Tethering iPhone 4 or Android to iPad 2

[GMUAlum08]

Hi everyone! New to the forums and have a question about tethering to an ipad 2.

I currently have an android phone and am thinking about getting a 4s. I'm also definately getting an iPad 2 in a matter of weeks.

Anyways, I need to know if I have to get an iPad with 3G to be able to tether? Or can I tether using only a wifi version?

Next, do I have to jailbreak an iPhone 4S to tether to my iPad 2? Is it agains verizon's terms of service to tether an iPhone to the iPad?

Lastly, if I stick with my android phone do I have to root it to tether it to my iPad 2?

Sorry for so many questions, but answering these questions will make my life easier when deciding which phone and version of iPad to buy.

Thanks a lot!@

 

[f4780y]

OK, so

1) if you intend to tether your iPad to your phone, you only need to go for the wifi version. If you had the 3G version (assuming you have a SIM in it), you wouldn't really need to tether it, would you? - But note, the wifi only iPad also does NOT have a GPS chip in it (that is part of the 3G chipset). Worth noting, just in case GPS is very important to you.

2) you don't need anything special on your iPad IF your phone can create a wireless hotspot to tether to. iPhones can do this. You can officially enable tethering on your iPhone by talking to your carrier, but in most cases there is a monthly charge. Or you can jailbreak and enable tethering of your iPhones 3G data contract although if your carrier catches you, you may get a bill (you normally get a warning first). TetherMe from the Cydia store will enable tethering for you if you go the jailbreak route.

3) androids aren't my bag, but I know of plenty of folks that have tethered their iPad to their rooted android phones no problem.

Those are pretty much the options for you at the moment. If you get a new iPad2, chances are you won't be able to jailbreak it for a while as there is no current jailbreak for new devies (unless you are lucky enough to receive an old iPad2 with IOS 4.3.3. on it). But that doesn't matter, you should still be able to tether fine.

Hope that helps.

 

[Gsymac]

Just tried tethering with my iPad 2 with my Samsung Galaxy S2 running android 2.3.4 and worked fine

 

[JoshuaD80]

Hi everyone! New to the forums and have a question about tethering to an ipad 2.

I currently have an android phone and am thinking about getting a 4s. I'm also definately getting an iPad 2 in a matter of weeks.

Anyways, I need to know if I have to get an iPad with 3G to be able to tether? Or can I tether using only a wifi version?

Next, do I have to jailbreak an iPhone 4S to tether to my iPad 2? Is it agains verizon's terms of service to tether an iPhone to the iPad?

Lastly, if I stick with my android phone do I have to root it to tether it to my iPad 2?

Sorry for so many questions, but answering these questions will make my life easier when deciding which phone and version of iPad to buy.

Thanks a lot!@

If you want to use an android phone to tether without paying a monthly fee to do so, you do need to root your phone. It's usually a pretty painless process. Regardless, it will be cheaper to pay the fee to tether your phone than the data plans you can get for the 3G iPad... Probably.

 

[jduncan]

Or you could pick up a used MyTouch4g on craigslist, get a cheap T-Mobile phone, text & data plan and be good to go. I never get a bill for creating a hot spot (wireless tether) with mine and it works great.

 

[jsh1120]

As the posts above suggest, this is a complicated and confusing topic. I don't see any obvious misinformation in the previous posts but reading through them can be confusing. Here's (hopefully) a clarification.

Whether you can (legally) tether your iPad to a phone depends on the carrier and the phone in question. Some Android phones support tethering (with a monthly charge) without rooting the device. The latest 4G phones even support tethering on the 4G/LTE network (at least on Verizon.) Older Android phones may support tethering ONLY if you root device. In those cases you'll have to violate your contract with the carrier if you tether since the device isn't supposed to support it and therefore the carrier doesn't offer a tethering plan.

Tethering is officially supported (3G only) for the iPhone 4 and 4S. I'm unsure if that is true of the 3GS. But if you update any of these devices to iOS 5, you don't currently have the option to jailbreak it. And as noted above, you cannot jailbreak an iPad running any OS after 4.3.3.

Since the OP is considering a new phone, he/she may want to consider one of the new 4G/LTE Android phones with tethering rather than the iPhone 4S which will never support 4G/LTE speeds. (Doen't have the radio for it.) Beware, though, once you've used 4G/LTE (on Verizon Wireless) it will be difficult to go back to 3G at 1/5 to 1/8th the speed.

 

[GMUAlum08]

thanks for all the responses guys.

i guess I should note that I'm on a family plan with verizon that was grandfathered into the unlimited data plan, so I want to stay with verizon.

has anyone ever heard of someone getting a bill from verizon from tethering from a rooted / jailbroken phone? or getting their data capped?

also, is jailbreaking an iphone as hard/easy as rooting an android phone? why can't you jailbreak an iphone running iOS 5?

 

[safeplayer22]

I am currently tethering my ipad 2 from my Nexus One (old android phone) using tmobile (US). Now the deal is tmobile would normally charge me $10-$15 depending on my plan to use tethering. But of course I am rooted and thus I can tether for free. The speed I get are fine (about 2-3MB download). But I will soon be getting the Galaxy S II from tmobile and my download speed should be 10mb+.

If you plan to get the iphone 4s, then you'll be charged for tethering from at&t, verizon or sprint. Unless you jailbreak your 4s. But right now there is no "untethered" jailbreaking the 4s. I'm not going into explaining what that is.

 

[jsh1120]

thanks for all the responses guys.

i guess I should note that I'm on a family plan with verizon that was grandfathered into the unlimited data plan, so I want to stay with verizon.

has anyone ever heard of someone getting a bill from verizon from tethering from a rooted / jailbroken phone? or getting their data capped?

also, is jailbreaking an iphone as hard/easy as rooting an android phone? why can't you jailbreak an iphone running iOS 5?

Yes, there are cases where Verizon (and AT&T) have warned and billed customers for tethering their phones. The standard advice applies. The carrier looks for spikes and overall major increases in data use. Although it might be technically possible to determine whether your phone is tethered to another device, there is no reason for the carrier to be that intrusive. And from a PR standpoint, there are lots of reasons NOT to be that intrusive. So if your use profile does not change significantly when you tether another device you're probably safe. After all, what the carrier really cares about is the amount of data an account consumes, not necessarily what device is being used to consume that data. (Yes, they would like to sell you additional data plans but that's not nearly as defensible a justification with the FCC than saying their actions are designed to protect and preserve their network for users in general.

Of course, one major reason for tethering is to take advantage of content you wouldn't access on your phone. So if you're looking forward to watching movies on your iPad you found to be inconvenient or unwatchable on your phone, you should recognize that you're doing exactly what Verizon is looking for. If, on the other hand, you're just consuming the same amount of data and displaying it on your iPad, you're unlikely to generate much interest on the part of Verizon.

 

[JoshuaD80]

thanks for all the responses guys.

i guess I should note that I'm on a family plan with verizon that was grandfathered into the unlimited data plan, so I want to stay with verizon.

has anyone ever heard of someone getting a bill from verizon from tethering from a rooted / jailbroken phone? or getting their data capped?

also, is jailbreaking an iphone as hard/easy as rooting an android phone? why can't you jailbreak an iphone running iOS 5?

The way that I see it, and justify it, is that I'm tethering my phone to my iPad or computer to do the same things I can from my phone, just in a more convenient manner. so long as I don't do anything that the phone is not capable of by itself (which really isn't much), then I feel morally ok with it.

On the same note, if you aren't doing stuff you shouldn't be able to do, vzw can't determine if you are tethering or not. The only thing they can catch you on is amount of data used. And vzw, for what I understand does cap you at 2GB of data. Not sure about your grandfathered plan though.

 

[GMUAlum08]

thanks jsh1120, you answered my question perfectly.

i just want to tether when i don't have a wifi connection during my commutes. most of the time I will have wifi, and i just want to be able to surf the net for an hour at a time when I don't have a wifi connection. so I doubt my data will spike to the point of being recognized. i should be able to fly under the radar. I just don't know how I feel about buying a brand new iPhone or Galaxy Nexus and then rooting/jail breaking it and possibly screwing it up haha!

 

[GMUAlum08]

The way that I see it, and justify it, is that I'm tethering my phone to my iPad or computer to do the same things I can from my phone, just in a more convenient manner. so long as I don't do anything that the phone is not capable of by itself (which really isn't much), then I feel morally ok with it.

On the same note, if you aren't doing stuff you shouldn't be able to do, vzw can't determine if you are tethering or not. The only thing they can catch you on is amount of data used. And vzw, for what I understand does cap you at 2GB of data. Not sure about your grandfathered plan though.

when i look at "my usage" on my account statement it is listed as "1.5gigs / unlimited"

 

[JoshuaD80]

when i look at "my usage" on my account statement it is listed as "1.5gigs / unlimited"

You'll be fine then.

 

[Doubledare1]

Just landed an iPad 2 and looking for help. I read above but there were no details on the tethering process.
I have a Samsung Charge android phone that I would like to tether. What do I need to do to set this up ?

 

[jduncan]

To tether means to use the phone with a cord directly hooked up to your iPad. The phone serves as an antenna for data connection. Many smartphones allow you to broadcast a wifi signal from your phone. This is called a wifi hotspot. You then connect to that wifi signal just like you would at home, or the coffee shop. You can do a google search on creating a wifi hotspot with your particular phone for more details.