Does tethering mess with your phone contract?

**superkyol** · 09/09/2009, 11:07 PM

Pretty simple question. I'm with Bell, and I just want to know if tethering will mess with my contract. I have an unlimited data plan, but I don't want to end up getting a bill for $10,000 at the end of the month.

Thanks guys.

**warblad13** · 09/09/2009, 11:15 PM

i don't know about bell but sprint will cancel your contract if you go over 5gb i think

**maxima2k53** · 09/09/2009, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by Warblad13

i don't know about bell but sprint will cancel your contract if you go over 5gb i think

i dont think so

**rollthebones** · 09/10/2009, 01:35 AM

I had my Pre a few weeks before PrePod (aka DrPodder) was first released. Up to that point, between Pandora, Sprint TV, viewing web pages and streaming audio and video in the browser, I'd used approximately 3.5 gigabytes of data transfer. After installing PrePod and using my Pre to catch up on Tiki Bar TV, Cult of UHF, and various Creative Cow podcasts, my data usage soared up to about 8 gigabytes over the course of about a week. Not a word out of Sprint.

Then I got my hands on myTether and decided to try a little experiment. Several days and a few large, bittorrent-ed files later, I'm up to thirteen gigabytes. My new service month has begun and I've already passed five gigs of transfers, though much of it has been via Shoutcast on the Pre itself. Haven't heard a single thing from Sprint.

Several months ago, before I upgraded from my loathsome LG Rumor, I added the Phone As Modem package to my service plan. I asked about data transfer limits and the Sprint rep told me about the five gig cap. I questioned that cap seeing as how I am paying for an "unlimited" data plan - unlimited is pretty absolute in my book. She told me that the limit applied only to data transferred via PAM but data transfers over the network from the phone's itself - browser, sprint tv, etc. - aren't governed by that cap. I'd hazard a guess that tethering simply looks like you're streaming web content on the Pre itself, as it has no PAM option. I'm gonna keep testing my theory but it looks like there's a possibility the 5 gig cap may not apply to data usage on the Pre. Which makes sense when you think about it - with all of the applications available for the Pre that transfer data, five gigabyes would come and go within a few days for some users.

Has anyone else spoken with a Sprint rep about this? Has anyone else tracked their data usage and gone beyond five gigs?

**thegodfaza** · 09/10/2009, 01:56 AM

Pam?!?
All I know of close to that acronym is Personal Area Network which is an adhoc network connection between two bluetooth devices.

**derrythe** · 09/10/2009, 02:22 AM

PAM = phone as modem

**T3CK** · 09/10/2009, 02:31 AM

Originally Posted by rollthebones

I'm up to thirteen gigabytes.

Whoa! And I was wondering if 100MB of data transfer is a lot... LOL.

**ConeNubi701** · 09/10/2009, 03:01 AM

This same topic was brought up on the Instinct forums a while ago. I started to use my Instinct in PAM mode. I have probably been in the 7-10 GB range every month for the past year and a half. Never saw my bill go up

**Elysian893** · 09/10/2009, 06:52 AM

Originally Posted by Warblad13

i don't know about bell but sprint will cancel your contract if you go over 5gb i think

No they won't. Sprint is truly unlimited.

**thekarens#CB** · 09/10/2009, 07:08 AM

Actually technically PAM cannot be added to an Everything Plan. Everything does not include PAM. If you call Sprint and ask they will tell you so. I tried when I was spending time out of town a lot. So, technically speaking you're taking your own risk by using My Tether. Having said that I've never had a problem with the little tethering I do, but they "could" come after you.

You can read it straight from their website here: Support - Can phone as a modem service be added to the Simply Everything(SM) plans?

**squeff** · 09/10/2009, 07:46 AM

Since this seems to have turned from a question about Bell to discussing Sprint...

Officially, if you tether ever one byte, and Sprint catches you, they can cancel your account (which might not be bad for people who want out). However, few (if any) have been bothered if they stay under 5GB or so. And, even those that go over once or twice might not even be bothered.

Because tethering is forbidden for Pre users, the statement "Sprint is truly unlimited" doesn't matter. What's unlimited is using the phone, itself. Once you tether, you're technically in violation.

**gerrymad#WN** · 09/10/2009, 07:48 AM

Assuming they can even tell if you're tethering I don't see them hitting you for it unless it becomes extreme on a regular basis.

**Elysian893** · 09/10/2009, 08:22 AM

Originally Posted by squeff

Since this seems to have turned from a question about Bell to discussing Sprint...

Officially, if you tether ever one byte, and Sprint catches you, they can cancel your account (which might not be bad for people who want out). However, few (if any) have been bothered if they stay under 5GB or so. And, even those that go over once or twice might not even be bothered.

Because tethering is forbidden for Pre users, the statement "Sprint is truly unlimited" doesn't matter. What's unlimited is using the phone, itself. Once you tether, you're technically in violation.

They have no way of knowing you're tethering, the packets look just the same coming from the phone as they do the pc to the phone to the Sprint network.

**squeff** · 09/10/2009, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by Elysian893

They have no way of knowing you're tethering, the packets look just the same coming from the phone as they do the pc to the phone to the Sprint network.

That's true, but if this whole iTunes sync cat-and-mouse-game teaches us anything, if Sprint really wanted to know, there COULD be a way. Notice, I said "COULD."

**superkyol** · 09/10/2009, 09:43 AM

Thanks for the information, guys. Of course Bell's terms may well be different - I'll ask around and make heavy use of hypothetical situations involving tethering, so as not to give away this dirty little secret. My experience with Bell reps has led me to believe they don't know much about the in's and out's of these devices, much less the homebrew scene.

Any updates on this from other Bell customers would be greatly appreciated.

**jdale** · 09/10/2009, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by Elysian893

They have no way of knowing you're tethering, the packets look just the same coming from the phone as they do the pc to the phone to the Sprint network.

Except that the Pre reports your location and which apps you are using to Palm. If they share this information with Sprint, then it doesn't matter whether the packets look the same or different. (Which is dubious anyway, there are lots of ways they could distinguish, for example by looking at the user agent reported by your browser.)

http://www.precentral.net/fyi-pre-re...-location-palm

**bucfan4083** · 09/10/2009, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by gerrymad

Assuming they can even tell if you're tethering I don't see them hitting you for it unless it becomes extreme on a regular basis.

I agree. I recently had to get a new Pre because of a speaker problem, and ended up walking a sprint rep throught the steps how to tether his Pre.

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