I went a month with them and nowhere was it advertised that they block tethering…
So a word of caution before you decide to spend a lot of money for a slow network that limits your use - this also applies to Optus prepaid resellers such as Woolworths, Savvytel, Virgin, Amaysim, and more.
The only other choices in Australia are Vodafone (slow, buggy, limited connectivity) and Telstra (expensive, lack of 'freebies')
And you only just discovered this NOW? It's written plainly in the T&C…. (with woolworths at least..)
I actually called optus and asked about that when I got a bunch of woollies prepaid sims & credit, the tech said that so long as the APN on the device is set to "yesinternet" (as opposed to "yesconnect") the tethering will work no problems. I can confirm internet works fine in a Huawei e220. Basically the only device that you can't use it in is the iPhone.
Can you give a bit more context with your post? I have one Optus prepaid card for a few months now and I've been using tethering with my Optus MyTab/ZTE V9 tablet so my laptop can also access Internet when I am out. Hasn't had any problem yet…
Edit: Okay two comments popped up when I typed mine. Seems to be implying just iPhone tethering?
Also, phone providers rarely, if ever, advertise aspects to a deal that could detract from it. As always you should read the fine print. ;)
That's what they say in the T&C but in practice I seriously doubt if they actually hunt down tetherers (you need to do a bit of network packet tracing). It's like NAT. Back in the early days of ISPs, this was forbidden. Eventually it was regarded as silly and forgotten. It's a silly condition anyway. Why should they care if you rack up more usage? More money for them. Heavying tetherers just gets them more complaints. They get enough as it is.
This is an iPhone problem. Take it up with Apple, not the telco.
Not a iphone "problem" so taking it up with Apple isnt the way. The telcos can turn this ability on or off if they wish. But its the Telcos choice AFAIK
Exactly. I was tethering just fine (all things considered) on Vodafone, and now on Telstra with no problems. It seems to me that if I pay for data I shouldn't be limited in how I use it.
Block tethering is happening on Android in US as well, unfortunately. I won't be surprised that phones sold through telco here would be crippled sometime down the track as well.
Well. At least on iPhone you can root it, and on Android you can root your phone AND flush to a different firmware.
I recommend flashing…
Previous experiments with phones and toilets have been unsuccessful, particularly after flushing!
Once rooted, you don't need to flash any firmware, just install a tethering app.
ROFL yes Flushing, - now this would really be a iphone problem (android as well)
Good pickup - although that may also be a problem after flushing… and it goes on.
Haha. My bad. Wasn't hinting flushing one to the toilet and get another one that can tether proper either :)
Not just an iPhone problem - my girlfriend couldn't connect with her Nokia, and friends have had the same issue…
From what I know:
iPhones have a tethering switch that a telco decides if its enabled or disabled, this is 50% Apple's fault and 50% the telco.
Stock Android phones do not have this switch, the only way to block tethering is to attempt and likely fail using their firewall etc, or to modify their telco specific phones to enable it to be blocked, something that only happens in the US.
So either way, Android can tether any phone in Australia without issues, but iPhones can only do it if allowed by the telco.
For iPhone? cause if it's for Android, Woolworths actively promote the Tethering feature of their handsets!
iPhone tethering can be unlocked if you jailbreak the phone.