5 ms·

I have just stopped connecting to most wifi hotspots altogether unless I'm going to be somewhere for a few days (hotel, conference, etc). LTE is just faster and

I have just stopped connecting to most wifi hotspots altogether unless I'm going to be somewhere for a few days (hotel, conference, etc). LTE is just faster and more reliable, and tethering is dead simple these days.

enraged_camel 11y ago
The problem is that most people's mobile data plans have caps, so if they do any kind of non-trivial web browsing, they need to connect via wifi.
- _delirium 11y ago
  The prevalence of stuff that likes to auto-update without asking you makes this even more dicey. I ran through 50% of my monthly mobile-data quota once when OSX decided to download a big OS update over tethering (my monthly quota is 1GB). It'd be nice if there were an OS-level service letting me mark certain SSIDs as not suitable for unnecessary data use, the way Android knows not to download app updates over the data connection. Nowadays I mostly avoid tethering unless I really have to use it, since it's always rolling the dice whether it's going to eat hundreds of megabytes of my data quota without asking. Fortunately, there are so many wifi hotspots around that I'm finding tethering at all increasingly unnecessary. And a VPN takes care of the security issues well enough.
  - sliverstorm 11y ago
    Windows 8.1 & 10 let you mark WiFi networks as "metered". Can't do it with USB or Bluetooth tethering, but anyway it does exactly what you are hoping for- the OS will suppress most background network activity. It even tracks "metered network usage" in a separate bucket from regular network usage. I would expect OSX has a similar setting somewhere, with the increase in metered networks.
    - dogma1138 11y ago
      Hmm yes you as long as the tethering shows as a network interface (which all of them do) you can manage the metered settings individually, and every device will have it's own virtual network interface even if you sync 2 different phones via bluetooth. The only time you "can't" do it is if you are using a Wifi Hotspot method in which case you'll have to set the Wireless connection to a metered one so it will keep track of the cap no matter to which HotSpot you connect too. That said Windows doesn't block applications from accessing metered connections it moderates it self(Windows Update, Windows Mail etc...), has a separate setting for what ever MSFT calls "Metro" apps these days (so "Store" apps can be toggled individually with metered access policies), and for windows services so if Spotify decides to download a playlist you might get a surprise bill in the mail.
      - dragonwriter 11y ago
        > Hmm yes you as long as the tethering shows as a network interface (which all of them do) you can manage the metered settings individually Everything I've seen on Win 10 metered connections -- including from Microsoft -- indicates that only WiFi (not-metered by default) and cellular (metered by default) connections can be set as metered, and that other network interfaces are always treated as non-metered and cannot be set as metered.
        dogma1138 11y ago
        Unless you phone emulates an Ethernet connection it will detect it as mobile broadband and set it up as metered automatically, i never had issues with that...
        paralelogram 11y ago
        All Android phones emulate an Ethernet connection.
    - jevinskie 11y ago
      Android 6 has the ability to mark WiFi networks as "metered". I'm not sure how much background traffic that disables though.
  - mrsteveman1 11y ago
    > It'd be nice if there were an OS-level service letting me mark certain SSIDs as not suitable for unnecessary data use, the way Android knows not to download app updates over the data connection. Take a look at this for OS X: https://www.tripmode.ch/ https://www.tripmode.ch/ > TripMode is turned ON automatically when your Mac is connected to a mobile hotspot. > TripMode only allows Internet access to apps important to you. Allow more apps when you need to.
some-guy 11y ago
Are you in the US? How lenient are carriers these days when it comes to tethering? I have AT&T and while their bandwidth and coverage is good, I cannot get unlimited data with my plan so I'm SOL.
- eli 11y ago
  My T-Mobile plan comes with 7GB of tethering. Not quite unlimited, but I've never come close to hitting it.
  - r00fus 11y ago
    I have TMO with 4.5GB + tethering and have used it copiously. On a normal month I never get near the limit. On a heavy month, usually when traveling with family, I have dipped into and subsequently drained my Data Stash, but I currently have 13GB there for that heavy month. In general however, I rely heavily on hotel wifi, as weak data signal is a real thing and drains battery. Tethering is a great backup, but not my daily driver even if I had unlimited.
- wtallis 11y ago
  Since the new FCC net neutrality rules went into effect, carriers are no longer allowed to actively interfere with tethering.
  - JustSomeNobody 11y ago
    Unless you're on a grandfathered AT&T unlimited plan.
    - wtallis 11y ago
      The FCC's regulations have no such exception. Any "grandfathering" is purely AT&T's generosity and has no legal significance. They're still bound by the current FCC regulations.
      - 11y ago
sehugg 11y ago
I like being able to click web links without wondering if it's going to load a bunch of 3 MB images or autoplay a video. I agree that LTE is usually orders more reliable than 95% of wifi hotspots, unfortunately.

enraged_camel 11y ago

The problem is that most people's mobile data plans have caps, so if they do any kind of non-trivial web browsing, they need to connect via wifi.

_delirium 11y ago
The prevalence of stuff that likes to auto-update without asking you makes this even more dicey. I ran through 50% of my monthly mobile-data quota once when OSX decided to download a big OS update over tethering (my monthly quota is 1GB). It'd be nice if there were an OS-level service letting me mark certain SSIDs as not suitable for unnecessary data use, the way Android knows not to download app updates over the data connection. Nowadays I mostly avoid tethering unless I really have to use it, since it's always rolling the dice whether it's going to eat hundreds of megabytes of my data quota without asking. Fortunately, there are so many wifi hotspots around that I'm finding tethering at all increasingly unnecessary. And a VPN takes care of the security issues well enough.
- sliverstorm 11y ago
  Windows 8.1 & 10 let you mark WiFi networks as "metered". Can't do it with USB or Bluetooth tethering, but anyway it does exactly what you are hoping for- the OS will suppress most background network activity. It even tracks "metered network usage" in a separate bucket from regular network usage. I would expect OSX has a similar setting somewhere, with the increase in metered networks.
  - dogma1138 11y ago
    Hmm yes you as long as the tethering shows as a network interface (which all of them do) you can manage the metered settings individually, and every device will have it's own virtual network interface even if you sync 2 different phones via bluetooth. The only time you "can't" do it is if you are using a Wifi Hotspot method in which case you'll have to set the Wireless connection to a metered one so it will keep track of the cap no matter to which HotSpot you connect too. That said Windows doesn't block applications from accessing metered connections it moderates it self(Windows Update, Windows Mail etc...), has a separate setting for what ever MSFT calls "Metro" apps these days (so "Store" apps can be toggled individually with metered access policies), and for windows services so if Spotify decides to download a playlist you might get a surprise bill in the mail.
    - dragonwriter 11y ago
      > Hmm yes you as long as the tethering shows as a network interface (which all of them do) you can manage the metered settings individually Everything I've seen on Win 10 metered connections -- including from Microsoft -- indicates that only WiFi (not-metered by default) and cellular (metered by default) connections can be set as metered, and that other network interfaces are always treated as non-metered and cannot be set as metered.
      - dogma1138 11y ago
        Unless you phone emulates an Ethernet connection it will detect it as mobile broadband and set it up as metered automatically, i never had issues with that...
        paralelogram 11y ago
        All Android phones emulate an Ethernet connection.
  - jevinskie 11y ago
    Android 6 has the ability to mark WiFi networks as "metered". I'm not sure how much background traffic that disables though.
- mrsteveman1 11y ago
  > It'd be nice if there were an OS-level service letting me mark certain SSIDs as not suitable for unnecessary data use, the way Android knows not to download app updates over the data connection. Take a look at this for OS X: https://www.tripmode.ch/ https://www.tripmode.ch/ > TripMode is turned ON automatically when your Mac is connected to a mobile hotspot. > TripMode only allows Internet access to apps important to you. Allow more apps when you need to.

some-guy 11y ago

Are you in the US? How lenient are carriers these days when it comes to tethering? I have AT&T and while their bandwidth and coverage is good, I cannot get unlimited data with my plan so I'm SOL.

eli 11y ago
My T-Mobile plan comes with 7GB of tethering. Not quite unlimited, but I've never come close to hitting it.
- r00fus 11y ago
  I have TMO with 4.5GB + tethering and have used it copiously. On a normal month I never get near the limit. On a heavy month, usually when traveling with family, I have dipped into and subsequently drained my Data Stash, but I currently have 13GB there for that heavy month. In general however, I rely heavily on hotel wifi, as weak data signal is a real thing and drains battery. Tethering is a great backup, but not my daily driver even if I had unlimited.
wtallis 11y ago
Since the new FCC net neutrality rules went into effect, carriers are no longer allowed to actively interfere with tethering.
- JustSomeNobody 11y ago
  Unless you're on a grandfathered AT&T unlimited plan.
  - wtallis 11y ago
    The FCC's regulations have no such exception. Any "grandfathering" is purely AT&T's generosity and has no legal significance. They're still bound by the current FCC regulations.
    - 11y ago

sehugg 11y ago

I like being able to click web links without wondering if it's going to load a bunch of 3 MB images or autoplay a video. I agree that LTE is usually orders more reliable than 95% of wifi hotspots, unfortunately.