Whether to Tether (your Blackberry as a Modem)?

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 1:31am

Do you tether your Blackberry?

This is the greatest thing since M & M minis. And nobody advertises it--is it a secret? You may find you already have free internet anywhere you can get cellphone reception if you already have unlimited internet on your phone. Check with your cellphone company whether there is any extra fee for you to avoid surprises. I hear don't even think of it if you don't have an unlimited internet plan.

One limitation I've hit is that my phone's rate of transfer is at only 115 kbps so that is not really enough for watching video downloads, but that's not a problem for my main use of email and surfing. And I can't pick up a phone call or use the internet on my phone at the same time.

It wasn't too hard to set up. I looked at the instructions both on this site and by googling another set. You have to program a little code into your phone but no big deal.

I don't know if it works for Macs/iPhones.
Tethered Modem Updated On: 9/28/09 at 01:31 AM

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 3:32am

It is to my understanding that an iPhone CAN be tethered, but AT&T won't allow tethering to be enabled, given their network is already shaky at best and pretty much collapsed just by allowing iPhone users to send picture messages. As such, I've never used it, but I wish I could.

[Taryn]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 5:49am

They SAY that iPhones will be able to tether. Someday. It was one of the many things we were SUPPOSED to get with 3.0 but didn't.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 8:50am

I have a Blackberry on AT&T. Should I be able to do it?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 10:50am

My boss tethers his Blackberry Bold, but he hasn't been too thrilled with the service. The internet connection is good, but ever since he went 3G, the number of dropped calls on AT&T has more than tripled. On the Blackberry Curve, I have no issue with AT&T service, but then, I don't desire to tether and don't care to own a laptop.

I would like to say that AT&T customer service has improved tremendously. We had some hardware issue with our Blackberries (external speaker went out, track ball stopped working, etc) and when I took them to a nearby AT&T store, they were either fixed on the spot or replaced, no questions asked, for free. Even when the warranty was expired.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 4:12pm

I'm on T-Mobile and it works great.

Occasionally I'll lose connection and my phone won't re-connect (I think switching back and forth between my Mozilla and IE browsers may have been part of that). Then my phone also won't get internet on its own. So I take the battery out of my phone and let it reset, which is a little humbug, but no big deal.

I use it with my netbook and have my netbook hooked up to a large monitor, speakers, printer and a regular size keyboard (which also has musical keys like a piano). If I want to watch a video I use the connection at Starbucks which is faster, but I seldom need that.

Taking my netbook, phone, little mouse and headphones around in a briefcase is pretty lightweight.

JerseyGirl2, why don't you call your AT&T provider and ask. You could also google "tether Blackberry AT&T" as that has articles.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 4:36pm

I'm so clueless I don't even know what you guys are talking about.....LOL!

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 10:53pm

It's about using your Blackberry cellphone to extend its internet service to your computer.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 11:30pm

Freakin' AT&T charges an additional $30 to tether. Sigh.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 9/29/09 at 3:16am

That is rotten.

I believe it is because it directly competes with their own separate offerings of landline or cable internet services.

T-Mobile doesn't offer landline or cable internet that I know of so they wouldn't be so protective. But they probably don't advertise tethering because it would increase your usage of their server. just a guess on my part.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 9/29/09 at 4:28am

I have Verizon and they also charge $30 to tether. However, there is an app out there that allows you to tether without incurring the extra cost: tetherberry. I don't have it but I've heard good things about it.
Tetherberry

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 9/29/09 at 11:28am

... and today got a message from crackberry.com that they're running a 1/2 off tetherberry until Friday.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 9/29/09 at 4:15pm

Do you have a promotional code for that, Daydreamer? I don't see the discount on their website. I do see a free one-month trial.

There is also a program called PdaNet for "hackfree Android tethering" that works with iPhones and Treo, dunno about Blackberry.

I see warnings not to use Tetherberry on Verizon for your home computer or you will get socked with heavy fees when they find out, though they indicate it is okay to use it for travel.

Warnings re Tetherberry Updated On: 9/30/09 at 04:15 PM

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 4:07am

Double-checked with T-Mobile and they do not charge for tethering if you have an unlimited data plan.

They don't advertise it so as not to crowd their server network with use, but if anyone calls to specifically ask about it they will help them set up the tethering.

I may do the free trial of Tetherberry to see if it increases my network speed by the 14 to 18 times increase it says it will as that may make video downloads easier, but I want to research it a little more. Has anyone else with T-Mobile tried this yet?

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 9/30/09 at 4:02pm

I deleted the message by mistake ... sorry!

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 10/2/09 at 11:56pm

Here's a NY Times Gadgetwise blog article on Tetherberry when it first came out in March.
No Wi-Fi? No Problem

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 10/3/09 at 4:52am

I just did the trial of Tetherberry and it didn't work at all.

Kept giving stupid messages like no tunnel. Then I got a tunnel and something else was wrong. Plus there were three different addresses you had to try to hook it up with T-Mobile with no clue as to which might be the right one for your T-Mobile account. Had to try each separately and take out the phone battery in between to reset it.

Then I got other, not understandable error messages. The most irritating of which was that the program was trying to work inside and outside the firewall which was not allowed. It was the most irritating because it endlessly repeated and you had to shut your phone off and take out the battery to get rid of it. Of course I have a tricky plastic case over my phone to protect it and to change the battery I have to gently fiddle with that to get it off first before opening the phone.

So to hell with Tetherberry--DON'T EVEN BOTHER!