Well I debated getting the LTE model on the mini and seems this personal hot spot with my AT&T plan with my iphone 5 is working really well. I'm on it right now without a wifi here in Flagstaff but have just a marginal 4g signal and I am quite impressed. At first I thought I always have my IPhone with me that I really did not need to have the mini with LTE and its working out very nicely without a LTE model. I bought my son a wifi only mini yesterday so given our share plan this may work out plus we saved some money on purchase and also 10 each per month for service. So not a bad option if you have a share data plan. It may not be perfect for everyone on all occasions but for the times you want to do this It does work nicely. Happy Thanksgiving everyone
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iPad mini Personal Hot Spot
- Thread starter Guy Mancuso
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Agreed, been working the hotspot on Verizon for our iPad 4 and this has been working great.
I use my VZW iPhone5 as a hotspot for my mini as well and I'm happy with that. I've gone back and forth just after I purchased the mini whether I should opt for the LTE version but for my needs I don't need net access 100% of the time and so tethering works when I do
I've been using the hotspot on my iPhone 3GS to tether to my iPad 4 and it's been working brilliantly. I'm in the UK and use O2, so no extra charges 
I coould tether to my iphone5 gsm and still make phone calls while serfing web, in compare to cdma phones ...
I also tether my iPad mini to my iPhone 5 with AT&T and absolutely love it. I've been toying with exchanging for the LTE version, but in the end, I'd rather just have the Wi-Fi only option as I always have my iPhone with me. It's seriously only a couple clicks to get the iPad connected and by doing so, it saves me over $250 a year ($130 for the LTE chip, plus $10 a month for service).
Tethering is a great option if you will usually have access to a charger. I opted for the LTE iPad mainly because of battery life and if my cell is dead I can still be connected. I have used the personal hotspot with my laptop a number of times and I agree that it's quite nice to have. Also, I bought my nephew an iPod touch for Christmas, the tethering will be a big bonus for when he is with us and wants to connect to the web.
When you enable the wifi hotspot on a smartphone and pay the additional fee, can you use the hotspot for more than just one device?
I haven't turned it on yet but since getting the Mini and having andriod tablets, I just might do so as insurance for instances whereby I cannot make a wifi connection where I am.
I haven't turned it on yet but since getting the Mini and having andriod tablets, I just might do so as insurance for instances whereby I cannot make a wifi connection where I am.
You can usually connect 5 devices on a hotspot. So the more things you connect the more you save. My wife and I save about $800 by using a hotspot rather than buying lte iPads.
Once you enable the hotspot, is it a monthly thing or are you locked in to a certain timeframe where you have to keep paying?
I would only connect one device at a time, whichever I have with me at that time but so long as I can change which device then that is great.
Thanks for your reply by the way.
You enable able the hotspot feature per phone. You don't have to pay for it every month if you don't want to just when you want to use it. The. You can connect any different 5 devices you want to the hotspot whenever you want.
For AT&T share plans with your phones you just share your data . So we have a 4gb share plan with 3 iPhones so its really the phones going against the plan.
We get screwed with data in the UK, although Orange (EE) include tethering in your data plan, which is nice of them, but at 750MB allowance - not so nice - I find myself not really tethering... Contemplating a personal hotspot MiFi device, 5GB per month for £9 ($14)... What'd you think?