Tethering Error
jtown
Contributor - Level 3

That's all I know.  Tethering Error.

I check the Portable WiFi hotspot box, get the "checking subscription status" overlay, get the "Turning WiFi on" message, some message flashes by to quickly to read (I think it shows my SSID), then "Error".

I was using Portable WiFi Hotspot tethering from around 8pm to 9:30pm when it suddenly stopped working.  Under "Portable WiFi hotspot", it said "Error" with no other explanation.  I powered-cycled the phone with no change.  I shut down, pulled the battery for a few minutes, restarted with no change.  I did a SIM pull (first for 15 seconds as tier 1 support suggested, then for 5 minutes as tier 2 suggested) with no change.  The tier 2 person said she was going to check the switch while I was powered down for the 5 minute period, then call me but I haven't received the callback approximately 30 minutes later.  Also tried USB tethering with the same result.

I can still access the internet just fine on the phone but tethering seems broken.  Has anyone else seen this behavior from their phone?  The Verizon rep assures me that there is no block on my account (I've moved about 7 gigs via 3G on my unlimited account this billing cycle) and that there are no known problems in my area.  I didn't make any changes to my setup before this happened and I've been using tethering on this phone for months.  Years on my previous phone.

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Re: Tethering Error
jtown
Contributor - Level 3

Beautiful.  They didn't call back and now they're closed.  Way to follow up with an open issue.  Stay classy, Verizon!

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Re: Tethering Error
jtown
Contributor - Level 3

Finally got a followup call after I'd driven over half an hour (each way) to the closest store where they fixed my problem by removing tethering from my plan, then putting it back.  Not terribly thrilled but at least it's working.  Still have no idea what the problem was or what caused it.

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Re: Tethering Error
jtown
Contributor - Level 3

Man, I am one unhappy Verizon customer right now.  I used a Touch Pro 2 with PDANet for over two years because Verizon's tethering software was so poor.  But I still paid the tethering charge and stayed under the 5 gig limit of the tethering service because I'm such a good guy.

So now I've finally got a phone with built-in tethering that worked beautifully with no need for special software of any kind whether using USB or WiFi but I ca no longer use the legit tetherings method because Verizon can't seem to keep my account working.  I'm back to having to use 3rd party software to do basic things that I'm paying Verizon a pretty penny to be allowed to do.  And they wonder why people try to tether without paying for it.  Why would people want to pay for something that Verizon can't get right?

And, yes, I intend to keep paying the monthly fee because I'm going to continue to tether my phone and I want to be able to vent with the fury of the righteous about any issues I have.  Maybe I'll try to get it fixed while I'm on vacation.

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Re: Tethering Error
motleycat
Enthusiast - Level 2

If you don't get it working, try the free app, FoxFi.  Works great for me!

Good luck.

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Re: Tethering Error
jtown
Contributor - Level 3

Thanks, I'd already added that.  And normal tethering is working again right now.  Happened to check it around 5pm.  I haven't contacted Verizon directly to discuss the second loss of tethering so I have no idea why it's working again.  Or how long it will work.  I guess I'll just keep the other tools handy for the next outage.

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