What is a tethered Device for the purposes of EE Contract Terms?

[OB1e]

In the EE Pay Monthly Plan Terms and Price Guide: Available from 10 April 2024 it says:

Unlimited Data Plans
50GB fair usage policy applies outside UK. Personal, non-commercial use only. If you regularly tether 12 or more devices, we will consider this non-personal use and have the right to move you to a more suitable plan. We will consider usage above 600GB/month to be non-personal use and have the right to apply traffic management controls to deprioritise your mobile traffic during busy periods or to move you to a business plan. You can gift up to 100GB. Data usage on an unlimited plan will decrement from giftable allowance. Any data boost allowance will be added to the giftable allowance.

I see lots of community posts about speeds suddenly and persistently falling without explanation and would like to invite views from EE and others on whether a connected router is a single device. The rationale for this is that nowhere that I can see does EE mention routers in their terms of service - technically the router is a mobile device that allows other devices to connect to the internet to a limit of 12 devices if fair usage penalties are to be avoided.

Fair use policies seem aimed at preventing commercial use of personal plans, rather than imposing hard limits on typical personal usage. In such cases, EE reserves the right to apply traffic management controls. The reason why EE stonewalls customers as to why their speeds have suddently dropped is that they want their cake and eat it in bandwidth terms, they will not it seems advise or advertise that customers need to move onto a Business Plan.

Have you been moved by EE onto a business plan because you use a router?

[Northerner]

Hi @OB1e 

You will need one device to connect to the EE network, that device is not counted as one of the devices. 

If you are connecting a router with 10 devices, and one of those is another router with 10 devices then this would be in breach of the terms and conditions. Remember each device has an IP and Mac and are identifiable therefore it will be easy to check the number of devices connected.

EE need to network manage to ensure all customers have access and a quality service. 

Thanks 

[OB1e]

Thx for the prompt reply.

The primary device is an LTE router. It connects by Wifi and LAN to 25 devices each with their own MAC address.

These devices are laptops, mobile phones, Alexa devices, Gas Boiler, TVs, Blueray box, PVR box, Firesticks, Energy Monitor, IP Phone box, solar inverter, air purifiers, satellite box, NAS box, HP printer.

Has this exceeded the fair usage policy in terms of connected devices?

[XRaySpeX]

@OB1e : The mobile router is the device actually connected to the mobile network. So it is not itself a tethered device but all the devices, directly or indirectly, connected to it regularly are cuz they are sharing its usage of the network.

"Regularly" you could interpret as at the same time! Say you had a mobile router servicing 20 devices but you only ever use any 5 of them at once. Then they should count as 5 tethered devices.

[Chris_B]

@OB1e  If it’s a home LTE router that’s not a mobile router ( ie it’s powered via a wall plug not a battery) which I think that this actually applies too.  

[OB1e]

Thx for the prompt reply

There are more than six devices connected through the router to the internet. Remember I am not a business just a residential customer. Two replies: again the stonewalling, not on speed but on whether I should have an Unlimited Essentials Business Plan because of the number of connected devices.

[OB1e]

Yes it is a mains powered four port LTE router with data sim.

[XRaySpeX]

Sorry, where were we stonewalling?

A mobile router is 1 that has a mobile SIM in it, regardless of whether it is powered by battery or mains. That makes no diff.

[OB1e]

Thx, well yes, there is stonewalling because one is either in breach of the terms of connected device or one is not. Another issue is one of connected devices that feature for security reasons MAC address randomization this can inflate the number of connected devices.

[XRaySpeX]

Don't see it! I thought I gave you a fairly explicit answer to your Q & how to work out how many tethered devices you have in order to ascertain whether you are within the personal usage policy or not. I'd hardly call that stonewalling but I'll leave it here.