08-11-2017 10:23 AM - edited 01-04-2022 02:28 PM
I've been tethering with public mobile for months. It stopped working this week. I know it's not my phone as I used other people's SIM cards in my phone flawlessly. I've looked into forum posted but everything seems to be from years ago and involve messing with your APN settings. Nope. I need this resolved ASAP.
08-13-2017 11:09 PM
08-11-2017 09:29 PM
The tethering problem has been resolved. I have completed some fairly extensive testing and I can say it works using both isp.mb.com and sp.mb.com. The latency is a lot better with sp.mb.com, perhaps due to not having to go through a logging routine. I have always used sp.mb.com, going back to what has always worked.
08-11-2017 07:58 PM - edited 08-11-2017 09:02 PM
Hi @will13am
Unfortunately this is entirely a core network issue and I'm not much of an expert when it comes to the core. I assume Telus engineers will identify and resolve the issue soon.
I know back in the day when tethering was a new feature, people would use it all the time and operators wanted to be able to charge customers for it. So they convinced phone manufacturers to report tethering status to the network. Pretty much all devices do this now, so the network is aware if the phone is being used for tethering or not. Most operators nowadays don't care to differentiate pricing for tethering, but it was a "feature" a few years ago. There are ways to mask the tethering status from being sent to the network, but it involves rooting or jailbreaking phones to do this.
Nexus 5 example:
https://nexus5.gadgethacks.com/how-to/tether-your-nexus-5-without-your-carrier-knowing-0155546/
Having said all that, it's up to Telus to determine what the issue is. The RAN does not care. It simply relays the phone status to the core network.
Personally, I only have sp.mb.com and I'm not having any tethering issues.
08-11-2017 02:45 PM - edited 08-11-2017 04:59 PM
@makkahn28, it is not an APN related issue. With whatever APN we had on our phones, everything was working up until a few days ago. The APN settings didn't self corrupt on all our phones. Anyway, the techs are on it.
Update: I just receive a phone call from Public Mobile tech support. I learned a little about the two APNs and their differences at the network end. Apparently isp.mb.com was supposed to be the "official" tethering APN. Those wanting to use tethering were supposed to be asked to use this APN. This APN incorporated some information logging on tethering for monitoring, potentially marketing purposes. The non tethering APN sp.mb.com also supports tethering as they don't block it. So unless customers "got the memo" about using the tethering APN, it is really a free for all. Recently, the network problem they have been having was with the isp.mb.com APN. People were to migrate over to the sp.mb.com. I guess the problem grew and tethering is being affected on the sp.mb.com. I tried a tethering session with the tech. He did some diagnostics and got some data points. The traffic bung up is definitely at the network end. He detected some brief requests to websites and then things stopped. Its back to the drawing board. Stay tuned. If I get any more information, I will post it. @sheytoon, if you are around, we sure could use some of your expert networking knowledge here.
Update 2: I just received another call back from tech support. They believe that they have found and resolved the problem that is breaking tethering. I don't have a device to do a tethering test at the moment and so I will try at home tonight. Others who had problems with tethering, please try and report status. Use the sp.mb.com APN, include default,dun in the APN type.
08-11-2017 02:34 PM
Hi. Please try these
APN Settings:
Name: Mobile Internet
APN: sp.mb.com
Proxy: Not set
Port: Not set
Username: Not set
Password: Not set
Server: Not set
MMSC: http://aliasredirect.net/proxy/mb/mmsc
MMS proxy: 74.49.0.18
MMS port: 80
MCC: 302
MNC: 220
Authentication type: Not set
APN type: default,mms,agps,supl,fota,hipri
APN protocol: IPv4
APN roaming protocol: IPv4
APN enable/disable: APN enabled
Bearer: Unspecified
MVNO type: GID
MVNO value: 4D4F
APN Tethering Settings:
Name: Tethered Mobile Internet
APN: isp.mb.com
Proxy: Not set
Port: Not set
Username: Not set
Password: Not set
Server: Not set
MMSC: Not set
MMS proxy: Not set
MMS port: Not set
MCC: 302
MNC: 220
Authentication type: Not set
APN type: dun
APN protocol: IPv4
APN roaming protocol: IPv4
APN enable/disable: APN enabled
Bearer: Unspecified
MVNO type: GID
MVNO value: 4D4F
08-11-2017 01:48 PM
@Luddite wrote:@gflarity @will13am A friend and I had this issue yesterday. We both use iPhones and the "cure" was to change our APN setting to sp.mb.com from isp.mb.com.
This has affected several people and I understand PM's tech team is looking for the cause.
@Luddite, the APN isp.mb.com does not seem to work on android devices. All data stops working, not just tethering. I sent a message to the moderator team to followup on my ticket from two days ago concerning the tethering problem. Simon responded back saying that this is a system wide issue affect a lot of the customer base and it is being worked on. I was told the problem should be resolved shortly. So, I think we just need to sit tight.
08-11-2017 01:30 PM
My APN is already sp.mb.com 😞
08-11-2017 01:25 PM
08-11-2017 01:25 PM
Thanks wetcoaster. It's nice to have a easy to click link the instructions below are just ridiculous.
08-11-2017 01:13 PM
Thanks luddite, will try that.
08-11-2017 01:01 PM
@gflarity @will13am A friend and I had this issue yesterday. We both use iPhones and the "cure" was to change our APN setting to sp.mb.com from isp.mb.com.
This has affected several people and I understand PM's tech team is looking for the cause.
08-11-2017 12:51 PM - edited 08-11-2017 01:09 PM
@gflarity wrote:Thanks for the info. I'll be switching my entire family if I don't get prompt response to this. This is core functionality and I expect a higher level of support than having to post in a forum. I don't mind not having a number to call, but this is ridiculous.
You can directly contact the @Moderator_Team for assistance with problems that need technical back end support or account access. (The mods are PMs customer service reps.)
Include all relevant data, like account number, phone number etc.
For more information on contacting them check out: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Knowledge-Base/Updated-Contacting-our-Community-Moder...
08-11-2017 11:48 AM
Thanks for the info. I'll be switching my entire family if I don't get prompt response to this. This is core functionality and I expect a higher level of support than having to post in a forum. I don't mind not having a number to call, but this is ridiculous.
08-11-2017 10:48 AM
@gflarity, I am experiencing the same thing. There have been a few threads created on this topic. Some people have reported that they lost tethering but got it back. I have not been so lucky myself. I have inquired about the problem and they opened up a ticket to investigate. It has been a couple of days and still no resolution.