What It’ll Cost?īy now you’ve probably figured out that using your smartphone’s limited cellular data to power a connection between your computer and the interwebs isn’t going to be free.įirst things first, you’re going to have to choose a data plan from your provider that will strike a balance between affordability and sufficient bandwidth. And because of the heavier restrictions imposed on Apple’s App Store, tethering apps there are usually removed in a matter of hours, leaving iPhone users who don’t want to pay extra (if their carriers require such) to take the jailbreak route.
For example, Android users will find a veritable plethora of apps on Google Play, like the generally serviceable FoxFi, which lets you tether without buying a plan from your carrier or having to go through the bothersome process of rooting your smartphone. If you’re not down with paying your carrier extra for the privilege, there are ways around this - although we can’t say they come highly recommended. Also, not all carriers allow tethering if you don’t first sign up for a plan that includes the ability to tether. It should be noted that not all smartphones support tethering, but it is a feature available across all the major platforms, including iPhones, Androids, Windows Phones and BlackBerries. You can also share your smartphone’s password-secure signal with other people’s nearby devices, like your friend’s tablet or your grandma’s Nook. Or just about anything else you can think of. For example, as long as you’ve got a signal, you could bust out your laptop while sitting on a beach somewhere and use it to surf the web. Your smartphone then broadcasts a password-protected signal that your other wireless devices can discover and log into to get online through your phone’s data plan. If you don’t find the Personal Hotspot option in your iPhone, this means either your carrier doesn’t support tethering (which, as you’ll see, is unlikely) or your account isn’t set up for it.
Your login password will be pre-populated, but you can change this elsewhere in your settings if you prefer.
Once the slider is turned to the ON position, you’ll get a popup notification asking if you want to enable tethering for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (iPhones default to USB tethering otherwise). IPhone users, meanwhile, will find the Personal Hotspot feature under “Cellular” in their settings.