WMWifiRouter, the tool that allows users to share their Windows Mobile device’s internet connection via Wi-Fi, has disappeared from the web.
The tool utilized several hacks in the Windows Mobile platform, which essentially converted any Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU3 or above device into a Wi-Fi hotspot. The program was one of the first reliable methods to add 3G access to an iPhone or iPod touch, but did so in a simple, one-touch manner. The application was robust enough to allow for Wi-Fi sharing even while the Windows Mobile device remained in standby mode.
Now however, the application is missing from the developer’s web site. Some forum posts in community discussions cite legal concerns. However, we are not aware of any code that would cause such an issue.
Our analysis points to the developer attempting to re-offer WMWifiRouter as a commercial, for-profit product. The application was developed and supported by the community as a free offering. Small developers faced with extremely high success of free software often attempt to convert the product into a commercial offering. This is further evidenced by the development of WMWifiRouter.com, a site which contains no information other than to offer to sign up for an email to be notified of future updates.
Note: PhoneNews.com cannot verify that this site was established by WMWifiRouter’s author. We urge you to not sign up on said email list as we cannot verify its authenticity. Instead, stay tuned to PhoneNews.com for future updates. See article update for details.
We are offering the final, free version of WMWifiRouter for download, at the link below. This is a Windows Mobile CAB file, enclosed in a zip. Download the file to your PC, extract the archive, and copy the resulting file to your device. Open that file to install into main memory.
WMWifiRouter 0.91 (CAB)
ICS Installer (CAB) – For Windows Mobile devices that have Internet Sharing disabled
Update: Jorrit Jongma, aka Chainfire, the author of WMWifiRouter has contacted us. He has objected to our hosting of WMWifiRouter, but has been unable to substantiate claims that redistribution of the program was prohibited when it was initially offered.
Mr. Jongma did validate that WMWifiRouter.com is his web site. He refused, however, to comment on the conflicting statements regarding legal concerns prompting the pulling of the application. He also declined to comment on the future of the application.
After an analysis of the situation, we have decided to continue offering the final free version of WMWifiRouter, linked above. While developers have a right to prohibit redistribution of free software, they do not have the right to do so after-the-fact. We expect future versions to explicitly prohibit redistribution of WMWifiRouter, and as such, we will only offer older versions (version 0.91 being the last before this change).
We have also fixed an error that prevented over-the-air downloading to your device.
Generally, we do not edit articles after they have been posted. Following the article, if circumstances warrant, we issue an update… which did nullify that part of our article.
However, since then, we did add a strike-through formatting to the exception, and a second notation that the article has been updated. While we don’t believe the article required these changes (since people were initially instructed to read the article’s update), we did make those secondary changes to help those who haven’t yet read the article.
Christopher,
From your replies it is obvious you have ‘some’ education, which begs the question, why are you acting like a spoiled teenager. Chainfire has never relenquished the distribution rights to WMWiFiRouter. It has always been offered through a post at xda-devs and his own domains where it was under his complete control.
Consumers have never been asked to refrain from using the software. The developer explicitly stated his intention, through actions and words, to remain the sole distributor of his work. You have effectively kidnapped his work and this behavior is not becoming of any respectable individual with a website.
Does this mean we should refrain from downloading the torrent of the .93 beta version?
I see this download is also being sold from within Craigslist as a download via a PayPal payment. Better to have it here for free I guess.
i just also thought i’d post that your device itself cannot use the data connection while this program is running (that’s kind of crappy if you ask me)
hehe, forgot this, also WPA with tkip and aes does not work for me, the only “security” option is WEP, which is more of an option to be insecure.
Surge, you should be able to use data on the device while tethering with WMWifiRouter. I haven’t had that problem on any of the devices that I’ve tried it on.
[…] WMWifiRouter incident (and I call it that loosely), is really much ado about nothing. The vast majority of negative […]
on my htc touch cruise none of the programs on the device can access the data connection while the wmwifirouter is running (htc weather, pocket ie, opera, im+, [insert program that uses internet here])
every single one gives me a cannot connect error
In reference to “Not the First Time…”
You sound as if you’re on a crusade against Abobe or some other giant corporation. The fact is, Chainfire is an independent developer and way too polite to “butt heads” with you. The backlash you’re experiencing is from ordinary people who simply cannot understand how you could prey on someone who poured his guts into a software he graciously offered for free. Chainfire simply wishes for it to remain his to distribute, you’ve already admitted his asking you to remove the download to his copyrighted work. To this day he has yet to “get angry” or so much as post publicly on the subject, which says a lot in itself.
Your article is nothing but self-righteous fodder, a true testament to the kind of person you are.
So is there anyway of finding out what phones are compatible.I have sprint moto Q
My understanding is that for some odd reason or another the legal issues involve an investigation by the FCC as well as an unnamed corporate entity. Not sure how this relates to this program but it appears that this investigation has put a halt for now to this program.
Wondering???: The application is compatible with any device running Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU3 or later. The Q should be update-able to AKU3 via Motorola Software Update, if your device does not have it already. You can verify AKU3 status in Start > Settings > System > About. The last three digits of the build number (for example, 19500.3.2.0 means the device is running AKU 3.2).
Bob: I don’t think that’s correct. The developer is outside of the United States (apparently, in the Neterlands). The FCC has no control over this program. Further, I don’t see any FCC regulation that would permit prohibiting WMWifiRouter.
It is possible that a European carrier (or Microsoft itself) could sue to stonewall the application’s development. However, if that’s the case, I don’t see why the developer is objecting to our hosting the files in the United States.
from a logical standpoint i don’t see how this could have anything to do with outside entitys (microsoft, etc) threatening legal action. what law are we breaking by running this program?
there are a multitude of hardware devices that will turn a cellular data connection into a hotspot that are sold by wireless providers. WMWifirouter eliminates the need for purchasing one of those and accomplishes the task via software.
why is everyone complicating this? why are people attacking the author of this article and the website?
i don’t see why all these people are *so* upset..if the guy wants to comercialize the application, fine, do it. continue the development, and build future releases, and charge for them. but the whole point of why this site is hosting the current release is that there simply is no EULA! just because the author NOW says to take it down is completely irrelivant. if he didn’t want people distributing it or using it he should released it under some kind of license. “free for personal (non-commercial) use only” is what the author stated via the “About” screen within the program. plain and simple. it’s not complicated. if you would see it from that perspective maybe you all wouldn’t be so upset. bottom line is it’s his fault for not thinking things through before he released the software as “free” for personal use. so i’m going to use it for free, because that’s what the screen says. doesn’t say anything about distribution, etc. so, make sure none of you use it at your company, mmk? :p
You all should try it!
Hmmmm. Didn’t LennySh post a second comment saying he thought the new trial version for WMWifiRouter v0.95 is better than any of the previous versions? He downloaded from the new official WMWifiRouter.com website that is now up and running.
It looks like ChristopherPrice is editing the comments now to suit his own purposes. Didn’t you say your website if for reporting news and is for the benefit of the readers? Removing any mention of the new OFFICIAL WMWifiRouter.com site only benefits yourself. Keep up the sleeze, ummm reporting.
Things (that are not flames) are being edited. For no other reason than to serve Mr. Price’s own purpose.
One poster’s comments were removed because they inserted foul language into the URL. The user was banned for attempting to subvert our language filter.
PhoneNews.com is open to all audiences of all ages, and we will remove any obscene content… even if it is in a (fake) URL.
The WMWIFIROUTER is for sale now, as in it cost money, check the website.
“”The WMWIFIROUTER is for sale now, as in it cost money, check the website.””
Incorrect. The new website has the new FREE Trial version v0.95. You don’t have to pay money, nor can you even buy it yet. Once the final version is released, then you will be able to purchase it. You can even get a 5euro discount to buy the final version if you fill out the feedback form after trying the trial version.
The new trial program is free until April 1st, 2008. I would urge everyone to download it and then give Chainfire feedback on how to make the program better.
I also urge everyone who uses this product on a daily basis (like I do – I use this program several hours a day, every day) to download the trial version 0.95 and then PURCHASE the program when the option becomes available to do so. This is truly a program that has changed the way I use my PDA. This program is essentially the equivalent of spending $180 on the recently-released cradlepoint personal hotspot seen here:
http://www.cradlepoint.com/phs300/phs300.php
Instead of shelling out for that, all of us with a wifi-enabled windows mobile phone can enjoy the same privelages during a free trial and then for a reasonable price.
Totaltrash: isn’t it interesting how Christopher Price has not addressed your remarks directly? You make a very good point that Mr. Price is essentially undermining independent developers from creating great products like WMWiFiRouter. There needs to be an incentive to continue to innovate, and if WMWiFiRouter is financially successful, better versions and more programs could be the end result. However, Mr. Price is short-sighted in his view that offering the free program is “empowering” smartphone users: all he is doing is contributing to what amounts to piracy.
If there isn’t a financial incentive to innovate, innovation will not happen. Thanks for helping to subvert innovation, Mr. Price. You are doing a good job.
PhilR, users now can now make the choice that they should have been able to keep: Either to use the free version, which is older and may have more bugs. Or, download the new trial version and eventually buy the new product.
We are simply ensuring that the free software that was made under the efforts and donations of hard-working individuals, up to the point the decision was made to go commercial… is maintained.
Oh please, stop with the selfless act. No one is buying it. The only reason you have this up is so people will come to your site and make you $$$$ from ads.
Donations are just that. You don’t expect anything in return. Plus, the people who donated are the ones who already downloaded the software from Chainfire’s original site. We donated because we liked the app so much and appreciated the work. Also, Chainfire explicitly says on the XDA thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=357152
That the donators and the beta testing team will be “taken care of”.
So at least be man enough to admit your reason
Again, we make no money from offering the download. It uses more bandwidth than the ads cost per page… so please, stop making baseless allegations that are completely false.
@ Christopher Price: “It uses more bandwidth than the ads cost per page…”
Since the download link in your article points to rapidshare.com, I assume you mean it uses more of RapidShare’s bandwidth, and not your own.
the new “trial” version has nothing different, it’s a ploy by the developer.
still extremely buggy (for me), in short if you’re unsure stick with the old one
my device: HTC Touch Cruise (Polaris), WM6, AT&T HSPDA
1.) software running on the mobile device itself cannot access data connection while WMwifirouter is running and “connected” (pocket ie, htc weather, any program that uses data cannot connect)
2.) WPA does not work at all, with TKIP or AES – the only “security” option is WEP, which can be cracked in under 60 seconds.
3.) Cannot change the network name
4.) If activesync is running and you are synced to a computer, or even if bluetooth is turned on, this program freezes my entire device! (why would i pay to have my device locked up? lol)
5.) This version uses 10% more RAM than the old one.
this program is a great idea, but the move to commercial status was a bit pre-emptive. as far as i’m concerned this software is months away from being up to par with the comercial software available for mobile devices today.
1. Yes you can use data with WMWifiRouter active. On you device go to WLAN settings in the comm manager. Then menu -> network cards. Change “my device connects to” from “internet” to “work”. This works and was suggested by Chainfire over in the XDA thread.
2. While WPA may be harder to crack, WEP is sufficient to protect people from connecting to your network. Someone has to have all the necessary the software and hardware running to crack wep and target you. If you are that paranoid, then you shouldn’t use wifi at all. All public wifi hotspots at Starbucks etc use no encryption whatsoever.
3. You can easily create your own Ad-hoc network on your device with whatever custom name you want and use it.
4. This either is due to software you have installed on you device, or a minor compatibility issue with that device. This is why it is still a Free Trial asking for feedback so these issues can be fixed before the final release. I don’t have these issues with my sprint mogul.
5. Don’t know where you pulled that number from. You can’t measure how much memory is being used by an individual program. Plus, windows mobile has a memory leakage anyway which causes the free ram to go down the longer its on. Or are you talking about the install size? If so, the program uses so little space that it could be 10x bigger and still be an average size program.
I can confirm the Bluetooth issues with version 0.95. With my device (HTC Titan), the unit drops the Bluetooth connection with a headset when WMWifiRouter is active. This is not typical behavior and wasn’t occurring with version 0.91.
Crash, we are no longer hosting the file locally as the author filed a DMCA complaint against us. We were hosting the file locally, and my discussion about the cost of hosting was in regards to when we were hosting it locally. We are pointing to third-party providers and other sources still hosting WMWifiRouter, which we are still permitted to do.
While we normally would formally dispute the DMCA complaint, in this case we feel using third-party sources was the most efficient resolution to the matter.
I had a similar run-in with a shady and arrogant character like Price who hijacked my domain. He shifted the domain’s ownership several times before I could get the law to catch up to him.
Memo to WMFiFiRouter developer: Price is a US citizen with a US hosted site and he is still unlawfully linking to an unauthorized distribution of your software. I suggest you send another cheap-to-file and effective DMCA take down notice with his hosting provider.
You’re not fooling anyone Price. You didn’t contest the DMCA take down because you were WRONG to distribute his copyrighted work without expressed permission.
eating crow is a fool…LOL
Sorry, guys, Price is right. The software was distributed with no EULA and the only apparent restriction being that it was free for non commercial use. Chainfire cannot go back now and try to retract previous versions just because he is going to try to go commercial with it. A DMCA take down will not even work here since chainfire cannot show that there is a EULA or copyright begin violated (since he distributed the software himself and encouraged distribution, he cannot try to stop it now).
I have done a lot of open source and free software development and a lot of commercial development. I have had a few projects that I did as freebies that have turned out to be popular. Believe me, I wish I could put the jeanie back in the bottle on a few of them. That is just not the way the world works. Back in the real world, anything he has released as a freebie can be distributed. He can certainly try to make enough improvements to future, closed, releases to make it worth peoples dollars and cents to buy the new release. Usually it does not work out that way, especially since there is more than enough info floating around at XDA to replicate the program, but I certainly wish him all the luck in the world in trying.
Trying to bottle up previous releases, though, will just end up bankrupting the guy with attorneys fees when frankly he has no case at all (trust me, I have fought that battle before).
All this is soon going to be a moot point in any event. MS is going to be coming out with an update to allow ICS over wifi by july, and theirs will work, be bug free, and be free of cost, from day one, which will pretty much kill chainfires potential business anyway.
[…] it already then let me know how it goes. If Tilt not show Internet Sharing or hide it then go to Where in the World is WMWifiRouter? (Updated) | PhoneNews.com and download ICS Installer (CAB) – For Windows Mobile devices that have Internet Sharing disabled […]
Intellectual property shmintellectual property. The guy who cobbled the code has all the rights, those who test an alpha or beta software and make it worth anything get no rights or acknowledgment. The number of human hours that go into testing far exceed the same put into cobbling the code. One could look upon freely offered software as a way to sucker people into providing free QA. Sure you can have your free software back, just as you give me my QA effort back.
I just like how everyone thinks they’re a lawyer…. I get a kick out of it.
Personally, I don’t understand why the author of this site bothers him/herself to respond to any of these posts….
you cant take away what you give for free at first.
[…] it already then let me know how it goes. If Tilt not show Internet Sharing or hide it then go to Where in the World is WMWifiRouter? (Updated) | PhoneNews.com and download ICS Installer (CAB) – For Windows Mobile devices that have Internet Sharing disabled. […]
Chris-
Once again, you cross the line a Journalist should not cross. Regardless of any excuse you want to offer in your defense. A journalist is supposed to report the news and to try and prevent their actions from effecting the news they are reporting on. Time and again you allow your personal opinion to leak in to your stories and this makes you like Fox News where every article or story needs to be examined for your hidden personal agenda.
–Steve
[…] WMWifiRouter Website Where in the World is WMWifiRouter? (Updated) Initial Coverage: WMWifiRouter Gives 3G to iPhone, iPod, And Anything Else Trackback | Permalink […]
lol chris what a self contradicting person you are. on apr 1st you blast ringerpost.com for hosting copyrighted content. now your so earnestly trying to defend people that are blasting you for hosting copyrighted content. just like the guy said in the preforementioned posts. your doing this for the ad revenue and you know it. it wouldnt hurt you one bit to take the guys software down after he sent you a direct request to do so. but you saw opporunity in it. when people search for wmwifirouter on google, surely enough your website comes up along with the rss blogs off other websites pointing to your site. just like when ringerpost came back. ringerpost has a large following. when people typed in ringerpost in their browser right before the domain name fully propagated, it didnt resolve and it instead presented a web search of the term and guess who was among the first websites to pop up? you guessed it, phone news! your method of reporting are immoral and you know this. no wonder you have your contact info blocked by a domain privacy registration service. other sites that report mobile news have no problem listing their contact info. what does a mobile reporting website such as phonenews.com really have to hide?
RoguePlayer, there is a difference between copyrighted, but free for personal use (as is WMWifiRouter), and copyrighted, for commercial sale.
We have not distributed any version of WMWifiRouter that has been licensed for commercial sale.
You’re comparing a situation where we reported a piracy web site, to a situation where we’re hosting free software… totally unrelated, and clearly unrelated.
[…] has been raised to a new level! Not only are we connected via cell phone, but Tim found a way to turn his phone into a wireless router. If you’ve got a PocketPC, you should definitely try […]
Once it’s out there, it’s out like splashed water.
Get over it.
The developer will smile in the end when a platform upgrade breaks the free version, which is only a matter of time. DVD encryption was broken, but here comes blu-ray. He’d be thankful that the free version will have got quite a few hooked.
Their is no Undoing this version. You cant undo what has been built and is freely on the internet. Furthermore, he should have made his beta software a timelimted trial. But even if he did its only a matter of time before us hackers decode and encode. Remember, there is nothing that can be done that can be undone in the software world and electronics world. YOU BUILD IT, WE TAKE IT APART LMAO. What’s really sad is that he takes a peace of software and distributes it as free then suddenly he wants to make it commercial because of all the hype its getting. Hell he has really created nothing but a cute little interface with a “timer” that checks the state of INTSHRUI.exe. SO periodically it just virtually pushes the connect button in Internet Sharing. Oh and he creates the Necessary registry changes or HACKS the registry to force the wifi driver to be the local interface. This is nothing more than a hack. Damn people you act like he is a GOD of software development. If anyone deserves the credit its microsoft for creating Internet Sharing so people like ChainFire could hack it LOL. Now he along with every one elses wants to whine because this site has his last free version posted. Nothing illegal about this being posted on here just like nothing wrong with CHAINFIRE REVERSE ENGINEERING microsofts work. SUCK IT UP PEOPLE. ITS CALLED LIFE. The only reason he wanted all versions taken down was because he was going commercial. The legal thing was just a ploy to have the free versions removed LMAO. SUCK IT UP AGAIN PEOPLE AND GET A FREAKIN LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Christopher Price
rapidshare link is dead, please update the link of this version.
[…] la licencia con la que se publicaron, siguen siendo gratuitas. Se puede descargar por ejemplo de esta página. Por supuesto, si este programa te parece útil y quieres agradecérselo al autor, o necesitas las […]
Hi folks, we’ve fixed the link in the article to download the final free version of WMWifiRouter.
Please let us know if it stops working again.
[…] we’re certainly going to try. We’ve fixed the download link for the final free version of WMWifiRouter. We’re also going to make our very-popular HTC Titan GPS guide a lot easier (since, well, […]
Seed this FOREVER!!!…..
Hope you all can read AND understand the next few lines.
Na minha opinião, o software livre não é para livre distribuição comercial. Mas quem faz o software livre, nas bases da licença GPL por exemplo, deve saber que a distribuição com citação da fonte é permitida. Não é lógico liberar um programa sob o tÃtulo de software livre e, depois, por intenções comerciais, recolhê-lo e ou proibir que o divulguem – as versões antigas, bem entendido – sob o pretexto de que há uma versão comercial mais atualizada no mercado. Além disso, se há uma versão mais atual, significa que a versão anterior já foi considerada obsoleta. Parabéns ao Christopher Price pela sua tenacidade.