Newbie to iPhone ? [hotspot options]

The ability to hotspot is totally dependent on your carrier and the plan ur purchasing from them.

 

I am pretty sure iPhones come with a built-in feature to use as a hotspot.
At least my iPhone 5 does, AT&T tends to block the feature out of their iPhones from what I've heard coming from America. Since you're on VZW you shouldn't have any problems, otherwise there's always TetherMe.
Although, this is only an option when jailbreaking, be sure to jailbreak before iOS 7.1 is released, otherwise you'll might end up with devices you can't jailbreak.

Best of luck.

 

Under VZW, initially the carrier would block me from doing so. Nowadays, I can just go to Settings and turn on the Personal Hotspot feature without being charged (unless I exceed my monthly data allowance).

 

OP stated that he and his wife have been doing this for a while now on their Android devices, I presume it wouldn't be a problem on another device if their carrier wasn't bothered by it on Android. Besides they have 4G unlimited data plans.

 

That's generally because hotspot is included in tiered data plans. For unlimited it's not part of it. Using some jailbreak tweak for it might be the only way (if Verizon doesn't catch on and block it or start charging).

 

I have DSL don't worry your not missing out on much. You can hotspot from an iPhone I don't do that often but I can and have used it many times.

 

Do you have the old hotspot plan (+$30) on top of your unlimited data plans on each of your line?

 

I've noticed a lot of people here who got their iPhone 5s/5c on Verizon just went in and updated their phones. The plans did not change. I can't speak on the hotspot part, but when I got my iPhone last month I opted just to get my phone updated. ((flip to smartphone)) I had to add a data package and the rest of my service stayed the same. I would think since you are going from smartphone to smartphone, your plan will not change. I have a hotspot on my iPhone but I haven't used it.


I would go to the store and ask them to see what will happen if you moved to an iPhone. What are the options available. Some of the plans allow a hotspot that's tethered in with the share everything data package. I would put everything down on paper and see what is your best option before committing. For instance I don't text a lot. If I opted for the Ultimate Share plan it would cost me $10 more a month to get unlimited texting. So I just got the basic data plan with texting $0.20. My last bill the texting bill was $1.00 because I sent a text to my email by mistake. lol

 

Well if you had a hotspot plan, you could do it natively without a jailbreak. Since you don't have a jailbreak, you could enable tethering that way.

The only thing I'm not sure is whether Verizon will notice you are tethering on an iPhone. I know AT&T was able to tell and they moved people's plans around
accordingly. Hopefully someone who knows Verizon can clear that up for you.

 

Correct. However we are not allowed to discuss how to do that here. You will have to search some other sites for the steps.

 

Two things...

You need to buy your iPhones at full price out of contract or you will lose your unlimited data plans. $650 for a 16GB iPhone 5S.

Without paying for the Mobile hotspot service you won't get it on the iPhone since the carrier file sent to your phone from VZW will disable the iPhone's built in hotspot function. Thus your only hope is to jailbreak the iPhone and use a tethering app instead.

The only way to get hotspot without paying for it is to get a tiered data plan; in which case hotspot comes automatically.

 

If hotspot is a must have option and you don't want to lose unlimited data obviously then you might've better off sticking with Android.

You're going to need to jailbreak so you'll be at the mercy of Apple and likely never running the latest version of iOS or at least not very long.

 

well AT&T never really noticed when people tethered with androids (i don't know if thats still the case or what) even though they were targeting iPhone users. That's why I mentioned it.

 

Read the threads on ATT. I believe now they are draconian and terminate your service if you violate the TOS.

If ATT can do this you better believe VZW can do the same. Whether they "will" or not at some point is anybody's guess.

 

I think in Verizon's case, there's not a lot of unlimited users left. A lot moved to the newer plans because they didn't want to pay the unsubsidized price. The impact from sneaky tethering of unlimited user may be minimal so Verizon left them alone. Again this is by no means saying Verizon won't clamp down in the future.

 

I read somewhere there are FCC regulations preventing Verizon from doing what AT&T did/does with tethering. A LOT of unlimited Verizon users tether against their contract. I'm sure Verizon could do something if they chose to, however currently they aren't.

Ignoring all that mess tethering an iPhone without paying for it is a hassle. IMO it's best to stick with Android if you rely on tethering.

 

You have to read the FCC decree and decree opinions. It's a very narrow victory for tiered data customers. Unlimited VZW customers are required by the TOS to pay a fee. The FCC does not address unlimited data customers. While it seems a good bet that VZW hasn't done anything yet, it's anybody's guess in the future as to what they will do. They might be allowed legally, but it may not well be worth the hassle today.

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Exactly what I have been thinking.

 

The FCC regulations for Verizon is part of the negotiations when they purchased the spectrum from Comcast, not a blanket policy which explains why unlimited users are excluded from being able to tether for free.

 

Not having done anything so far doesn't mean that they can't do anything. You agreed to their TOS and they certainly can act on a violation. Whether they will or not is another matter.

Yes it is. You can marginalize discussion of the violation of agreements but the owners of this site would have some liability if they allowed it. Make sure you always read and understand the FAQ's and rules on any site.