yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Captivate General] AdamOutler:
Reeducation.... this is a very low-down dirty trick. You know that the AT&T "/system/app/TetheringManger.apk" is just there to wait for the Android Intent of tethering app and it checks with AT&T servers to verify your plan, then turns off the tethering app if you don't have a plan. Delete TetheringManager.apk and you'll be fine.

They need to realize that they're charging for nothing at all. Those who take the time to remove the TetheringManager.apk should be within their right to use it. It's a bloatware app. If they're having to tell you that you "should not use tethering without a plan", then they're charging for something which should not be charged for.
[Captivate General] mymansionisabox:
I agree 100%. But, somehow they detected me tethering and I wasn't using anything even close to a stock rom. I was using MIUI, and although I don't have MIUI on my phone now, I highly doubt that it had the AT&T TetheringManger.apk baked in. But.. that aspect of the discussion is old. I guess we need some brave or fearless volunteers to test ways of getting around AT&T's protective system.
[Captivate General] hauj0bb:
I've been tethering multiple times a week for the past year and I've not received a letter/text/email yet. I'm currently on the latest CM7 nightly, and prior I used Continuum and Serendipity for a while.

I only tether to my Asus Transformer android tablet, and occasionally other peoples devices ... never laptops or desktops.

I'm grandfathered in on the old unlimited data iphone plan, not that it changes anything.

Edit Wifi tethering only
[Captivate General] Burstaholic:
If all they're using is the browser user agent it should be trivial to bypass.

Apparently I don't use much smartphone data - I just looked at my all time data usage. My most ever is 2.6 Gb, and that was the only time I ever broke 1 Gb (on a trip where tethering was my only internet access).

The tethering plan would be plenty of data for me, and $5 cheaper to boot. That means I have nothing to lose :D
[Captivate General] mymansionisabox:
Duly noted. I think that may be how some people are getting caught and some are not.

How's it $5 cheaper?

$45 for 4gb tethering plan. $30 for grandfathered unlimited plan.

??
[Captivate General] AdamOutler:
^^ Damnit, edit the original post so we don't have so many people putting in their theories. AT&T is monitoring the data traffic for the browser identification string. This thread has gone on long enough and people don't want to read.
[Captivate General] Burstaholic:
My account page on att.com says 'Unlimited Data: $50' for that charge.

Ah, looks like that's a combined charge for unlimited data and SMS. I wonder how much it would cost to keep unlimited SMS if I got switched to the 4Gb tethering plan. Sigh.
[Captivate General] dmnall:
Well looking at my usage, even with some tethering, I have never gone over 1.5 or even 2 GB of data usage yet. Even coming from a blackberry back in July 2010, never used hardly any data at all on my phones. I stream music from Google Music, TuneinRadio and even stream movies via Netflix. I just dont do all of that, mostly when I am at work, I will stream music when I am away from my desk and still have not churned up too much data. Luckily since I am using a DarkyRom jvs base, there is no tetheringmanager apk. I am thinking just mainly the att based roms have that apk, which probably give you a nice warning like in order to use this feature you need a tethering plan. Yesterday I was tethering a laptop to test my works vpn connection, and connect to a few of our server with no issues and I have not received any e-mail or text stating I am tethering. I guess when you users who try to torrent or download huge files via tethering are getting caught? I have even did some win7 updates on these laptops while tethering. I would say it has to depend on how much data you are going through.

HTH,

Charlie
[Captivate General] sfernandez:
download USER AGENT SWITCHER add edit, add new then use this

"Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Andriod 2.3.4; en-US; SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1(KHTML, like Gecko)Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1"

If you want to use Chrome Just right click then properties and and on TARGET right after chrome.exe paste this --user-agent="Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Andriod 2.3.4; en-US; SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1(KHTML, like Gecko)Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1"

AND if you tether this will make your browser look like a captivate

Use this and you will see it works

+1000
[Captivate General] Nerz:
I'm wondering if it is not browser identifiers now because my brother that I stated earlier that only uses it for xbox had just got a message from Att about tethering.
[Captivate General] nybmx:
That's really disappointing. I just set both the browsers on my OS's on my netbook to what was said above. I really hope we can figure this out. I tether my netbook 2 days a week for a few hours each time and use <30mb of data each time. There is no way in hell anyone could justify a capped tethering plan for that little usage.
[Captivate General] RockRatt:
Been following this thread the whole way and was wondering since you are talking about the browser string I was wondering about it. I use and have always used dolphin HD on my phone and it has always been set to desktop mode. I am constantly on my phone via the 3g/h, I download CM7 nightlies along with many other things I can download via the browser. I haven't yet checked my data usage in a very long time. I also stream music via Google music beta, Netflix almost nightly at work, and also music via tuneInRadio quite often so I am sure I am using quite a bit of data. I have never tethered yet. I have not received an text, email, call about it yet if it is just based off of high data usage. I just DONT WANT TO LOSE MY GRANDFATHERED IN UNLIMITED DATA PLAN...

So back to my question, does using dolphin HD browser set to desktop possibly trigger this then?

Or is it JUST that the browser from a tethered laptop or other device that has an actual computer browser trigger a different browser string?

Sent from My KickAss Captivated CM7 OC'd 1.5Ghz/Undervolted
[Captivate General] sixstringsg:
That has also got some sort of browser identifier in it. Not the same as others, but it does have an identifier. Even if it didn't, that would still be a red flag, because all android phones do, and they say they're an android phone.
[Captivate General] sfernandez:
go to my privious post an check out myuseragent.com..while ur using dolphin as desktop an that let u know
[Captivate General] RockRatt:
So this is my user agent from the site you suggested. So what exactly would it mean/ be that would target it for att to check out? That it is a INTEL MAC OS? I will look into it some more. Thanks

The Elements of Your User Agent String Are:

Mozilla/5.0 Macintosh U Intel Mac OS X 10_6_3 en-us AppleWebKit/533.16 KHTML, like Gecko Version/5.0 Safari/533.16

Sent from My KickAss Captivated CM7 OC'd 1.5Ghz/Undervolted
[Captivate General] sfernandez:
YEA u see you are running A MAc with the OS 10 and Intel Processor ..and if you see mine

Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Andriod 2.3.4; en-US; SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1(KHTML, like Gecko)Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1"

You see its Linux BASED and Andriod

Sorry for late response...

so yes thats how they can tell what your running and that it not android based
[Captivate General] RockRatt:
Thanks for the reply. Like I think I said before I use dolphin browser and after reading your reply I found that dolphin HD has a settings for CUSTOM USER AGENT and I just copied and pasted it and then went back to the "whatsmyuseragent.com" website and now it shows this:

The Elements of Your User Agent String Are:

--user-agent=" Mozilla/5.0 Linux U Andriod 2.3.4 en-US SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 Build/GINGERBREAD AppleWebKit/533.1 KHTML, like Gecko Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1"

So THANKS for the heads up. Now off to check some porn sites to make sure I don't get the stupid mobile versions LOL. THANKS AGAIN.

EDIT: Dang they do go to the mobile websites... I hate those things. Is there a way so it acts like a desktop version but is not listed as a desktop per se? I REALLY HATE mobile versions of some websites, they are too lacking of features. Thanks again.

Sent from My KickAss Captivated CM7 OC'd 1.5Ghz/Undervolted
[Captivate General] gibson3659:
I'm going to see how hotspot tethering reacts when I have Cisco AnyConnect running on the phone. If it acts like a vpn router, I should be pretty safe.
[Captivate General] Kyuta Syuko:
Just to be funny I might change my Dolphin user agent to one given off my desktop and do a lot of streaming with it. =D
[Captivate General] sfernandez:
Your Welcome...LMAO...I know certain websights will allow to see full version and others will only allow mobile..Ill PM you.
[Captivate General] devadvance:
Just finished speaking to the AT&T rep. Highlights from the call (NOT VERBATIM):

-After I asked about using a browser than appears to be a desktop browser, i.e. Dolphin HD:

"We caution the use of that application, even though it is made available to you. Depending on how they are written, applications like that one may appear different to the network. But we are doing additional research as many of the callers have brought that to our attention over the last few days. "

-After I questioned the continued use of the unlimited plan if I upgrade to the Atrix:

"The Atrix is a 4G capable device. But in order to take advantage of the 4G service, you will need to switch to one of the newer data plans. The unlimited data plan only works with 3G plans and below, and you won't be able to connect to the 4G towers"

Interesting that the second part flies in the face of what AT&T has said in the past about upgrading to 4G. Maybe just a uninformed rep? But its ridiculous that they are so inconsistent about overpriced data plans.
[Captivate General] nybmx:
Yeah you'll be able to keep your unlimited with it. I agree that it's pretty crazy how a lot of reps are misinformed about some things and spread misinformation.
[Captivate General] DaNaRkI:
was not this all realized back when the "tether police" first came round?

If i was at a pc I'd find it and link it.

or maybe that was a different forum ^_^;

leaked from my FUSED SGS I897 contaminating you via XDA app.
[Captivate General] BenKranged:
Considering the Atrix is not an LTE device, they are the exact same towers.
[Captivate General] c0ldburn3r:
They tried to pull that crap with me when I upgraded to the Inspire. You will loose unlimited data when you upgrade to an LTE device but not a HSPA+ device. The reps are highly misinformed.
[Captivate General] Phateless:
The reps aren't misinformed, they're trained to give you this line to upsell you.

That's pure salescraft.
[Captivate General] bmunday:
moving the network around to accept your business model

I think we need to pay attention that if they are able to segregate all phones'network access to WAP or 3g, vs. Full bandwidth/full HTML5 (at this time 4g/LTE) via sales policy, they can afford accumulating more customers on the infrastructure they do have.

All of this "smoke and mirrors" of customer accusation and sales staff that doesn't have enough 'technical' to resolve complaints, are just that.

They are hacking the client base.

As hackers will always find security loopholes (and hopefully help to resolve them for the sake of general security in the 'commons''s life), a corporation has the same ability to 'finger' around in the marketplace. Unfortunately this is still considered a 'white hat' enterprise.

I say marketeers are ****ed up people.

So, what is your battle?

Anyone feeling like standing up to the black hats is a good thing?

Me too.
[Captivate General] LBCaptivate:
If AT&T uses a browser string to tell if you are tethering, can they tell if you are tethered to another Android tablet or a Touchpad using wifi?
[Captivate General] lvfd404:
The stock browsers on stock unrooted roms ua string can be set to desktop. I dont see att's basis of advising not to use dolphin hd.

If it truly is detected based on ua strings, it most definately is not a sure fire 100% accurate method to determine tethering. Plain and simple.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
AT&T Starts Throttling Wireless Users This Week

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Starts-Throttling-Wireless-Users-This-Week-116292
[Captivate General] frostcat:
As others have pointed out, this is a flat-out lie (or, possibly, a misinformed CSR.) There are, or at least were, 4g Unlimited plans for people who transitioned from a 3g Unlimited plan.
[Captivate General] jaydeol:
I called ATT after receiving email ..rep. told me I connected to iPhone .. laptop .. another devices to share internet .so basically somehow they know which devices you are sharing net with ..
[Captivate General] Chr0nicDreamz:
As of this morning I am 11 days into my current billing cycle. I have used 4.38GBs of data. I have not received a single msg, email, or call about my data. I even called ATT about my usage to make sure I was ok. They said " you have the unlimited plan, you should be fine. I wouldn't worry about it sir" however, my wife has the 2GB plan, she's used 439MBs and I received a txt stating she was close to her limit wtf is that about?
[Captivate General] hauj0bb:
Yeah I'm at about 4gb in usage this month as well, and I tether almost everyday to my android tablet - haven't received any sort of notice.
[Captivate General] allendoc:
:) That is the what I did when I talked to CS. I asked for the Tier 2 Supervisor... Tier 2 are the only ones who can really change anything anyways. But T2 did teach me what tethering is... What a great concept. :rolleyes:
[Captivate General] mr_cowboy1:
I got me letter

I feel like a pirate. saturday I got my letter telling me that their systems indicated that I have been tethering. well for once, I actually haven't been tethering and haven't for quite a few months. I went online and looked at my data useage and it was 24gb this month. went up from 3.1gb. I guess it was due to netflix every day and downloading my music etc. Well I called them since they told me they were going to change my plan if I didn't call them by the 28th of the month, so I did. they couldn't tell me how exactly they "knew" i was tethering, just that their computers told them that. she asked me what I do with my phone and told her, that since I work in a phone support role too, that I listen to netflix or music or something streaming all day long. I am running the MIUI rom which I told them I wasn't running the piece of crap stock rom that they (at&t) stuck on my phone and that I wasn't tethering. she said, but we show you are. I said I'm not. well this went on for a while; repeating the statements we just made, till she said, "Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. X"? I said, "yes, stop the letter and plan changing.", she repeated her question, I repeated my answer, do this a few more times and then she hung up on me.

edit: she also told me that if I stop what I'm doing, that the plan wouldn't change. I said, so you want me to stop using my phone for what it is capable of doing? she said, no, just stop tethering. I banged my head on my window.
[Captivate General] woody1:
I would really like to find out what method AT&T is using to detect tethering. Here are my thoughts:

1. Don't pay much attention to what a service rep tells you. They are at the bottom of the food chain and usually know less about how things work than the average person on this forum.

2. While it's possible that they are using MAC address detection, I doubt it because tethering apps should provide NAT which would mean that the MAC address of anything behind the phone is hidden. If they're not providing NAT, then whatever you're tethering is very vulnerable to virus attacks, etc.

3. I've heard rumors that they might look at the TTL network setting which is different for phones and PC devices. I doubt this, too, because that just sounds too wonky a method.

4. The browser user agent string sounds like a definite possibility, because it would be fairly simple and straightforward to detect. Not sure if that kind if sniffing is legal, though.

5. I've also read reports that some users are getting the letter when they stream music to a bluetooth device, e.g., a car audio system. To my mind that does not sound like tethering at all. Does anybody know how they could determine what kind bluetooth device you might be connecting to?

Anyway, we need to some true geniuses to get to work on this and figure out what's going on. Somebody who has a packet sniffer and knows what to look for.

If it is something as simple as the browser user agent, I wonder if an encrypted proxy would be able to hide the transactions and confuse it?
[Captivate General] Mikeysax:
I just got the text message about the fourth time on my phone and on the second line. So, I called and they told me as long as I stop no changes will be made to my account. But, I recieved about two letters and three emails about possible changes being.made to my data plan because I dont pay tethering plan fees. My inspire 4g is rooted and the other line is a hacked iphone. What can I do to avoid them seeing what were doing with the data.
[Captivate General] zelendel:
Simple answer is that this will turn into the jailbreak deal with the iphone. If we do find a way to hide it, it will only last a short while before they patch it and then it doesnt work anymore. Bottom line is that if you want to teather, get a teathering plan and save yourself the hassle.
[Captivate General] orlandoxpolice:
I tethered in the past and have no use for it now. I just don't want them changing my plan.
[Captivate General] xhozt:
I find your lack of faith disturbing .

They were toying around with this with windows mobile users several years ago untill they relised what they were up against ... if we come up with a VPN workaround it will kill any legitimate method they have to detect this . other methods will not work or they will get sued by large companys getting there VPN snooped on ..
[Captivate General] zelendel:
ITs not a lack of faith as I am sure it can be worked around. Will it be easy? No as there is no way for sure to tell how they are doing it. Will it be fool proof? Most likely not. More trouble then it is worth to rip off the company and violate your TOS, giving ATT all the cause they need to cancel your contract and still have legal rights to charge you for the full thing. Just dont see where it would be worth the trouble as we would need to find out excatly how it is being done.
[Captivate General] xhozt:
no easy workaround eh ... im allready testing Ipredator just for this reason seems to work just dandy if they can read a encrypted vpn connection we got bigger issues than tethering
[Captivate General] zelendel:
Please let us know how it goes:D
[Captivate General] crispy1805:
There are quite a few users reporting false positives on other forms (i.e. users who don't tether). While quite a few of us here do, I am concerned about those who are being falsely accused of tethering. AT&T's response so far has been "we know you are doing it, can't tell you how, and stop or we will change your data plan". How can you change someone's plan when they haven't violated the TOS, but you accuse them of doing so? One guy on the Infuse forms entire family got hit -- none of them tether. They couldn't stop because no one started. Their data plans have been changed. He is thinking about lawering up.

I wonder about the number of false positives and how it is effecting AT&T's claims.
[Captivate General] bames:
i have read that dolphin Hd is causing false positives and they have advised people not to use it.
[Captivate General] xhozt:
just tested it before and at work works just dandy tethering or not ;-) i dont use dolphin but might just to see what happens ..
[Captivate General] xThe Enforcer:
Good post.
[Captivate General] 8526WM6:
AT&T is Price Gouging Us

I agree it's not fair to get price gouged for the same data speed. People are saying that the heavy users are limiting bandwidth for other users. I disagree such that, if AT&T is willing to sell you higher data cap services, then it means they do have the extra bandwidth to supply you at the same data rate speed. Therefore, this is a way for AT&T to make more money from the same service you already have under the unlimited plan, not improve the service you already have. Further more, why market hot spot tethering devices if it will only cause harm to the quality of service to non-unlimited users? Answer, because it won't hurt any users and is actually a market ploy to squeeze more profit out of existing customers.

Don't you see that the mobile market is quickly outpacing the non-mobile market's internet usage (for residential, but business is also catching up in the mobile world). Soon mobile providers may well become ISP's once 4G-LTE is deployed and rivals ISP fast broadband bandwidths. WIMAX does not have the range capability like 3G & 4G does. It only makes sense for ISPs to save money using the 3G & 4G technologies to avoid high cost cabling to reach their customers. They will be able to reach even customers where cabling is non-existent through wireless 3G & 4G technology. It's going to happen, and is happening right now. Mobile providers becoming ISPs is not farfetched, and its only a matter of deploying the cell tower APs.

Verizon already sells a USB PC 4G/4G LTE compatible device for PCs. Samsung already equips their Netbook with a 4G wireless modem. More devices will access the 3G/4G/LTE networks every day. Its a fact! Also, remember, faster 4G/LTE networks will mean each person downloads their content quicker and spends less time on the network waiting, thus, less people downloading at the same time.

Don't say the high data usage users are hurting the other users. AT&T is simply playing the profit game by squeezing us for more charges at the same data speed.