It’s my goddamn motherfucking mobile data and MY PHONE. I should be able to use it however I want. My wifi went down because the greedy, cunt-faced shitbags at Comcast stole taxpayer subsidies to enrich themselves instead of actually providing the service we’re paying for. I tried to switch to a mobile hotspot and my phone refuses to open one. Everyone responsible for this shit should be fed to alligators locked away in a fucking gulag. We have no rights and live in a corporate plutocracy.
Must be a USA thing, never heard of such a thing.
Same here.
Is this a USA only thing?
USA mobile carriers have been charging for tethering since devices implemented the tethering feature. Android enforced it through carrier firmware. I don’t remember how apple enforced it.
I remember having to jailbreak all my iPhones so I could get it for free. As iOS started feeling more limited, I bought a galaxy phone from Europe because the international phones didn’t have the carrier firmware.
Then T-Mobile was the first big carrier to offer free tethering - I switched to them from AT&T. And now more carriers are offering free tethering because it’s losing them customers probably.
It is important for context to understand that this should only apply to unlimited data plans. Conceptually it is because there is limited spectrum available to consumers overall which limits bandwidth. Financially, they should not do this to anyone who is paying per gigabyte for their data plan. It’s your data that you paid for. That has not stopped them from trying. If it is unlimited, it simply stops abusers from running an entire household off of spectrum that everyone has to share.
As per usual, the truth is lost in the nuance.
Under my current plan I get unlimited data and 10GB free tethering.
I get 5gb of tethering included on T-Mobile with an “unlimited” plan. I already have an app that routes the traffic through my VPN so only used a few MB for when I forgot to turn on the forwarding.
What app is that? I have 10gb tethering on my phone and would love to do that
VPN Hotspot on Fdroid. Its overly complicated, has not been updated for 2 years, and requires root but it works for me.
Carrier only detects traffic if I run it wrong.
No it’s not just an American thing. On my carrier I can have unlimited data all I want but hotspot is limited to 5GB/month and I have to pay for more or it goes down to 512Kbps basically unusable.
But, but, but… this is Lemmy. I thought it wasn’t legal to say anything here that implies America is not the sole evil in this world?
Used to be a thing with O2 here in the UK. My iPhone 3G (so, 2009?) was affected so I had to install an app that allowed me to tether.
Italian here, Vodafone did this thing to me and I switched to Illiad, never looking back
IIRC they outlawed it and Vodafone’s hotspot is now free as well.
Iliad master race
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USA here, AT&T does not do this, tethering is included.
Sort of. The plans we’ve had from at&t for the last 5 years included only 15gb of hotspot usage along with unlimited mobile data.
Seems like a fair amount of hotspot data except we live in the sticks and mobile has been the only Internet option.
On the upside were weeks away from gig speed fiber being installed to the house.
I was about to say maybe look at the newer satellite tech, but that’s way better!
Satellite Internet is shit. Even the musk one of us actually any faster needs to fail simply because he would profit from it, and he deserves just nothing but depression.
Don’t assume that’s when it will be available. We had the fiber line dug in through our neighborhood back in March, but they’re still laying it in other areas nearby, and apparently they are waiting to turn it on until they’re done with all of it, which is supposed to be done sometime this fall, according to the original plan announced before they started any of it, sometime last year. If there’s been any delays since then I guess I’m stuck waiting longer.
And since I’m stuck at home due to a major medical issue (hopefully should only be a problem for another year or so), once it does become available I will still have to convince my parents that ditching our cable connection and using online streaming to get all their channels and ad free streaming of anything not currently broadcasting along with Internet that’s literally 40x faster than what we have here now while AT THE SAME TIME saving like $80-$90 per month is worth it. Mom in particular is so hesitant to have to learn anything different that I think she’d rather still pay the higher amount just because she’s used to it.
We’ve had the fiber trunk line run through the back yard for 6 months or so. Luckily they have called and installs are running 4 to 6 weeks out at the time they called.
Feel very lucky fiber is even go an option. We are a good 3 miles from the closest town of 25 or so houses and 20 miles from the nearest city where the fiber originates from. It’s a joint venture with a small company and our electric utility.
“Included”.
Imagine getting a steam deck and you’re out and about and you use your hotspot so you can play a game. Your game needs to be updated. Now imagine you have the $35 plan. You won’t even make it to playing your game before you get throttled to 128KB/s.
Hotspots are the new thing they’ve modeled the plans around. First it was minutes, then it was texting, then it was data, now it’s hotspots.
edit: I’ve been arguing about this with them for ages because we WERE on a grandfathered plan from when they bought out cingular. They got rid of our plan (Kicked us off said plan.) and these are the only 3 options they have left.
edit2: Forgot to mention. The rationale they give for this is that they “don’t want people using their cellular data to replace their home internet”.
That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
My carrier has been giving me weekly data packs since mid May, with a use-or-lose-it condition, so I have been actively not using my home connection and connecting everything I can remember to my phone’s hotspot.
The moment you pay/receive the bandwith, it’s yours to use as you understand; the network can’t interfere with its usage.
That is gross overreach.
That’s the way AT&T used to be with their minutes. They called it rollover. Now they basically do everything but tell you to fuck off.
I’m in the US. I remember being told it was a thing on Verizon. But I’ve used my mobile hotspot many times and never had an issue.
Us vzw customers are almost all on some version of an “unlimited” package now, which includes hotspotting. If you had one of the lower valued plans, hotspotting can still be expensive. Hitspotting can still push you over your “unlimited” data allowance however, at which point your traffic gets deprioritized aka slow af.
Same.
Definitely a USA thing since Comcast were mentioned.
Here in New Zealand I have a friend who uses his Mobile hotspot to connect his Xbox to it to play games online at no extra cost from the mobile provider.
Doesn’t that introduce lag? I remember testing mobile vs wired fibre, it’s about an extra 100ms lag.
I thought it would but surprisingly he seems to get into matches with a latency of about 80ms which isn’t too bad honestly.
It still makes me laugh though.
I know for a fact this is a thing in Japan.
Blows my mind too.
A few mobile plans offered by Telcos here in New Zealand used to have this as well, not sure if they still do
I hope they keep their shit overseas, don’t need it here.
russian here, it’s the same shit
you can get around that by setting TTL to 65 on your pc tho
It’s been like this in Canada for years. I’m not sure making our phones a wifi hotspot was ever free come to think of it.
I remember it definitely being a very common thing in USA a decade or so ago. I never knew it disappeared. I don’t think it would ever fly in Europe.
I don’t think it would ever fly in Europe.
It does, or at least did. I’m in the UK, and it used to be fairly common. Over the last few years, maybe the last decade, more and more providers used the lack of tethering restrictions as an advertised feature to show that they were better than the competition.
Now that we’ve left the EU though, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the restrictions come back. We’ve already lost free EU roaming on a lot of tariffs.
The fact that as soon as the UK left the EU carriers removed the free roaming shows the importance of government regulations
It’s not only important. This example and many others like usb-c/pd, removable batteries shows it’s working.
Of course… People are dumb enough to want regulation when it serves their needs and can’t see far enough on how it would hurt others…
Maybe on carrier bought phones where they removed the feature. If you bought an unlocked Nexus or Pixel and a SIM only plan you could always tether as much as you wanted on any UK plan.
It was nothing to do with the phone. I tried to find one for my father to use for his computer, as he only used the internet now and then, but the SIM only plans had data restrictions on tethering.
They started off as unlimited pay as you go with prices charged by the megabyte then gigabyte, then once high data plans came in, they started to get restricted.
As I said, it’s been changing, but as far as I know, there are still plans with tethering restrictions.
I don’t see how they could know.
There used to be jailbreak tweaks in the iOS 4 days that would allow you to use it regardless of your carrier.
I remember it as well. That’s when I started buying unlocked phones and rooting them to get around having to pay. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out there wasn’t a fee anymore. I really hope that having to pay for hotspot isn’t coming back.
It was a thing in Canada a decade ago too. Luckily I’ve just about forgotten about it. That was a weird time.
Hotspot began as a paid feature. It only became free as carriers lost grip on the devices on their network.
Depends which country you’re talking about
You’re probably right. This was the case in the US and Canada.
Most of Europe (and even moreso the rest of the world) didn’t have serviceable mobile internet until years after US and Canada, so it makes sense that they missed the initial wave of hotspot premiums that North America suffered through.
And before any one tries to be snarky, yes Sweden rolled out 4G before anyone else, but it didn’t take off until well after NA already dominated the space.
Yeah, I used to have to use an app like FoxFi to get free hotspot functionality with Verizon, but they have since made it free on my plan.
That is outrageous. US telecom companies need to be nationalized or burned down.
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Singapore?
Death penalty for lack of hotspot? Really?
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I’ve heard about this happening and I couldn’t believe it.
I don’t even understand this from a networking perspective… Your phone just becomes a router, forwarding requests, so from the ISP perspective it’s still the same?
How do they even know?
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They detect lower than usual TTL of packets coming from your mobile device when it routes packets during tethering. They might also set TTL to 1 to packets going from internet to your mobile, so they get dropped instead of being forwarded further. You would need to plug the SIM card into your own modem+router combo with TTL modification rules in place to avoid detection. But then they might just block your modem by checking IMEI…
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Is that actually it? So could software be written to just +1 TTL on incoming and -1 on outgoing packets and then problem solved?
You would need pretty low level access so that comes around to custom rom again…
You can spoof MACs so couldn’t you spoof a IMEI as well? Theoretically speaking, not on your bog standard $2 ISP modem
Yes, I don’t know all the solutions but one would be using iptables in linux and mangling the packets to adjust ttl, “normal” ttl can vary by carrier though, and with many phones there is an extra hop to account for as the phone is a router. You should be able to tell from a ping or trace route whats “normal”, but nowadays with carrier grade nat, I think it gets messed up sometimes.
You can spoof inei information, but it appears difficult r/privacy thread on the topic.
That is a very old thread, I bet things are different than they were 8 years ago
That’s some bullshit right there. Can you get around this with a custom rom?
“Yes but actually no.” If they can get a custom ROM flashed, yes. But it’s very likely everything is just locked down, so it’s not an option.
EDIT: According to the other comments even that might not help. YMMV
Someone gave a great workaround though - use an app that creates a local proxy available through legacy Wi-Fi Direct
Very likely. Even an unlocked phone without carrier bloatware is likely to work - f-droid might even have something to do it without rooting, or even something to access hidden settings and disable whatever bloatware or setting is blocking it
Back in college, we would use a hotspot on someone’s phone (with mobile data off) as a WiFi router to play LAN games.
I just checked my Pixel 6a and it doesn’t let me do that.
Thank you, smooth-brained developers at Google. I love not being able to do what I want with my purchased device.
That’s not Google pushing that message. That’s your mobile service provider.
It’s Google.
I think there’s a misunderstanding. I was trying to convey in my previous comment that Google does not allow me to create a hotspot with my mobile data turned off.
I put my SIM in my backup phone, a OnePlus Nord N10, to prove it to you. I can create a hotspot with my mobile data turned off on it.
I can’t do so on my Pixel 6a.
EDIT: Apparently it’s working for others on Pixels. See this comment further below in the chain. Not sure why its disabled for me.
Did you buy your Pixel directly from Google? If you got it from your cell carrier, they probably have the option to lock certain settings. I have a Pixel 5a from Google and I can tether all I want.
Bought from the Google Store. Running Android 13.
Which Android version are you on? And just to confirm, you’re trying tethering with your mobile data off, right?
I’m on 13. I just turned off mobile data and I am able to turn on the hotspot.
Certified USA moment
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Just downloaded it and I’m already sharing my connection with my tablet. Beautiful! Thank you so much for the link!
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This is a game changer for me! Thank you
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Does this one handle https connectivity properly? I know that EasyTether failed in this without paying, and I couldn’t get it to work for anything…
Your problem seems to be that you are residing in the U.S
This is one reason why I will never pay for a phone I cannot root if a rootable option exists.
Strangers on the internet constantly tell me I am a fool to root “'cause security”, and I just shake my head.
If I pay $700 for a phone, I own it. If I’m paying for X gigabytes of cellular data, I will not be told I cannot use it “for that”.
I almost never see advertisements, am blocking tracking and malware at the device level, and impriving sound output quality. I use kernels that are patched up way better than the device default, and have superior battery life, and cpy over-clocking.
I’d go insane if I had to deal with all those restrictions, invasion of privacy, and monetization of my life at my expense.
The options grow thinner every year. Not too many high spec devices can be rooted at all these days.
Perhaps. I’d have to see how it blocks ads and malware. If I can get the features I want, I’d be happy to remain unrooted because I am taking risks if I lose the phone or it is outright stolen.
There are options now that allow you to remove phone bloat/ads/spyware without rooting and without breaking the security model of the device. GrapheneOS and CalyxOS have made rooting obsolete IMO.
You don’t have to root to use graphene? I always thought you did and that was basically the only reason I haven’t switched. Thanks!
You just need an OEM unlocked Pixel and a web browser that supports webUSB. You literally just click the buttons on the installation web page and it does everything for you in your web browser.
https://grapheneos.org/install/web
You can even install GrapheneOS using another phone, no desktop computer needed.
Nope, I’m running it now! You unlock the bootloader, flash the ROM, then lock it back up. As long as you don’t mind the lack of Android Auto, it is basically a completely flawless experience and I have loved almost every moment of it. Especially if you host your own services like nextcloud and jellyfin, everything works seamlessly!
Eh, I drive a clapped out 2009 Honda fit. Android auto has never been a thing for me lol. I’m gonna look into it some more now that I know the process isn’t a pain in the ass
Rooting and custom rom get interchanged a bit. Rooting just means gaining access to root, graphene os is a custom rom and you don’t necessarily have access to root. Personally i’ve been running custom roms for years with no root but it’s my property and damn sure better be able to root it if I want to. Anyway, with either root or custom rom you can probably get around your carrier’s tethering restrictions which is what OP meant.
Out of interest, are there good resources on archiving those optimisations when rooting you would recommend? I’m low key interested in cracking android open when I’ll have to buy a new phone eventually but haven’t yet looked into the topic.
By optimizations, do you mean the malware blocking, audio improvements, and CPU tweaks?
Most work through Magisk. I flash a kernel from the pixel 6 XDA forum that uses a magisk module to help it work. That has optimizations and I can use a kernel manager to tweak it’s settings. And I use adaway which is a DNS level ad blocker. ViperFX4Android is a godlike audio transformer.
Still using xprivacylua to restrict apps’ ability to track, use camera and speaker, and get my contacts. I have a tool that stops phone charging at 90% so I don’t over-wear the battery.
I use NeoBackup to backup all my apps with data, plus some system data like WiFi hotspots, call history, Bluetooth pairings. When I factory reset or otherwise have to start over, I restore that to get everything back. On older phones, I use TWRP to flash and do nandroid backups, etc. I’m not sure why TWRP is still not available on Pixel 6.
With root, I can do all this, without it I can’t even backup the apps, and any ad block I can use makes it impossible to run a VPN to protect my privacy as they use VPN to block the sites.
If I can’t unlock the bootloader, then when the OS becomes too bloated to be useful, I have to toss my phone instead of stripping the bloat with a degoogled ROM. I get another 3 to 5 years out of it by replacing stock. That’s a boat-load of money, right there!
For example, I’m still using my Pixel 2XL as a viable device (minus Sim). That is about 6 years old now. It is on the 7/23 patch of android 13 right now. It might get 14.
My AdAway host lists block over 650,000 known malware and ad sites.
I’m pretty happy with my setup, and have confidence I’m at least partially protected from the crap out there.
yeah but for privacy like running grapheneos, rooting might not be a good idea. I absolutely agree that the option needs to be there though.
That depends on how well it blocks adware and malware at the system level, and how much control it has over individual permissions for each app.
I’ll take a closer look at Grapheme since I’m hearing a lot more positive reviews lately.
Is this an American thing I’m too European to understand.
Are you really paying to just activate wifi hotspot? How is thst justifiable by any means?
Just because most people don’t seem to know this: Comcast’s wifi service Xfinity is actually mostly fed by the routers Comcast cable customers have in their homes. So as a cable customer, you’re paying the electric bill and giving up part of your bandwidth to support Xfinity.
1: that’s why I always use my own modem and router
2: you can opt out of this (and I highly recommend everyone does that cares about their bandwidth), though it is shitty it’s on by default
3: only paying Comcast customers can take advantage of this. So if other people can use yours, it means you can use other people’s when you’re out and about as well.
If it’s implemented well, it’s honestly not a bad idea. Just need proper security and and QoS and that extra bandwidth you aren’t using anyways can be safely lent out to others within WiFi reach. On the other hand, I trust Comcast in implement such a feature well? Heck no!
The value is only for Comcast though. You’re a paying customer to provide a feature for them. There’s no discount to you as the customer, but they really try forcing people it use it and usually try to imply owning your own network equipment is somehow bad (because they can’t use your equipment for their business needs).
You can demand they turn that shit off, though. Granted you have to call them, but they stopped those shenanigans right quick when I told them to.
Those under the Optimum/Altice monopoly should know this as well. Their new modems will try to pull that nonsense too. I just requested an old style modem that doesn’t have the wifi capability and use my own router.
If optimum wants to sell their overpriced b.s Internet service they can set up their own wifi network without piggybacking off of the one I pay for tyvm…
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I don’t think that’s a thing in Europe.
In America, some carriers disable hotspot on the devices they sell and hold you hostage. There are many ways around this. The best way is to use OEM non carrier phones. Other options include pdanet and several other apps designed to bypass the carrier software locks. My graphene os hotspot works perfectly no matter what carrier I use
Edit: Oh, and you can forget it on iphones. Apple loves sucking carriers dicks and fucking you all over. They go out of their way to ensure the carriers are robbing you before allowing hotspot use
Because the Republican party wants it this way. They’ve burned down net neutrality at every possible opportunity because it doesn’t affect them; they barely understand how to send an email, much less connect a device to Wi-Fi without calling their offspring to do it for them.
They say it doesn’t affect them, but then they cry censorship when their chud-services are slow and treated like D-Grade refuse by their ISP.
It was annoying hearing all the conservatives arguing against net neutrality with such timeless classics as “Government Regulation only makes things worse” as an excuse to get rid of the regulation that helped protect them.
Other greatest hits include defanging the CFPB then getting mad when the private company BBB can’t do anything about their shady pool cleaning service charging them for services that were skipped.
it happened in Italy too, it stayed up less than a year than thay made it illegal
Here are a few examples that could support the claim that Republicans have opposed net neutrality regulations:
- In 2017, the Republican-controlled FCC under chairman Ajit Pai repealed the net neutrality rules that had been put in place during the Obama administration. This allowed ISPs more freedom to throttle or prioritize certain content and services.
- Congressional Republicans have generally opposed legislation to restore net neutrality rules. In 2018, the Senate passed a bill to reinstate the rules, but it did not advance in the Republican-controlled House.
- Major broadband providers like Comcast and Verizon have historically donated more to Republican politicians than Democrats. Republicans have received criticisms that these donations sway their positions against net neutrality rules.
Here are some sources that could counter or provide an alternative perspective to the claim that Republicans uniformly oppose net neutrality:
- The conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks supported the 2017 FCC net neutrality repeal under Ajit Pai. However, they opposed a bill in 2012 that they argued would have given the government too much control over the internet. This illustrates more nuanced positions.
- Former Senator John Thune (R-SD) proposed net neutrality legislation in 2015 that attempted to find a middle ground. It would have banned blocking and throttling but avoided heavier utility-style regulations advocated by Democrats. This demonstrated a more moderate Republican approach.
- Polls indicate Republican voters are nearly as supportive of net neutrality protections as Democrats and independents. A 2018 poll by the University of Maryland found 86% of Republicans opposed the FCC repeal. This suggests public opinion within the party is mixed.
As for your last point, you act like any of those dinosaurs know how to.
