iTether is currently showing up as unavailable in the iTunes App Store. iTether, which was approved and released yesterday, let users tether their laptops to their iPhones without having to pay any additional fees to carriers. Another tethering app, Netshare, was approved and then later removed in 2008.
Whether iTether has actually been removed by Apple or the developer, temporarily or permanently, remains to be seen but the developer has claimed they were in communication with Apple throughout the app approval process. If Apple couldn't have, or simply didn't want iTether in the App Store, it's strange they'd approve it at all.
Update: Tether just let us know they've released a statement, and confirmed Apple pulled the iTether app from the App Store. Their site is currently getting hammered so we're reproducing it here. Please do click through and give them a comment with your thoughts. Tether.com:
Around 12PM EST, Apple called our head office to let us know they were going to go ahead and pull our app iTether from the App Store. They stated it was because the app itself burdens the carrier network, however they offered us no way to remedy the solution… We were very clear when listing the app what the primary function was and they even followed up with several questions and requested a video demo then they approved the application.
We strongly disagree that it burdens a carrier’s network, as from our own data history on more than 500,000 users we know the average user consumes less than 200 MBs of data per month on Tether. In comparison, one TV show streamed from Netflix, an approved Apple App, could easily be in the 300-400 MBs range. Sure, there are some users that will consume way more than the average however that’s the case with any of these types of products.
Our team is very disappointed in Apple’s decision; as we strongly believe we help carriers better monetize their data stream by pushing customers into new data tiers further increasing their bottom-line. It is very anti-competitive to not allow any Tethering application to enter into this space to innovate. Our team has created a lot of innovative solutions for the BlackBerry product, which we were hoping to port over to the iPhone like end-to-end encryption, compression, website filtering and port filtering.
According to Apple, users who purchase iTether before it was pulled will continue to be able to use the product.
Our team is evaluating all of our options… Stay tuned.
Reader comments
iTether now unavailable in App Store [Updated]
My people are from Millstreet. My Great Great Grandparents Patrick and Johanna Sullivan O'Leary lived in Millstreet. I enjoy your website. It helps keep me connected to my Irish roots.
Sick of this nonsense from both the carriers and from Apple.
Until they are legitimately losing market share to Android and new comers, they won't be forced to force the carriers.
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After purchasing this app early this morning it appears that it is not working. Any others having issues?
Is it in the installous app store? If so you and I can download it with a jail broken idevice, then sync with itunes, than with any non jailbroken device use iTunes to sync it that way, I accidentally learned that's possible when apps I got on my ipad1 w/installous showed up on my iphone4s.
Cracked ipa's will not sync with non-JBed phones. If you aren't jailbroken and missed the window then you are SOL.
I don't get it - can't you just use "Personal Hotspot" or whatever this thing is called that is already in iOS??
and pay extra for it... and if your on the unlimited data with ATT u can't even buy it!!!!
Ah, I see...
I guess it is not restricted on unlocked iPhones.
I have a factory unlocked 4 and a 4S and neither can use the built-in personal hotspot. They both tell me to contact AT&T to add that feature to my plan.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/money-scan-pro/id398958662?mt=8
"We strongly disagree that it burdens a carrier’s network, as from our own data history on more than 500,000 users we know the average user consumes less than 200 MBs of data per month on Tether."
So basically, the client/companion app that would need to be installed on your PC, called home with phishing statistics. That's cool... not!
Is the only way to get an app onto the iPhone through the App Store? Can you download it from a different site and install it like with a Mac?
Not without jailbreak.
Great this is going to cause the mobile carrier to cap their data plans.....oh wait
MyWi & PdaNet > iTether
IMO, ATT is only monitoring total data consumption so you are fine to tether as long as you watch that amount.
The Tether app on my mac crashes whenever I launch it. Runs fine on my iPhone. Am I the only one where the app crashes on Mac?
I could be wrong but I don't think iCloud will let you download apps that have been removed from the store. I got WiFiFoFum back in the day but today I have no way of downloading it from iCloud. I would suggest transferring your purchases to your computer and then backup the .ipa file somewhere safe. This will probably be your only way to reload the app from this point forward.
Yeah and AT&T will catch it and mess with your account...DOOM !!!!!!
You said she pbblaory works out more, by this do you mean she does more reps or what? Or maybe does the whole work out two or three times a day?
thank you, my hurt was pumping
I bought itether from the app store using my computer because I left my iphone at home. Transaction went trough and I downloaded it in my itunes. Will it work when I get home and transfer it to my iphone?
Could not get the PC or Mac setup files to run (they are apparently corrupted). So, while I got the app (and paid for it), it doesn't work.
check out the Tether Facebook page... There are quite a few mirrors out there too.. I was able to download it in a matter of seconds and got it up and running just as quickly.. Hope you get yours working!
Use a download accelerator like DAP. It worked for me this way after trying to download the pc software 50 times.
same thing happened to me on 2 computers. I turned off my firewall and it finally worked.
swipes brow I got it just in time! I had missed out on handy light. but at least I got this. In a pinch like when I'm on vaca it will do.
Apple doesn't control the world that much. If they defiantly would allow something like that ... so anti-carrier ... they would see, nobody would sell their phone anymore. It's bad enough Apple can't handle a high demand on products as far as supply ... hopefully this isn't a sign of another downturn ... possibly the last ... for Apple.
you just kill me......oh yes, this may very well doom Apple......(heavy sarcasm for those who missed it)
I picked it up quickly. Good timing. :-)
does it still work?
Yes. First thing I did was test to make sure it still works. It does indeed.
sweet and as long as carriers dont start to catch on, then we got no worries.. i cant use mine, as my phone is dead hahahah
I use such things VERY infrequently... basically only the few times a year I travel and can't get wifi. Rare these days, but always nice to have.
yes because they still have it (servers) for blackberry and android...
BOGUS!!!!!!!!!!
BOGUS!!!!!!!!!!