Iphone WI FI hotspot question?

[D.J.]

Ok, my daughter has a iphone and I've heard about wifi hotspots. We have dial up internet at home. I've been wondering if her phone can be set up as a wifi hotspot to let me get on the internet thru it. Can any answer this question for me in easy to understand jargon because I know absolutely nothing about computers.

 

[chickenhauler]

You have to pay for the service - I think Verizon charges $30-40 a month for it, and then depending on if she has unlimited data or not - you'd have to watch your usage. You'd need either a laptop, or a WiFi card on your computer to connect then.

 

[Sunstealer73]

If it is Verizon, you can pay $20 extra a month to add that functionality. It works good, but will drain your phone battery very quickly. You'll need a wireless card for your computer.

 

[Wild Bill Kelso]

Call you're dial-up service provider about setting up a network. You may have to graduate to DSL or Cable.

 

[Wardster]

I use my iPhone at home as a wireless access point and it works surprisingly well. It will run the battery down, so I always keep it on the charger during use. Cost will depend on usage and your carrier.

-Wardster

 

[nit2wn]

We just bought a Mifi spot from Verizon for our home stuff. It works better than satellite internet. All we had to add was a usb drive wireless connector to our home computer. Our laptop works well with it.

 

[SteelHorseHD]

If you already have an "unlimited" data package you could look into jailbreaking your phone. I have AT&T and I have the unlimited data package (I was grandfathered in). My girlfriend recently got an iPhone and pays $25 a month for 2.5 GB of data plus $20 extra a month to allow the tethering function but it also adds 2 GB of data a month. what you can do is jailbreak your phone and use the tethering function on it without going through your provider. Look into Red Snow. I have used it in the past and it works pretty good. It will also add a lot of cool features to the phone. Just my opinion, proceed at your own risk.

 

[ascalise]

x2 jailbroken tethering is the way to go. You could get some sort of broadband internet at home for the money these cell providers want to add tethering.

If you are looking to jailbreak, visit modmyi.com You can find everything you need to know there. If you are on ios5 there is currently no jailbreak for it yet, untethered at least.

I'm still on 4.3.3 on my iphone4 and use pdanet. As far as i know pdanet is the only safe option. I used to use MiWi but quit when ATT started sending out the texts threatening to add the tethering option to the plan. I never got one but a couple of friends did.

 

[1Garageman]

I just wanted to say thanks for the webpage. I just used it and jailbreak'ed my Iphone. Now I need to figure out what to do next! Need to get some new programs on here.

 

[Viriiguy]

Do NOT jailbreak Tether.... I know from first hand experience... Verizon Can and WILL know and WILL cancel your unlimited package... And it was not from lack of knowledge on my end. When you tether, your phone requests another IP address from the network. Your carrier KNOWS what IP's are leased to who's account and how many they should have and do have...

Once or twice, sure you can get away with it as a network error.. But regularly.. They will know and WILL yank your unlimited package. I am now paying close to $300 a month for my usage on 2 iPhones.. Because they yanked my unlimited plan and no longer offer it.

 

[Falcon67]

I'd expect perfomance will depend on how your local cell network is structured and the load on it. Around here, no way in hell. "3G" is between 0 and 1G, typically. We use DSL and would not want to depend on the cell network for internet service.