A feature that people commonly miss when they get an iPhone is tethering, also known as the end of ever having to pay for expensive internet at airports and hotels. Or, how about enjoying the beautiful spring weather by doing some work outdoors?
Tethering is one of those features that just makes sense, yet it only became mainstream when Apple announced that the iPhones were going to support it last summer. It allows you to connect your laptop to the internet via your iPhone, much like the USB dongles you buy from your operator today but without the additional contract and, well, the dongle.
To make it even better, Apple has made the setup surprisingly simple, just activate the feature on your iPhone, then connect via either USB or Bluetooth and you’re ready to go.
Want to try it out? To do it via USB, which gives you a faster connection and lets your computer charge the phone while you’re using it, simply connect your phone to your laptop. Next, go to Settings on your iPhone, press General and then Network. About halfway down you’ll find a button called “Internet Tethering”, press the button and then flick the switch to enable tethering. Voila, you are now browsing via your phone!
To go completely wireless you can also share the connection from your phone via Bluetooth. It works in the same way as via USB, but it includes a few more steps to enable and pair the laptop and iPhone via Bluetooth. Don’t worry though, you will only have to do it the first time!
To do the one time setup, enable Bluetooth on your iPhone by going to Settings, General, Bluetooth and making sure the switch is on. While you’re in the settings make sure you also enable tethering. After activating Bluetooth and tethering, go back to the Bluetooth menu and leave the iPhone there for now. This allows your computer to find the iPhone which is what we are doing next.
Head over to your Mac, open System Preferences and click the Bluetooth icon. First, make sure that Bluetooth is enabled (the checkbox On is ticked) and the “Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar” checkbox is checked, then have a look at the left side of the window. This shows a list of all Bluetooth devices you have used with your computer, and below it is a small button with a Plus sign. Press that button and follow the instructions to pair your computer with the phone.
Great! Your phone is now setup and paired with your computer. From now on, whenever you want to use tethering just enable it on the iPhone, then click the Bluetooth icon in the menubar on your Mac. In the menu that pops up, select your iPhone, then Connect to network and you’re online!
A few notes to keep in mind:
1.It isn’t always free. The cost varies from operator to operator so make sure you double check it before activating it. Also, if you are from the US, AT&T still does not support tethering. However, Google might help you find a way to enable it anyway!
2. Tethering can drain batteries quite quickly! That’s why we recommend using the USB cable instead, it gives you both a faster connection and it charges your phone.
3. If you prefer to be completely wireless, try disabling Airport while your phone is connected via Bluetooth. This saves power on your laptop and can sometimes solve the odd connection problem you might encounter.
Tethering is one of those features that just makes sense, yet it only became mainstream when Apple announced that the iPhones were going to support it last summer. It allows you to connect your laptop to the internet via your iPhone, much like the USB dongles you buy from your operator today but without the additional contract and, well, the dongle.
To make it even better, Apple has made the setup surprisingly simple, just activate the feature on your iPhone, then connect via either USB or Bluetooth and you’re ready to go.
Want to try it out? To do it via USB, which gives you a faster connection and lets your computer charge the phone while you’re using it, simply connect your phone to your laptop. Next, go to Settings on your iPhone, press General and then Network. About halfway down you’ll find a button called “Internet Tethering”, press the button and then flick the switch to enable tethering. Voila, you are now browsing via your phone!
To go completely wireless you can also share the connection from your phone via Bluetooth. It works in the same way as via USB, but it includes a few more steps to enable and pair the laptop and iPhone via Bluetooth. Don’t worry though, you will only have to do it the first time!
To do the one time setup, enable Bluetooth on your iPhone by going to Settings, General, Bluetooth and making sure the switch is on. While you’re in the settings make sure you also enable tethering. After activating Bluetooth and tethering, go back to the Bluetooth menu and leave the iPhone there for now. This allows your computer to find the iPhone which is what we are doing next.
Head over to your Mac, open System Preferences and click the Bluetooth icon. First, make sure that Bluetooth is enabled (the checkbox On is ticked) and the “Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar” checkbox is checked, then have a look at the left side of the window. This shows a list of all Bluetooth devices you have used with your computer, and below it is a small button with a Plus sign. Press that button and follow the instructions to pair your computer with the phone.
Great! Your phone is now setup and paired with your computer. From now on, whenever you want to use tethering just enable it on the iPhone, then click the Bluetooth icon in the menubar on your Mac. In the menu that pops up, select your iPhone, then Connect to network and you’re online!
A few notes to keep in mind:
1.It isn’t always free. The cost varies from operator to operator so make sure you double check it before activating it. Also, if you are from the US, AT&T still does not support tethering. However, Google might help you find a way to enable it anyway!
2. Tethering can drain batteries quite quickly! That’s why we recommend using the USB cable instead, it gives you both a faster connection and it charges your phone.
3. If you prefer to be completely wireless, try disabling Airport while your phone is connected via Bluetooth. This saves power on your laptop and can sometimes solve the odd connection problem you might encounter.
I am using ver: 3.1.3 on my 3GS and there is no "internet tethering" option in the network menu. Is this available in a newer version of the OS>
Posted by: Denis Minamora | March 18, 2010 at 02:45 PM
Denis, I take it you are in the US? AT&T has not enabled tethering in the US due to concerns that their network won't be able to handle the additional traffic. There are various ways around it, do a google search for "iphone 3gs tethering at&t" and it will give you some good guides on how to enable it.
Posted by: Mikael Mannberg | March 18, 2010 at 05:44 PM
Thanks!
Denis
Posted by: Denis Minamora | March 21, 2010 at 06:28 PM