Welcome back to another exciting edition of my amazing blog.  And without further ado, here she goes…..I have received a few messages in the last couple days since I posted the blog about keeping Verizon’s unlimited data plans.  In the picture of my new razrs homescreen there is a folder marked tethering, some of you are curious about the tethering apps I use or if I just pay for a tethering plan and use the mobile hotspot that comes with the phone. Well the short answer to that is of course no.  I am all about getting the most out of my phone while paying as little as possible as you can tell.

Some limited data plans they sell now include tethering, but then again, you will use up your data within a couple weeks.  Leaving you stressing at the end of the month as to not go over your data allowance.  For those of us still fighting the good fight and on unlimited data plans, unfortunately, tethering does not come included.   I am here to tell you now, there is a solution to that, and you don’t have to be a tech genius.  In the past, you had to be very tech savvy and be able to root your phone before you could avoid paying for tethering fees.   If you are that such person, the best free tethering app out there is WiFi Tether For Root.  Its easy to use, but again, you have to be able to root your phone to get it to work.

Now, for those of us who don’t have the time to learn how to root our phones, our good friends at FoxFi have created an app where you no longer have to root your phone to get free wifi tether.  You simply just download the app, turn it on, and you are good to go.  It is also not just for unrooted users, if you are rooted, the app will work just the same.

Now both apps are fantastic options, it just depends on if you want to root your phone or not.  Now, there are some older phones that Foxfi may not be compatable with, particularly some HTC phones, so do your research before you download anything.  Also, some carriers, I think sprint is one of them, who took them out of the google play store. You can still download them. First open up your phones settings, and click on the security option, and make sure there is a check mark next to  ”Unknown Sources – Allow Installation Of non-Market Apps.”  After you have done that, you can go to one of these websites and download the android apk directly to your phone.

For WiFi Tether for Rooted Users go here.

For FoxFi Tether for Non-Rooted Users go here. 

Again, thanks for reading my posts, and I hope this helps.  If you have any questions or just want to tell me you love me feel free to message me or leave a comment.

-Nick

I Fought Big Red, And I Won!!! haha

Let me first start out by saying, that all companies have their pros and cons, and Verizon is no different.  As a carrier in the U.S., I think they are the best cellular provider we have available, their coverage is unmatched.  That coverage definitely comes at a premium, but as they say (i know, who they hell is “they?”), you get what you pay for. I am 32, and have been a loyal Verizon customer since before cell phones could be bricked, they WERE actually bricks .

But lately I have become increasingly irked by their continuing modifications to their plans, none of which actually saves me any money, or gives me any extra data allowance.  They seem to be charging more for their data plans, while giving you less data. Its not like these phones now a days use LESS data.  All of this,  I am sure, you are already aware of.  So if you are like me, and you want to keep all your unlimited data, but want one of these new fancy 4g, blazing fast smartphones: This is my story:

When Verizon tells you that when you upgrade your phone, you will lose your unlimited data, they aren’t telling you the whole story.  You only lose your unlimited data plan if you upgrade your phone as subsidized pricing, untimately signing you to a new contract with a limited data plan. Normally these prices fall between $100 up to $300.  I know you are probably thinking, if that is the normal pricing, how much is an non-subsidized phone?  Generally they cost about $400-$600.  Don’t worry, I don’t expect anyone to gladly pony up that much money, otherwise this would be one crappy blog post. In my case though, if I purchased one of their subsidized phones, I would go over the 2 gigabyte data limit early and often, so that definitely wasn’t a realistic option.  This is where I took a risk that would benefit everyone.  Based on previous transactions, I wasn’t comfortable purchasing a phone off ebay.  There are some real hearless, soulless, scammers on there.  I did some research and came acrossed a website, www.digicircle.com,  that sells lightly used cell phones at a great price.  Not only that, but they offer a 30 day warranty on their used phones, which did put my mind at ease a little.  I ended up purchasing a Motorola Droid Razr for $250, and while it was called used, I couldn’t find a mark or scratch anywhere.  I couldn’t be happier.  Now don’t forget, you are not done here. I was going from a 3g Motorola Droid X, and while in the past, Verizon users have never had to use SIM cards.  Things are different now,  when moving to a 4g phone, you have to purchase a 4g sim card from Verizon, which isn’t a big deal except for the fact that I got home with my phone and tried to activate it at 10:00p.m. before finding this out.  So the next day I drove up to my local Verizon store and purchased a 4g sim card for $10. I simply popped it into my phone, logged in on my Verizon account, and selected “activate a new device,”  type in my sim card ID, and I was good to go, unlimited data and all.  When you are activating your device, it will bring you to a screen where it wants you to change plans, but it is just wanting you to select a 4g friendly plan. Just remember not to remove the unlimited data.

So there you have it. I am running a 4g phone with unlimited data, and I didn’t spend much more than I would on a subsidized phone. And just out of spite, I stream movies while I sleep just to use up as much data as I possibly can, even when I have wi-fi available. No, not really. hehe.  Just a side note for those of you with Asurion insurance on your current phone. I checked a few days after I had switched to my new Razr, and sure enough, my Asurion phone insurance now covers my new phone.  So now if anything happens to this phone, I am not faced with the unthinkable, going back to my old boring, slow, 3g phone, or purchasing another used phone.

I hope this is some help to those of you out there in a similar situation.  Then again, they are a very large company, I don’t want them coming after me, maybe I shouldn’t publish this………… =]

Nobody hates annoying useless phonecalls more than I do.  Telemarketers are starting to make their way to calling cell phones to make their pitches.  You want to do everything you can to stop these annoying calls.  Unfortunately there is no way to remove your cell phone number from the national directory; many telemarketers and listings pull their information from public records, which are freely available to anyone by law. Land ownership records, petitions, bankruptcy filings and a host of other records may contain your phone number, not to mention “free” social networks who sell your information to create revenue.  So the next best thing you can do to stop unwanted callers, is sign your phone number up on the do not call registry. Click on the icon to be redirected to their website.   Telemarketers should completely cease once your number has been on the registry for 31 days.

If the issue is not a telemarketer, but other types of bothersome calls, There are several ways to deal with annoying prank callers and unwanted phone call harassment. Learn everything you need to know about phone call harassment at Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Things like: when exactly a phone call becomes harassing, Who you should contact when your being harassed, the “pressure valve” strategy, what you can do to stop other types of provoking calls, and more!

 Here at reverse phone number locator, our goal is to assist you in not only finding out who is calling you, but we also want to help you in protecting your privacy, money, and most importantly your time.   Below are some applications for android phones that will help you in doing just that.   Take some time to look around and see if they can help you in any way.  These are apps I personally use and I highly suggest any android user must have to protect your phone. Let me know what you think and if you have any app suggestions of your own, let us know and I will include them in the list. I will also be posting other apps I suggest for fun and entertainment, this area will mostly be apps to assist in security.

All the apps below are the free versions, but if you find that you like them, be sure to purchase the pro version to support your developers.