Verizon Blocks Unauthorized Tethering Through Jailbreak Apps

By

verizon-iphone-hotspot

Verizon has followed AT&T’s lead and taken measures to block customers from tethering their iPhone’s data connections illegally. Customers have long been using jailbreak apps to avoid their carrier’s additional monthly fee for tethering, but this method may no longer work if you’re signed up to AT&T or Verizon.

One of the main reasons to jailbreak the iPhone for me was to get my hands on some free tethering. Before my carrier began including tethering in certain plans at no extra charge, I had to pay an additional monthly fee in order to use my iPhone’s data connection on my iPad or my notebook. But with a number of handy jailbreak apps, you could get this functionality for free… until carriers began cracking down on illegal tethering.

AT&T got the ball rolling last week by informing customers on unlimited data plans that they would automatically be given a 2GB data cap if they tethered their devices illegally. Verizon has now followed suit and began redirecting customers who attempt to tether illegally to a Verizon webpage that allows them to add tethering to their plan quickly and easily.

While this may be frustrating for some users, a carrier crackdown on illegal tethering has seemed inevitable for some time. If you’re a Verizon jailbreak tetherer, though, there is some small hope: PDANet hides tethering from carriers pretty nicely.

[via TUAW]

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.