I have cut the cord. How liberating! Now 100% wireless.

[Tropicana]

That's why one has to read the T&Cs. Many providers have the right to state they offer "unlimited" but in most cases, there is a cap. When you sign the contract that states that they can say it's "unlimited" when actually it's not and it's covered in the conditions. Ultimately, the provider is not liable, you agreed to it when you signed it.

 

[Bluce Ree]

That's why one has to read the T&Cs. Many providers have the right to state they offer "unlimited" but in most cases, there is a cap. When you sign the contract that states that they can say it's "unlimited" when actually it's not and it's covered in the conditions. Ultimately, the provider is not liable, you agreed to it when you signed it.

That's been tested here and in Canada and it did not bode well for the providers. From what I've read, the rulings pretty much went by the dictionary definition of the word "unlimited" and said they can't redefine the word to suit their marketing. So, what the providers do now is, rater than cap you, they throttle if your product is "unlimited". It's still unlimited but it slows down after a certain amount of usage. Anything that is limited can't be called "unlimited", especially if there are overage charges because that would be a pure and outright contradiction and false application of the word "unlimited".

 

[Overmind One]

That's been tested here and in Canada and it did not bode well for the providers. From what I've read, the rulings pretty much went by the dictionary definition of the word "unlimited" and said they can't redefine the word to suit their marketing. So, what the providers do now is, rater than cap you, they throttle if your product is "unlimited". It's still unlimited but it slows down after a certain amount of usage. Anything that is limited can't be called "unlimited", especially if there are overage charges because that would be a pure and outright contradiction and false application of the word "unlimited".

 

[Overmind One]

Im baaaack....rooted and using phone internet to surf on my computer. Screw Sprint. Okay, after the rather heated discussion here, I started reading some of the stuff from other Sprint users and I found out that the TEP (Total Equipment Protection) includes a "deductible". You pay $8.00/mo to guard against breakage and theft, but if you claim on the policy you have to pay a deductible. Really? In the REAL world where users and Sprint stores live, your phone begins to depreciate as soon as you first turn it on. Your phone is GUARANTEED to be worth less than half of the original value in a year when the next model comes out. I put it to the test. My phone's power port on the bottom of the phone has been in "wiggle mode" for at least a month. I went into the Sprint store and told them I wanted them to fix it. Instead, they said they would replace the phone (which I had unrooted). But wait, they came back and told me that they knew I rooted the phone in the past and therefore they could not replace or repair the phone. Huh? I tried to invoke the TEP coverage and they said I could do it and all I had to pay was the deductable. I found out that the deductable is based on the ORIGINAL value of the phone, and for my phone that amounted to $100.00. But by my math, I would have already have paid that $100 in 11 months, and my last phone was also covered and there were no claims.

I left the store with my phone which they had wiped, and then told me they could not fix, and called Sprint Customer Service. They verified my suspicions and I became very angry (not at the representative). So, I am stuck with a phone with a faulty power port, which cannot be replaced normally because it had been rooted, and would have to pay a $100 deductable to replace it?


So, I decided to put on my Black Hat and I have not only rooted my phone again, but I have taken COMPLETE control over it and disabled all Sprint updates. I have regained control over my Android router and I am now back online using my phone as my internet. I have cloaked my PC user agent, and now am completely willing to go nine deep into Sprint for their practices. SCREW THEM.

No guilt...anymore.

BTW, there is absolutely nothing in the Sprint contract which restricts rooting your device. But Samsung has such a policy and they will actually allow you to root the phone if you ask them via email. Android developers need rooted phones. Still is comes back to Sprint for not notifying me of the Samsung restriction. My other choice was to leave Sprint, but they want to charge me a $350.00 early termination fee. So, if they terminate me for my black hat behaviors, I get the honor of being kicked off Sprint without having to pay the ETF and I can move to Verizon.

 

[Bluce Ree]

View attachment 7579

I dunno why but that pic makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

 

[Overmind One]

I dunno why but that pic makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Its a hug! Its supposed to do that. Its why I give them away to all my friends. :surprise:

I am soooo rooted. Im so rooted that the only thing left of Sprint in my phone is the ID of the phone to allow them to give me service. . My personal morality would have prevented me from hacking my phone to the degree I have done, but they pissed me off and played dirty. Do unto others....

I am surfing happily on my desktop computer using my phone (tethered). I cant do it over wifi but I can tether directly and there is absolutely no way for Sprint to detect how I am using my internet. Now, this ad really means something to me in a very real way:



So, why did I have to completely root/custom ROM/lock my phone with Sprint to get what they advertise? I will be canceling my "Total Equipment Protection" next. If Sprint decides they want to boot me, then I have saved the (recently increased) early termination fee of $350.00 plus I can sell my phone on eBay. Ill just buy a new phone and switch to Verizon. Does this make me an activist?

 

[Bluce Ree]

Its a hug! Its supposed to do that. Its why I give them away to all my friends. :surprise:

I am soooo rooted. Im so rooted that the only thing left of Sprint in my phone is the ID of the phone to allow them to give me service. . My personal morality would have prevented me from hacking my phone to the degree I have done, but they pissed me off and played dirty. Do unto others....

I am surfing happily on my desktop computer using my phone (tethered). I cant do it over wifi but I can tether directly and there is absolutely no way for Sprint to detect how I am using my internet. Now, this ad really means something to me in a very real way:

View attachment 7582

So, why did I have to completely root/custom ROM/lock my phone with Sprint to get what they advertise? I will be canceling my "Total Equipment Protection" next. If Sprint decides they want to boot me, then I have saved the (recently increased) early termination fee of $350.00 plus I can sell my phone on eBay. Ill just buy a new phone and switch to Verizon. Does this make me an activist?

Oh, yeah? Well, I'm sooooooooo rooted the only thing left of MY phone is a bunch of loose parts.

 

[Overmind One]

Oh, yeah? Well, I'm sooooooooo rooted the only thing left of MY phone is a bunch of loose parts.

View attachment 7583

Dayammmm! Your phone must be military grade with all those big ass parts! .

The original root I did for the phone was using a stock ROM which had been rooted. This time, it is a personally customized non-stock ROM created using root. After customizing it, you can create your own ROM backup including the custom tweaks and you have your own unique ROM you can restore. Turns out that the "disabling" of the Android router is not something done to the router, its a program that co-opts the connections so that they cannot be used outside of the phone via wifi or USB. Removing that program releases the router. Also, the Sprint installer which runs under different permissions than root (hidden user?) needs to be frozen using Titanium. After doing that, the rest is easy. Cant give instructions, but suffice it to say that it does work beautifully.

 

[Bluce Ree]

Dayammmm! Your phone must be military grade with all those big ass parts! .

The original root I did for the phone was using a stock ROM which had been rooted. This time, it is a personally customized non-stock ROM created using root. After customizing it, you can create your own ROM backup including the custom tweaks and you have your own unique ROM you can restore. Turns out that the "disabling" of the Android router is not something done to the router, its a program that co-opts the connections so that they cannot be used outside of the phone via wifi or USB. Removing that program releases the router. Also, the Sprint installer which runs under different permissions than root (hidden user?) needs to be frozen using Titanium. After doing that, the rest is easy. Cant give instructions, but suffice it to say that it does work beautifully.

I was all set to acquire myself a Galaxy S3 until I read this:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57460125-94/t-mobiles-pricier-samsung-galaxy-s3-will-not-get-lte/

A T-Mobile spokesperson confirms that the Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) won't ride T-Mo's future LTE network.

So, I could either dump t-mobile or just opt for another phone. I like t-mobile. They have great prepay plans and unlimited everything, including international texting. So, I guess the plan is waiting for the next big smart phone unless someone comes out with a tool to modify the radio baseband firmware, at which point any unlocked S3 will do.

 

[Overmind One]

I was all set to acquire myself a Galaxy S3 until I read this:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57460125-94/t-mobiles-pricier-samsung-galaxy-s3-will-not-get-lte/



So, I could either dump t-mobile or just opt for another phone. I like t-mobile. They have great prepay plans and unlimited everything, including international texting. So, I guess the plan is waiting for the next big smart phone unless someone comes out with a tool to modify the radio baseband firmware, at which point any unlocked S3 will do.

Can the radio baseband be modified? I did not know that. I did know that none of the Galaxy phones (including the new Note) have an LTE radio inside. I will just keep my Galaxy II until the Galaxy IV comes out. Its a beautiful and fast phone and does what I need it to do. But that Nexus phone at Sprint has a real LTE radio in it. Maybe the next Nexus phone? Im with you on the Galaxy S III. For me though, its the curved back and the soap bar shape of the thing that turn me off. The slightly larger screen is not enough of a jump. The cameras are identical and even the processor is the same.

 

[Bluce Ree]

Can the radio baseband be modified? I did not know that. I did know that none of the Galaxy phones (including the new Note) have an LTE radio inside. I will just keep my Galaxy II until the Galaxy IV comes out. Its a beautiful and fast phone and does what I need it to do. But that Nexus phone at Sprint has a real LTE radio in it. Maybe the next Nexus phone? Im with you on the Galaxy S III. For me though, its the curved back and the soap bar shape of the thing that turn me off. The slightly larger screen is not enough of a jump. The cameras are identical and even the processor is the same.

Nearly all new phones over the last year come with all radio capabilities built in, at least for their markets. It's much cheaper at the manufacturing level to build one radio with all capabilities and activate them on distribution than it is to run parallel assembly lines with different radio components. They're turned on and off by baseband firmware, which is only modifiable with special tools available to the manufacturers for the moment. It's only a matter of time before this capability falls into the hands of hackers.

LTE is still new and only started appearing in very late model phones, such as the Galaxy S3. Otherwise, nearly all phones went out with crippled pentaband radios over the last year.