Wireless tether vs. wired

[Bramsy]

So we are pretty sure this is coming to Froyo .... How can VZW tell if our tethering is wireless?

And what does you guys believe this is going to do with our plans?

 

[OMJ]

it is in Froyo but will it be in the version of Froyo that comes to the Droid? Decent chance that VZW takes out the tethering options for Droid. If its not taken out I dont think they will be charging for it since its a built in option. They dont charge for the Palm Pre so maybe we will get lucky.

Although if you are rooted you can tether already

 

[riggsmagic]

You can already tether for free non root on 2.1. Use pda net its in the market download and install.
Its tethered not wireless.

 

[riggsmagic]

You can already tether for free non root on 2.1. Use pda net its in the market download and install.
Its tethered not wireless.

 

[Bramsy]

good thinking omj. Since when is tethering free

 

[monsterenergy22]

it is in Froyo but will it be in the version of Froyo that comes to the Droid? Decent chance that VZW takes out the tethering options for Droid. If its not taken out I dont think they will be charging for it since its a built in option. They dont charge for the Palm Pre so maybe we will get lucky.

Although if you are rooted you can tether already

who knows, but verizon also said they would never allow google maps navigation because of the vzw navigator, but look where we are now...

 

[Lock-N-Load]

I would for sure always use wired tethering. IF I need to tether I have my laptop, thus I have a USB, thus I have a cable, and thus, I get to charge my phone at the same time. so, wired makes total sense to me.

I doubt VZW will edit this piece out. And frankly, I don't care as PDAnet can do it if they do.

 

[caustic]

Well, according to those screen shots of the Droid with 2.2 on it, wired tether is enabled, but wireless is not.

 

[zandroid]

Will Verizon only care if I tether and use TONS of data?

 

[Lock-N-Load]

Will Verizon only care if I tether and use TONS of data?

I have only done it a few times, just for fun and proof of concept, but everything I have read leads to 3 key points:

1. as VZW users, we "could" get in trouble for doing it as it goes against their terms
2. they can tell your doing it
3. they seem to only care if you use TONS of data, and not just casual use here and there. but no one has ever defined "tons" - like 5gb - and I understand just general web use - surfing, email - are not generally enough to trigger a closer look at your usage. Game playing and torrent usage, those might.

 

[Bramsy]

What is the difference between wired and wireless when it comes to tethering

 

[monsterenergy22]

What is the difference between wired and wireless when it comes to tethering

one uses wifi, and the other uses a usb cable

 

[Bramsy]

still not truly understanding.

the data is being transfered TO your phone for anothers use..... so whats the difference if it is hard wired via usb, or wireless?

 

[OMJ]

still not truly understanding.

the data is being transfered TO your phone for anothers use..... so whats the difference if it is hard wired via usb, or wireless?

Not really sure what you are asking exactly but really there is no difference except that one uses a wire and one does not. You should get the same performance out of both.

If you are asking why VZW would be more likely to allow one than the other then I am guess it would be because people are less likely to use wired tethering but to have it available would keep users happy. I use wifi tether now from time to time and if I only had wired tether as an option I would probably never use it. I dont carry a usb cable around.

 

[nstallion]

The difference of wired vs wireless tethering is probably something decided by the higher ups at Verizon. They probably gather a lot of information and forecast how data usage differs between wired and wireless tethering and how much that will cost Verizon.

Wired tethering is only for a single device. Wireless tethering is essentially a wifi hotspot and so the potential for more bandwidth usage increases.

It's all about the numbers. Verizon would prefer if only USB tethering was enabled I'm sure, because it means they have to supply (on average) less data bandwidth.

 

[messenger13]

What is the difference between wired and wireless when it comes to tethering

With wired tethering, you're connecting to only one device. With wireless tethering, you could allow several devices to connect to your DROID. I'm not too sure that Verizon wants us turning the DROID into a MiFi device.

 

[shadowdude777]

But following that argument, the Palm devices do have WiFi tether so clearly they don't mind it with some devices. I just think that if they're going to give us tethering, it's senseless not to give us wireless tether. What's stopping people from racking up lots of data with wireless tether and then if Verizon checks up on their usage, they can just say that they were using all that data over the USB tether? I'm thinking the packets used over android-wifi-tether don't differ much from the ones used over USB tether.

 

[OMJ]

But following that argument, the Palm devices do have WiFi tether so clearly they don't mind it with some devices. I just think that if they're going to give us tethering, it's senseless not to give us wireless tether. What's stopping people from racking up lots of data with wireless tether and then if Verizon checks up on their usage, they can just say that they were using all that data over the USB tether? I'm thinking the packets used over android-wifi-tether don't differ much from the ones used over USB tether.

Well the reason they gave the pre wifi tether is cause its not selling well at all. They wanted to boost sales. Just think there are millions of droid users vs maybe a few 100k pre users on vzw. Makes a big difference in data consumption

 

[nstallion]

Well the reason they gave the pre wifi tether is cause its not selling well at all. They wanted to boost sales. Just think there are millions of droid users vs maybe a few 100k pre users on vzw. Makes a big difference in data consumption

Exactly. Verizon can do whatever they want if you sign a contract agreeing to it (which everyone did). It doesn't matter if you think it's reasonable or not, it matters if what you are doing violates your contract or not.

Stop being so naive. Verizon makes the rules and you signed a legal document agreeing to them. If you don't agree with them it doesn't matter because you signed your contract so you don't have a legal leg to stand on.

 

[Bramsy]

THANKS guys i have a better understanding. so there is no difference in wired v wireless in terms of 1 device....... get it, but is it that difficult to give wireless tethering freely or whatever with an app that will only let one device connect at a time?

1 more question. so this wireless tether is not for lets say BitTorrent use. but with PDAnet its ok?

1 more clarification. tether albeit via usb is okay for use DROID users?

 

[Lock-N-Load]

so this wireless tether is not for lets say BitTorrent use. but with PDAnet its ok?

technically, at this time, neither is okay. both break terms of service. if either is done, and VZW notices it, your in big dodo. they can tell if your tethering. I suspect you have to be real egregious about it for them to turn and look at you, but for sure they have ways of monitoring it and algorithms.

 

[Bramsy]

thats what i thought....... somebody above said that PDAnet is ok... it isnt.

*free free i guess

thanks LnL

 

[Lock-N-Load]

I have used PDAnet and it seems to work fine for me.

 

[Bramsy]

no i meant to tether... i too have PDAnet and does indeed work fine