True Tethering Turns Off

[nikster]

My True 3G iPhone plan includes tethering (599 / unlimited).

For a few weeks now the tethering feature keeps turning off though. I use it for a few hours, it's fine, then suddenly I lose the connection.

When I check on the iPhone, tethering has been turned off. I then turn it on again, and things start working again.

I just checked right now, and it seems that True is intermittently turning off tethering. I got the information that in order to enable tethering, I have to call True customer service. A minute later, I was once again able to turn it on.

Anyone else notice this, or is it just me?

[puuchai299]

Hi nikster,my iphone is doing it also,well actually the tethering on the phone just switches itself off,i switch it back on then it tethers fine for a while then off again,used to tether for days sometime without doing this,i"m still using iphone 3gs and not sure its True doing it or the phones going F**kd.

[nycboy57]

i wrote about a similar situation, I have an Iphone 4, recently purchased from Truemove.

I was sent an SMS that my yearly unlimited Iphone contract expires mid March, and my unlimited internet is no more. What happens is I will get up to 3 Gb of 3G, and then it goes to 256kb. That is still 599 baht a month,

I called to ask what the SMS was all about. They basically after calling many times and leaving many messages at 3Baht per message that no more unlimited 3G bandwidth.

So i was disappointed since the 300 minutes have never been enough for me and I usually pay over 1700 baht per month, but with tethering and unlimited 3G, I was accepting it. However with the bandwidth going down to a smaller amount, then it is not the same. Now that we also just got the4.3 update which will allow the iphone to be a wifi base, i don't think that will have much useage with the loss of 3G speed in my area. I have not kept a record of how much bandwidth I have been using but reset it yesterday on the iphone to start testing since for me this goes into effect on March 22.

I went to DTAC and AIS and they said they do not have 3G in my area for now, so no competition will force me to keep my plan. My other solution since I use so many minutes on calls would be to get another number and sim and when I read my 300 minutes in calls and use up my 3G access then use my other sim and notify my contacts of my new number when i switch. That is another option and still be less than I am paying now. I hope this was clear and that eventually competition on 3G access will force Truemove to open up unlimited access again. Did anyone else get notified of this change in contract for Iphone 3G access ending unlimited?

[puuchai299]

I havn"t received anything to say anything has changed.

[lomatopo]

A lot of service providers, like AT&T, charge extra for iPhone tethering, assuming that those who are tethering will be using more bandwidth than traditional smartphone users. Also, service providers can detect tethering, although I am surprised they can manipulate the end user device in-band? Maybe Apple added some hooks? Perhaps True is experimenting by monitoring tethering activity (not terribly difficult to notice) and turning it on and off?

True appears to be modifying their 3G service agreements, contracts and packages in an effort to capture more revenue. (They are still losing money; Q410, (325) Million baht, on revenue of ~ 7.4 bn.) They may start charging for tethering and/or offering tethering data packages with higher limits? Implementing 'fair-use' terms as they migrate original 'Basic' package contract customers over to 'Free Size' packages may be the first step? I know a few people who got SMSes this week about being moved to 'Free Size', but when they called they were told they still have unlimited data. This could of course refer to the drop to 2G speeds once the 3 GB threshold is reached.

What is the term of your iPhone contract? I suspect 24 months, then month-to-month after at their discretion. Does it say anything about tethering?

Edited March 14, 2011 by lomatopo

[nikster]

Hi nikster,my iphone is doing it also,well actually the tethering on the phone just switches itself off,i switch it back on then it tethers fine for a while then off again,used to tether for days sometime without doing this,i"m still using iphone 3gs and not sure its True doing it or the phones going F**kd.

Well either both our iPhones suddenly started acting up, or it's True. So it's a safe bet it's the latter. There was no iOS update, I am still on 4.2.x...

Thanks for the confirmation. I am going to call customer service and complain. I don't think this has to do with new terms & conditions: It's probably just a technical f-up.

It could indirectly have to do with iOS 4.3 though: iOS 4.3 for the first time allows the iPhone to act as a mobile internet hotspot - e.g. the iPhone creates a WiFi network for up to 5 devices to connect to.

This feature is obviously going to be another chargeable item, and another thing the iPhone has to ask the network operator whether or not they allow this for this account; so maybe a change on True's servers to allow for that additional request is screwing up tethering. Or it's gerbils. Either way...

Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by incompetence!

[nikster]

As for the changes... actual unlimited 3G was never going to last forever. You're going to get (many) more iPhone users, and you're going to get people who torrent 24/7 over their 3G iPhone connection (yes, you, Jon, and thanks a lot! ), and the 3G networks can simply not sustain that. Over the air bandwidth isn't unlimited, far from it, it's like a single cable shared by all those in the vicinity of a cell tower.

3GB is a bit tight, I am hoping they'll allow us to purchase additional GBs for a reasonable price. Now if they're selling limited bandwidth, then I don't understand why they would care whether that bandwidth is used for tethering, WiFi sharing, or whatever else - so charging extra for those iPhone features is pure greed, IMO. Let's hope True doesn't go there.

I haven't gotten a SMS yet but I am sure it's only a matter of time. I guess my contract expires in August, and that's when they can probably switch me to another (worse) plan.

Random observation from the Monkey Club CM: Blackberries are most definitely on their way out and being replaced by iPhones. It looked like every single student able to afford one had one already, iPhone 3GS and 4 everywhere. This time last year, it was almost all Blackberry.

Edited March 14, 2011 by nikster

[ubonrthai]

It cuts out for me too so I turn it off and back on again. Annoying but at least it works. I have an old iPhone 3G with an unlimited True data plan. I think it happens after about 3 hours of use. I use USB only. Can't get bluetooth tethering to work.

[nikster]

It cuts out for me too so I turn it off and back on again. Annoying but at least it works. I have an old iPhone 3G with an unlimited True data plan. I think it happens after about 3 hours of use. I use USB only. Can't get bluetooth tethering to work.

Yeah same here, about every 2 or 3 hours. Bluetooth tethering works no problem for me though.

The symptoms are:

- Tethering turns off suddenly

- If you're fast enough, you can catch where the "Tethering" preference has changed to a button saying "Set Up Tethering". Clicking that button produces a message that you should call customer service at your operator.

- A minute or so later, the normal Tethering preference is back, but it's turned off

- Turning on to re-enable tethering.

Called the iPhone helpline, they told me to do Settings->General->Reset->Reset Network Settings. I did that, iPhone rebooted, but after 2-3 hours, I got disconnected. So that doesn't work. True customer service is apparently unaware of the problem. I don't think that True even advertises tethering anywhere though, so it's a bit hard to complain about a feature we're getting for free, which was never promised (that I am aware of).

Are any of the people experiencing the issue on iOS 4.3? I had a slight hope that that would fix things.... 4.3 supposedly also has the "personal hotspot" feature - anyone know whether that's enabled in Thailand?

[lomatopo]

4.3 supposedly also has the "personal hotspot" feature - anyone know whether that's enabled in Thailand?

I have True 3G and an Android phone (Samsung Captivate, Android 2.2.1, actually a custom ROM), so can enable a feature called "Mobile AP" which turns my phone into a 5-port WiFi router, allowing up to 5 WiFi devices to attach and then share the WAN connection, in this case 3G, connection. It works fine with True 3G, however smartphones probably don't make the best routers. I noticed significant speed degradation, from 3.3 Mbps DL (Mega-bits per second) on the phone vs. 1.6 Mbps DL as measured on a WiFi attached PC. Also power consumption increases dramatically using the feature. It is a nice feature to have but since I have multiple DSL lines at home I will only use it when traveling.

I guess you guys are just connecting the iPhone to the Mac or PC and using it as a 3G modem.

AT&T charge for tethering, and have installed a "tethering manager" software app. in their formal 2.2 release. With a rooted phone one can delete that app. and use tethering.

[nikster]

@loma thx, good to know, I suppose it will work for iPhones too then. I think iPhone does some checking on some server to figure out whether it's enabled or not, same as with tethering. It seems to go to the network provider to check whether these features are enabled. Example when I go to the USA and use a SIMPLE sim card, tethering is disabled.

Personal hotspot is the same as the mobile AP on Android yes. Also uses a lot of power on the iPhone; from all reports it's just as fast as your 3G connection but it does use a lot of battery very quickly.

[bangkokburning]

everyone i posted a fix and detailed my issue. Search my posts im mobile. Might work for you

[nikster]

everyone i posted a fix and detailed my issue. Search my posts im mobile. Might work for you

How about providing a link? I dont see any posts by you that have to do with True tethering...

[MunterHunter]

The True 3G tethering on iPhone 4 (iOS 4.3) works fine - get a similar (but not the same) problem where my iPad will lose the connection to my iPhone, even though the hot spot is still operating, usually have to wait a minute or two and the ipad will pick it up again.

So far, its very good tho - nothing to complain about

[lomatopo]

Some news from the U.S. where the AT&T "Tether Police" are active...I think it is safe to assume that True will launch higher threshold "tethering" packages at some point; maybe 3 GB for smartphone and 5 GB for "tethering"? Note that "tethering" can refer to either/both mobile hotspotting or using the phone as a modem as many do via BT or USB.

AT&T tells customers using unauthorized tethering methods to pay up or stop

Dear XXXXXXXX,

We've noticed your service plan may need updating.

Many AT&T customers use their smartphones as a broadband connection for other devices, like laptops, netbooks or other smartphones– a practice commonly known as tethering. Tethering can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T's mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with important people and information. To take advantage of this feature, we require that in addition to a data plan, you also have a tethering plan.

Our records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our tethering plan.

The tethering police are coming, unroot your phones

AT&T has begun contacting smartphone customers who are using the mobile hotspot feature of phones without paying for the AT&T service. These customers are primarily iPhone owners who have jailbroken the phones to allow using the phone as a mobile hotspot, without paying AT&T for the privilege. That free ride is over, and most likely other carriers will follow AT&T’s lead, so those who jailbreak or root your phone to allow such tethering better be ready. The tethering police are coming, and they know who you are.

[justsumhelp]

Works for me, some one must be doing some thing wrong, (cydia may help) but all other evil stealers of Trues precious bandwith beware

[nikster]

Works for me, some one must be doing some thing wrong, (cydia may help) but all other evil stealers of Trues precious bandwith beware

I still see the problem but not very often. Notice that tethering works, it's just that it tend to turn itself off after an hour or two.

@lomatopo interesting but AT&T has nothing to do with us in thailand. AT&T charges extra for tethering, something like $30/month; jail breakers can get around that, and AT&T is cracking on on it. But really has nothing to do with true or thailand

I wish that True would offer other plans where I can pay extra for more bandwidth, and at a reasonable rate, like a few 100 / GB. As it is it's unlimited but after using 3GB they slow us down to EDGE speeds. still for $20 I can't complain too much...

[itworker]

I had this issue for a long time with two iPhone 3GS devices. I think it started way back last year already.

Tethering just disables itself several times a day and sometimes I had to wait until it was possible to turn it on again. This could have something to do with True fiddling around with the network.

The way to get around it is to jailbreak the phone and get MyWi or similar program from Cydia installer. This way you don't need to enable the tethering at all and can even use the phone as wireless router.

Few months ago they started calling about "upgrading" my plans to better one. I considered that my plan is already the best I can have (The original 599 Baht / month & unlimited data). I asked for details on how the thing is going to change and they never said that there is a limit on internet use, just that I can then use their wireless hot spots with very nice speeds

I didn't want any upgrades but seems that I got moved to the new limited plan anyways, now I got the same 3GB monthly data usage limit until the connection is downgraded to 0.25mb/s.

Well I just cancelled one of the contracts and got a 3BB ADSL, works like a dream now

[4evermaat]

tether.com or junefabrics.com

[lomatopo]

@lomatopo interesting but AT&T has nothing to do with us in thailand.

My thinking was that AT&T is obviously a very, very successful, and profitable, service provider - maybe ~ $14B USD PROFIT in (wireless 2010). And Truemove continues to post losses year in, year out, so maybe True will look to see how other wireless, and mobile broadband service providers, have been successful? But then your myopic view is probably more representative of True's (mis-)management?

[4evermaat]

.......But then your myopic view is probably more representative of True's (mis-)management?

Be nice lomatopo. It's never anything personal .

[wpcoe]

How would True (or AT&T) know that you are tethering? The 3G/EDGE signal from True still communicates only with the IP address of the iPhone, no? Are they taking educating guesses based on data usage?

I also have had the tethering randomly disconnect, but I was blaming my iPhone. Sometimes when it happens the "Personal Hotspot" option disappears from the top level menu on Settings, and I have to go to General >> Network to re-enable it. Most times, however, the tethering simply turns off, but remains on the Settings top menu (beneath WiFi). To me, that sounds like it is my iPhone playing with me, not something that True does. How would True be able to turn off tethering remotely, but keep 3G available for everything else?

[4evermaat]

How would True (or AT&T) know that you are tethering? ........

It is largely based on 2 things:

1) how much GB you are downloading. That's why they do not advertise "Unlimited" More like "Unlimited**" And the small print will show. The old assumption that most people use their phone internet for very light browsing is not working in their favor anymore.

2) what kinds of websites/ip addresses you are visiting. This is much less reliable as more and more phones are able to do more serious internet surfing.

The problem you are having with your phone would most likely be Apple's doing. The carrier shouldn't have control over the firmware of the phone, unless the phone is branded in the carrier name.