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Comment by eythian | Hacker News Reader

What happens when you try? Does it pop up a message saying that your provider hasn't authorised it?

I used to use Vodafone NL, and apparently they used a SIM provider ID that matched Verizon or something in the US, so my phone (Pixel 1 at the time) would ask Verizon if this SIM was allowed to use tethering, and of course it said no. Part of the reason I moved carriers, also the new one has unlimited data which is better anyhow.

Vodafone had no idea what was going on, although they did try. Eventually they just said they couldn't help.

Anyway, maybe something similar going on for you.

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When I try to turn it on, a dialog box pops up, telling me to go to some att website or dial 611. I think att because Cricket piggybacks off them.

So basically Google that made Pixel is betraying users by giving out that they want to use tethering?

My Google annoyance is that they don't build call recording into the phone. I know they probably do it to avoid their customers getting into trouble using it where they shouldn't but there are lots of illegal things I can do with my phone that they don't try to police.

The problem is that feature would constitute something made explicitly for illegal uses, much like drug paraphernalia, so would expose them to huge liability.

Of course, it's only in some states (like Maryland) where recording conversations without permission is illegal, but that's enough.

They could leave hooks in there and let third parties build out the apps that do the recording.

No.

Google already has this, with google voice, press 4 during a call to start recording it. (only on originally incoming calls.)

One: most laws do not require permission or consent per say, simply having the feature also pimp out a recording that says "Call is now being recorded" like the google voice feature already does is enough to keep it legal.

Two: "Made explicitly for illegal uses" is a wide stretch for a call recording feature.

I don't use Google Voice anymore but I was never able to get call recording to work. For one, I think it only worked on incoming calls which is pretty useless.

At least with android, i can install an app outside of the app store like foxfi [0] that will allow me to tether it. IOS also blocks users from tethering if their carrier doesn't allow it and you cannot get around that without jailbreaking. This is one of my favorite things about switching to android.

[0]: http://foxfi.com/

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