T-Mobile Data Bundle limitations?

andy1988

Hi guys, hope you all had a good Christmas.

I bought a HTC Desire HD just before Christmas from Dial-a-Phone (great service with fast delivery) on T-Mobile. The plan I purchased includes unlimited internet as a 'flexible booster', reading the terms and conditions on the T-Mobile website there are restrictions such as being unable to use instant messaging and using your phone as a modem.

As the phone has a local wifi app (allows you to broadcast the 3g internet as a wifi signal), I planned to use this for my laptop in the event my home broadband went down (if at all). I am concerned about possible fees if I do this, so I'm wondering if anyone here knows whether T-Mobile can actually tell what you're using your phone for? Surely accessing a website via your phone, or via your phone as a modem wouldn't show up any different on their servers?

This would be a direct breach of the terms and conditions but I'm not sure if it's even a legally enforcable condition to restrict your '[limited] unlimited internet' usage to 'website browsing usage on purchased device only'?

Any thoughts or discussion would be welcome,

Cheers,
Andy

P.S. If anyone is interested the above deal was the best I can find anywhere including the HTC Desire HD for free. £21.88 a month for 24 months, 600mins, 500 texts and 1GB internet on T-Mobile (who will share their phone and 3G network coverage with Orange in May 2011). It's a £25/month cashback deal with 5 refunds of £15 and there's a very fair two month window to submit bills.

nottseagull

I think these clauses amount to a restraint of trade and I'm surprised they've been getting away with it for so many years. You should have gone with 3.

davester

I went with 3, a free sim card PAYG, get to use skype, msn and facebook without any need to topup, I have had it for over a month and not topped up as Skype calls are cheaper and buy credit for that, and rest of my internet use is from home via a wifi link.

andy1988

Thanks for your replies.

Unfortunately the closest Three deal to the T-Mobile one I bought was £30 a month, which over the 2yr term would cost me a massive £194.88 more. By the nature of being a money saver this would be a huge price to pay simply for authorised MSN access. Plus the Three signal can be dodgy in some places I visit, the combination of Orange & T-Mobile 3G network in May will be a huge bonus.

I have actually used Facebook and MSN on the phone with no fees and no issues, i.e. they haven't been blocked. I'm pretty sure broadcasing the 3G internet as wifi would work, it's just some possible hidden fees im worried about as they are extortionate!

Cheers,
Andy

paddyrg

Ask T-mo! They will be able to tell you in a heartbeat whether you can use the data to use the phone as a wifi hotspot or not. Usually it's a no, but maybe it's a yes, so ask them (and let us know!). BTW they will not charge you for data used on the phone (unless you go over package regularly enough for them to suggest a different package - T-mo don't nail you for creeping over your package unlike the other networks) whether using MSN, youtube, whatever - you have the full internet at your fingertips all included. Buit using the phone as a modem would be recognised as non-phone-originated traffic and *may* be charged differently.

nottseagull

davester wrote: »

I went with 3, a free sim card PAYG, get to use skype, msn and facebook without any need to topup,

If I wanted a lengthy session on any of those, would I be able to replace the existing sim in my 3 mobile broadband dongle with one of those free sims?

davester

I don't think so the skype, msn and facebook are all smartphone apps which are not the same as the ones direct from the usual owners sites. Skype for example is called Skype for 3

If you get a free 3 sim, you can register it with the Planet3 website and turn off internet so that only planet 3, skype, msn and facebook apps work on the 3G, thus never beeing charged for data usage.

nzseries1

When my home broadband went down, I plugged my T-Mobile HTC into my laptop and used its mobile broadband on the laptop for a few days. T-Mobile never charged me any extra, and it worked really well.

I bet that if they really wanted to, they could look at the exact internet traffic and determine with reasonable probability that you're using it from a non-mobile device (it's not hard I'm reasonably sure). But would they bother? IMO not unless they had a very good reason.