cheap phone to allow tethering to kindle HD (pref virgin compatible)

emujuice

Hi all,

I'm looking for a cheap phone that will allow my dad to tether his kindle HD as hes in hospital long term. Hes currently on virgin payg with big data (unlimited) so should be good for surfing (?)
Ive given him my iphone 3gs but we cant get that to play nicely with the kindle, so were assuming an android phone would be best.
Thanks!

custardy

Does the iphone not allow you to set it up as a wireless hotspot?
Thats what I do on my present and past android handsets

chib

What is happening when tethering with the iPhone? I have used Personal Hotspot on a 3GS before with success.

Is it jailbroken? That seems to be the main cause of Apple issues in my experience.

gjchester

custardy wrote: »

Does the iphone not allow you to set it up as a wireless hotspot?
Thats what I do on my present and past android handsets

It does but it can be disabled by the network operator. I'm on Tesco and they don't do tethering at all so it does not appear as an option. Swap it to a Vodafone SIM card and the option appears.

Back to the OP, Tethering is usually an extra, just because has has unlimited data does not mean it can be used for tethering. If the network finds out he will be charged, and also most hospitals don't permit phones on wards (and yes I know most people carry them and don't think about it, but using one for surfing will be more obvious..)

john1

Virgin Kiss allows tethering


http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/viewProduct.do?productId=16185850



I have one and workes just fine with my HTC tablet

gjchester

john1 wrote: »

Virgin Kiss allows tethering


http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/viewProduct.do?productId=16185850



I have one and workes just fine with my HTC tablet

There are two sides to this.

Can the phone do it?
Does your contract allow it?


Just because you can does not mean you are allowed to under the contract. However unless you hammer it the network is not likely to investigate, if they do they will be able to tell if you are tethering, and you may be charged out of bundle costs.

Virgin may allow tethering but you should check the small print of your particular tariff.

john1

Kis phone has tethering under wifi settings also confirmed Virgin allow as per Krystal Evans Technical Team Service Advisor and Forum support


http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Mobile/Tethering-Yes-or-No/td-p/1102501


Tethering is something you can do, and as long as you stay within your data allowance then you won't be charged anymore - different plans have different allowances for data so best to check on your allowance through your account online or through 789.

tim_lb

john1 wrote: »

Kis phone has tethering under wifi settings also confirmed Virgin allow as per Krystal Evans Technical Team Service Advisor and Forum support


http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Mobile/Tethering-Yes-or-No/td-p/1102501


Tethering is something you can do, and as long as you stay within your data allowance then you won't be charged anymore - different plans have different allowances for data so best to check on your allowance through your account online or through 789.

I'm afraid Virgin have changed their T&Cs tethering is now out.

http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Mobile/Tethering-Yes-or-No/td-p/1102501/page/4

SavingSteve

Can they tell you are tethering on android? I was under the impression they could not.

If you're after a cheap android phone search on here for the huawei g300, not beautiful but great features and performance for the price

Quiet_Spark

SavingSteve wrote: »

Can they tell you are tethering on android? I was under the impression they could not.

There are numerous ways to detect tethering, from measuring TTL times all the way down to something as simple as looking at your user agent.

SavingSteve

If your tethering to an android tablet then the user agent is the same as would be on a phone? Ignorance alert.... What is TTL?