Odd sms about tethering my phone

[urcrazydude]

First off I'm a long time iphone user since day one of iphone 2g. I bought the unlimited plan of course and I use ALOT of data. From Pandora, Spotify, Netflix, Youtube, Now Playing, Cartoon Network and Itunes Downloads, plus alot of gaming apps. Last month I used 17GB of data. I also Dock the iphone to my car stereo to listen to pandora in the car. I started doing this about a month ago.

Yesterday I receive an email stating that I had been tethering my iphone and that if i didn't stop AT&T would shut down my unlimited plan and change my plan to a tethering one. What happened? i've never tethered a single KB of data all i use are legal Appstore downloads none of the jailbreak stuff. Where did it get tethered? I've never had it out of my sight for more than a few minutes.

Now today i get a sms warning that "Did you know tethering your smartphone to a computer requires a tethering plan?" I was mowing at the time so it obviously wasn't being tethered.

I just want to know what is going on with this warning stuff. I've never once tethered and don't plan to but if i lose my unlimited plan i'll have to be phoneless.

Thanks

[Evandela ACE - Warrior]

Hi there!

Sorry to hear that about this issue.

I would like to ask if you have a personal hotspot set up on your phone. If so, you may wish to turn this feature off as a tethering plan is required to use that service. You may check this by going to "Settings > Network > Personal Hotspot". It will be located below the Data roaming option. If the Personal Hotspot feature is on, try switching it off. Tethering should no longer occur at this point.

Hope that helps!

~ Evandela ~

[21stNow]

More than likely, it's your usage level that is triggering the warning from AT&T.  I think that AT&T assumes that anyone using a high amount of data (>10GB is a guess) is tethering.

I have heard a rumor that AT&T considers dock use tethering, but that doesn't make sense.  The way that the tethering policy is worded does allow for that interpretation, but I still think that it's ludicrous to consider that tethering.

Using your phone as a mobile hotspot would be lumped together with tethering, so you could be doing this while in motion.  Also, laptops can be tethered while you are in motion.

[TimStrader]

Yep, high data ussage.  ATT is just guessing at the tethering.  I used 15 gig in August when we were on vacation and got the same stupid message.  Wasn't tethering at all.  Netflix and XM radio eats up data though

[belome]

And honestly, they don't want you as a customer if you use that much data.

[RicoLX]

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TimStrader wrote:

Yep, high data ussage.  ATT is just guessing at the tethering.  I used 15 gig in August when we were on vacation and got the same stupid message.  Wasn't tethering at all.  Netflix and XM radio eats up data though

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This is what i mean about some of Att's systems 'auto flagging' processing that could cause a change in your service plan without your approval.  In turn, cause you to lose a feature and can never get it back. Even if you are not guilty of what the flagged event in the system tags onto your account.  In other words, you have unlimited and will get limited for using it.

[ilikewireless ACE - Czar]

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TimStrader wrote:

Yep, high data ussage.  ATT is just guessing at the tethering.  I used 15 gig in August when we were on vacation and got the same stupid message.  Wasn't tethering at all.  Netflix and XM radio eats up data though

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WowDid you get rid of your wired internet  service yet? 

[RicoLX]

"wired interenet?.. thats Sewww 2011.." .. ha ive always wanted to say that.... lol.

I wonder if the poster ever called billing or cus service about the text and explained that he has not been tethering but doing his normal routine on his phone as months before... never got a text like that before and ask if this is some sort of 'auto' msg that needs to be unflagged , etc

Get atts 'live rep'; response over the phone what the message means and why?

[BadBadLeroyBrown ACE - Warrior]

There is another alternative to being phoneless - DON'T use 17GB of data. AT&T will eventually shut you down for that level of usage.

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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BadBadLeroyBrown wrote:

There is another alternative to being phoneless - DON'T use 17GB of data. AT&T will eventually shut you down for that level of usage.

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Actually starting in October, they will throttle the grandfathered unlimited user when they exceed 2GB(or maybe it is 5GB, can;t rememebr) until the next billing cycle

[RicoLX]

Either way, urcrazydude, you will get hit with some sort of att chokehold for the amount you are using with your iphone. Are you utilizing wifi to cut some of the att-driven data or are yu using ur device as a wifi hotspot as someone posted earlier.

[TimStrader]

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ilikewireless wrote:

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TimStrader wrote:

Yep, high data ussage.  ATT is just guessing at the tethering.  I used 15 gig in August when we were on vacation and got the same stupid message.  Wasn't tethering at all.  Netflix and XM radio eats up data though

---

WowDid you get rid of your wired internet  service yet? 

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Hard to have a wire hooked to the truck while you drive 5000 miles. 

My data ussage for my home internet has got to be in the 100's of gigs each month.

[TimStrader]

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wingrider01 wrote:

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BadBadLeroyBrown wrote:

There is another alternative to being phoneless - DON'T use 17GB of data. AT&T will eventually shut you down for that level of usage.

---

Actually starting in October, they will throttle the grandfathered unlimited user when they exceed 2GB(or maybe it is 5GB, can;t rememebr) until the next billing cycle

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Actually they aren't even providing a concrete number.  If you are in the top 5% od users they will throttle you. 

But without a concrete number, or at least a history number, there is no way to know if you are in the top 5%.

[RicoLX]

TimStrader you are correct. It doesnt matter who the user is, unlimited or not, if you are the top 5%...regardless of some 2Gig.. The magic "top 5" line can change month to month... Theres no hard staunch stuffy old rule that says "cross this specific line of usage" and we throttle you.

So you are right, its the ever moving and ever evolving top 5 highest users for that given month....

[RicoLX]

TimStrader, and the sad part is, we will not be able to question or challenge the choke, because we wont have info available to us review and see if we really are of the month's top 5... will have to take atts word for it.

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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RicoLX wrote:
TimStrader, and the sad part is, we will not be able to question or challenge the choke, because we wont have info available to us review and see if we really are of the month's top 5... will have to take atts word for it.

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TANSTAAFL - abuse it, lose it. Fact of of life, it is called a faur use policy

[RicoLX]

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wingrider01 wrote:

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RicoLX wrote:
TimStrader, and the sad part is, we will not be able to question or challenge the choke, because we wont have info available to us review and see if we really are of the month's top 5... will have to take atts word for it.

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TANSTAAFL - abuse it, lose it. Fact of of life, it is called a faur use policy

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well, thats just downrignt "un-faur"!

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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RicoLX wrote:

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wingrider01 wrote:

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RicoLX wrote:
TimStrader, and the sad part is, we will not be able to question or challenge the choke, because we wont have info available to us review and see if we really are of the month's top 5... will have to take atts word for it.

---

TANSTAAFL - abuse it, lose it. Fact of of life, it is called a faur use policy

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well, thats just downrignt "un-faur"!

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you jolly joker, tons of amusement... bottom line, abuse it, lose it no matter what you prefer to think.

[RicoLX]

i prefer to think its still "un-faur"

[TimStrader]

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wingrider01 wrote:

you jolly joker, tons of amusement... bottom line, abuse it, lose it no matter what you prefer to think.

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Abuse what?  Abuse my UNLIMITED data by using 15 gig?  15 gig isn't the definition of UNLIMITED.  When I signed my contract for UNLIMITED data there wasn't a section that defined UNLIMITED as a set amount.  UNLIMITED meant as much as I wanted to use.  There was no limit.  That's kind of the definition of UNLIMITED. 

And there was no section that said  "once you get to a magic data number that that we won't tell you and that will move from month to month, then we will slow your data speeds to the pre-56k dial up stone age."

un·lim·it·edAdjective/ˌənˈlimitid/

1. Not limited or restricted in terms of number, quantity, or extent.

[RicoLX]

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TimStrader wrote:

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wingrider01 wrote:

you jolly joker, tons of amusement... bottom line, abuse it, lose it no matter what you prefer to think.

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Abuse what?  Abuse my UNLIMITED data by using 15 gig?  15 gig isn't the definition of UNLIMITED.  When I signed my contract for UNLIMITED data there wasn't a section that defined UNLIMITED as a set amount.  UNLIMITED meant as much as I wanted to use.  There was no limit.  That's kind of the definition of UNLIMITED. 

And there was no section that said  "once you get to a magic data number that that we won't tell you and that will move from month to month, then we will slow your data speeds to the pre-56k dial up stone age."

un·lim·it·edAdjective/ˌənˈlimitid/

1. Not limited or restricted in terms of number, quantity, or extent.

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TimStrader, I think Wingrider directed that comment to me. We have a friendly relationship going... Sorry if you thought that was for you.

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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TimStrader wrote:

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wingrider01 wrote:

you jolly joker, tons of amusement... bottom line, abuse it, lose it no matter what you prefer to think.

---

Abuse what?  Abuse my UNLIMITED data by using 15 gig?  15 gig isn't the definition of UNLIMITED.  When I signed my contract for UNLIMITED data there wasn't a section that defined UNLIMITED as a set amount.  UNLIMITED meant as much as I wanted to use.  There was no limit.  That's kind of the definition of UNLIMITED. 

And there was no section that said  "once you get to a magic data number that that we won't tell you and that will move from month to month, then we will slow your data speeds to the pre-56k dial up stone age."

un·lim·it·edAdjective/ˌənˈlimitid/

1. Not limited or restricted in terms of number, quantity, or extent.

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Fair Use Policy, been in existance and in the terms of service since the "unlimited data" came into being. Until recently it was not enforced, but  att, verison, and other carriers are now excersizing the policy.

You might also wan to keep track of who is being quoted in a response.

[RicoLX]

Tim on behalf of you and me,... I still say it aint "faur"

[ilikewireless ACE - Czar]

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TimStrader wrote:

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ilikewireless wrote:

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TimStrader wrote:

Yep, high data ussage.  ATT is just guessing at the tethering.  I used 15 gig in August when we were on vacation and got the same stupid message.  Wasn't tethering at all.  Netflix and XM radio eats up data though

---

WowDid you get rid of your wired internet  service yet? 

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Hard to have a wire hooked to the truck while you drive 5000 miles. 

My data ussage for my home internet has got to be in the 100's of gigs each month.

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Ha ha ha.. that's witty humor.

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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RicoLX wrote:
Tim on behalf of you and me,... I still say it aint "faur"

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Fair or "faur" it is business, the choice is deal with it or leave, but the issue there is all carriers have the policy so there is not much choice, to some people it stinks, just like some types of preceived humor. After the first of the month suspect that there will be a deluge of posts of this type.

[RicoLX]

Next

[RicoLX]

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wingrider01 wrote:

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RicoLX wrote:
Tim on behalf of you and me,... I still say it aint "faur"

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Fair or "faur" it is business, the choice is deal with it or leave, but the issue there is all carriers have the policy so there is not much choice, to some people it stinks, just like some types of preceived humor. After the first of the month suspect that there will be a deluge of posts of this type.

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Jamilleh, I dont find it comical, perceived humor or otherwise when I say its not faur or fair as tim and I both agree.

[urcrazydude]

not an option my button says "set up personal hotspot" no on or off switch

[urcrazydude]

you mean the dock cradle that the iphone sits in to connect to the pc? It came with the phone, I never would've thought thats tethering when apple calls it syncing. So everytime i put music on my phone At&t gets that as data from my phone?

[urcrazydude]

that makes sense..less money for them