Bigbird wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:22 am
"You are prohibited from inserting a Cricket SIM Card into a device other than a Cricket authorized phone, smartphone, or tablet Device to access our data services." Does that mean eventually they will notice it's being used strictly in a router and cancel my plan or is this just something to discourage you from trying?
Unfortunately due to ineffective and overbearing regulation in the U.S., wireless data is not competitive.
It's solely not the provider's fault, we, including homeowners fighting tooth and nail when setting up more towers (because "towers give you the SARS-COV2" or "towers cause cancer") are all to blame for this.
This has lead to a restricted bandwidth problem - which is to say, wireless data providers DO NOT want you to use them for your home internet. Their numbers depend on the breakage model and the home internet pool (like almost everyone here) distorts and breaks the breakage model.
This is all to say your reading of the Cricket T&C is correct.
If your usage pattern cause your neighbors harm and trigger the alerting on the towers and the backend, they will ban your account. ATT is also known to blacklist IMEIs for repeat offenders.
There is a market for these ATT banned devices and certain resellers do "TMobile" specials for such now and then.
Just like the iPad plan could be used in routers
until it couldn't, the cheap Cricket more plans currently work in routers
until they day it won't.
Bigbird wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:22 am
And if so is there something to prevent them from detecting it?
There are tricks, and all are in a gray area.
Some are literally and entirely illegal so we don't do them here. THE ONLY way to "fix" these are through meaningful reform of current regulations that reduce the burden on providers, reclassify them as essential utilities instead of as providers of entertainment services and empower us citizens to build their own last mile runs.
Cricket definitely has an eye on this kind of usage and
as of yesterday released a dedicated $90 data only plan that is more in sync with your needs.
While no guarantee it won't stop working, it's "less in a gray area" (where we all operate there wrt to "phone plans in routers").
For perspective, over 200 homes in my unincorporated, very rural city operate using a mix of TMobile and ATT phone plans for home internet with some Verizon thrown in where there's LTE coverage.
We have effective communication/messaging protocols using Nextdoor and Facebook groups in place for those needing to watch a game together on a Friday evening or a job interview and so on to keep all of us and our wireless data providers happy.
The unofficial pact seems to be as long as we are all on the same page, maintain our subscriber count, pay them ontime, don't complain unless it's really not our fault, we get to do what we need to do.