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Android |OT2| - Patent pending

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S

SnakeswithLasers

Member
tino said:
All you need to do is change your laptop browser's User Agent. I have an extension for my Chrome browser that change itself to Opera desktop browser.

If you can't figure out how to root N4 and setup tether, I can't help you.
Click to expand...
Kind of a weird tone to take. If you don't want to answer, you don't need to--no reason to be condescending since I wasn't directing anything at you specifically, nor do I have any experience with Android devices.

The issue is that I don't want to need to jump through hoops or 'break rules' to get internet on my iPad or laptop while I travel. So my question was specifically about T-Mobile and a Nexus 4, since they don't advertise tethering as an option with a month-to-month plan.

I don't own the phone yet, or have the service, so I'm trying to ascertain whether it's a good decision for me. My iPhone, I could tether through AT&T. Same with my WP8 Lumia 920.
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
SnakeswithLasers said:
Argh, so since I'm going with Nexus 4, it's getting more complicated.

I'm going to go with T-Mobile (since I just cancelled with AT&T because of some problems) and a month-month plan.

However, I don't see a tethering option? I really don't want to hack around my phone just to get tethering. Does anyone have experience with T-Mobile, Nexus 4, and tethering that can allay my fears that this is a complicated mess?

Otherwise, I will likely be waiting for S4 and get roped into a 2 year contract with Verizon--and I'd rather not do that. But I use tethering often, so it being simple is important to me.
Click to expand...

SnakeswithLasers said:
Kind of a weird tone to take. If you don't want to answer, you don't need to--no reason to be condescending since I wasn't directing anything at you specifically, nor do I have any experience with Android devices.

The issue is that I don't want to need to jump through hoops or 'break rules' to get internet on my iPad or laptop while I travel. So my question was specifically about T-Mobile and a Nexus 4, since they don't advertise tethering as an option with a month-to-month plan.

I don't own the phone yet, or have the service, so I'm trying to ascertain whether it's a good decision for me. My iPhone, I could tether through AT&T. Same with my WP8 Lumia 920.
Click to expand...
Your iPhone and Lumia 920 could tether on AT&T because you payed for the feature. A Nexus 4 would be able to tether on AT&T in the exact same situation. An unbranded unlocked iPhone or Lumia 920 wouldn't tether on AT&T if you didn't pay for that feature (you can try and 'break the rules' for your iPhone but no such option for the 920). Similarly an unbranded unlocked iPhone or 920 won't tether on TMobile if you don't pay for it. However an unbranded unlocked Nexus 4 can tether on AT&T or TMobile right out of the box, no matter what plan you have, as long as AT&T or TMobile don't catch you and decide to block or bill you.

TMobile's new cell phone plans include tethering. It'll work with a Nexus 4 without any issues. If you insist on choosing a cellphone plan that doesn't explicitly support tethering then you might have to jump through hoops or 'break the rules'. If you don't want to worry about that then just pay for the damn feature. Either way all of TMobile's plans are still simpler and cheaper than Verizon (which has even more hoops to jump for tethering).

http://www.androidcentral.com/t-mobile-s-new-plans-frequently-asked-questions
http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-4/264791-tethering-tmos-new-plans.html
 
G

Groof

Junior Member
Cipherr said:
Hah, I came to comment on this. I really really like it. Its a lot better than the overflow ellipse, and the animation and design of it looks great. Tap it and it tells you exactly WHY the card is there, and gives some options depending on the card.

Great great stuff, and it looks fantastic. Im sort of shocked at them updating this, rolling out Chrome updates, the QuickOffice App, launching knowledge graph face recognition for movies, launching Keep, real time NYC Subway schedules, redesigning the Wallet app, updating G-Mails notification menu options, and adding a Google Now widget and all this other stuff BEFORE rolling out KLP at I/O.

All those updates seem like the kind of things you would hold and release/announce all at once for a new version of Android. Would suck it they rolled out all this new stuff in the last 4 months, then come KLP they have next to nothing to show.

But they are iterating fast as hell. Feels like every few weeks there's something being improved.
Click to expand...

It might be that they're just setting up the basics, give people an idea of what to expect and then bring it full force at I/O. It could also be that they just want people to feel that they actually care, and do update their apps once in a while, keep people interested.

I'm not complaining, and if they bring more of this, I'm game. They'll probably have something big to announce, but who knows. Might just be a complete interface overhaul of all of their apps.
 
U

Unknown Soldier

Member
-Pyromaniac- said:
Paying for tethering....oh america.
Click to expand...

Tethering is free on 3 of the 4 major US carriers. Which is a major turnaround even from just a few years ago. The FCC really leaned on the carriers to make it happen, they even made it a condition for Verizon to be allowed to purchase more spectrum. Verizon*, Sprint, and T-Mobile all offer free tethering. Only AT&T continues to be the Worst Carrier in America.

*You need to be on capped data, people who have grandfathered unlimited data still technically have to pay for tethering. This is irrelevant for new customers, Verizon hasn't offered unlimited data for awhile now.**

**Verizon doesn't generally enforce the requirement to pay for tethering on unlimited users as long as you don't do something stupid to get their attention like torrent 50 GB of data over the cell network.
 
W

Why would you do that?

Member
Wait, you can tether on T-Mobile and they won't care? I thought it was an option you had to enable, or else face consequences...

Next time I activate my phone (I use prepaid), I will tether forever, especially since their H+ is faster than my home Internet.
 
B

bob page

Member
Why would you do that? said:
Wait, you can tether on T-Mobile and they won't care? I thought it was an option you had to enable, or else face consequences...

Next time I activate my phone (I use prepaid), I will tether forever, especially since their H+ is faster than my home Internet.
Click to expand...
My girlfriend tethers on her phone every day and had never gotten a warning from them.
 
G

Groof

Junior Member
So I've learned that some US carriers block some VoIP apps, which I can sort of get why they would (though it's still really stupid), but what's the reasoning for not allowing tethering? I mean, you're paying for that data, why should you not be able to use it like that? If you run out quickly, they should be happy because then you can pay them for more.
 
T

tino

Banned
You still need to change your user agent. If you use loser browser like IE that doesn't let you change UA TMo will redirect the www to a page that ask you to upgrade.

I am talking about TMobile Prepaid.
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
Groof said:
So I've learned that some US carriers block some VoIP apps, which I can sort of get why they would (though it's still really stupid), but what's the reasoning for not allowing tethering? I mean, you're paying for that data, why should you not be able to use it like that? If you run out quickly, they should be happy because then you can pay them for more.
Click to expand...

Because the US carriers sell separate hotspot devices and data plans and prefer to push that for tethering instead of letting the customer do it with one device. Tethering has also historically been a feature for price insensitive business users with corporate accounts so the US carriers took advantage to charge obscene amounts for it.

The situation reached farcical levels in '11 when AT&T launched the Motorola Atrix whose flagship feature was the ability to connect the phone to lapdocks (basically just HDMI+USB support) and insisted on charging a tethering fee to enable the feature. Pure unadulterated greed is what it is.
 
G

Groof

Junior Member
Greyface said:
Because the US carriers sell separate hotspot devices and data plans and prefer to push that for tethering instead of letting the customer do it with one device. Tethering has also historically been a feature for price insensitive business users with corporate accounts so the US carriers took advantage to charge obscene amounts for it.

The situation reached farcical levels in '11 when AT&T launched the Motorola Atrix whose flagship feature was the ability to connect the phone to lapdocks (basically just HDMI+USB support) and insisted on charging a tethering fee to enable the feature. Pure unadulterated greed is what it is.
Click to expand...

I guess there's no other way to see it, then. We have a bunch of hotspot dongles and what have you as well, and so's been the case with a bunch of other countries I've been to, yet tethering from a phone has been fine. Gotta suck real bad :(
 
B

bob page

Member
They haven't even released the new feed for the browser users, so I really don't have faith in Facebook sticking to schedules at this point.
 
K

kinggroin

Banned
Unknown Soldier said:
Tethering is free on 3 of the 4 major US carriers. Which is a major turnaround even from just a few years ago. The FCC really leaned on the carriers to make it happen, they even made it a condition for Verizon to be allowed to purchase more spectrum. Verizon*, Sprint, and T-Mobile all offer free tethering. Only AT&T continues to be the Worst Carrier in America.

*You need to be on capped data, people who have grandfathered unlimited data still technically have to pay for tethering. This is irrelevant for new customers, Verizon hasn't offered unlimited data for awhile now.**

**Verizon doesn't generally enforce the requirement to pay for tethering on unlimited users as long as you don't do something stupid to get their attention like torrent 50 GB of data over the cell network.
Click to expand...


I've had a month where I tethered my Verizon GN for the purposes of downloading my steam games purchased over the holidays. Ended up using 67GB for the month.

Not a peep. *shrug

Maybe if its a common occurrence.
 
T

tino

Banned
kinggroin said:
I've had a month where I tethered my Verizon GN for the purposes of downloading my steam games purchased over the holidays. Ended up using 67GB for the month.

Not a peep. *shrug

Maybe if its a common occurrence.
Click to expand...

If you are on Vzn unlimited plan, they already got your money.

Verizon pioneered the $250 on contract phne price.

No wait, it was not 249, it was 299.
 
S

SimleuqiR

Member
Zeppu said:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/4/4180242/ouya-review

Lol. Oh the verge, you're becoming stupider every day.
Click to expand...

It's a nice-enough looking device, a black and silver cube three inches on every side, with slightly rounded corners at the bottom, but there's nothing at all remarkable or even particularly interesting about its design.
Click to expand...

You can pretty much say the same thing about the last two iPhones. Yet, it's the most beautiful poop in the world. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the design of the iPhone and it's not really "poop". But there's not much you can do (design wise) with a small electrical device. I mean, the Ouya does kind of stand out.
 
Z

Zeppu

Member
Sometimes I'm using my phone and I find that I don't have enough ads on my homescreens. I also notice that most of the time stuff syncs correctly and pressing back takes me to approximately the place I thought I'd go when I press it. I also don't have enough blue.

This is bugging me. Do you guys have any recommendations on how to change this? Will you have any in the next hour or so?
 
S

SnakeswithLasers

Member
Greyface said:
Your iPhone and Lumia 920 could tether on AT&T because you payed for the feature. A Nexus 4 would be able to tether on AT&T in the exact same situation. An unbranded unlocked iPhone or Lumia 920 wouldn't tether on AT&T if you didn't pay for that feature (you can try and 'break the rules' for your iPhone but no such option for the 920). Similarly an unbranded unlocked iPhone or 920 won't tether on TMobile if you don't pay for it. However an unbranded unlocked Nexus 4 can tether on AT&T or TMobile right out of the box, no matter what plan you have, as long as AT&T or TMobile don't catch you and decide to block or bill you.

TMobile's new cell phone plans include tethering. It'll work with a Nexus 4 without any issues. If you insist on choosing a cellphone plan that doesn't explicitly support tethering then you might have to jump through hoops or 'break the rules'. If you don't want to worry about that then just pay for the damn feature. Either way all of TMobile's plans are still simpler and cheaper than Verizon (which has even more hoops to jump for tethering).

http://www.androidcentral.com/t-mobile-s-new-plans-frequently-asked-questions
http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-4/264791-tethering-tmos-new-plans.html
Click to expand...
This got overly complicated.

All I meant to ask is: Yo, where is T-Mobile's tethering option for off-contract plans? I want to pay for it, but don't see it. Otherwise, how can I reliably use my data plan while traveling? Anyone have this exact experience?

I didn't want anyone to need to research, just seeing if any of you guys were in the situation.

Also, the bolded is confusing... Is it included or something I have to pay extra for? This is partly why I'm so befuddled at all of this.
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
SnakeswithLasers said:
This got overly complicated.

All I meant to ask is: Yo, where is T-Mobile's tethering option for off-contract plans? I want to pay for it, but don't see it. Otherwise, how can I reliably use my data plan while traveling? Anyone have this exact experience?

I didn't want anyone to need to research, just seeing if any of you guys were in the situation.

Also, the bolded is confusing... Is it included or something I have to pay extra for? This is partly why I'm so befuddled at all of this.
Click to expand...

TMobile's new plans are off-contract plans. The new plans with 'limited' data (I.e. unlimited but throttled to 2G speeds after a certain amount) all included tethering for free. The new 'unlimited' plan (i.e. no throttling) includes unlimited data for mobile use and 500MB for tethering use. You can pay extra to use more tethering data.

I provided you with two links. At least skim them.
 
S

SnakeswithLasers

Member
Greyface said:
TMobile's new plans are off-contract plans. The new plans with 'limited' data (I.e. unlimited but throttled to 2G speeds after a certain amount) all included tethering for free. The new 'unlimited' plan (i.e. no throttling) includes unlimited data for mobile use and 500MB for tethering use. You can pay extra to use more tethering data.

I provided you with two links. At least skim them.
Click to expand...

:lol why are people in this thread so aggro? Grizzled veterans of the phone OS wars with PTSD or something?

I read the links after I replied. My reply was mainly to defuse and clarify that I didn't realize I was asking for a research project--I thought it was a straightforward question.

Android community seems more sour than League of Legends randoms... Jeez.
 
P

-Pyromaniac-

Member
Heyyy canadian carriers put up galaxy s4 pre-registration pages on their sites. That usually happens around 2 weeks before release. I don't see how Canada would get it before america though, usually we get a week later not a week earlier. Rumoured release is still April 26th though. Which would mean they put it up earlier than usual. One can dream though.
 
C

Cipherr

Member
buhdeh said:
Facebook Messenger is going to overtake any chance Google has with building an IM platform.
Click to expand...

Yeah... that 4.1+ only, 5 device supporting launcher is totally gonna own a baseline, ships with android, fully integrated unified messaging service from Google.

Get real.
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
SnakeswithLasers said:
:lol why are people in this thread so aggro? Grizzled veterans of the phone OS wars with PTSD or something?

I read the links after I replied. My reply was mainly to defuse and clarify that I didn't realize I was asking for a research project--I thought it was a straightforward question.

Android community seems more sour than League of Legends randoms... Jeez.
Click to expand...
You got a bunch of comprehensive answers to your straightforward question and you're still complaining..
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
giga said:
No it's not. Google could build an iMessage clone and that would be the end of it.
Click to expand...
Well it certainly raises the stakes for what Google has to build now. They can't just put out an iMessage clone for only Key Lime Pie users. Did Facebook explain exactly how their Chatheads combines SMS and Facebook Messages?
 
S

SnakeswithLasers

Member
Greyface said:
You got a bunch of comprehensive answers to your straightforward question and you're still complaining..
Click to expand...

I'm not complaining about getting the info, I'm just commenting that some responses reek of arrogance and insularity.

It's not any more difficult to just say, "T-Mobile doesn't really have tethering anymore the way you're thinking of it, here's a link that explains it: link" than it is to type up a condescending response.
 
B

buhdeh

Member
Cipherr said:
Yeah... that 4.1+ only, 5 device supporting launcher is totally gonna own a baseline, ships with android, fully integrated unified messaging service from Google.

Get real.
Click to expand...

What does Facebook Home have to do with Facebook Messenger? That's not the only way to access it.

Gtalk is built in and everyone with an Android phone already has an account for it. How many people do you know use it?
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
SnakeswithLasers said:
I'm not complaining about getting the info, I'm just commenting that some responses reek of arrogance and insularity.

It's not any more difficult to just say, "T-Mobile doesn't really have tethering anymore the way you're thinking of it, here's a link that explains it: link" than it is to type up a condescending response.
Click to expand...
Well you did display a bit of entitlement coming in here (the TMobile threads are the proper place for your particular questions actually) and complaining about how Android is so complicated while showing profound ignorance of this platform and the others you profess to use.
That's me being condescending :p I don't really mean that
 
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