So How Does That Personal Hotspot Feature Work?

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.tuaw.com/2011/03/29/iphone-4-personal-hotspot-put-to-the-test/' target='_blank'>http://www.tuaw.com/2011/03/29/ipho...ut-to-the-test/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"It's a good thing that I decided to sign up for AT&amp;T's implementation of the iOS 4.3 Personal Hotspot feature while I was standing in line for my iPad 2 a couple of weeks ago."</em></p><p><img height="450" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1301494160.usr105634.jpg" style="margin-left: 150px; margin-right: 150px;" width="300" /></p><p>It cost him $45.00 USD extra per month but he is pretty happy with it, and from what he has written the process is pretty easy. How about you, have you signed up for the Personal Hotspot option, and if so, what are your thoughts on it? I'm still hesitant about letting go of my unlimited data plan, but as I monitor my usage I'm finding that I don't even approach the 2GB limit on the plan that is required for the Personal Hotspot option.&nbsp;</p>

[Dyvim]

Isn't it $20 extra a month, not $45? And the article also makes it sound like you need both a Tethering Plan and a Personal Hotspot Plan. My understanding is that the Personal Hotspot falls under the Tethering Plan?

I'm thinking of giving this a try at a conference next week in Boston. I'll have to give up my grandfathered unlimited data plan, but I don't think I need it anyway.

[Vincent Ferrari]

If you have the $30 original iPhone data plan, it's another $15 a month. It's not $45 just for tethering, so yes, Dyvim, you're correct.

As far as speeds go, I get 1.4mb to 1.8mb down and up depending on whether I WiFi hotspot it or USB tether it. Both of those speeds are at least twice as fast as my 3G Verizon MiFi. It's quite awesome and it saved me from getting a 3G iPad. I just tether my iPad to my iPhone and all is right with the world.

It's totally worth the extra $15, especially since once you add the tethering plan, you get additional bandwidth also, meaning for $45 you're getting tethering + 4gb of transfer. Definitely not a bad deal if AT&T works well in your area.

[WyattEarp]

I have to disagree with you Vince. The extra $15 is a total rip IMO just to tether another device and on top of that, get less for what I'm paying for. There is no extra 4GB it's only 4GB for everything.

Straight from AT&T's website:

"Is it the right amount of data for you? Try the AT&T Data Usage Calculator tool (http://www.att.com/standalone/data-calculator/index.html) to estimate how much data you use every month. How do I use AT&T Wi-Fi Basic? iPhone has Wi-Fi built in! You can connect quickly and seamlessly to your home wireless network or to more than 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots in the U.S at no additional charge. Find an AT&T Hot Spot (http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=13540) near you. A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com (http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=5949) for additional services details and locations. What if I go over 4 GB? DataPro 4 GB for iPhone includes 4 GB of data for use in the U.S. If 4 GB is exceeded, an additional 1 GB is automatically provided at a rate of $10 for each additional 1 GB. All data allowances, including overages, must be used in the billing period in which the allowance is provided. For more details on Data Plans, go to www.att.com/dataplans (http://www.att.com/dataplans).


Please note: An eligible data plan for iPhone is required. If AT&T determines that you are using an iPhone on your account without an eligible data plan, AT&T reserves the right to add an eligible data plan to your account and bill the appropriate monthly fee."
Tethering should be free with any data plan, not force me into a high pay plan and I'm getting nothing tangible in return but less bandwidth. And once you leave that $30 unlimited plan there is no turning back. So you can not just try it out and return it if it doesn't work out for you. Once you go there you're stuck with it, like it or not.

[Vincent Ferrari]

I have to disagree with you Vince. The extra $15 is a total rip IMO just to tether another device and on top of that, get less for what I'm paying for. There is no extra 4GB it's only 4GB for everything.

Actually, if you're paying for the $25 2gb plan, you're getting more. Once you add tethering, you get another 2 gbs. I don't believe I said at any point you get 4 gbs extra, I said you get 4gb + tethering, which is 100% accurate.

Tethering should be free with any data plan, not force me into a high pay plan and I'm getting nothing tangible in return but less bandwidth. And once you leave that $30 unlimited plan there is no turning back. So you can not just try it out and return it if it doesn't work out for you. Once you go there you're stuck with it, like it or not.

That's a great argument, but it's academic. There isn't a carrier out there that isn't charging for tethering right now in some form in the United States. For me, the $15 a month to add tethering was a no-brainer.

I have a Verizon MiFi that I pay $60 a month for, and I'm counting the days until I can cancel it. I was only using a gig or so a month on my iPhone's plan so $15 additional to get more data on my iPhone plan plus tethering was a no brainer. Is that the case for everyone? No. Should it be "free?" Yes, but we're not talking about academics, we're talking about how it works and is it worth it. For me, the answer is an unequivocal yes. For you? No. Fine. Don't get it.

As for "being stuck" with it, if you're coming up at that 4-5gb limit, then you'd have to be an unbelievably daft moron to switch your plan from an unlimited one to a metered one and the fact that you can't return it is just fine because someone that dumb deserves to have their nose slapped with a newspaper. It does suck, but you have plenty of information on which to make your decision. If you make the wrong one, that's your problem.

Personal responsibility is really awesome.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

I'm curious though. How will they know if you tether?

[Vincent Ferrari]

I'm curious though. How will they know if you tether?

On Verizon phones, the tethering APN is different and it's hardcoded into the phone (although it can be hacked out). I'm not sure if AT&T does something like that or if they're doing packet inspection, but they always find out (as some people are seeing in text messages that started going out last week).

[johnm]

I resisted the tethering for all the same reasons listed here. I used a program called iProxy to share my network with my laptop and iPad for a while. It works on non-jailbreak devices, but you need a developer account to use it because you have to compile the code yourself. But the downside is that is only supports http traffic.

After the Verizon phone came out and put pressure on ATT they modified their tethering plan to make more sense by giving you 2G more for your money. The final straw was 4.3 and personal hotspot. That convinced me to finally make the move. I had the unlimited plan and I was also paying 15.00 per month for 1500 text messages. I dropped the text messaging plan (I use google voice) and picked up tethering for the same monthly amount. The shared 4G seems a better deal to me than Verizon's plan where the data is divided between the phone and tethering use.

I was nervous about giving up my unlimited data, but I went back through my use over the last 1 1/2 years and found that I only hit 2G once, and most months I've been hovering around 500mb, so I should be fine.

So far I really love the hotspot feature. It helped me decide against getting a 3G iPad 2. When I turn hotspot on, the iPad just auto-reconnects and I'm up and running. You can also tether to your phone over bluetooth or USB (to your laptop). In my tests Wi-Fi tethering performs much better than bluetooth. I still don't have a feel for how this impacts battery life though.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

On Verizon phones, the tethering APN is different and it's hardcoded into the phone (although it can be hacked out). I'm not sure if AT&T does something like that or if they're doing packet inspection, but they always find out (as some people are seeing in text messages that started going out last week).

Verizon I can understand, since it's on CDMA. But GSM phones? Last I read on that, AT&T just sent out messages to extremely heavy users. Don't know how true that was.