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iPhone 4 Tethering Questions.

L

Lax093

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 14, 2010
7
0
Well this is my first post to these forums. I was reading about the iPhone 4 because I was interested in buying one, until I read about the 2GB data plan cap that AT&T announced a while back. Well here are some things I would like to find out.

First, if I buy an iPhone 4 and get the 45$/month data plan with tethering I would first like to know how long 2GB would last me. Here is what I would use it for. I am still in school so when i get bored I would browse the internet so I would say about 4-5 hours a day per month of just browsing the internet, Facebook, youtube you know. That is just on the iPhone.

Now, the tethering i'd like to do is. I have an xbox 360 that I would like to tether to the iPhone 4. Well is that even possible? If so if i used the xbox live for say 5 hours a day just to be safe because I have a little brother who would use it alot.

But my point being after reading all of that do you think 2 GB is good or do I need alloootttt more?

Please get back to me ASAP

All these figures are estimations and will change according to the day and things happening. but just to be sure I put the max.
 
I don't think it would tether to the Xbox. It connects through usb or bluetooth. It would need to create a wifi hotspot like MyWi does for jailbroken phones.

I would love to know if were allowed to turn tethering on and off as needed. I normally will not use the internet enough to go over the 200mb plan. But sometimes you do need tethering like when on vacation or if your home internet goes down.

I just wonder if there is any reason we can't go back and forth on data plans. Like use Pro plan and tethering for three days then go back the to the Plus plan.
 
The 2GB plan is really for supplementing WiFi and won't last you a month. Every (10min) youtube HD video is at-least 50-100mb so you can do the math.
 
Alright, so if I connected the xbox and the iPhone through usb? Would that work, and how long would 2GB last for a user like me?
 
Are you saying you want to tether it the Xbox to play games online? Or do you just mean to download stuff?

Online game play would use up a ton of Bandwith very fast.

Also I don't think just plugging the iPhone into the Xbox using USB would work, but I could be wrong as I've never tried it.
 
Also I'm confused...you could afford an iPhone, the voice and Data plan, but you don't have Internet where you live?...I'm by no means judging as I'm a poor grad student, just confused on what exactly your situation is.
 
Ok I googled it and it seems the answer for Xbox live usage is around 10-20mb an hour depending on the game and number of players involved.

That is much lower then I thought it would be.
 
Your xbox live will go pass 2 gb pretty fast. Combined with tethering and wifi I go over 4 gb and I don't even watch YouTube. I'd recommend getting the unlimited plan then jailbreak and get mywi
 
Assuming you may get an iPhone, you most likely can afford internet. So assuming you have internet, why the hell would you use tethering and slow down the network for others? I have mywi for tethering and love it but only use it when I have no other internet access or when my internet goes down and I really need it. I would never use it just sitting at home when I can use my at home wireless internet.
 
wherever you found those estimates of XBOX Live usage at 10 to 20 mb per hour are completely WRONG.

it is way, way higher than that. using your iphone data plan for that would be impossible. and your games would probably lag quite a bit.
 
jasonforisrael said:
wherever you found those estimates of XBOX Live usage at 10 to 20 mb per hour are completely WRONG.

it is way, way higher than that. using your iphone data plan for that would be impossible. and your games would probably lag quite a bit.
Click to expand...

Do you have any data to back that up....I also thought that it must be massive, but I can't find any proof of that online...in fact there are a few youtube videos of people showing usage as they play. I guess i could see that maybe the xbox just sends raw numbers of positions and stuff and then the xbox renders everthing in house so it wouldn't need to be sending all the 3D data with it.

But still I agree that sounds way low, but I can't find any facts to prove my hunch correct.

I also agree that regardless your games would lag.
 
msubugzy said:
Do you have any data to back that up....I also thought that it must be massive, but I can't find any proof of that online...in fact there are a few youtube videos of people showing usage as they play. I guess i could see that maybe the xbox just sends raw numbers of positions and stuff and then the xbox renders everthing in house so it wouldn't need to be sending all the 3D data with it.

But still I agree that sounds way low, but I can't find any facts to prove my hunch correct.

I also agree that regardless your games would lag.
Click to expand...

I would say it depends on if you are host/server or not. If you are host then you got 7 incoming and outgoing connections (in a 4v4 game) vs 1 incoming and outgoing if you are not host.

Eitherway it's a moot point. His youtube usage alone will kill that 2GB cap in less then a week.
 
Ryeno said:
I would say it depends on if you are host/server or not. If you are host then you got 7 incoming and outgoing connections (in a 4v4 game) vs 1 incoming and outgoing if you are not host.

Eitherway it's a moot point. His youtube usage alone will kill that 2GB cap in less then a week.
Click to expand...

Agreed
 
You need a lot more.

Search "new easier data to unlimited" on here to find the thread I made about how to get the unlimited plan $30/month. Works to this day. I did this.

Then, jailbreak your phone. Buy mywi for $20. One-time fee.

Then, stop paying at&t for something they should offer for free :) I can tether now without any problem or having to worry about data. Got my phone June 24th...the "grandfathered" plan offer ended June 6th.
 
Alright so alot of things to answer. First off I can afford internet but its an apartment and dont feel like going through the trouble, but I may end up doing that. And what is this "jailbreak then get mywi" thing? And i may not get the tethering option it sounds like xbox would be too much usage of the 2GB and how can I get the iphone and use it for another provider for an unlimited plan? somone explain these things to me. Thanks
 
Lax093 said:
Alright so alot of things to answer. First off I can afford internet but its an apartment and dont feel like going through the trouble, but I may end up doing that. And what is this "jailbreak then get mywi" thing? And i may not get the tethering option it sounds like xbox would be too much usage of the 2GB and how can I get the iphone and use it for another provider for an unlimited plan? somone explain these things to me. Thanks
Click to expand...

I totally understand having to free up a day to wait for the company to come and install is a pain in the ass...but how is the living in an apartment thing make it more a pain in the ass...also if you feel that way you could just look into CLEAR internet depending on if you live in one of their areas.
 
msubugzy said:
I totally understand having to free up a day to wait for the company to come and install is a pain in the ass...but how is the living in an apartment thing make it more a pain in the ass...so if you feel that way you could just look into CLEAR internet depending on if you live in one of their areas
Click to expand...

Clear seems way too pricey...it's for mobile internet only I thought?
 
Lax093 said:
Alright so alot of things to answer. First off I can afford internet but its an apartment and dont feel like going through the trouble, but I may end up doing that. And what is this "jailbreak then get mywi" thing? And i may not get the tethering option it sounds like xbox would be too much usage of the 2GB and how can I get the iphone and use it for another provider for an unlimited plan? somone explain these things to me. Thanks
Click to expand...
Steal off your neighbor's wifi!
 
Alright so forget the tethering option. I jsut want to know how long 2GB would last if only surf the web and facebook I wont use youtube because that takes up alot of usage. Also I checked into the unlimited thing that the guy above said and it looks legit but I just need to get the iphone first and try it all out. But also with me not choosing to get internet then I can save the 40$ a month for that if I just tether its one fee of 45$ a month instead of that and another 40$ for internet ya know. but yeah...
 
Lax093 said:
Alright so forget the tethering option. I jsut want to know how long 2GB would last if only surf the web and facebook I wont use youtube because that takes up alot of usage. Also I checked into the unlimited thing that the guy above said and it looks legit but I just need to get the iphone first and try it all out. But also with me not choosing to get internet then I can save the 40$ a month for that if I just tether its one fee of 45$ a month instead of that and another 40$ for internet ya know. but yeah...
Click to expand...

I assume you would be fine, unless you are on youtube all day. Even in July (when my baseball team still had a chance and I had to work during the evening so i used the AtBat app to watch most of the games) I bearly got over 2GB so you would be fine most likely...plus you check your usage on your phone and adjust accordingly
 
Thanks msubugzy. you have really helped.

Who has a free iphone to send to me in the mail :)

I really want to get on soon now that I have checked up on it. It sounds amazing. Anyone wanna tell me whats the best about their iphone?
 
wait i'm still fascinated about the reason the apartment makes getting internet more of a pain....I understand the cost thing (although personally the $20 difference would be worth it just to avoid the frustration...i mean **** i would sell my own blood to make the $20 extra bucks...but then again i'm neurotic and a bit of an internet addict) but the fact you qualified the statement with saying it's a pain because of it being an apartment peaked my interest.
 
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