Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

All iPads iPad as Mobile Hotspot?

G

Gman021

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 21, 2012
143
0
Hey guys,

Long story short, I have a business (more like a hobby) that requires an internet connection for planned appointments. I may have a few appointments a week, or a few a month.

Since I may not be in the office for weeks at a time, I would rather not pay a monthly internet bill. And I don't believe there are any cheap business internet plans.

So I figured tethering/mobile hotspot might be the best option. Do you guys think it is?

Should I pick up an old iPad mini cellular or is there a reason to get the newer iPads in terms of mobile hotspot use?

My iPhone has the unlimited plan, so AT&T won't let me use tethering/mobile hotspot.

Any advice appreciated!
 
Gman021 said:
Anyone have any advice on mobile hotspots in general?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I'd go with an Android tablet. I've found the mobile hotspot feature on my iPhone/iPad to be quite finicky. Often times it won't show up in my list of available devices to connect to or if it does, for some reason it won't connect. It's really hit and miss. I've had android tablets / phones and never seem to have a problem with using them for "tethering".

I also have a dedicated hotspot device, but prefer a tablet since you can use the tablet for other things as well.
 
Actually, I've had very good experiences with iPhone and iPad Mobile hotspot tethering. Internet at work has been fairly spotty the past couple of months, and I've relied on both quite a bit to keep my laptop connected.

You also have the option of connecting to a computer via the USB/Lightning cable and getting your Internet connection off that.
 
Plugging it into the computer is the fastest most reliable connection I get from my phone. Should work fine. Or just buy a MIFI device and just turn the service on and off when you need it.
 
At the previous work, I was given a brand new iPad 3 with Cellular (Verizon LTE). instead of a hotspot device because for some reason, it was cheaper. I had used it in that fashion for almost a year and never had any issues with it. I would also use it on the road trips so kids could have watched youtube or play online games.
The only downside to this solution I guess is that if you really going to use it as the hotspot, it isn't really the most convenient device to carry around compared to a cell phone or a portable mifi device. If you need to carry a laptop, plus the ipad for tethering , the weight adds up.
 
I'm got this iPad Mini 2 on the Cricket 20 GB/$60($55 autopay) plan and use it for my home internet.

Cricket doesn't officially allow tethering, but they don't do anything to stop it either. Just jailbreak and use "TetherMe".
 
Why not just get a cellular iPad of some sort? Unless I'm missing something that seems like the best solution, unless you are looking more for a laptop-type experience.
 
SHirsch999 said:
Why not just get a cellular iPad of some sort? Unless I'm missing something that seems like the best solution, unless you are looking more for a laptop-type experience.
Click to expand...

I want to get a cellular ipad.


Is there any particular reason to go with the Air 2 or Mini 3 for cellular? Or how far back can I go?

My friend has a 4S and he can give me, not sure if that's too old for good speeds.
 
I found out my mom has an extra cellular first generation ipad mini.

Is this too old to reliably use as a hotspot, or can it hold it's own just fine?

Ipad mini md535ll/a

EDIT: I just read the hotpsot feature isn't on the first gen. Would tethering (hooking up to my computer via USB) give me the same result? I only need to get internet on my macbook pro.
 
Last edited:
Tablet is too bulky just for hot spot. I suggest a MIFI or a Verizon Galaxy II, 3 or 4 with paid Foxfi app that enables hot spot without requiring hot spot plan. Also, the battery pretty much lasts the whole day, fits in the pocket and it's a proper infrastructure hot spot so it works with everything unlike an adhoc hot spot.
 
5 days week I use an iPhone 5s with 4G, I run an online print business so get enquiries and orders throughout the week (whilst I'm at my day job). It's solid and either connects to an iPad 4 or lately my new MacBook as a hotspot.

I go through around 4.5GB a month so the phone is transmitting a reasonable amount of data, my only advice is keep the iPhone plugged in.

I could do the same with a cellular iPad but in the UK it is cheaper to go tethered via iPhone as I only need a single data/phone package and also my network only offers 3G to tablets.
 
Gman021 said:
Hey guys,

Long story short, I have a business (more like a hobby) that requires an internet connection for planned appointments. I may have a few appointments a week, or a few a month.

Since I may not be in the office for weeks at a time, I would rather not pay a monthly internet bill. And I don't believe there are any cheap business internet plans.

So I figured tethering/mobile hotspot might be the best option. Do you guys think it is?

Should I pick up an old iPad mini cellular or is there a reason to get the newer iPads in terms of mobile hotspot use?

My iPhone has the unlimited plan, so AT&T won't let me use tethering/mobile hotspot.

Any advice appreciated!
Click to expand...

In my experience the iPad works well as a hotspot. That said, at this point I personally would be wary of buying any Apple product for use on T-Mobile due to the lack of LTE band 12 (aka 700a) support. This band is already supported by many Android devices and should be coming to Apple's new devices in the fall.
 
I use my rmini as a hotspot with my att ipad unlimited plan. Works great. Travel, vacations with family, etc.

I had a thread asking if the air 2 having ac wifi would it improve range but there's no definitive answer.
 
Gman021 said:
I found out my mom has an extra cellular first generation ipad mini.

Is this too old to reliably use as a hotspot, or can it hold it's own just fine?

Ipad mini md535ll/a

EDIT: I just read the hotpsot feature isn't on the first gen. Would tethering (hooking up to my computer via USB) give me the same result? I only need to get internet on my macbook pro.
Click to expand...

It is available on a cellular first generation iPad Mini. I know because I'm using one to type this. It would work fine, I used to use mine as a hotspot before I got a dedicated hotspot.
 
Truefan31 said:
I use my rmini as a hotspot with my att ipad unlimited plan. Works great. Travel, vacations with family, etc.

I had a thread asking if the air 2 having ac wifi would it improve range but there's no definitive answer.
Click to expand...

How? I thought that art's unlimited iPad data plan didn't have the hotspot feature...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back