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3G Tethering On Unlimited Plans That State "No Tethering"? |
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#26 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,541
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Quote:
I have tethered with no problems on Giff Gaff but this was with an Android phone tethering other Android devices so I don't see how this could be detected. I have also heard of a USB tether for PCs by Chainfire that us undectable.
They can see all of the data and headers in the packets traversing the network. If some packets coming from you are not in keeping with a mobile device then they can display a tethering block page. If more and more people keep abusing it and not adding the tethering addon then it's likely the detection measures will become more sophisticated. Here are some things to think about - these are things they could use to detect tethering, I'm not saying they do, but with deep packet inspection they could. Does your phone do Windows updates or send packets to check to see if there are new updates available. These are done over HTTP with hardcoded desktop user agent strings. Not just your browser but any software doing anything that connects to the internet over HTTP will use a user agent string. We've seen instances where Three's detection was being triggered by an android app with the wrong user agent string coded. Even more advanced and unlikely, but if people continue to try and bypass it they could even look at things like the differences in the TCP protocol window sizes between windows desktop / laptop devices and Android / IOS. If people are on unlimited phone data you can see why the networks would want them to pay £5 more to add another device on the unlimited data plan, as a desktop or laptop device is likely to use a lot more data than a phone. I read Giffgaff are going to implement sophisticated anti-tethering techniques on plans that don't allow it. it was in the slide deck that they put out when they talked about the price rises, they did say which quarter they planned to introduce it, but I can't remember when it was, sometime in the next 6 months I think. |
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#27 |
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,541
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Found it, here's the plan that Giffgaff are going to implement over the next few months, it will block tethering automatically when requests come from non phone devices unless you have bought the gigabag and are allowed to tether.
http://image.slidesharecdn.com/whole...jpg?1347291588 It's an immediate 1/2 hour block of all data when it sees non phone requests from when it's implemented, which is in the next few months. |
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#28 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 14,636
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Quote:
Not just your browser but any software doing anything that connects to the internet over HTTP will use a user agent string. We've seen instances where Three's detection was being triggered by an android app with the wrong user agent string coded.
Even more advanced and unlikely, but if people continue to try and bypass it they could even look at things like the differences in the TCP protocol window sizes between windows desktop / laptop devices and Android / IOS. Certain apps and I'm not sure which ones caused 3 to shut his connection down and tell him to stop tethering - except he wasn't. I assume Windows Phone is so unpopular, 3 haven't rigged their DPI to cope with it
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#29 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London & Essex
Posts: 987
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It's all in the user agents and stuff, I used to tether my giffgaff SIM from my android phone to my iphone all the time using GBs and GBs a month and nothing happened, yet one day i tether to my macbook for 5 ins and i get barred.
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#30 |
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: London, UK
Posts: 8,759
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Quote:
It's a bit hearsay but I have a friend with 3 unlimited data (not one plan, it's like a 2 pound addon). He bought a Windows Phone to try out.
Certain apps and I'm not sure which ones caused 3 to shut his connection down and tell him to stop tethering - except he wasn't. I assume Windows Phone is so unpopular, 3 haven't rigged their DPI to cope with it ![]() Never heard of it... Not one of those cheap Chinese knock off things is it. probably why Three thought he was tethering. ![]() Tbh i think networks need to try and find a balance between blocking everything and blocking the right things. |
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#31 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,541
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Quote:
It's a bit hearsay but I have a friend with 3 unlimited data (not one plan, it's like a 2 pound addon). He bought a Windows Phone to try out.
Certain apps and I'm not sure which ones caused 3 to shut his connection down and tell him to stop tethering - except he wasn't. I assume Windows Phone is so unpopular, 3 haven't rigged their DPI to cope with it ![]() If people didn't cheat then the networks wouldn't have to do this stuff. |
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#32 |
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: Scotland
Posts: 1,274
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Quote:
I'm on the 'new' Full Monty and I can still tether without issues.
I've never heard of anyone getting round the block before - well, not unless they negotiated it as part of their upgrade deal anyway. |
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#33 |
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 2,935
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Really?
I've never heard of anyone getting round the block before - well, not unless they negotiated it as part of their upgrade deal anyway. |
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#34 |
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Homerton, London, E9
Posts: 1,742
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I use my iPhone to tether my laptop all the time on 3 and I've never seen a block page nor do I get charged extra for it. Strange.
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#35 |
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: Scotland
Posts: 1,274
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Quote:
There isn't a block (not that I've encountered, anyway). They haven't even disabled the tethering option on my iPhone carrier settings.
The rates are the same as their PAYG broadband - £2/day, £7/week, £15/month (IIRC). Because they offer people the option of paying, they don't remove the tethering options from the settings menu on the iPhone. |
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#36 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: London & Essex
Posts: 987
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My mate has an iPhone 5 on Three's Ultimate Internet 500 and even though that's not a tethering plan he still has the tethering option in the iPhone... Why is that? I thought they would disable it for plans that don't allow it.
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#37 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,288
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Quote:
My mate has an iPhone 5 on Three's Ultimate Internet 500 and even though that's not a tethering plan he still has the tethering option in the iPhone... Why is that? I thought they would disable it for plans that don't allow it.
This isn't quite "enabling or encouraging" tethering"! The control Apple allow the networks isn't fine enough as some SIMs on some plans (mobile broadband for one!) will be perfectly legal to tether with! |
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#38 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: West sussex, on the coast
Posts: 2
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Sure its been said, but just to echo, I found a really reasonable offer the other day, which I signed up with purely as it was such good terms.
Nokia E5 / Ultimate Internet 500 £10 Add Tethering (monthly rolling).£5 I got a slightly aging Nokia E5, lots of minutes, texts etc, and UNLIMITED Internet.!! What made this great was the 2nd line=>> "Add £5 for tethering to 5 other devices.' Regardless what folk say, getting the E5 to act as the mobile hotspot took about 30 seconds and one google search for help. I have it working on - 2 Laptop/ Net Book PCs at home, IPpad 4 w Retina, Kobo Vox,and a Samsung galaxy unlocked, and thats along with a decent enough handset that I can change and keep the £15 sim for use on any other unlocked phone , you can pick them up for £20+ these days Thats it, all that for £15 a month. Unlimited, and tethering legally!!, not on the sly hoping they dont find out and block you. From 3, its this months bargain offer. Hope this helps some folk. |
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#39 |
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Guest
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,070
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Quote:
Sure its been said, but just to echo, I found a really reasonable offer the other day, which I signed up with purely as it was such good terms.
Nokia E5 / Ultimate Internet 500 £10 Add Tethering (monthly rolling).£5 I got a slightly aging Nokia E5, lots of minutes, texts etc, and UNLIMITED Internet.!! What made this great was the 2nd line=>> "Add £5 for tethering to 5 other devices.' Regardless what folk say, getting the E5 to act as the mobile hotspot took about 30 seconds and one google search for help. I have it working on - 2 Laptop/ Net Book PCs at home, IPpad 4 w Retina, Kobo Vox,and a Samsung galaxy unlocked, and thats along with a decent enough handset that I can change and keep the £15 sim for use on any other unlocked phone , you can pick them up for £20+ these days Thats it, all that for £15 a month. Unlimited, and tethering legally!!, not on the sly hoping they dont find out and block you. From 3, its this months bargain offer. Hope this helps some folk.
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