What is the difference between cellular data being used on my phone and cellular data being used on my notebook? Data is data.

  • skuzz
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    9 months ago

    Carriers in the US configure phones so that the tethering APN is always used for tethering specifically over all interfaces, the traffic is also tagged with a different TTL. They also do some malarkey with deep packet inspection (in case you figure out how to modify the APN) to identify if a computer is using the connection (like the initial phone home Windows and Mac both do to determine the type/quality of Internet connection they are connected to.)

    All of this one can work around, but it becomes an annoying game of cat and also cat, and then if the carrier “decides” you violated the “spirit” of their TOS, they’ll cancel your plan and take your number away.

    • Captain Howdy@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      This is only possible if you get your phone from the carrier, right? They wouldn’t be able to differentiate if you were using an unlocked phone you got from Google or Amazon?

      • skuzz
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        9 months ago

        They force configs on unlocked phones as well, or just don’t “certify” them and refuse to let them work. AT&T will go the extra step of locking you out of your SIM card until you call them. The other two are pretty passive about it and your phone just doesn’t work right until you put the SIM back in a phone they “like”.