How do you Tether

[Shar]

Hiya,

Basically I won't have internet connection for ages and I was wondering how do you tether without it costing any money?
I have the HTC Wildfire (android) :)

+rep if you help

[HotelUser]

You should be able to install pdanet from your market which should allow you to tether free of charge (data plan maximum accordingly) without rooting your phone.

[Recursion]

You should be able to install pdanet from your market which should allow you to tether free of charge (data plan maximum accordingly) without rooting your phone.

Android 2.2 has tethering built in.

As long as you have data on your phone, plug your phone into your computer then somewhere in Settings there should be a tethering option.

[HotelUser]

Android 2.2 has tethering built in.

As long as you have data on your phone, plug your phone into your computer then somewhere in Settings there should be a tethering option.

Hmmm. My carrier here doesn't allow tethering and if I use the built in tethering it costs me money unless I use an app from the market in which it doesn't charge me for tethering. Would Shar be charged for tethering if she did as you suggest? I think that's the crux of her problem; being afraid she's going to get dinged :P

[Shar]

I'll try, I have unlimited data I think.

[Recursion]

Hmmm. My carrier here doesn't allow tethering and if I use the built in tethering it costs me money unless I use an app from the market in which it doesn't charge me for tethering. Would Shar be charged for tethering if she did as you suggest? I think that's the crux of her problem; being afraid she's going to get dinged :P

No networks seem to allow tethering, truth be told, they can't really tell 100% if you are or not anyway.

[HotelUser]

No networks seem to allow tethering, truth be told, they can't really tell 100% if you are or not anyway.

How arbitrary is it then! Sometimes people on Bell Mobility (Canadian carrier) get away with it and sometimes they get dinged with a big bill. But as long as you're saying nobody's getting hit with a big bill for it in the UK I guess Shar's pretty safe :)

[lolwut]

What network are you on? And what plan?

Most traditional tethering methods will create an additional outgoing data connection which the device you're tethering out to will use, and your network monitors how many outgoing cellular connections your phone has, and if it's any more than one (i.e. your phone) it will whack on a load of money.

Unfortunately, it seems that pretty much all networks will charge an additional sum (which can get to £100+ if you're not careful) if you tether from your phone to your laptop in this way.
The way round it is to use the same connection as the one your phone will use - your network cannot detect if you have two devices outgoing through the same connection. I don't know for sure as I don't have an Android phone, but when I tethered my iPhone using a tool called MyWi (which used multiple outgoing connections), I got a £20 excess on my bill.

[Shar]

What network are you on? And what plan?

Most traditional tethering methods will create an additional outgoing data connection which the device you're tethering out to will use, and your network monitors how many outgoing cellular connections your phone has, and if it's any more than one (i.e. your phone) it will whack on a load of money.

Unfortunately, it seems that pretty much all networks will charge an additional sum (which can get to £100+ if you're not careful) if you tether from your phone to your laptop in this way.
The way round it is to use the same connection as the one your phone will use - your network cannot detect if you have two devices outgoing through the same connection. I don't know for sure as I don't have an Android phone, but when I tethered my iPhone using a tool called MyWi (which used multiple outgoing connections), I got a £20 excess on my bill.
I'm on T-Mobile with unlimited internet and I tethered earlier today and it didn't seem to charge me at all, yet.

[Recursion]

I'm on T-Mobile with unlimited internet and I tethered earlier today and it didn't seem to charge me at all, yet.

You'll be fine, I've (and my Dad) have never had issues with tethering on T-Mobile using Android and Nokia phones.

Also, lolwut I'm not sure how true that is, the only way I've been told T-Mobile can see if you're tethering is if they decide to monitor your connection and see PC-specific traffic, like a Mac checking for Software Updates.

[HotelUser]

You'll be fine, I've (and my Dad) have never had issues with tethering on T-Mobile using Android and Nokia phones.

Nokia phones? From a third party app or is it a feature built in?

[Recursion]

Nokia phones? From a third party app or is it a feature built in?

Built in if you use the Nokia PC Suite.

[Shar]

You'll be fine, I've (and my Dad) have never had issues with tethering on T-Mobile using Android and Nokia phones.

Also, lolwut I'm not sure how true that is, the only way I've been told T-Mobile can see if you're tethering is if they decide to monitor your connection and see PC-specific traffic, like a Mac checking for Software Updates.
Thanks Tom :)

+rep to all