By Android 2.2 build FRF84B was leaked earlier this week for the Motorola Droid, and if you’re included in the group who decided to install the ROM on your rooted handset you may want to hold off on attempting to use the new tethering feature to share a data connection with a PC. Those that do are directed to a Verizon Wireless page asking users to sign up for Mobile Broadband Connect…but no plan for the Droid exists. Of course this is because Droid owners aren’t technically supposed to have Android 2.2 (and VZW claims they in fact did not push a test update to select owners).
One reader over at Droid-Life related the following exchange with a VZW customer service rep:
“Just got back off the phone with vz and they stated that I should not have 2.2 and they wanted to know where I got it. I refused to answer that because I just read and am not an active participant in the Droid Life community. They said if they find out anyone is tethering they can suspend or terminate there contract. As well as they refused to release whatever they put on my account to stop me from tethering.”
Verizon is getting ready to launch its mobile hotspot plan with the Droid X, and the feature will also be present on the Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate. We’re confident the function will also come standard on the Droid 2, so it is foreseeable that when the original Droid gets its official update current subscribers will be able to add hotspot capabilities onto their plan.
For now, if you are the kind that backs down in the face of threats you may want to hold off on trying to tether your device if you are running 2.2.
[via Droid-Life]
And thats why I choose the Nexus One, when I tether for free I get directed to where I want to go :)
At 5mbps at that.
Me too, running on my EVO 4G
and i’m going to stay with t-mobile. i dont need mobile hotspot, but it sure does become useful when you’re in tight situations.
“when they said where did u get it” he shouldve said “you will never take me alive!!!” then hung up
Umm why nolt just use pdanet to tether its free an works great…
What idiot would root/update their device, run into a problem using a feature, and contact Verizon???
damn… im in the middle of a move and have been tethering cause i just shut off my internet till i get settled in my new place… sh*t!
adamsinger77: I’d be REALLY surprised if they went after people for tethering.. I have NEVER EVER heard of that happening. I’ve tried to find a case where they have.
I use tethering OUTSIDE of the city where WiFi hotspots are hard to find. I can still use the wireless tether on the phone and its no problem like always. Thank you Verizon for having a 3G network that works MOST places, and not just in larger cities. That my friends, is why I will never have TMOBILE. Plus, its obvious that Verizon is going to have the best Android phone selection. I wouldn’t be able to settle for another network now (Have had all other carriers in the US before)
I just got off an hour-long tech support call.
They suggested I go buy PDANet. Seriously!
Oh and if TMOBILE Works for you and you never leave the city, then that rocks and congrats on the fast speed, cheaper plan, and crappier phones. Just thank VZW for putting Android on the map with Droid Does. It really is a big reason for the name recognition growth.
does this affect easy tether or pdanet?
@BostonTDroid – Android existed before VZW had it, so who cares how well their phones are doing? I don’t need a phone that people have heard of for it to be a good phone.
Rooted Roms should not have this problem. Perhaps this is an unrooted version of Froyo.
Hmmmm…will PDAnet still work after droids updated to 2.2?
Also…when Droid gets to 2.2 is there an app that will let me tether w/o it hitting the verizon stop sign?
Hey there, did you know that if you google “wifi tether.apk” the first link pulls up a page where you can download a free wifi tethering app. Works great for tethering! Its amazing what you can find if you use your brain!
I’ve been tethering my HTC Incredible for a while now, and my Motorola Droid before that. Haven’t heard anything from verizon yet and I’ve used up to 22GB of bandwidth per month. I doubt they know if we’re tethering or not since we can do the same downloading/streaming from the handset as we can on our laptops.
Definitely need to root each Android device
@wodin – Well if the Android operating system phones dont sell well, they will not keep making them. Its somthing you learn in economics 101. While T-Mobile was the first carrier to have Android phones and should be respected for that, VZW took them to a level TMobile could not have. This is the point I was making. Without the bigger carriers, android would be struggling in the United States, and the Droid made Android mor eof a household name. Now its one of the worst Android Phones Verizon has… sigh….. Good thing they will let you update every year for $20 more. Yep, you heard it right. Call VZW. For a $20 fee you can upgrade after 1 year each year. Pretty awesome. Who knows what phones they will have in November when I can upgrade. Exiciting times for Android.
this is a ridiculous article. if you have rooted your phone, the last thing you are concerned about is what big red or motorola thinks. download “wireless tether for root users” from the market and you’re done. scare tactics should not be newsworthy.
Indeed, if you use any of the other tethering apps (not built in tethering) with 2.2 on the Droid it works just fine. I’ve never been directed to a VZ page, although I’ve not enabled native tethering before.
@BostonTdroid
is that $20 for a full upgrade or just an upgrade; if its a full upgrade then thats pretty good. otherwise its not
and yea verizon has a better network, but they also have the slowest out of the main carriers, on verizon for $69 dollars you get soo much: unlimited mins, unlimited calling, free in calling to anyone on verizon network, free calls to any 5 friends, and free nights and weekends after 9:00…..wait…thats all the same thing, with sprint it’s pretty much unlimited everything 4 $69 (t-mobile $80)
everybody will agree that verizon has a better network, but will they agree its worth $40-50 more than sprint and t-mobile on an unlimited plan no but then again we also have carrier fanboys too lmfao
my network is so great i give them a $50 dollar tip every month ($600 a year + tax); damn thats alot you could of just used that money to buy an unlocked iphone4
android has no way of discerning the data difference from tethered and local, the only way the provider can block is by blocking the app on the phone. Sorry even google has stated this.
But I wonder if you can tether to another Android phone…
yes, you can. at least I can with my n1 with wifi.
I’m glad verizon is doing this.
Make people pay for that bandwidth – so there’s more for the rest of us to use.
Tad wrote on June 30, 2010
I’m glad verizon is doing this.
Make people pay for that bandwidth – so there’s more for the rest of us to use.
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“I’m glad there are rules in life so good boys and girls get cookies”
Self entitled dumbass Verizon level1 CSRs can cause millions in goodwill damage. Check this story out http://www.phonedog.com/2010/06/29/vzw-charges-350-etf-to-marine-widow/
@BostonTdroid….Why did you come on to this thread and make a post dissing other carriers. Who really gives a shit what carrier has what. If someone’s carrier works for them then who cares? I have Verizon for 5 years but recently switched to T-Mobile because they released there HSPA+ in my area that I live in and work in. Previously in Washington DC I was getting 1.2 MB/s download speeds with Verizon but now I’m getting over 5 MB/s download with T-Mobile. I never travel but this year I will be going to Saint Martins for my honeymoon. My Nexus One will be working. How about your Droid? Now answer me this. Why the hell would I pay $45 more a month for slower service? You getting my point? Everyone has different needs and that’s the beauty of having 4 major carriers to choose from. Your bound to find one that fit’s your needs just fine. By the way. After Verizon switches over to LTE, I will see how it is and if it’s that much of a speed boost then it will warrant the extra $45 a month and I will probably switch.
@Bostontdroid, how is the droid the worst android phone verizon has??? My Droid does it all and the last time i checked the X isn’t out yet and Droid2 is yet to be released. Some people just aren’t smart enough to use their devices to their full capabilities so they dog them. What are you using? Oh, and by the way I like my slide out keyboard which will not be available on most new devices. DROID DOES!
mmmm, Thats not good
Did it ever occur to you guys that Verizon regularly reads these posts? I’m sure that they are well aware of what everyone is doing regarding tethering through rooting. Most likely, they are watching and letting us do our thing while they sit back and have the time to retrofit their system to block or charge.
@post4 “mike” L O L man. Yeah that definitly would have been an O.S. moment. But I bet they already had his account and all that so really all they would have had to do was call him back.
Imagine ignoring calls from your service provider… eventually they send a signal and the phone auto-answers and they just start talking to you :-O
@Brain
he said the droid is one of the worst droid on verizon because it wont be as good as the new ones (stat wise) and those other android phones on verizon aren’t droid phones
I had been using the built in tether since I loaded BB 0.3 and it’s been working, but I guess now I’m back to android-wired-tether for root!
http://code.google.com/p/android-wired-tether/
Root your Droid. Wifi tether. It works…no charge. When 2.2 really hits if the built in has VZ tracking/charging/blocking/spying whatever I won’t use it. I’ll find a workaround like wifi tether again and call it a day.
Actually, it is very easy for vzw to determine if your tethered or not, or any mobile isp for that matter. It has nothing to d with android itself, but how networking technologies in general work. ISPs can determine what os is being used, browser, browser capabilities, mac address, and more. So unless your running android with a cloned mac address of your phone on your pc, they can tell exactly where the traffic came from. And an even deeper inspection will reveal what websites you visit, any other clients that use the connection(gtalk aim fbook etc) and basically everything and anything over that connection can be traced out in detail.
@bostonTdroid. Do we really need cell carrier Fanboys now too? And of all carriers, Verizon? Verizon has consistently gone further than any other carrier to block breakthrough native features in phones to charge for a VZW service that almost does the same thing. Motorola V710, remember those? First phone with Bluetooth sync contacts, calendars, photos etc… What did Verizon do? They blocked all push protocol so they could force people to pay .25 to text pictures off the phone. Savvy consumers are way cooler than Fanboys.
androidhelpers.com is right. However I highly doubt any carrier will go to these lengths. It’s not like all they have to do is flip a switch in-order to get this information.
Just use the stand alone tethering apps, not the one built into 2.2. Works for me, so far….
This is why mere peasants should not harness the power of the root. That idiot should be wiped out.
This is EXACTLY why I will never go to Verizon! Yes, they do get the best phones & have the best coverage, but with Big Brother watching everything you do & charging for it, no thanks.
BostonTDroid – Don’t try to leave the US with that CDMA junk from Verizon, it’ll be nothing but a paperweight!
Well, Verizon just pushed 2.2 on my phone yesterday. It took out my existing PDAnet program, but I just reinstalled it and it works ok.