PAYG Tethering UK

[oompaloompa]

so I use dongle for laptop right now but want to make use of more ips via phone tethering

I currently have a blackberry and payg sim with data that works fine on the phone but will not work for tether my phone to laptop to get use of those ips and data, as I do not use much up on phone. Have tried using the disc set up software but does not recognise the device.

so in next couple of months I will be buying a smartphone, thinking of getting a cheaper smartphone (seeing as I bling it in a case anyway)...

I read you can get payg sims eg 3 month one for phone and can tether via usb to laptop. Officially you are not allowed to by the networks, you must be on a contract but apparently you can do it....I have read few sites but confused on the exact ones as some sims block this type of tethering...

my question is, which exact phone (and does it need any jailbreaking?) and which exact payg sims (do not care which network, but prefer 3 and t-mobile) am I guaranteed to be able to tether up....need real experience not theory, as I am buying specifically for this purpose

[oge]

Try pdanet on your blackberry google PDA net should bring you to a junefabrics website or tether.com works too! I use to use them when I was on blackberry otherwise jailbreaking only applies to the iPhone which would work as well.

[plimsole]

i use an sony erik W995 and can tether officially with O2 im on £10 a month. i recently got on E160 huwaiaii O2 dongle (they are not locked to a provider) for £10 on O2 i got 2 gigs. in 30 days i used .3 of a gig so lots unused but paid for. it seems to work better than tethering and no risk over busting the phone.This week i have put a voda data sim which gives you 250 mb (0r 30 days whichever is quicker) but is only a £5. I dont use much data then voda is fine for me. ypu can buy a vodafone dongle for £20 from currys and it has £10 of credit. I hope this info is of use

[they_screwed_me_too]

oompa

my mrs uses an iphone 3gs (cheap as chips now, even you can afford one ;-)

tethered to a 3 payg sim

£10 per month but only gets 1g per month

i use the same phone with a giff gaff payg sim (dont laugh kids its great, runs on the o2 network)

unlimited data

works a treat

[they_screwed_me_too]

Originally Posted by plimsole

i use an sony erik W995 and can tether officially with O2 im on £10 a month. i recently got on E160 huwaiaii O2 dongle (they are not locked to a provider) for £10 on O2 i got 2 gigs. in 30 days i used .3 of a gig so lots unused but paid for. it seems to work better than tethering and no risk over busting the phone.This week i have put a voda data sim which gives you 250 mb (0r 30 days whichever is quicker) but is only a £5. I dont use much data then voda is fine for me. ypu can buy a vodafone dongle for £20 from currys and it has £10 of credit. I hope this info is of use

see my post plimsole

[plimsole]

giff gaff dont allow tethering

[NoneOther]

They do with a gigabag

[MM78]

Not sure if Iphone + MyWi would work for UK but that's what I use. Also the phone has to be jailbroken to install MyWi but I use it with the USB option.

Hope you find a solid solution Oompa.

[plimsole]

O2 do allow tethering..yes giffgaff allow tethering but basic gigabag is £5 i think on top of basic £10

[NoneOther]

gigabags are standalone data packages and cannot be used in conjunction with goodybags.

They cost £5 for 500mb, £7.50 for 1GB and £10 for 3GB.

They last for 1 calendar month and if you use the full allowance you cannot purchase another until the month has expired but you can have multiple numbers/accounts.

3's 1 month rolling contract for 1GB data is also £7.50 or £10 on PAYG.

[moneyhustler88]

i tether all the time using blackberry..youtube search 'tetherting with blackberry' it may help..are you sure your current provider/network has unlimited internet on it?

[plimsole]

Originally Posted by NoneOther

gigabags are standalone data packages and cannot be used in conjunction with goodybags.

They cost £5 for 500mb, £7.50 for 1GB and £10 for 3GB.

They last for 1 calendar month and if you use the full allowance you cannot purchase another until the month has expired but you can have multiple numbers/accounts.

3's 1 month rolling contract for 1GB data is also £7.50 or £10 on PAYG.

i was wrong you can just buy a gigabag data without having a phone goody bag. i have tested this and its now my preferred (best value for me ) option

[they_screwed_me_too]

oompa

just to clarify

my mrs has just done her first full month

sells on ebay 3 accounts and amazon

used 780 meg in the whole month

[oompaloompa]

Im gonna try again and do the blackberry thing too.

but wanting a smartphone anyhow, as blackberry an older model now..

re payg sims, I want a sim I can buy in a shop and can top up with voucher or it is already pre-loaded eg 3 months worth with 3GB.... Do not want any contract and no registration to my card. Want to put it in my smartphone and tether away...

I will research all your answers and have a go with it, thanks for replies...

[dburnside]

my 3 account has unlimited internet, anytime i want to change ebay account via tethering i turn the phone off and on again to change the ip address, i only use one main account on the phone ebay app, but never had any problem

[aslampip]

You dont have to turn your phone on and off all the time..you can just switch airplane mode on and then switch it back off after a few seconds and your ip changes.

[rsot]

For clarification - airplane mode is the same as that iphone "My Hotpot WiFi option"?

[sax4]

Originally Posted by rsot

For clarification - airplane mode is the same as that iphone "My Hotpot WiFi option"?

No, correct me if i'm wrong, but Aeroplane mode just kills the signal and wifi, so effectively disconnecting, so when you turn it off you get new IP

[dburnside]

Originally Posted by aslampip

You dont have to turn your phone on and off all the time..you can just switch airplane mode on and then switch it back off after a few seconds and your ip changes.

cheers for that

[Stigger]

i use giffgaff and got suspended for tethering so now use there gigabags in a htc hd2 that you can use as wireless router, really really handy.

if you getting a smart phone i would get one that has the wireless router feature and connect you flipflop wireless, that way you can put your phone in a sweet spot for a really good connection without having to stand one footed on a kitchen chair full stretch wile praying that you get on ebay before you fall off.

you also get new ip's and can change the mac address on these phones.

[Stigger]

Originally Posted by sax4

No, correct me if i'm wrong, but Aeroplane mode just kills the signal and wifi, so effectively disconnecting, so when you turn it off you get new IP

Yup what he says.

[johnnyleeds]

Tizwoz, you said you got suspended from GiffGaff for tethering, how much data were you using per month before you got suspended? In the GiffGaff community forum I've read about people moaning cos they got their data usage restricted as they'd been using over 20 GB per month - which is kind of excessive - and clearly tethering.

Were you using your GiffGaff SIM for tethering and were you downloading films / watching Iplayer etc? How long were you tethering before you got suspended? I'm asking as I use GiffGaff, although not for tethering - I have Virginmedia at home so I dont need to, but my internet usage on my mobile phone can vary wildly from month to month - last month it was 6 GB but the month before it was under 1GB, it depends if I;ve been using youtube on the phone which I do sometimes when I'm on the bus.

Do you think they could ban me for this even though its technically not tethering?

The problem with the gigabags is that you have to use it on another SIM card, so what are you supposed to do, take your normal SIM card out of the phone when you want to use the internet on your phone? That would mean anyone trying to phone you wont get through.

It seems a lot of people are starting to get data restrictions for even less monthly download usage. Plus GiffGaff have started charging minimum call charges which they didnt used to, now the £5 hokey cokey top-up is virtually useless. I buy the £10 goodybag and even thats starting to run out towards the end of the month which it never used to.