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Comment by staunch | Hacker News Reader

I have a $30/mo unlimited (5GB at 4G) data/messaging (100 min talk time) no-contract plan with T-Mobile and I use Skype for lots of calling. Works great for me in LA. Almost always have LTE access. No problems whatsoever.

http://consumerist.com/2013/06/07/t-mobile-has-a-30-unlimite...

This just makes me like them even more. Competition is forcing them to actually think about ways of making mobile phone/data service not suck.

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Wow! How much are you paying each month after fees, taxes, etc? I have the same service with AT&T, except I get 700 minutes a month. But I'm paying about $90/mo.

Your service includes tethering, right?

$30. Pay online and there aren't any taxes (yet), and there aren't additional fees because it's prepaid. Additional minutes are 10c and last for 3 months+ depending on how many you buy.

It does not include tethering. I'm trying to find a way around it simply on principle, but you can add it for $15/month. (edit: others mention it seems to be based on user-agent sniffing, this backs up what I've seen so far)

I'm very happy with it so far. Much cheaper, and a bit better customer service overall than I had with Verizon.

If you get a unlocked Nexus 4 from the Play store, then you don't have to pay extra for tethering. 30$ means 30$, there is no additional fees, taxes etc. Thats the benefit of prepaid plans, you know exactly how much you are paying.

On my pre-paid plan they assured me that tethering is absolutely fine. They give you 5GB and you use it how you like. I had a long discussion with a well-versed rep at a store on this issue and they were very forthcoming with it. You can go through 5GB pretty quickly on tethering and you end up on 2G speeds the rest of the month either way it doesn't matter to them.

that's not really true, T-Mobile blocks tethering by sniffing HTTP user agent strings too. So if you are tethering to a tablet, then it will work fine. It won't if you are tethering to a laptop (you can spoof the UA string but you will end up receiving all mobile websites on your laptop - which kind of sucks and kills productivity).

re all the other 'not me's here:

I had no problem for about two months of almost daily use (train commute), then I started getting my HTTP browser pages redirected to a tethering upsell page. HTTPS still worked, as did e.g. imap, dropbox, skype, etc, but I haven't personally played with it enough to find out if it seems to just be the user agent. The HTTPS-everywhere extension will probably help significantly with this, if you're looking to evade, if that's all they're doing.

makes me wonder, is there even anything else that they can do to block tethering apart from UA sniffing? given that the phone is unlocked and doesn't have any carrier's crapware in it.

Definitely. Since it's part of the contract that tethering isn't allowed, and (I assume, don't remember) that they can 'terminate service' for anyone at any time for any reason, they could: watch the pattern of traffic to identify well-known desktop apps, completely disconnect the worst 0.1% of offenders on the (very likely) assumption that they're guilty, and demand they pay up. Even a VPN won't hide you there, unless you have something that defeats traffic analysis (a definite possibility, but not a normal tool either, afaik).

I'm using my nexus 4 to tether my laptop almost daily with no issues in Seattle.

Hmm, Mine is a nexus 4 too. May be it happens because i'm on a plan with contract (even though the device wasn't bought on contract).

I don't doubt you're wrong but I've been tethering my galaxy nexus with the exact same plan he mentions with no issues what so ever. I sometimes have 2-3 devices connected to my phone.

Thank goodness for VPNs.

I also use this plan. So far its been great.... However VoIP calling on a Nexus 4 is horrible. I believe this a codec issue? I just end up buying extra credits when I go over. Even with that it's been significant savings.

I have the same plan. Tethering is an additional $15/month, for a total of $45. Still a far cry from $90. I use it in Portland and the service is great. (Total after taxes is $48.50)

Tethering plans are such robbery in broad daylight. I don't care what their excuse it. You paid for a certain amount of data, you should use it however you want.

I don't pay T-Mobile for tethering on my Nexus 4 on the $30 plan. It works fine.

How much do you tether? And to what sort of devices?

The problem I have with T-Mobile is their customer service reps are so poorly trained.

So depending on who I speak with, I am told I either need to pay the $15 for tethering or not. I pay it as I am a bit afraid to drop it never to have it return.

So can you tell me more about how you much you tether, and how often? Or if T-Mobile has ever given you anything official about your tethering being okay?

I too tether without paying (Nexus 4, to my laptop). I don't usually do it too heavily and until recently hadn't had any trouble from T-Mobile.

When I moved into my new apartment I used it more than usual (maybe 2-3 GB over a few days) and they started redirecting my traffic to a "Pay for Tethering" site. It's just user-agent based though so very easy to circumvent. Other than than I have had no issues.

Never anything official, and I do it rarely, so it doesn't really change my access pattern. I only tether when I'm in a coffee shop and the wifi there is bad. I'm not the sort of user that streams Netflix via tethering or something, although I know those people exist.

May I ask, how much do you pay each month after taxes and fees? (Assuming you opted for tethering.) Something like $45 + $10 taxes/fees?

T-Mobile prepaid plans are great in that regard. I only pay the New York sales tax on top of the quoted price (8.875% or something). My parents were on AT&T and they were paying close to $15 in mysterious fees + taxes per line, for dumbphone lines without data plans. I convinced them to move to T-Mobile prepaid, seems to work well so far.

Normal sales tax only. No other taxes/fees - they're all included in the basic rate. This is generally true of prepaid plans across all US carriers.

I got the same plan when I bought my Nexus 4. It's been pretty great so far, my only problem being that the entire plan will shut down if you go over your 100 minute allotment (so be careful).

It won't shut down, it will just bill you at a rate of 10 cents for each additional minute used. I usually keep some extra money in my T-Mobile balance so this has never been an issue on the rare occasions I go over 100 minutes.

I've looked for the terms of the plan, but have never been able to find them. I read $0.10/min overage, but what are the details on that? I almost never use 100 minutes, but I'd like not to be crippled when I do.

I think the solution is to keep a bit of extra money in your account, so that they can bill you $0.10/min after you go over. I haven't gone over 100 minutes yet (Skype) so I don't know what happens, but I keep $30 floating in my account.

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