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Apple Hotspot vs MyWi

TheBaconKing

TheBaconKing

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 2, 2010
108
0
Northwest Arkansas
Just looking for the difference between buying tetherme and using Apples Hotspot feature, or buying mywi and wirelessly tethering that way.

I don't really care about price, I just want what works best and maybe drains the least amount of battery.
 
Get TetherMe. Price has doubled recently but still much cheaper than MyWi. The built-in personal hotspot is far preferable to MyWi. It is native and more efficient, but most importantly it does WPA2 whereas MyWi only does WEP which is crap.
 
chiefpavvy said:
Get TetherMe. Price has doubled recently but still much cheaper than MyWi. The built-in personal hotspot is far preferable to MyWi. It is native and more efficient, but most importantly it does WPA2 whereas MyWi only does WEP which is crap.
Click to expand...

Actually if you are on 4.2.6+ then MyWi does used WPA2 and offers some extra feature that the native can't do. If works just like the native wifi hotspot on 4.2.6 and above and it can be used to extend other wifi networks.
 
chiefpavvy said:
Get TetherMe. Price has doubled recently but still much cheaper than MyWi. The built-in personal hotspot is far preferable to MyWi. It is native and more efficient, but most importantly it does WPA2 whereas MyWi only does WEP which is crap.
Click to expand...

This is no longer true. MyWi along with jailbroken 4.3.1 gets you WPA2 and, more importantly, full infrastructure mode instead of the old ad-hoc/peer based wifi. I'm using it that way right now. In fact, it also let's you select bridging mode, something I needed just this past weekend!! MyWi remains a very useful and versatile tool.
 
Kadman said:
This is no longer true. MyWi along with jailbroken 4.3.1 gets you WPA2 and, more importantly, full infrastructure mode instead of the old ad-hoc/peer based wifi. I'm using it that way right now. In fact, it also let's you select bridging mode, something I needed just this past weekend!! MyWi remains a very useful and versatile tool.
Click to expand...

Makes sense they would be able to use native functionality of the built-in personal hotspot in MyWi as well (WPA2 et al) but on the infrastructure thing: it must be a very recent change as their FAQ on their site says that feature is not available at this time.

My recommendation remains the same, though. For most people TetherMe is the smarter (and much cheaper) solution.
 
chiefpavvy said:
Makes sense they would be able to use native functionality of the built-in personal hotspot in MyWi as well (WPA2 et al) but on the infrastructure thing: it must be a very recent change as their FAQ on their site says that feature is not available at this time.

My recommendation remains the same, though. For most people TetherMe is the smarter (and much cheaper) solution.
Click to expand...

Does tetherme work in 4.3.1? Since there is a personal hotspot option in 4.3.1, I assume the tether option no longer exists?
 
So basically MyWi and tetherme enable the same basic thing; wireless, bluetooth, and USB tethering.

MyWi just adds a few extra features that the native tethering doesn't have. From what I have read you cannot track your usage with Apples native Hotspot. I would be willing to pay $20 for MyWi if I can track usage, while keeling the same basic functions of Apples Hotspot feature. (infrastructure and WPA2)
 
One thing I noted before was the bridging mode. Not sure if the native functionality or Tetherme do this because I haven't used it but MyWi allows you to bridge WiFi from WiFi. Why would anyone want to do this you may ask? Several reasons:

I ran into a situation just this last weekend where we were on the fringe of an available free WiFi hotspot. What I wanted to do was set my phone up closer to the hotspot and have my laptop (and kids iPod Touch) connect to MyWi. With the old version it could only have WiFi on either LAN or WAN and not both. The new bridging mode allows it to use WiFi for both LAN & WAN at the same time.

The next two are hotel related (in my experience). I've been in hotels that allowed free WiFi for mobile devices but charged an access fee for laptops. Not common but I've seen it a fair number of times. In this scenario I can tether WiFi to the phone and then WiFi upstream to their AP. The other hotel situation is if they charge for connectivity per device. Again, push the other connections through the phone instead of paying separately for them.

Yes, some may disagree with this from a morals standpoint, but to be honest, I've never agreed with those that charge $12 for people to check their email a couple of times during a one night stay. Screw them. ;)
 
How do I bridge wifi to wifi using Mywi? When I try it, it changes to 3G . There's this internet connection that only connects to my phone and not my MacBook.
 
...does that mean that non-idevices and laptops can connect using mywi now? ex. xoom wifi tablet, or blackberry for whatever reason? before they couldnt..
 
How does Tetherme work in 4.3.1 since there is already the hotspot option there in the settings? How do I know I'm not being charged extra by AT&T when using it?
 
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