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iPad mini Why have an iPad data plan when you can tether?
- Thread starter Irock619
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Those that have built-in or downloadable offline maps (e.g. Navigon, Garmin, CoPilot, TomTom, Magellan, etc).
That's awesome, I've just been using Google Maps ( eating my data ) mostly without downloading areas. Oops.
It's also slower, a lot slower. You'll never take full advantage of even the slowest LTE connection over a bluetooth tether, and the iPad needs the faster connection more than the phone does. And I would disagree about the battery usage being less. The battery drain is still pretty bad.
I used to go Wifi only on the iPad, but with the Air I went cellular and got a separate plan for it. Couple reasons:
1. Free data from T-Mobile (200MB/month)
2. That battery drain on the phone, and the heat generated.
3. It's a lot more convenient. Instead of setting up and breaking down hotspot connection for my iPad, it's just there and it just works.
4. The iPad having its own cellular connection makes sure that the Find My.. app will work if I lose it, instead of hoping and praying that it finds a WiFi connection.
Not only that, but honestly, the iPad has the bigger battery, and in reality that makes it better at Mobile Hotspot than the iPhone is.
As an aside: T-Mobile really knows what they're doing with that free 200MB/month deal. After a few months of having it on my iPad, I saw the coverage was decent enough for me to give it a shot on my phone, and now I ported my iPhone AT&T number over. If it works out, I'm saving a lot of cash, even paying for data plans on both my iPhone and iPad. If it sucks, well, I'll wait for T-Mobile to pay off my ETF, then switch back to AT&T contract-free, and still save a little bit on their plans.
I get around 8Mbps with bluetooth tether which is the same as I get directly on the iPhone over LTE where I use it most so that's good enough for me. As for battery drain, on the iPhone 4, I get around 3-4 hours with wifi tether and around 5-6 hours with bluetooth tether. That's with me not doing anything on the iPhone. Battery drain is significantly lower but if you need constant connection, you still end up with a dead phone before the work day is done. No idea if newer iPhone models fare much better.
You forgot about the GPS chip. I'm quite aware of all those benefits - I've had LTE iPads since they were released (basically since iPad 3). And yes, battery life when used as mobile hotspot is pretty amazing. On the iPad 3, I remember using it for 25 hours straight (multiple family members connected) and it still had over 10% left. The iPad 4 does even better. I probably get around 30-40 hours worth of wifi tethering from that on a single charge. The Air, I haven't actually tested how long it'll last as mobile hotspot.
Alas, T-Mobile is a no-go for me. I have the free 200MB on a Nexus 7 (2013) and my most recent test got me EDGE speeds with high ping where I need it.
They're definitely not better.
Ah, yeah, forgot about that.
That is a huge plus. Actually, you kinda take for granted that GPS is there, once you're used to it being on your iPad as well.Alas, T-Mobile is a no-go for me. I have the free 200MB on a Nexus 7 (2013) and my most recent test got me EDGE speeds with high ping where I need it.
Ouch. Yeah, that's been my worry. Where I live and work are fine, there's even a T-Mobile LTE cell site on the building where I work. The real test though, will be the next time I travel which will be soon.
Though again, if T-Mobile ultimately doesn't pan out, it'll just be a convenient method for me to get back to AT&T on a cheaper contract-free plan in a couple months.
Has AT&T stopped their offer to switch customers to the Mobile Share Value Plans? I currently have 4 iPhones on contract (2x iP5 09/2014, 2x iP5s 09/2015) and was paying $240/mo and I was able to switch to the new MS Value Plans last March which dropped me down to $160/mo for the 4 lines (strictly speaking, $250/mo -> $170/mo for 4x iPhones and 1x iPad).Though again, if T-Mobile ultimately doesn't pan out, it'll just be a convenient method for me to get back to AT&T on a cheaper contract-free plan in a couple months.
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Every ipad i bought from the first ipad 1 was cellulure next year I bought ipad 2 cellulure both worked great. Then I bought I pad 3 cellulure worked great for 6 months then kept getting no sim would go to Verizion put a new sim in last for a few days then no sim error again go buy first gen mini cellulure lasted 5 months guess what no sim after that I said screw it bought a ipad mini2 wifi only tmobile charges me 10 dollars a month for 5 gig works perfect!
They'll do it, but as long as I'm under a contract, a Mobile Share plan is far more expensive in my situation than staying on my existing (already expensive) older individual plan. The only way to make it even remotely cost effective is to pay the ETF and run the plan without a contract or subsidy, and AT&T does not have any facility to do that while staying a customer. So, off to T-mobile I went.
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How is that a good deal, if T-Mobile is charging you $10 a month for a plan you can't use on your Wifi only iPad?
Ah. Well, actually right now through the end of the year, you can get 1.2 Gigs of data on an iPad for free through T-Mobile, if you tie it to your voice plan.
I've got four phones still on contract (2 expire Sept 2014 and 2 expire Sept 2015) and I was able to get BYOD/NEXT/No Contract plan pricing (which translated to a savings of $80/month). I believe the rule was as long as you got the contract before Feb 2014, you get no contract pricing when you switch to the Value plans. I'm basically off the hook for the remaining 6 months subsidy for 2x iPhone 5 and 18 months subsidy for 2x iPhone 5s. There's still ETF if I cancel the contract but I'm getting service only rates so I don't really plan on cancelling at the moment.
Here in Canada, we have some of the highest data prices in the world for cell phones, but data-only/tablet plans are still reasonably priced.
I use my cellular iPad Mini as a hotspot and tether my other devices to it. Also, battery life on my iPad is way better than on my cell phone.
I use my cellular iPad Mini as a hotspot and tether my other devices to it. Also, battery life on my iPad is way better than on my cell phone.
The iPhone 4 doesn't support Bluetooth 4.0 (the "low energy" version of Bluetooth), which explains your poor battery life numbers. As I wrote before, with an iPhone 4S (the first iPhone to support Bluetooth 4.0) I tethered from 9 AM to 6 PM (constant Bluetooth connection between iPhone and iPad mini, which also supported Bluetooth 4.0) and my battery never went into the red. It usually went down from 100% to about half. I believe that you and I have had this discussion before in a different thread. That still represents a drain compared to not tethering at all, but it's quite far from ending the day with a dead phone.
With iOS 8 it seems that Apple is going to make the tethering process automatic, presumably over Bluetooth now that all of their devices support Bluetooth 4.0.
I've got four phones still on contract (2 expire Sept 2014 and 2 expire Sept 2015) and I was able to get BYOD/NEXT/No Contract plan pricing (which translated to a savings of $80/month). I believe the rule was as long as you got the contract before Feb 2014, you get no contract pricing when you switch to the Value plans. I'm basically off the hook for the remaining 6 months subsidy for 2x iPhone 5 and 18 months subsidy for 2x iPhone 5s. There's still ETF if I cancel the contract but I'm getting service only rates so I don't really plan on cancelling at the moment.
Lucky you. My contract started in 2013 when I got the iPhone 5S, and they made no such concessions for me. So, off I went.
I just did mine online. There's a whole thread somewhere here regarding this so I'm not the only one who's benefited from this. Sometimes, customer service reps aren't really up to date with AT&T's latest policies and promotions.Lucky you. My contract started in 2013 when I got the iPhone 5S, and they made no such concessions for me. So, off I went.