Welcome to Incremental Social! Learn more about this project here!
Check out lemmyverse to find more communities to join from here!

oakey66 ,

Every carrier has it's problems but AT&T and Verizon are a nickel and diming rip off. They suck.

NaturalViber ,

I have been bypassing this with Pdanet app for over 10 years. I don't think the app gets regular updates anymore, but it has worked for me on many different phones, and windows versions. Also different carriers.

Doesn't have to be usb either, I use the wifi direct setting it has and have used 100gb in a month. With minimal or no slowdown.

I still use it almost daily, as fiber or any other form of internet isn't available in my area besides satellite (not talking about starlink). I also play online games usually 80 latency, which sucks, but better than nothing.

FlyingSquid OP ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Doesn't look like there's a Linux client unfortunately.

NaturalViber ,

Ah, thats a shame. Pdanet also has an app called foxfi, which can active unlimited hotspot on some phones/carriers, so uou wouldn't need the client app.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/b8284543-64a8-493d-b501-33e7c3721a35.png

Theres a free trial, give it a try if you haven't already

FlyingSquid OP ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks!

gears ,

EasyTether+ might have a Linux client. It's a similar app

aniki ,

This is why I love Google Fi. I go anywhere on earth, and I have coverage. Unlimited everything. Never worry about nothing, ever, and has carrier bonding for when you're really out there.

MrJukes ,
@MrJukes@lemmy.today avatar

Google Fi will throttle you after you hit a limit depending on your plan. I unknowingly hit mine after using my phone for a hotspot, watching a few hours of soccer and I think Windows downloaded a bunch of updates too. It was towards the beginning of the billing cycle so the rest of the month really sucked. Might want to double check your plan.

aniki ,

Its like 50g on the unlimited plan.

BaroqueInMind ,

TMobile provides literally the same services, beat-for-beat at a lower price.

KevonLooney ,

People don't think these things through. Google can't possibly be cheaper than a wireless carrier because they don't own any towers. Wireless carriers will make sure Google doesn't sell cheaper than they can sell it themselves.

Also, things like Metro PCS (before T-Mobile bought them) just have lower network priority. So "cheaper" just means crappy service. Good luck making a phone call at a sporting event or concert.

bus_factor ,

They absolutely can, several carriers who use other carriers are cheaper than who they lease service from. They won't be paying consumer prices to use those towers.

It all depends on what margins they have, what extra services they provide, and whether they have other ways of monetizing you. They might even be reselling at a loss to boost their initial market share. In Google's case, it's safe to assume they want your data and sacrifice some margins to get it.

KevonLooney ,

Which ones?

bus_factor ,

I can't be bothered to research every plan to answer this question, but Mint Mobile was dirt cheap while using T-Mobile service. They probably still are, but it arguably doesn't count anymore since T-Mobile acquired them.

aniki , (edited )

tmobile doesn't do free international data anywhere on earth. when I travel I have service before the airplane touches down. also, google fi uses carrier bonding so i will jump to us-cellular when I am up north which is extremely valuable for me as I am in the mountains constantly.

BaroqueInMind ,

I also have GFi and currently still use Fi, and I'm telling you Tmobile is better in every single way, including international carrier bonding. I haven't switched over due to Fi VPN being very convenient for me (and there's better VPNs out there anyways so I'm not married to it at all).

bus_factor ,

This is the Unlimited Plus plan. Their Simply Unlimited plan throttles you after 5 GB of hotspot usage, but phone data is unlimited.

aniki ,

I never said I wasn't on the unlimited everything plan.

bus_factor ,

I never claimed you did. I just clarified which plan you were on, and added how their other plan works. This could be nice for others to know. I don't know why you'd take that as a personal attack, but I certainly didn't intend it as one.

Uranium3006 ,
@Uranium3006@kbin.social avatar

the reason is wireless network carve outs from network neutrality and them wanting to abuse their monopoly status to upcharge you for every little thing

FlyingSquid OP ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Remember when they charged 10 cents a text for data that went through the cell tower in the same way a voice did?

brbposting ,

Almost wish they still did but only if it meant more of us were using Signal.

Who am I kidding though, we’d be using What’sZuck like our European & LatAm friends. “WhatsApp: At Least It’s Not WeChat”

viking ,
@viking@infosec.pub avatar

I've read somewhere that USB tethering bypasses this very easily.

FlyingSquid OP ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Does it? Interesting. I'll have to try that. I wonder why?

FartsWithAnAccent ,
@FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io avatar

There used to be other ways to bypass it as well, like PDAnet, rooting, flashing custom OSes, etc.

viking ,
@viking@infosec.pub avatar

From what I heard is that a phone used as USB tether identifies as a modem on the computer, and then the traffic is somehow detected differently. I haven't tested this personally though since my ISP doesn't cap or throttle me when using hotpsots.

ech ,

Is easytether still a thing? That app saved my butt several times.

viking ,
@viking@infosec.pub avatar

I'm not sure tbh, my ISP doesn't throttle my speed or data when used as a hotspot, luckily, so I didn't have to look into it for a long time.

nehal3m ,

The difference is one hop. I think that’s how ISP’s measure it anyway. I’ll bet spoofing that number would bypass the restriction.

Or I’m hopelessly out of date.

ptz ,
@ptz@dubvee.org avatar

Something like that, yeah. I recall a while back that TTL spoofing was a way to get around that kind of detection. Haven't had to deal with that lately, so no idea if it's still valid / applicable.

popemichael ,
@popemichael@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Companies even do this if you have a 5g modem.

There is a 2 hour window at the end of the month in which I am miserable.

I'm at the tip of the US's Wang and have zero access to wired internet, so I am stuck. 😞

bonn2 ,

I was in the same situation, but luckily, Starlink became available. Not as good as a wire, and rather expensive, but damn is it a night and day difference.

mvilain ,
@mvilain@fedia.io avatar

I got hit by this AT&T usage cap for internet downloads. I went through 250GB of downloads in less than a month. Most of it was internet backups of a newly installed system. They don't offer a data tier without a cap in my area so I was stuck paying $10/10GB over that month. Next month I added a $30 unlimited data charge to my bill. That's OK as I'm consistently going over their cap again due to backups. Unless I buy much more expensive plan from a commercial provider and pay for Fibre installation, I'm stuck.

aubeynarf ,

yeah they are selling “wireless home
internet” hard now, can’t have people using their phone hotspot for that.

bigMouthCommie ,
@bigMouthCommie@kolektiva.social avatar

not to be a shill, but i have xfinity mobile, and they gave me unlimited tethering. there is service degradation at some point, but i haven't ever hit it or if i have i haven't noticed it.

scottmeme ,

Using a phone purchased through them or unlocked?
Locked phones will have proprietary bullshit to check if you are using a hotspot

criticon ,

Do they actually slow it down? I have 8GB of data and many months I use a lot more than that and they send me some messages that they will slow it with some links to purchase more data but it never happens, or at least not in a noticeable way

pewgar_seemsimandroid ,

get calyx

irotsoma ,
@irotsoma@lemmy.world avatar

Laptops have large screens and windows software isn't designed to be data efficient. Unlimited data doesn't mean at full speed infinitely. They sell way more than they can support otherwise it would be impossible to support more than a few users at one time on a cell tower.

stembolts ,

"They sell more than they can support"

At that point is where mine and your opinion diverge. In what sustainable business does one sell more of anything than they can maintain responsibility over?

Of course, there are many examples, but why?

Greed is why. Don't sell something you cannot sustain, or you have misled your customer.

I hope the user finds a way around this and burns all of the data they rightfully purchased. Plan says unlimited. Rename the plan if its a lie.

Finally, and not directed at the user to which I am replying, what concerns me the most is that this quote I took from your post would be glossed over by most because it is what we've come to expect from fucky corps. We don't have to take it, change your expectations, question the system.

SaltySalamander ,
@SaltySalamander@fedia.io avatar

At that point is where mine and your opinion diverge. In what sustainable business does one sell more of anything than they can maintain responsibility over?

What they're talking about is the mobile provider overselling service. Because they know that for the vast majority of the time, everyone isn't going to be demanding huge amounts of bandwidth all at the same time. Cable/GPON fiber ISPs do the same thing.

BallsandBayonets ,

Doesn't change anything. If I go to a sandwich shop that advertises sandwiches with meat, but I go during the lunch rush, they don't get to sell me two slices of plain bread just because it's busy. Even if their advertising includes in microscopic text the words "up to".

And the legality of these practices is irrelevant. We're making the argument that it's morally wrong and therefore should not be tolerated.

stembolts ,

Good addition, I guess I am making a moral argument. I was coming at it from an ethics POV but yeah. Also good sandwich analogy.

irotsoma ,
@irotsoma@lemmy.world avatar

Problem is that shared infrastructure shouldn't be operated for profit. But American conservatives seem to think that's the way to go. If infrastructure is shared, then there's every incentive for a business to sell even if the infrastructure can't handle it.

That being said, it's a required thing. This is why we have society in the first place. If every customer had to have their own cell infrastructure, it would be a mess and a waste. I mean you are sold unlimited bandwidth at let's say 1Gbps on 5G. There are about 1 cell tower node for every 1000 people in the US across the country. If we build enough infrastructure for everyone to use it at full speed each tower node would then need to be able to handle 1,000Gbps. That's just not possible with current technology. So should we build one tower node per person plus all of the cabling and routers to handle that much traffic? Does everyone really need to be able to download a gigabit of data every second of every day? What would you do with that data?

What internet infrastructure is designed for is peaks of up to that speed for short bursts. Not sustained speeds. And then sharing that infrastructure. Just like if everyone were to turn on their water at the same time, no one would get more than a drip, but does that ever actually happen in real usage?

The difference is that water infrastructure is owned collectively, so it is more equitably developed to make it available to all as equally as possible, rather than just to those who pay more for it.

Jackthelad ,

AT&T are like:

https://youtu.be/DHgVRVeRNXM?feature=shared

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world
  • random
  • incremental_games
  • meta
  • All magazines
    •