T-Mobile Hotspot Masking

[lolchris]

Hi there, first post here! I recently have run into an issue–my 10GB mobile hotspot limit. I have unlimited data on 4+ lines on TMO, but what I would like is a tethering solution without a limit for just one of my lines.

I have an iPhone 11 but am open to buying gear to make it work. I really just would like a reliable, unlimited backup internet solution. I'm reading into EasyTether/PDANet but have seen mixed reviews. Wondering if anyone here has a better solution! Almost all of the tethering I would do would be from my iPhone to my MacBook.

Any help is appreciated!!

[BillA]

Currently pretty much all phone plans have some kind of hotspot limit.
If you don't want to get a full blown router to bypass the limit, you could go with an inexpensive GL-Inet MT300N mini travel router smaller than a pack of cigarettes.
https://www.amazon.com/GL-iNET-GL-MT300 ... B073TSK26W

All you need to do is flash it with GoldenOrb firmware:
GL-MT300N-V2-GO2021-08-04.zip
http://www.aturnofthenut.com/upload/GL-MT300N-V2-GO2021-08-04.zip
via bootloader mode https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=6007#p6007
Plug in your phone into MT300N's USB port, configure the settings/TTL to bypass the hotspot limit (https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=10303#p10303), and you can either use the ethernet port or WiFi to supply unlimited internet to your Mac/PC and other devices (provided that your phone plan comes with unlimited phone data, hotspot doesn't matter).

[gscheb]

Hello
There is a way to use the factory firmware on those GL.Inet routers. The use a type of rooter as well. Here is a link on it.
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?t=20 ... =20#p15672

[lolchris]

Thank you both!! I have one more question as I've bypassed the hotspot limit.

I bought a cheap Android phone and installed EasyTether on it–this seems to have worked well for USB tethering to my laptop. The hotspot *should* be throttled to 3G, but I am getting great speeds so I am sure it is using the phone's LTE connection. Question is–could I just plug my phone's USB into a router and follow this guide, similar to the above?

https://docs.gl-inet.com/en/2/app/tether/

[LoveMeSomeCALTE]

I recommend you pay the guy who developed EasyTether because he put in a lot of effort into it but don't think of using it for reliable home internet. It's meant for emergency use, not sustained use.

[lolchris]

I did pay for EasyTether–and I plan on using it for emergency use, but don't see the problem in someone using it for sustained use either–it's the data that I'm already paying for and I'm not even a heavy user.

[LoveMeSomeCALTE]

but don't see the problem in someone using it for sustained use either–it's the data that I'm already paying for and I'm not even a heavy user.

To be clear I'm not making a ethical or moral point.

EasyTether is a software router solution that runs on a phone/tablet - a device that's not designed to run 24x7.

My point is that this is a more expensive (running costs as well as initial setup) and less practical solution than an LTE modem and an Archer c7.

I have writeups here that details a setup that's $80 all in including all cables etc that is designed to run 24x7 and does run 24x7.

[lolchris]

To be clear I'm not making a ethical or moral point.

EasyTether is a software router solution that runs on a phone/tablet - a device that's not designed to run 24x7.

My point is that this is a more expensive (running costs as well as initial setup) and less practical solution than an LTE modem and an Archer c7.

I have writeups here that details a setup that's $80 all in including all cables etc that is designed to run 24x7 and does run 24x7.

Hm, interesting. I don't plan on running it 24/7 but it is nice to have the option to work on my laptop from anywhere with service. The LTE modem is interesting–will have to do my research. I'm limited (I think) by having to make do with the SIM card from T-Mobile–that's why I went with a phone. Also it has to be able to easily hide tethering or else I'd be reduced to 3G speeds.

[LoveMeSomeCALTE]

Hm, interesting. I don't plan on running it 24/7

I missed that detail. If you don't plan on running it 24/7, your current setup is ok because you've already spent the money and comfortable with it.

Also it has to be able to easily hide tethering or else I'd be reduced to 3G speeds.

You can't hide tethering from the providers. They have insight into what's going on.

The games we play here with using VPN and changing TTL is not to escape/hiding tethering but bypass the traffic shaping these providers do to the bulk of the tethering patterns they see.

With our VPN and changing TTL shenanigans, the providers still know we're tethering - it's just that we are such a small fraction of the userbase that as long as we don't blatantly abuse the towers, it's not worth spending the engineering $$$$ on their side to traffic shape us.

This changes from provider to provider.

For example Visible is exclusively built by hotspot users and they are spending considerable engineering $$$$ on their side to traffic shape those users. They have the technology to do deep packet inspection.

A few of their team do presentations on how they use Hashicorp Nomad to run realtime deep packet inspection tasks in a highly available environment. It's a matter of time before Visible shuts down all hotspot use that they don't deem "typical"