iPad tethering – Can you do it?

If you have the Wi-Fi only iPad then you may get frustrated at times when you are out and about and need to connect to the Internet. I have managed to get around this problem quite simply by using a device called a MiFi. The MiFi for tethering iPad is really easy to use and for sure, for things like this you want everything to be as simple as possible. Using the MiFi I can easily turn it on to connect up to the 3G service. I’m in Spain and I’m using a company called Mas Movil, which is an excellent service that is piggybacking on the Orange 3G service and is very cheap to use. After I have switched on the MiFi device, I then have to press another button to start the Wi-Fi service. It doesn’t take long before I have my Internet connectivity available for my iPad. This iPad tethering via MiFi that I am using with my iPad 1 can also be used to give you iPad 2 tethering. ipad iphone tethering is very useful and will save you buying an iPad with 3G or 4G.

Internet tethering iPhone 4

Rather than carry a number of different devices around, another option might be to have iPad tethering via your iPhone. It is possible to have iPhone 3GS tethering and also to have iPhone for Internet tethering. You may have to be careful with the use of the iPhone for tethering, if you have a mobile plan that is restrictive in what you can do with it. There are some mobile phone companies that do not like you to be able to do the tethering iPad to your iPhone. These companies tend to see it as an abuse of the data bandwidth usage and would prefer you to have a separate 3G plan. Obviously part of this is a financial consideration, because they want you to spend more money.

Tethering iPad to iPhone gives other benefits

I know that when I buy my next iPad, the iPad 3 which is likely to be in the first quarter of 2012, I will buy the more expensive iPad that already has an option for 3G. This is just a guess at the iPad 3 release date. One benefit of having the iPad with 3G is that you also get some assisted GPS. It has been found that is possible to get GPS on a Wi-Fi only iPad if you teather it to an iPhone. It has been documented by users that have connected their iPad 2 to their GPS enabled iPhone, that the iPad inherited the GPS functionality. Somehow or other the iPhone will pass GPS information to the iPad.

To get your iPad tethering working you can use the Personal Hotspot feature on the iPhone 4. This will give you genuine location information through GPS which is more accurate than the information that you get from the Wi-Fi location service. With the Wi-Fi location service your iPad location is based upon known router locations and their MAC addresses.

Bluetooth iPad tethering

Tethering iPad using Bluetooth is available using the Personal Hotspot feature, and has been available since iOS 4.3. This allows the iPhone 4 to have as many as three Bluetooth devices connecting to the phone. You can have as many as five collections of all types, so that will be USB, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but only three Bluetooth connections. With the older versions of the iPhone they will only accept one connection through Bluetooth. So it is possible for you to tether your iPad to another device that is allowing a connection via Bluetooth.

The main thing about connecting by Bluetooth is that it is simple, with an easy pairing process. Bluetooth consumes less power than Wi-Fi, so using Bluetooth could let your battery last longer. By using Bluetooth you can also get around the 90 second countdown on Wi-Fi connections that iOS uses to says battery power on the iPhone. If there are no connections on the phones Wi-Fi, then the Wi-Fi radio will stop the sharing after 90 seconds.

Another good thing about Bluetooth is that you get some security features that will be roughly equivalent to the WPA 2 security as you would have with Wi-Fi and it is handled automatically for you. On the other hand there is a downside to Bluetooth tethering and that will be that the speed is not as fast as is possible with Wi-Fi.

Extra costs involved with iPad tethering

If you look into your iPhone settings for your Personal Hotspot, so that you can organise iPad tethering via your iPhone 4, you should be aware that if you don’t see it there, you may have to contact the mobile phone carrier. Also it is likely that when you contact the carrier to enable the Personal Hotspot feature, you may have to pay more money per month for the privilege of being able to use tethering.

Connecting your iPad with iPhone for Internet tethering

So there you have it, a few options for iPad tethering and reasons why you might want to do it. Internet tethering iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS tethering is possible using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Then you have your Internet connection available through using a MiFi, if you are prepared to carry an extra device. Whichever way you decide to connect your Wi-Fi only iPad to the Internet may depend upon the options available with your phone carrier. For the moment I will be continuing to use the MiFi for my Internet connection on the iPad until the iPad 3 release date. When the iPad 3 becomes available, I expect to buy a 3G version, because Internet connectivity does make a big difference to the usability of the device.

iPad 3 tethering is still dominated by the rules of the phone companies. If you can get an iPad without a contract or the iPhone that is free and just hook up to the phone system of your choice. Will it be any different with iPad 4 g or iPad 5 or iPad 6. Good luck with your iPad iPhone tether.