without the plan and tried to sell me the plan...i didnt tell them i was able to tether without the plan. i want to get rid of my wifi internet plan at home, an use my phone for internet to save money, so the tethering usage will drastically increase once this happens. any details or information on this would be great, as i have looked on other forums, and havent gotten straight answers......thanks!.....BTW, pardon my technically challenged vocabulary

 

[SammyAcclaim]

Meg,

You won't find a "straight" answer on this forum either because of the forums liability. I know this only because I asked this same question and shared a similiar experience in the past and the thread was promptly deleted.

I have a couple things to share with you though.

First the experience you shared above is very similiar to other people experiences with the issue you outline. So you are in the same boat as a lot of android phone users specifically on the carrier you use.

Second if you are considering dropping your local ISP for your carriers services you have already outlined what could be a problem. Your consumption on the device will probably go up drastically. One thing to consider is how much bandwidth you currently utilize at home and on your phone currently. You may want to find a tool that could be used to monitor the bandwidth you utilize on a monthly basis on your local ISP just so can confirm that you won't exceed the consumption capacity on your phone plan. You can also download tools from the market for consumption monitoring on your android phone to make sure that home consumption plus what you currently use on the phone doesn't go over the cap.

Also consider that if you drop service from your local ISP you have mostly likely dropped a ~$50 monthly fee for a possible ~$30 monthly fee. Either way you are saving. Just realize that you have to make sure you don't hit your consumption capacity and also make sure you can live with the drastic drop in speed you will experience compared to your current speed with your current home ISP. Also remember that if you have multiple computers in the house that share your local ISPs internet connection through a wireless/wired router that same exact setup won't apply to your new cell based internet service.

Hopefully this gives you some more things to consider and also gives you some insight into why nobody is answering your question directly and you can't find much information on this topic.

 

[Meg618]

thanks so much! i will probably have to end up keeping my home wifi for my laptop, not sure how to monitor laptop bandwidth (is that different than data usage in mb or gb?). i am almost sure i don't have a cap at us cell, like with tmobile we throttle at 5gb or 2gb to edge network. its almost worth it to just pay the stupid home wifi instead of dealing with it all, and i don't know how much i would enjoy having hook phone up everytime im on my laptop...anyways, thanks for the input!