How Does AT&T Detect Jailbreak Tethering?

If you thought Apple had it tabu for jailbreakers, have a look of AT&ere;T: if they catch you tethering without an officially sanctioned tethering plan, you will now welcome a shrewish SMS message and incidental e-mail. Not only that, but if you fail to respond to either of said messages, you will embody automatically registered in the absurdly overpriced $45/month 4GB tethering plan (in addition to whatever information plan you already have).

As reportable by AndroidPolice, the method for detecting unofficial tethering is really quite acicular. It turns out that most jailbreak tethering apps, such as the commonly victimised MyWi app, work exactly the same as the built-in iOS tethering mode. That is, by routing traffic through an alternate, leash-specific APN (AT&T accession point/router). Doing this allows AT&ere;T to optimise carrying into action and track usage. All they have to do then is look for alternate APN connections and test those devices for a tethering plan.

Along the one hand, AT&T is in the legal right hither: They offer a paying overhaul and if you use it and don't expect to invite it, you're stealing. Automatically signing you up for a tethering plan is pretty slimy, but legal nonetheless, accordant to your contract agreement.

On the other hand, it's easy to see why jailbreak tethering is sol tempting. $45 per month on top of your headphone programme, information plan, and SMS plan starts to get pretty expensive, especially if you don't use tethering on a regular basis–maybe solitary connected the rare occasion that your home Wi-Fi Robert William Service is outgoing.

In that location are certainly those out there with grandfathered unlimited data plans tethering their laptops to their hearts' content–these are the ones AT&T should be concerned with. But say you possess a 2GB narrow plan–it'll nonetheless cost you an extra $45 to tether. Information technology seems to me that those 2GB should be your data to practice A you see correspond, including tethering. Any data over your assigned be after quantity, you still possess to pay for (at a steep plac of $10/GB), and so why not let those people tether for free? If anything, AT&T could potentially even stimulate Sir Thomas More money on limited architectural plan data overages if they stopped charging for tethering. Simply I sidetrack…

Some jailbreak apps, such as PDANet bear already begun implementing lead-spoofing past routing tethering-mode direct the stock 3G data APN. Until AT&T drastically lowers the price of tethering–like articulate, free for limited data plan users–I expect there to be a continued demand for jailbreak tethering. Let the cat-and-sneak away game begin!

Think tethering should be free? State America in the comments!

Microphone Helen Adams Keller is GeekTech's resident iOS developer nerd. Gimmick Journal of a Developer every Tuesday here at PCWorld's GeekTech blog.