Personal hotspot - iPhone 5s vs Android phones

[sjinsjca]

I've relied on my iPhone 4 and now 5S for hotspot duty for years now. It's very reliable and yes, runs without the screen on, and even on my 4 it would work fine with other apps also using bandwidth. It's a lot faster on the 5S thanks to LTE, which of course the iPhone 4 didn't have.

I'm on AT&T, though. Verizon won't do data at the same time as voice, as far as i know.

Speaking of Verizon, I first went to the iPhone for tethering after too many frustrations with a company-provided MiFi on Verizon. The iPhone works way better and is one less thing to carry (plus a charger). It is also significantly cheaper to pay for data tethering than carry a separate device with a separate data contract. Now I routinely offer tethering via my iPhone to colleagues who can't get their MiFi to connect.

 

[Ledgem]

Is there a reason why you're limiting yourself to wifi instead of Bluetooth?

I use Bluetooth tethering from my iPhone 4S to my iPad mini (and sometimes to another iPad simultaneously). The battery drain isn't bad - for a few weeks I was tethering from 9 AM to 5 PM and the phone's battery wouldn't dip below 40-50%, if I remember right. Both devices support Bluetooth 4.0 (low-power Bluetooth profile), which is critical for the battery life. The phone can become a bit warm when tethering to two devices, but it doesn't get particularly warm when tethering to just one by Bluetooth.

There are two other benefits to Bluetooth tethering. First, the iPhone shuts off its wifi connection if there isn't any activity after approximately 15 minutes. This is to save battery, but it's annoying if you want to just pick up your tethered device and use it. The Bluetooth connection doesn't time out. Second, connecting via wifi required that the iPhone's "Personal Hotspot" screen be active. With Bluetooth, you just initiate the Bluetooth connection from one device to another (it doesn't matter which) and, as long as you left the personal hotspot on, the tethering begins automatically once that Bluetooth connection is established.

I don't know how well Bluetooth tethering works between the iPhone and non-Apple devices, though. That's something that I haven't had the opportunity to test.

 

[Oohara]

Is there a reason why you're limiting yourself to wifi instead of Bluetooth?

I use Bluetooth tethering from my iPhone 4S to my iPad mini (and sometimes to another iPad simultaneously). The battery drain isn't bad - for a few weeks I was tethering from 9 AM to 5 PM and the phone's battery wouldn't dip below 40-50%, if I remember right. Both devices support Bluetooth 4.0 (low-power Bluetooth profile), which is critical for the battery life. The phone can become a bit warm when tethering to two devices, but it doesn't get particularly warm when tethering to just one by Bluetooth.

There are two other benefits to Bluetooth tethering. First, the iPhone shuts off its wifi connection if there isn't any activity after approximately 15 minutes. This is to save battery, but it's annoying if you want to just pick up your tethered device and use it. The Bluetooth connection doesn't time out. Second, connecting via wifi required that the iPhone's "Personal Hotspot" screen be active. With Bluetooth, you just initiate the Bluetooth connection from one device to another (it doesn't matter which) and, as long as you left the personal hotspot on, the tethering begins automatically once that Bluetooth connection is established.

I don't know how well Bluetooth tethering works between the iPhone and non-Apple devices, though. That's something that I haven't had the opportunity to test.

Oh man...I've never even thought to try that out. I gave up on Bluetooth a long time ago after having immense trouble getting my PC tethered that way, but now it sounds like that must have been due to my PC.

What you say about Bluetooth auto connecting/not shutting down/less battery drain sounds beautiful. I just have to get my 4S unlocked from my old carrier and I'll give it a shot right away, if this works you deserve the Nobel price or something.

 

[jfclazzi]

Most of the newer android phones for Verizon allows simultaneous voice and data on 4G. Did it on my Galaxy S4 and my Moto X.

It's great using my phone as a hotspot without it getting cutoff when a phonecall comes through. I can even answer it and continue tethering.

 

[Oohara]

Most of the newer android phones for Verizon allows simultaneous voice and data on 4G. Did it on my Galaxy S4 and my Moto X.

It's great using my phone as a hotspot without it getting cutoff when a phonecall comes through. I can even answer it and continue tethering.

Yeah, that works on my Note 2 as well. I was amazed the first time I answered a call without realizing I was tethered, and it just worked. It will be interesting to see if it works with an iPhone and a bluetooth connection.

 

[cynics]

Yeah, that works on my Note 2 as well. I was amazed the first time I answered a call without realizing I was tethered, and it just worked. It will be interesting to see if it works with an iPhone and a bluetooth connection.

iPhone on Verizon can not pull cell data and do voice under any circumstance.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

Hi everyone,

Posting in this subforum because I'm looking for answers preferably from folks who have experience with the personal wifi hotspot on the iPhone 5s as well as android phones, and who use the hotspot not just with Apple products but with different setups, including Windows PC.

Is the personal wifi hotspot of the iPhone 5s reliable, and does it stay on indefinitely even with the screen turned off, or with other apps running on top?

I switched from iPhones to a Note 2 this year and the hotspot on the Note 2 has been infinitely better than that of the 4S. With the 4S I was forced to leave the screen on always to keep the hotspot running, and even then it would sometimes just stop working. I also had trouble connecting with more than one device at a time or when switching devices.

With the Note 2 it always works. It kicks into action almost instantly, the 4G speed is transmitted flawlessly and it never shuts down, no matter what devices I connect or how long the phone sleeps, or even when I for instance surf the web on the phone while running a stream on my tethered Windows laptop at the same time.

I'm asking because I'm considering getting a 5s as well, but I really need the hotspot to work as on the Note 2. I don't want to pay extra for LTE functionality on future tablets and I need to be able to connect reliably to it with my Windows laptop.

Thanks for reading and please leave any snide Android vs iOS comments out of this thread

Heavy hotspot user (Verizon) on iPhone 5/5S, Galaxy S4 and now Note 3. I really don't notice any difference in terms of use, although the battery drain on Samsung devices appears to be less (illusory likely because of larger batteries). Stays on when screen is off, etc.

Connectivity for my other Apple gear (iPad/MBA/MBP), my Windows rigs and Note 8/Kindle Fire seems about equal.

If anything, I get slightly better speed from Samsung hotspot but I believe that's because I have better antenna/signal for LTE from these devices than for my 5/5S. Truly a YMMV thing though.

In summary: No real difference and I'm using Hotspot connectivity 8+ hours per day from one device family or the other.

iPhone on Verizon can not pull cell data and do voice under any circumstance.

Except this LOL. Still not accustomed to getting data+Voice on verizon at same time with my Note 3 as my daily device now. Been so long since I had this I forgot what it was like.

5/5S can "link" to your other devices via BT, but the data signal over LTE still takes up the voice CDMA line. I had read that the 5S has the radio to support simultaneous voice+data, but not the segregated antenna arrangement. Regardless, you get a call on the hotspot device, it will suspend your data connection....calls always take priority. This isn't usually an issue if you are using that hotspot phone as your primary device, but obviously can create issues if you are streaming something, downloading, etc. Not my particular use case scenarios so no biggie.

 

[LorPGDL]

Ive had to use a personal hotspot for a couple of days a few months back when my landline internet wouldnt work and i used the iphone 5 and the htc one both alternatively with the same sim card.

let me tell you that the htc one produced a much stronger wifi signal than the iphone 5. there was good reception with the one where there wasnt any signal anymore and one could not connect to the iphone 5.

they were both reliable though and did not drop the signal.

 

[Dontazemebro]

I've never had my Note 3 or S4 disconnect while using the hotspot feature... Ever. Now my One X was always iffy and would disconnect if the screen timed out. Haven't tried the iPhone 5 yet, but that's because where I'm at, Sprint's network is rather spotty. I'll have to test it when I go home to Houston this weekend.

 

[Oohara]

Bluetooth

So I finally got a chance to test bluetooth tether iPhone (4S) > Android (Note 2) and that didn't work. I just got a message saying "device not compatible" on the Note.

Does anyone else have experience with bluetooth tethering iPhone > Android device? Still keeping my fingers crossed that it'd work with a Nexus 7.

I've never had my Note 3 or S4 disconnect while using the hotspot feature... Ever. Now my One X was always iffy and would disconnect if the screen timed out. Haven't tried the iPhone 5 yet, but that's because where I'm at, Sprint's network is rather spotty. I'll have to test it when I go home to Houston this weekend.

Cool, would love to hear what results you get with the iPhone 5! Do you have an Android tablet you could test it with?

 

[mellofello]

Unrelated but I may look elsewhere then the Nexus 7 for a tablet. I have had tons of issues with mine, and so have many others.

That being said the note hotspot rocks.I always had to jailbreak and use miwi before, so I can't speak on the legit ios hotspot. However my note 3 can seriously rival a consumer router. I have had 5 devices all running perfectly off of my note 3 for over a hour, and only took a 15% battery hit. Flawless is the word.

I accidentally left my computer tethered over night in vegas 2 weeks ago. I guess some updates came down, because when I looked at the ticker 3 GB had been throughputted. I was waiting for the text from ATT that they were throttling me on my unlimited, but it never came.

 

[Dontazemebro]

Personal hotspot - iPhone 5s vs Android phones

So I finally got a chance to test bluetooth tether iPhone (4S) > Android (Note 2) and that didn't work. I just got a message saying "device not compatible" on the Note.

Does anyone else have experience with bluetooth tethering iPhone > Android device? Still keeping my fingers crossed that it'd work with a Nexus 7.


Cool, would love to hear what results you get with the iPhone 5! Do you have an Android tablet you could test it with?

I tested my lappy and it worked just fine. No disconnect issues whatsoever.

 

[Oohara]

Unrelated but I may look elsewhere then the Nexus 7 for a tablet. I have had tons of issues with mine, and so have many others.

Hm. That tablet seems pretty hit or miss. From what I read, it seems that maybe 30% of owners have a lot of issues with theirs. Never been able to test one (2013 version) myself, hardly any stores carry them over here.

I tested my lappy and it worked just fine. No disconnect issues whatsoever.

Thanks! Seems like I may be going for a 5s after all. I got to test a 4S for tethering the other day, it actually worked much better than my 4S ever did.