yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bradleyw801:
A lot of hostility here. It's strange to me. I mean, isn't the whole reason we are all on XDA to make our phones do things that the carriers, manufacturers, and software developers didn't intend them to do? Ever single useful post is about getting our phones to work on our terms, not theirs.

You can draw your own moral line in the sand, and decide for yourself what you will, and will not do. But to decide you are going to berate someone for "telling all of our secrets to t-mobile", or using *gasp* an iPad! Then you better make sure that you are judgement free. Maybe I will lob some insults at you "If you don't like touchwiz, then get a G-nex and GTFO troll! Don't come in here talking about how AOSP roms are better!" or maybe "What you are calling bloatware, is the only way for these carriers to legitimately turn a profit, when lazy a$$holes like you remove it from the phone, T-mob loses their revenue, and prices for handsets will skyrocket!"

Besides, the subject being discussed here could affect all of us. Here is what I have found in my research about this.

1. People who aren't tethering have been receiving this message. One person received it because he was using G-tunes to download music. My assumption is G-tunes connects to servers that look suspicious to T-mobile?

Another person got this notification simply because he changed the user agent on his stock browser to desktop. He was eventually blocked on his own phone. He fixed it by changing the UA string back to mobile. but now he has to browse everything in mobile, which is not always preferred.

2. Obviously actual tethering is causing this message to pop-up. Again, I believe this is because the data coming over has a desktop user-agent string. I think a certain amount of this will be allowed, but once it becomes a little more excessive, say over 1gb, T-mo will flag it.

3. They first give you a warning text. Then if the behavior continues, they will block the offending usage, be that an app, a browser with the wrong UA, or actual tethering. I have yet to see how to get this un-blocked once it happens.

Solutions?

1. Use a web proxy like in the FoxFi Add-on https://play.google.com/store/apps/...t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLmZveGZpLmFkZG9uIl0.

I have also heard that OpenGarden uses a similar proxy.

2. Change the user agent string on your laptop or table to mobile? This theoretically should work if T-mo is sniffing this out the way I think they are.

I am open to other suggestions if anyone has them. I will try the proxy server and let you know if I end up getting blocked. I have been using wifi tether for root users, and I got a warning message.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] dcmtnbkr:
I love how people will, in one sentence, tell you to "Man Up" and then in the next sentence tell you to be the carrier's b**ch. Seems odd to me.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kimbo1986:
Thanks for that info. How long before you got the message? What was the assumed data usage before you got the message?

I tether once in a great while, really only on vacations and trips i take every so often.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bradleyw801:
Well, I hadn't used tether since I opted in for the unlimited plan, but then at work, my boss had a client, and his office is right next to mine. Our wifi was down. So I turned it on for about and hour for their meeting. I don't know how much they used, but I didn't get the notification then. There were 3 computers connected in the office. But then, I got home, and turned it on with my laptop, and my wife was using facebook, pinterest, and youtube for about another hour. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say I got to 500mb to 1GB before getting the notice. But I could be way high. It's possible they only used 200mb combined.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kimbo1986:
Interesting
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kmdub:
Interesting if you think so. However, do you mind posting exactly where you found that? I have never signed or checked off on a contract with wording to that effect in it. Granted, I have only been with T-Mobile for a little over two years, but the terms of service that I agreed to do not say that.

Legally, it really boils down to this. Two private parties (T-Mobile and me) have an agreement. Now, my agreement says nothing about tethering, so they can try to manage their network the way they see fit, but the device is mine and I purchase service from them. I can certainly try to circumvent their attempts at forcing a service on me in a way that is consistent with the terms of my service. They (the carriers) use public assets (federally managed airwaves) with which come some responsibilities of openness in their network, hence the FCC bit. There is nothing illegal, unethical, or unwarranted in trying to tether (any device) consistent with the terms of your service.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bradleyw801:
I was doing some more research today, and I found an app called orbot, based on the tor project. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.torproject.android&hl=en

Now I honestly know nothing about what this app does, so don't jump on the bandwagon unless you are willing to be responsible for your own actions. But, with my limited technical networking knowledge, this appears to be a viable solution for root users. When you go into the settings for the app, there is a section that says "Transparent Proxying" and there is a check box for "Tor Tethering: Enable Tor Transparent Proxying for Wifi and USB Tethered Devices (requires restart)"

Does anyone who knows more about this Tor project think this would work?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kimbo1986:
Ahhh looks pretty cool i will have to check that out. Dont really know how to tell if its working or not
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bradleyw801:
Ok, some results with Orbot. In addition to the default settings on Orbot, I had checked all of the following settings:

Under Transparent Proxying

1. Transparent proxying: checked

2. Tor Everything: checked

3. Tor Tethering: checked

Under Debug (at the bottom)

1. Use Default iptables: checked

The tethering app I use is Wifi Tether for root users https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.googlecode.android.wifi.tether&hl=en. I left all the settings as default, with the exception of changing my SSID.

With those settings, I started Orbot, and I got jack! I couldn't even connect to the internet from my phone. I turned on tethering, and connected fine to the phone from my laptop, but it said no internet connection. So I went back to Orbot, and I unchecked the following:

Under Transparent Proxying

1. Transparent proxying: UN-checked

2. Tor Everything: UN-checked

Leaving the other items checked. With these settings, I can get data on my phone, and I am currently typing this from laptop while tethered. Now, if this is sufficient to trick T-mo, I don't know. I am going to stay tethered for the rest of the day, and see if I get any threats from them. I will let you guys know if it works. If anyone else with more networking experience would care to save me from barking up the wrong tree here, feel free to chime in.

---------- Post added at 07:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:15 PM ----------

Well it looks like Orbot didn't hide it. I just got a push text saying I am officially blocked from tethering by T-mobile, and if I go to any site from my laptop, it re-directs me to T-mobile's upgrade offer. It seems fairly obvious to me now that this is all about the user agent string and nothing else. I was hoping to find something on the android side that could fix this, so that I wouldn't have to worry about configuring the device that is tethered. I work in IT, and I have used my tethering on many occasions if a small office went down to let the handful of computers in the office tether to my phone until we brought them back up. But it looks like I won't be able to do that.

I have been able to find a workaround if you are using it for yourself. Depending on the browser you use, there should be a way to change your user agent. Almost all browsers, including Chrome have add-ons that do this. I found this old thread: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1242877&page=3

It looks like the information in that thread still rings true. Safari is currently the best user agent to still get desktop sites, and not get detected by T-mobile. Obviously changing your UA to something mobile will by-pass tethering detection as well, but then you end up browsing sites as mobile, which sucks from a laptop or pc.

If any of my research helped, please hit thanks. I will keep looking for a solution from the Android side, and post back here and anywhere else this is being discussed if I find a solution.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] neotoky:
Bradley, have you tried vpn encryption? I haven't used it but curious how well it works.

Sent from a Galaxy far far away
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bradleyw801:
I haven't, because I don't know much about it. Is that something from the computer side, or the phone side? I know there is a VPN setting in Android. Would I just set this to a computer with wifi before I tether?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] neotoky:
I have read vpn is the best way to avoid detection and hide your traffic You can find vpn apps in the market like droidvpn. Most have limited access where you need to buy for full access. You can check them out on the market to learn more.

Sent from a Galaxy far far away
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Mysticales:
So question, after that warning, was it blocked in Firefox? Cause seems that only time you get pushed to a Tmobile upgrade site.. was when I used IE.

Im half tempted to switch back to my 2GB plan. Unlimited and then slows down, but I could still tether officially.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kimbo1986:
Thanks bradley for all the work youve been doing! Im curious to see if the same thing happens on my ipad.

I dont know if i can change ther user agent on it but i will try. Kind of afraid to try, if they nail me and block my ipad, im assuming even if i find away to hide it in the future, it will still be blocked. Are they banning mac adress?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] flastnoles11:
Any of you that have already been blocked try http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=26908332 that fix yet? Worked like a charm for my cousin on T-MO.....

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Mysticales:
Interesting fix. If it works. I just changed to those settings, not sure if works or not, but doesnt hurt to be prepped.

So Ill assume maybe its the "Routing Fix" that fixes the problem.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bradleyw801:
I just tried Firefox and it appears to be fine. If I switch back to Chrome or IE, I get the upgrade message. Firefox worked as both the actual Firefox browser, and with Chrome spoofing the UA.

---------- Post added at 05:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:31 PM ----------

So, I tried this, and I changed every setting exactly as described, however, I do not have an option to change MMS protocal. In bold and red below. Is that option not there on a touchwiz GS3 rom?

With every other setting exactly as described in the thread, including routing fix, and generic ICS/JB wlan01, I still have the same result, I have to change the user agent or I will get re-directed to t-mobile to upgrade.

Anyone on an AOSP rom, can you tell if the settings are the same?

Name: T-Mobile US

APN: epc.tmobile.com

Proxy:

Port:

Username: (leave this blank)

Password: (leave this blank)

Server: (leave this blank)

MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc

MMS Proxy:

MMS Port:

MMS Protocol: WAP 2.0

MCC: 310

MNC: 260

APN Type: (leave this blank)
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] fcpelayo:
Will try
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] IRIE4IPIER:
So I'm trying not to open a new thread by reading through this thread but all I've seen is people arguing about morals. Annoying. So my question is directed at people using CM10, AOKP or any AOSP ROM, if you switched to the unlimited data plan which does not include the hotspot feature, does the built in wireless hotspot still work? I don't really use the USB tether but if you have input on that, that is welcomed as well. Pretty much all I ever use tetgering for is sharing NY connecting wirelessly to other mobile users with tablets or even a family members Xbox to play call of duty online. I imaging I wouldn't be doing that much anymore because I got everyone in that house to get a Galaxy S3 or Galaxy S2, their iPhone 3G's, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are now collecting dust thanks to me, and that makes 9 iPhone 5's that will stay on the shelf. My fight against Apple has only begun. LOL, how did I get here?

So basically, are you able to use the tethering option in AOSP ROMs on the new unlimited data plan just as you did before? That's all um asking. Thanks. And no trolls please, if you're mad, take that crud else where.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] elesbb:
The answer is yes.

But what T-Mobile does is count how many times HTTP goes through your device, weather it's on your device or not, and after 100 times you get HTTP blocked.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] psykhotic:
What do you mean it says nothing about tethering?

http://www.t-mobile.com/company/website/termsconditions.aspx

Use of connected devices subject to T-Mobile Terms and Conditions. Unlimited Nationwide 4G Data plan is not compatible with Smartphone Mobile HotSpot service.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] IRIE4IPIER:
100 times in a month or period?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] vacanopaez:
Ok, i'm a little confuse right now, i did get the upgrade to tethering on my laptop after i used 4.7GB out of my 5GB "unlimited" using firefox, but i changed the UA i was back up in 2 minutes, i guess the main question is if i switch to the truly unlimited and i don't change any settings on my phone will i still be able to connect?. by the way i use the stock hotspot app.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] androholic:
Okay, I've had the unlimited data since the 5th when it launched. I've been with Tmo 10yrs & here's my experience. Tmo will look into what your doing if your using massive amounts of data & I believe they do know your tethering if your doing it for extensive periods of time. I don't know for sure, but I think they have a system software that checks and red flags if your tethering? I "illegally", lol, tether about 100mbs a month give or take, and that was with my old 5gb plans on 5 lines & I've continued the same usage now that we've moved to unlimited. The only difference is that my total monthly usage has increased from my usual 3gb average because I just don't ever turn wifi on right now so that I can see roughly how much mobile data I use in a month, but I'll go back to primarily wifi usage after the first month, I'm just simply curious of my total use. I've never been blocked, & I've had store reps tell me on several occasions that if you tether to your tablet, laptop, netbook, etc once in a while for quick connectivity, Tmo pretty much turns a blind eye & allows tethering for moderate spurts. If your running your home or business network then that's a different story! They will shut you down very quickly I assume. Here's what you do.... Don't tether your tablet to run netflix & YouTube all day, and don't try to make unlimited data your home wifi solution. If your a sales person & you need to show a customer a product demo from your ipad, that's probably not going to be an issue. If your a student & your finishing some research on the fly between classes & you need your laptop to be connected, I'm sure of it that this will go alright as well. If your setting up a network for a NASA ground control center, then you should probably do it somewhere that wifi is accessible, Lmao! Let's be honest here, mobile data is not the most ideal connection anyhow, so just don't abuse it. Most things we do from our tablets & laptops that are data intensive can probably wait until we're near wifi, in today's world we're never away from a wifi area for too long. As far as the moral side of it, Tmo is giving us what we've always wanted & they've made a sacrifice that no other major carrier is willing to make(unless you count sprint, but I don't consider that to even be a network, lol). They are doing everything they can to show customers that they want us to be satisfied and they're willing to earn our loyalty by sacrificing a good amount of potential profits, so in return we should try to limit network congestion by using tethering responsibly & in small doses on an "as needed" basis. My two cents-END RANT-
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] tbis:
What's your carrier?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] psykhotic:
If I didn't have Internet at home I'm sure I'd want unlimited and to tether but it's just not practical for a mobile carrier to provide that much data. My household averages 100-200GB a month, so while tmo is "unlimited" that would be HUGE. I'm not sure what their costs are but I'm pretty sure using that much bandwidth is no bueno for them.

I'm not anti "free" tethering because if I needed it I'm sure I'd try to circumvent their internal controls preventing it too. I posted their TOS earlier as a warning, if you abuse tethering on unlimited they CAN terminate your service and with that most likely charge you an ETF and possibly collect damages. You are in violation of a binding contract. Will tmo take the time to come after you? I doubt it. But if it happens you can't blame them. Did I read the TOS before signing? Nope. But it's all in there and by using their service we all agreed to it.

Like androholic pointed out, they most likely will ignore quick emergency usage. I'd just be careful in trying to use it a lot. I'd hate to get kicked off tmo and have to pay extra $$$$ a month with another carrier.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] kimbo1986:
I understand what you guys are saying, no one hers is talking aboutusing the tether as a replacement to their home WiFi. Fib you read some Olathe post earlier on, you will see T-Mobile has away of detecting even the slightest amount of tethering by monitoring the http user agents. Firefox from what I've seen so far seems to be the solution. Users on IE and other browsers redirected.

Sent from my SGH-T999
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] arctic84:
FOR THE IPAD USERS:

Incase no one mentioned it, T-mobile detected somehow that I was tethering to my Ipad. Funny thing is it wasn't even under heavy use. It probably has to do with the HTTP thing people were mentioning earlier. Anyways.. just my 2 cents.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] elesbb:
Why not replace their home wifi? I DONT HAVE ****ING WIFI OR HIGH SPEED! my phone is the only way i get on the internet without wasting gas to go to a public WiFi hotspot. Or if im at college then i use their WiFi but College is 40 - 45 minutes away. So tethering is all i got.

And so what if i tether, people are replacing their home phones with their Cell Phones. Whats the diff? Speeds are stupendous, it cant cost them THAT much more if i use 5GB or 100GB. When i was on the 5GB prepaid plan, and i got throttled, its still costing them money to throttle me, yet their towers are still using energy to send data back and forth to my phone. Its seriously nothing but a ploy to get people to waste their money because T-Mobile is greedy. Thats all it is, is GREED. nothing more nothing less. Im sick of people saying we are abusing our services by tethering and using more than 10GB of data. The point is one can easily go over 10GB of data without tethering. So what. Dont ****ing offer it then. -Rant finished
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] flastnoles11:
What you call greed I call clever marketing.... they have to make money to stay in business and that is one of their ways... IMO T-MO is the least "greedy" of all the networks... too bad service is horrible here or that's the network I would be on right now...
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] elesbb:
It's clever but also very invasive for them to sniff all my data. That's what I don't like. Let them have clever marketing by only disabling tethering on stock ROMs. Not everyone likes rooting their device.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] psykhotic:
Then switch to another carrier.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] Mysticales:
Are you claiming that other roms for the S3 that arent stock, dont get disabled?
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] elesbb:
Or T-Mobile can stop being invasive and follow state wide laws.

---------- Post added at 12:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:31 AM ----------

No
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] justintime4tea:
T-Mobile 4G Unlimited 4G Tethering successfull with both LG-G2X and Samsung Galaxy N2

I have successfully bypassed tmobile's user agent tracking by using FoxFi and its proxy add-on for my LG-G2X and FoxFi with a seperate proxy app named SandroProxy on the Note 2. For some reason the addon for FoxFi doesn't work well on the note 2. Recieved several redirect Tmobile messages while setting it up but eventually implemented the use of User Agent scripting and changed to a suitible non-blocked user agent. Currently a Safari user agent works well and keeps most the web intact. Fully functional. As a side note not as much bandwidth is lost through the proxy server but do expect anywhere from 500Kb - 1Mb loss compared to Phones Speed on the phone itself. It probably is all the freaking heat that comes off the devices when using all the radios... law of conservation? questions email j.u.s.t.i.n@me.com
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] tony yayo:
Once again, tethering is NOT meant to replace home wifi. The two systems are not built the same. Cable internet might not always be faster than 4g data but it can handle more data being used. The more data you're using up while downloading your torrents of Roseanne, the less there is available for other users, TMO has to build more towers, it cost's them money to do that, our prices go up, and you will still be there *****ing about not being able to tether to your Wii. Either pay for it, or get over it.
[T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII] bryanus:
I bet once they officially start carrying the iPhone, they won't be able to block the iPad anymore. It's been noted in similar threads that tethering to an Android tablet does not get blocked, since they use the same apps/browsers as the phones that T-mobile carries. That said, you would probably have to be using an iPhone to tether to an iPad as T-Mobile would know if your account is using an Android device or an iPhone, and may be able to block based on that.

I'm also on the unltd. $20 plan and in my first day I racked up over 2GBs. I was tethering to my Macbook and listening to Google Play in Chrome. I didn't listen for very long, but it looks like Google Play used about 800MBs of my data alone. Not sure how I got to 2Gbs though. Anyway, Chrome on my Mac got blocked, but switching the UA to Safari has been working so far.

I tether like 3 days a week, but was interested in the unlimited plan so I could stream music in my car and basically stop checking my data usage on a per hour basis like I was before. I am also hoping I can tether my iPad for road trips with the kids, but it sounds like that might not work. Maybe it would be worth it to get a Nexus 7 tablet to circumvent the blocking in those situations.
[Huawei Ideos X5 U8800] Jorkki:
Need help restoring a old version of nandroid backup. I cant restore it with CWM 5.0.2.7

Files that are inside the backup folder:

.android_secure.img

cache.img

cust.img

data.img

nandroid.md5

system.img

When i try to restore it with CWM 5.0.2.7 it just says that boot is missing.

What version of CWM i need to take that i can restore it.
[Huawei Ideos X5 U8800] bronxitas:
Exactly that wich one you maked a backup. If you want to restore 2.2 backup from gb... you will discover interesting tbings :) maybe some kind of brick :) 2.2 and 2.3 file systems is diferent.

Sent from my ragelis