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[Sir Tigger KC]

I've changed my 3 contract from one with unlimited data (tethering allowed), calls and texts to one with 4GB data (tethering not allowed), unlimited calls and texts, saving myself £17 per month. 

However, I asked the nice 3 lady in India how would they know if I used my phone as a wifi hotspot and she said that I'd go over my data allowance.  So I said what if I do it within my allowance? and she didn't have an answer.    Well not on her script any way! 

So if I occasionally tether my laptop for things that are too fiddly to do on my phone when I'm away from home, how do they know?   

[Mr.OmegaMan]

Been tethering for years on the Three network pay as you go plan with the unlimited net (now £25 a month) I haven't checked for awhile but I'm tethering in the hundreds of gigabytes on several different devices with no issues. I have a dedicated android phone I use for tethering 24/7 in the best spot in the house with most signal.

Why do I go through all this bother.. simple there's no fibre around here and your lucky to get 2mbps down - 0.30mbps up on BT.

Three 23mbps down - 4mbps up.

Luck of the draw maybe in regards to how they know what your using the Internet on? No idea.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Its dead easy as they can spot MAC addresses at the layer 2 level which are not your phone.

[Viral_Jim]

So, I think three have implemented this on all sims/devices/accounts from a certain point going forward.

Reason being that my wife and I had PAYG on 3 for a while, on the unlimited data, she could tether, I could not. The only difference (same handset model, same bundles etc) was that she has had hers a lot longer than mine. So if you have it, I wouldn't ask for a replacement sim/change of number as I suspect you may lose the ability to do it. I took on a contract instead, which for 90% of people are probably better value now anyway, although not if you're a very heavy data user.

I *think* there is a way to fool it if you do want to tether on PAYG, but I lost the will to live halfway through the article I found on the net about it so cannot confirm if it works or not.

[TheBoy]

Its incredibly easy to spot at almost any layer in the stack. Your browser will give a load of info in the GET request, your OS leaves a signature at the TCP level, the hardware leaves a signature at the physical level...

I obviously can't say the techniques we use, but we can spot the vast majority long before it even hits DPI, where we can properly play silly beggers.

[TheBoy]

I *think* there is a way to fool it if you do want to tether on PAYG, but I lost the will to live halfway through the article I found on the net about it so cannot confirm if it works or not.

There isn't a foolproof way.  You *may* be able to get away with it for a short time if you have the knowledge of what checks a provider is doing at that point in time, and said provider isn't using DPI.

[Mr.OmegaMan]

Maybe Three are 'unofficially' allowing tethering now, Maybe that's why they put the price up from £15 for unlimited net to now £25 a month on pay as you go.

I've had no warning of any kind and I've used it on a few different SIM cards. Since around 2010 give or take.

Although I did try the sim in a MiFi once and I did get a tethering notification while trying to use the Internet. But once I put the sim back in a phone and tethered once again problem solved.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I used to tether loads using between 20 - 30GBs a month, but I don't any more hence changing the contract as I used just under 1GB last month.   I was just wondering if I could get away with it occasionally. 

Now I know.  Thanks for the answers chaps! 

[zirk]

Maybe Three are 'unofficially' allowing tethering now, Maybe that's why they put the price up from £15 for unlimited net to now £25 a month on pay as you go.

I've had no warning of any kind and I've used it on a few different SIM cards. Since around 2010 give or take.

Although I did try the sim in a MiFi once and I did get a tethering notification while trying to use the Internet. But once I put the sim back in a phone and tethered once again problem solved.

How old is your mobile, or the Hot Spot App, some of the very early WiFi Shares would let tethering pass striaght through, thiese were typically the type that didn.t allow Peer to Peer connections, or youve goy an very d Sim Plan.

On the MiFi thing some of the early Sims where Broadband Only, ie ISDN and where not confugured for Mobile Calls, so possibly the Network would detect the typd of Data Connection required from a device.

Either way, as said things have moved on and Networks now have all sorts Bots on the Network to detect tethering cheaters, personally I cant see what the problem is, you paid for your data allowance, its up to you how you want use it, if you choose to gobble it all up using your laptop its no big deal, most networks have Data Traffic Management in place now to slow you down if need be.

[Mr.OmegaMan]

I've used all kind of Android phones to tether, Not used a iPhone for long periods as it's my main phone I use day to day.

Back to the tethering phones. Can't remember what I used back a few years ago. More recently i've used a Moto G 4G, Sony Z3 Compact... my current android phone I'm tethering with is the 2016 Moto G on the latest version of Android. It's by far the best phone I've used for tethering it has much better range, doesn't occasionally drop out or slow down like one previous phones.

I haven't been changing devices because they break or anything like that, Just thought the latest devices may help the speed even more and tbh on the whole each upgrade is a little better each time. But i'll be keeping this 2016 Moto G for awhile it works perfectly.

I do find it helps if you restart the phone once a day it helps the speed even more for that day till the next day. It's become like a routine now so doesn't bother me.

[Mr.OmegaMan]

I'll get a screen shot of the tethering data I've used up later 

[Mr Gav]

There was an app called PDAnet that was supposed to disguise your usage so you could tether without your provider knowing.

[TheBoy]

There was an app called PDAnet that was supposed to disguise your usage so you could tether without your provider knowing.

It only disguised some very basic things (it acted as a web proxy, so could mask device and browser - which was why you used to get redirected to mobile websites rather than the full sites), which might have been enough at the time as long as you didn't take the mickey (back then, it wasn't practical to inspect every subscriber's traffic, so it only used to happen if you highlighted yourself).

Now the service providers have a lot of tools in their arsenal, and can be alerted as fast as half a dozen packets.

[Mr.OmegaMan]

Forgot last night...

[zirk]

400gb a month, is that all, I can do that in an hour just on error correction. 

Seriously though, I bet Three love you, have they offered to buy your Sim back yet.