We understand that not everyone is interested in rooting their Android device. While doing so usually introduces you to a whole new world of phone fun, some just do not have the time or simply do not care. One thing is clear though, they still want a wireless tethering solution that doesn’t include calling up Verizon and forking out another $30 a month. That’s where “Wifi Hotspot and USB Tether” comes into play. There are both free and full versions of the app that according to our readers, both work with the Galaxy Nexus. It even has a snazzy little toggle widget to get you up and tethering in seconds. Oh, and the developer offers a 5-day warranty of sorts to get you a refund if you can’t seem to get the app working correctly.

Worth a shot, I’d say.

Market Links:  Free | Full ($9.99)

Cheers Scott and everyone else that sent this in!

The title pretty much tells you all that you need to know with this one. Many of you were looking for a tethering option, and the folks behind the ever-famous Wireless Tether have released their latest experimental version that works flawlessly with a rooted Galaxy Nexus on Verizon. If you still haven’t rooted, you can find the instructions in our Guide to the Galaxy Nexus.

Download:  wifi_tether_v3_1-pre110.apk | More info

Install just like you do any other app that isn’t from the market. Download, tap to install, and install.

Cheers Steve!

Back in April, we discovered that Verizon was starting to block apps that they deemed to be unacceptable or that violated contract terms.  Tethering apps were the first and most noticeably removed, but what if the situation is deeper than just blocking?  What we mean by that is, what if you bought (yes, used your hard-earned money) an app that they are now blocking?  Can you no longer receive updates to that app?  What if you change phones and go into the market to load up everything that you had previously purchased? Are those blocked apps no longer available?

It’s an interesting (more like painful) conversation that should probably be made much more public than it is as of right now.  What started this latest round was the screenshot you are seeing above from a Reddit user who went into his market to update EasyTether only to be welcomed with the message in yellow.  He is unable to load the latest update to the app because his carrier (Verizon) will not allow it.  Now, EasyTether is a $9.99 app that he paid for, but that he is no longer allowed to use? Yikes.

There is a work-around though, as if to soften some of the blow.  If you flip your phone into Airplane mode and then turn on wifi, you should be able to update.  

There has been a lot of talk around these parts over the last few weeks that has to do with the wireless tethering situation on Verizon with certain devices like the DROIDX.  We’ve posted work-arounds for whatever block they’ve implemented and complaints have been filed with the FCC, but it looks like all we really needed was a little CyanogenMod 7 to get it going.  According to reader Ryan, he’s had no issues with a tethering block now that he has flashed the new CM7 for DX that we posted yesterday morning.  His proof is above.

To download the latest version (since it has been pulled from the market), head here.

Cheers Ryan!

It was just last week that we reported on a new blocking method that Verizon had enabled to stop rooted DROIDX users with Gingerbread from using select wireless tether apps.  Today though, thanks to one of our fabulous readers, we have a work-around for the DROIDX (possibly other devices) that appears to get you up and running in just a matter of minutes.  Hopefully this gives you a little bit of time while that FCC complaint over this very same subject is being looked at.    

Oh baby.  The blocking of tethering apps by Verizon just got very real after a complaint was filed today through the FCC by Free Press which could potentially impact the future of LTE.  This has been one of those hot subjects around Droid Life over the last few weeks, so we couldn’t help but smile a little when we saw a group of this magnitude taking it straight to the top.

As you may recall, we first reported news that tethering apps had either been removed or purposefully blocked from being viewed and downloaded to Verizon devices.  The move wasn’t necessarily a surprise since we know that Verizon likes to force you into purchasing an additional mobile hotspot service on top of your data plan, but the move was bold.  And then just last week we noticed that even if you had managed to load up a third party app from outside the market to tether, that Verizon was blocking you from doing so.

People grew angry at this for a number of reasons – and the complaint filed today by Free Press pretty much touches on them all.  

Your days of free tethering with a Verizon phone may have come to an end this weekend (at least on certain devices).  Our inbox filled up with reports of users who received a warning message (pictured above) in place of the website they were trying to reach while tethering.  We’re not surprised by this at all, especially after seeing Wireless Tether get the stiff arm from Big Red at the end of April, but that doesn’t mean we have to be happy about it.  If you want to use Wireless Tether going forward on a DROIDX or Thunderbolt with Gingerbread, you’ll have to fork out $20 a month for a 2GB plan.

And I’d go into arguments on why I think this move is garbage, but we all get it, don’t we? Most of us feel like we should be able to use our “unlimited” data any way we see fit and Verizon isn’t about to let us have that much control.  They will argue that using our devices to load up data-intensive web pages or streams would harm their network if done by a massive amount of people, but we all don’t care and want to do it anyway.  It’s an argument we can’t and never will win unfortunately.

Anyone tried any of the other tethering apps lately?

*Note - From what I can tell, this is only affecting Gingerbread builds that attempt to run Wireless Tether and not other tethering apps.  My Thunderbolt and DROIDX both popped up the message above and are running 2.3.  I also used the non-Market Wireless Tether.

*Note 2 - Barnacle appears to work still.

Cheers Mike, T and everyone else!