can your carrier tell youre using FoxFi

[OBLAMA2009]

can they tell you are using this tethering app. and do you know if verizon is going about shutting it down? might i get a tethering fee added to my bill a some point?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

They can tell. Its all about if they feel like doing something about it,

 

[vshah]

yes, they can tell. simple inspection of http headers will show them lots of activity from a desktop browser/OS, for example

 

[hans007]

yeah they could easily tell. the weird thing with verizon is i think they only care if you use the hotspot function. from what i've heard if you use usb or BT tethering they dont care and it doesnt check your subscription. not really sure why though i guess with usb / bt you can only connect 1 computer.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

yeah they could easily tell. the weird thing with verizon is i think they only care if you use the hotspot function. from what i've heard if you use usb or BT tethering they dont care and it doesnt check your subscription. not really sure why though i guess with usb / bt you can only connect 1 computer.

so what app should i use to do usb tethering? you cant do that with foxfi can you, i havent checked

 

[hans007]

so what app should i use to do usb tethering? you cant do that with foxfi can you, i havent checked

Don't know. On the galaxy nexus its just an option there

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Don't know. On the galaxy nexus its just an option there

dont the usb tethering apps require you to install software on the computer as well

 

[hans007]

I think in windows 7 it will just download the driver for your phone or use the one that comes with android sdk. I know in Linux Ubuntu it just works and is recognized as a network interface

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Im rooted and use the built in wifi tethering. Been using it for months now no problem *knock on wood*

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Im rooted and use the built in wifi tethering. Been using it for months now no problem *knock on wood*

sometimes foxfi loses the connection. is that the phone logging off the network because my phone is going into standby or something?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

sometimes foxfi loses the connection. is that the phone logging off the network because my phone is going into standby or something?

Im not sure about foxfi, but I randomly lose connection here and there as well. Sometimes I need to reset with the airplane mode, sometimes it fixes itself.

 

[glen]

What is a tethering app?

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Im not sure about foxfi, but I randomly lose connection here and there as well. Sometimes I need to reset with the airplane mode, sometimes it fixes itself.

i noticed i can get the connection back but using the browser on the phone, which makes me think its logging off the network

 

[hans007]

i noticed i can get the connection back but using the browser on the phone, which makes me think its logging off the network

when i had a rooted tbolt on verizon, it would do that too. i'd try to tether via usb, and it would work for anywhere from 5 min to an hour.

then it would stop working on the computer but the browser still could.

the other day i used foxfi with my galaxy nexus and it worked for 4-5 hours. but when i used the built in option i would just turn it on it'd say "checking subscription" then enable. work for like 10 min and stop. so not really sure whats going on but im sure verizon knows.

 

[WelshBloke]

yes, they can tell. simple inspection of http headers will show them lots of activity from a desktop browser/OS, for example

I doubt that's how they tell (if they can), you can set your mobile browser to identify as a desktop browser.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I doubt that's how they tell (if they can), you can set your mobile browser to identify as a desktop browser.

and trick them :awe:

 

[alent1234]

I doubt that's how they tell (if they can), you can set your mobile browser to identify as a desktop browser.

if you're tethering with a computer the carriers just have to look for all kinds of port activity that is associated with Windows and not smart phones. PC's are pretty chatty on a lot of ports

carriers also have layer 7 switches and enough networking appliances to know exactly what is happening on their networks

 

[WelshBloke]

if you're tethering with a computer the carriers just have to look for all kinds of port activity that is associated with Windows and not smart phones. PC's are pretty chatty on a lot of ports

carriers also have layer 7 switches and enough networking appliances to know exactly what is happening on their networks

Does wireless tethering just act as a pass through or does the phone rerequest the stuff the tethered PC requests?

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Does wireless tethering just act as a pass through or does the phone rerequest the stuff the tethered PC requests?

It's just like your home modem. The modem just adds information to let it traverse the ISP/internet. It doesn't request the info itself.

VZW/AT&T can tell many ways. However VZW 4g has authentication that differs from tethering and phone. On custom ROMs I don't know if they found a way around that or if they can pass the information to the phone 4g registered connection.

 

[WelshBloke]

It's just like your home modem. The modem just adds information to let it traverse the ISP/internet. It doesn't request the info itself.

VZW/AT&T can tell many ways. However VZW 4g has authentication that differs from tethering and phone. On custom ROMs I don't know if they found a way around that or if they can pass the information to the phone 4g registered connection.

Can I just quote someone elses post from XDA? I dont really understand networking much (luckily my mobile operator lets you tether for free anyway so Ive not looked into it a lot).

My understanding is that tethering (WiFi/USB) can be accomplished in two different fashions.

1) The phone (in this case the Nexus One) acts as the modem and router and re-requests whatever the tethered device requested. Thus, the mobile operator sees the Nexus One as using the DATA rather than the actual device requesting the DATA.

2) The phone simply passes the requests to mobile operator along with some identifying info about the requesting device. (the preferred method by the mobile operators)

I have no idea which method the Nexus One (FroYo) employs, but I have a suspicion that it is method 1.

Is that the difference between a phone being a modem or a modem+router?

 

[alent1234]

hacking your phone to tether is easy, its hiding the traffic from your carrier.

unless you customize your computer to control the kind of traffic it sends out as part of normal operation your carrier has the equipment to know you are tethering

 

[WelshBloke]

hacking your phone to tether is easy, its hiding the traffic from your carrier.

unless you customize your computer to control the kind of traffic it sends out as part of normal operation your carrier has the equipment to know you are tethering

Why would, say, a torrent app on my phone look different to a torrent program on my PC if all the traffic is being routed by my phone?

*not trying to be argumentative,just trying to get a better understanding of whats going on*

Edit: You shouldnt need to hack your phone to tether, if it dosnt tether as stock then its been hacked before you got it (from the Android perspective)

 

[alent1234]

its not just the torrent app, but a windows PC will send out traffic on a bunch of ports for no reason other than its what it does. 135 and 445 are two examples

for torrent apps each app will have its own digital signature and it can be picked up by any modern network switch or network appliance. big carriers will run Narus which is what the NSA uses as well

 

[Red Storm]

Verizon has yet to bug me about my unsanctioned tethering, so until they do, I will continue to use it...

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Verizon has yet to bug me about my unsanctioned tethering, so until they do, I will continue to use it...

same for I