Unlimited Data with Tethering on Android killed when swapped to iPhone

[Anonymous]

I am writing this to let anyone else considering what I have done to think again before going any further with their phone choice.  

I have been a long-term monthly customer with O2 and have had unlimited data plus tethering on my Android phone for years.  

I have just purchased a sim-free iphone and asked for a nano SIM from O2.  Having enabled the iphone on the same contract as before I now fine that the tethering feature (portable Hotspot) is blocked by O2 just because it is an iphone.  

The data facility still works but interestingly when I called support and the APN values were changed to a "non iPhone tariff" value, the portable Hotspot feature immediately started working......for a few seconds!

Since then no matter how many times I have tried "chatting online" with various CS reps the story is tha same"

"That is an old tariff and tethering is not allowed"   

What possible logic is there in that argument when moments ago it was perfectly "allowed" when using my S3  ???????

[MI5]

iPhones have always had different tethering rules to all other phones....
We are also being told now that the old unlimited data tariffs are limited to 4gb.

[Anonymous]

Totally confuses me as surly both use the same dynamics to tether ?

Im on the undertaking that tethering is allowed for consumer monthly contract customers.

I'd circumvent live chat and speak to customer services on 202 again.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your thoughts.  It is interesting that I had one single telephone based interaction with a CS lady who sounded like she knew the issues and got me to change the APN values and hey presto the "portable Hotspot" feature was working (I even managed to changed the hotspot name!).  I hung up after thanking her and would you  believe it - the next time I clicked on the "portable Hotspot" option I got the usual web page suggestion as to how I might do this on "this account" - which is basically a lightly veiled attempt to get me to "upgrade".

I will be telephoning tomorrow again and hoping that I end up talking to someone who is empowered to make a discretionary "allowance" for an old customer... 

Lastly, if iPhones tether "differently" then why can I not be told how to do it.  Instead I am - oddly - allowed to continue with a "non iphone APN setting so that my unlimited data contract is honoured but even more oddly I am not allowed to tether ?!?!?!  none of it makes any logical or technical sense.

[Anonymous]

Indeed, when I check my data amount remaining I can see that the maximum allowed is 4GB.

[Anonymous]

So, isn't there an equivalent modern tariff he could go on that would allow tethering? Sure CS should have warned him about this before the switch? Of course you should have bought a note 4 instead of a iPhone, (just saying this before @Cleoriff arrives here )

[MI5]

Are you now on an iData tariff and what apn's are you using?

[Anonymous]

I don't blame you being frustrated / confused with this.

I agree how can moving from one phone AND OS to another have a bearing on this.

Their has been some recent discussion on the legacy unlimited tariffs ,and the implementation of a cap of 4G. Again another grey area if the tariff is described as Unlimited !

Looking forward to your update.

[Anonymous]

I know I know - my first iPhone experience has not been good after so many years of "freedom" in Androidistan 🙂

[Anonymous]

This is all O2 systems and not the hardware on balance. 😉