netfilter enabled kernel and still "no netfilter" error

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Which device (manufacturer, type)?
ZTE Joe aka Vodafone 945

Which firmware is installed?
2.1 stock, rooted, with custom kernel to enable netfilter
2.6.29 zte-kernel

What version of wireless tether are you using?

What steps will reproduce the problem?
1. start Wireless Tether
2. Popup with "No Netfilter"

What is the expected output? What do you see instead?
I expected no errors to occur after re-building the kernel but it is still 
there.

Please provide any additional information below.
Stock ZTE Joe firmware comes with these two settings already enabled:
CONFIG_NETFILTER=y
CONFIG_IP_NF_IPTABLES=y
(taken from /proc/config.gz)
These seemed enough but as FAQ said CONFIG_NETFILTER_XT_MATCH_MAC should also 
be enabled, after a few hours (search the sources and learning how to compile 
them) I managed to compile a new kernel with:
CONFIG_NETFILTER_XT_MATCH_MAC=y
(confirmed in /proc/config.gz)
The popup still occurs though.
If I choose to ignore it and start tethering, tethering starts but failing to 
"Enable NAT rules". And effectively, if I try to connect through it to 
internet, I never get any packets on my laptop (even though I see activity in 
wireless tether) as expected when NAT rules do not work...
Is there something else that should be built in the kernel?

Original issue reported on code.google.com by fop...@gmail.com on 7 Sep 2011 at 12:51

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Not sure how to edit the issue (sorry!) and forgot to add app version: latest 
from market, 2.0.7.

Original comment by fop...@gmail.com on 7 Sep 2011 at 12:53